Carrying the little lucky star, leading the villain on the road to exile

Chapter 340. Purchase of Property
Just as the two finished packing and were about to leave, there was a knock at the door. When they opened it, they found Lin Hua had returned, but unlike usual, this time he was carrying a lot of things in his hands.

"You're finally back," Lin Wei said, taking the things from his hands, pulling him into the house, and then closing the door.

“Sir,” Lin Hua breathed a sigh of relief, “It’s good that you came. I just ran into Uncle Lin outside. He was urging us to come and see the house. If we don’t go to see the house, they are going to sell it.”

"So eager?" Gu Kaiyuan was already getting ready to leave, so he said to them, "Let's not talk about anything else for now, let's go look at houses first."

As they walked, the group talked, “I asked them, and they said they wanted to rush back to the countryside. If it were a few days ago, they could have sold the house very quickly, but now many people are just watching.”

After all, county magistrates can be replaced at will, so who knows what other unusual things might happen in the future?

They thought that living in this remote town would keep them away from the royal family and nobles, but they never expected that the accident would come so suddenly, and that these people would be so good at causing trouble.

The current situation is causing widespread panic, making it difficult for everyone to do business or even survive. It would be better to withdraw as soon as possible.

“I didn’t try to negotiate the price he quoted before,” Lin Hua said, a little shyly and nervously. “I’m afraid he won’t lower the price by much.”

“That’s alright, buying and selling is a voluntary transaction between the two parties,” Gu Kaiyuan still had a lot of confidence in Xu Zitian. Now that he was able to get the house at the market price, he had actually made a profit.

Upon arriving at the Lin family home, they toured the house inside and out under the guidance of Grandpa Lin, and Gu Kaiyuan was very satisfied.

This is a standard three-courtyard house. Most importantly, they also bought the small courtyard next to it, where they built a beautiful little attic, which will be perfect for the baby to live or play in the future.

The courtyard was so large, and it was very close to the county government office. The seller asked for two thousand taels of silver at the usual price, and even included a small shop in the market. Actually, when you calculate it that way, the price was actually a bit lower.

"What do you think of this house? Don't worry, we'll only take some personal belongings; we won't take any of the furniture."

Grandpa Lin also wanted to get rid of his property as soon as possible. The elderly and children in his family had already returned to their hometown today, leaving him and a few servants to stay here and handle the aftermath.

If Gu Kaiyuan doesn't acquire the house today, he will have to sell it to a brokerage firm at a low price, which will result in a loss of several hundred taels of silver.

They were returning to their hometown, and they didn't know what kind of business they would have in the future, so he was very distressed if the money was less than what they were owed.

“This house is fine,” Gu Kaiyuan said without haggling. “I’ll take it.”

Grandpa Lin's face lit up with joy. He knew that Gu Kaiyuan had only been exiled this year, but he had now regained his freedom, so the contract was easy to process.

It just so happened that he had some connections with the clerks at the county government office, and they helped them get everything done right there at the office gate.

As for why they didn't go to the county government office, it's because there were people they disliked there, so they simplified the process.

With this achievement, Gu Kaiyuan felt that things had started smoothly, so he planned to go to the brokerage firm to ask if there were any good resources available.

Just as we were about to say goodbye to Grandpa Lin, he spoke up again, "I have two more estates here, and a shop and a small courtyard over there on the street. I wonder if you would be interested?"

Gu Kaiyuan: "Why haven't I heard you mention this before?"

“These belong to my in-laws,” Mr. Lin said somewhat awkwardly, “but because my in-laws left in a hurry, they asked me to help them handle things.”

Of course, he had his own selfish motives; he wanted to resolve his own property issue first. Now that the house had been sold and he had received the money, he continued to speak.

Otherwise, his courtyard couldn't compare to his estate or shop; those were places where money was made. He was really afraid that if he displayed everything from the start, people would just ignore his courtyard.

Ignoring his inner thoughts, Gu Kaiyuan generously said, "If the location is good and the price is right, then I'll take it all."

Grandpa Lin said with delight, “Don’t worry, those two estates are managed by my father-in-law himself. Most of them are fertile fields with good harvests. The shops are also in good locations. It’s just that the price really can’t be cheap. If you want them, it’ll be three thousand taels of silver for the whole thing.”

Gu Kaiyuan went to take a look. Both were farms of over a hundred acres, not far from the county town, and not far apart, making them easy to manage.

The location of the shop is alright, but it's a bit old and worn. I'm afraid it will take some effort to renovate it properly after I take it over.

Gu Kaiyuan had also checked the market situation these past few days and knew that the other party was not artificially inflating the prices, so he bought them all.

After finishing the business this time, Gu Kaiyuan saw that Old Man Lin had also slipped a purse into the clerk's hand, indicating that he had used up all the favors he had received.

Having finally sold off all his assets, Grandpa Lin was in high spirits and even invited Gu Kaiyuan to dinner. However, Gu Kaiyuan declined, saying he wanted to go back to be with his wife and children.

Grandpa Lin didn't argue with him. He readily cupped his hands in greeting, got into the carriage that had been prepared, and left Zhang County with his servants and his last baggage.

With the newly acquired contract in hand and some pastries, Gu Kaiyuan happily returned to the village.

They have acquired some properties here, but this is only the beginning.

Little did they know that his hasty arrival and departure had directly thwarted Rong Ruiyuan's little scheme.

Even if he knew, he wouldn't care or be afraid, because he had secretly instructed Lin Hua and the others to take people to several other counties and, as long as someone made a move, not to lower the price, but to take them all.

Rong Ruiyuan had raised some money during his business trip to Beijing, intending to preemptively purchase large tracts of land in Lingnan.

He allowed Ming Peifeng to take the opportunity to occupy the position of county magistrate, which was also a preparation for taking over a large area of ​​land later.

The entire county is in a state of panic, and it will soon spread to other counties and cities. As long as things get chaotic in Lingnan, it will be a great opportunity for him to buy land at low prices.

Even if it only doubles, it will still be a considerable sum.

These days he has been in the backyard of the county government office, and has also taken the opportunity to meet with several county magistrates from the surrounding area.

These people were more sensible than Xu Zitian; at least he only had to make a move before they immediately offered their loyalty.

Sometimes, with just one instruction from above, the people below will handle things perfectly.

This is why people are finding it difficult to buy or sell properties these days.

"Your Highness, the land in several counties is quite substantial. Can we possibly take it all?"

Ming Peifeng had been working as a staff member and had been indulging in his official duties these past few days. If the Third Prince could acquire a large amount of land here, he could apply to help his master protect the property. With this connection, he could completely dominate the area.

(End of this chapter)