Rebirth: A Cinderella's Counterattack

Chapter 36: Chapter 36: The Compensation Arrived but Ended Up Incurring a Huge Debt

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The civil mediation concluded quickly, and with one child slightly injured and another still hospitalized, plus both victims being minors incapable of full conduct, there was no chance of reducing the compensation. They honestly paid the full amount and maintained a ”silence is golden” attitude until Zhang Ye saw Luo Qianqian and her party leave with the money.

The two women exchanged glances, seeing in each other’s eyes a mutual sentiment that their own money being taken by such paupers was worse than throwing it away, then smiled at each other.

”We’ve got money now, haha, mom, I contributed the most because I lost two teeth, so I get so much money. I want to buy that water gun, haha, I’ll buy two, one to play with during the day and another at night,” Luo Shufan said, looking excitedly at the cloth bag his mother was holding tightly.

”Big Brother He, there’s also a share for you in this. Xiao Yu also suffered a lot, I haven’t forgotten. If you don’t trust me, you can take it now,” Luo’s Mom said to He Jun, who was standing by her side, with a nervous voice.

”Big sister, what are you talking about? Am I, Brother He, that kind of person? Not to mention that both your kids, one is slightly injured and the other is still in the hospital. Just now in the hospital, all the necessary checks were done and they ate properly, so I can’t take this money,” He Jun said with righteousness, ”Little Yu’s injury can be healed with some pig’s trotters. If you really feel bad about it, just buy some extra pig’s trotters, it’s also good for my goddaughter and godson to have some nourishment.”

”Big Brother He, this is really embarrassing,” Luo’s Mom tried to decline, but the young girl pulled at her clothes. She was about to scold the girl when she inadvertently saw a certain expression in the girl’s eyes, which left her speechless. How long had it been since the young girl showed such an expression? Considering the hardships she had faced, she should give her whatever she wanted this time.

”Mom, mom, let’s buy a house,” Luo Qianqian said excitedly. After all, the value of houses in Huaxia would skyrocket in the future, multiplying many times over. It was still the end of the 20th century, and the house prices had not reached astronomical levels.

”Hmm? Toys or...?” Seeing the girl’s firm shake of her head and her somewhat dazed expression, she asked, ”Are you talking about the house for living in, where we eat and sleep every day?”

”That’s right, that’s right. That way we won’t have to rent a house anymore and we can save a lot of expenses.”

”No way! Part of this money belongs to Xiao Yu. And even if we buy it, the new house may not be as big as the one we have now,” Luo’s Mom firmly shook her head, Luo Shufan, clueless about what was going on, looked at his sister who seemed so anxious and at his mother who was quite determined, but had no idea what the matter was.

”Mom, listen to me first! We can treat this money as a loan from godfather. With this money, once you return to work and have a stable income and pay stubs, we can get a loan from the bank to buy a decent house,” Luo Qianqian said anxiously, seeing her mom unmoved, ”Even if not for me wanting my own room, think about it for brother’s sake. Brother will grow up and want to get married, right? How can we welcome my future sister-in-law if we don’t have our own house? Sharing a rental together? Would you really want me to marry someone without a house and suffer with him? And who knows how much houses will cost when brother grows up. If now is cheap, what are we waiting for?” Luo Qianqian pushed her clueless brother to the forefront, appealing to emotions and reasoning.

”Hey, hey, hey...” said Luo Shufan.

”How big is your brother, and you’re already thinking so much? Of course, your brother should find someone willing to share his life’s ups and downs... Why are you thinking about getting married already as a child? You’re the treasure of our family, and of course, you should be well taken care of. Besides, who says the house prices are cheap now? How expensive are they? You really don’t know the hardships of running a household. It will still be many years before your brother grows up, and who knows, maybe the house prices will drop one of these days,” Luo’s Mom counted her daughter’s issues on her fingers, making sure to completely address each one before she clutched the cloth bag over her shoulder tightly.

”Hey, hey, hey... Mom, why are you discussing my future marriage with my sister? I’m still just a kid...”

