Chapter 169: Buying Houses, Grand Opening
"For this one, the owner has gone abroad and entrusted us to sell it for them. I won’t beat around the bush—their absolute bottom price is thirty-eight hundred. They won’t sell for anything less. I think you should take it. It has a total of twelve rooms, front and back. Although the garden is a bit smaller than the one you’re living in now, it’s not a big issue. The space is more than enough, and it’s been kept in pretty good condition."
"I already have the property deeds and everything. If you like it, I can handle the transfer for you right away."
Sean York led Grace Winslow and the others to a courtyard house.
Just inside the entrance was a persimmon tree, with a few unripe, thumb-sized persimmons still hanging from its branches.
Some flowers and plants were growing around it, but they weren’t doing too well. The weeds were actually thriving more than they were.
Grace Winslow looked around. The house seemed fine overall, though some parts were a bit run-down and would need repairs before they could be lived in.
She didn’t decide right away. Instead, she turned to Lily Callahan. "Lily, what do you think? Do you like it?"
Lily Callahan hesitated for a moment, then shook her head. "Twelve rooms is a little too big. I was thinking seven or eight would be about right."
She wasn’t as well-off as Hayley.
Although she had earned some money recently, she had given a lot of it to her own family. After all, her father’s injury had been expensive, and her family had fallen into significant debt.
She couldn’t just pull out three or four thousand in cash on the spot.
Realization dawned on Grace Winslow. She turned to Sean York and said, "I like it. Handle the paperwork for me. I’ll take it."
"You?" Sean York was taken aback. "Didn’t you already buy one? You want another?"
"Who says I can only have one house? Can’t I build up my own dowry?" Grace Winslow shot him a glare.
Sean York chuckled and scratched his head. "Fine, fine, no problem. In that case, I won’t charge you an agent’s fee."
"No, you have to take what you’re owed. Otherwise, I won’t ask you to help me find houses anymore," Grace Winslow refused flatly.
"Alright then. Shall we keep looking?" Sean York looked resigned. He could tell from Grace Winslow’s expression that refusing the commission was not an option.
The group went on to look at several more houses.
Grace Winslow spent all the money she had, putting down payments on three houses.
Finally, Lily Callahan found one she liked. It had eight rooms, front and back, and a garden of over two hundred square meters. The location wasn’t far either; it was only about a ten-minute walk to visit each other.
The price was also reasonable for Lily Callahan: just thirty-six hundred. In the end, after discussing it with Nolan Winslow, she took the plunge and decided on it.
She was a little short on cash, so she borrowed fifteen hundred from Grace Winslow.
Grace Winslow entrusted all the paperwork and transfer procedures to Sean York and paid him the agent’s fee they had previously agreed upon.
On the way back, Nolan Winslow asked, looking confused, "Grace, why are you buying so many houses? We can’t possibly live in all of them."
"Nolan, you just don’t get it, do you? Our country’s population is only going to grow, and soon there won’t be enough housing. This is Coronet, the heart of the nation! The location is fantastic, with elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, and universities all nearby. It’s convenient for everything. The prices are bound to go up in the future."
"If you have money in the future, you should buy any suitable houses you see. Even if you don’t sell them for a profit later, when Ryan and the others grow up, it’ll be good to give them each a house," Grace Winslow explained seriously.
Nolan Winslow’s face lit up with understanding. "You’re right! Why didn’t I think of that?"
"Honey, once we move, I’ll go find a job. You can focus on making clothes for our second brother’s family. We’ll use the money we earn to buy houses and build up our assets for our son. We have to save for our daughter, too."
Lily Callahan smiled and nodded. "But they’re not cheap. It might take us a whole year just to afford half a house."
"What’s the big deal? As long as we work hard, we can always make money," Nolan Winslow said, not worried in the slightest.
「After spending the better part of the day looking at houses, it was already afternoon by the time Grace Winslow and Nolan Winslow got home.」
Irene Lynch had also gone to her shop, bringing Joanne Chase along to help set up. With the grand opening just around the corner, Irene was on edge, running over to the shop several times a day to make sure nothing had been forgotten.
Joanne Chase was meticulous, so having her there was reassuring.
"Nolan, Lily, you’re back." Seeing Nolan Winslow and Lily Callahan return, Joanne Chase greeted them with a smile.
Nolan Winslow acknowledged her, and Lily Callahan walked over, taking her hand. "Thank you for all your hard work, helping Mom run around and get everything ready."
"It’s no trouble. We’re all family," Joanne Chase said, shaking her head with a smile.
「Hayley and Brandon Winslow came back late.」
Grace Winslow asked Hayley a few questions and learned that she had secured a storefront. The location was quite good, though a bit far from their home. It was surrounded by commercial centers with heavy foot traffic, so if she opened a shop there, she wouldn’t have to worry about a lack of customers.
Moreover, Hayley had taken Grace Winslow’s advice. For this storefront in Coronet, she planned to do high-end custom tailoring, not sell the kind of mass-produced goods she used to. That made the location of the storefront even more crucial.
However, properties in that kind of area were not cheap.
The owner of the place she wanted asked for eighteen thousand right off the bat. She negotiated for a long time and almost failed to bring the price down.
"I’ve bought the storefront now, but that was all the cash I had on hand. I spent it all on the shop, so I can’t buy a house," Hayley said, looking thoroughly frustrated. "We might even have to live in the shop for a while, and it’s quite far from home."
"Hayley, is that all you were worried about? I bought a house today too. If it comes to it, you can stay at my place for now. As for the distance, it’s not a big deal. You can buy a bicycle to get around. If that’s not enough, once we’ve earned money for a couple of years, we can buy a car," Grace Winslow said with a smile, pulling Hayley down to sit.
Hayley thought for a moment, then couldn’t help but burst out laughing. "You sure know how to dream big. A car, really? If I actually make that kind of money, I’ll buy one for you."
"Okay, I’ll hold you to that."
Irene Lynch’s shop was about to open, and the storefront Hayley had bought needed to be renovated. With everything happening at once, they were all incredibly busy every day.
Grace Winslow had to help Hayley with ideas for the shop’s renovation while also helping out at Irene Lynch’s store.
Luckily, Joanne Chase was there to share the load; otherwise, Grace really wouldn’t have been able to handle it all.
Sean York also lent a hand.
「On April 6th, Irene Lynch’s shop finally celebrated its grand opening.」
They had already done a lot of promotion beforehand. Plus, Irene had since learned to make herbal wellness pastries, which she used as a special promotional angle.
Most of the residents nearby were older employees with a decent amount of money to spend. Lured by the "buy one, get one free" grand opening promotion, many people came to buy a box to take home and try.
Several flower baskets were placed at the entrance. In the courtyard, a parasol was set up with two tables, and some customers were already sitting there, drinking tea and eating pastries.
Inside the shop, a display case showed all the different pastries for sale and their prices—transparent and open. You could see it right when you walked in, and the whole place was so clean it put customers at ease.
There were eight tables in the shop—four small two-tops and four four-tops—and they were already full.
There were also private rooms upstairs, but they weren’t open yet.