Chapter 12: This Meal, Truly Delicious
Screech! Accompanied by the sound of brakes, the Packard came to a stop in front of the garage of a small villa.
This caught the attention of a middle-aged man next door who was watering his flowers.
A handsome man and a beautiful woman stepped out of the car together—Josh Kane and Margot.
However, as the middle-aged man observed the pair, his expression became a little strange.
Although, in terms of appearance, Josh Kane and Margot made a fine-looking couple, and Josh was tall, the middle-aged man’s keen eyes easily discerned the youthfulness still lingering on Josh’s face, indicating that he wasn’t very old.
Margot, on the other hand, was clearly a mature woman.
Aside from that, Josh’s clothing wasn’t poor, but it definitely wasn’t expensive either.
His coat looked like something that a working-class man might buy for ten dollars—people in that income bracket shouldn’t be able to afford a house here.
In contrast, Margot’s fur coat had to cost at least several hundred dollars.
Because of this, the middle-aged man couldn’t help but take an interest in the mismatched pair. After all, from the looks of it, they might soon be his neighbors.
Meanwhile, Josh, who had just gotten out of the car, seemed to sense something. He instinctively turned his head and made eye contact with the middle-aged man.
The man smiled and nodded. Although Josh was surprised, he politely nodded in return.
Josh then refocused his attention on the house in front of him.
It was a standard American two-story villa, indistinguishable in style from the houses commonly seen in future America.
The only differences might be in the interior design and facilities.
“How do you feel about it? Do you like it?” Margot asked from the side.
“It’s a very nice house, but it must be quite expensive, right?” Josh asked instinctively. Although he had anticipated that any house Margot showed him wouldn’t be cheap, seeing it in person exceeded his expectations.
This style of villa would be very common in future America, but in this era, it was undoubtedly a high-end property.
Moreover, the house was quite large. Although Josh hadn’t seen the back yet, just from the front, he estimated the total area to be at least five hundred square meters.
In addition, the house had sizeable front and back yards.
Josh suddenly felt that his money might not be enough.
“Don’t worry, it’s not expensive at all. You can have it for just five hundred dollars!” Margot said with a radiant smile.
Hearing the price, the corner of Josh’s mouth twitched. This woman was clearly treating him like a child.
“Well... fine, the actual price is one... alright, two thousand dollars. Do you have enough?” Margot quickly corrected herself after seeing Josh’s expression, cautiously asking.
“Mrs. Windis, you really don’t have to do this. I’m not as strapped for cash as you think,” Josh said helplessly.
“Alright, alright. Four thousand dollars, not a penny more. That was the price when this neighborhood was first built. You can’t negotiate any further, or else you’re not treating me like a friend,” Margot finally said, compromising, but also locking the price down firmly.
Hearing this number, Josh nodded. The price was finally within reason.
Of course, Josh knew the price was still lower than the actual value, but judging from Margot’s expression, if he didn’t accept her generosity, she might genuinely get upset.
“Fine, we’ll go with that price, but I’ll have to go back to get the money before I can pay you,” Josh said.
“There’s no rush with the money. You can give it to me whenever. For now, let’s go inside and check out the interior. If you don’t like anything, let me know, and I’ll have someone remodel it for you,” Margot said, her face breaking into a satisfied smile once Josh stopped haggling. She then took Josh’s hand and led him toward the house.
Luckily, the yard was big enough, and the distance between houses was far enough that their conversation wasn’t overheard by the middle-aged man next door. Otherwise, he might have coughed up blood in shock.
Margot’s final offer of four thousand dollars wasn’t a lie—the houses in this neighborhood were indeed originally priced at that amount.
However, one important detail needed to be considered: when was this neighborhood built?
That was back in 1934, right after the Great Depression.
The prices back then were incomparable to what they are now.
The middle-aged man had only moved in last year, and his house of the same specifications had cost him twelve thousand dollars.
As Josh walked inside, he realized he had underestimated the value of the house.
While the interior wasn’t luxurious, it was exquisitely finished.
All the appliances—radio, refrigerator, telephone—were present.
Josh even spotted an air conditioner and a television!
In America, refrigerators became commonplace relatively early, with an 85% adoption rate by the early 1940s, so that didn’t surprise him.
But air conditioning and television were different.
Though invented around the same time—air conditioning even being invented twenty years earlier—due to technical reasons, air conditioners and televisions were still considered luxuries in America before World War II. It wasn’t until after the war that they became widely accessible to ordinary households.
So in 1943, these two appliances were still luxury items.
“How is it? The interior design isn’t bad, right?” Margot asked expectantly, noticing how captivated Josh was.
“It’s amazing. So amazing that I don’t even have the words to describe it,” Josh replied earnestly.
His words were completely sincere.
After all, in his previous life, in the 21st century in China, where real estate prices were terrifying, he had worked for most of his life, only managing to buy a 150-square-meter apartment with the help of his parents.
And by help, he meant they had covered 80% of the cost.
Even then, the apartment had cost over two million yuan.
To make matters worse, 30 square meters of that space was for shared areas.
Thinking about it made Josh want to string up some Hong Kong real estate developers on a telephone pole.
“I’m glad you like it. The bedding in the rooms is all new, so you can move in right away. But the transportation here is a bit inconvenient, so you’ll need a car. I’ve got 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, her words flowing freely.
As Josh listened to Margot’s detailed instructions, he suddenly felt a surge of emotions. Life was unpredictable—one week ago, he had been worrying about how to fill his stomach, and now, here he was, moving into such a luxurious home.
Does this count as finding myself a sugar mama and living off her?
But to be honest, this life of being pampered... it really is delicious.
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