novelraw Chapter 261 Moving
Chapter 261 Moving
Chapter 261 Moving
"Manager Qian." Gu Lianshan came out of the house, his hands tucked into his sleeves, and asked with a smile, "How much is the rent for this courtyard?"
Shopkeeper Qian quickly turned around and replied with a smile, "This is a little more expensive than the previous ones, two hundred copper coins per month."
Gu Tang, who followed closely behind, paused. Two hundred copper coins a month?
That rent isn't cheap.
This is West Street. The courtyard is presentable, but not particularly nice. The rent is too high.
Gu Lianshan also felt it was too high and started to bargain: "Manager Qian, you're not being honest. In this place on West Street, in this dilapidated courtyard, you dare to ask for two hundred copper coins?"
"If I'm willing to pay this price, I can't guarantee I can rent something similar on East Street, but on South Street!"
"This isn't your first time coming to me, how could I dare not be honest?" Manager Qian said with a smile. "The monthly rent for this courtyard is set by the landlord. I'm just running errands to earn a little money. Whether the rent is high or low, I don't earn a single penny. Don't you agree?"
"You said it yourself, this isn't my first time visiting your place. You know in your heart whether this courtyard is worth the rent. Don't try to fool me, just give me a straight answer: can the rent be reduced?"
"If you could lower the price, I'd sign the contract right away! Business is tough these days because of the snowstorm; you should know that better than I do. You should be grateful someone's even renting this yard right now!"
That's the truth. In recent days, there has only been one person who terminated their lease and returned the rent, and this is the only one who has actually settled the lease for the courtyard.
Shopkeeper Qian, who hadn't made any business in a long time, wanted to open for business to shake off his bad luck, so he reluctantly agreed to lower the price.
"It's only because it's you, Master Gu. If it were anyone else, I wouldn't budge an inch! I'll reduce the rent by ten copper coins! How about it?"
"Give me a break!" Gu Lianshan glared at him. "Ten copper coins is nothing compared to a price reduction! One hundred and fifty! One hundred and fifty per month!"
"Oh my god! Your haggling is going to kill me!"
Manager Qian is really feeling the pinch this time!
"One hundred and eighty! I'll lower the price by ten copper coins! At least let me have an explanation to give to my master, right?"
"No! Just one hundred and fifty!"
"One hundred and seventy!"
"One hundred and five!"
Shopkeeper Qian: "...Are you going to stick to 150 and refuse to budge? How about you give me a break and offer 160?"
Gu Lianshan didn't reply to him, but looked at Gu Tianbao instead, "So? Are you willing to pay 160?"
Manager Qian also looked at Gu Tianbao, his face full of flattery: "Young Master Gu, the price really can't be lowered any further. If it's lowered any more, I really won't be able to explain it to my master..."
Gu Tianbao was at a loss and subconsciously moved closer to Gu Tang, asking in a low voice, "Cousin, what should I say?"
Gu Tang glanced at him: "Didn't you and your mother discuss the rent before? Can you afford 160 copper coins a month?"
If it's affordable, then let's settle on it. This courtyard is significantly more spacious than the previous ones. Once we move in, we'll have a place to stroll around.
“I can afford it. My mother said before that the monthly rent should be no more than two hundred copper coins.”
"Then 160 copper coins are within your budget. Take another look at this courtyard. If you like it, then sign the contract. Live here for now, and once you've gotten to know this area better, you can find another courtyard if you want to move."
"Ugh!"
Gu Tianbao responded, smiled shyly at Manager Qian, and then looked at Gu Lianshan: "Second Uncle, then let's make it one hundred and sixty. It's snowing here, and it won't be easy to find another place. Let's stay here first and talk about it later."
Indeed, it's snowing here, and it's freezing cold; finding a place to stay isn't easy.
"Manager Qian, my nephew has decided, it'll be your deal, the rent is one hundred and sixty copper coins per month!"
"Good, good, good! Master Gu and Young Master Gu are both straightforward people!" Shopkeeper Qian smiled so broadly that his eyes disappeared, and hurriedly took out a small brush, ink, paper and inkstone from his satchel.
"Come on, let's go inside. There's a table inside. Let's write the contract, sign it, and put our fingerprints on it."
Speaking of the table, Gu Lianshan remembered something he hadn't asked yet: "I see some furniture in the room that's about to fall apart. Is this for us, or are you going to move it later?"
Upon hearing this, Manager Qian's lips twitched. Although the furniture in this room was made of inferior wood, every piece was sturdy!
Where did it fall apart?!
Although he was not convinced by Gu Lianshan's words, Manager Qian did not say a word of rebuttal on the surface. He just smiled and said, "These furnishings were originally going to be moved away, but you are different from others! For your sake, all the furnishings in this house will be left for Young Master Gu to use."
