Chapter 345: The Shocked Elder Sister-in-Law
Chapter 345: The Shocked Elder Sister-in-Law
Wang Xiaojie inspected the house from top to bottom. It was clear that a lot of effort had been put into renovating it, with two bathrooms installed and furniture purchased for the master bedroom. Including the cost of the house, Wang Xiaojie could feel the financial strain just thinking about it.
"You shouldn't have bought furniture, child," Wang Xiaojie said to Lu Jiaxin. "Let your father buy his own."
The main reason for this was that Lu Hongjun would be living here with Tang Sufeng and her family, and the house had been renovated to a high standard for their benefit.
Lu Jiaxin smiled and said, "We only bought furniture for the master bedroom. The other rooms are empty."
If they were going to do it, they might as well do it properly, and it wouldn't cost much more. This way, if Lu Hongjun had any complaints, the others would surely side with her.
After showing Wang Xiaojie the house, Lu Jiaxin said, "Elder Sister-in-law, your house is just inside. We wanted to buy them together, but the owners of the houses in between wouldn't sell."
"How far is it?" Wang Xiaojie asked.
"Not far at all. Just over thirty meters away," Lu Jiaxin replied.
As Lu Jiaxin had said, they walked to the right for about thirty meters and stopped in front of a door.
Lu Jiaxin paused and pointed to the locked door. "Elder Sister-in-law, this is your house."
She then took out a key from her bag and handed it to Wang Xiaojie. "Go ahead and open the door, Elder Sister-in-law."
Wang Xiaojie wiped her hands before taking the key. She unlocked the door and pushed it open, and the moment she stepped inside, she was stunned by the large courtyard. "Jiaxin, how big is this house?"
The house had two main rooms and two side rooms on each side, with a large courtyard in the middle that spanned over twenty square meters. This made the entire place feel incredibly spacious.
Seeing Wang Xiaojie's reaction, Lu Jiaxin smiled and said, "Elder Sister-in-law, this residence has two sections. The layout in the back is similar to what you see here."
Upon hearing this, Wang Xiaojie immediately went to the back. Indeed, the second section of the courtyard was just like the front, with the only difference being the absence of a kitchen and firewood room.
Wang Xiaojie, now back to her senses, tried to return the key to Lu Jiaxin. "This house is too big. Your father and I can't accept it. Jiaxin, take the house back."
Lu Jiaxin didn't take the key. "Elder Sister-in-law," she said, "Lu Ping and his three siblings each need their own space. When they get married and have children, those children will need rooms too. Uncle and Aunt are getting on in years, and the medical facilities back home aren't great. Your second brother and his wife plan to settle down here too, and they'll likely spend their retirement years in Si Jiu City. With all that in mind, Elder Sister-in-law, the four or five rooms you originally wanted just won't be enough. This residence is perfect."
Wang Xiaojie shook her head. "No, this house must have cost several hundred thousand yuan. Your father and I can't afford it."
Lu Jiaxin smiled. "The house is in the names of Lu Ping and his three siblings. If you don't want it, Lu Ping and Zhen Zhen will definitely want their own rooms."
The restriction on buying multiple houses in Si Jiu City wouldn't be implemented until 2011, so having the house in the names of the four siblings wouldn't affect their ability to buy property in the future.
The reason the house wasn't in Lu Jiaxin's name was to avoid any potential moral grandstanding, where someone might demand that he embody the spirit of Lei Feng and give up the house. As a leader, he would be in a difficult position.
Lu Jiaxin could still climb the career ladder, but if he were mired in negative publicity, it would be detrimental to his prospects. However, with the house in the names of the four siblings, that worry was eliminated.
Wang Xiaojie paused, processing this information. "The house is in Ping Ping and Zhen Zhen's names?"
Lu Jiaxin nodded. "They're all your children with your husband, so of course, they should be treated equally. With twelve rooms, it'll be easy to divide them up."
Wang Xiaojie snapped back to attention, feeling that they had veered off-topic. "Jiaxin, this house must have cost several hundred thousand yuan.
