They were just cut off from ssages, but didn't have their ears covered.
As more and more city residents went to the suburbs to "look at houses," they more or less caught wind of sothing, and the housing prices in White Dew District beca uncontrollable.
Morning.
The newly risen sun had just climbed over the horizon, and the market in White Dew Town was already crowded and bustling with activity.
Stalls that once only saw a few villagers were now packed with unfamiliar faces from the city.
These city folks, dressed in clean and tidy wool coats and leather boots, waded back and forth through the muddy-mixed street without regard for decorum.
The old man selling apples stood in front of his stall, packing apples into paper bags for the strangers before him while complaining in slang to the vendor beside him.
"It's like seeing demons! The carriages passing by my stand today are more than I've seen all last year!"
"These guys are crazy! Do you rember my house with the leaky roof? I was about to turn it into a pigsty! Guess what? Suddenly so guy in a top hat shoved a bag of money at and told to get out of his house... Haha! I've never t soone so forthright! That house actually sold for 10 gold coins!"
The grocery store owner's wife, leaning against the counter, chid in with gleeful enthusiasm, "Exactly, my old house got sold just yesterday for 20 gold coins! My husband thought he was dreaming, today he went straight to the city to find schools for the kids!"
The neighbors around listened with envy.
They had houses too, but only one—selling them wasn't easy... unless the price went up.
"That's nothing," a young farr from the next stall ca over, whispering mysteriously, "The abandoned farms on the east side of town are the real shocker. I heard soone bought one for over a hundred gold coins all at once yesterday! I tell you... these city folks are betting on land prices going up! Isn't it said a Prince is coming to build a factory here? By next month, the price doubling wouldn't surprise !"
The grocer's wife, who was just laughing, suddenly looked distressed upon hearing that.
Even that broken-down farm could sell for a hundred gold coins?
She suddenly felt she had sold at a loss.
Not far away, in front of a dilapidated old house, an intense argunt was erupting.
A well-dressed fat rchant was impatiently waving his pipe, shouting at an elderly lady in distress.
"Thirty gold coins?! Why don't you just rob ?! That broken house of yours—if I can rent it out for half a gold coin a year, I'd thank the heavens! If you're serious, I'll give you twenty gold coins and this place is mine!"
The house was indeed quite broken; he even suspected—if his argunt got any louder, he might just blow the shaky roof off.
The old lady tightly clutched the corner of her apron, blushing but stubbornly refusing to give in.
"Twenty gold coins?! Don't even think about it! I won't sell for less than thirty! My family has lived here for three generations! I... I have feelings for this land!"
Just as she finished speaking, a booming voice interrupted, and an old gentleman, grabbing a cane, rushed over with a servant.
"Thirty gold coins! I'll pay! Madam, let's head to the church now and have the Priest witness our transaction! Saint Sis above, you cannot go back on your word!"
Seeing the cooked duck about to fly away, the fat rchant turned green with envy, letting go of decorum and shouting loudly.
"Thirty-five gold coins! Sell to ! I was here first—"
"Forty coins." The old gentleman with the cane slightly lifted his chin, and his oversight smile carried a hint of sarcasm, "You ca first? I didn't see that... All I saw was a liar trying to make a deal with deceit. Saint Sis above, you should be ashad of yourself."
Fat rchant: "%￥#@!"
Their quarrel attracted countless onlookers and soon soone called out an even higher price, causing even the well-dressed old gentleman to panic and hastily urge the old lady to close the deal promptly for the sake of Saint Sis.
The old lady was dumbfounded by the skyrocketing price, speechless and almost fainted.
Fortunately, her son rushed out from the house, enthusiastically shaking hands with the highest bidder and quickly dragging him to the church, bringing this farce to an end.
Not far away, in the tavern.
The townsfolk having an early drink were toasting each other excitedly, even tipping the waiter with silver coins instead of copper coins.
A bit tipsy, the old Blacksmith, his face flushed with excitent, kept pounding the table with his hand, "Praise the Emperor! Praise the Prince! Just the day before, my blacksmith shop and the yard behind it actually sold for fifty gold coins! I've never seen so much money in my life!"
He barely saved two gold coins after a year of hard work; now he could retire comfortably with this money in his pocket!
Of course—
At the rate he's drinking, it won't be long before he'd be at the docks helping carry boxes.
The woodcutter next to him chuckled condescendingly, clearly looking down on this neighbor's shortsightedness, calmly saying,
"What's the rush? With so many people rushing to buy, the price is sure to go up."
"Wait more? I think you're the one gambling!" The town baker shook his head, advising, "I don't think this is right. Look at those buying houses—how many truly want to live here? What if prices drop soday?"
User Comments
0 comments from readers