Great Qing Dynasty talker

Chapter 9
Inside Cunju Hall, the smell of herbs is strong.

The excitement of victory soon turned into a touch of melancholy.

A group of teenagers who raced with their arms finally realized the cruelty of this industry.

Lei Hu, who was hanging his arm, made a generous decision after discussing with Li Yu.

There were more than 4000 taels of silver in the book. Each brother received 80 taels, and each of the eight injured people received an additional 8 taels.

Liu Qian took 50 taels and Liu Huaisheng took 60 taels.

From then on, each person got 2 taels of silver per month, which was the only high income in Fucheng.

As the news spread, many colleagues wanted to change jobs.

……

A few days later, an uninvited guest came to the door.

"Brother Li, you're fine." Fucheng shouted loudly as soon as he entered the door.

"Brother Fu, long time no see." Li Yu also greeted him with a smile.

"Hum, don't mention it. I went to the capital for the old man, visited the prince's mansion, and all the military aircraft's houses."

"Your Majesty, it's not easy to hold this position."

"If you want to be an official in the Qing Dynasty, you have to welcome people and send them off. The more gifts you send, the more friends you will have. Everyone will carry the sedan chair."

Fucheng took a sip of tea, crossed his legs, and suddenly asked:
"Brother Li, have you ever thought about donating to prison?"

"I'm afraid I don't have enough money, so I want to buy land to expand the hall."

"Which piece of land do you like?"

"We are still weighing it. Land in the city is expensive, while land outside the city is cheap."

"If you ask me, I have to buy land outside the city."

"Brother Fu, please give me some advice."

After a while of burning incense, Fucheng left and asked Li Yu to go to Shuyu Tower to have fun that night.

Li Yu stayed in the room, thinking about what this guy said.

His suggestion was to buy land outside the city and build his own house.

Because Cunjutang is a business, neither black nor white.

Changmen is in the city, under the eyes of the government, which is very inconvenient.

In the suburbs, the sky is high and the emperor is far away, so it is not easy for rumors to leak.

You Qi Fucheng said meaningfully: "Can you guarantee that one day you won't hide some sharp blades, or hide a gangster and kill a lot of people?"

……

The reputation of Cunju Hall is getting more and more famous in Suzhou Prefecture.

As Li Yu had predicted in advance, the Fan family made no subsequent moves.

Because the head of the Fan family understands that when the mantis stalks the cicada, the oriole is behind, and the imperial court is the oriole.

Qianlong was not a benevolent emperor. He wished that the Fan family would do something out of the ordinary and take the opportunity to suppress the Fan family.

As a result, many businessmen in Suzhou Prefecture regretted it.

Being too timid misses an opportunity to become famous and make a lot of money.

Lei Huhu is still the same, working hard every day, and not too obsessed with his sister-in-law.

Moreover, all the main affairs of the hall were entrusted to Li Yu, and he had great trust.

As a result, some people outside are gossiping about whether Cun Jutang's surname is Lei or Li.

Li Yu ignored this. He was busy doing something big.

Buy land and build a house!

At Yahang's suggestion, he surveyed several plots of land.

Two of the wastelands were quite satisfactory.

A piece of land is located 3 miles away from the north side of Fucheng, covering an area of ​​about 15 acres and priced at 100 taels.

The other piece is 10 miles southwest of Fucheng, covering an area of ​​30 acres, and the price is only 120 taels.

During the Qianlong period, the normal price of an acre of paddy fields in Jiangnan was around eight taels, and rarely exceeded ten taels.

Dry land and wasteland range from 3 taels to 5 taels.

[One acre = 666 square meters, equivalent to a standard basketball court. 】

……

After Li Yu personally investigated, he decided to choose the second piece of land.

Not far to the east of this land is Stone Lake.

Even better, the land is on higher ground, much higher than its surroundings.

People in Yaxing are very honest and dare not lie to themselves for fear of being buried in the Grand Canal.

"Young official, I don't dare to tell half a lie."