Bullshit!
Gu Lianshan thought to himself, "Does he really think he doesn't know? He talks a good game!"
After placing the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone on the table, Manager Qian deftly ground the ink and wrote out a lease agreement.
He put down his pen, carefully read through the document, and after confirming that there were no errors, handed it to Gu Lianshan for his review.
Gu Lianshan looked at it three times, then beckoned Gu Tianbao over to take a look as well. If there were no problems, he would have the shopkeeper write another copy.
Gu Tianbao didn't understand any of this, but he still read it word by word, then nodded and said he would listen to Gu Lianshan in everything.
After receiving the contract, Gu Lianshan decided to have Manager Qian write another copy, and that was the end of it.
Manager Qian's smile never faded, and he quickly wrote out another document.
The lease agreement is made in duplicate, with each party signing and affixing their fingerprints.
This was Gu Tianbao's first time signing and pressing his fingerprint, and his hands were sweating profusely with nervousness.
When I wrote my own name, for some reason, I felt a heavy weight in my heart, as if something was different.
Once the contract was finalized and he held his copy, Gu Tianbao suddenly came to his senses.
Logically, the contract should have been signed by the owner of the courtyard, but it was signed by Manager Qian.
Why is that?
Gu Tianbao was completely confused. He handed the contract to his second uncle, wanting to see how his uncle would react.
Strangely, after reading the contract, Gu Lianshan nodded: "There's no mistake in signing it, that's how it's written. Pay up, the contract is written, the money should be paid."
"Master Gu is so thoughtful!" Manager Qian praised again with a smile.
Seeing that his second uncle didn't react, Gu Tianbao didn't say anything either, and took out a small silver coin from his pocket and handed it over.
Shopkeeper Qian accepted the weight with both hands, then casually put it in his mouth and took a couple of bites before happily taking out a steelyard from his satchel to weigh it.
"It weighs one and a half ounces! Look at that."
Seeing the steelyard placed right in front of him, Gu Tianbao panicked. He didn't recognize the steelyard and didn't know how to tell the weight.
He turned to Gu Lianshan for help: "Second Uncle! Please come and take a look, I'm afraid I can't tell the difference..."
Upon hearing this, Gu Lianshan understood immediately and quickly stepped forward to take a look: "That's right, it's one and a half ounces."
"Master Gu, shall we go back to my teahouse together? I'd like to exchange some copper coins for Young Master Gu."
"Alright! I'll do as Manager Qian says."
He returned the contract to Gu Tianbao, watched him put it away carefully, and then led him and Gu Tang out of the courtyard.
Manager Qian hurriedly packed up his writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, and quickly followed after him.
According to the contract, the rent is collected monthly for a period of one year. If the tenant wants to renew the lease after one year, a new contract will be written.
One and a half taels of silver can be exchanged for 1,500 copper coins. After paying a month's rent and the shopkeeper's errand fee, it is estimated that after deducting more than 300 copper coins, there will still be more than 1,100 copper coins left.
On the way back, Manager Qian's oxcart led the way as usual, while the Gu family's oxcart followed at a distance. Gu Tianbao, who was sitting at the front of the cart with Gu Lianshan and shielding Gu Tang from the wind, couldn't help but ask the question that had been bothering him.
"Second Uncle, why is Manager Qian's name on the contract? Shouldn't it be the master's name?"
"When you rent a yard through a broker, the broker signs the contract. They also sign a separate contract with the landlord. As for the rent, the price they negotiate with the landlord is definitely lower than this."
The rent you pay every month is collected by Manager Qian. He negotiates the agreed-upon amount with the landlord, and then delivers that amount to the landlord. Any extra money is Manager Qian's own.
So that’s it!
Gu Tianbao suddenly realized, "It's just renting a house, but there are so many twists and turns involved. No wonder you were haggling with Manager Qian in the courtyard earlier!"
"Even with that, he still makes a lot of money!"
In the past few years, Gu Lianshan had helped brokers find people to rent houses in order to earn money, so he knew a bit about the things involved.
At this point, Gu Lianshan suddenly remembered something and turned to ask Gu Tang, "Daughter, how's that little courtyard you rented last time?"
The courtyard was originally rented for the Ma brothers, but after he sent them away, the courtyard became empty.
Gu Tang was resting with her eyes closed in the car when her father asked about the courtyard, and her scalp immediately tightened.
“I only paid one month’s rent. I went there once before and got half a month’s rent back.”
That's pure nonsense.
Ah Gou lives in that courtyard!
"Returning half a month's rent? Not bad! The landlord is kind-hearted. If he had encountered a ruthless person, he wouldn't have returned a single penny!"
Gu Tang rolled her eyes. If she said she hadn't returned the money, her father would definitely come to her door himself to ask for a refund.
Knowing her father's temperament, that's why she said she would return half of it.
