Judge of the Song Dynasty

Zhang Fei did not return with Wang Anshi; instead, he got off the carriage on the spot. Well, to be precise, he was kicked off by Wang Anshi. But it didn’t matter; he had originally intended to come to the Chen family.

Moreover, he wouldn’t ride in Wang Anshi’s carriage again.

It was too stinky!

The success of the policy depended mainly on the Chen family because they were the ones who sold houses. One had to buy a house before borrowing money from the Ma family.

He dared not enter through the main gate; it was too crowded. He took a detour through the back door to reach the Chen family.

“Oh! All you moguls are here!”

“!”

“Huh? Why are you all looking at me like that?”

Entering the inner hall, Zhang Fei saw Fan Yong, Ma Tianhao, Chen Maoqian, and other wealthy merchants, all wearing a serious expression.

This surprised Zhang Fei, “I thought the business outside was booming!” Chen Maoqian sighed, “Zhang San, there’s nothing I can do about the housing prices!” Get full chapters from nοvelfire.net

Zhang Fei asked, “Why?”

Chen Maoqian replied, “The five hundred houses I had in hand have all been sold within a day.”

To control housing prices, one needed to have houses in hand. Without houses, can you rely solely on your words?

“What? Only five hundred houses?” Zhang Fei exclaimed.

Chen Maoqian, agitated, said, “Isn’t five hundred sets a lot? These five hundred properties add up to almost three million strings! Now I don’t even have a single house in hand. How can I stabilize housing prices?”

“That’s just a small matter.” Ma Tianhao, with an unnerved expression, said to Zhang Fei, “These are just the five hundred houses in Brother Chen’s hands. Many others found houses on their own. We just calculated; the total sale might reach eight hundred houses. If they all go to borrow money, we need to come up with at least 1.5 million strings of coins. The Xiang-guo Temple and White Crystal Inn haven’t agreed to provide so much money. I can’t come up with that much money now.”

The appearance of housing loans was like opening a floodgate. Savings accumulated over the years suddenly gushed out. It was terrifying.

“Hey hey hey!”

Zhang Fei was shouted at by them, feeling quite unhappy. “I said from the beginning that this deal is a guaranteed profit. You guys are not prepared enough to seize the opportunity, and now you blame me.”

“But you didn’t say that there would be so many people buying houses, a few hundred houses in a day. Who can handle that!” Ma Tianhao said.

“Am I to blame?” Zhang Fei asked.

“Both of you calm down, calm down!”

Fan Yong quickly came out to mediate, “The matter of money can still be resolved. With such good business, why worry about not being able to raise funds? The key is still the issue of housing prices.”

Chen Maoqian said, “Now I don’t have any houses in hand, but other realtors do. You can imagine that those selling houses must want to raise prices. Just now, some of my sellers wanted to back out, hoping to raise the price a bit. I persuaded them, but if other realtors want to raise prices, I can’t control it. And in this case, those who want to sell houses will definitely go to other realtors. I won’t be able to maintain my position. If housing prices rise, those officials who aren’t able to buy houses will blame me anyway. I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t.”

This was not the era of real estate developers but the era of intermediaries. The rise or fall of housing prices was heavily influenced by homeowners who were selling the houses. If he tried to suppress prices, the homeowners would definitely turn to other realtors.

Soon, he would lose his position as the head of the industry.

Making money like this was really not enjoyable.

The head of the industry? Five hundred sets? Heh heh! Back in Zhang Fei’s old life, those auntie groups who speculate in real estate bought more than that! Faced with this group of weaklings, Zhang Fei felt a headache. He waved his hand and said, “Let me think about it. Let me think about it.”

Housing prices definitely cannot be driven up; it will cause a big problem.

“Let them!”

Zhang Fei suddenly said, “Let them raise prices.”

Chen Maoqian seemed to have been waiting for Zhang Fei to say this, immediately saying, “Are you sure? If something goes wrong, you’ll take responsibility.”

