Chapter 7: The Real Estate of 1915

  "Lao Gao, from there to here, these several thousand mu of land I want to buy all of it. Later, I also want to buy all the surrounding areas. In the future, I will establish my own foundation here and also give him access to the railway."

  Simar pointed to the map on the table and said to Gao Chuanliang standing beside him. This time Simar was serious. In 2010, he might not have been able to buy that warehouse, but in this era, buying the wasteland near the exit of the "time-space anomaly point" shouldn't be a big problem. It's just a piece of wilderness plus a few barren mountains.

  "Young master, you want to buy this place? But, but it's all barren mountains and wasteland."

  Gao Chuanliang looked at the somewhat excited young master and once again acknowledged that he really couldn't understand this young master. He would always do something unexpected, having stayed in Kong Village for over a decade.

  Gao Chuanliang had some understanding of the area marked on the map by Sima, after all, it was only more than ten miles away from Kongjiazhuang. The people in Kongjiazhuang called it "Hougou". The land there is so poor that even mountain medicine cannot be grown. The nearest water source needs to be carried over from more than ten miles away. If not, he must advise the young master not to waste money on that place.

  "Master! That place isn't any good, it's a vast stretch of land but it's all rocky and nothing grows there. If it were any good, the pioneering Han people would have opened it up decades ago, how could it still be wasteland now?"

  Gao Chuanliang hastily told everything he knew.

  "Lao Gao, you just help me buy it down, I have a use for this place."

  Simar rode his motorcycle in a circle of several tens of kilometers near the exit of "Time-Space Anomaly Point" yesterday. If it weren't for the fact that the surrounding area was all barren land covered with gravel, Sima might not have made this decision yet.

  It was precisely because the land there was unsuitable for farming and herding that Sima decided to buy it now. This kind of land would definitely not sell at a high price, so he bought it at a low price and then built a large warehouse there, hiring some people to guard outside the warehouse.

  "Young master, have you really decided to buy that piece of land? If you want to buy land, I can actually help you find a few thousand mu of good land nearby. If you're willing, I'll take a look for you."

  Gao Chuanliang asked again, unwilling to give up.

  "Lao Gao, I know you're thinking for me and doing what's best for me. This land isn't bought to be used for farming, there must be other uses for it."

  Simma even began to sketch out in his mind what this warehouse would look like standing tall in the wilderness.

  "Hey! Young master! Do as you say, this land is all unowned wasteland, it won't cost much to buy it, just mention it to the village head and have him draw up a deed."

  Gao Chuanliang looked at Sima Dajie in front of him, with a determined look on his face, and knew that it was already irreversible. He had no choice but to agree, while his mind began to plan how to help Young Master Sima save some money.

  "Old Master Kong, this is the young Master Sima from the south that I was telling you about."

  Gao Chuanliang introduced Kong's family affairs to Sima.

  "Later generations are indeed formidable. Nowadays, it's rare to see young people like Master Sima travel thousands of miles from the south to venture out in the north."

  Old Master Kong half-closed his eyes as if recalling something, panting heavily and laboriously saying.

  "The old man was wrong in his praise."

  Simamen hastily stood up and respectfully said, "After reading a lot of materials, I found that in this period, the domestic folk etiquette was not as extinct as it was in later generations. At that time, the domestic nationals still attached great importance to many old etiquettes. If one made mistakes in this aspect, they would probably offend people."

  "Listening to Ming often mention that Young Master Sima wants to buy the rocky land north of the village, if Young Master Sima wants to buy land outside the village, our Kong family is willing to sell a thousand acres of dry land in the north of the village to avoid misunderstanding with outsiders. I wonder what Young Master Sima's intention is?"

  Mr. Kong is obviously unwilling to bear the bad reputation of deceiving outsiders. In fact, in actual history, most landlords and gentry were not as depicted in history textbooks, making a living by oppressing the poor. In many cases, they valued their reputation more than seeking benefits.