In fact, she had paid rent for that yard for several months.
Now that the rent had been refunded, Gu Lianshan put the matter out of his mind and continued talking to Gu Tianbao about the broker.
Gu Tang listened to them the whole way, and became drowsy as sleepiness crept over her.
The oxcart finally stopped before she fell asleep.
I forced my eyes open and took a look; we had arrived at Manager Qian's teahouse.
After getting off the oxcart, Gu Tang jogged into the teahouse and asked the waiter to bring her tea, as she wanted a cup to wake herself up.
Gu Lianshan told her not to wander off, and he took Gu Tianbao and followed Manager Qian to the back to exchange copper coins.
Gu Tang waved them away, rubbed her stomach, feeling a bit hungry, and called over the waiter to ask if they had anything to eat.
Manager Qian just opened this teahouse casually for fun; the shop only sells small snacks like melon seeds, nothing else.
The waiter told Gu Tang that she could go outside to buy it herself and then bring it here to eat.
Gu Tang didn't want to move, so she took out a small string of copper coins, about twenty copper coins, from the money pouch at her waist and asked the shop assistant to buy some food for her.
There were food stalls around the teahouse. After receiving the coins, the waiter found a shop selling fried dough cakes and bought two for six coins.
After leaving the pancake shop, I went to a shop selling roasted meat and spent ten copper coins to buy two skewers of roasted meat.
Holding the fried dough and roasted meat, the waiter rushed back to the teahouse and, panting, placed the food on the table in front of Gu Tang.
"Two fried dough cakes cost six copper coins, two skewers of roasted meat cost ten copper coins, and there are four copper coins left."
"These four copper coins are yours; consider it your errand fee."
"Thank you, young lady!" The young waiter, who had expected this, grinned.
Looking at the roasted meat in front of her, Gu Tang was a little scared. "What kind of meat is this made of? Is it pork?"
"It's not pork. You can't buy roasted pork with ten copper coins. This is made of fish."
"Fish?" Gu Tang paused. Fish was alright; grilling would reduce the fishy smell considerably.
A customer arrived at the teahouse, and the waiter left Gu Tang behind to go outside and greet the guest.
Picking up a skewer of roasted meat, Gu Tang took a small bite, afraid of tasting the fishy smell.
I savored the roasted meat in my mouth. I didn't know what kind of fish it was made of. It was firm and elastic, and the fishy smell was not strong, only a faint layer.
Gu Tang took another bite, nodding as she chewed. The taste was alright, much better than pork!
When Gu Lianshan brought Gu Tianbao out, they saw Gu Tang eating a skewer of roasted meat with great relish.
Gu Lianshan looked at him with surprise: "Girl, don't you not eat pork?"
"This isn't pork, it's made from fish. I don't know what kind of fish it is, but it tastes alright."
Fish was cheap, and the meat skewers were generously portioned, a whole skewer full. Gu Tang felt that one skewer was enough, so she handed the remaining skewer to her father.
"Try it and see if you can taste what kind of fish it's made of."
Gu Lianshan took it, took a big bite, chewed for a while, and swallowed it. Hmm, it really tastes good!
But I just couldn't tell what kind of fish it was made of.
He took another bite, then gave the rest of the roasted meat to Gu Tianbao: "You should try it too. Your second uncle couldn't tell what kind of fish it was made of."
Smelling the aroma of meat, Gu Tianbao's mouth watered. He took the meat without hesitation and started eating, his eyes shining with delight.
"How is it? Can you taste it?"
"……without."
Shopkeeper Qian chuckled, "I do know a little about this. I heard it's made with snakehead fish. However, the shop that makes this roasted meat has a secret recipe that removes the fishy smell of the snakehead fish. Only theirs makes it taste so good."
Gu Tang knew that this fish had firm and chewy flesh.
After finishing the roasted meat, Gu Tang couldn't finish the remaining fried dough, so she shared it with her father and Gu Tianbao.
After the two finished eating the fried dough with tea, Gu Tang put on his bamboo hat and urged them to go back.
Manager Qian has already given the keys to Gu Tianbao, and they can move in today.
Gu Lianshan was definitely going to stay and help move the goods, but Gu Tang wanted to go back. It was too cold, and she had already received the money, so she wasn't going to run after them.
First, send Gu Tianbao back to the inn and have him inform Wei Shi to pack her things quickly. Gu Lianshan will come over later to help move the things.
Afterwards, Gu Lianshan drove Gu Tang back home.
Upon arriving at the courtyard gate, Gu Ping'an rang the bell and opened the door.
After handing his daughter over to his son, Gu Lianshan didn't speak to him and hurriedly drove the oxcart back the way he came.
"Where are we going again? I still have something to say!" Gu Ping'an glared and opened his mouth to call for help.