”Mom, I have some questions, and you just need to answer yes or no. You don’t need to explain, okay?” Luo Qianqian stamped her feet on the spot and saw her mother nod before she clenched her fists and continued, ”Ten years ago, the year my brother was born, could the money for one pound of radishes buy a whole bag?”

”Yes, but that was...” Luo’s Mom said.

Luo Qianqian interrupted her mom’s words without hesitation or politeness and waved her hand dismissively, ”That’s enough, back then did every household have a phone?”

”No,” Luo’s Mom wisely didn’t continue with explanations, waiting to see how the young girl would convince her, after all, their girl was smart enough to solve elementary school problems at the age of five.

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”Are there so many styles of clothes in the malls? So many types of toys? Such rich colors?”

”No.”

”Are there so many skyscrapers, high-rise malls, tall buildings?”

”No.”

”So, what makes you think that in another ten years there won’t be even greater progress? Every day there’s news about the strategy of becoming a powerful country through technology. What makes you think property won’t appreciate? Maybe in the future, phones could even be carried around. Food, clothing, shelter, and transportation are the most important parts of living. Do we have to live in rented houses forever? Qianqian also wants to have her own home where she can keep a small dog; nothing in our current home is ours, and we always have to be careful not to damage anything.” Luo Qianqian wiped her sweaty palms on her clothes with vigor. ”And we need to buy a school district house, so that my brother and I can have a better education.”

”School district house? Powerful country through technology? Strategy?” He Jun muttered under his breath, dumbfounded. What on earth were the Luo siblings watching at home all the time, political or military news?

”A better education?” Luo’s Mom’s expression softened as she heard this, seriously considering the idea.

”Mom, Qianqian makes sense. After all, once you buy a house, it’s yours forever. It won’t disappear.”

”School district house? Is it tasty?” He Wenyu was utterly confused listening to them. What were these people talking about? Although she didn’t understand, it seemed very impressive to her.

”Buying a house is still just a seventy-year property right, and it’s a right to use, so isn’t it just like renting?” Luo’s Mom said, looking down at the cloth bag in her hands with a furrowed brow.

Seeing her mom’s conflicted expression, Luo Qianqian secretly made a ’yeah’ gesture in her heart—this indicated that her mom was likely swayed by her argument. ”But we can buy beds, desks, and even nice little cabinets and small tables. The furniture at home is so tall I have to stack clothes on the chairs to reach, and we can buy a big full-length mirror for my brother and me to play dress-up and admire ourselves. We can wallpaper the walls with pretty patterns, have plants and small animals. Most importantly, we won’t have to deal with an arrogant and overbearing lady barging in every month regardless of what you’re doing, always at dinner time. No matter if it’s a good meal or a bad one, she has to have a bit, because if she eats, we don’t get enough. She doesn’t care.”

”I’m quite familiar with the factory director. If you need a proof of income, I can take you to get it right now,” said He Jun, impulsively making his decision after observing Luo Qianqian’s adult-like assertiveness.

Consequently, Luo’s Mom, completely baffled, had her income certificate sorted out and, with her ID, bank card, and the cash from her bag, hurried to the neighborhood mentioned by her daughter.

The neighborhood was serene, with a primary school, middle school, and high school nearby. Less than a kilometer from the community gate was a market, with bus stops offering everything one might need, and even a large shopping center being built close by. She looked on, bewildered, as her daughter studied the geographical location, acted cute for a discount, and even managed to get a renovation gift pack from the sales office.

In this era, there weren’t any excited hoarders of property, so although there were provisions such as applying for housing loans, not many people applied for them. Thus, with all the necessary documents, Luo’s Mom, with the help of the sales staff, quickly secured a loan.

Luo’s Mom was dazed: Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing? What’s happening?

Luo Qianqian’s actions baffled everyone, but due to her decisiveness, the next day He Jun bought a house in the same building complex, at the same price, using a loan. This led to some complaints from Mother He, who called him foolish because their daughter was too young for the house to be put in her name.

However, after hearing what He’s father said about the school district house, she wasn’t as upset about him using nearly all of their life savings to buy a house and take out a loan. After all, they had worked hard most of their lives so their daughter could have a better future.