After arguing with Zhu Houzhao about the Ottoman Empire's envoys for a while, Liu Jin and Zhu Houzhao strolled around the streets of the capital very leisurely.
The New Year is coming soon, the fifteenth year of Hongzhi is about to pass, and the Ming Dynasty is about to usher in the sixteenth year of Hongzhi.
"Old Liu, this capital is getting more and more lively. There are too many people here."
Zhu Houzhao kept looking around with his small eyes, and he seemed very excited. After going out for a walk, he suddenly felt that the changes in the capital were much greater.
"The changes are really big. Last year, I remember that this street was still dominated by old houses. Now they have all turned into high-rise buildings. These high-rise buildings look very beautiful."
Zhu Houzhao pointed to the buildings on both sides and said.
The capital city has indeed developed very rapidly in the past few years. Houses and roads are being built everywhere. Brand-new residential areas are constantly appearing one after another, and they are immediately filled with people.
"Your Highness, this place belongs to the outside of the old capital. Naturally, it is developing very fast. The changes in the capital are not big. It is still the same."
Liu Jin nodded slightly and said, the current appearance of the capital city to Liu Jin feels a bit like the Shanghai on the beach that he had seen in movies before time travel. It is developing rapidly, and the contrast between the old and the new is very obvious.
Of course, the wealth and self-confidence of the people of the Ming Dynasty are far from being comparable to that of the Republic of China people in Shanghai in the movie. There is no comparison in all aspects, whether it is food, clothing, housing, transportation, or mental state.
"It's open~It's open~"
"Jingyuan Community is open for sale~Each unit only costs 666 taels~"
"If you pass by, don't miss it. If you miss it, you won't miss it again. The price of houses will definitely increase next year."
As soon as the two of them took a few steps, they immediately saw a group of guys wearing uniforms. They were holding promotional posters similar to newspapers. They were handing them out to passers-by while constantly shouting.
"Have house prices increased again?"
Hearing the shouts of these guys, Liu Jin couldn't help but be slightly startled.
I have been a bit busy this year, so I don’t have time to pay attention to the property market in Beijing. I didn’t expect that the property market in Beijing would be so hot. In just a short time, the price of a house in Beijing has increased to more than 600 taels of silver.
"Let's go, let's go and have a look~"
Liu Jin brought Zhu Houzhao to the front of these guys.
"Are you two gentlemen going to buy a house?"
"Our house in Jingyuan Community is definitely not to be missed. The location is very good. It is right next to the Daming Royal Hotel. There are also zoos and football fields within five miles nearby. In addition, it is also very close to the Affiliated Hospital of Daming Medical College."
"We have planned a private school in Jingyuan Community. When the time comes, many owners can raise money together to hire teachers to teach, which will also make it easier for their children to take the imperial examination in the future."
The waiter looked at Liu Jin and Zhu Houzhao carefully and introduced them to them very enthusiastically.
Liu Jin took a propaganda poster and looked at it carefully. Although this poster was in black and white, it was also printed extremely delicately. It not only contained text descriptions, but also had maps on it. It was essentially nothing like the propaganda posters of later generations.
the difference.
"You did a really good job~"
Liu Jin also nodded slightly, thought for a while and said, "House prices in this capital have risen too fast."
"Isn't that right? The price has doubled, and now the houses are getting smaller and smaller."
"In the past, the houses built here were more than ten square feet, and some were even more than twenty square feet, and the price was less than two hundred taels of silver. But now, the average house is only about ten square feet, but
The selling price has already reached more than 600 taels of silver."
When the clerk heard this, he immediately nodded and said, "So, if you have money, you might as well buy some as investment. If you keep it for a few years, the house will double. It is much better to just keep it in the bank."
(One foot is roughly equal to ten square feet!)
"That's true, but there are already a lot of houses in our house~"
Liu Jin smiled and nodded.
"Sir, you don't have to worry about too many houses. No matter how many houses you have, you can store them and rent them out. Now the rental income is quite good. The population in Beijing is increasing, and the demand for houses is increasing, so is the rental income.
Very good."
Naturally, the clerk would not let go of big customers like Liu Jin and Zhu Houzhao easily, so he quickly spoke harder.
"Okay, okay, let's buy ten sets~"
Zhu Houzhao, who was next to him, was a little impatient. He took out a stack of banknotes from his arms and threw them over and said, "Go negotiate with my housekeeper about buying a house."
“It’s really annoying~”
After saying that, he and Liu Jin continued to stroll on the street. As for the guy behind him, he looked at Zhu Houzhao in stunned silence, and then looked at the stack of silver notes in his hand. All the banknotes were one hundred taels each.
The banknotes are brand new, brand new, this stack is ten thousand taels of silver.
