Dongshan City is divided into twelve neighborhood districts.
Named with "Mountain, Clear, Bright, Elegant" representing the four cardinal directions, it must be said that the people who planned and built Dongshan City indeed had some literary and cultural sentiments.
The Mountain district is in the north of the city, named "Qing, Yuan, Kui."
The Bright district is in the east of the city, named "Chuan, Ye, Jiang."
The Clear district is in the west of the city, named "Yue, Yuan, Ti."
The Elegant district is in the south of the city, named "Yue (Tongle), Ping, Li."
In addition to the twelve neighborhood districts, there are also two massive markets, known as the East Market and the West Market, each with its own focus.
The East Market mainly deals in bulk commodity goods, while the West Market focuses on retail. The neighborhood districts are divided by the city's main roads for easy management and are not enclosed; there is no curfew within the city either.
To live in Dongshan City, the first requirement is to have a place to stay; staying at an inn all the time would be too uneconomical, not to mention the high cost and lack of private space.
Renting a house is necessary; of course, if you have the money, you could directly buy a house.
Houses in Dongshan City are not cheap; for a three-room tile house with a courtyard, the cheapest would cost five hundred silver, and it's fortunate if the area is about one-sixth of the Sun Family's Herbal Hall, and it's not in the best location either.
For a slightly better location, it will cost over a thousand, and if it comes with a storefront facing the street, it won't be less than three thousand silver.
The prices in Dongshan City are already expensive enough, so one can only imagine how much more in Li Jing, which is bigger and even more bustling than Dongshan City.
To find a good location and affordable housing — there simply isn't any. Even if one appears, it gets snatched up immediately, not giving you a chance to pick it up cheap.
It's the same for renting; Lin Miao visited several real estate agencies early in the morning, asked several agents, and for his requirement to rent a house, the minimum is six silver per month, and you can't choose the location.
They are all at the end of alleys or in less desirable areas.
Back at the inn.
After a night's rest, Sun Youwei and Yun regained their spirits and paid for the night's lodging.
If they didn't decide to continue staying by the afternoon, they would have to pack their things and leave.
"Junior Brother, did you find a house?" Sun Youwei asked caringly when she saw Lin Miao return.
"Not yet, but there are some leads." Lin Miao gave her a reassuring smile, as some things can't be rushed.
"What about tonight..."
"Let's stay another night, we should find a house by tomorrow." Lin Miao said; finding a house is his primary task right now, everything else can wait.
"Alright."
"Senior Sister, let me check your pulse again."
Lin Miao checked Sun Youwei's pulse; it had become more stable, indicating that his prescription was effective. Conditions in Qingping Town, including Baihe County, were limited, and some herbs couldn't be found, but Dongshan City is different; it's the largest herbal distribution center in Lanzhou.
He should be able to find the medicinal herbs he needs.
After lunch, Lin Miao went to pay for another night's lodging and then went out again, this time specifically searching for housing.
After careful consideration, Lin Miao summarized and organized his requirements for a house; it wasn't about requiring a good location or just being cheap.
It was about his future target group, potential clients, or the "chives" he could harvest.
His original purpose for coming to Dongshan City was to first take the "physician" exam, obtain the "physician" qualification, and secure a stable position.
But now, he has changed his mind; he wants to earn money first, and as long as he earns enough, he can establish himself in Dongshan City and first solve the problems of food and shelter.
To earn money, he needs to find the right investment direction.
Not all businesses are suitable for him, for instance, creating better paper is like having treasure that invites trouble; even if you develop it, can you keep it?
This includes making glass, brewing distilled liquor, and purifying coarse salt, which brings immense wealth and also immense disaster.
If you don't have the ability to secure this wealth, don't entertain the idea, or it will lead to a disastrous end.
Making soap, creating some perfume — it's not impossible; this world already has them, and even if you develop them, can you really compete with the world's people?
His current capital is very small, so he must plan carefully and start from practical aspects.
That is "food!"
The people rely on food as their heaven.
Living in this world, one must breathe air; without breathing, a person will suffocate; without drinking water, a person will die of thirst; without eating, a person will starve.
For ordinary people, being full is satisfying, but for those who can eat well, they will have higher demands.
They want not only flavorful food but also nutritious and delicious food.
Street food.
With the capital Lin Miao currently has, he can only start with street food.
Never underestimate the business of "street food;" once it grows big, it becomes a large enterprise, and as long as the taste remains unchanged, the business is sure to be profitable and can continue steadily.
The street food was prepared, and its earning potential was extremely high.