Lu Jiaxin felt that she was getting too worked up and wasn't making her point clear. "Eldest Sister-in-law, we agreed beforehand that this house is a gift to you. The house is under Lu Ping and his siblings' names, so it's a gift to the four siblings. We'll just say that it's a token of my goodwill as their aunt."
Wang Xiaojie shook her head. "No, if we do that, your second eldest brother and third eldest brother will feel it's unfair, and it might cause conflict between them."
Lu Jiaxin wasn't worried at all. "Second Eldest Sister-in-law is an intelligent woman. She'll definitely understand that my reason for giving you the house isn't just for show."
To avoid any issues between the two families, Lu Jiaxin planned to confide in her Second Eldest Sister-in-law about this matter. She knew that her Second Sister-in-law was a reasonable and understanding person.
Lu Jiaxin added, "By the way, Xiao Qiu mentioned last time I called that Second Eldest Brother and Second Eldest Sister-in-law bought a storefront. With their diligence, they'll be able to save up enough to buy a house in a couple of years. As for Third Eldest Sister-in-law, she heard about how hard Second Eldest Brother and Second Eldest Sister-in-law were working and decided not to join them. She wants to reap the rewards without putting in the effort. There are no such easy gains in this world."
Wang Xiaojie couldn't refute that.
Seeing that Wang Xiaojie was still conflicted, Lu Jiaxin took her by the hand and led her into the master bedroom. The renovations and furnishings here were identical to those in Lu Hongjun's house.
"Why did you buy furniture as well?" Wang Xiaojie asked. "We can buy our own furniture."
Lu Jiaxin smiled and explained, "You gave me over three thousand yuan, and I used that money to buy the furniture. I imagined that this room would be for Uncle and Aunt, but since I wasn't sure what their preferences are, I only bought the bed and wardrobe. You and Eldest Brother can buy the rest later."
Hearing this, Wang Xiaojie had a bad feeling, and she quickly turned back to the main courtyard to take another look. Indeed, the master bedroom was even better furnished than the other rooms, with a bed, bedside tables, wardrobe, and dressing table. The small side room had been converted into a study, complete with a clothes rack and a painting. Additionally, a bathroom had been added to the master bedroom.
Wang Xiaojie had an eye for quality, and seeing the solid wood furniture in a red finish made her heart skip a beat. "Jiaxin, how much did all of this cost in total?"
Lu Jiaxin repeated that it wasn't much.
Wang Xiaojie's expression turned resolute as she said, "Jiaxin, if you don't tell me how much this house cost, your eldest brother and I won't accept it."
They could accept the house, but they wanted to know the full details. At the very least, they needed to know how much Lu Jiaxin had spent.
Lu Jiaxin knew she had to give in. "The house cost 43,000 yuan. Renovations, including the addition of the bathroom, cost 5,800 yuan, and the furniture cost 3,200 yuan."
The house had already been viewed by potential buyers, but they couldn't agree on a price. He Bin had heard about this property being up for sale and learned that the ownership was clear. He saw the house and immediately put down a deposit. If it weren't for He Bin's unexpected intervention, the price could have been negotiated down to below 40,000 yuan.
Wang Xiaojie did the calculations and was shocked to realize that the house had cost a total of 52,000 yuan. It would take their entire family a decade of saving every penny to accumulate such a large sum.
Lu Jiaxin remembered the empty space in the second courtyard. "There's an area of over ten square meters that I thought could be left for Uncle and Aunt to grow vegetables."
"There's another backyard?"
Lu Jiaxin nodded. "I originally wanted to buy a house with a garden, but I couldn't find one. Before Uncle and Aunt arrive, you can use that space to grow flowers."
Wang Xiaojie silently thanked her luck that they hadn't found a house with a garden, or it would have cost them 70 or 80 thousand yuan. She regretted not going to view the house herself, as she might have been able to get a better deal. Ah, hindsight was always 20/20.
(End of Chapter)
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