Zhang Fei replied, “I’m just making a few hundred strings. Why should I take responsibility? If you want me to take responsibility, you should give me tens of thousands of strings.”

Ma Tianhao sneered, “If something really happens, can you avoid responsibility?”

Fan Yong added, “Zhang San, what’s your idea? Share it with us.”

Zhang Fei said, “The rise in housing prices is due to Mogul Ma’s housing loans. Without housing loans, they can’t afford to buy. So, if Mogul Ma only accepts loans for purchases from Mogul Chen, those other houses will not be sold.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Maoqian’s eyes lit up, “Brilliant! Brilliant! What a brilliant idea! Why didn’t I think of that?”

Fan Yong’s eyes flickered a few times, “But we can keep it quiet for now. Let other realtors raise the prices first. When the prices go up, those who bought early will think they made the right choice and will appreciate us. Those who haven’t bought will become more anxious. When the time is right, Mogul Ma can release the news. The houses hoarded by other realtors won’t sell, and they will have to transfer them to Brother Chen. When Brother Chen raises the prices a bit and sells, there won’t be any complaints.”

Zhang Fei glanced at Fan Yong, thinking, “Truly deserving of being the top cunning merchant in Bianjing, quite resourceful.”

Ma Tianhao was not pleased, “Why should you all be the good guys while I get to be the bad guy? I have good relationships with many realtors.”

Chen Maoqian said, “We are considering everyone’s interests.”

Ma Tianhao snorted but didn’t say anything.

Zhang Fei, with a sly smile, said, “Regarding the contract, I can help you draft it.”

Ma Tianhao waved his hand, “Not for now.”

Chen Maoqian immediately said, “Why not? If you find Zhang San’s fees too high, we can find someone else.”

Zhang Fei raised an eyebrow, “What do you mean? You want to use me and then toss me aside? That could lead to problems.”

Chen Maoqian knew that Zhang Fei was not a pushover. He gritted his teeth, “I’ll cover the cost.”

He had earned a lot today, and this little expense didn’t bother him at all.

“That’s more like it.” Zhang Fei still looked displeased at Chen Maoqian. Old man, watch your attitude. The pen-in-cap is now more important than the realtor.

Ma Tianhao said, “With many people involved in this deal now, I need to consult them first. But rest assured, for now, I will only accept contracts with the Chen family.”

Chen Maoqian frowned, “You better make a decision quickly.”

Zhang Fei saw it all and thought, “These cunning merchants really expose their true colors when it comes to money!”

Why didn’t Ma Tianhao sign? It was simple. If he didn’t sign, he could control the realtors. He could accept transactions from the Chen family today and accept those the Zhang family tomorrow. If he signed, he would be under the control of the Chen family. He suddenly realized that playing the loan game well could bring him both fame and profit!

Chen Maoqian was also aware of this, but he had no choice. The imperial court had only signed an agreement with the Ma family, and they held the monopoly. They didn’t have that privilege.

Zhang Fei suddenly asked, “By the way, has Madam Wang been here?”

Chen Maoqian nodded.

“Did she buy anything?”

“Originally, Madam Wang was hesitating, but unexpectedly, she found out that the owner of that house she liked was also here. Therefore, Madam Wang was afraid it might be bought by someone else, so she placed a deposit. Moreover, her maiden family also reserved one.”

Zhang Fei felt a bit anxious, thinking, “Old man Wang might fleece me.”

After spending some time at the Chen family, Zhang Fei and Ma Tianhao returned to the Ma family pawnshop. The next wave would be back at the Ma family’s, and it would be serious. Therefore, the Ma family had to be prepared.

How to sign the contract, how to settle accounts, how to repay the money, and so on – these required Zhang Fei’s assistance.

They worked continuously until evening, taking a brief rest.

“Oh, how about the situation with the Fan family?” Zhang Fei suddenly asked.

Ma Tianhao said, “Fan Li came here yesterday. He seemed to have sensed something, but he probably didn’t expect it to take effect so soon.”

