The Shadow of Great Britain

124: Chapter 84: Real Estate Tycoon 124: Chapter 84: Real Estate Tycoon £1,500—an amount that in 19th-century Britain, let alone the rest of the world, was no meager sum.

In London, ninety percent of the population had an annual income less than £100.

If employed in high-income industries such as construction or machinery manufacturing, a diligent skilled worker could earn annually between £60 and £100, depending on the job type and technical ability.

As for jobs requiring a certain level of knowledge, such as company clerks, one could consistently secure an income over £70 a year.

However, in competitive and low-income industries such as the textile industry that involved lighter physical labor, even a healthy male adult could only earn about £30 to £50.

The low profit margins of the textile industry also drove factory owners to hire numerous women and child laborers.

They claimed that the labor demanded by the textile industry was minimal, employing adult male workers was indeed a waste of labor force.

In fact, just one glance at the wages showed their cunning intentions: female workers’ wages were usually only half of their male counterparts’.

As for child laborers, their wages were not even a third of the adult male workers’.

Moreover, due to their lesser physical strength, child laborers and female workers were easier to manage—a supervisor with a whip could keep the factory’s looms chattering non-stop.

However, if they employed a group of adult males, the textile manufacturers would mostly not dare engage in such ‘hardcore management.’

Most of them still vividly remembered the ‘Luddite Movement’ that smashed their machines and burned their factories more than a decade ago.

Thus, it could be said that the 19th-century British textile factories practically demonstrated what kind of places were truly ‘brother, don’t go there, that’s a sweatshop.’

In other words, £1,500 was roughly equivalent to a highly skilled artisan’s income for 15 years, a respectable company clerk’s for 20 years, or it could seal a lifelong service contract with a literate domestic maid for 50 years, or generously pay the annual salary of a hundred child workers in a textile factory.

Arthur followed behind the real estate agent and Eld among others, repeatedly examining the two bills in his hand, then after a deep thought, he realized he had suddenly become a little Greenwich District mogul.

Agares leaned over to look at the bills, Red Devil pushing up his monocle as he chuckled.

“How does it feel, Arthur?” he said, “I told you earlier, rather than having a conscience, it’s better to have wealth!

Come on, let’s go buy a classy villa first, then hire a domestic maid for your daily needs.

Don’t forget to rent a luxurious carriage and a well-dressed skilled coachman.

Last but not least, remember to hire a skilled French chef—I really don’t want to eat those cheap street foods loaded with all sorts of unknown toxins again!”

Upon hearing this, Arthur began to calculate and couldn’t help but frown.

“Although I’m not familiar with London’s housing prices, I know that renting a luxury carriage alone costs at least £80 a year, and if you add a skilled coachman to that, it’s about £150 a year in net expenditure.

Your French chef together with the domestic maid, I guess, will also amount to about the same.

Spending like this, I guess it won’t be long before I become poor again.”

But Red Devil clearly didn’t care much as he enticed, “My dear Arthur, how could you become poor?

Haven’t you already planned on becoming the underground king of the East End of London?

Fred, that petty ruffian, can afford to run a detective agency; what’s the issue with hiring a couple of cooks and maids?

Arthur, look at me.

You may think I’m down and out now, but back in the day when I was in Hell, I was someone—always followed by a crowd, with my gang calling out as we roamed the streets.

Whoever I allowed to eat, ate; whoever I told to move out tomorrow, had to move.

A big shot should live like a big shot!

Arthur, listen to me, just this once.

You’ve been busy for so long; don’t you deserve to enjoy yourself a bit?”

Arthur glanced at Red Devil, and from just one look at the smile on his face, he knew he was up to no good.

“Enjoy myself?” he responded, “I won’t say yes or no to your request, but you did get one thing right—if I had listened to you back then, I indeed would be a big shot by now.”

Red Devil grinned, rubbing his hands together, “Isn’t that the truth?

So, you’ve come around?”

Arthur lit a cigarette, “Come around?

If I had come around back then, by this time my face would probably be plastered on every street in Britain, and under my portrait would be a string of zeros, so anyone who caught me could indeed enjoy themselves a little.”

No sooner had he spoken than Arthur picked up his pace to catch up with Eld and the others.

Seeing this, Red Devil’s eyes widened, his enlarged right eye fixating on Arthur’s back, its size almost resembling a small villa.

He exclaimed, “Arthur!

Damn it!

Why haven’t you figured it out yet?

The reason you’re poor isn’t because you lack ability, but because you’ve placed making money behind your conscience!”

The group’s footsteps stopped at the entrance to Central Street in Greenwich, the priciest area.

The real estate agent, all smiles, stepped up to Arthur, nodding and bowing as he made his pitch.

