CHAPTER 247: CHAPTER 247: I HAVE MY OWN HOUSE (BONUS CHAPTER 1)

Lin Xiang ruthlessly exposed the landlord’s excuse, "The price of twelve hundred is already above the market rate. If it includes the land title, about a thousand is more reasonable. If you want to sell, let’s set a time to go to the housing bureau for the procedures. If you don’t want to, then forget it."

The landlord furrowed his brow in deep thought, "I can’t make the decision right now. How about you let me discuss it with my family tonight and I’ll get back to you?"

"Sure," Lin Xiang pointed to the spot where the barbecue stand was set up in the evening, "We’ll be selling barbecue there tonight. Once you’ve considered it, you can come over and find me directly."

The landlord slapped his thigh abruptly, looking at Lin Xiang with a sense of resentment, "You make so much selling barbecue! And yet you’re bargaining with me."

"You only see how much barbecue I sell, without realizing how much I’ve spent on costs. The net profit from barbecue isn’t much; otherwise, why would no one else be selling barbecue like me after all this time?"

The landlord still felt something was off.

Chunya thought to herself, is it really that they don’t want to sell barbecue? It’s because they can’t master the cooking technique or make tasty barbecue sauce!

"Besides, money doesn’t grow on trees, we can’t just waste it, can we?"

Lin Xiang nearly smacked the fact that the house wasn’t worth that much money across the landlord’s forehead.

The landlord gave a sheepish smile, kindly escorting Lin Xiang and Chunya out.

The two didn’t look at other houses, mainly because they’d found one that fit their criteria perfectly, so other houses didn’t catch her eye anymore.

Chunya asked Lin Xiang in a low voice, "Xiang, are you really going to spend that much to buy this house?"

"This house has a good location and it’s spacious too. If we can transfer the land title along with it, that would be great."

"But a thousand is just too expensive."

Moreover, the thousand is Lin Xiang’s offered price. It’s uncertain if the landlord would still want to sell.

At Aunt Ge’s house, Lin Xiang and Chunya chatted away about today’s house viewing with everyone in the courtyard.

Finally, Lin Xiang added, "You’ve only seen the current high house price, but you don’t know how much value it could create."

The business of barbecue and spicy noodles has a daily net profit of about twenty-five, not counting Dong Sheng’s ice pops, which adds up to around thirty. Occasionally hitting the jackpot, making eight or nine hundred a month isn’t a problem.

It equates to forty days of income to buy such a house in town.

Lin Xiang thought it’s a great deal.

Even decades later, although Mianyang Town remains a backward-tier city, how many houses could be built on nearly an acre of land?

Moreover, that area in the Welfare District is on the main road, if Mianyang Town’s urban planning doesn’t change much in the future, those houses will always be on the street front. Buying it now for a thousand, it could be worth hundreds of thousands or even millions in three or four decades.

Fifth Uncle’s family of four now earns a thousand in forty days, but decades later, earning hundreds of thousands or millions in forty days is unlikely.

From any perspective, Lin Xiang finds it worthwhile.

Were it not for her plans not to advance in Mianyang Town, she would have wanted to buy that house herself.

"Xiang, let me discuss it with your Aunt."

"Okay!"

While Lin Xiang was chatting with Fifth Uncle and Fifth Aunt, Aunt Ge remained silent.

After Fifth Uncle and Fifth Aunt went to the room for a private talk, Aunt Ge then lowered her voice and asked Lin Xiang, "Xiang, are street front houses really that valuable?"

"In theory, yes. The house we saw today is both big enough and well-located. The Welfare District is surrounded by three factories, with a few more nearby; these five factories aren’t small in scale in Mianyang Town, and aren’t likely to go out of business for at least five to ten years."

"With the support of workers from these factories, forget five years, in as little as three months, you’ll earn back the money spent on the house. After that, it’s pure profit."

Aunt Ge thought pensively, "I see."

"Aunt, are you also thinking about buying a street front house?"

Lin Xiang felt Aunt Ge didn’t need to, since the small courtyard she lived in now was quite nice.

Aunt Ge smiled a little embarrassingly, "I wasn’t planning to buy because I already have one. When I first learned that house transactions were possible, I almost sold it. Luckily, I held back. I won’t sell no matter what happens!"

A thousand may sound like a lot, but she makes five, six, seven hundred a day selling sugar water, and two hundred a month easily, less than half a year to earn a thousand.

But once that house is sold, it won’t be easy to buy back!

Lin Xiang was surprised, "You have a house in the Welfare District?"

"If I’m not mistaken, it should be next door to the house you saw today. Wasn’t the house you looked at owned by the Zhou family?"

"It’s indeed two doors away! Aunt, take my word for it, that house shouldn’t be sold, no matter how much the buyer offers!"

"I won’t sell, definitely won’t sell!"

Meanwhile, in the bedroom.

"...So, I want to buy."

Fifth Aunt seemed convinced by Lin Xiang’s words, "What Xiang said makes me very tempted too, especially when we say having a house in town could make it easier for Chunya or Dong Sheng to find a match. Maybe city folks, seeing we have a house, will view Chunya highly and find her a city match?"

"But a thousand is just too expensive, we can’t come up with that much money right now!"

"If we can’t, then we’ll borrow!" Fifth Uncle gritted his teeth, "Since Xiang has mentioned this to us, it means she has the ability to back us up. I’ll put my pride aside and borrow some from Xiang, and pay her back immediately once we’ve earned it."

"But... let’s ask Xiang first."

The couple came out of the room, seeing Lin Xiang chatting happily with Aunt Ge, feeling a bit unsure how to start.

Lin Xiang lifted her gaze to them and bluntly asked, "Fifth Uncle, Fifth Aunt, have you made up your mind?"

Fifth Uncle took a deep breath and, gritting his teeth said, "We want to buy, but we can’t come up with that much money now, Xiang, could you..."

"I can lend you the money," Lin Xiang quickly followed up Fifth Uncle’s words, and then shifted her tone, "But I’ll charge interest if I lend you the money."

Even with close relationships, clear financial dealings are Lin Xiang’s usual approach.

She can offer advice to Fifth Uncle and Fifth Aunt, but when it involves money, it’s vital to clarify things beforehand.

It’s not that Lin Xiang cares much about that interest; she just doesn’t want continued help to become habitual, potentially affecting the bond between both families.

Fifth Uncle felt relieved, his expression suddenly relaxed a lot, quickly saying, "That’s fair, even if you didn’t mention it, we would still offer you interest voluntarily. A thousand dollars, how about a hundred dollars of interest per month? If we can’t pay it back in a month, we’ll give you a hundred in interest."