Since the Li family is located in a commercial street, there must be no shortage of dental shops nearby, in fact, due to the prosperity of business here, it is only five minutes out of the house, and there is a large dental shop.

This tooth shop is a private tooth, named Guangtong, and the official tooth person's surname is Sun, called Sun Gui. This Sun Gui is not only a middleman, but also a businessman who resells grain.

Master Sun Gui is usually very busy, and ordinary people can't see him in person, but he has a lot of subordinates who are middlemen and can help you do things, but those subordinates don't have tooth stickers, so when the final transaction is made, you have to inform Sun Gui that Sun Gui signed a contract of calligraphy and painting.

In other words, in this tooth shop called Guangtonghao, or in the firm, if you want to find a middleman to do things for you, you don't have to find Sun Gui himself, most of the time you are looking for his subordinates and apprentices.

When I went in, there were few people empty, only a few people came to do errands, and most of them came to inquire about the price of food.

After a little thought, I realized that after all, if you are looking for a tooth person to do something, you have to give them a tap, so small businessmen and small households generally do it privately, unless it is a big business, or a government control like human trafficking, and a valid contract must be issued, they will look for these tooth people.

The receptionist in the store is a young man in his twenties, named Sun Wang, who is Sun Gui's apprentice, that is, an apprentice. In other words, it is the kind of cheap long-term labor that eats and lives in the Sun family, works more and gets less money, and is not much different from the status of a house slave, and although there is no status as a house slave, the treatment is no different from that of a house slave, and the apprentice can only admit that he was beaten to death by the master.

Since his identities are almost the same, plus he is of similar age, and he is on the same street, he and Li Jinbao are also acquaintances, although the relationship is not very good, but they can be regarded as talkable.

"Yo, Po." Seeing Li Jinbao, Sun Wang, who had just sent someone to ask about the price of grain, immediately quipped, "What wind blew you here?" ”

As soon as he said this, he found Li Yongji who was following Li Jinbao, so he asked again: "Yo, isn't this the little master of the Li family?" Po, what are you bringing him for? ”

"No, our little master is bored at home, and if he wants to come to Yaxing to take a look, I brought him here." Li Jinbao walked in, and it seemed that he was the only one who was in charge here, and there was no master, so his expression immediately relaxed, "By the way, why are you alone?" ”

"Oh, that's it." Sun Wang smiled, "Why am I one?" Hey, isn't that nonsense, it's all this time, and everyone else is busy going down to collect food. ”

"Your lord is going there himself?"

"That is, now everyone is busy grabbing grain and harvesting, and the head is tight, how can the master do it if he doesn't go in person." Sun Wang said.

"If you look at it this way, the price of food will have to rise." Li Jinbao then said, "It is said that the day of harvesting rice has not yet arrived, so they are all rushing to collect it." ”

"Not really." Sun Wang said, "I heard that the Jiangnan camp in the west is tightly surrounded by Changmao, and more and more people are gathering, and there are 200,000 people together, and they are in urgent need of food, plus this year's harvest is not good, and the price of grain will rise for sure, if it is delayed, and the rice will be harvested when it is fully ripe, then there will not be much grain to be harvested." ”

"That's right." Li Jinbao also nodded, "Having said that, it's also thanks to Changmao being so noisy, otherwise, where would we be quiet." ”

"Hehe, it's okay to be quiet, the key is that in this way, as soon as the price of rice is high, everyone will make money." Sun Wang smiled, and then looked at Li Yongji, who was looking around, "Little young master, since you are here, and everyone knows each other so well, then, as long as you don't run around, except for the backyard where you can't go in, you can look at it casually, just don't touch things, and ah, if you have any questions, look for me." ”

"Actually, I'm not here to visit today." Li Yongji shook his head, "I'm here to do something with you." ”

"Do you want me to do something?" Sun Wang was stunned, "What are you doing?" ”

"I want to see the house." Li Yongji said.

"Looking at the house?"

"Well, just buy ...... Rent a house. ”

"Rent a house?" Not to mention Sun Wang now, even Li Jinbao, who brought Li Yongji, was stunned.

"Yes, rent a house." Li Yongji nodded.

In fact, Li Yongji wanted to buy a house, but he was not familiar with the housing prices here, and he only had 100 taels of silver on him, even if the purity was higher, he was still afraid that he would not be able to afford it, so he said that he wanted to rent a house.

It's also Shanghai here, the land price in Shanghai in the future, no, just talk about the housing price in Zhujiajiao Town...... That's a distant look! Therefore, it is normal for Li Yongji to lack confidence.

"This, Young Master Li, are you kidding?" Sun Wang asked.

