This is a group of villas in a wealthy area of Xincheng, South District of Beijing.
Most of the houses in the South District are high-rise buildings, which can maximize the use of land and at the same time sell for more money.
Nowadays, the price of land in Beijing is getting more and more expensive, and the land in the new city of Southern District is becoming more and more scarce and tight. Therefore, there are almost no new houses and communities like this kind of villa.
The existing ones were all developed more than ten years ago. At that time, there were courtyard-style housing complexes, and the prices were quite cheap. You could buy them for a thousand taels of silver.
However, now, even an ordinary suite can no longer be bought without 2,000 taels of silver. As for this kind of villa, a courtyard-style house, the price has risen even more, and has already exceeded the price of 1,000 taels of silver.
There are a lot of rich people here in the capital, and there are many dignitaries gathered here. There are always buyers for good things. There are fewer and fewer villas and courtyard-style houses. The key is that they are still in the core and prosperous area of the new city in the southern district. Then
Even more scarce.
Those who can own a villa here are basically wealthy people in the capital.
As for the dignitaries in the capital, they basically live in the inner city of the capital, which is close to the palace and convenient for going to court in the morning and visiting other nobles.
There is a large villa covering an area of several hundred square meters. The two characters "Chen's Mansion" are written on the door of the villa. Everyone in the entire villa community knows that Chen, the owner of the famous Ping'an Trading Company, lives here.
Safety.
Ping'an Trading Company, among the many large and small trading firms in the Ming Dynasty, can also be regarded as a medium-to-large-scale trading firm. It is involved in shipping, ocean trade, colonial trading, slave trading, plantations and many other fields. It is said that it can earn millions of taels a year.
silver.
In addition, Chen Ping'an is good at business. He has also opened more than a dozen factories of various sizes, such as textile factories, cement factories, glass factories, etc. He also has his own pastures in the Western Regions, Liaodong, Nanyun, Henan and other places, and Nanyang has his own rubber.
Plantations, etc.
It can be said that Chen Ping'an really has a great family and a great business. He has followed the development trend of the Ming Dynasty and stood at the forefront of the development of the times. He has accumulated such a huge foundation through many years of hard work.
"Father, is this oil industry really worth investing in?"
"I've heard many people say that investing in the oil industry is a waste of money. The oil is buried underground, but it's very difficult to find."
Chen Pingan's two sons, Chen Hui and Chen Long, are discussing with Chen Pingan in the study whether to invest in the oil industry next year.
Nowadays, there are more and more cars, and people are gradually getting used to using kerosene lamps, so the demand for oil is also increasing greatly, and the market for oil has always been very good.
"I have made inquiries clearly. This oil business can definitely be done."
"Although oil is hard to find, every time you find an oil well, the oil will flow out like spring water. Oil is like water, and what comes out continuously is white money."
"I talked about this with an old friend from Daming Petroleum Company a few days ago. He said that oil trading can indeed be done. The investment is relatively large and the risk is relatively high, but the returns are quite good."
"We will give it a try next year, and if possible, we will increase investment."
Chen Pingan looked at his two sons and was very pleased. The sons had grown up and were helping him manage the family's property, and they were doing quite well.
He also has a younger daughter, Chen Xue, who is now 16 years old and has just graduated from the Imperial College of Art.
The youngest daughter, Chen Xuecheng, is beautiful and fragrant. She has reached the age of 28. The matchmakers who come to the Chen family for matchmaking are almost breaking the Chen family's threshold.
However, Chen Ping'an doesn't like ordinary people at all. He has extremely high requirements. Not only does he need the other person to have a good background, but more importantly, he also needs to be a good person, with good looks, and even more important, character and character.
There are many powerful families in the capital looking for matchmakers, but Chen Ping'an doesn't like them, because most of the children of these powerful families are not very lively, careless, and have no ambition to make progress, and they are often not the eldest son.
A concubine himself is not taken seriously.
The reason why he found the daughter of a businessman like himself was just because his woman was beautiful and his family still had some money.
Chen Ping'an doesn't look down on such people. His daughter Chen Xue is also a very discerning person, and even ordinary young men can't look down on her.
When Chen Ping'an and his son were discussing how to develop oil business next year, Chen Xue was reading a letter in Chen Xue's boudoir. The more she read, the more sad she became.
"...After the Lantern Festival, I will leave the capital for the colony of South Africa. After this farewell, I don't know when I will be able to see you again."
"Perhaps by the time we meet again, things will have changed."
