Judge of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 46: The Root of All Evil (Part 2)

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What are the housing prices in Bianjing

Isn't this about lending

Zhang Fei's thoughts jumped so fast that even Ma Tianhao couldn't keep up. He asked with a puzzled look, "The housing prices in Bianjing are notoriously high. I wonder why you are asking this?"

Zhang Fei did not answer but asked: "Why are the housing prices in Bianjing so high?"

Ma Tianhao said: "This place has few people and few land, so it is naturally high."

"exactly."

Zhang Fei smiled and nodded, saying, "Even the officials think that the housing prices in Bianjing are very high, so you can imagine how many people can afford it. However, if no one is interested, the price will naturally not go up, which shows that there are many people who want to buy it. This is because all the rich people in the Song Dynasty live in Bianjing."

Before Zhang Fei could finish, Ma Tianhao suddenly asked, "You want me to lend money to people who buy houses?"

As expected of an old hand, his reaction is quick, and he won't let me pretend for even a second. Zhang Fei smiled and nodded: "That's right."

High demand and high prices, isn’t this the natural breeding ground for lending

"Ha ha... !"

Ma Tianhao laughed out loud with his face tilted back.

The laughter was full of irony.

"hehe!"

Zhang Fei also started laughing.

As soon as he smiled, Ma Tianhao immediately stopped laughing and asked, "What are you laughing at?"

Zhang Fei asked back, "What are you laughing at?"

Ma Tianhao immediately showed disdain on his face and snorted, "I laugh at you for overestimating your own abilities. It's just a fantasy. Do you need to teach me this? Do you know how high the housing prices in Bianjing are? Not to mention whether you can lend so much money, even if you can, who would dare to lend it?"

The price of housing in Bianjing is easily tens of thousands of strings of cash. Who can afford to borrow it

Zhang Fei raised his lips and said, "I thought that since you are the leader of the group and a former coach, your views must be different from others, but I never thought that you are just as superficial!"

This kid doesn't think he's suing someone, does he? He's asking for help, but he's still so hurtful. Ma Tianhao had already seen that Zhang Fei was asking for something, but he was very upset by the kid's tone. He waved his hand and said, "Okay, okay, just think of me as superficial. Then you kid, tell me, what is profound?"

Zhang Fei replied: "If everyone is already doing this business, it would be like lending money to farmers who are struggling to make ends meet. What else can I say to you? Isn't it a waste of everyone's time? If I have to talk, I should talk about some business that no one has done yet. That way it will be profitable.

As for the questions raised by the official, they are actually easy to solve. First of all, there is the risk. If I help the official to sign the contract, there is almost no risk. "

Ma Tianhao was surprised and asked, "What did you say, no risk?"

"Almost nothing." Zhang Fei corrected.

Ma Tianhao asked: "How come there is almost no way?"

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "If you lend money to someone to buy a house, the amount of money must be considerable. So what is the collateral? Of course it's the house!"

"No! No!"

Ma Tianhao shook his head and said, "I lend money to people to buy houses, and then use the houses as collateral. What am I trying to gain? I might as well buy the house myself. The other party will pay two months' interest, and if they don't like living there anymore, they can just give up the house."

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Don't worry, sir. I haven't finished yet. Lending money to someone to buy a house doesn't mean you have to lend the full amount. You can lend two-thirds and let the other party pay one-third. Or you can lend one-third. In this way, if the other party can't pay it back, you can just deduct the house and get the one-third of the rent for free. Based on the house prices in Bianjing, one-third is not a small amount!"

Ma Tianhao nodded slightly. This idea was good, but it was useless. He glanced at Zhang Fei and saw that he was planning something. He felt a little unhappy and asked, "Most people borrow money from relatives and friends to buy a house. After all, the interest rate we pay is too high. Even the officials in the court may not be able to pay the interest for such a large amount of money."

Since this one-third is not a small amount, how low can the interest on the remaining two-thirds be

Zhang Fei said: "I have said before that your method is simple and crude, and it is very easy to get involved in lawsuits. Although you make money, your reputation will be ruined. So we have to change another way."

Ma Tianhao asked: "What method?"

Zhang Fei replied: "If you lend a common person one string of money, at the current popular multiple interest rate, you can only make a profit of one string of money a year. If you lend an official 10,000 strings of money to buy a house, even at a monthly interest rate of 1%, you can still make a profit of 100 strings of money!

In addition, there is also the length of time. Those people were forced to death because the time was too short. But if the time is extended to ten years, the situation will be very different. "

"One cent of interest? Ten years?"

Ma Tianhao almost popped his eyes out. This guy is a psychopath. He said angrily and amusedly, "Are you teasing me like a three-year-old kid? Borrowing 10,000 strings of cash is the same as borrowing one string of cash. How can this be the same thing?"

Zhang Fei still had a calm and composed smile on his face. "I am definitely not trying to change the concept. This is a way to make money. You are engaged in lending business, so the currency is your goods. Am I right?"

Ma Tianhao nodded.

Zhang Fei continued, "Merchants are most afraid of hoarding goods, but I can guarantee that the official will only take out 30% of the coins for lending, and the remaining 70% will be left in the vault to rot."

