Chapter 177

Although Zheng Ruqian was accustomed to doing business and thought he had seen winds and waves, he was still a little stunned when pushed to the ground this time.

Fengjing was a place of outstanding people and scenery, at the feet of the Son of Heaven, but everyone had two arms and two legs, two eyes and one mouth. Why should people be so bullied?

If the fire was substantial, Zheng Ruqian would have burned from head to toe.

But even more furious were his younger siblings behind him.

"Why did you push people!" Jiang Sheng was so angry that he wished he could rush up and bite the man twice. "What's so great about you? You dare ask for the price, we have the right to think it's expensive!"

Wen Zhiyun clenched the bottles and cans in his sleeves, with some panic in his heart, but soon became determined to protect his second brother.

Chang Yan narrowed his eyes to hide the ridicule in his pupils. These native Fengjing people had a sense of superiority that remained the same as ever.

Only Xu Mo was still calm. With one hand, he hugged the snarling Jiang Sheng, and with the other hand, he stopped the two restless younger brothers, then gave Zheng Ruqian an encouraging look, "Second brother, get up!"

Although they were orphaned and had no towering background or powerful financial resources, let alone connections, they had gone through too much hardship from nothing, and seen too many storms.

Just some arrogant people of Fengjing, what was there to be afraid of?

Influenced by Xu Mo, Zheng Ruqian also gradually calmed down. He nimbly climbed up from the ground, clapped his hands, and chuckled, "Just a landlord, yet so arrogant. Can you earn a hundred taels of silver a year? I can afford to rent a house for a hundred taels."

The landlord who had not gone far froze in his steps.

"This young master didn't rent a house for a hundred taels because he couldn't afford it, but because he didn't want to rent yours," Zheng Ruqian said coldly. "Do you really think you're the only landlord in Fengjing?"

After finishing speaking, he took a younger brother in each hand and walked away first.

Xu Mo held Jiang Sheng's hand and followed closely behind.

No matter how angrily the landlord taunted them and insulted them for being country bumpkins from outside, they never looked back.

Fengjing was the capital of the Dayu Dynasty, the core of the entire country. During the imperial examinations, there would be students coming from all directions, and when looking for work, countless people from afar would come too.

They worked hard and diligently. They were not natives, but they accounted for half of Fengjing, and gradually compressed the rights of the natives. The more the Fengjing natives disliked outsiders, the more outsiders there were in Fengjing.

Only outsiders would not discriminate against outsiders.

After some analysis by Zheng Ruqian, and some shameless inquiries, they finally found a new real estate agent.

It was said that the boss of this real estate agency was not only an outsider, but also a fellow townsman from the Central Plains region.

Zheng Ruqian deliberately spoke in an Anshui accent and asked, "Are there any two-courtyard houses near the Imperial College?"

The agent looked up in surprise, but there was no contempt. "How much can the young master afford at most? Any requirements on the lease term and layout?"

"Just being able to live is fine," Zheng Ruqian thought for a while. "No more than 100 taels."

The agent flipped through the house records on hand and found three suitable ones. "Let me take you to see them."

The location near Imperial College was good, close to the most prosperous area of Fengjing, so the prices of similar houses were bound to be high.

On the contrary, slightly cheaper ones would naturally be a little farther away.

Of the three houses the agent gave, the first one was particularly remote. The overall house was very good, and the price of 60 taels was not expensive either, but from the entrance to the Imperial College, even riding a carriage would take an hour to arrive, comparable to the distance from Ten Li Town to Xieyang County.

The second house was much closer, taking only half a cup of tea by carriage, but the house was smaller, with only two rooms, not enough for the brothers to live in, let alone worth 100 taels.

The third happened to be the two-courtyard house that Zheng Ruqian had fancied before.

On one hand, he pretended to be looking around the yard curiously, while tentatively asking, "Whose yard is this? Is it only rented out by your agency?"

The agent shook his head. "Of course it's impossible to only give it to one agency. The owner's identity is kept secret, but all the real estate agencies in Fengjing can rent out this yard, it just depends on who closes the deal first."

Zheng Ruqian nodded slightly, having made up his mind.

But at this moment, the agent came over again and whispered, "But I can reveal to you that this yard is an asset of the Jiang family. I'm not afraid of you going directly to the owner instead of me either, the Jiang family is not something you or I can get in touch with."

After speaking, he looked east with awe.

In the Dayu Dynasty, east was noble, west was lower.

For example, in Anshui Prefecture, wealthy families usually lived in the east of the city, while ordinary people lived in the west.

The fact that the Jiang family could live in the east of Fengjing was enough to prove the strength and status of the family.

Zheng Ruqian nodded slightly, and finally asked the key question, "How much does this yard cost?" The agent didn't hesitate. "Eighty taels a year."

!!!

Zheng Ruqian was shocked. The previous agent was not only arrogant, but deliberately inflated the price, it was too hateful.

He almost signed and paid the money.

Later he thought, not bargaining was too against Zheng Er's nature, so he unleashed his silver tongue and haggled forcefully from 80 taels down to 70 taels.

The agent was helpless. "Brother, you are more suitable to be an agent than me. Just your mouth could rent out quite a few yards."

Zheng Ruqian grinned and signed, handing over 70 taels of silver and a deposit of 10 taels.

Although it was only rented for a short year, this was still home for the siblings, their foothold in Fengjing.

People were like this, having a place to live stabilized their hearts.

After bidding farewell to the agent, they officially entered this two-courtyard house.

Zheng Ruqian had great taste.

Although this small yard only had two courtyards, the layout was reasonable. There were two ear rooms at the entrance that should be for servants. The first courtyard had two main rooms, and after the archway was the second courtyard, also with two main rooms.

Jiang Sheng was already happily assigning the rooms. "Jiang San and Jiang Si live in the ear rooms. Eldest and second brothers live in the first courtyard. Fourth and fifth brothers live with me, aunt Xiaozhu and Little Bamboo in the second courtyard. When third brother comes back, he can stay with second brother."

Jiang San and Jiang Si were originally supposed to stay by the young lady and gentlemen's side, but Zheng Ruqian wanted to bring more preserved meats, so he asked them to come two days later with a cart full of preserved sausage, pork and fish.

Jiang Sheng thought she had divided it very well, perfectly logical.

Unexpectedly, the brothers unanimously disagreed. "No."

Jiang Sheng's eyes widened.

Chang Yan cleared his throat, looking a little awkward. "We're older, we can't live too close to you."

Wen Zhiyun's expression was tangled. In his heart he knew his sister was right, but he still wanted to do as she said.

"Let auntie and Jiang Sheng live in the second courtyard with Little Bamboo," Xu Mo said. "Second brother and I will take one room in the front courtyard, Jiang Si and Jiang Wu take the other.

Jiang Sheng pouted. "Then where does third brother stay when he comes back?"

Zheng Ruqian pointed at the somewhat dilapidated doghouse in the yard. "I think that'll be good."

In the northern border, Fang Heng sneezed again, feeling like someone was cursing him.