  "The old master is being polite, I have already set my sights on that piece of barren land and hope the old master will fulfill it. As for that thousand mu of dry land, it was opened up by the Kong family for generations, I really don't dare to force someone into a difficult situation."

  Simar certainly understood that the old man's words about the thousands of acres of dry land were more polite talk, unless there was a major change in the family or an urgent need for funds, no wealthy household would sell their arable land. Moreover, what he needed was only that piece of rocky land.

  "It seems that Master Sima has made up his mind, forget it! That piece of barren land is over 19,000 mu, although it's said to be a wasteland where nothing grows, but it's also the foundation of my Kong family."

  Grandpa Kong still sat with his eyes closed, puffing on his water pipe, his lips slightly parted. The wasteland that couldn't be used for anything was just a barren land of rubble and stones, but it could be exchanged with the clan for some living expenses, which wasn't bad either. However, all of this was based on the premise that the price was suitable.

  "Old master, these outsiders offered 40 silver dollars for a hundred mu of land. This kind of barren land is just a waste of money, normally every ten mu of land would come with two mu of rocky land that wouldn't cost more than a few dollars in rent. Young master is willing to buy this piece of barren land at three silver dollars per mu."

  Gao Chuanliang had already roughly calculated the price of that land in his heart on his way to Kong's house, and although this price was a bit low, it seemed just right for buying such abandoned land.

  "Haha! Boss Gao is joking. Although the Kong family's land was indeed outside the village, that was years ago. Since the construction of this railway, the value of their land has probably increased and can't be considered as just a piece of barren rock anymore, especially since it's right next to the railway. Three silver dollars is quite a joke."

  The young master of the Kong family, who had been sitting on the side, suddenly interjected, "Ever since we knew someone was willing to buy that piece of barren land, our whole family has supported selling it. That land was originally just a small plot of land that our family bought for only a few dozen taels of silver."

  In the past few decades, there were also internal migrants who went to open up wasteland, but in the end, nothing was planted or survived, not even sheep could be raised. If it weren't for that, it wouldn't have been idle until now. Now someone is willing to take over, which is just right.

  According to Ming Chang's own opinion, even if it was sold for a hundred or so taels of silver, it would be worth it. However, Old Master Kong insisted that he couldn't sell it at the bottom price, lest outsiders misunderstand that the Kong family had declined and had no way out. Ming Chang could only raise the price, but in his heart, he hoped that he wouldn't scare the person away.

  "Haha! Master Ming said with a smile, that's right, the price of houses and land near the railway station has risen after the completion of the railway, whether it's good or bad land, they are still at the original price."

  The old boss smiled and said that he was somewhat disdainful of the Kong family's actions, thinking that they were trying to raise the price with such a poor quality land, just like the tactics used by their family when buying the north farm back then, how despicable!

  "Master Sima and Boss Gao, I'll give you a straightforward price for that piece of land - 960 silver dollars. If this price is unacceptable, then I'm afraid we can only part ways."

  Qingming Chang naturally understood that the previous words couldn't deceive Gao Chuanliang, who had been reckless for half his life. So he directly said out his own price, which was the price set by Lao Taigong. Although this price felt too high, Qingming Chang still didn't have the guts to go against Lao Taigong's intentions.

  "A maximum of eight hundred and thirty-five pieces, if Young Master Ming thinks it's acceptable, we can sign the contract on the spot."

  Simar looked on as Gao Chuanliang and Kong Ming were still haggling over the price, seeing that nearly two hours had passed, if they continued to haggle, they definitely wouldn't be able to finish other things today.

  If the time-space anomaly point is closed when it's time to hand over the company, and you can't find yourself, then you're in trouble. In a hurry, I quoted a price of 835 yuan, which is only tens of thousands of yuan in GMB, averaging several thousand yuan per mu of land. This business is even more cost-effective in Sima's eyes, if they are not willing to sell, it doesn't matter, just buy it at their price of 960 yuan, or even 9,600 yuan, I would still want to buy it anyway.

