Chapter 388

There were also scholars to support. This bit of surplus was just enough to support one. If the child turned out to be useless, the money would be completely wasted.

That was why many small merchant families in the county only gave their children basic instruction. They did not study for long. As time went on, it was not just that the children no longer wanted to learn—adults would not allow them to continue either.

Rental houses cost between five and eight taels of silver per year. Larger houses went for around ten taels. Bigger still, and the rent could reach fifteen taels or more.

The most expensive residence handled by the broker’s office was a large two-courtyard house, with an annual rent of eighteen taels of silver.

They walked around for a while. When they grew tired, they stopped at a teahouse to rest.

Li Feng told Lu Liu to order whatever he wanted to eat. Lu Liu had been to teahouses before and knew they were expensive. He also understood why Li Feng had brought him out—to let him see what the money in their pockets could actually do. After hesitating briefly, he ordered fried twisted dough and flaky pastries. These two were among the most expensive snacks in the teahouse. He also ordered a pot of good tea.

He remembered that his elder brother had once let him drink Maofeng tea, and he liked it.

As for a story, Lu Liu thought for a moment and ordered Xie the Licentiate Tells Stories in the Street.

The fried twisted dough cost twenty copper coins per plate, each plate weighing about two liang.

The flaky pastries cost thirty-five copper coins per plate, with six pastries per plate.

One pot of Maofeng tea cost one hundred and twenty copper coins and yielded five bowls of tea.

Ordering a story cost two qian of silver.

Altogether, the three of them spent three hundred and fifty-five copper coins here.

Lu Liu had saved some private money of his own. He could afford this himself.

Li Feng said to him, “Pick tea and snacks you like, listen to a story you enjoy—it’s only a bit over three qian of silver.”

If the storyteller happened to be telling a story Lu Liu liked, they could even save the two qian spent on choosing one.

Lu Liu pressed his lips together and did not say anything.

He had already come to terms with it, but Li Feng felt it was important to bring him out, to show him what their money could actually be used for.

The broker said, “A two-story building like this rents for more—over thirty taels a year. Teahouses and restaurants with good business are rarely rented out. In our county, this is about as high as rent goes, aside from certain special workshops. For example, distilleries—with furnaces and equipment included—are very expensive whether rented or bought. Renting costs over forty taels, and most people buy instead. Buying one costs over two hundred taels of silver.”

Then he talked about livestock.

Plow oxen cost three to five taels. Three taels would get you an old ox or one with a lame leg. Strong oxen cost five taels. Female oxen were more expensive—seven taels.

Donkeys were one or two taels cheaper. Mules depended on the market—sometimes expensive, sometimes cheap—but generally did not exceed the price of plow oxen.

After livestock came farmland.

The highest-priced good farmland in the county had been sold seven or eight years ago, at twelve taels of silver per mu.

Low-priced farmland was endless—there were deals every year. For lower-grade land, prices varied widely. If someone needed to sell urgently, even one tael per mu was considered acceptable.

The usual price for good farmland was five to eight taels per mu. Typically, large contiguous plots were sold together to allow bargaining. Buying one or two mu at the edges usually only happened in private deals between acquaintances. Any land sold through the broker’s office was priced at the upper end—eight taels per mu.

Lu Liu remembered that his elder brother had bought twenty-five mu of land and asked about it.

The broker asked, “Was it land near Lu Family Hamlet?”

Lu Liu nodded. “Yes, there.”

The broker remembered clearly. “That land was sold at six taels per mu, with two tenant households included. The tenant terms were negotiated privately. At the time, there was also talk of buying livestock. Our broker’s office handled it together with the livestock market—female oxen and female donkeys. The price was lower than if they had bought them themselves. Altogether, it came to a bit over one hundred and eighty taels of silver. Because it was a large transaction, our boss threw in a mule as a bonus.”

Lu Liu felt dazed hearing this.

Their family had over two hundred taels of liquid silver—and that was after renting two shops and one workshop in both the prefectural city and the county. Their principal savings had barely been touched. Last year’s surplus had simply been converted into assets.

By that logic, he and Li Feng could also build up such a substantial family estate.

That was truly impressive.

The pastries were not enough, so Li Feng ordered more peanuts, sunflower seeds, and a plate of jujube cake.

The broker continued chatting with them, talking about prices across categories. Whatever came to mind, he mentioned. Some were prices from his own shopping trips.

