Chapter 81
"Emily, can you please trust me?" William looked at her seriously. "How could I make you do something you don't want to do? Don't worry."
He pointed at the sales office and lowered his voice. "The reason I chose this place is that I got word that this development has a lottery event. If you're lucky enough to draw the first prize, you can buy a property at a 20% discount."
"Twenty percent!" Emily exclaimed, quickly doing the math in her head. That meant a house originally priced at two million dollars could potentially be bought for just four hundred thousand.
"Are you kidding me? Who would do such a money-losing deal?"
William didn't answer her directly, but kept her in suspense. "Whether it's true or not, why don't you come in with me and see for yourself?"
Emily walked into the sales office with some doubt. A sales agent immediately came over to help them.
When she heard Emily was there to buy a house, the sales staff briefly learned about Emily's situation and began recommending various properties.
"Miss, look at this. This is our best-selling development. The community has beautiful scenery, convenient transportation, and pedestrian-vehicle separation. There are bus stops and subway stations nearby, very convenient."
"And this one - it's a bit more expensive, but has even better views. From the top floors you can even see the river. It's absolutely beautiful in the evening."
"Stop." Emily raised her hand to interrupt, smiling awkwardly. "You don't need to tell me all this. Just tell me the prices."
Her entire savings totaled just over five hundred thousand dollars. What was the point of the sales agent saying all this? She couldn't afford any of them anyway.
If William hadn't insisted on dragging her here, Emily wouldn't have even looked at such high-end properties.
The sales agent didn't say much more, just smiled. "It seems you like this development. Which unit have you taken a liking to? We can take you to view it in person."
"No need, no need." Emily refused again, extremely nervous.
She had brought the kids along. If she embarrassed herself in front of all these people, that would be too awkward.
William cleared his throat lightly. The sales agent looked at him, and William said, "I heard you're running a lottery event when I came. Is that true?"
"Lottery event?" The sales agent was stunned, looking confused. "What lottery event? I don't know about it."
Emily looked at William in surprise.
What was going on? He clearly said there was an event. Could he have been lying to her?
"How could I lie to you?" William saw through Emily's thoughts at a glance and quickly explained. "I wouldn't joke about something this important."
His mind raced as he coughed twice, his face completely calm. "Looks like their internal communication at the sales office isn't very timely."
He turned to look at the sales agent. "Go get your manager."
What were these people doing? He had already arranged everything, yet they hadn't communicated it properly.
The salesgirl didn't know what William wanted, but seeing his expensive clothes and appearance, she could only comply.
Soon, the floor manager arrived. William grabbed onto him like a lifeline and hurried over.
From Emily's vantage point, the two seemed to exchange a few words, but the distance was too far for her to hear what William and the manager were actually saying.
Soon, the floor manager walked over to Emily and nodded respectfully. "Ms. Johnson, you're here to look at houses? Let me personally introduce them to you."
"No need."
This time it was William who refused. "This development is very nicely decorated, and the scenery is good. We really like it."
"I heard you have a lottery event here. Is that true?"
He asked the question again. The floor manager quickly nodded. "We do indeed have a lottery event. The first prize winner can purchase a property at 20% of the price. This is a very good deal. Would you two like to participate?"
"Why would you have such an event?" Emily raised a question.
Aiden also poked his head out from behind Emily, looking at the manager curiously. "This is a money-losing deal for you."
Just as Aiden finished speaking, William suddenly raised his hand to cover his mouth and pulled him close.
He had worked so hard to arrange this whole performance - he couldn't let his own son ruin it.
The manager patiently explained to Emily, "Ms. Johnson, as you probably know, housing prices have dropped dramatically in recent years, and real estate everywhere is struggling. To sell our properties, we naturally have to take action."
"This event has a big incentive, but it's mainly for market considerations. This isn't the only time we'll do it, but similar events might not be as good as this one. Miss, you're really lucky." He sighed lightly.
Most of Emily's doubts faded.
What he said wasn't wrong.
Real estate really hadn't been doing well these past two years. More and more people were unwilling to buy houses, and didn't even want to buy cars - they either rented or took taxis.
Even when buying cars, most people bought electric vehicles at most, treating them as just a means of transportation at a reasonable price. Very few people pursued houses and cars anymore, and the real estate business had entered a state of stagnation.
"Miss, would you like to draw?" The floor manager caught William's signal and quickly had a nearby employee bring out the lottery box.
"Give it a try. Maybe you really will draw the first prize."
Nina also ran over. "Yeah, Mommy, you have to win the big house!"
Emily smiled awkwardly. William also urged from the side, "Just try it. Even if you don't get first prize, maybe you'll get third prize and still get some discount, right?"
He said this last sentence while looking at the floor manager, a flash of light passing through his eyes.
Just one more step - don't mess this up now.
"Alright then." Emily nodded and walked over to reach her hand into the lottery box.
She didn't pick and choose, just randomly grabbed one and pulled it out.
The floor manager took it, gently opened it, and his eyes suddenly widened. "Congratulations, Ms. Johnson!"
He immediately started clapping, and several sales ladies nearby joined in.
The slip of paper was passed to Emily. It clearly read "First Prize."
"Ms. Johnson, congratulations on winning! What amazing luck!" The floor manager immediately started flattering her.
Emily stood there frozen, completely at a loss.
She looked at the slip of paper over and over again, extremely surprised.
She had actually won?
Was the first prize really that easy to win?
She hadn't even picked carefully - she just randomly grabbed one. This was too much of a coincidence!
"Mommy, you're so lucky!" Nina jumped high in the air, cheering excitedly, pulling Emily's hand and spinning in circles.