"I feel so much reluctance in my heart, but the most reluctant thing is that I will never be able to see you again."
"How I wish I could transform into a star in the sky and be by your side every day, even if I can only look at you from a distance."
Seeing the longing and sadness overflowing in the letter, Chen Xue also started crying.
There are many people pursuing Chen Xue, but she doesn't like them all. Only Liu Da can catch her eye.
Although the two are not publicly together, they often exchange letters with each other. They used to talk about some things around each other, but recently, because Liu Da is about to travel far and leave the capital, the emotions in the letters also burst out.
, describing the overwhelming reluctance in my heart.
"Why are you crying?"
Just when Chen Xue was crying while looking at the letter, her mother Qian walked in. Seeing her precious daughter crying, she also asked quickly.
"No, it's nothing~"
Chen Xue panicked all of a sudden and wanted to put the letter away in a panic, but it was already too late.
"Who wrote you the letter?"
Qian took a look, grabbed it and started looking at it very quickly.
"You are actually dating someone..."
After reading it, Qian immediately became angry.
This man is so shameless that he wrote such a letter to his daughter. Doesn’t he know that this will ruin a girl’s reputation?
"No~ I don't."
Chen Xue immediately became even more panicked, and her face suddenly turned red.
Daming is still relatively conservative and traditional in this regard. That is to say, in the new schools, free love is slowly sprouting, but basically it is still mainly underground love, and they don't dare to let their parents know about it.
The Chen family is a wealthy family, so it stands to reason that they should go to a traditional private school, but Chen Ping'an knows that people who go to traditional private schools are useless.
My family does not plan to take the imperial examination route, but has always been in business. We need people who can understand all aspects, and we also need a large number of talents with new education.
Therefore, the three children were all sent to study in new-style schools, and the results did not disappoint Chen Pingan. Children who graduated from new-style schools have a wide range of knowledge and know a lot. There are also many classmates in new-style schools, and they are very good at business management.
The family business is still very helpful.
"No?"
"Then take a look at what's written in this letter?"
"They are all dirty words and shameless things. How can you, a girl, do this to others?"
"If word of this gets out, where will our Chen family's face be in the future?"
"Do you want to get married?"
Qian was very angry and asked her maid to tell Chen Ping'an, Chen Hui and Chen Long who were in the study.
Soon, the three of them learned the news and came to Chen Xue's boudoir, where they read each other's letters written by Liu Da to Chen Xue.
"Who is this Liu Da?"
"Explain everything to me clearly. He is shameless for writing such a thing, and we, the Chen family, are even more shameless."
Chen Pingan looked very angry.
My precious daughter has always been reluctant to get married, but she unexpectedly fell in love with someone secretly. You think she is the poor scholar and the rich daughter in a drama.
If he were a scholar, he would have admitted that he could take the imperial examination and become an official in the future and stand out. However, looking at this letter, although the handwriting is very good, the content clearly shows that he is from a new-style school.
The students in this new-style school are basically children from ordinary families. Very few children from wealthy families will send their children to the new-style school.
"Father, mother~"
"It's really not what you think."
Chen Xue's face was red to her neck, and her eyes were watery.
"It's not what we thought, what is it like?"
Chen Ping'an said with a dark face. He was a respectable person after all. If this matter spread, he would be completely embarrassed.
"Be honest and understand this matter, I will ask your brother to give him a good warning."
"He, he was just a classmate of mine in middle school. Later he was admitted to Imperial College and graduated this year. His family arranged for him to go to the South African colony next year, so he wrote a letter to say goodbye to me."
Chen Xue lowered her head and said hesitantly.
"Imperial College?"
Hearing this, Chen Pingan's tone softened slightly.
Imperial College is one of the best new colleges and universities in Ming Dynasty. It is very difficult to get into. Those who can get into it are the best among the new schools. Neither of my two sons have been admitted to this college.
However, when he heard that the other party was going to the South African colony, such a far away place, Chen Ping'an immediately said with a cold face: "Where does his family live? Where is it usually?"
"I'm going to South Africa now, and I'm still entangled with you by writing letters. If I am a smart person, I should know that at this time, I shouldn't be unclear with you."
"If this matter gets out, our Chen family will be completely disgraced. How can you get married in the future?"
Chen Ping'an became more and more angry. After speaking, he also motioned to Chen Hui and Chen Long to investigate the matter. They must find out who the brat was and give him a good warning.
"No, we are just friends."
Chen Xue tried her best to defend herself, but she was also worried about Liu Da.