This fish that slipped through the net did not bring too much surprise to Zhang Fei, but instead made him more anxious and uneasy.
Things are different now.
A few days ago, he was still looking forward to those wealthy people coming to him, and he even spent money to hire someone to take notes and rented the teahouse.
This is what he longed for.
But now Zhang Fei is just famous, but no one dares to get close to him.
Wow!
All the civil and military officials in the court, as well as your colleagues, have united to deal with you.
You are so awesome!
Let’s stay away from it!
This fame brought him more negative effects.
The only person who supports him now is the woman who quarrels with him every day.
How ironic.
good!
This is indeed an opportunity.
But can he grasp it
This is obviously very difficult from an environmental perspective.
In addition, the other party was willing to see him even though he knew that contacting him would cause trouble.
Then the other party's purpose must be extremely fatal.
All of this made Zhang Fei feel deeply uneasy.
but.
You still have to meet.
The reason is simple, Zhang Fei has no choice now.
Therefore, what Zhang Fei is considering now is not whether to meet or not, but how to prepare and how to find opportunities from it.
As the art of war says, only by knowing yourself and your enemy can you win every battle.
He felt that he should first understand what the Ma family did and who the head of the Ma family was. His current impression of the Ma family was just the handsome young man Ma Xiaoyi and that his family was involved in the money lending business.
The next morning, Zhang Fei took Li Si to the largest bridge market in Bian Jing.
Because it is close to the dock and there is a lot of traffic, this is also the base camp of the pawnbrokers. These pawnbrokers are the ones who bring in goods with one hand and sell them out with the other. They can be called porters and are generally attached to the dock. At the same time, many pawnshops are also opened here. Transactions here are frequent, and money flows in and out very frequently, including the Ma family's pawnshop.
Besides, the people here are very busy and don’t have time to watch people fight a lawsuit. When they walk on the street, no one pays attention to the two of them.
Zhang Fei did not choose to go directly to the pawn shop, but instead found a noodle stall with good business nearby and sat down.
The stall owner is a woman in her thirties.
"Auntie, four steamed buns and two bowls of porridge. Thank you."
"Please wait a moment, sir. It will be ready soon."
Soon, four big hot steamed buns and two bowls of porridge were brought to the table.
Zhang Fei paid the money and asked, "Auntie, do you know which way is the Ma Family Pawn Shop?"
"Go here, turn left at the next intersection, and walk another fifty steps to reach the Ma family pawnshop." The old lady said, pointing ahead.
Zhang Fei nodded, "Thank you."
But his eyes were secretly glancing at the old lady.
The lady turned around and was about to leave, but suddenly turned back and asked, "Why do you two want to go to the Ma family pawnshop?"
Zhang Fei pretended to be hesitant, "Uh... I want to borrow some money."
The lady immediately looked as if she had expected it, and asked, "Why do you want to borrow money?"
Zhang Fei looked at the lady with a bit of surprise and replied, "Business requires turnover."
The old lady couldn't help but look strange when she heard that.
Zhang Fei had been paying attention, so he asked, "Why do you look like that, ma'am?"
Before the old lady could speak, a peddler sitting next to her suddenly turned around and said, "Young man, if you need money for your business, I advise you not to borrow from the Ma family."
Zhang Fei asked curiously: "Why?"
The peddler said, "The head of the Ma family, Ma Tianhao, was once the instructor of the Imperial Guards. He was later expelled from the Imperial Guards for committing a crime and spent two years in jail. After he was released, he started this pawnshop business. He is a very generous person. The interest rate his pawnshop gives varies from person to person, but it is the most reasonable in Bianjing."
"Yeah?"
Zhang Feixi said happily: "It seems that I did not choose the wrong place."
"I'm not finished yet."
The peddler continued, "Although the interest he gives is very fair, if you can't pay it back, he is notoriously cruel. It is said that there is no bad debt in the Ma family's account book so far, so everyone calls him the fourth brother on the surface, but secretly calls him the Green-faced Judge. You need to turn over money to run your business, and that is unstable. If you can't pay it back, you will be finished, so I advise you to find another family."
The lady nodded and said, "This elder brother is right. If you are not sure you can pay it back, then don't go to the Ma family. The Green-faced Judge is not someone you can easily mess with."
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Okay, I'll think about it. Thank you..."
Just as he was about to thank them, a drunk old man opposite him suddenly said, "But I also heard that some people went to the Ma family to borrow money and not only did they waive the interest, but they also extended the payment period by quite a while."
"Really?" Zhang Fei asked, "Why is that?"
The old man laughed and said, "No one knows. Maybe the Green-faced Judge likes them."
"Yeah?"
Zhang Fei touched his face and said with a smile: "I think my face can catch the eye of the Green-faced Judge."
The peddler joked, "You may be handsome, but the Green-faced Judge is not a woman. He might dislike a handsome man like you. If you want to borrow money, you should ask the lady."
"Ha ha... ..!"
The guests nearby all laughed.
The old lady blushed and shouted, "Go away, finish your meal and leave quickly. You keep making fun of me. It's really unreasonable."
