A powerful minister of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 43 Four Pillars Method

"Hey."

Mr. Lei was reluctant to scold his precious daughter, so he just said "Hey" and let it go.

Song Xuan didn't make any excuses. He just wanted to take the exam and announce the results when the time comes.

He also did not mention that he was acquainted with Yan Shu, the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture, nor did he say that Fan Zhongyan, who was about to coach, was also optimistic about him.

If this still doesn't allow him to get into the academy, then Song Xuan has nothing else to say.

"I wonder if the shop Mr. Lei found for me is next to the Yingtianfu Academy?"

Mr. Lei pinched his beard and hummed:
"According to Twelve's request, I found a place here and there, but you know, Songcheng is not as good as Lema Town. Plus, many students want to get into Yingtianfu Academy, so renting houses around here is not cheap."

"The monthly rent is seven strings of cash, and if I were to buy it, I'd need three hundred strings of cash."

The Song Dynasty was similar to today in that the rent in big cities was much higher than that in small towns. In the end, the rich had a relatively lighter burden and could even profit from it and become the dependents.

First, there were new students taking the imperial examinations, and scholars were vying to take the exam. Second, there was a large number of people and goods, and merchants were constantly traveling.

Every time the examination period was approaching, as thousands of candidates gathered in the capital, the supply and demand were extremely unbalanced, and the rents also skyrocketed, especially for houses close to the examination halls.

For example, Su Dongpo's father, Su Shun, was a famous playboy and spendthrift in his youth, but his wife Cheng was a good businessman and the family became a wealthy family in Shuzhong.

However, when he brought his two sons to Beijing to prepare for the exam, even a wealthy man from Meishan could not afford to rent a good house in the capital, so he had to settle for the second best and live in the Xingguo Temple Bathhouse in the suburbs of Beijing.

Su Shi's good friend Pan Dalin was inspired to write on the wall the line "The whole city is in turmoil as the Double Ninth Festival approaches." Suddenly, his landlord came to demand a rent increase. His mood suddenly faded and he could not write the next line.

He was not as successful as Wu Dalang, who could rent a two-story house with a separate entrance in Qinghe County just by selling pancakes, and could support Pan Jinlian at home and afford her cosmetics.

After all, the only way out for scholars is to get their names on the imperial examinations.

But this path was too difficult, and Pan Dalin never passed the imperial examination. The two brothers could only live on Su Dongpo's house and land, and they could still enjoy farming and reading in their later years.

Private rentals are more expensive.

The public rental housing launched by the imperial court was even cheaper, but because of the low price, Kaifeng Prefecture could collect more than 100,000 strings of cash in rent a year.

"The annual rent is eighty-four strings of cash. The purchase price is three hundred strings of cash, which is not too high. Let me take a look at the topographical map."

Boss Lei also learned a trick from Song Xuan and drew out all the shops on the street to make it easier for him to do statistics.

Song Xuan looked at this place, which was a full street away from Yingtianfu Academy.
“Then I don’t think it’s worth the price.”

"Even though many students want to come and take the exam, accommodation is only temporary, and there are cheap houses around. Only a few people can afford the rent around the college."

"Since Twelve likes this place, we can discuss it. Few can afford it these days, and it's a haunted house, so we can bargain down the price."

Mr. Lei knew that Song Xuan liked this big courtyard. In addition to the rooms for his group of servants to live in, there was also a place for practicing swords, guns, sticks and archery.

"Then there's Mr. Lao Lei. My guys always live on the boat and look after my business, which is not a big deal."

When Mr. Lei heard what Song Xuan said, he could only say in his heart that kindness cannot command the army, and righteousness cannot command wealth.

How can you treat your employees so well?

This is almost as much as the cost of training a death squad.

"So what's your ideal price range?"

"Give me a 30% discount."

Song Xuan felt that he really had to work hard to become the top scholar. In the future, he would become famous, and he might be able to make some money by selling this property.

By then, I will have accumulated some capital to buy a house in Tokyo.

After all, houses in Tokyo are too expensive. Even Prime Minister Han Qi and Ouyang Xiu had to rent a shabby house to live in. When it rained heavily, people would be soaked in water.

Not everyone has as much start-up capital as Prime Minister Xia Song, who could afford to buy extensive real estate and open a hotel in the capital, becoming the most famous "landlord" in Bianjing. Every day when Xia Song opened his eyes, he would see money pouring into his pocket.

Mr. Lei stroked his beard, thinking that Song Xuan’s price reduction was probably a bit too harsh.

But let’s talk about it first.

Song Xuan picked up the teacup and blew away the foam. "It would be best if Mr. Lei could finalize it today. Tell my shopkeeper Tao Hong to go with us."

"it is good."

Mr. Lei immediately called his housekeeper and asked him to send someone to the dock to call Tao Hong, and go with him to view the house and make some arrangements.

"Is Twelve still planning to open a drinks shop?"

"I haven't thought about it yet. Don't rush to plan these things. I have to fully prepare for the exam in the next half month or so."

"I'll talk about other things after I get admitted to the academy. At least I still have some money, so we won't starve to death."

When Mr. Lei heard Song Xuan's plan, he was not in a hurry.

Let him hit some snags first.

This is not Bielema.

Otherwise, Song Twelve would not listen to any persuasion.

Young people always have the time to calm down and listen to what others have to say only after they hit a wall.

Song Xuan also understood what Mr. Lei wanted to say but hesitated, but he had no idea what the Sword God of Shilipo meant!
"How is Mr. Lei's business going now?" Song Xuan put down the teacup in his hand:

"I just came in and saw you looking very sad while checking your accounts."

"In the past few years, I've been involved in various industries. My shop is a bit messy, and there are always some discrepancies in the accounts, but I have never found out."

Lei Yuanwai sighed, "Because according to the calculation method given to me back then, there would be no loss, but now that time and capital have been invested, the profit is extremely low."

"Mr. Lei, there is no business in the world that never loses money."

Song Xuan first set the tone, and then said:

"Since you think the accounts are wrong, you should check them to make sure no one has withheld the profits that should have been yours."

The reason why Mr. Lei took out the precious dragon and phoenix cakes to entertain Song Xuan and ran around to help him rent or buy a house was because he wanted Song Xuan to help him.

"That's exactly what I was thinking, but I haven't seen any difference after looking at it for several days. I'll take a look at it first, and then you can help me take a closer look after you finish your exams."

Mr. Lei quickly pushed his account book over:
"Just watch it for a while. It won't interfere with Twelve's study time, right?"

Song Xuan pulled the account book over: "Don't mind the delay for a while, the reconciliation will be quick."

Mr. Lei didn't say anything but didn't believe in Song Xuan's ability and mocked him.

He originally hoped that Song Xuan could help him.

In Mr. Lei's opinion, reconciliation is actually a very laborious job.

With so many account books, it would take more than a month to finish checking them. By then, it would definitely delay Song Xuan's study. He would deal with it after he was admitted to the academy or failed.

I'm not worried about large sums of money, but when it comes to a few cents, it's really torture.

Song Xuan took the account book and started flipping through it.

Nowadays, most of the official and private account books in the Song Dynasty use the four-pillar settlement method.

(End of this chapter)