"I've really met a rich man. This is tens of thousands of taels of silver~"
The other party couldn't help but sigh, and then he immediately smiled and discussed the details of the house purchase with the person Zhu Houzhao left behind.
"...This problem has really never changed."
Liu Jin smiled silently. Zhu Houzhao now likes to pretend to be rich. Every time he goes out, he will always wear a few wads of banknotes on his body. His spending is extremely generous.
Well, he kind of enjoys this feeling now, the feeling of being rich.
“It’s New Year’s goods, it’s New Year’s goods~”
"White noodles from Liaodong, rice from Nanyang, white sugar from Ryukyu, raisins from the Western Regions, ham from Jinhua, Zhejiang, bacon from Sichuan, beef jerky from Australia..."
I was walking around casually on the street, and heard the shouts of shop assistants on the street.
As the New Year is approaching, all kinds of businesses are very hot, and the most popular ones are naturally the New Year's goods.
"Go in and have a look~"
Liu Jin walked into a store with great interest. This store was similar to the department stores of later generations. All kinds of goods were placed together for you to choose at will, and you were not afraid of people stealing or eating them.
“There are so many types of goods~”
Wandering around very casually, Liu Jin looked at the various goods carefully.
This is just a very ordinary store, but it has a complete range of goods, not only goods from all over the Ming Dynasty, but also a variety of goods from overseas. More importantly, the prices of these goods are still high.
Quite cheap.
White flour from Liaodong costs less than five cents per catty, and good Jiangnan rice only costs six cents per catty. White sugar from Ryukyu was only affordable by the aristocracy and the truly wealthy a few years ago.
It cost one tael of silver per catty, but now it only costs less than one hundred cents per catty, and every household can buy some dolls for the greedy family members.
Raisins from Turpan in the Western Region only cost less than 30 cents per catty; as for other melon seeds, peanuts, beans and the like, they are even cheaper, costing a few cents per catty, just bring a tael of silver.
Buy a lot of them.
"Old Liu, what's the use of looking at these things?"
Zhu Houzhao followed Liu Jin a little bored, looking where Liu Jin was looking, and asked with some confusion.
"Your Highness, these are things that are closely related to the lives of ordinary people. Through these things, we can roughly know the living standards of ordinary people, and also know whether the court's policies are appropriate."
"I don't know if you still remember a few years ago, when people in the capital were celebrating the New Year, where could they have such a selection of New Year's goods as they do now."
"These are the New Year's goods for eating. They are available in the south and north today. Even Huanghuangzhou has begun to transport dried salmon back to the capital."
"A few years ago, it was good for the people to have enough to eat during the New Year. How can we sell New Year's goods from all over the world at very cheap prices like now?"
"Your Highness, look at these people buying new year's goods, and then think about the hungry people you saw when you were in Tianjin a few years ago."
Liu Jin smiled and replied.
"That's it~"
When Zhu Houzhao heard this and thought about it carefully, he suddenly became enlightened.
"Your Highness, the key to whether people are living well or not depends on what they eat and what they wear."
"That's why you can know how well the people of the Ming Dynasty are doing by visiting this market. There are many things that you can't see above the court."
Liu Jin smiled and continued.
"Take food as an example. In the past, eating was very difficult for ordinary people, and having a full meal was a luxury."
"Although the capital is the center of the Ming Dynasty, the price of food is still relatively high. The prices of rice and white flour from Jiangnan are relatively high. As for these various New Year's goods, such as sugar, walnuts, dried meat, etc.
The quantity of these things is small, and often only wealthy families can afford them."
"As for raisins from the Western Regions, beef jerky from the grasslands, dried salted fish from Southeast Asia, dried kangaroos from Australia, etc., even if you have money, there is no place to buy these goods."
"But now, it can be bought everywhere in the Ming Dynasty, and the price is not expensive. Even ordinary people can afford it. This shows that the lives of our people have become richer, and it also shows that many national policies formulated by the imperial court are truly useful.
The national policy is a policy that can truly strengthen the country and enrich the people."
Liu Jin pointed to the many new year goods from overseas in the store and said to Zhu Houzhao again.
"I understand~"
"What you mean is that our Ming Dynasty should continue to expand externally, so that we can bring all the good things from all over the world back to our Ming Dynasty for consumption by the people of our Ming Dynasty."
"Just like the raisins from the Western Regions. If our Ming Dynasty had not conquered the Western Regions, how would we be able to eat these fine raisins."
"There is also the dried salmon from the Golden Continent. If we, the Ming Dynasty, had not actively developed colonies, we, the people of the Ming Dynasty, would not have been able to eat such delicious dried salmon."
When Zhu Houzhao heard this, he thought about it and said with his eyes brightening.
"...Your Highness understands it correctly~"
Liu Jin couldn't find the words to refute for a moment.