Zhang Fei said, “So fast?”

Ma Tianhao nodded, “Didn’t we mention earlier that many homeowners, seeing the market was good, wanted to back out and sell at higher prices? As a result, many disputes have arisen, but they haven’t gone to the Fan family bookstore.”

Zhang Fei chuckled, “Mogul Ma is quite influential!”

Ma Tianhao shook his head, “It’s not just me. After negotiating with the White Crystal Inn, I mentioned this matter to Chen Maoqian. Once the news spreads, everyone naturally won’t go to the Fan family. After all, if we don’t have dealings with the Fan family but others do, it would be difficult for others to settle their disputes with us if disputes arise.”

Zhang Fei nodded with a smile.

Ma Tianhao suddenly asked, “Did you create such a spectacle just for the Fan family?”

Zhang Fei glanced at him, “Is it not worth it?”

Since it had come to this point, he didn’t plan to hide it, as it would be impossible to do so.

Ma Tianhao said, “I just feel that with your abilities, whether you have the right to litigate or not doesn’t matter much.”

Zhang Fei casually smiled, “This is my way of making a living. If I don’t have the right to litigate, I’ll be at a severe disadvantage when contractual disputes arise. Besides, I firmly believe that when others bully you for the first time, if you don’t resist, they will definitely bully you for the second time. So, it’s crucial for me.”

Ma Tianhao smiled slightly, his gaze showing some admiration, “Good lad! I’m starting to appreciate you more and more.”

Meanwhile, back at the City Tax Bureau, Wang Anshi, who had calmed down, suddenly realized that something seemed a bit off.

Why was his wife obsessed with buying a house?

This shouldn’t be!

“Is Huiqing not here?” Wang Anshi suddenly looked up and asked the official next to him.

The official replied, “Lord Lu didn’t come today.”

“Not here?” Wang Anshi frowned, “This is unreasonable. I finally found an opportunity for him, yet he doesn’t treasure it.”

He didn’t like those who didn’t take their work seriously. After all, he was a workaholic. Working for such people was very painful.

The official added, “I’ll go find Lord Lu now.”

“No need!” Wang Anshi said, “I want to see when he will come.”

Of course, he wasn’t just going to wait. As the City Tax Bureau had just been established, there was a lot of preparatory work to be done. Wang Anshi couldn’t sit idle, so he helped with the preparations.

It wasn’t until the afternoon that Lu Huiqing arrived late. Seeing Wang Anshi’s gloomy face as he entered, he hurriedly explained, “Mentor, please don’t be angry. I wasn’t slacking off, but I was busy outside, so I came late.”

Wang Anshi asked, “What were you busy with?”

Lu Huiqing quickly presented a document, “Mentor, please take a look. This is today’s transaction record from the Chen family. If all the transactions goes through, just stamp duty alone will bring us two hundred thousand strings.”

“How much?” Wang Anshi asked.

“Two hundred thousand strings.”

“Whoa!” Wang Anshi took in a breath of cold air, “How many houses have they sold?”

“At the moment, it can’t be completely confirmed. Today was just the reservation phase. We need to wait until the buyers borrow money from the Ma family to finalize it. But initially estimated, it should reach eight hundred houses.”

“Eight hundred houses in a day?”

Wang Anshi was dumbfounded. Two hundred thousand strings in tax revenue in a single day. Why even have reforms then? Just sell houses!

Keep in mind that the Shophouse and Residence Office recently taken over by the City Tax Bureau collected an annual rent of only sixteen hundred thousand strings. This was exceeded in just one day; it was truly amazing.

Lu Huiqing suddenly gestured to dismiss the officials around him, then whispered, “Mentor, it seems like the Madam also reserved a house.”

“How is that possible? We agreed that we would decide later,” Wang Anshi said, surprised.

Lu Huiqing continued, “My news should be correct. Madam’s maiden family also reserved one.”

Wang Anshi was completely speechless.