Chapter 54: Bait
Ma Tianhao readily agreed to Zhang Fei’s request.
For him, it was just a trivial matter.
Among the eight notaries, refusing to collaborate with one meant there were still seven others to choose from.
At that moment, he was curious about why Zhang Fei made such a request.
However, he did understand the explanation that Zhang Fei had provided – he was telling him not to ask questions.
“How did the conversation go?” Upon returning to the Xu residence, Xu Zhiqian immediately asked.
Zhang Fei smiled and said, “Ma Tianhao claims to have reached an agreement with the Xiang-guo Temple.”
“Ma Tianhao is indeed impressive, being able to involve the Xiang-guo Temple,” Xu Zhiqian praised. But then, she quickly asked, “What about the Fan family?”
In reality, she was more concerned about this matter. She had been resentful ever since Zhang Fei lost the right to litigate. Many officials, along with the eight notaries, had ganged up against Zhang Fei, all because he helped Li Si seek justice. She felt that they were being shameless and despised such acts the most.
Zhang Fei said, “Ma Tianhao has agreed, and from today onward, he will cut off ties with the Fan family.” Xu Zhiqian nodded slightly, “But this may take some time to see results.”
Zhang Fei smiled, “It won’t take long.”
Xu Zhiqian asked, “How so?”
Zhang Fei explained, “Once housing loans appear, it will inevitably stimulate real estate transactions, leading to numerous disputes. This would have been a time for the Fan family to make a fortune. If business turns cold instead, it will greatly impact them, and we can take advantage of the situation.”
“But Ma Tianhao is just one person; his influence is limited,” Xu Zhiqian pointed out.
Zhang Fei smiled, “Once housing loans are implemented, Ma Tianhao will monopolize this industry, greatly increasing his influence. By cutting ties with the Fan family at this crucial moment, who would dare to associate with them?”
Xu Zhiqian nodded, her eyes shining with anticipation. “What do you think their reactions will be when you return to arguing cases at the Kaifeng Prefectural Office?”
“They will surely be in shock,” Zhang Fei laughed. Then he added, “But for now, we need to quickly finalize the contract template.”
Xu Zhiqian, as if waking from a dream, said, “Oh right, Uncle Wang sent someone again to inquire when your contract template will be delivered.”
Zhang Fei sighed, “Even if I hang myself, I still need to catch my breath. I just replied to his letter yesterday, and today he’s asking again.”
Xu Zhiqian rolled her eyes, “Who would have thought your contract would be so detailed.”
How is this detailed? This is a real estate contract, and I could write it out in even greater detail. Zhang Fei chuckled, “I only dictated, you were the one who had to write it.”
He was not a classical Chinese expert, and his writing skills were severely lacking. Using classical Chinese to draft a modern standardized contract was actually very difficult.
Fortunately, Xu Zhiqian was also legally trained, and many legal terms come naturally to her, greatly reducing Zhang Fei’s burden.
Otherwise, it would take at least a month.
Given Wang Anshi’s impatient nature, he would probably come knocking on their door.
With the two working together, they finally drafted a comprehensive contract.
It was promptly delivered to Wang Anshi.
Wang Anshi was naturally an impatient person, and his work style was swift and decisive. Moreover, for him, this plan was just exploratory. The big move was still to come, and he was not willing to spend too much time on this issue.
This was also something which Sima Guang often criticized him about. Sima Guang was very cautious and meticulous, liking to take his time with detailed work.
Of course, Wang Anshi often complained that Sima Guang was overly careful, always looking ahead and hesitating, unable to accomplish important matters.
“Is this the contract?”
Wang Anshi looked at the thick stack of documents and couldn’t help but glance at Zhang Fei and Xu Zhiqian.
Zhang Fei nodded, “Yes.”
Wang Anshi then looked at Zhang Fei again, “Actually, you can find someone else to write it. If you don’t have the talent, there’s no need to force it.”
He really didn’t want to look at it.
Although his poetry was criticized by Li Qingzhao as being burnt on the outside and inside, his prose was definitely noteworthy throughout history. He did not enter the ranks of the Tang and Song Eight Masters solely based on his reform efforts.
This is just a contract, and yet you wrote dozens of pages for me?!
This couldn’t be called excessive verbosity; it was clearly due to poor writing skills and extremely limited expressive ability, resulting in such a lengthy document.
Xu Zhiqian, standing aside, blushed deeply and said awkwardly, “Uncle Wang, I had a hand in this too.”
“Qian’er, you wrote this?” Wang Anshi couldn’t believe it.
Although Wang Anshi didn’t think particularly highly of Xu Zhiqian’s writing, it shouldn’t have turned out like this.