Ma Tianhao snorted, "What's wrong with that? It's less risky to do this."

This is tantamount to a disguised admission that, in fact, the amount is not that much. This is all caused by the gap between the rich and the poor. Ten strings of money is already a lot for ordinary people, but for wealthy businessmen like them, it is really a drop in the bucket. There are many people who come to borrow money, but the total amount borrowed is only that much.

Zhang Fei said: "My previous method does take a long time and has a low interest rate, but I can guarantee that I can borrow all of Mr. Yuan's money very quickly. Before, only 30% of Mr. Yuan's money was generating interest, and it was extremely unstable. Now, all of his money is generating interest, and it is extremely stable. Calculated in this way, the income is obviously much higher than the previous one."

Ma Tianhao said, "Extremely stable? Why do you say that? If you borrow a lot, the risk is naturally greater. If you are not careful, you may lose everything."

"Sir, have you forgotten what I just said? There is almost no risk."

"It's hard to guarantee it just by mortgaging the house."

Ma Tianhao said rather obscurely: "If someone can borrow tens of thousands of taels, it goes without saying that he must be either rich or noble. How can I afford to offend him?"

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "This requires a person like me who is well versed in the law. I can help you reach an agreement with the court. As long as you sign the debt-financed house purchase contract I drafted, then if the other party breaches the contract, the government will not need to hold a court session and will directly award the house to you, or take the house to be put up for auction and exchange the money for it to return to you, ensuring that you will not lose a penny."

"Do you have this ability?" Ma Tianhao asked in surprise.

Zhang Fei said unhappily: "This is the only thing I can do."

Ma Tianhao was stunned, then suddenly realized that just as Zhang Fei had said before, Zhang Fei's purpose was to help him avoid the lawsuit. This was a legal issue. After all the business, it ended up here. If Zhang Fei could do what he said, he could indeed avoid the lawsuit.

But can Zhang Fei really do it

Ma Tianhao expressed his doubts, "You misunderstood. I am not referring to your methods, but how can you do it when the imperial court is full of hostility towards you?"

Zhang Fei said: "Don't worry about this, I have my own way, and it will be approved by the current emperor."

Is it that powerful? Ma Tianhao didn't quite believe it. He frowned and thought for a while, then shook his head and said, "You said it very nicely, but in my opinion, the risk is still too great. The court's policies change every day. Even if you can do it, who can guarantee that the court will not regret it after I lend the money?"

Zhang Fei was silent for a moment, then said, "May I ask, sir, can you guarantee that the court will not find a reason to confiscate your property tomorrow?"

Ma Tianhao frowned and said nothing.

Zhang Fei added: "The only thing that can protect you now is the law. If you don't even believe in the law, who can protect your property from being seized

Secondly, I think that with the wealth you have now, if you continue to pursue wealth blindly, you are putting the cart before the horse and bringing about your own destruction. Wealth without the blessing of power is all someone else's.

You should find a way to improve your status, increase your influence, and even get your hands on power. And with the help of the law, you can be free from worries."

Ma Tianhao frowned, and suddenly raised his hand to fish on the table, but found nothing. He could not help but cursed, "Why hasn't that kid bought the wine yet?"

Zhang Fei really wanted to light a cigarette for him to ease his nervousness, but unfortunately there was a fire but no smoke. He smiled and said, "Don't be nervous, a gentleman loves money and gets it in a proper way. I don't want to instigate you to do anything illegal."

Ma Tianhao glanced at him and said with a smile: "I've heard that you are not afraid of death. After seeing you today, it's true that hearing about you is worse than meeting you in person!"

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Everything I did was aboveboard. I even dared to sit in front of the Kaifeng Mansion and discuss all this with the official."

Ma Tianhao smiled and nodded, "Then tell me about your uprightness."

"Low interest."

"Low interest?"

"right!"

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "You should also know that in the past thirty years, the court has been dissatisfied with private lending. This dissatisfaction has even reached a peak. Many key ministers believe that if this continues, it will endanger national stability. This shows that this is already very serious.

If the official offered an incredibly low interest rate at this time, although it only involved mortgage loans, it is conceivable how much impact it would have on the entire industry.

By then, Yuanwai will become a banner and be supported by many wise officials in the court. This is the model of merchants they want. Then whoever wants to move to this banner in the future will be equivalent to saying that the court is more eager for the people to raise interest rates.

And this kind of scruple will also make you worry-free."

Ma Tianhao's eyes flickered, he pondered for a while, and suddenly said: "Officials all owe me money, which may not be a good thing!"

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Officials all owe you money, which proves that they all recognize your interest. Every year, officials want to buy houses. If you make any mistakes, who will lend them money? Weighing the pros and cons, they won't do anything stupid. And I will also support you from the legal point of view."

Ma Tianhao stared at Zhang Fei for a while, then suddenly smiled and nodded, saying, "As expected of a master of eloquence, you are indeed very eloquent. But I have one last question."

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Where can I get the money?"

Ma Tianhao laughed: "It seems that you have indeed made sufficient preparations. Not bad! Although I have some money, if I use it all to buy a house, it will seem like a drop in the bucket."