Meeting the Brokers
As she spoke, she looked hopefully at Zhao Yuanxun and Lady Zhu, waiting for their response.
Lady Zhu covered her mouth immediately and sobbed.
Zhao Ruxi was dumbfounded.
She had imagined that Zhao Yuanxun and Lady Zhu would be proud of her, or that they would directly oppose her, but she never expected that Madam Lady Zhu, who was never weak, would cry upon hearing her words.
"Mother, if I said anything wrong, you can hit me, but please don't cry," she said anxiously.
She had initially been very resolute, saying she didn't care about the couple. But she still had expectations of them. They treated her like a daughter, and she naturally felt affection for them; it was impossible for her to truly be indifferent.
"Mother, Mother, I'm so sorry, Mother has made you suffer so much." Lady Zhu cried, sobbing uncontrollably. "Other girls, besides spending their days eating, dressing, and playing, never think about making money. You, you... you've suffered so much, that's why you're always afraid of not having money, afraid of having to depend on others for food..."
Zhao Ruxi's words were merely an expression of her own feelings; who knew that Lady Zhu was thinking so much?
She looked helpless. "Mother, I was just saying that. It's not that we're really starving, or that we're terrified of poverty. In this world, do we only think about making money when we're starving and naked? Look at the Prince of Zhennan's Residence; they run a silver shop, a silk shop, and so many other businesses. Even our family wants to accumulate more assets to leave to our descendants. It's not that we're truly starving, is it?"
But Lady Zhu seemed to be imagining things, and she cried for a long time before finally stopping, sobbing.
Zhao Yuanxun patted his wife's shoulder and said to Zhao Ruxi, "Go ahead and do it if you want. Just don't invest all your money at the beginning, and don't expand too much. Take your time. If you need any help from your mother or me, just ask. We don't need your filial piety. Keep the money you make for yourself; don't worry if you lose money, your parents will support you. We've wronged you for the past fourteen years, and we would never do anything to wrong you again. So don't worry. We're family."
"Okay." Zhao Ruxi nodded vigorously.
She was judging others by her own petty standards.
She was only informing Zhao Yuanxun and Lady Zhu tonight to avoid them feeling disheartened if they later discovered she had a large number of servants and a substantial business empire. She didn't want them to worry about the specifics of how to manage it or how many people to buy.
Seeing that Zhao Ruxi had nothing else to say, Zhao Yuanxun and his wife got up and left.
Zhao Ruxi slept soundly through the night.
The next day, she went to the academy for half a day of study as usual. She didn't even have time to have snacks with Xiaoxue at noon and went straight out to get on the carriage.
She asked Ma Sheng, "Have those middlemen arrived? How many have come?"
When she was in class, Qingfeng, Uncle Lu, and Ma Sheng would stop by the gatehouse of Kang Shilin's courtyard to rest.
After seeing her off early this morning, the three of them went over to the Wu family's villa, opened the door, and waited for the middleman Wu Zong had mentioned to arrive. Ma Sheng was in charge of receiving them, Uncle Lu went to the street to buy some snacks and fruit, and Qingfeng went to the Kang Family Painting Academy to borrow a kitchen helper to boil water, make tea, and entertain the guests.
"Four people arrived this morning. The ones from the north and Beining were the first, followed by those from the south and west. The one from the east sent a servant to say he was taking people to see the house and would arrive by noon," Ma Sheng said. "He should be here by now."
These middlemen were all found according to Zhao Ruxi's conditions. She told Wu Zong to find one middleman in each of the four districts of the capital (east, south, west, and Beining. The middlemen that Wu Zong is introducing now are all highly reputable from that place.
When Ma Sheng received these people in the morning, he followed Zhao Ruxi's instructions, chatting with them to get a sense of their resources and strengths.
He then reported the information he had obtained to Zhao Ruxi, adding, "It was all the yamen runners from the Court of Judicial Review who spoke to them, so these four had all put aside their other matters to come here early in the morning, and they were very attentive to me."
Ma Sheng and Zhao Ruxi both knew very well why he was so attentive; it wasn't because of his or the Earl of Suiping's Residence's status, but because of Wu Zong's influence at the Court of Judicial Review.
That's the advantage of having power.
Zhao Ruxi felt a surge of gratitude towards Wu Zong.
When they arrived at the Wu family's villa, not only the original four, but also the latecomer from the East City had arrived.
All five of them bowed to Zhao Ruxi.
"Please sit down." Zhao Ruxi was pressed for time and went straight to the point, "I'd like to buy some houses and some useful servants, so I'm troubling you all to come today."
She looked at the middleman from Beining: "Broker Li, are there any courtyards for sale around here? I'd like to buy a courtyard this big, preferably close to my master's and senior brother's houses, even better if they're right next to each other."
Broker Li thought for a moment and asked, "What price are you willing to offer, young lady? A house like this usually costs around three thousand taels. No one has approached us to sell yet. But if you offer a higher price, I can go and inquire."
Zhao Ruxi has many uses for this house. First, she can rest here when she trains the people from the Court of Judicial Review. Second, it can also be used to house and train the servants she bought. Third, Beining is not far from the capital, and she goes there every day. In the future, the managers and employees of her shops can live in Beining, and this house can serve as staff dormitory, which is more cost-effective than buying a house in the capital.
For the same price, she could only afford a house in the capital, in a place where all sorts of people lived. Comparing the two options, she felt the servants would rather make the extra trip and live here. This place consisted of the residences or villas of wealthy families, offering security and comfort in all aspects.
She said, "Anything under four thousand taels is negotiable. Of course, if his house is particularly nice and suits my taste, then a little over four thousand is also negotiable."
Actually, buying elsewhere might not have required such a high premium, but this place is right next to my master and senior brothers. Having a house here makes it convenient for them to visit each other. I suppose Wu Zong considered this reason when he bought the house.
"Okay, Miss Zhao, I'll try my best to ask around for you," Broker Li.
Zhao Ruxi nodded and looked at the two middlemen in the south and west of the city. "If you have any suitable houses with Middlemen Broker Wang and Broker Yu, priced around three to five thousand taels, please keep an eye out for them for me as well."
The imperial palace and inner city of the capital were built in the center, forming four surrounding areas: east, west, south, and north. In Huaxia culture, the east was considered the most prestigious. Officials who couldn't buy houses in the inner city lived in the east, so even money couldn't guarantee a house there; one also needed a matching status. This is why the houses sold by the Court of Judicial Review were so sought after.