Unable to obtain everything they wanted in Austria, the Japanese delegation conducted an inspection tour before departing, and Vienna gained another Japanese embassy.
One had to admire the Japanese foresight. Though they were poor as church mice, they still gritted their teeth and established embassies in several major European powers.
Vienna's cost of living was not low, especially compared with Japan. Housing prices here were simply outrageous. It was not because anyone was speculating in property; it was entirely the result of spontaneous market adjustment.
As Vienna's largest land supplier—indeed, perhaps its only supplier—Franz could responsibly say that there was no money to be made from property speculation in Austria.
The rise in Vienna's housing prices owed much to the three words "City That Never Sleeps." Drawn by that name alone, people eagerly bought homes in Vienna.
With more people buying homes, demand outstripped supply, and prices naturally rose. There was now nothing in Vienna priced below eight hundred Divine Shields, double what it had been during the same period last year.
Ordinary residences were still manageable. In truth, luxury homes had seen the sharpest increase; the higher the grade of the residence, the more fiercely its price had risen.
This was especially true in the noble districts, where most estates had risen seven or eightfold. Even the cheapest cost over ten thousand Divine Shields. Do not think that was expensive—without noble status, no amount of money could buy one.
To save funds, the Japanese did not move into Vienna's embassy district. Instead, they bought several private houses two kilometers away and renovated them.
It was the approach of clever people. By changing locations, they saved at least fifty or sixty thousand taels of silver.
Besides, there were advantages to pretending to be poor. It could reduce the covetous attention