bookcurios Chapter 167: Buying Land at the Pier
Chapter 167: Buying Land at the Pier
In the afternoon, the clerk brought the good news to the two.
The clerk explained his plan to the two men: "I can help you lower the land price of the dock. If you give some money to the higher-ups as a tribute, it will actually be more cost-effective."
Li Yuer understood the reasoning and said, "I plan to buy 20 acres of land. How much does it cost?"
The clerk calculated and said, "I can probably get the land price down to two taels of silver, but the tribute will probably be at least five taels."
Two taels of silver was cheaper than farmland. Thinking of the Four Seas Order, Li Yuer simply said, "For two taels of silver, I will buy the entire east side of the wharf. It's about a certain area of acres."
The clerk was shocked, but then he thought of the relationship between the two men and Young Master Jing, so he stopped talking.
"It's about 40 mu. When measuring the land, I told the yamen runners to loosen the ruler and calculate it as 40 mu.
If you have decided, I will go back to the government office to handle this matter later, but since there is more land, the tribute will have to be doubled."
Li Yu'er took out eighty taels of silver notes from his pocket, and then took out another ten taels of silver and handed them to the clerk.
"Brother Wen, these ten taels are a gift of filial piety. The rest is for you and the brothers to have tea."
The clerk was about to refuse, but Li Yuer said, "Even if you don't drink tea yourself, you have to consider your brothers."
Indeed, if this matter is done, the clerk will be able to smoothly take over the duties of the old clerk, which will require some preparation.
The clerk took the money and bowed to the two men, without saying anything more.
It’s not that Li Yuer supports the culture of corruption, but the situation is stronger than people, and protecting oneself is the most important thing.
Li Erlang really admired Li Yuer's courage, "Yu Baoer, you bought so much land, what are you going to do if you get stuck with it in the future?"
Li Yuer smiled and said, "I can't smash it. Maybe I won't be able to buy it in the future if I want to."
It was almost dark when the clerk came back with a smile on his face.
He handed the red deed with the official seal to Li Yuer and his sister and said, "It's already been done. You just need to sign and seal it. There are two copies. I'll take one and you keep the other one.
They also asked me who I sold the land to. Don't worry, I certainly won't tell them.
Yu Baoer, this land is indeed risky. Now that you have bought it, you must manage it well and don’t waste your money.”
Li Yuer took the red deed, picked up the ink pad next to it, and pressed his fingerprint directly.
Li Erlang, who was watching from the side, felt both envious and worried. This was all money, what would he do if it was wasted?
After finishing their business, the two called a carriage to go back.
Mrs. Cai and her husband were at the Cai family at the moment, chatting animatedly with Zhao.
"Qiuyue, what do you think of the character of the young lady from the Wen family you mentioned?"
"This girl from the Wen family is beautiful and filial. She is the eldest sister in the family, with a pair of younger siblings. Her younger brother is studying in a private school. He has a good personality and is not too ambitious. He often helps the family sell tofu during his days off. They are all good children.
I think the daughter of the Wen family is not only diligent and filial, but her family runs a tofu shop and lives a comfortable life. Her brother is well educated and will become a capable person in the future."
Zhao is arranging marriages for the boys in the Li family. Logically speaking, Li Laosan is older in seniority, so he should be the one to be arranged a marriage first.
People in this dynasty, except for those with a huge age difference, married in order of seniority.
But Li Laosan is a stubborn person, and it would be difficult for this marriage to be successful without his own approval.
Therefore, the question became who to marry the girl from the Wen family to.
Old Man Li asked, "Have you contacted the Wen family? Will they be interested in our family?"
Zhao said, "Hey, I mentioned it last time when I went to buy tofu. Her parents didn't agree when they heard that you were an islander, but when they heard that your family had bought 40 acres of good land and was planning to build a big house, they relented."
This reaction is understandable. No parents would like their daughter to marry to an island and suffer, especially so far away. In the future, they will not be able to help even if they want to.
Old man Li said in a dilemma: "Which boy in our family is suitable for this?"
Mrs. Cai suddenly had an idea and said, "Why not look at both?"
Old man Li shook his head, "What if we see it wrong and split it?"
Zhao thought for a while and said, "How about this? I will call Miss Wen home tomorrow and tell others that I can't carry the tofu. Then, I will find an excuse to ask the third brother and the eldest brother to work in the yard. Don't tell them about this, and then test Miss Wen's attitude.
Whichever one the Wen family girl likes, we can ask them what they think. If they agree, then it's okay. If not, forget it. Anyway, no one has said it openly, so it's not embarrassing. Just pretend it never happened. I'll try to find a partner for them."
This is a good idea and both parties agree.
In Tuwozi Village, Li Meir finally waited for Li Yuer and his sister to come back.
"Where have you been? What time is it?"
Li Yuer knew that she was concerned about them, so she hugged Li Meier's arm and said, "We have done something big. We have bought the land for the dock."
"What!" Li Mei'er was about to exclaim, but she quickly covered her mouth and said, "You two are really brave."
Li Yuer was afraid that she would be angry, so she said, "I didn't tell you before because I was afraid that too many people would see it, which would be bad. Sister Mei'er, please don't be angry."
"How could that be? If we really shout loudly on the street, nothing good will happen. Besides, we need people to set up the stall here. If everyone goes, we won't be able to set up the stall tomorrow."
Li Mei'er thought for a moment and then asked, "Are you going to tell grandpa and grandma?"
"I said I would, but not now. Wait until I find someone to clean up the dock."
"How are you going to clean it up?"
Li Yuer put the meat and eggs bought from the market into the kitchen shed and said, "First, we will build a dock to moor the boats, and then build a series of shops to rent out or use for our own use."
"Shop?" Li Erlang stole a bowl of food from Li Dalang who was stewing seafood, and said while eating, "No one goes to buy things in that place. If you plan to open a shop there, you might as well open a tea shop. Maybe porters and passing merchants will go there."
After hearing Li Erlang's idea, Li Yuer immediately said, "Then let's leave a shop for you to do this business."
Li Erlang was startled, then he was overjoyed, "Is it true?"
Li Yuer was very happy that Li Erlang had such a business acumen. Opening a teahouse at the dock was indeed profitable, and it was a good thing to keep the money within the family. So she handed the business over to her elder brother.
"Of course, I, Li Yu'er, will stick to my words."
Li Erlang was instantly like being injected with chicken blood, and almost jumped up with joy, "Yu Baoer, thank you, brother, you are worthy of being my sister."
Li Yuer looked at Li Meier and said, "Sister Meier, eldest cousin, and third uncle, where is third uncle?"
As soon as we mentioned Li Laosan, he came back.
"It's too cold. I almost froze my butt off while I was taking a break."
Li Meier glared at him and said, "Be more polite when you speak. Can't you see there's a girl?"
Li Laosan said embarrassedly: "I'm sorry, I was careless."
Li Yuer told him about the shop at the dock and asked, "Brother Cousin, Third Uncle, Sister Mei'er, if you have any ideas, tell me and I will reserve a shop for you. Even if you don't want to do business for the time being, I will keep it for you as a private property given to you."