  "Haha! Master Sima is indeed a straightforward person. If I were to refuse again at this moment, it would be impolite. Mr. Gao, you can act as the intermediary, let's finalize the agreement and sign the contract now."

  Kongming often heard Sima's offer and couldn't help but feel great at the same time, secretly sighing that Old Master's eyes were too poisonous. According to his own estimate, he would have sold that piece of land for no more than 500 yuan. Unexpectedly, it was now sold for nearly 900 yuan in cash. As if afraid that Sima would regret it, he immediately took over and said...

  Young Master!

  Gao Chuanliang heard Sima's quote and felt anxious, then looked at Sima with a pleased expression and secretly sighed, thinking that the young master had mistaken this barren land outside for a fertile land inside.

  Thought it was a great bargain for just a few hundred bucks. Looks like I'll have to have a good talk with the young master about the local real estate market when I get back.

  "The contractor Kong Yixiang is willing to sell 19,432 mu of mountain land in Zhuangbei for a total of 835 silver dollars. If the seller backs out halfway, they are willing to compensate twice the amount. If the buyer reneges on the contract, both the buyer and the middleman will compensate four times the loss to the seller. This agreement is made as proof. June 9th, Year 4 of the Republic. Gentlemen Sima and Gao, please indicate your acceptance or request modifications if needed."

  Kongming quickly finished writing the contract and read it over, asking:

  "Hmm!" Sima nodded slightly, and Gao Chuanliang also nodded in agreement.

  "If it's correct, then sign it!" Zhuge Liang often said, placing the contract on the table.

  Gao Chuanliang took a look and then picked up the brush to sign his name in the guarantor column. He handed the brush over to Sima, who widened his eyes as he took it.

  Simar didn't think that he wouldn't be able to use a brush, thinking to himself "this is embarrassing". Just as he was thinking about what to do, Fang Xiang reminded him that he had a water pen in his pocket. He quickly took it out and signed his name without noticing the several people staring at the water pen.

  Looking at the neat signature, Sima couldn't help but feel fortunate for his efforts in practicing calligraphy back then. In this era that emphasizes font styles, it's really embarrassing to lose face because of one's handwriting.

  "Haha! Young Master Sima is indeed a young master from a big city, everything on him is foreign goods!"

  Kongming often looked at the unfamiliar foreign pen and smiled, thinking to himself that it seemed the recent rumors about Gao Tianliang meeting a young master from a big city and doing business with him were true.

  "Haha! Ming Chang brother is laughing, brothers are used to writing like this, laugh and laugh."

  Simu Kong explained it with his hands.

  "Master Sima, from now on this land belongs to the Sima family. This is our ancestral property and we are giving it to the Sima family. I hope Master Sima will take good care of this land."

  Zhuge Liang often said this when he was about to die.

  "Definitely! Thank you, Brother Kong, for your kindness. I still have some things to take care of. Please also pass on my regards to the old master. Next time, I'll come to bother you again."

  Sima bade farewell to Grandfather Kong in front of the Kong family gate with joined hands.

  "Haha! See you later! See you later!"

  "Lao Gao, want to go with me to take a look at that land?" As soon as they left the Kong's house, Sima said excitedly to Gao Chuanliang beside him. After all, it was his own hard-earned first piece of property, and who wouldn't want to take a look at the land that had just been transferred to their name? Moreover, Sima himself had always had a rather serious land complex.

  "Slow down, young master."

  Gao Chuanliang tightly grasped the armrest of the carriage and said nervously, "I've always thought that sitting on Sima's 'soft sedan chair' should be a very comfortable enjoyment."

  But the short distance of a few miles changed Gao Chuanliang's view, and the extremely bumpy road was even more difficult than the large amount of dust flying up at high speed.

  Gao Chuanliang even felt that his bones were almost scattered, and the foreign toy was not comfortable either. At this time, Gao Chuanliang's heart was thinking that every time he was shaken off the chair, he felt as if his heart had also been shaken into his throat.