Chapter 172

Chapter 172

Meanwhile, Cao Kun also arrived in the city to pick up Lin Qiu and Chen Rong and take them home.

After more than two months apart, Second Baby no longer recognized him and cried when Cao Kun's scratchy beard touched his cheek during a hug and kiss.

Lin Qiu laughed beside them, "Chen'er, this is your daddy! You don't recognize your own daddy?"

The little one kept scrambling into Lin Qiu’s arms, refusing to go to Cao Kun, which really bummed Cao Kun out. Fortunately, Wheat remembered him and hugged his father’s neck, saying how much he had missed him.

Cao Kun held his eldest son and kissed him, which finally made him feel better.

Besides picking up his family, he had also come to deliver goods to the city. Due to the major battles at the border, prices in the north had begun to soar rapidly, with food and cloth seeing the fastest increases. Business for the Porter Guild had also boomed, transporting supplies between the north and south, making a pretty penny.

Wang Ying asked him about the situation at the border. The Porter Guild traveled far and wide, dealing with people from all over, so they were naturally more in the know.

Cao Kun said, "Right now, they're fighting like crazy at the border. Not long ago, there was a battle at Jiaohe against the Turkic army. I heard that three to four thousand people died, and you could still smell blood in the river a hundred miles downstream."

This made everyone's jaws drop—it was really scary!

"But there’s also a lot of business over there. If I wasn't so tied up with the guild, I'd think about going myself."

Lin Qiu asked, "What kind of business is there?"

"Refugees. There are many merchants in Longxi, and quite a few are fleeing to the central plains because of the war. I heard that transporting one family can earn over a hundred taels of silver!"

Wang Ying's ears perked up at this. "Are there many refugees coming?"

"Many! Tens of thousands are coming from Longxi. Some are fleeing to Shan Zhou, others to Bian Zhou or Liang Zhou. Although Ji Zhou hasn’t seen movement yet, it probably won’t be long before people start arriving there too."

Wang Ying started hatching a plan. If the war continued, more and more refugees would come here, and housing prices in Ji Zhou would likely rise rapidly. If he could snap up some properties now, he could probably make a good profit.

However, he didn’t have much money on hand, so this was something he'd have to think through carefully.

They had dinner that evening and rested early since they had to leave at dawn the next day.

From late February to early March, it was that time of year when the grass grows and the orioles sing. The snow and ice on the mountains had melted, and little green shoots were popping up from the ground. The weather was neither too cold nor too hot, with little rain and plenty of sun—perfect for a trip.

Parting with loved ones was always difficult. On the day of departure, Chen Rong held Li Shi’s hand and told her over and over, "Sis, you've got to take good care of yourself. With Qing Yan away, the children are relying on you. Don't you go getting sick."

"Don’t worry. Be safe on the road, and remember to send a letter when you reach the county town."

"Alright." Chen Rong then turned to Wang Ying. "Third Aunt is leaving now. This whole family will depend on you. Take care of your health too, and don’t overwork yourself."

Wang Ying was really touched. "Yes, I understand."

Yuan Bao and Qing Er held Wheat’s hands, reluctant to let go. Their time together had made the three kids close friends.

As it was getting late, Lin Qiu picked up Wheat and placed him in the carriage. Seeing the two kids watching with tears in their eyes, he said, "Once your dad's done with the exams, we'll be coming back to our hometown. We’ll bring Qing Er along then."

Yuan Bao wiped his eyes and nodded, waving goodbye to Wheat.

"Off you go now, and travel safely." Wang Ying bent down and wiped the kids' tears away.

Everyone bid farewell reluctantly and only went back inside once the carriage was gone.

After Third Aunt’s family left, Li Shi immediately got really down. She didn't touch her lunch. Worried she'd worry herself sick, Wang Ying quickly asked Er Shun to bring Qing Yun back.

Qing Yun was already more than three months pregnant and was having really bad morning sickness. She couldn’t keep any food down—even drinking water made her nauseous, and just the smell of fish would make her throw up like crazy. Her once round face had gotten so thin you could see her cheekbones.

Li Shi's heart ached for her and quickly began preparing various foods for her daughter. Keeping busy with this took her mind off her own sadness.

In March, the vegetable shop hit its slow season again. Wang Ying decided to sell the last of the vegetables from the experimental field and then stop, replanting with millet and wheat.

After hearing from Cao Kun that many refugees were coming from the northwest, Wang Ying got the idea to buy up some properties. He'd been checking out a few brokerages these past few days and found that many others had the same idea. Prices from the official brokers had already shot up. Wang Ying sighed, thinking that there's never been a shortage of sharp businessmen.

When he arrived at Sun's Brokerage, Sun Peng was attending to other clients, so Wang Ying sat down and looked over the properties that were for sale.

A clerk brought three ledgers: one for Zhengtong Street, one for Zhengyang Street, and another for Zhenghe Street. These basically covered all the properties for rent or sale in the entire city.

Wang Ying didn’t bother with the Zhengtong Street ledger. The residences there were generally not available on the market, and even if they were, the prices were astronomical—way more than he could afford.

He skimmed through the Zhengyang Street ledger. The few properties he had seen before had increased in price by as much as over four hundred taels, with the least increase being fifty taels. He'd bought his own place at just the right time.

After looking for a while, he found two courtyards that seemed good, but they were a bit expensive with limited potential for appreciation, so he wasn't too interested in them.

It seemed that the properties on Zhenghe Street had the most potential for appreciation.

Just as Wang Ying picked up the Zhenghe Street ledger to get a better look, the brokerage owner approached him. "Shopkeeper Wang, to what do we owe the pleasure?"