“Mr.

Hastings, I heard that your budget for buying a house this time is 1500 pounds?”

Upon hearing this, Arthur felt apprehensive.

Even though he himself thought 1500 pounds was a considerable amount, his painful memories from his past life still left him with great doubts about whether he could secure a decent property.

Although the Greenwich District is a suburb of London, it is still a suburb of the capital.

Surely the house prices here couldn’t be too low, could they?

Arthur feigned composure and said, “You see, just introduce something small for me.

I need two rooms, one for me to live in, and the other for the chubby gentleman next door.”

The real estate agent couldn’t help but laugh, “Sir, you jest.

I can’t find a two-bedroom for 1500 pounds in Greenwich.

If you’re looking for a luxurious and sophisticated house, I can take you to the Financial City, Westminster, or some new districts in West London.

New, spacious apartments have been constructed in the West District.

As for the properties in Financial City and Westminster, although they are a bit smaller, the location speaks for itself.

Most residents there are upper-class gentlemen from politics and banking, which could definitely help expand your social circle.”

“Can I afford a house in Westminster and Financial City?”

“Of course!” The agent had just finished speaking when he noticed a drop of water on his face.

He quickly pulled out an umbrella he was carrying, opened it, and stepped forward to cover Arthur’s head: “This way, please, Mr.

Hastings.”

“Ah… Is that so?” Hearing this, Arthur couldn’t help but straighten his back a little.

He instinctively straightened his collar, then clasped his hands behind his back, adopting the demeanor of a leader on a local inspection: “Then you tell me about this small house in Greenwich first.”

Surprisingly, the agent, instead of elaborating, politely handed the umbrella to Great Dumas standing nearby.

He apologetically began, “Sir, please help me hold this umbrella for Mr.

Hastings while I look for something in my bag.”

He took out a brand-new document from his small leather bag and, bowing respectfully, addressed Arthur, “Mr.

Hastings, do you see that building at the entrance of the street with a grey chimney and a red roof?”

Arthur glanced at the house.

It was a wooden two-story building.

Judging by its brand-new white exterior, the house must have been renovated in the past two years.

Also, judging from the number of windows, it could accommodate at least four households.

Not just Arthur and Great Dumas could live there, even Eld and Darwin could come in to share a bed.

Arthur nodded, “It looks quite nice.

Shall we go inside and take a look?”

“No, no, don’t rush.” The agent then pointed to a three-story apartment ahead: “That building is also under my agency, and it is currently listed for sale.”

Arthur saw it, stroked his chin fuzz, and said, “I just want to buy a house to live in, haven’t considered apartments yet.

I haven’t decided whether or not to buy a house to rent it out.”

Eld, unable to stand the rain any longer, also squeezed under the umbrella.

He grumbled, “Exactly!

Voting tickets in London aren’t worth much.

If you want to invest in real estate, you might as well go back to the countryside and start a farm.”

Arthur heard this but simply shook his head, “I never even considered the matter of voting tickets, it’s unrelated to me and the money involved.”

Eld frowned upon hearing this and slapped Arthur on the back of his head, “Are you foolish?

Why wouldn’t you take money that’s given for free?”

“Of course I would take free money,” Arthur raised an eyebrow, “but according to Scotland Yard’s internal regulations, even wealthy policemen can neither vote nor be elected, so the amount of property I own has no political significance for me.”

The agent laughed, “So you’re an officer at Scotland Yard, eh?

But that doesn’t matter, even without voting rights, you can still rent out the property!

Although property prices in London go up slowly, the rental yield is not low at all.”

“Is that so?” Arthur eyed the three-story apartment again, seeming somewhat tempted: “Then shall we go take a look at the apartment first?”

Just as he was about to step forward, the agent interrupted his movement and said, “No, no, no, Mr.

Hastings, you misunderstood me.”

“What do you mean?

Weren’t you going to show us the apartment in front and this two-story detached house here?”

The agent grinned, holding out the document in his hand.

He pointed at the apartment, then at the small detached house beside him.

“Mr.

Hastings, if your budget is 1500 pounds, then starting from this two-story detached house beside us, to the apartment building in front, including the grocery store sandwiched between them,

Well, even if it means taking a loss, all three properties together are priced at 1500 pounds, all to be sold to you.

If you think the price is acceptable, then please sign this document in my hand.

I’ll go and finalize the details with several landlords at noon, and we can go to the notary to transfer the ownership this afternoon.

You can move in as soon as tonight.

And don’t worry about the apartment building having unoccupied rooms, as it’s currently fully occupied; you can just continue collecting the rent each month.

What do you think of this offer?”