After Laba is the New Year.
Suddenly news came from the palace that Concubine Xue Gui died suddenly.
The capital, which was originally jubilant because of the coming of the new year, seemed to have been poured with cold water and instantly cooled down.
Concubine Xue's death brought back everyone's memories from a few months ago. In that palace change, many people died.
The Jingxi camp alone was almost paralyzed by beatings.
During that time, every household in the capital seemed to have funerals to attend to.
Also, the 2,000 Sirius Army led by Pei Meng lived in the Jingxi Camp. I heard that he practiced all day and never slack off.
Everyone came to their senses, if the Sirius Army did not leave, the palace change would not be over.
Hey, can this year still pass
In a few days, the capital is in a bloody storm again.
"Impossible! The Crown Prince has been established, so there must be no chaos. The death of Concubine Xue Gui is a worthy death."
Early in the morning, low-level officials of the household department yamen gathered to chat.
"Concubine Xue Gui deserved her death, but why did the palace report her sudden death? Isn't there any other reason?"
"Who knows! Maybe Your Majesty didn't want Concubine Xue Gui's life, but Concubine Xue couldn't bear to think about it and died."
"Ahem..."
"My lord is here."
"See my lord."
"What are you doing here, why don't you hurry up and do something."
Hubu Shangshu kept a stern face, not angry and pretentious.
There is still time to get together and gossip, it seems that there are still too few errands. Arrange more errands for them.
Hubu Shangshu has been a little worried recently.
The emperor's physical condition was deteriorating, and he could no longer get out of bed.
You never know when it will be...
The emperor made a golden speech and demanded that the funeral be arranged in a big way.
The money obtained from mourning must be paid by the household department.
But the household department's treasury is so empty that it can run away mice. Where can I find five or six hundred thousand taels for the emperor's funeral.
Next year's tax money has been allocated long ago, and there is not a single penny left. The salary of the Beijing officials is still in arrears, and the Chinese New Year is coming soon, so we have to make up this year's salary so that everyone can have a less shabby year.
Money, money, he was almost dying of worry.
They are all finance and taxation departments. The Shaofu next door is extremely rich, but the household department is extremely poor.
The master knew the sad things about Shangshu Hubu, and gave him an idea, "My lord, the Hubu has no money, but there is a lot of silver outside the gate of the south city. It is such a big construction site, and millions of taels of silver have been invested in it." , a few hundred thousand taels are just waiting for nothing."
The Minister of the Household Department snorted, "Don't worry about how much money there is outside the south gate, it's not the money of the Household Department."
The master has a three-inch color, "My lord, please order to set up a county, and set up the county government before the Chinese New Year, so that the first money can be collected from the south gate of the new year.
After that, once all kinds of taxes and fees are collected, it will be a lot of income. The lower officials heard that the market outside the South City Gate was extremely popular, and merchants from all over the world went there to do business, and the daily turnover was astonishing.
But because there is no county, the land still belongs to Mrs. Zhao, the tax Cao can only ask Mrs. Zhao to collect her share of tax money, the tax on the market, and the tax on the refugees who have registered household registration, they can't collect a penny. . These are all white money. "
Seeing the white money passing by in front of his eyes, but unable to collect it, the master was very hurt and his heart ached.
Also heartbroken is the household department minister.
He asked the master, "Is the market outside the south gate really popular?"
"I don't dare to lie to my lord. The market is crowded with people every day, and they are all rushing to buy cheap and high-quality goods. Even many people in the capital would rather walk seven or eight miles to go outside the south gate. Shopping in the bazaar. As a result, many merchants in the capital are complaining that their business has been taken away."
Hubu Shangshu thought for a while, "Ask people to prepare chariots and horses, and I want to go to the south gate to have a look in person."
The master smiled happily and hurriedly asked people to prepare.
After Hubu Shangshu got into the carriage, he went out of the city directly through the south gate.
After leaving the city gate, not far away is the shack area where refugees gather.
In the past, the Minister of the Household Department came here several times, but at that time they were all for the relief of the victims.
He has never been here since Gu Jiu managed the South City Gate.
The shack area in my memory was so dirty and messy, so disgusting that I could spit out the overnight meal, but it was so clean that I couldn't believe it.
The children running and jumping in the shack area were all wearing thick cotton clothes and cotton shoes on their feet.
Compared with the miserable scene of countless refugees dying of cold and hunger every day without clothes, it is a world away.
He still remembered that when he visited here last winter, there were children running and jumping on the road.
The child was dressed in unlined clothing, barefoot, with a runny nose, and was filthy all over. The eyes that look at people are full of hunger and cannibalism, and there is also deep-rooted hatred.
Those children hated the government since they were young.
In just one year, the same place, the same refugee children, they were all smiling happily.
Wearing thick cotton clothes and newly made cotton shoes, they ran, jumped and played on the clean and tidy ground, carefree.
The children's eyes are no longer longing for food. They have got rid of hunger and are full of hope for the future.
