Transmigration: On the Gossip Front
Chapter 150: Brother-in-law is the Ex 50_1

Chapter 150: Chapter 150: Brother-in-law is the Ex 50_1

The chance encounter with Mr. and Mrs. Ho Zhen was quickly forgotten by Huang Jing.

She was busy wrapping up her work. Although the project was almost complete, final stages required her utmost attention.

Should any issue arise, they could swiftly address it. Thus, amidst the hustle, they managed to pass the internal audit just before the May Day holiday.

Everyone was happy that the project was completed before May Day, as it meant they could travel without needing to constantly carry laptops or be on call 24/7 for bosses and colleagues.

What caused even greater joy was the confirmation of the earlier rumors: the company would indeed provide employee housing benefits.

Finishing the task before May Day would result in a good score on the Points system, securing an advantageous position in choosing housing and dealing with housing prices.

After the task was handed over, while awaiting new assignments, discussions began about where to travel for May Day, but housing was the hotter topic.

In many people’s eyes, IT industry wages were high, especially for employees in big companies.

Yet buying a house in this city was no easy feat.

The towering house prices had discouraged many. Often, couples could only afford a down payment on a two-bedroom or small three-bedroom apartment with savings from both partners and financial help from both sets of parents, then they would struggle with the mortgage.

Even so, there were still many people who couldn’t achieve this. If the other half didn’t earn a high salary, even with a loan, there would be worries about keeping up with repayments.

Especially after getting married and planning for children, there would be many more expenses to consider for sure.

Although they didn’t yet know the prices of the company’s housing benefits, they could guess that, since the company had made such an announcement, the prices would definitely be affordable.

"By the way, Xiao Jing, are you going to buy a house?" someone asked Huang Jing.

"Of course," it wasn’t a secret, "I’m thinking, if possible, to buy a three-bedroom house."

A three-bedroom? The people around were stunned. If Huang Jing had a boyfriend, it wouldn’t surprise them – a couple would need a room for themselves, for children, and for their parents certainly.

But isn’t she single? Why would she need a three-bedroom house?

"Sometimes I work from home, I’d like a big study."

That seemed reasonable to everyone, as IT professionals working from home was common, so having a large study was perfectly normal.

"I’m a woman, though I don’t pay much attention to it at work, I do like beautiful clothes, and also small accessories, handbags, and shoes."

The original owner of the body didn’t have many clothes, but she very much envied Huang Lei for her many beautiful outfits.

Knowing the original owner’s desire, Huang Jing of course wanted to satisfy it to some extent. She hadn’t considered it before because there wasn’t enough space in a small house.

But with a larger house, and a walk-in closet, it was definitely time to shop.

Men didn’t understand the need for an entire room for clothes and such. They thought a few outfits were enough – was there really a need for all this fuss?

Men might not get it, but women did, "Exactly, my closet at home isn’t big enough. I can’t even buy clothes I like."

"Right, it’s always such a dilemma."

Women truly understood the feeling of the wardrobe missing that one piece of clothing, and it wasn’t the bills that stopped them from shopping, but the lack of space at home.

Several young women originally thought buying a two-bedroom house would suffice, but now, inspired by Huang Jing’s words, they couldn’t help but be tempted.

Yet when they considered the prices of two-bedroom compared to three-bedroom houses, they were deterred yet again.

Huang Jing did not persuade them to buy three-bedroom or four-bedroom houses; after all, it was a matter of personal choice.

To many, current housing prices seemed high, and with the market appearing to adjust, with a slight dip in prices, some believed there would be a fall in housing prices.

Huang Jing knew that housing prices were adjusting and would continue to adjust until around October or November, after which they would enter an upward trend.

Then, as housing prices soared even higher, unless you had a property to exchange, starting from scratch to buy a large house was incredibly stressful.

Even if they emptied the wallets of all six of them from both sides, it would not be an easy feat.

Let alone the possibility of going abroad for studies or work; even if she didn’t entertain this idea, having just one house would be sufficient.

Even if Xiao Jing stayed and landed a high-paying job for several years, she no longer entertained the idea of buying another house.

It was simply too exhausting, too hard. Huang Jing did not want a life full of hardship. No amount of real estate could cover up the tough efforts put into buying a house.

Better to improve one’s standard of living and have a more relaxed life.

Moreover, she actually worried that if Huang Lixin found out she had two houses in Shencheng, he might resort to all sorts of tactics to force her to give up one. What then?

Better to just buy one house at a distance from the one bought for Huang Lei; even if Mr. and Mrs. Huang Lixin wanted to move in, they could only look on enviously.

Discussing these matters in the office meant they were no longer secret and would soon spread.

But she hadn’t expected that by the end of the workday, the entire company would be discussing a woman intending to buy a three-bedroom apartment.

Knowing that Xia Ke was close to her, they went to find out if it was true.

Xia Ke had known about this beforehand and wasn’t too surprised by the news itself.

What surprised her was, "It’s Huang Jing’s business how big a house she wants to buy."

"How does her supposed squandering concern you?"

Xia Ke appeared puzzled, "Did she ask you for a loan?"

The person who spoke shook their head, "No."

"Then did she ask you for any financial sponsorship at all?" Xia Ke had thought there would be less gossip among the majority of men at the company.

However, it turned out that men could be quite gossipy too. Xia Ke remembered Huang Jing once saying that men gossip as well; they just didn’t discuss it openly.

"So she didn’t ask for your money, why the fuss?"

"You’re saying Xiao Jing, a woman, is buying a three-bedroom apartment, shouldn’t you guys consider getting a four-bedroom?" Xia Ke said with annoyance.

Always worrying about others; why don’t they consider their own issues?

Buy a four-bedroom apartment? The crowd, which had been waiting for Xia Ke’s response, was taken aback.

Although the company’s housing benefit offered four-bedroom apartments as the largest option, many did not even consider it.

Only the middle and upper management would contemplate a four-bedroom; regular IT programmers usually only considered three-bedroom apartments.

It wasn’t the worry that owning a four-bedroom might cause the leaders to look unfavorably upon them, but that a four-bedroom required much more money.

A larger house meant higher renovation costs; they needed money for marriage and supporting a family—all of which cost money.