Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 163 - 161: You Sell, I Buy

Chapter 163: Chapter 161: You Sell, I Buy

Thinking about how to save money will never result in substantial wealth. Therefore, one should focus on how to earn money, making sure that the rate of earning far surpasses the rate of spending.

That way, without saving, one can still accumulate a large sum of money.

Only by circulating currency in the market can one profit.

Having a windfall of one million taels and not hurrying to buy land, houses, and shops is an injustice to one’s good fortune.

The next morning, Xiao’er and Shen Chengyao set off to look for a broker to find good land, shops, and houses. Although there was a manager in the mansion who could be ordered to do this, Xiao’er felt it was better to handle it personally, as the manager’s perspective might not necessarily align with hers.

Having thought of acquiring some assets in the Imperial Capital, Shen Chengyao had been visiting the broker quite frequently. As soon as Broker Yang saw him, he greeted him enthusiastically: "It’s a coincidence that Marquis Shengping is here. Just yesterday, I received news of two shops for sale. The shops in that area mostly belong to nobles and dignitaries and are rarely up for sale."

"That’s indeed a pleasant surprise. I wasn’t fond of the previous ones. I wonder what these two shops are like?" Shen Chengyao wanted to buy the shops as soon as possible since even if they were rented out, they would still bring in a few taels of silver each month.

"I’m not bragging, but these two shops are top-tier. I haven’t seen such good shops for a long time. Let me secretly tell you that these two shops were put on the market by the First Prince yesterday. You can imagine, could the prince’s shops not be good? But the price is a bit high." Broker Yang had a conspiratorial look on his face.

The First Prince’s shops?

Buying the First Prince’s shops with the money won from the First Prince?

How ironic...

Would the First Prince be angry to death if he knew??

But since the First Prince and Shangguan Xuanyi were born of different mothers, if she bought all the shops offered by the First Prince, that would be of some help to Shangguan Xuanyi!

The First Prince had accrued a significant debt, and he was only selling these two shops? How could that be enough! I wonder if there are any others on sale?

"What street are these two shops on?"

"They are both on Jingfu Road, precisely Riyue Tower and Pinming Pavilion."

Xiao’er was familiar with these two shops. Both were designed with three floors. One was a restaurant, and the other was a tea house. Their business hadn’t been as good in the past two years.

Without innovation and stuck in monotony, wouldn’t anyone get tired of eating and drinking there over the years?

"Manager Yang, besides the shops, are there any good farmlands or real estate for sale?" She might as well buy them all at once if available.

"There are farmlands and real estate, but the price is a bit high, as well. There is also a flower field on sale for 100,000 taels." Everything was being sold by the First Prince’s people. As long as they put the word out, a swarm of people seeking to curry favor with the First Prince would come to buy. Perhaps knowing this, they decided to put a price of 20,000 taels on a shop worth 10,000 taels.

Because even if the price were high, they wouldn’t worry about selling it!

Xiao’er understood this principle as well. But she was a bit reluctant to spend so much money without a good reason.

She was just thinking about how to negotiate a lower price.

Just then, Xiao Fuzi and a middle-aged man walked in.

As soon as Broker Yang saw Xiao Fuzi and the middle-aged man, he hurriedly greeted them warmly.

Seeing Xiao’er and Shen Chengyao, Xiao Fuzi and the middle-aged man also quickly paid their respects.

After the formalities.

Broker Yang said to the middle-aged man, "Manager Xu, it just so happens that Marquis Shengping and Miss Rui’an are interested in buying the shops and property which you put on sale yesterday."

"I’m sorry, Manager Yang. I came to tell you that all those shops, farmland, and properties have been sold." Manager Xu looked quite displeased as he started speaking with a downcast face.

"This gentleman here bought them all." Manager Xu was bitterly aggrieved. The First Prince had taken a tremendous loss and always vented his anger on them, his subordinates!

He was in charge of this affair and was basically on the front line of a battlefield, being bombarded to bits!

The key point was, it wasn’t his fault!

Yesterday, just after nightfall, the First Prince mentioned selling the shops and property. How was it possible to find a buyer so quickly?