Zhang Fei didn't notice anything, and laughed at himself: "It seems there is no hope."
"Ha ha... "
Another burst of laughter.
Then these people started talking about the Green-Faced Judge again, until more guests came and everyone gradually stopped talking about this topic.
Seeing that it was almost time, Zhang Fei and Li Si got up and left.
"Third brother, let's not go to the Ma family." Li Si said hesitantly.
Zhang Fei asked: "Why?"
Li Si said: "His nickname is the Green-faced Judge, so he must not be someone you can easily mess with."
After all, he came from the village, had never seen the world, and was timid in the face of everything.
Zhang Fei coughed: "Actually... well, I'm not someone you can easily mess with."
Li Si glanced at Zhang Fei and said, "I think you are a good guy, Third Brother."
Zhang Fei sighed, "That's because Madam Xu's brilliance is too dazzling, illuminating my shadowy side. But we won't go today."
He hadn't planned to go in the first place, but because the other party had changed the appointment for tomorrow night, it proved that the other party knew he would cause trouble, and it would certainly not be a good idea to just show up rashly.
Before they had taken a few steps, Li Si suddenly stopped and said, "By the way! Third brother, don't you want to rent a house?"
Zhang Fei was startled. How could he be in such a mood now? He asked, "Why did you suddenly bring up this matter?"
Li Si said hurriedly: "I have inquired before. The largest house in Beijing is the Chen family's house."
As he spoke, he pointed across the street.
Zhang Fei tilted his head and saw a shop across the street. The door of the shop was twice or three times bigger than the shops beside it, and there was a word "Fang" on the sign.
He didn't say whether he was going or not, but just stared at the shop in a daze, as if he was thinking about something.
At this time, a young man about sixteen or seventeen years old suddenly came over and asked, "Would you like to rent a room?"
He has a keen eye and doesn't even let go of the people across the street. He is a good salesman. Zhang Fei glanced at the young man, nodded, and asked, "What can you recommend?"
The young man knew from Zhang Fei's accent that he was not from Bianliang. He looked at Zhang Fei very bluntly and then said, "Young man, if you want to rent a private house, it will be very expensive, at least a few guan. Renting a public house is very cheap."
Li Si asked anxiously: "How much?"
Xiao Yalang said, "The cheapest public housing is only 170 coins a month."
Li Si was surprised and asked, "So expensive?"
Xiao Yalang snorted, "If this is too expensive for you, then you should just sleep on the street!"
It's a monopoly industry, it's awesome! Zhang Fei smiled and said, "But as far as I know, you can only rent public housing from the store."
Ever since he was ridiculed by Xu Zhiqian, he has studied the relevant real estate laws diligently.
Due to the extremely advanced commercial culture of the Northern Song Dynasty, the population of Bianliang was increasing day by day. There was a complete shortage of houses, and civilians had to sleep on the streets. This had a huge impact on the appearance of the capital, so the court decided to build public housing and rent it to ordinary people at low prices.
For this purpose, the government also set up a special administrative unit called Dian Zhai Wu, which was responsible for the rental and maintenance of public housing.
The young man chuckled and said, "Do you think you can rent a room there?"
Zhang Fei asked, "Can't I rent it?"
"You are dreaming." Xiao Yalang snorted, "Those working in the government office are still waiting, how can it be your turn?"
Zhang Fei asked again: "In other words, can you help me rent it?"
The boy smiled.
Zhang Fei immediately understood.
It goes without saying that the shop owner must have business dealings with their pawnshop. After all, the shop owner has a government background, so they cannot decide the price at will. The court has the final say.
But if they cooperate with the dental clinic and transfer the goods to their hands, the profit will be huge.
For example, you rent it to a real estate agency first, and then the real estate agency raises the price and rents it out, so there will be profit, right
Now, the store's accounts show an annual income of about 150,000 strings of cash. The profit is self-evident!
“Ahem!”
Suddenly, two coughs were heard.
The young man looked back and saw an old man in his 50s approaching. He quickly called out, "Uncle."
The old man came over and waved his hand, saying, "You don't need to worry about this place anymore. Go and do something else."
"Ah? Yes."
The broker looked at Zhang Fei in surprise, then left.
The old man bowed to Zhang Fei and said, "I am the owner of this dental shop, Chen Maoqian. May I know your name?"
"Zhang Fei. Just call me Zhang San."
Zhang Fei immediately bowed.
Chen Maoqian's expression changed slightly, and he led his hand to the inner room and said, "Please come in, sir."
"Thank you very much."
Chen Maoqian led Zhang Fei to the inner room. After they sat down, someone came and served them tea.
After the servants left.
Chen Maoqian smiled and said, "The man just now was my nephew. I originally asked him to greet the guests at the door, but I didn't expect that boy to take the initiative and talk nonsense. I will teach him a lesson later. I hope you don't take it personally."
It seems that I still have some power left! Zhang Fei said with a smile: "My dear father-in-law, you are too kind. I am only here to look for a house."