Chapter 375: Chapter 375: Obtaining the Red Deed
With that hole filled, a huge weight was lifted from Ji Huan’s shoulders. She decided to act fast and immediately went to find the property owner.
The property owner was also in a desperate hurry. Afraid that Ji Huan might change her mind, he immediately brought out a brush, ink, paper, and an inkstone.
In ancient times, when real estate like land and houses was sold, both parties had to draw up a contract. This contract specified the amount of land, its location, its four boundaries, the price, and the conditions for leasing or purchasing. It was then signed and sealed by both parties and a witness, serving as the official proof of ownership transfer.
However, there were two types of contracts. A deed for which taxes had not yet been paid to the government was called a "white deed." After the government inspected the deed and taxes were paid, it became a "red deed."
A white deed could be signed by the buyer and seller themselves; all that was needed was a middleman to act as a witness.
But this kind of privately drafted contract had no legal standing. If a dispute arose later, the government wouldn’t necessarily recognize it, and one might even be fined.
But that was easy enough to resolve. After signing the white deed, the new owner would take it to the government office to register it and pay the taxes. Once the government collected the tax, they would attach a uniformly printed "deed tail" and affix their official seal. With that, the transfer procedures were complete.
After being taxed, the white deed would become a red deed—an officially certified contract and a legally recognized proof of ownership.
According to the rules, the deed tax was to be paid by the buyer. Ji Huan had inquired and learned it was about three percent of the purchase price.
For ordinary transactions, people usually just signed a white deed by default to save on taxes and for convenience. But for a transaction involving property like this, it was more prudent to get a red deed to avoid being penny-wise and pound-foolish.
They found Xin Ziqi to act as the middleman for the white deed, and it was quickly settled.
Seeing that it was getting late, she knew that if they submitted it to the government office for the red deed now, they wouldn’t get it back until the next day at the earliest. Ping’an offered to deliver it for her, telling Ji Huan she could just head home without worry.
Ji Huan didn’t stand on ceremony with him. She gave him five taels of silver for the tax payment, then left Yeyang with Guan Shan and Dabao.
It was very late by the time they got home. They had a quick bite to eat, washed up, and went to bed.
Following Ping’an’s advice, she didn’t head to the county town until the following afternoon. By the time she arrived, the red deed was already processed.
Ji Huan took it and had a look. The deed tail was attached to the back of the white deed, and a seal was stamped across the seam connecting the two.
This so-called deed tail summarized the contents of the white deed, stated the amount of tax paid, and was dated at the bottom.
Ping’an gave Ji Huan five maces of silver in change.
Ji Huan told him to take it and buy some snacks, but he refused, grinning and saying he would just come to her shop for free meals in the future.
With all the paperwork completed and the keys in hand, the shop now truly belonged to Ji Huan.
’Going from renting to buying—such an unplanned event really caught me off guard.’
However, her decision to buy the shop wasn’t entirely because she would be receiving her share of the profits next month; there was another factor she had considered.
’After Baiwei Square opens, it won’t matter if business is bad. But if business is good, will the rent go up?’
’It most likely will. Otherwise, why would the owner insist that a rental contract had to be signed annually?’
’Although his original intention was to raise the threshold for renting and push me to choose a long-term lease or to buy, if I had actually chosen to rent, there’s no guarantee he wasn’t planning to arbitrarily jack up the price later.’
’Maybe he wouldn’t now, but what about when he saw the business booming in the future?’
’Two taels and two maces was already high enough. If it went up any more, he’d really be taking me for a fool.’
’Don’t want to pay the increase? Fine. When the lease is up, he can just tell you to move out. It’s not like he’d be the one losing out.’
’That was the problem with renting someone else’s property—you have no autonomy at all.’
’Or, in a worse-case scenario, a competitor could emerge. They could target the property rights, go straight to the owner with a huge sum of money, and pull the rug right out from under me. That’s not impossible.’
This wasn’t Ji Huan being paranoid; she had simply seen such tactics all too often in her previous life.
Now that she had the red deed in hand, at least two major worries were eliminated.
But buying the shop was only the first step. A whole series of tasks awaited her.
First was the issue of renovations.
The shop was quite old. It had previously been a clothier’s. While it was a bit dated, it was generally clean. The walls, floors, and the areas inside and outside the courtyard only needed some minor touch-ups.