“Oh, by the way,” he added, “at the end of last year, our boss built a house in the countryside—a huge blue-brick, tiled-roof house, with two large gates to make it look like two households. Inside, it was very grand. Together, both sides had twelve rooms. The house itself only cost thirty-five taels to build. The furniture was made from modest materials and cost fifteen taels. I don’t know about other decorations, but the house itself was the cheapest part.”

Lu Liu remembered that the drying yard they had built in the new village had also cost just over thirty-five taels.

He wanted to ask about buying a house. Renting was not a long-term solution if they wanted to settle down.

The broker said, “Most people live off ancestral property. They collect a bit of silver each year and manage to support the household. Unless there’s a major crisis and they urgently need money, they generally won’t sell houses. If you want to buy, calculate it at ten times the rental price.”

Lu Liu remembered the rental prices of county homes. By that calculation, wouldn’t fifty to eighty taels be enough to buy a house?

The broker nodded. “Not worth it. With that money, you’d be better off doing business than buying a shabby earthen house.”

Lu Liu did not understand at first.

Li Feng explained, “It’s different from the village. Anyone who settles in the county runs some kind of small business. If they have money, they invest it—they won’t spend it all on an earthen house. And once they make serious money, they won’t want a small earthen house anyway.”

Lu Liu suddenly understood.

They chatted in the teahouse for quite a while. When they checked the time, Li Feng gave the broker one qian of silver as a gratuity. The broker accepted it with a smile and left.

Lu Liu’s gaze lingered briefly on the string of coins, but he said nothing.

Before heading back, they stopped to buy meat.

They were out of lard at home and had not rendered oil in a long time, so Li Feng bought some slabs of pork fat.

He also bought pig stomach, pig trotters, and pig ears, along with several ribs and three jin of pork.

On the way home, traveling along the official road, they looked toward the estate lands.

Li Feng said, “Twenty-five mu of land with only two tenant households doesn’t count as a real estate. How much can farming earn? Even if every crop and vegetable sells, you’re only making about ten taels a year. The mill is not bad—I don’t know how flour sales are. Once his livestock operation gets going, this place will start generating money.”

Lu Liu sighed. “It’s still farming, but my elder brother thinks on a completely different level.”

He knew that only someone with capital could afford to plan on such a scale—to lose money if necessary and to wait.

If it were him, even with money and ideas, he would not have that kind of boldness.

The cart continued forward, and they detoured to Lu Family Hamlet to see the two fathers.

Spring had arrived. During the New Year, they had said they would be brought to live together in the prefectural city. Their attitude had softened, but since it was not time to move yet, they continued living as usual, only saying they would talk about it later.

Li Feng left the pork and pig trotters behind. The two fathers could not finish that much meat, so he cut off more than a jin and took it with Lu Liu to the eldest uncle’s house, asking them to keep it to eat.

The field plowing had been done by Lu Song and Lu Bai, the two brothers. With so little land, the family could not forget the favor.

Li Feng also casually asked about the progress of the estate. Hearing that both the houses and the mill had already begun construction, he did not go to see them.

This matter had been entrusted to the eldest uncle’s family. Asking was enough, so he could report back to Lu Yang. Once construction was finished, he could take a look. Rushing to inspect everything would seem distrustful and make people uncomfortable.

When they returned to the Lu family’s small, shabby house, Lu Liu walked around the rooms. Somehow, he felt the house seemed brighter.

He asked about it. Lu Erbao chuckled and said, “It is a bit brighter. Last month I mixed some yellow clay and re-plastered the house. New clay is brighter, so the house looks brighter too.”

Wang Fengnian made sweet sugar water for them to drink, with a red date added.

The two elders were reluctant to drink sugar water themselves. Whenever the children came home, they scooped it generously.

Wang Fengnian said, “The hen hatched three chicks, and we caught five more. The big hen lays eggs every day now. We’ve already eaten the rooster, and in the mornings we just hear the neighbors’ roosters crowing. Butcher Liu said our pigs are being raised well. It seems Yang Ge mentioned after the New Year that he wanted to raise pigs on the estate, so Liu sent over ten piglets this year. Lin Ge’s in-laws kept two. Our family kept three, plus the sow we already had—we’re raising four pigs now. The eldest uncle’s family still has three, and Ginkgo’s and Shiliu’s families each have one. When the cow gives birth next year, we’ll sell the calf to their family first.”