Also, although the Sun and Li families are not too familiar, the relationship is not too bad, and since they are on the same street, after so many years, what is the situation of Li Yongji's family? Besides, even if you rent a house, it has to be Li Zhengxiang or his adult eldest son Li Yongchang to come over, Li Yongji is such a child to come and rent a house, what's going on?

seems to know the shortcomings of his age, Li Yongji didn't talk nonsense to explain, and directly took out a 37-gram modern silver ingot, and threw it on the counter with a bang: "Then, if you find a suitable house for me, this is yours, as for the tooth fee, it will be calculated separately!" ”

"This, this ......" was stunned again, Sun Wang subconsciously took the silver, weighed it with his hand, and scratched it with his fingernails, his eyes quickly lit up.

With many years of hard experience in working as a day worker, he immediately knew that this was a silver with extremely high purity, excellent fineness, and excessive weight.

Two taels of silver, that's his income for four months!

"Young Master!" Sun Wang hadn't spoken yet, but Li Jinbao, who had also reacted at this time, spoke, "Where are you ......?"

"Shut up!" It seemed that he had expected him to ask this, Li Yongji simply picked up a 37-gram small silver ingot, stuffed it directly into the other party's hand, and at the same time lowered his voice in his ear, "Take it, this is a reward for you, in short, follow me later, watch more, listen more and talk less, understand?" ”

"Ming, understood." Touching the cold silver ingot, Li Jinbao trembled a little, "But, it's ......"

"Don't worry." Li Yongji stood on tiptoe and patted him on the shoulder, "Everything has me, what are you afraid of." ”

As soon as Li Yongji said this, Li Jinbao didn't say anything anymore, but quickly put away the money given by Li Yongji.

Also, no matter how you count it, he is just a subordinate, and the little master has said so, so he doesn't need to ask more.

It seemed that seeing that the solution between them had been resolved, Sun Wangcai, who had already skillfully put away the silver ingots, said with a flattering smile: "Young Master Li, tell me, what kind of house do you want?" ”

"What kind of house do I want?" Li Yongji smiled, "It's best that there are no people around this house, and it's best if there are no people, because I like to be quiet; The distance from this side is best within ten miles of this street, and the surrounding traffic should be good, that is, the road must be easy to walk, and it is best to be able to access the waterway; Also, the place should be big enough, more than half an acre of land, and of course the price should be appropriate, well, that's all for the time being. ”

At this time, the level of transportation and the scope of activities, ten miles away from the town, can basically be regarded as a wilderness, too remote place, and does not conform to Li Yongji's idea of establishing a base.

Because of the walking speed of people, you can walk about 4~7 kilometers in an hour, even if it is 5 kilometers, it is exactly 10 miles.

The speed of the mule-drawn cart is about 10 to 20 kilometers per hour, and considering the poor road conditions here, even if it is 10 kilometers per hour, 20 miles.

Considering that Zhujiajiao is a water town, with vertical and horizontal rivers and developed shipping, it is also necessary to take into account the speed of the boat.

Take the Caogang River, the main river here, as an example, this is a still water river, the general ferry wooden boat, the speed in the still water is 3.5 kilometers per hour, the speed is slower than walking, but the volume is much larger, so the transportation here is basically water transportation, which is why Zhujiajiao can become a famous grain trading place one of the reasons.

In short, Li Yongji's restriction of ten miles of land is to take into account the problem of multiple modes of transportation at this time, that is to say, when the place leaves here, people walk for about an hour, horse-drawn carriages take half an hour, and wooden boats take an hour and a half.

"That's right." After listening to Li Yongji's words, for the reward of one or two silver ingots, Sun Wang really tried his best to use his brains.

Suddenly, Sun Wang patted his head: "Ouch, it's a coincidence, this really has a house, which best meets the conditions you said." ”

After speaking, Sun Wang smiled: "That house is called Yangxinju, the owner's surname is Su, a native of Suzhou, who opened a silk village, and is a well-known big family in Suzhou, even here, their silk shop also has a semicolon." That house was originally their grandfather as a rest on this side of the courtyard, it has been three years since the construction began, and the bits and pieces have not been completed, but later the bandits broke Yangzhou several times, and heard that his family's industrial loss in Yangzhou was not small, and he was short of money, so he stopped working, and wanted to sell the house as a capital turnover. ”

"Don't say it's useless." Li Yongji waved his hand, "I just care about the location, whether it is close to this side or not, and there are not many people nearby." ”

"Not far, the house is only three miles west of the Yuanjin Zen Temple, close to the Caogang River, only more than five miles away from here, and it is the most convenient to take the waterway." Sun Wang said, "There is a miscellaneous forest near the house, there are no people, and there are not a few fishermen, although the scenery is average, but it is definitely quiet enough." ”

After a pause, Sun Wang said again: "As for the size, the house covers an area of twenty acres, and the entire small hill is included. The house is also new, with a total of six large tiled houses, two of which are two-storey buildings and the other four are large bungalows. Among them, there are also pavilions of the Water Pavilion, although most of them are unfinished, but they are also very exquisite. ”

"Do you have a map?" Li Yongji said, "Show me down." ”

"Maps? Ah, yes, yes. Speaking of this, Sun Wang took out a piece of yellow paper and spread it out to see that it was actually a hand-drawn map.