Wang Ying stood up and greeted him. "Just here to look at properties, see if there's anything good to buy."

Sun Peng quickly asked a servant to serve tea. "Does Shopkeeper Wang want to buy a shopfront or a residence?"

"Let’s look at residences."

"What size are you considering? Any preferred location?"

Wang Ying said, "Just a small one-courtyard place. I'm not too picky about the location."

Sun Peng picked up the Zhenghe Street ledger and flipped through a few pages. "There are seven one-courtyard houses here, all in the same alley. They're not pricey—around eighty to a hundred taels each. But the location isn’t great. As you know, Zhenghe Street is a real mixed bag."

Wang Ying did the math in his head. Eighty taels each for seven courtyards would only amount to five or six hundred taels—really wasn't bad.

If the war continued, more refugees would surely arrive, and these kinds of properties could be resold for three to four times the price.

"Are there any others besides these?"

Sun Peng understood that Wang Ying was looking to buy up properties. Many people had been coming to the brokerage lately to buy and buy up properties, but most were interested in Zhengyang Street. Zhenghe Street, on the other hand, had seen little interest.

"Yes!" Sun Peng flipped a few more pages. "There are two more alleys here with sixteen courtyards in total. I wonder if you're looking to take on that many, Shopkeeper Wang."

"So many empty houses? What happened to the people living there?"

Sun Peng coughed lightly. "To be honest, a few years ago, there was a plague in this area due to floods, and everyone in this neighborhood died. The properties were confiscated by the government. But the official brokerages found these houses too small and poorly located, so they transferred them to me. If you’re uncomfortable with that, we can forget it..."

That didn't bother Wang Ying—it wasn't like he was going to live there anyway. "Have these houses been cleaned up?"

"Of course. After the plague, the area was sealed off by soldiers. The deceased were taken outside the city and cremated collectively, and the houses were thoroughly cleaned."

Wang Ying asked, "If I take all of them, what’s the lowest price you can offer?"

Sun Peng picked up an abacus and calculated for a while, then wrote down the amount: one thousand eight hundred taels of silver.

"Can you make it cheaper?"

"Shopkeeper Wang, you must be joking. This price is already a special favor to you. For anyone else, I wouldn’t negotiate below two thousand taels. Our brokerage has operated for many years on the principles of honesty and trust."

Wang Ying naturally trusted him. Even acquaintances had said the price he paid for his own house was a good deal.

"Do you have time to take me to see the houses?"

"Of course, if Shopkeeper Wang is free now, we can go take a look right away."

"Alright."

The two took the property agent's carriage and headed straight to Zhenghe Street. This was Wang Ying's first time in this part of the prefectural city since he arrived. The streets here were a bit narrower than those on Zhengyang Street and somewhat bumpy.

This road was built at the same time as Zhengyang Street, but there were many cargo carts passing through here, which over time had worn deep ruts into the road, making the surface uneven.

After about half an hour, the carriage arrived at the houses. Wang Ying stepped out and looked around, finding the environment quite decent—not as dilapidated as he had imagined. The alley was wide enough for a carriage to pass through.

Further inside, there were ten households in total. Apart from three that were occupied, the rest were vacant.

Sun Peng introduced as they walked, "Although this is Zhenghe Street, it's not far from the military camp, so the area is relatively safe. Watch your step, Shopkeeper Wang."

Wang Ying looked down and saw a fresh cow pat on the road, likely left not long ago. He had almost stepped on it.

"It's just a bit dirty, but there's no helping it. The people living here are ordinary folks, many of whom are farmers and keep livestock, so it naturally can't compare to Zhengyang Street."

Wang Ying nodded and followed him further inside.

They reached the first house and opened the gate. It was a standalone courtyard with three main rooms and one side room. Due to long neglect, many weeds had grown between the stone cracks in the yard.

However, as Sun Peng had said, the interior was pretty clean, and there were some simple pieces of furniture inside.

Sun Peng said, "Although these houses are listed with our property agency, the transaction must be processed through the official brokerage. I’ll handle all of that when the time comes."

After viewing these seven houses, they took the carriage to the other two alleys, which had sixteen households in total. The houses there varied in age, but all were habitable, making them relatively easy to rent out or resell.

After the viewing, Wang Ying decided to purchase all the houses.

Shopkeeper Sun was overjoyed, grinning from ear to ear. "Shopkeeper Wang, buying these houses might turn a great profit."

"Ah, I’m just dabbling. If I don’t lose money on these old houses, it’ll be a success. I suppose many people in the prefectural city have been hoarding properties lately?"

"Not too many. After all, houses aren’t like other goods—they cost hundreds or even thousands of strings of cash, so only a few can afford to invest. The owner of Yang's Trading Company bought ten courtyards on Zhenghe Street, and the owner of Hongyun Lou bought three courtyards on Zhengtong Street. Others haven’t made any moves."

Upon hearing this, Wang Ying’s interest was piqued. The owner of Hongyun Lou was Madam Qin—he hadn’t expected her to buy property too. It seemed housing prices in Jizhou indeed had great potential for appreciation.

The property title transfer went smoothly. The transfers were processed the day after payment, and all twenty-three courtyards now belonged to Wang Ying.

After storing the property deeds safely, Wang Ying resumed selling vegetables as usual. Once he made it through March and April, he could start selling ice again.

He had thought it would take at least a few months for these houses to appreciate in value, but to his surprise, just half a month later, a large number of refugees from the northwest flooded in, and housing prices in Jizhou soared!