The main thing was that the shop’s layout needed to be changed. Of the three storefronts, Ji Huan planned to use one for Baiwei Square and one for the Sauce and Vinegar Workshop, and the interior layouts for the two would naturally be different.
Then there were the wooden shelves for the products, as well as counters, tables, and chairs.
Ping’an volunteered for the task, saying he would find all the craftsmen and carpenters and guaranteeing they would be both good and inexpensive.
Ji Huan felt like she ought to pin a medal on Ping’an.
Ping’an truly lived up to his reputation as "All-known about Yeyang." He said he would find people, and by the next morning, they had arrived.
"This is Wang Daguan. He specializes in masonry, and interior repairs are no problem for him. This is the Wooden Old Man. His carpentry skills have been passed down through his family, and all the neighbors praise his work."
At this, Ping’an looked a little sheepish.
"Neither of them works for a big workshop, and they don’t have shops of their own. They usually just take on odd jobs here and there... But Miss Ji, their craftsmanship is really excellent, and their wages are low. If you don’t believe me, you can have them do a trial..."
"Of course I trust your recommendation." Ji Huan smiled and greeted the two men, then glanced behind them.
Wang Daguan had brought two assistants, and they had all their tools with them.
The Wooden Old Man had only brought one person with him: a dark, thin boy who looked to be younger than ten. His eyes, however, were bright and alert. When he noticed Ji Huan looking at him, he seemed a little nervous but didn’t flinch away.
"Uncle, is this your grandson?"
"This old one is not so blessed as to have children or grandchildren. This child... has had a hard life. Zhou, greet the Proprietor."
The boy named Zhou gave Ji Huan a proper bow. "Hello, Proprietor."
’If he’s not a son or grandson, then he must be an apprentice?’
Ji Huan’s heart went out to him, seeing someone so young working as a child laborer, but there was nothing she could do. Such situations were all too common. The Wooden Old Man had said the boy had a hard life; perhaps there was some unspeakable hardship in his family.
Wang Daguan and his assistants had already gotten to work.
The shop was the top priority, but the courtyard also had areas that needed renovation. Ji Huan led the Wooden Old Man and the boy directly to the second courtyard, telling them this would be their work area.
For carpentry, the first thing you needed was lumber.
Ping’an suggested that if Ji Huan felt comfortable with it, she could entrust the purchasing of the lumber to Uncle Mu as well. He had worked at a lumber mill years ago and knew the people there, so he could get good-quality lumber at the lowest price.
Although this Wooden Old Man had a kind face, it was impossible for Ji Huan to trust him completely after just one meeting.
’But it isn’t easy for me and Guan Shan to travel back and forth to the county town, and doing everything myself would be too time-consuming. And while Ping’an can help supervise, he doesn’t know anything about lumber...’
In the end, Ji Huan agreed to Ping’an’s suggestion. She only had one requirement for the Wooden Old Man: that he keep a detailed account of everything, no matter how small, to make it easy to check the expenses later.
The Wooden Old Man chuckled and readily agreed.
On the way back from Yeyang, Ji Huan was still mulling over matters related to the shop.
"I need to buy wrapping paper for the seasonings. Regular paper won’t do; it has to be oil paper, and it’d be best if it can be made into small boxes... I also need to buy small ceramic jars for the sauces and vinegars, but that’s simple. Uncle Xu used to work at a pottery yard, and Xu Laifu said his father can get us an inside price... Let me think, what else is there?"
Ji Huan was lost in thought for the whole journey. When they reached Juyong Town, Guan Shan pulled the horse-drawn carriage to a stop at an intersection.
"Why did we stop?"
Guan Shan’s reply was concise. "Bookshop. Getting books."
Ji Huan was baffled. ’I’ve been so busy lately, where would I find the time to copy books?’
Guan Shan gave her a casual glance. "I’ll do the copying."
"But I thought you were..." Ji Huan wanted to ask if he wasn’t going to the stables, but she swallowed the rest of her question.
’Whatever the reason for Guan Shan’s change of heart, him staying put in Dafeng Village means less danger and trouble.’
"Wait here, then. I’ll go get them for you."
Ji Huan hopped off the carriage and quickly ran into the bookshop.
"Well, hello! It’s been a while since you last came by."
After greeting her, Boss Fang asked what type of work she planned to take on this time.
Ji Huan held two fingers apart, her request exceptionally simple: "Thick ones."
Guan Shan stood by the carriage, hands clasped behind his back, watching Ji Huan approach laden with a thick stack of books. "..."