Chapter 1533: Started

Chapter 1518: It Begins

Six or seven days after the demonstration blocks in the East City were sold out, the authorities began selling the second and third blocks.

Ordinary citizens were still observing, but wealthy merchants and officials who had missed out on the first sale had already prepared their funds and were waiting with bated breath, buying immediately upon release.

This immediate buying frenzy was extraordinary. A residential plot purchased for one thousand taels of silver saw its price surge by thirty percent within four days, as the adjacent land was zoned and sold at a thirty percent higher price.

Three days later, it rose by another thirty percent!

A seventy percent increase in seven days, with no pain or risk—what business could yield such exorbitant profits?

One wealthy merchant attempted to resell a newly acquired residence. It was listed and snatched up on the same day, with over a dozen buyers competing for the single plot. Its appeal lay in its ideal distance from both the small lake and the market, ensuring it was unaffected by waterside insects or market odors.

That evening, the merchant successfully sold the property at twenty percent above the market price.

It could really be sold!

The silver earned felt heavy and substantial in hand.

Suddenly, rumors of price surges spread everywhere, alongside whispers of families scrambling to gather enough money overnight to snap up a new residential plot in the new city from the authorities.

Buy now, profit immediately.

Even Fan Shuang was tempted and immediately came to ask He Lingchuan:

"Brother He, do you think it's worthwhile if I buy a few residential plots in the new city?"

Whenever a major issue arose, He Lingchuan was the first person he thought to consult.

His family had just acquired tens of thousands of taels of silver; should they take this opportunity to increase its value?

He Lingchuan stated upfront: "I am only responsible for the construction of the new city. The sale of residential plots falls under the housing department."

King Yao dared not let him handle money, so He Lingchuan was only in charge of building the new city's residential plots, not selling them, and their prices were completely unrelated to him.

Fan Shuang shamelessly pressed: "Predict! Can you make a prediction?"

"It's worthwhile," He Lingchuan said without hesitation, "but I advise you to use no more than half of your total assets for purchases, and to sell at the right moment."

Thinking about selling before even buying.

"The right moment?" Fan Shuang humbly inquired, "When is the best time to sell?"

Before He Lingchuan could answer, Fan Shuang interjected: "I'm a simple person; I probably won't be able to grasp such timings. How about Brother He gives me a reminder when the time comes?"

"Simple? I think most people aren't as wise as you." At least Fan Shuang had self-awareness and knew to humbly seek advice, so He Lingchuan instructed him: "Just watch the interest rates on loans. When they dare to charge more than ten percent interest, that's when you sell your property."

"Lenders?" Fan Shuang thought for a moment, then realized, "Right, residential plots are so profitable, those with money will also buy plots. If others want to borrow silver from them, the interest rates will have to be extremely high!"

Private loans in Tianshui City were calculated monthly. The so-called "ten percent interest" meant an annual interest rate of one hundred and twenty percent. This was even after several official crackdowns that prohibited compound interest.

At least, it was not permitted on the surface.

Without an income expectation far exceeding that figure, who would dare to borrow money to buy land?

Out of a mysterious trust in He Xiao, Fan Shuang did not ask why, but instead said, "And then?"

"There's no 'then' after that," He Lingchuan said meaningfully. "Risks emerge from rising prices."

Fan Shuang had originally intended to ask, "How much has Brother He bought?" but the words spun around in his mouth a few times before he retracted them. Having observed much of human nature in recent months, he had developed a bit of shrewdness.

Of course, he didn't know that a portion of He Lingchuan's money had already been dispersed, though not for buying residential plots.

Immediately, Fan Shuang took his money to subscribe. The tens of thousands of taels of silver he had just acquired were barely warm before seventeen or eighteen thousand were spent.

When he returned, he found He Lingchuan again: "Wow, the official building was packed with people; you could barely walk without squeezing! After just a few days, limits have been set: each person can subscribe to a maximum of four residential plots. I heard it's because someone ordered fifty plots in one go."

"In the past few days, high-ranking officials and dignitaries have entered the market. If they weren't restricted, how would ordinary citizens get a turn?" The powerful families and official merchants of Tianshui City had deep pockets. While commoners had to pool their family's money to buy a single plot, these elites could simultaneously purchase dozens or even hundreds without batting an eye. Without restrictions, the new city would likely become deserted in the future.

"The King is wise!" Fan Shuang added, "There were several lenders soliciting customers at the entrance of the official building. I recognized two of them as subordinates of Qi Shu'an and casually asked them about rates."

"What was the interest rate?"

"Four percent interest." This meant paying four percent of the total loan amount monthly. If the residential plot's price didn't increase by fifty percent within a year, they would lose money.

He Lingchuan immediately said, "It's far from over."

It must be said that King Yao's subordinates were highly talented. He Lingchuan only provided the monarch with a few basic steps, and the royal court naturally had a system and a team capable of executing the matter clearly and flawlessly!

In fact, the expanded new city sales plan now bore only a faint resemblance to He Lingchuan's original proposal; the specifics were completely unrelated.

The expansion of the capital had been debated for seven or eight years, with countless previous proposals. Now, they could finally be integrated.

For example, the authorities zoned the land, interspersing good and less desirable plots for sale, using the former to boost the latter, and even offering less desirable plots as bonuses for purchasing good ones. This ensured everything sold. After all, these were paper prices without physical properties; discussions of location, size, and layout relied on gestures and imagination. The quality wasn't immediately apparent, making every plot easy to sell.

Another example was the new regulation in Tianshui City: all property transactions had to involve a real estate agent as an intermediary; otherwise, they would be considered illegal, and the authorities would not handle any disputes that arose.

This was because, with real estate agents, the authorities could collect deed taxes through them. Therefore, private transactions were neither supported nor encouraged.

Five days later, the people of Tianshui City indeed witnessed examples of individuals getting rich by buying properties around them.

"My cousin spent one thousand taels on two small shopfronts in Dragon-Tiger Street in the new city. Now, someone is offering three thousand five hundred taels, and he still won't sell!"

There were also inspiring examples of successful turnarounds:

"Remember Old Wang from the alley next door? The lazy good-for-nothing who couldn't even find a wife! His family sold their old house, borrowed another thousand taels, and pooled their money to buy him a small plot in the new city. Wow, it went up right after he bought it, that very night! It surged by seventy percent in the blink of an eye! Now his family has mortgaged the property and is using the money to buy more land."

"Zhang Xiaoshui, the real estate agent from East Street, with his clumsy way of speaking, used to earn less than half a guan a day. Now, it's great! He facilitates commission collections over a dozen times daily, counting money until his hands cramp."

The demonstrative effect of people nearby was especially powerful. Hearing that someone who was originally less fortunate suddenly soared to success with just this external boost made everyone's hearts itch, wishing they could pull the person down and take their place.

The vast Tianshui City was originally a hub for gossip, but in recent days, the most discussed topic on every street corner and after every meal was one and only one: