Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 409 Real Estate Transactions (Continued)

"Wow!" Yu Tinghua's eyes lit up. The tone was extremely loud, but he liked guests with loud tones.

Yu Tinghua quickly retrieved the booklet and quickly flipped through it to the most valuable room. He slowly said, "Sir, do you know Zheng Yangxing? This is his family's house. It's large, grand, and luxurious. The location is excellent, right in Dashiyongyongfang. It's right next to West Chang'an Avenue, making it convenient for getting around."

"Which courtyard is it?" Dinesh Joao nodded blankly. He didn't know who Zheng Yangxing was, but he understood the description that followed.

Yu Tinghua said, "To say it has several courtyards is not enough to describe this mansion. It's a large quadrangle with courtyards within courtyards, gardens beyond, and courtyards and gardens connected to each other. It's furnished with pavilions, terraces, and everything in between. The Zheng family has run it for decades, expanding and renovating it several times. It's truly luxurious."

During the initial raid, Cui Wensheng, in an effort to smear Zheng Yangxing and demonstrate his loyalty, described the mansion as "like a prince's palace." While the mansion was grand, its form and design didn't overstep the bounds. Neither the roof pattern nor the materials used for the beams and pillars were of the "prince's palace" standard. Yu Tinghua wouldn't have used such a description to introduce the house to guests. In Beijing, who would dare live in a mansion that looked like a prince's palace? He was almost tired of living.

"Big Siheyuan," what does "yuanyuan" mean? Dinesh Joao felt like he was listening to a tongue twister. "How big is it, anyway?"

Yu Tinghua thought for a moment and gestured, "Let's put it this way. If you put nine standard three-entry courtyard houses together in a nine-square grid pattern, that's pretty much it."

"This is too big! We can't live in it. We can't live in it." Dinesh Joao shook his head.

"How many people live here?" There was no point in saying more, so Yu Tinghua continued to flip through the booklet.

"Now, we need at least five, separate rooms. The guards will also live there, so it needs to be bigger, but not like the previous one," Dinesh Joao replied.

"Then take a look at this one." Yu Tinghua flipped to the second most expensive unit, though its floor space and price were far lower than the Zheng Family Compound. "A standard three-story courtyard house. This is the residence of Ruhua, the retired Minister of Revenue and Grand Tutor of Crown Prince Li. It's in Nanxunfang."

"Minister of Revenue, Li Ruhua?" Dinesh Joao was shocked.

"Yes, it's his old residence." Yu Tinghua nodded.

"What happened to Minister Li?" Ryan Hobbs was a little nervous.

After Johann Adam Schall von Bell ascended to office, he took them to the Ministry of Revenue to visit Li Ruhua to inquire about trade. Li Ruhua replied that the Ministry had received orders from the Emperor and was drafting detailed regulations. Specific policies would be announced after the integration of the three guards. In the meantime, the Ministry would send representatives to negotiate with the merchant representatives on matters such as tariff rates, port berth leasing, and the hiring of local workers. The five merchant representatives were excited and eagerly awaited the Ministry of Revenue officials' arrival. However, after a while, the Jinyiwei arrived, banging on the door.

"Nothing serious, I just retired." Yu Tinghua replied.

“Could you please put it more simply?” Dinesh Joao requested.

"I'm old and can't work anymore, so I'm going home to enjoy my retirement." Yu Tinghua shook his head and smiled, "Do you understand?"

Dinesh Joao nodded and asked, "Then, who is the new minister?"

"This is a big deal. It would take an imperial decree. How would I know?" Yu Tinghua rolled his eyes and added, "The branch manager might know."

"Can I meet the branch manager?" Dinesh Joao took out a tael of silver and handed it to Yu Tinghua. "Please introduce me."

Yu Tinghua's eyebrows shot up. Clearly tempted, he didn't accept. "Our bank's policy is that only distinguished guests with access to the VIP room can request an audience with the president."

Dinesh Joao asked quickly. "How do I become a distinguished guest?" He was acutely aware that this "bank" had a rather impressive background. Not only could they secure high-end housing, but they could also access information on personnel changes within the empire.

"The turnover must be more than one thousand taels." Yu Tinghua replied.

Ryan Hobbs was stunned. "A thousand taels of silver!" Even for a delegation with deep pockets, this meeting fee was too expensive.

"You can also open an account and deposit silver in exchange for bills." Yu Tinghua didn't understand what Ryan Hobbs meant, but he still took the initiative to explain: "That means you deposit cash in our bank and exchange it for silver bills. The money remains yours."