Zhang Fei quickly explained, “She wrote it according to my instructions.”
“Enough! Enough!” Wang Anshi couldn’t be bothered to argue with these two youngsters. “Let me take a look first, and then I’ll help you make some changes later.”
Half an hour later.
Wang Anshi put down the last page of the contract, his expression somewhat strange. He glanced at Zhang Fei awkwardly and said, “You’ve written this contract in great detail and included many issues I hadn’t thought of. Although it feels cumbersome, upon reflection, each clause seems indispensable and logical! Not bad!”
Xu Zhiqian fully agreed with this assessment.
She had this feeling while writing it.
Zhang Fei said seriously, “Because this contract needs to be universal and comprehensive, requiring only signatures and a few amounts to be filled in by each party. Therefore, we must consider it very carefully to avoid future disputes.”
“Universal? Comprehensive?” Wang Anshi pondered for a moment and said, “Many official documents and contracts of the government could be done this way.”
The Northern Song Dynasty’s economy was made up of both state and private transactions.
Wang Anshi believed that drafting state contracts in this way could not only prevent disputes but also serve as a constraint on subordinate officials.
Zhang Fei nodded, “Exactly.”
Wang Anshi said, “Can you help write a few more?”
“No problem.”
Zhang Fei joyfully said, “This contract only costs five hundred strings. How many copies would you like?”
Wang Anshi was baffled for a moment, “How much?”
“Five hundred strings.”
“How much?”
“Um, it should be five hundred strings.” Wang Anshi’s murderous look made Zhang Fei even doubt whether he remembered it correctly.
Wang Anshi stood up abruptly, “You’re saying you want to charge five hundred strings for writing this contract?”
Zhang Fei took a step back, half-hiding behind Xu Zhiqian, timidly saying, “Y-yes.”
Wang Anshi exclaimed, “On what grounds?”
His own writings were so elegant and profound and would surely leave a mark in history, but even he couldn’t fetch such a price!
Were those merchants fools?
Or was this commoner too cunning?
Zhang Fei awkwardly replied, “Universal, practical, perfect.”
Wang Anshi said, “There’s no need for so much money for that!”
“?”
Zhang Fei’s mouth twitched.
Xu Zhiqian laughed, “Uncle Wang seems to have forgotten that he earned five hundred strings for helping Li Si with a lawsuit.”
“Yes, yes.”
Zhang Fei nodded repeatedly, saying, “Lady Xu is right. In fact, this is already a discounted price considering that my current situation is not good.”
“Alright!”
Wang Anshi snickered, “You don’t need to bother. I’ll write it myself.”
Really? This is coming from the government, not your own pocket. No wonder you can’t afford a house. Zhang Fei looked a bit frustrated, “I guess… I… I could reduce the price a bit more.”
Wang Anshi waved his hand repeatedly, “No need! No need!”
A bit more? More like a lot more!
Wang Anshi couldn’t accept this price at all.
I am the talented Wang Anshi! Although I haven’t drafted contracts, how difficult could it be? This guy really doesn’t treat money as money.
If he hired Zhang Fei at this price, he would surely be accused of private collusion.
Quick, make this guy go away.
This guy really eats without spitting out any bones.
At the Wang manor.
“Are you sure?” Wang Wenshan frowned as he looked at Chen Yu.
Chen Yu nodded, “Now even the Xiang-guo Temple knows about this. It’s that brat Zhang San who caused this.”
“That brat!” Wang Wenshan slammed the table heavily, gritting his teeth, “We didn’t manage to take him down, and even let him grab a piece of meat from our bowl?! How outrageous!”
Although his Bureau of Agricultural Affairs was only involved in a small part of state finances, the key was that the Bureau of Agricultural Affairs managed warehouses and game reserves. This involved quite a bit of land. Every inch of land in Bianjing was precious. However, the Bureau of Agricultural Affairs could apply for land to build warehouses, and then use a portion of this land to construct houses. The houses could be put up for rent or sale, all tax-free, for considerable profits. With this rearrangement of how the government managed real estate, he could no longer do this.
How could Wang Wenshan not feel heartbroken?
How could he not be angry?
Chen Yu, with a worried expression, said, “It seems that the brat has already formed an alliance with Wang Anshi.”
Wang Wenshan snorted, “I don’t believe that Wang Anshi would jeopardize camaraderie with his colleagues just to protect a mere pen-in-cap. Let’s have someone go talk to the Ma family first. Perhaps the Ma family doesn’t know how many people Zhang San has offended. Let Ma Tianhao weigh it carefully.”
Chen Yu nodded, but he didn’t think it would be useful.