Chapter 16: A New Hope Around the Corner

Chapter 16: A New Hope Around the Corner

"Everyone, please take a look, the kitchen is on the right side after entering, and in front is the living room. The master bedroom is on the left side of the living room, and the smaller secondary bedroom is on the right. This layout is quite practical. Although the area is small, the two rooms are separated on either side, providing good privacy and personal space!"

The sales staff enthusiastically introduced the model apartment to everyone.

The group of people looking at the model apartment scattered around, checking things out here and there.

"This small room is not only small, but the window is small too, making the room feel even smaller and darker," an elderly woman clicked her tongue, clearly unimpressed.

"Excuse me, how big is this room?"

"Hello, the interior area of this small bedroom is 7 square meters."

"That’s way too small. Who could even live in there? Maybe it would work as a home office."

The sales staff, aware of the drawbacks of the 52 square meter apartment, bypassed a few clients and started introducing it to a young couple.

"It might not be suitable for large families, but it's perfect for a young couple or a small family. Although this secondary bedroom is small, the master bedroom is 12.6 square meters, which is just right for a young couple. The small room can be converted into a children's room, fitting a small bed..."

Su An looked at the small two-bedroom unit and couldn't help but mark a cross in her mind.

Although called a two-bedroom, the secondary bedroom could only fit a 1.2-meter bed, with no space left for a wardrobe.

The biggest problem was the price tag.

If she and her brother lived here, who would get the tiny room—her or him?

The other two couples and a mother-son pair also seemed unimpressed and pushed to see the 72 square meter unit instead.

The sales staff was quite accommodating and, upon hearing everyone's suggestion, led the group next door.

Sure enough, the 72 square meter unit was much more spacious, with both bedrooms quite large, and the kitchen spacious enough for two people to move around.

Su An was satisfied but calculated in her mind that this apartment would cost over 7,000 yuan, and her enthusiasm instantly cooled down.

Houses are so expensive...

She didn't have the money...

No wonder most people were still hoping for a free house from their workplace or the government; she also wished the state would provide her one.

She couldn't afford it.

Maybe she could try to kick Zhao Daxing’s family out and take over their place...

Soon, Su An shook her head. His apartment seemed to be collective property of the steel factory.

Everyone else, except for Su An, was getting excited about the place, with some even starting to gesture about where to place the sofa and the TV.

One of the five families decided on the spot to reserve the 72-square-meter unit.

The couple didn’t look at anything else and followed the staff downstairs for further discussion.

The remaining four families were led to see the 88 square meter three-bedroom unit.

The moment they stepped inside, everyone was wowed by how spacious and impressive the place felt.

At this time, there was no concept of shared area yet, and the interior was as stated: 88 square meters meant 88 square meters inside.

"Everyone, take a look, this is our classic layout at Longxiang Mansion, a spacious three-bedroom with north-south transparency. Both balconies off the living room are included for free!"

An elderly couple's eyes lit up. "These two large balconies aren't counted in the 88 square meters?"

The staff nodded. "That's right, both the front and back balconies are 2.8 square meters each, totaling almost 6 square meters. They're complimentary, no extra charge. If you buy this house, you'll save nearly 600 on the house price alone, a big discount!"

The woman turned to her husband and whispered, "Mr. Zhang, I like this one. It's like having an extra room, and look at these two large balconies, facing the sun. It'll be great for growing flowers!"

Su An stood on the balcony, looking down at the main road. She liked this layout too.

Later developments don’t offer any extra space and have increasingly larger common areas. An 88 square meter house in the third phase would be lucky to match the current 72 square meters.

She sighed inwardly. I’ll either save up or find an older, smaller place just for the hukou (household registration). I’ll think about Longxiang Mansion when I have the money in the future.

Right now, this place is out of my league.

Just then, the elderly couple also stepped onto the balcony.

The woman, excited, said, "Mr. Zhang, three bedrooms. We can have one, our eldest son and his wife can have another, and the last one for our daughter. When she marries, it can be for our grandchildren."

Mr. Zhang's eyes sparkled but soon dimmed. "Hongmei, we only have a little over 2,000. This house costs more than 9,000."

"Even if the government subsidizes a third and the unit subsidizes a third, we still need to come up with over 3,000. Where will we get that kind of money?"

"We're still short by more than 1,000. It's not like we can borrow that much!"

Li Hongmei, hearing her husband's words, felt her enthusiasm cool, though her eyes still lingered on the house.

"Ah, you're right. We only have enough for the 72 square meter one. Our daughter will have to sleep in the hall. All our wages come into our hands, but we can't even afford a bed."

"In the future, houses will probably get even more expensive. It'll be hard to upgrade then, and when we have grandchildren..."

Zhang Laotou, seeing his wife's distress, tentatively suggested, "How about we sell the courtyard house left to us?"

"We can't go back to live there anyway."

Li Hongmei's brow twitched. "But where would we find a good buyer right now? The neighbor who just sold their house said they're selling one less one. If we miss out on the 88-square-meter unit, we might lose the 72-square-meter one as well, leaving us with nothing."

Su An’s eyes lit up. This could be her lucky break.

She quickly stepped forward. "Uncle, Auntie, what should I call you?"

"Oh, I'm Li, and this is my husband, Mr. Zhang."

Su An warmly shook Li Hongmei's hand. "Auntie Li, hello. Uncle Zhang, hello. I'm Su, you can call me Xiao Su."

"You mentioned you have a small courtyard house for sale, where is it?"

Li Hongmei and Zhang Laotou exchanged glances, both surprised.

"Girl, no, Xiao Su, are you interested in buying an old courtyard house?"

Su An sighed, pretending to hesitate. "I'm thinking about it, but I'm not in a hurry."

"To be honest, I don't have a unit purchase quota and would have to pay the full amount myself. I don't have much money, and I didn't like the 52 square meter units, so I'm considering looking at other old houses."

"But I'm not in a rush to buy! I'll only buy if it's suitable!"

Li Hongmei enthusiastically explained to Su An, "Our home is on Fuqing Street. I'm a local from Fuqing Village, and the courtyard was built by my father and left to me. We've maintained it well, and it's convenient for shopping and buying groceries. If you're interested, I can take you to see it now?"

Hearing "Fuqing Street," Su An was stunned. Fuqing Street, the future millionaire row?