Chapter 12 - Chapter 12 - This Meal, So Tasty

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Screech! With the sound of brakes, the Packard stopped in front of the garage of a small villa.

This caught the attention of a middle-aged man watering his garden in the neighboring yard.

Then, a handsome man and a beautiful woman stepped out of the car together—it was Josh and Margot.

However, upon seeing the pair, the middle-aged man's expression turned a bit strange.

Although, in terms of appearance, Josh and Margot were well matched, and Josh was tall, the man could still easily tell from Josh's face, which hadn't completely shed its youthful innocence, that he was quite young.

Margot, on the other hand, was clearly a mature, ripe woman.

Moreover, the clothing Josh wore—while not bad—was definitely nothing impressive. It was essentially a ten-dollar coat worn by the working class, which theoretically made it impossible for him to afford a house here.

In contrast, the fur coat Margot wore had to be worth several hundred dollars at the very least.

So, the middle-aged man couldn't help but develop some curiosity toward this rather mismatched pair.

After all, judging by the situation, it seemed they might become his neighbors.

And next door, Josh—who had just stepped out of the car—seemed to sense something, instinctively turning his head and meeting the man's gaze.

The middle-aged man smiled and nodded in greeting. Josh, though a bit surprised, nodded politely in return.

Then he turned his attention back to the house in front of him.

It was a standard American-style two-story villa, with an exterior design identical to those commonly seen in future American suburbs.

The only difference, perhaps, was the interior furnishing and decoration.

"What do you think? Do you like it?" Margot asked from the side.

"It's a very nice house, but it must be expensive, right?" 

Josh asked instinctively. Although he had already expected that Margot wouldn't bring him to see a cheap place, actually seeing it still exceeded his expectations because while this style of villa would be common in future America, in this era, it definitely counted as high-end.

What's more, this house was large. Although he hadn't yet seen the back, judging by the front alone, its area was likely no less than 500 square meters.

Additionally, the house had spacious yards both front and back.

So Josh suddenly felt that maybe he didn't have enough money after all.

"Don't worry, it's not expensive. Just five hundred dollars and it's yours!" Margot said with a bright smile.

Hearing that price, the corner of Josh's mouth twitched—this woman was really treating him like a kid.

"Uh, okay then, the real price is one… fine, two thousand dollars. Do you have enough?" 

Seeing Josh's expression, Margot realized her quoted price was too fake and immediately corrected herself, cautiously asking.

"Mrs. Wendis, you really don't need to do this. I'm not as broke as you think," Josh said helplessly.

"All right, all right, four thousand dollars. Not a cent more. That's what this neighborhood cost when it was first built—you're not allowed to haggle. Otherwise, it means you don't see me as a friend." 

Seeing Josh's tone stiffen, Margot could only compromise, but also firmly locked in the price once and for all. 

"If you argue more, you're not treating me like a friend."

Hearing that number, Josh nodded. That price was finally not too outrageous.

Of course, Josh knew that even this price was definitely still below the market value, but from the look on Margot's face, if he kept refusing this kindness, she might genuinely get upset.

"Alright then, this price it is. But I'll have to go get the money and pay you later!" Josh said.

"No rush with the money—whenever is fine. Let's go in first and look at the interior. See if you like it. If not, tell me and I'll find someone to redecorate for you." Seeing Josh no longer bargaining, Margot's face finally showed a satisfied smile, and she dragged Josh toward the house.

Thanks to the large yard and enough distance, their conversation hadn't been overheard by the middle-aged man watering his plants—otherwise he'd have probably coughed up blood.

Margot's final offer of four thousand dollars actually wasn't a lie. When this neighborhood was first built, that was the price.

But one needed to consider: when was the neighborhood built?

That was in 1934—right after the Great Depression ended.

Prices back then couldn't compare to today's at all.

That middle-aged man's family had only moved here last year, and for a house of the same size, he'd paid a full twelve thousand dollars.

In fact, once Josh stepped inside, he realized he'd still underestimated the house's value because while the interior décor couldn't be called luxurious, it was exquisitely done.

And appliances like a radio, refrigerator, and telephone were all present.

Josh even saw air conditioning and a television!!!

In America, refrigerators became popular relatively early—by the early 1940s, about 85% of homes had one, so that didn't surprise Josh.

But air conditioning and television were different.

Although they were invented around the same time—especially air conditioning, which predated TVs and refrigerators by 20 years—due to technical limitations, ACs and TVs were still luxury items before WWII. It wasn't until after the war that they became widespread in ordinary households.

So, in 1943, both appliances still counted as luxuries.

"What do you think? Is the interior decoration acceptable?" Seeing Josh staring in awe, Margot asked expectantly.

"It's excellent. So good that I'm at a loss for words," Josh replied earnestly.

This was absolutely heartfelt and not at all exaggerated.

After all, back in his past life in the 21st century, in China with its terrifying housing prices, he had worked half a lifetime and—with help from his parents—only managed to buy a 150-square-meter property.

And by "help," he meant his parents covering 80% of the cost...

Even then, it had cost over two million yuan.

Worse still, of those 150 square meters, a full 30 were shared public space...

Just thinking about that made Josh want to string up certain Hong Kong property developers on utility poles.

"As long as you like it. The bedding in the rooms is all new, so you can move in today. But the traffic around here might be inconvenient, so you'll need a car. I have connections to get you a new one. Oh, and you probably don't have a driver's license yet, right? I'll go with you to get one," Margot said, talking nonstop.

Looking at Margot giving instructions so seriously, Josh suddenly felt emotional. Life is unpredictable—just a week ago, he was still worrying about how to fill his belly. And now he was living in such a luxurious home.

So this counts as marrying into wealth and living off a rich woman?

But honestly, this kind of "soft life"… really tastes good.