To get rich quickly, you need to be simple and rough

After stumbling along the way, Shen Yujin and his party arrived at the foot of the emperor, the capital of the Ming Dynasty, Jinling City.

Shen Yujin was almost dizzy from the jolting of the mule cart. Shen Rong quickly found an inn and settled down. With the guidance of the escort agency, he stayed at the Baosheng Inn. It was a well-established inn with a good reputation and spacious rooms.

They had two upper rooms and two middle rooms in the inn. Shen Yujin and Shen Rong stayed in the upper room, the housekeepers Tongxi and Tonghe stayed in the middle room, and Aunt Zhang stayed in the middle room herself.

Shen Rong is really a ruthless person. After having a simple meal in the inn, he went to Yahang. He had to hurry up. The houses in Jinling have always been popular. If he didn't hurry up, there would be nothing left.

Shen Yujin also went with him. After all, he couldn't bear to see his father suffer alone, and he also wanted to see the market price of houses in Jinling.

Leaving Tongxi and Aunt Zhang to look after the household belongings in the inn, Shen Rong brought his son and housekeeper Tonghe to the time-honored Yahang in Jinling.

The service industry in ancient times truly made guests feel at home. As soon as they entered the door, they would nod and bow to greet them: "What can I do for you, gentlemen? We are a time-honored Jinling business, and we guarantee your satisfaction!"

Shen Rong nodded and said, "I want to see the house. My son is taking part in this imperial examination, and I want to buy him some property in Jinling."

When Yaxing Economy saw the arrival of a big client, his eyes narrowed into slits: "Oh, sir, you have found the right person. It just so happened that Mr. Liu retired and returned to his hometown a few days ago.

His house was now vacant. It was in a prime location, not far from the Imperial Examination Hall. It was a bit larger, so the asking price was higher. However, Lord Liu's house was tidy and clean, and he took all the furniture with him.

We have a lot of houses available. How about I wait for you to come and look at the houses with me? My words are just empty promises, but seeing is believing."

Jingji took them to Mr. Liu's house in a mule cart. The location was excellent, the house had four courtyards, a garden and a small cross-courtyard. They took away the good furniture, and the rest were some crude furniture.

They were all made of old elm wood, and the neighbors in the yard, who also had a well, were either wealthy or noble. The asking price was a bit high, so I left it there. Five thousand taels was a bit of a stratospheric price indeed.

How much was the salary of an official in the Ming Dynasty? Although the Shen family is now an earl, they don't want to be in the spotlight.

Shen Yujin would rather buy a small house in the city center than become a prominent figure.

The real estate agent smacked his lips. "Master Liu is really asking for money even from the grave. This house has been sitting on his head for a long time and no one wants to buy it. Everyone's money is earned through hard work, so who would be willing to buy this empty promise?"

The man took them to see several other houses, but either the location was bad or the houses were too run-down. Then the man suddenly remembered a house, which belonged to Chen Hanlin's family.

The old Hanlin saved up his entire life to build up such a house, but after the old man passed away, his descendants wanted to divide the property. Now he has just vacated the house and is preparing to return to his hometown to live.

There are seventy-two houses in total, and a garden covering three mu (approximately 1.5 acres). The house is a nice one, but I'm not sure if there will be any problems.

Jingji took the Shen family to see a house. This house was perfect in terms of both location and quality. The agent told the seller everything about the situation.

After some negotiation between the economics department and the seller, the family asked for three thousand taels of silver. After extreme bargaining, the price was finally settled at two thousand four hundred taels of silver.

This family has had enough of the trouble and wants to take the money to go to the countryside and become rich. The prices in Jinling City are too high and they really can't afford to live off their savings.

The reason why Shen Yujin liked this house was because it had a large garden and could be expanded in the future.

After signing the contract and paying the brothel's fees, the Shen family went to the government office under the brothel's guidance to get the red deed. The Shen family now had a house in Jinling.

Although the Hanlin family was noisy, the house was well-maintained. The materials used were substantial, and it looked spacious. The people living around here were all scholars.

Shen Rong took the family's visiting card and had his housekeeper deliver gifts to all the neighbors. These days, distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors. Even if your neighbor is a farmer and you are the prime minister, you can't show off your power to your neighbors.

On the contrary, the prime minister would go to his neighbors' homes to give gifts to show his favor. Chinese people have always been good at dealing with social etiquette.

Since Shen Yujin at home had to prepare for the exam, the house renovation would have to be put off until later.

To have such a big house, Shen Rong went to the trading post and bought sixteen servants, so that he could keep the house going.

Shen Yujin began to live a life of seclusion. At this time, the Ming Dynasty had not yet started party struggles, and Zhu Yuanzhang had the final say in everything. Now Shen Yujin only had to polish and guess Zhu Yuanzhang's preferences.

If he wins the imperial examination, he will soar to the sky, and Shen Yujin's marriage will also have great prospects. Shen Fu wanted to have a great-grandson so much that he didn't even put a maid in Shen Yujin's room.

Over the years, he has also figured out the thoughts of the nobles. He doesn't want his daughter to marry into a family with a lot of concubines.

So now the younger generations of the Shen family seem to be getting better collectively. There are no good-looking maids in the family, and they are usually too tired to have time to go out and chat.

Shen Fu is quietly increasing his ties for his grandson's marriage, determined to find a real lady from a noble family to be the eldest grandson's wife. The Shen family is in dire need of a presentable consort.

But a blacksmith must be strong himself. If Shen Yujin wants to find a daughter of a wealthy family, he must have some achievements to show for it.

Compared with the autumn examination, the spring examination was like heaven and hell. The temperature in Jinling in February was not very warm, and it was even damp and cold at night. Candidates were not allowed to wear cotton and could only wear more light clothes.

The Shen family had already made preparations for this, using thick woolen material to make a long gown and a cloak. The cloak could also be used to cover the body when sleeping at night.

On the ninth day of the second lunar month, Shen Yujin entered the gate of the Imperial Examination Hall after a strict inspection. His good luck was so great that he was assigned to a room in the northwest corner that was missing two tiles. Fortunately, it rained and the examination papers were not wet.

The downside is that it gets even colder at night, which is such a torture!

Opening the test paper, Shen Yujin couldn't help but sigh, "Taizu likes practical matters and hates flattery the most." What a good question! The test paper read:

"In the past, successive sages unified the country and ruled it, establishing principles and rules, and making rituals and music clear. They should have ruled with ease, so why should they not be at peace? All the young men have been dispatched, causing unrest within China and serving in the vast wilderness. Mares give birth to foals in the ranks, and banners fly year after year at the borders. Is this truly due to a love of killing? Or is it because the barbarians are eager to see what they are doing? Looking at past events, it was very difficult! Now we want to stop, and take the opportunity to end the distant garrisons and rule with ease, but we are also afraid that the barbarians will multiply and become a threat to China in a few decades! At this moment, it seems that missing this opportunity would be limiting. The rise and fall of the country is still uncertain, so which is better, taking advantage of the opportunity to end it or not? You scholars should discuss this issue to reconcile the internal and external affairs, and I will personally review it."