Who would have guessed that as soon as the Sixth Prince heard a whisper of this, he hurriedly came over in the morning to ask for his money in front of the emperor himself. He mentioned that he heard that the First Prince was selling his shops and property.

To save the First Prince the trouble of selling them, he decided to buy all of it at the market price for the First Prince!

The money would be deducted from the debt owed to him.

When the emperor asked what debt they were talking about?

Fearing that the Sixth Prince would mention his involvement in gambling, the First Prince hastily said that it was just a bet between them, which he had lost.

Then he hastily reassured the Sixth Prince that everything he said was up for discussion.

The Emperor, upon hearing that it was just a wager between the two brothers, simply said, ’As the elder brother, remember to go easy on your younger brother’, and didn’t pursue the matter further.

Young people, who didn’t have a moment of youthful recklessness? A wager between brothers was quite ordinary.

A pair of shops, two hundred acres of fertile land, a four-courtyard mansion, a hundred-acre flower field including a ten-acre floral greenhouse, all of this the First Prince initially planned to sell for no less than 150,000 taels.

Now, the Sixth Prince had bought it all for just 50,000 taels, a price even lower than the market value!

Something about remembering how the Emperor said that the elder brother should go easy on the younger brother.

Upon hearing this, the First Prince felt as sick as if he’d swallowed a fly!

And the income from this sale was more than half lower than planned, which nearly caused the First Prince to pick a fight out of sheer rage!

The one in charge of this transaction was scolded quite severely!

"What a coincidence!" Manager Yang said with a face full of regret.

"Isn’t it just too much of a coincidence!" There’s no way it was this coincidental! The Sixth Prince must’ve sent someone to keep track of their activities!

After giving his account, Manager Xu left.

With no suitable shops available, Xiao’er and her father also left the brokerage.

As soon as they left the brokerage, Xiao Fuzi said: "Marquis, my master is currently looking for you and Miss Xiao’er to discuss something."

"Where is your master at the moment?"

"He’s at Dexing Tower, please come with me."

The group boarded their respective carriages and headed for another street.

Xiao Fuzi led them to a private room on the upper floors of the tower, knocked on the door, and upon hearing a cool "Come in" from inside, invited the two to enter, while he himself kept watch by the door.

Upon entering, Shen Chengyao and Xiao’er were quick to pay their respects.

After Shangguan Xuanyi returned their greetings, he gestured to the seats in front of him: "Sit".

They hesitated for a moment, previously they had only guessed that he was a prince, as he hadn’t explicitly stated it, which allowed them to interact with him without restraint.

Ignorance is innocence!

Now that they knew he was a prince, to interact with him as equals would, if any fuss were to arise, be a crime of disrespect towards the royal family!

Shangguan Xuanyi, understanding their concerns, began to speak: "There are no outsiders here, you don’t need to adhere to those useless formalities, Uncle Shen, eat! The food is getting cold!"

Hearing this familiar way of addressing them, the relationship instantly felt more intimate.

Shen Chengyao, along with Xiao’er, took their seats.

"Try the food here, it tastes pretty good."

Indeed, the taste of the food was superb, but once you’ve had a taste of the sea, nothing else compares. Given the delicious food at home, in keeping with the noble Chinese tradition of not wasting food, Shen Chengyao forced himself to eat until he was stuffed, yet they still didn’t manage to finish all the food on the table.

Dining demands silence, and soon the three of them had eaten their fill.

Shangguan Xuanyi had someone clear the plates, served tea, and then placed a stack of papers in front of the two.

"This is..." Xiao’er glanced at the content and recognized that it was the properties that the First Prince was selling.

"I heard that you’re planning to invest in some properties in the Imperial Capital, so I had Xiao Fuzi keep an eye out, and helped you buy these. It cost a total of 50,000 taels, you can deduct this from the profit of the shops later."

Although Shangguan Xuanyi made it sound simple, such a job couldn’t be done without careful planning. These many properties for just 50,000 taels when Manager Yang had just said that only the flower field was priced at 100,000 taels! How much money had he saved for them?

She believed that Shangguan Xuanyi had not deliberately quoted a low price. What did this imply?

It meant that he took care of her family’s affairs as his own. Just as he had said earlier about there being no outsiders, not needing to follow protocol, he was sincere; he really didn’t regard his own family as outsiders!