Chapter 131: Kiara, A Bitch

The defining feature of resettlement housing is that everyone knows each other’s backgrounds inside out. Most of the time, it’s extremely rare to see a stranger within the community, unless they’re new homeowners who have just moved in.

Everyone is well aware of Arthur’s circumstances—there’s no way he would spend money to buy a house for Ruth.

It’s true that both of these demolition compensation properties are under Ruth’s name, but as a housewife, her own financial situation is stretched to the limit. Where would she possibly get the money to buy things like a car or a house?

People are even clearer about Old man Bard’s situation. After his wife passed away, he became an absolute diamond bachelor, attracting the envy of widows all around. He was allocated several storefronts from the demolition, but held onto that particular apartment, hoping his son would return after finishing his studies so they could enjoy family happiness together.

As it turned out, his son made a good life for himself in a first-tier city—he had enough money to put a down payment on a home and married a wonderful woman. Both of them are highly educated, their lives are exceptionally stable, and they’re already preparing to try for a baby.

Old man Bard is burning with envy. He longs to hold his grandchild but doesn’t dare disturb the couple’s private world.

He bought a apartment right across from his son’s, hoping to share in that family joy. Over time, he sold off his storefronts one by one, and now only this one beautifully renovated apartment remains unsold.

Everyone marvels at that apartment—the materials used were extravagantly high-end, to the point where the cost exceeded the price of the property itself. Since Old man Bard is in the renovation business himself, how could he possibly use ordinary materials for his own son’s marital home?

After finishing her phone call, Aunt Kiara turned back with a smile and said, "Old man Bard agreed to sell it to you for 40,000 dollars, just as discussed before. He’ll cover the taxes and agency fees, and he can even have that wall knocked through for you within a single day."

Ruth was utterly stunned. "Is he that desperate for money?"

As a diamond bachelor wholly focused on earning money, Old man Bard is the dream man for every widow around here. The word "poverty" hardly seems applicable to him.

Aunt Kiara put on an ingratiating smile and said, "Old man Bard says he can’t sell the other plots of land, but this one he wants to offload quickly. His daughter-in-law is due to give birth soon, and he plans to buy a apartment for his grandson in a first-tier city."

"Sister Ruth, this is a good deal for both you and him. At this price, you’re absolutely getting a steal."

Aunt Kiara wasn’t wrong at all—the renovation of Old man Bard’s apartment is simply top-tier. A fortune was spent on both the hard and soft furnishings. If sold to anyone else, it might not stand out, but if sold to Ruth, once that corridor is opened up, the value will definitely increase.

"What, don’t tell me your son-in-law doesn’t have the money?"

Noticing Ruth’s hesitation, Aunt Kiara asked.

"Old man Bard said he only accepts full payment, no time for mortgage loans. Is it really that difficult? Didn’t you say your son-in-law is financially free now?"

Just as Ruth was feeling too embarrassed to answer, Luis happened to arrive—and of course, he hadn’t heard any of this conversation.

"Hello, sisters!"

With that, Luis set the food on the table. The four-person meal purchased from Ocean World naturally wouldn’t let his Mother In Law lose face.

Lobster meatballs fried with black truffle, and the rest were pretty much all signature dishes. A conservative estimate for this delivered meal would be over a hundred dollars.

Luis didn’t plan to have lunch there either. Right after dropping off the food and about to leave, he was pulled back by Aunt Kiara. She briefly explained the situation and asked with a cheerful smile, "Second Son-in-law, let me talk to you about something."

Luis was also aware of that apartment they mentioned. It really was beautifully decorated—very tasteful and not tacky at all. His Mother In Law had been longing for it, even to the point of considering taking out a loan against her two current properties to buy that one.

But as a housewife, once she thought about all that loan interest, she gritted her teeth and gave up on the idea.

"That sounds pretty good actually!"

After listening, Luis said with a light laugh, "Mom, why don’t you call Lily over."

"Why should I call her over?"

"Our city has purchase restrictions. Lily’s quota should be saved for other investments, like a villa or a storefront. Let’s not use it on this, okay?"

Luis knew exactly what his Mother In Law’s situation was, and he played it cool with effortless ease. "Mom, you already have two properties under your name. Buying another would mean heavy taxes. So let’s put this one under Lily’s name for now. Just ask her, it should be fine."

"I—I’ll ask."

Ruth didn’t explain directly. She made a call and summoned a still somewhat confused Nancy to the Teahouse. At home, her authority as the fierce matriarch was not to be challenged.

Nancy’s arrival was as dazzling as ever. It has to be said, the elder sister’s charm remains stunningly breathtaking—what a shame she ended up married to that piece of shit Daniel.

Aunt Kiara voiced a note of doubt, "Old man Bard said he agreed to 40,000 dollars, but only for a full payment. Nothing else will do."

Luis casually pulled out a bank card and handed it to Nancy. "Sister, why don’t you go take care of it."

Aunt Kiara said excitedly, "Let’s go, then! Let’s go take a look."

"You all go ahead and see to it. Don’t let it interrupt my mom’s card game. It’s not that much money anyway."

This was showing off in the most effortless way. After handing over the card, Luis didn’t give it another thought. Instead, he looked at Nancy with total calm and said, "Sister, like we said before—40,000 dollars, not a cent more."

"Y—yes, I know!"

Nancy’s feelings were complicated. She had woken up not knowing how to face her brother-in-law, but when she did wake up, Luis was already gone from the house.

She had gone to mediate a dispute the day before. Part of the reason her mother was so furious was that her card game had been interrupted. When asked about Luis, he very reluctantly said he had been called over just as he was exercising in the park.

Nancy believed it 100%—after all, her brother-in-law’s physique spoke for itself. Those unbelievably defined abs were incredibly attractive.

Most importantly, her brother-in-law doesn’t even go to the gym. Just the visual impact of those muscles alone—they’re clearly born of pure strength and are intensely alluring.

"Please handle this, sister. With purchase restrictions these days, everything’s such a hassle!"

"Live-in son-in-law, do you even have that much money on your card? Old man Bard is insisting on full payment."

Aunt Kiara suddenly piped up.

The moment Nancy took the card, she was filled with confidence. This was a card that could cover even the full price of a Cayenne—how could she let this bitch spout such nonsense?

"Aunt Kiara, you’re asking quite thoroughly whether we have money or not."

Nancy was the first to lose her temper. She said, "What, you think our family can’t afford to buy a house? We’ve already settled on a price, and now you come out with this—don’t you have anything better to do?"

"No, can’t I ask? 40,000 dollars is no small amount for your family."

Aunt Kiara shot back immediately.

Inside the Teahouse, this was already drawing attention. The meal itself had been eye-catching enough, and now with a sudden conflict breaking out, who wouldn’t want to watch the drama unfold?

"It is a not a large amount, to my brother-in-law, it’s not money."

Nancy’s confidence was so overwhelming that even Ruth was a little surprised, but then her Mother In Law was cut from the same cloth.

Ruth said impatiently, "Aunt Kiara, you’re talking too much nonsense. Are you selling it or not?"

"Selling, selling! Big sister, let’s go. I’ll contact Old man Bard to come over right now."

"Mom, I’ll be going too."

Luis also left first. Compared to his Mother In Law’s anxiety, Luis was completely at ease.