GBP Chapter 39 Buy, buy, buy
Chapter 39 Buy, buy, buy
"Manager Zhang, you're the most well-informed person in Changshou County. If there's any shop for sale, be sure to keep an eye out for me!"
"Of course, of course. May I ask what kind of shop Brother Jiang wants to open?" Manager Zhang asked with a smile.
"It doesn't necessarily mean you have to run it yourself. You can just buy a shop and rent it out. After all, we don't have many family members, and our own children don't have much of a business sense."
“Oh, brother, your family are all scholars, so you would naturally disdain doing lowly work. You could hire someone to manage it, and the rent would only be a few taels of silver,” Manager Zhang suggested.
Jiang Changshou nodded, thinking it made sense, but he really didn't know what kind of business to do. He decided to wait until he bought the shop before making any plans.
A few days later, Manager Zhang brought news that a shop on West Street was for sale.
Jiang Changshou quickly went to take a look. The location was good and the price was reasonable, so he readily paid the money.
Next, Zhang asked his friend to help him find out which smaller shops were for sale.
Within a dozen days, Jiang Changshou quietly bought seven shops of varying sizes, all through introductions from friends, without going through any brokers.
Most of my old friends are businessmen, and they all know the principle of not flaunting their wealth, so none of them go out and publicize it.
Jiang Changshou spent less than three thousand taels in total, including gifts to his friends.
There were probably no good shops left in Changshou County, so they turned their attention to the villages outside the city.
There are no people selling the villages, big and small, around Changshou County. After all, the suburbs are only so big, and once they're sold, they're hard to buy back.
But the lucky ones are always favored by the heavens.
When the magistrate of Changshou County was promoted, he sold off the county's properties in a package deal. Three of the seven shops that Jiang Changshou bought belonged to the former magistrate.
However, the estate outside the city was too expensive and remained unsold even after the family moved away upon leaving office. So they asked relatives to help them find a buyer.
This estate is quite large, and there is a small hill inside, covered with lush trees, with a stream flowing at its foot.
There was also a rather exquisite pavilion in the village, and a small pond had been dug out of the low-lying area. Lotus roots were planted and fish were raised in the pond. It was indeed a village that had been managed by an official.
If it weren't for the crops still growing in the fields, it would really look like a wealthy person's vacation villa. But even now, it's full of life.
Jiang Changshou was very satisfied. This estate must have over a thousand acres of land. On average, one acre of mountain land and cultivated land was worth eight taels of silver, so a thousand acres would be worth eight thousand taels of silver.
The grandson had given him seven thousand taels of silver; he only needed to add another thousand taels. Without hesitation, he immediately signed a contract with the magistrate's relative to buy the estate.
With the payment settled, a huge weight was finally lifted from Jiang Changshou's shoulders.
He was eager to share this good news with his beloved grandson, since his grandson would be returning to the Jiang family school in Xinghe Prefecture in about ten days.
Jiang Changshou hurriedly returned home with the land deed in his hand. He learned that his grandson had been studying hard in the study all day, and he felt both gratified and heartbroken.
"Grandfather?" Jiang Xiaoqi put down his pen and saw his grandfather's happy face. He knew that the ten thousand taels of silver had finally been spent.
"Mingfei, come here, come here, take a look at these."
Jiang Changshou took out the deeds to the seven shops and the land deeds to the villa outside the city, and laid them out on the desk.
Jiang Xiaoqi looked at each item one by one, did some mental calculations, and came up with the total price of the properties. He then reached into his pocket, took out five thousand taels of silver, and handed it to his grandfather.
Jiang Changshou smiled and pushed his grandson's hand away, "You child, your grandfather only added a thousand taels, why do you need to return it? Take it back, keep it for yourself or give it back to your mother."
"Sigh~ Your father seems unreliable these days. You and your mother must hold onto these properties and money carefully, and don't let him fool you with just a few words!"
“Grandfather, you should find someone to manage this estate. Take 30% of the annual output to supplement the family income. As my studies become more expensive, we can’t always rely on the family’s inheritance.”
Jiang Xiaoqi knew the Jiang family's financial situation. Although they owned several hundred acres of land, the harvest wasn't always good, and the rent they collected wasn't high. In years of disaster, they even had to subsidize tenant farmers who couldn't make a living.
So even after several generations, you really can't get rich just by relying on land.
Jiang Changshou patted his grandson's head and said, "You're going back to Xinghe Prefecture soon, so it's always good to have some money on you."
Jiang Xiaoqi shook her head and stuffed the silver note into her grandfather's hand: "My mother gave me some money to keep me safe. Besides, children shouldn't carry too much silver, or they'll easily attract the attention of bad people!"
Jiang Changshou thought about it and agreed: "Alright, I'll keep these five thousand taels for you. If I come across any houses or land for sale, I'll buy them all for you!"
"Although you have acquired some property thanks to your mother's prescriptions, you must remember not to be arrogant or extravagant. You must stay true to yourself, study hard to pass the imperial examinations, and that is the right path, so as not to let down your mother who has planned so much for you."
Jiang Xiaoqi nodded solemnly, "Grandson will remember his grandfather's teachings."
Jiang Changshou felt that he had failed to raise his son well, and now that his grandson was the only precious child he had, he couldn't let him go astray!
Now that his daughter-in-law has such a lucrative method, she gave it to Mingfei instead of her own family. He should remember this favor and keep an eye on his good-for-nothing son so he doesn't drag his daughter-in-law and eldest grandson down.
They've bought the shops, the villa, and it wouldn't hurt to buy a few more barren mountains. The most important thing is that barren mountains are cheap. If they could buy all the barren mountains near the villa and connect them into one area, then the Jiang family would be the only ones in Changshou County to do so.
Jiang Xiaoqi didn't pay attention to her grandfather's longing look just now, and just assumed that the old man had finished shopping.
Even on vacation, I still read and practiced calligraphy as usual, without stopping for a single day. Even in the evenings in my study space, I continued to earn points and rewards by practicing.
The Linglong Space required 5000 points to activate, but upgrading it required an astonishing number of points, a full ten times higher.
He knew the dog system was inhuman, but he had no choice; he really needed this cheat system, which wasn't really a cheat, right now.
After all, the ten beauty pills he earns each month still need to be "reprocessed" with the anti-aging pills rewarded by the system, which is his only source of income right now.
Once Madam Chiang helps him buy a house in the city, he can live in one and rent out the other, experiencing what it's like to be a landlord.
The rent for shops in Changshou County is not too high. We try to let my grandfather collect the rent once a year, and then keep the collected rent at home to invest in suitable properties.
The estate's produce this year belongs to the previous owner, so the estate has no profit this year.
We won't see a return on our investment until next autumn.
Ten days passed in the blink of an eye, and it was time to set off again. I bid farewell to my elders and embarked on another journey alone.