Dinesh Joao said, "I don't have it, one thousand taels in cash. Now." The two of them came out to rent a house. The three-in-one courtyard house in Zhengxifang that could accommodate hundreds of people had a year's rent of only a few dozen taels of silver. Since they couldn't use it, they naturally wouldn't bring out a thousand taels of cash.

“But it is possible,” Dinesh Joao added.

Yu Tinghua didn't ask any more questions. He turned his head to look at the clerk who brought the two people over and shouted, "Show the guests into the tea room!" After that, he turned around and left the teller office and went upstairs to find the new bank president.

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After Hui Jingao's promotion, the middle-aged eunuch Gao Shiming was transferred to the Zhengyangmen branch as branch manager. Gao Shiming entered the palace in the 11th year of the Wanli reign and was an old eunuch in the Imperial Household Department. He had spent most of his life in the ivory tower of the Imperial Household Department, also known as the Inner Study Hall.

In his youth, he studied at the Inner Academy, and after graduating, he taught there. After twenty years, he rose to the position of second-in-command. If not for the sudden change of fate, Wang An's rapid rise to power, relying on his success as a follower of the emperor, and also promoting a group of adopted sons to the top, Gao Shiming would have likely risen step by step to the position of eunuch superintendent of the Imperial Household Department.

However, for Gao Shiming, not being promoted to that position was not necessarily a bad thing. If Gao Shiming had been appointed as the eunuch superintendent of the Imperial Household Department earlier, he might have been forced to return home early in September last year and give way to Cao Huachun.

The bank's head office was a subordinate government office directly under the Imperial Household Department, so transferring from the Internal Studies Hall to the bank was considered a lateral transfer, or a change from a teaching position to a real job, but being transferred to a branch was considered a demotion, and a significant one at that.

Before the restructuring, Gao Shiming held the rank of Junior Supervisor, a fourth-rank official. After the restructuring, although the position of Director of the Internal Library was reduced to Deputy Director, it was still higher than that of a Branch Manager. If he were to be transferred horizontally, he would likely become a Branch Manager. Furthermore, the Inner Court now uniformly enforces a policy of "equivalence of rank," eliminating the previous practice of lowering rank and salary for higher positions, such as Deputy Director to Director. However, Gao Shiming had requested the demotion himself.

Gao Shiming was a eunuch with ambitions. He felt that if he continued to work in the inner court, he would only wait for death. He didn't want to die like this. The establishment of the Banking Office presented an opportunity. It was a new institution with countless vacancies. At the top level alone, there were three vacancies: the Chief Eunuch and the Left and Right Directors. Gao Shiming envied Hui Jingao's promotion and wanted to give it a try while he could. So he signed up for the new branch manager position.

With someone like him muddying the waters, the selection process was a foregone conclusion. Gao Shiming was decisive and resourceful, possessed excellent handwriting, and was chosen from a high-ranking position, which immediately pushed out the other candidates.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting." When Gao Shiming entered the tea room, tea and snacks were already served. Dinesh Joao and Ryan Hobbs hurriedly stood up and saluted. "Greetings, President Gao."

"Please take a seat, no need to be so polite." Gao Shiming walked quickly to his seat and sat down, flipping open the asset booklet Yu Tinghua handed him. "I heard that you two have taken a fancy to Li Hubu's old house?"

"We'd like to ask..." Ryan Hobbs was about to get to the point, but Dinesh Joao stopped him. "Yes. We'd like you to give us a detailed introduction to Minister Li's residence."

Gao Shiming nodded and said slowly, "This is a three-story courtyard house located in Huifeng Lane, Nanxunfang. It's larger than the compact three-story courtyard houses and can fully meet your needs. It also has independent stables and two dedicated study rooms. There are also plenty of servants' quarters, enough to accommodate at least five households. The only problem is that it's expensive."

"How expensive is it?" Dinesh Joao nodded repeatedly. Although they were not yet fully familiar with the relative positions of the thirty-six wards in the capital, they were still familiar with places like Nanxunfang, Dashiyongfang, and Zhengxifang.

"As for the selling price, it's just as it's written in this booklet," Gao Shiming said, pointing to the price on the booklet. "It's 5,364 taels. Including the deed tax, the total cost is 5,542 taels and 8 cents."

The head office's base price for the house was four thousand taels, with the branch adding the extra. The head office stipulated that profits above the base price would be counted as additional performance towards the employee's evaluation, and a portion of the extra profits would be distributed as a bonus, according to specific rules, to the branch that secured the deal.