Among the numerous snacks, "stinky tofu" was a unique delicacy of Huaxia. Moreover, Yun herself was skilled in tofu-making. Once she learned the recipe for "stinky tofu," she could whip it up in no time.
Stinky tofu had low costs and high profits, not even requiring a storefront. You could simply set it up on a pushcart.
Who loved these strong-flavored snacks the most? The common folk.
Therefore, the place where he rented a house needed to be closer to where many common people gathered, as they were his target customers. Additionally, he needed a courtyard with a water well because making tofu required a lot of water, and it wouldn't work without it.
The South City was a place where commoners gathered, and it was also the most densely populated area in Dongshan City. The streets here were as tangled as a spider's web.
This was the best place he found to rent a house.
After searching around, he took a liking to one particular courtyard.
Xiuyue Square, where most of the entertainment establishments of Dongshan City were concentrated—Wanhua Tower, Shuyu Pavilion, Qunfang Courtyard, Lotus Tower...
There was even a Lotus Tower here?!
This Lotus Tower, not the other Lotus Tower, was just the name of an entertainment place.
"Young sir, what do you think of this courtyard? It's big enough, has a well in the yard, and the previous owner just moved out recently. The rent is only ten taels of silver a month. In Dongshan City, renting such a large courtyard for this amount is quite a bargain..." Lin Miao followed the real estate agent who managed the property listings inside.
The courtyard was not small and very neat. There were no signs of decay in the house, and the furniture inside was intact apart from a layer of dust, indicating it hadn't been occupied for one or two months.
Such a good house in a bustling area hadn't been rented out for so long.
Where there's something unusual, there's bound to be something wrong.
Although Lin Miao was young, his mind hosted the soul of someone over forty. How could he not realize there must be an issue with the courtyard?
Usually, the only reason such nice properties wouldn't rent out is likely because it was a haunted house.
Haunted houses weren't necessarily un-rentable, but if they became haunted and subsequent tenants had accidents, that made things worse.
In this case, even if the place was cheap, people were likely afraid to take the risk.
The agent had bad intentions, deliberately concealing this critical piece of information from him. But you could only half-trust the words of such agents.
The ancient saying "merchants, drivers, innkeepers, and agents deserve punishment even if innocent" highlights how few good people there were in the agent industry.
"What's over the wall here?" Lin Miao pointed at the three-story building across the courtyard wall.
The agent gave an awkward smile, "Young sir, that's Huaye Tower next door."
"What's Huaye Tower? What do they do?" Lin Miao feigned ignorance.
"Young sir, once you rent this courtyard, you'll naturally find out."
"Ten taels a month is too expensive. It's beyond my budget. If only it could be a bit cheaper," Lin Miao said with a troubled expression.
"Young sir, how much can you afford?" The agent wanted to rent out this place quickly, otherwise, it would become a burden on his hands. Initially, they didn't worry about renting it, but it's now costing them money each month.
Because the agency had a mandate agreement with the owner, whether or not they rented it out, or for how much, the owner would receive the agreed amount every month.
"I can only offer up to six taels a month."
"Six taels, that's too low, young sir. I have a full mandate agreement with the owner. Whether rented or not, I must pay a fixed amount each month. At six taels, I'll be losing money. How can I conduct such a losing business?"
"I'm very satisfied with this courtyard, but I'm not necessarily going to rent this death-trap courtyard from you," Lin Miao smiled slightly.
After viewing so many properties, spending almost the whole afternoon running around, this courtyard was indeed the best and exceeded his expectations.
The only drawback was that it was likely a haunted house.
The agent's eyes twitched instantly at these words. He thought the young man lacked worldly experience but was surprised that he knew so much.
"Young sir, can you add a bit more, maybe eight taels a month?" The agent forced a negotiating smile onto his face.
"Is this courtyard for sale?"
"Young sir is thinking of buying this courtyard?" The agent was startled.
"I'm just asking offhandedly."
"It's indeed for sale, but the price isn't cheap. If nothing had happened, this courtyard could easily go for five thousand taels of silver. Now, three thousand taels could suffice."
"I'll rent it for half a year, and then you sell it to me for three thousand taels?" Lin Miao proposed.
The agent was taken aback, as this was the first client to propose such an arrangement.
"If I rent this courtyard and nothing happens in six months, the haunted house rumors naturally become unfounded, but the courtyard's market price won't recover overnight. If it stays vacant and the rumors persist, its value could plummet further, to two thousand taels, or even a thousand taels with no takers!"
"Young sir, I don't have the authority to decide that."
"Then get someone with authority to come here!" Lin Miao exclaimed authoritatively, waving a hand.