Time-Travel: The Tragic Cannon Fodder Female Supporting Character Makes a Comeback
CHAPTER 35: The 1970s Naive Supporting Girl (35)
The housing officer, Xiao Wang, then led her to the second place.
This time it was a few newly built shops on the outer edge of the department store’s first floor. The exterior was open and bright, giving off a high-end vibe at first glance.
Xiao Wang was familiar with the security staff, so he ran over, grabbed the key, and opened the shop that was up for sale to take a look.
Since it was newly built, the interior was spacious and spotless.
There were two large units, with high ceilings, enough space to turn it into a two-story loft style.
The other shops were all rented out for now. Only this one was for sale because it was farther back, with a large pillar on the side of the storefront, making it less eye-catching than the others.
Wealthy tenants didn’t fancy it, and those with less money couldn’t afford it, so the contractor decided to sell instead.
Song Susu thought it was pretty good. For her, the pillar didn’t matter at all; in fact, it could be a good spot for advertising, and turning the interior into a loft would make the space feel even bigger.
Plus, with the department store bringing in traffic, a bit of renovation and cleanup would make this shop easy to rent out.
She asked about the price, and Xiao Wang said the mall quoted ten thousand, but it was negotiable.
After all, a department store shop was pricier than an ordinary residential building, but it was still within Song Susu’s budget.
“Then help me check if we can save some money. I’ll give you a fifteen percent cut based on the savings.”
Xiao Wang swallowed hard. Fifteen percent, wow. If the price dropped by a hundred, he’d make five bucks. Drop a thousand and he’d be making more than his whole month’s salary.
After all, the reward the housing office gave for selling a property was only ten yuan. Just a little negotiation and the money practically fell into his lap.
He didn’t hesitate, nodding eagerly. “Got it, Comrade Song. I’ll go talk to them right away.”
Once he went into the mall to speak with the manager, Song Susu wandered outside, taking in the area.
This whole section was prime real estate. Every inch was valuable.
She glanced around to see if there were any other shops worth checking out.
Passing by an older woman selling ice cream, Song Susu bought a hawthorn popsicle and casually asked, “Auntie, are there any houses for sale around here?”
The older woman sized her up, noting her smooth skin and neat clothes, guessing she might be buying for marriage purposes. She immediately smiled and said, “Oh, young older woman, you’re looking to buy a place? I actually have one.”
Before Song Susu could respond, the older woman grabbed her hand in a hurry and pulled her down a back alley to see the property.
A few steps down the alley was the first house. Pushing the door open, they stepped into a cramped little courtyard filled with clutter.
The courtyard was rectangular, and straight ahead was a neat row of five connected rooms. Each door had a curtain of a different color hanging over it.
“This is my courtyard. The room on the left is rented out, the one in the middle is where I was selling ice cream just now, and the remaining three are for you to look at. Take your pick, young older woman. If you like one, the price is negotiable,” the older woman said warmly, guiding her through each room.
The rooms were slightly different in size. The two on the left were about thirty square meters each, the middle one a bit bigger at around forty, with its own window and a small half-exposed balcony—that was where she had been selling ice cream and soda.
Song Susu inspected each room carefully, ignoring the rented one. The rooms were old, the walls yellowed and dusty, and there were a lot of stored items lying around. But the space was tall, square, and well-lit. A fresh coat of paint and some tidying up would make them feel bright and roomy.
The main selling point was the street frontage. Directly opposite the department store, and with next year’s policy easing, the building could be renovated into a proper storefront.
“How much are you selling the rooms for, Auntie?” Song Susu asked.
The older woman’s eyes lit up when she saw interest. Seeing a young girl, she sized her up and said with a sly smile, “Well, young older woman, the room we live in is slightly bigger, I’ll sell it for 1,000. The smaller one next to it is 800. If you want more space, you can buy two rooms and I’ll give you a discount.”
All five rooms together barely added up to a little over a hundred square meters, and even with the courtyard, it was only around two hundred square meters total.
Buying a single room alone would cost just under a thousand, not even counting the courtyard space. Converted to the going rate, it really wasn’t cheap, especially since it couldn’t be counted as a proper storefront yet. In this era, it was actually more expensive per square meter than a traditional courtyard house.