After the map was unfolded, Sun Wang pointed to one of the places and said, "Look, this is where we are." ”

Then, Sun Wang pointed to a place in the north: "This is the location of the Cultivation Heart Residence I mentioned." ”

Li Yongji stepped forward to take a look, and after a little comparison, he immediately saw that the Yangxin Courtyard was not far to the west of the Yuanjin Zen Monastery in the later generations, and in terms of transportation, it was indeed very good.

"Looks like the place is nice." As soon as he saw the location of that place, Li Yongji immediately remembered, "How much?" ”

"Six hundred taels of silver." Sun Wang said, "This price is definitely worth it." ”

"Six hundred taels?" Li Yongji was stunned, "A year's rent?" ”

"No, no, no, I mean, six hundred taels can buy that house and the surrounding land, a full twenty acres of land." Sun Wang smiled, "Not to mention that there are many completed water pavilions inside." ”

"Is that just renting a house?" Li Yongji said, "I don't want the surrounding land, and I don't want the water pavilion, but if I rent a house over there, how much is it a year?" ”

"Well, it's hard to say." Sun Wang thought for a while, "That family just said selling, not renting." However, you can discuss it with them. ”

"Can you go and see the house now?" Li Yongji asked.

"Now?" Sun Wang was stunned.

"yes, what, no?" Li Yongji asked.

"Yes, yes." Sun Wang thought for a while, "Okay, it's okay anyway, I'll accompany you personally." Then, Young Master Li, how do you want to go? ”

"How fast, how comfortable and how to go!"

"That's a boat ride." Sun Wang smiled, "I'm going to help you hire a boat now?" ”

"Good!" Li Yongji nodded, and when he saw his appearance, he immediately took out another silver ingot and threw it over, and Li Jinbao felt a pain in his flesh, "Go and do it immediately, I just need to be fast!" ”

The so-called rich and easy to do, because Li Yongji was willing to make silver, and the shipping here was already developed, so he quickly hired a small boat.

It took less than half an hour to walk west by boat, that is, less than an hour's road, and it felt like it would only take about forty minutes to reach that place.

The ferry speed of the wooden boat in still water is about 3.5 kilometers per hour, that is to say, it is no more than 3 kilometers away from Li Yongji's original residence, 6 miles, if it is in the modern society, it is definitely the city center.

After arriving at the place, before he got off the boat, Sun Wang began to point to a place on the riverbank to show Li Yongji.

Following Sun Wang's guidance, Li Yongji saw a lonely hill on the bank of the river that was not too high, and the hill was surrounded by a jagged grove, and on top of the hill, there was a building enclosed by a wall, and there was a wall that could not see the inside clearly, but it should be the Yangxin dwelling that Sun Wang said.

"How could anyone build a house here?" It was Li Jinbao who said this, "This broken place, not around, deserted, weird panic." ”

"Who knows." Sun Wang said with a smile, "But it is said that this place was originally a Taoist temple, but then it decayed, so it was bought and rebuilt into this house." I think it's just a temporary rest when you're sailing. ”

"Either way, it's too wild."

"If it's not wasted, can you buy twenty acres of land for only six hundred taels?" Sun Wang didn't care.

"Hmph, just this place, it's still six hundred taels, and six taels is too much!" Li Jinbao retorted.

"You still don't have any money," Sun Wang said disdainfully, "If you are really rich, cut down the trees here, repair the roads, build a wharf, and then invest money to expand those gardens, and finally get a bunch of domestic servants to come over, then it will be lively immediately, no matter what, this is also by the river, you know you." ”

Just when Li Jinbao was arguing with Sun Wang, Li Yongji was observing attentively.

Indeed, although the place looks relatively desolate and has not been developed much, the area is not small, and it is close to the riverbank, and these two points alone make Li Yongji more satisfied.

Not only is the place big enough, but also takes into account privacy and transportation, as a warehouse base, it should be a very good place.

"Does the family live in it?" Li Yongji asked.

"Nope." Sun Wang shook his head and said, "It's too remote here, and it's not built well, so the master's house is still in Suzhou, and it is estimated that there are only two guards here." ”

"Then do you want me to go to Suzhou to sign a contract with someone?" Li Yongji asked.

"No, no, no, although the owner of this house is still far away in Suzhou, their family still has a semicolon here." Sun Wang said, "As long as we negotiate with their semicolon people." In fact, the house here was also asked by the people on the semicolon to inquire about the buyer. ”

"Is the semicolon man so far away?"

"It's not far away, and we live in our town." Sun Wang said, "Otherwise, how would we have received this business." ”

"Okay, lead the way!" Li Yongji waved his hand.

In this way, everyone did not get off the boat, and immediately turned around and went back.