Hubu Shangshu got out of the carriage and did not let the carriage follow, but only brought a few attendants to accompany the masters.
He focused on the shack area.
The shack area was half the size I remembered.
The place that was originally full of rubbish dumps has been surrounded by walls, and inside the walls are houses that have already been built.
The master said next to him, "My lord, this is the second phase of the project. It will be sold to the outside world, mainly for the living needs of ordinary people in the capital."
Hubu Shangshu hummed, "Has the house here been sold?"
Just as they were talking, a group of well-dressed people came out from the gate of the second phase talking and laughing.
The Minister of the Household Department stepped forward directly, "Excuse me, who can I find to buy a house?"
"Are you also here to buy a house? Unfortunately, you came late. The first batch of houses in the second phase were sold out half a month ago. We are here to get the keys today, and we will start moving tomorrow. The Chinese New Year is just around the corner. in the new house."
"You all bought the houses here?" Hubu Shangshu was a little surprised.
These people are all neatly dressed. But by looking at the material of the clothes, the uppers of the shoes, and the appearance, you can tell that they are all ordinary people in the capital, working every day to earn money. The money he earns is only enough to eat and drink, so how can he afford to buy a house.
"The house here is good, strong and cheap, and it is surrounded by walls. It is not far from the South City Gate. Of course, if you have money, you can buy it."
"My family of three generations and eleven people live in two rooms, so cramped that there is no place to stay. When the children grow up, they will have to buy a new house if they want to marry each other. At least let the children have a separate room. . Otherwise, the girl won’t marry me.”
Hubu Shangshu tried to ask: "The houses here are not cheap!"
"Of course it's not cheap. One building costs more than one hundred taels. Fortunately, you can buy a house with a loan. You only need to pay ten taels of capital money to get the keys and move into a new house."
"The loan interest is so high..."
"It's not high, it's not high." An old man interrupted the Minister of the Household Department, "Nowadays, many banks are following the example of Shaofu Bank, and the monthly interest is only one cent and five percent. This is already very cheap. But mortgages are cheaper than this, less How much is the interest released by the government in a year?"
"One year's interest is three cents and five percent."
Hubu Shangshu and the entourage behind him all took a deep breath.
The annual interest is only three cents and five percent, which is not only a price of conscience, but also a money-losing business.
A house of one hundred taels, even if it is loaned for ten or eight years, the interest is only a few dozen taels.
No wonder the small people in the capital, with only a few taels of silver in their savings, dare to spend money to buy a house.
The old man was cheerful, obviously happy that the group in front of him was shocked.
"You are all from other places. Many people like you look like this when they hear such a low interest rate. But you have come here by chance. The houses here have been sold out. If you want to buy, you have to wait until the spring of next year Only then will new houses be launched.”
"Thank you for letting me know." Hubu Shangshu said politely.
"You're welcome. Go in and have a look. There are model houses, so you can take a look."
Hubu Shangshu walked into the gate of the second phase with curiosity.
The second phase is divided into two parts, one side is the construction site, separated by wooden boards. On one side is a neat row of small second floors that have already been built.
Find a model home and go in for a tour.
From the perspective of Shangshu Hubu, the house does not have any aesthetic feeling at all, but it is strong, exquisite and compact, and has everything that should be there.
Each suite has at least four bedrooms and as many as seven or eight bedrooms. Enough for a family.
Due to the different prices, some houses have a small garden and a well. Such a house costs more than two hundred taels of silver. In terms of prices in the capital, they are still shockingly cheap.
Some houses only have a small patio for lighting without a well. Water has to be fetched from public wells. A house like this only costs around a hundred taels, which is still frighteningly cheap.
Inside the house, all white walls were painted.
The houses, like soldiers lined up, are neatly arranged together.
"This Gu Jiu really has a clear mind."
Hubu Shangshu said with emotion.
The master said: "The small house with a garden here is not bad. At such a cheap price, the officials are a little tempted and want to buy one. If you don't live in it yourself, you can rent it."
Several other followers nodded again and again, and they also thought the same.
The house is solid, well-planned, and beautiful. Small is small, but the sparrow is small and complete.
More than one hundred taels is not expensive. It would be great to buy a few buildings here and lease them to businessmen traveling from south to north, or to move to Beijing.
Hubu Shangshu laughed, "I'm a little moved by what you said. Let's go, let's go to the next phase of the project to have a look."
The master hastily introduced, "In the first phase, the residents are all refugees, and half of them have already moved in. The officials inquired that according to Mrs. Zhao's plan, the shack area will be forcibly demolished in the spring of next year, and all the refugees will have to buy a house and move out. No If you buy a house, you can’t work on the construction site to earn money.”
"To deal with these refugees, Gu Jiu's method is one after another. If she wants to demolish the shanty town, isn't she afraid of the refugees making trouble?"
The master laughed, "I am definitely not afraid. Those refugees have long been tamed by the guards under Mrs. Zhao."
Oh
Tobe Shangshu was full of curiosity.