Song Susu looked at the older woman, her eyes darting around with obvious scheming, and shook her head decisively.
“The price is too high. Besides, I prefer a standalone house. Your place isn’t great, the rooms are old, and the street noise would be annoying. I’ll pass.”
The older woman saw she wasn’t easy to fool and quickly grabbed her arm, smiling cheerfully.
“Don’t go, young older woman. Everything’s negotiable. If you want the whole courtyard, that works too. I’ll sell the whole thing for 5,000. You can close the gate and live comfortably, and my little balcony could even be used to sell ice cream or soda, it’s not bad…”
Song Susu cut her off. “The absolute maximum I’ll pay is 2,000. After that, I’ll still need to renovate and fix the place. Honestly, 5,000, I could buy a new courtyard house instead. If that works for you, great. If not, I’ll pass.”
The older woman was stunned. Their whole family wanted to sell these rooms to buy a courtyard house elsewhere, mainly because the street noise was too much and her son and daughter-in-law didn’t want to live here.
“2,000 is way too low. Add a little more… 4,000 then!”
Song Susu didn’t answer. She pulled her hand away and started walking off.
“Hey, your temper is so stubborn! Don’t go. 3,000 is fine, just add a bit more…”
Song Susu ignored her and stepped straight out of the alley.
Just then, she ran into Xiao Wang from the Housing Bureau, who had come looking for her.
“Comrade Song, where are you off to? I got the price down for you. You’re saving 1,000! Let’s go sign the contract.”
The chatty older woman froze when she heard this, her eyes wide as alarm bells went off. She grabbed Song Susu and shouted, “No way! I promised to sell it to you for 2,000. You have to sign the contract with me first!”
Her old house had been on the market since last year, and finally someone was interested. 2,000 was already a fair price, and with a little extra, she could get the courtyard house her son and daughter-in-law liked.
Buying the whole courtyard at once was rare. She could not let this opportunity slip away.
Xiao Wang was totally confused and asked, “Uh… what’s going on?”
Song Susu calmly explained to the frantic older woman, “Auntie, talk it over with your family first. I’ll come back in half an hour. Don’t worry, as long as you’re still willing to sell then, we’ll go to the Housing Bureau and sign the contract.”
“No! I’ll go call my husband and my son and daughter-in-law right now. Wait here for a bit, and once they’re back, we’ll sign the contract with you!”
With that, the older woman bolted, terrified the deal might fall through.
Xiao Wang finally understood and cautiously asked, “Comrade Song, are you still going to buy the storefront then?”
Song Susu nodded. “Yes, we’ll sign this contract first. After that, we’ll come back for the other one.”
Xiao Wang let out a relieved breath and immediately gave a thumbs up. “Wow, you are something else. That’s amazing.”
Song Susu didn’t wait for the older woman. She went straight to the department store and signed the contract, paying a hundred as a deposit. Since she hadn’t brought enough cash with her, they agreed she would go to the Housing Bureau the next morning to finalize the transfer, handing over the money and the property certificate at the same time.
The whole process took less than twenty minutes. Afterward, Song Susu headed back to the older woman’s house, with Xiao Wang from the Housing Bureau coming along.
When the old woman returned and saw that they were gone, she cried angrily, blaming her husband for being too slow.
Her son and daughter-in-law were also somewhat unhappy, “Mom, really! Didn't you say you'd leave a contact address? We finally had a chance to sell this dilapidated house, and what kind of mess did you make?”
The old woman was blaming herself when she suddenly heard a knock at the door.
The son who was closest ran to open it, and when he saw Song Susu, the older woman practically cried from joy, grabbing her hand tightly.
“Oh! My girl, you actually came! You scared me to death, I thought you were gone for good.”
Song Susu blinked, a mix of laughter and exasperation on her face. Seeing the whole family staring at her eagerly, she asked, “So, everyone’s agreed?”
They nodded eagerly. “Yes, yes, we’ve agreed! We’ll sell!”
The daughter-in-law added, “We just need to go to the Housing Bureau to transfer it now. We’re in a hurry to reserve a place and really need the money.”
Song Susu nodded. “Okay, this gentleman behind me is from the Housing Bureau. You can go with him first while I go home to get the money.”
Hearing that, the whole family’s faces lit up, and they cheered, “Good, good, good!”
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