"The advantage of this land is that it is cheap, but the disadvantage is that it is higher than the surrounding areas, so it cannot be used for paddy fields."

"The other drawback is that it's not safe."

Li Yu was stunned and asked: "Where is it unsafe?"

"The water bandits in Taihu Lake like to come ashore from nearby."

"Is there really such a thing?"

"I dare not hide it from the officials. The water bandits in Taihu Lake come and go without a trace. In the past few years, they often came ashore from Xukou to rob. Later, the government stationed troops in Xukou and fought several battles. The water bandits could not defeat the officers and soldiers. I just took a detour and went ashore near here.”

Li Yu is now also a person of high status in the city. He is often called a high official, and he has accepted this title.

"I want this land!"

The people at Yahang were stunned and were not prepared to make a deal at all.

"Master, do you want to think about it again?"

"No need, the mountains and clear waters here are beautiful, it's a good place to serve as the entrance to the hall."

……

The people from Yaxing showed great professionalism. First, they led Li Yu to climb the nearby Fangfang Mountain, overlooking the surrounding terrain, and explained in detail.

The next day, we invited the owner of the land, a Juren from Zhenze County, to have a heated discussion about the land price.

In the end, the deal was settled for 103 taels, and it was registered with the government and the land title was reissued.

Li Yu was very satisfied and gave Ya Xing an extra two taels of silver.

The people at Yahang were so happy that they had made a very powerful customer.

The dental shop in Suzhou Prefecture has a very complete business.

The buying and selling of houses, land, men and women, mules and horses, cars and boats are all involved.

Without trusting two masters, Li Yu asked Yaxing to help find dozens of masons and carpenters to build a house.

This place is not far from Xukou Town, and the Xiangshan craftsmen in Xukou are famous throughout the world.

The majestic Forbidden City can attest to this.

In the Forbidden City 3000 miles away, Aixinjueluo Hongli was listening to reports from his ministers.

The dragon chair he was sitting on was made by a Xiangshan craftsman hundreds of years ago.

"Your Majesty, now that the world is at peace and prosperous, I suggest that we collect rare and ancient books from all over the world and compile the Sikuquanshu."

"Slave seconded."

"I'm sure, let the Ministry of Etiquette handle it."

"Your Majesty is wise, I will take my leave."

The kneeling ministers all stood up, bowed their heads, took a few steps back, and then walked out of the hall.

It seems that they are not living individuals, but robots.

It wasn't until they left the palace that each soul returned to its place.

He walked with a decent square step, his head held high, his hands behind his back, showing his official authority.

They are the elites of the empire, who figure out the wishes of the imperial power and formulate the rules for the operation of society.

And hundreds of millions of ordinary people have to operate under this rule.

……

As a failed art student, Li Yu knew the horror of this set of rules.

From birth, we are taught a set of rules.

Slowly, the rules penetrate deep into the bone marrow, are passed down from generation to generation, engraved into DNA, and become national memory.

There are very few people who can reflect and challenge the rules.

Fortunately, Li Yu is such a person.

Moreover, the brothers in Cunju Hall are also similar people.

It is different from scholars, officials, businessmen, and most common people.

Next, it was impossible for Li Yu to supervise the whole process of building a house in Tangkou.

He asked Fan Jing to take charge and supervise the quality and progress of the project.

Fan Jing happily accepted it and said he would do a good job.

Most ambitious people are capable of doing things.

The drawings for building a house were designed by Li Yu.

Some details still needed to be polished, so Li Yu approached Fucheng.

This second-generation official is busy eating, drinking, having fun, and spending money every day.

"Brother Li, when will you paint another picture of horse tasting for me? The retouching fee is easy to say."

"What horse?"

"Yangzhou thin horses. Two new horses from the Western Regions have arrived in Shuyulou. In one word, they are absolutely stunning!"

Li Yu said that he didn't pay much attention to female sex, although he was good at painting Chun Gong.

Fucheng said he wouldn't believe it even to death.

……

(End of this chapter)