The Hidden Immortal

Chapter 26 Buying a Shop

More than a month.

Li Shoutian, Chu Xun, Zhang Anxiu, and Zhang Sanchun (a married couple) brought their child to Pingshui Town.

The town, which used to be quite lively, is now deserted.

The Lin family was executed along with their entire clan, and their property was confiscated, which also affected the livelihoods of the entire town.

The shops that used to be near the Lin family's old residence, where they could buy and sell for tens of thousands of taels of silver, are now completely ignored.

It is said that the last person to take over was arrested and questioned because of business dealings with the Lin family, and he probably won't be coming back.

There's still no word on whether the shop has been confiscated.

As for other shops, prices plummeted even further.

From the initial few thousand taels, to a few hundred taels, and now to the present.

A shop about ten feet deep only costs forty taels.

A shop three zhang deep only costs less than a hundred taels!

However, even at such low prices, very few people came to buy.

After all, Pingshui Town used to be mainly inhabited by the Lin clan, but now that they have been arrested, the population has been reduced by more than half.

Although Pingshui Town is not a wealthy place, many refugees pass through it.

Perhaps they stayed because the town was quiet and there were many houses that were nominally confiscated and uninhabited.

Along the way, all I saw were large numbers of emaciated, skin-and-bones refugees kneeling on the ground begging.

But in the entire town of Pingshui, there are more beggars than people who are just trying to make a living, so where can they get any money?

Many people were so hungry that they went out to find wild grass and gnaw on tree bark.

In autumn and winter, wild grass is hard to find, which makes the snakes, insects, rats and ants in the town suffer.

Once discovered, a large number of people will rush to grab it.

Looking at the refugees who were starving and dazed, with lifeless eyes, Zhang Anxiu felt a pang of pity.

But she didn't have any good ideas. Her family only had a little over three acres of land, which they had to use to support her older brother's family.

Although he ate and drank with Chu Xun, Chu Xun's money didn't come from thin air.

Forty-seven mu of land can earn two hundred taels of silver a year.

Over the years, they have accumulated quite a bit of savings, but it is only a drop in the ocean when it comes to helping these refugees.

The newly appointed county magistrate is the second-highest scorer in this year's imperial examinations and has great ambitions.

A month ago, he gathered all the guests and village chiefs from the surrounding area together for a banquet.

There weren't any fancy dishes: a bowl of tofu, a bowl of pickled vegetables, and half a bowl of congee.

This young county magistrate, named Tang Shijun, ate congee instead of wine and spoke in a clear, resonant voice.

"Zhangnan County is now in dire need of reconstruction, and we cannot do without your hard work. Each village should take the lead in maintaining a good livelihood, with the village chief and the head of the village committee in charge."

"In addition, Pingshui Town has confiscated a great deal of assets. I have already petitioned the Ministry of Revenue to sell these assets and return them to the national treasury."

"But no one has shown any interest. I implore you all to generously donate to repay the nation's kindness!"

They put it nicely, but in reality, they just wanted people to spend money to buy back the assets confiscated from the Lin family.

The farmland is better; it can be rented to tenants.

The house is inanimate; it's useless to the imperial court if it's taken. It needs to be exchanged for silver.

However, in order to motivate everyone, Tang Shijun still offered some benefits.

Ten taels of silver could buy the right to purchase an acre of fertile land, with no upper limit.

The only condition is that the newly purchased land must be handed over to tenants for cultivation, and cannot be taken back for at least six years.

Although Tang Shijun didn't spell it out, who among them dared not give the new magistrate some face?

If you anger them, they might unleash their first major blunders, and you'll be in deep trouble.

Besides, buying a shop means you can buy fertile land, so it's not too bad.

Food is the most important thing for people. As long as you have land, you can earn it back sooner or later.

Today, Chu Xun and Li Shoutian are looking for shops to buy.

The refugees reeked of a sour, musty odor that stung the eyes.

Li Shoutian covered his nose and asked, "Why didn't the magistrate drive them away?"

Throughout history, what every official fears most is the gathering of displaced people.

If not handled properly, it could trigger a riot, making the effort thankless.

However, Tang Shijun had no intention of driving away the refugees; in fact, he allowed them to stay there.

Chu Xun said, "Our county magistrate is indeed extraordinary; his vision is far-sighted and beyond the reach of ordinary people."

Lin Qiaoxi, also covering her nose, looked over and asked upon hearing this, "What do you mean by that, Uncle?"

Chu Xun replied, "The sharp decline in the population of Pingshui Town is one of the root causes of the lack of customers in houses and shops. Although these refugees have nothing of value, they themselves can be used to supplement the population."

"If we rent them an acre of land, or have them work as shop assistants or servants for wealthy families, they can maintain a basic standard of living."

"Once the population is replenished and accumulated over the years, this place will hopefully prosper in a few years. This is what we call the demographic dividend."

"That's why the county magistrate said the newly purchased land must be rented out to others for at least six years. He wanted to retain these displaced people and transform them into a driving force for the development of Pingshui Town, and even the entire Zhangnan County!"

Everyone listened in a daze. Demographic dividend?

This was the first time they had ever heard the word.

After careful consideration, Chu Xun's theories seemed to make some sense.

Lin Qiaoxi asked in surprise, "Uncle doesn't seem to have attended a private school, so how does he know such principles? He can even understand the county magistrate's thoughts perfectly."

Before Chu Xun could speak, Zhang Anxiu had already raised her head proudly and said, "Our Xun-ge has always been very smart. Even without going to private school, he's no worse than a scholar!"

"Our family?" Lin Qiaoxi covered her mouth and chuckled. "When did my uncle become part of our family? Did my aunt bestow that title upon him?"

Zhang Anxiu realized what was happening and immediately felt her face burning, but she didn't refute it, only staring longingly at Chu Xun.

She is stubborn and very bold.

If Chu Xun hadn't kept his bedroom door closed every night, he might have willingly crawled into bed and made it a fait accompli.

Chu Xun coughed and said, "I just said it casually, don't take it seriously. Let's find a few suitable shops first."

This purchase of shops was primarily for Chu Xun.

Although Li Shoutian was the village chief, he didn't have much money. He only planned to spend thirty taels to buy a small shop about ten feet deep.

In this way, I can buy three more acres of land.

As for Chu Xun, he planned to spend at least five hundred taels.

This accounted for almost 40% of the silver he had accumulated over the years. The remaining silver was naturally used to buy land, renovate shops, or for daily necessities.

Everyone was surprised, but not unexpected, when they learned that Chu Xun could come up with so much silver.

After all, with 47 mu of fertile land in hand, although there has been more rain in recent years, it has hardly affected Chu Xun's harvest.

These fields alone can yield more than two hundred taels of silver each year.

In addition, he would occasionally "find" some interesting things in the woods, which he would sell to supplement his family's income, making it a considerable windfall.

Although Li Shoutian thought Chu Xun's point about the demographic dividend made sense, he still advised him to buy fewer shops.

After all, refugees are refugees; some are hardworking, while others are lazy and gluttonous.

It's hard to imagine how much time and effort it would take for these people to develop and expand Pingshui Town and even Zhangnan County.

If you really want to buy a shop, it's not too late to buy it when you see some promising signs.

However, Chu Xun did not heed the advice, and Li Shoutian was worried that it would take too long and be a losing proposition.

But for Chu Xun, time is the one thing he has no shortage of.

As long as he doesn't actively seek death, he can live for a very long time.

Under these circumstances, the earlier you buy, the less you spend, and the more cost-effective it is.