"So expensive!" Dinesh Joao was shocked and said, "In Xiangshan'ao, the rent for the entire city is only 515 taels of silver per year. This money can rent for ten years."

Gao Shiming laughed and said, "Haha, you're really joking. Scarcity makes things valuable. If you go to those places where droughts occur twice a year and floods occur three times a year, you won't have to pay much for an acre of land. Nanxunfang, Dashiyongfang, and Zhaohuijinggongfang are all places where every inch of land is worth a lot of money. They are all inhabited by high-ranking officials and nobles, and often there is no demand for them. If Li Hubu hadn't recently retired, he wouldn't have vacated such a property. You can ask around at other brokerages to see if there are any other vacancies in Nanxunfang besides this one."

"What if we rent it?" asked Dinesh Joao.

"If you rent it, it's four hundred and fifty taels per year. The monthly payment is more expensive, forty taels per month." Gao Shiming was still smiling.

“Can it be cheaper?” Dinesh Joao asked.

"This is the price given by the higher-ups. If you want to change the price, I'll have to apply to them. I can't give you an answer today." Gao Shiming asked in a long tone, "What's the price you can accept?"

"Three thousand five hundred taels." said Dinesh Joao.

"Hahaha. You really are such a joker," Gao Shiming laughed. "If it's that kind of offer, I'll reject it right now. I'll get scolded if I report it."

"How much can you accept?" Dinesh Joao took a sip of tea. He was not an expert in tea tasting, but intuitively, the tea tasted quite good.

"If it's less than five thousand taels, I can't report it." Gao Shiming picked up the cakes that came with the tea, ate them, and said, "Of course, we don't have to sell them. If you're only staying for a short time, you can rent them."

"If Tianjin Port opens, we hope to have a permanent residence in Beijing," said Dinesh Joao.

Gao Shiming took a sip of tea and asked, "Are you two European merchants living in Zhengxifang?"

Dinesh Joao narrowed his eyes slightly. "President Gao, how did you know?"

"Who in the capital doesn't know about this case?" Gao Shiming put down his teacup and looked at Dinesh Joao. "If I'm not mistaken, you two must have been turned away by other pawnbrokers before."

Dinesh Joao's face changed slightly. "How did you know?"

"The thunder is brewing in the sky. Who would dare to do business with you and risk being struck by lightning?" Gao Shiming said.

"Then how dare you?" Dinesh Joao's heartbeat began to accelerate.

"Haha." Gao Shiming took off the sign hanging from his waist and placed it in front of Dinesh Joao. "Because of this."

Dinesh Joao picked up the sign and looked at it, his expression suddenly changing. "Are you a father-in-law?"

"Otherwise, why would I do business with you?" Gao Shiming said with a smile, "They don't know the truth has been revealed, and they're afraid of being implicated by doing business with you. But I know very well that you are all honest businessmen and have nothing to do with the rebellion. Since it has nothing to do with the rebellion, let's just keep it business."

Dinesh Joao was overjoyed and quickly pulled Ryan Hobbs to his feet and saluted. "Thank you, father-in-law. Your words are the most beautiful and touching words I have heard in recent days."

"The Holy Lord will not wrongly accuse a good person." Gao Shiming pointed at the badge held by Dinesh Joao. "Give it back to me."

“Yes, yes.” Dinesh Joao hurriedly did as he was told.

"Please take a seat, both of you." Gao Shiming, looking down at his asset register, spoke with the air of someone who knew good things were easy to sell. "If you're looking to buy property in the capital, but find Minister Li's old residence too expensive, I can recommend a cheaper property. The same three-courtyard quadrangle is at least half the price once you step outside of Nanxunfang. There are also nice houses in Chengqingfang, Baodafang, and Zhaomingfang. Since you're not officials and don't have to attend court, choosing one of these places might be a good option."

"No need." Dinesh Joao said to Ryan Hobbs, who looked slightly surprised, "We want this place."

"Okay then." Gao Shiming maintained his businesslike demeanor. "I'll submit my application today. Just be patient. Once they give me their response, whether it's approved or not, I'll come and let you know."

"Okay. Thank you." Dinesh Joao bowed and thanked him, then said, "Can I ask you a question?"

"If I knew." Gao Shiming nodded.

Dinesh Joao was stunned for a moment before realizing that Gao Shiming had agreed. So he asked, "Has the new Minister of Revenue been chosen?"

(End of this chapter)