Imperial Treasure

Chapter 657 - 425: Zhiyuan Duke’s Mansion (chipona He’s Jade+)

Indeed, this person was determined and hardened his heart to take root in Capital City, naturally choosing this geomantically blessed location to have families with extraordinary heritage and the wealthy as neighbors; hence the ordeal today.

Who would have thought today would be so lucky?

After the greetings, Deputy Director Zhao, being a shrewd man, immediately asked, "Is this gentleman accompanying Miss Su also looking to view the courtyard houses?"

Having been in Capital City for a long time, the most important skill developed is not to underestimate anyone. Young, so what? The last people one could afford to underestimate here are the youngsters—you never know if one is a Crown Prince or Crown Princess, or maybe an exceedingly rich heir, spending millions on a house isn’t unusual.

Su Zimu did not answer directly but merely asked, "How many more units are left here? Have they all been reserved?"

"There are twelve more. Eight smaller ones have already had three booked, and there are four large ones, none of which have moved.."

When Deputy Director Zhao mentioned large, those would have to be at least 5000 square meters each, with prices starting in the hundreds of millions, which is extremely high and not something everyone can do, like Sui Yi, who trades resources and has significant liquid capital, dealing in billions quite regularly, unlike those in virtual industries—it’s grindingly hard to utilize capital, where even drawing a few billion from assets worth hundreds of billions is challenging.

The businessman quickly seized the opportunity with Deputy Director Zhao, hastening along with Sui Yi, showing houses along the way.

Sui Yi didn’t have much concept of size; her main concern was whether she liked it or not until she saw a very large Banyan Tree.

The Banyan Tree was indeed very enormous and ancient, lush and flourishing, situated in the front left corner inside the gate of the courtyard house, its canopy forming a vibrant and verdant shade.

"What about that one?"

Deputy Director Zhao and the businessman felt a pang in their hearts. Damn, did this girl have such a big appetite, eyeing the largest house?

"That one is the best, covering 7300 square meters..."

Before he could finish, Su Zimu smiled, "The best? It looks to me like it’s in the worst state of decay. If not so, how could it remain unsold until now?"

Alright, even though his stage was dismantled, Deputy Director Zhao wasn’t annoyed but shook his head with a smile and said, "But it has prestige. This was once a hereditary Duke’s Mansion, bestowed by Emperor Kangxi himself, known as Zhiyuan Duke’s Mansion. Honestly, if it weren’t for the poor preservation inside, no matter how expensive it was, people would have taken it.."

Sui Yi had already pushed open the door, which was also rotted, releasing powdered wood from decay. Upon entering, the former courtyard house, aside from its brick structure, had most other components made of wood, which would severely decay without maintenance, evident from the wormholes in the columns—some still displaying carvings topside...

The degree of wooden decay was at least 50%.

The condition of the murals was similar, and even the brick structure wasn’t stable, apparently about to collapse.

"Such a pity," Sui Yi, just like Su Zimu, sighed a bit. Such a prestigious mansion, even though most of its antiquities were gone, the cultural value imparted on the architecture was still immensely precious yet, due to years of neglect, it had resulted in such a state.

Leaving only a vast space with a rapidly deteriorating mansion.

"If you want to renovate it, the cost might be close to the purchase price..." the businessman shook his head, "At least around two hundred million, not to mention the difficulty of the restoration. A regular construction team couldn’t handle this job."

That’s exactly why most people who came to view the property left with sighs. They might not lack money, and splurging two hundred million wasn’t impossible, but they feared the inability to handle the renovation, leading to endless problems and a botched job.

Deputy Director Zhao wouldn’t sabotage his own standing and countered, "That’s not wholly true. We could find an expert in ancient architecture to redraw the architectural plans for Zhiyuan Duke’s Mansion, then hire a construction crew... If it’s rebuilt, then.."

The businessman smirked, "Oh, come on, you’re kidding me!"

Even Su Zimu, who was usually magnanimous, didn’t bother to respond, as the statement was too implausible. Teachers of ancient architecture were rare, and not to mention the scope of drawing plans for such a large mansion—added to other complexities like understanding ancient, literary, and modern architectural principles...

Otherwise, did you really think one could reconstruct an ancient Qing Dynasty house fit for modern living?

But then again, not making it look bizarre would be preferable to randomly constructing a Square Residence in the countryside.

Difficult in countless ways...

Costing a fortune, and requiring much influence and connections...