At 6 PM, dusk gathered. Not much sunlight could penetrate the high-rise-filled Sunshine City, and the sky darkened quickly. By 6 PM, it was basically pitch black.
In District C, the streetlights along the roads near the new real estate project gradually lit up, casting an even, warm orange glow. Lights in a few top-floor apartments also came on, bright and dazzling like diamonds, much brighter than the streetlights. They shone like starlight in the night sky, drawing the gazes of Yuan Guang and Shi Qian, who were sitting on the side of the street.
“So bright,” Shi Qian marveled. “The lights on those top floors are all so bright. I didn’t see light that bright all day today.”
“Of course,” Yuan Guang said, holding a pack of bread and a bottle of mineral water, looking up at the top floors. “That’s where the richest people in District C live. Usually, the entire floor is sold as one unit.”
“One floor is over 320 square meters. Even after deducting the shared areas, it’s still over 300 square meters,” Yuan Guang added.
Shi Qian clicked her tongue. “Over 320 square meters for one apartment? Based on the calculation of five people living in 25 square meters here, that could house at least 52 people!”
“And the top floor is the most expensive floor. The price for a single floor reaches 370,000 to 400,000 per square meter.” Yuan Guang muttered the information he had gleaned from the salesperson, then suddenly paused. “Calculated like that, one floor is about 130 million…”
Shi Qian, who had been bombarded with explanations of the [Sunshine Seedling] loan by salesperson Xiaodong all afternoon, subconsciously started calculating. “Here, one child can be mortgaged for about 500,000 to 1,000,000. For 130 million, assuming the maximum amount, that’s about 130 children…”
This place could only house a maximum of 52 people, yet it took 130 mortgaged children to acquire it. These extra children obviously wouldn’t be living in the house when they grew up, because no living space was reserved for them, and their names wouldn’t be on the property deed.
According to salesperson Xiaodong, these children subjected to the Sunshine Loan would be asked to leave their parents’ house to become independent once they grew old enough to work. While repaying their parents’ loan over the next few decades, they would have to work even harder and more desperately to save money to buy their own houses.
In other words, they would live their entire lives under the pressure of two mortgages.
Thinking of this, both Yuan Guang and Shi Qian couldn’t help but feel a sense of suffocation and simultaneously fell silent.
Yuan Guang looked down at his discounted 10-dollar bread, his fingers gripping the greasy packaging tight. “Without the [Sunshine Loan], based on the average salary level of 4,500 here, to live in a top-floor apartment… even excluding loan interest, and even without eating or drinking…”
Shi Qian paused, managing a weak, hollow laugh. “It seems like you’d have to work for two thousand years to live in this 300-square-meter house…”
Yuan Guang looked down, took a bite of the bread, and chewed silently. As he chewed, the discounted bread released a sour, rotting taste of impending expiration in his mouth, making him nauseous. He held back his urge to gag and swallowed it down.
“This bread has expired. Don’t eat it.” Shi Qian had stopped eating hers long ago and was just holding it.
Yuan Guang kept his head down. “But this bread is a best-seller in the convenience store. I saw everyone else lining up to buy it and eat it.”
“Probably because it’s cheap,” Shi Qian sighed softly. “We went too late, the 8-dollar instant noodles were sold out. A skewer of oden here costs 16 dollars. Apart from the 10-dollar discounted bread, the people here can’t afford anything else.”
Shi Qian pulled herself together and patted Yuan Guang’s shoulder. “It already smells bad, stop eating it. I lost a bit of health just from taking one bite. Go throw it away.”
Yuan Guang took a deep breath, muttered an “Mhm,” and stood up, leaning on his knees. He looked back at the buildings towering like a steel forest in the night. Only the top floors emitted that captivatingly beautiful light.
“That salesperson said the top-floor apartments are the closest places to the sun in Sunshine City, so they always sell very well. Rich people fight for them.”
Yuan Guang murmured in realization, “It’s only a bit past 6 PM, yet it’s shining as bright as the sun at night. Everywhere else is completely dark, only the top floors are lit up. No wonder everyone wants to buy a house here.”
Shi Qian walked to the trash can. She looked back, following Yuan Guang’s gaze, her expression complex. “It’s because only the top-floor residents finish work at 6 PM, go home, and turn on the lights.”
“The other floors are inhabited by ordinary residents. At this time, they’re probably still working overtime.”
Yuan Guang was stunned for a moment before his thoughts quickly returned. “Right, they basically work all day without any days off…”
As they were talking, just as Yuan Guang was about to throw the bread into the trash can with Shi Qian, a person suddenly darted out from the side, staring at the bread in their hands with shining eyes. This gave Yuan Guang and Shi Qian a fright.
The person whispered, “If you’re not going to eat the bread in your hands, can you give it to me?”
By the dim light of the streetlamp, Yuan Guang clearly saw the well-dressed woman with light makeup in front of him, and couldn’t help but raise his voice sharply: “Xiaodong?!”
The woman guarding the trash can was none other than Xiaodong, the salesperson who had enthusiastically introduced real estate to them just a while ago.
Xiaodong didn’t feel embarrassed at all. She stared fixedly at the bread they were about to throw away. “If you’re not eating it, can you give it to me?”
Yuan Guang and Shi Qian exchanged a hesitant look. After Shi Qian nodded, Yuan Guang handed the bread over, asking in confusion at the same time: “Xiaodong, you work in real estate sales, your salary shouldn’t be low, right? How could you…”
Yuan Guang stopped mid-sentence, watching with mixed feelings as Xiaodong devoured a piece of bread in two large bites, without even taking a sip of water.
…This thing had rotted to the point where eating it made him and Shi Qian lose health. Yet Xiaodong had no reaction after eating it, as if she was completely accustomed to this kind of food.
After finishing, Xiaodong patted her hands and gave Yuan Guang that very standard professional smile again. “I’m just a salesperson, it’s no different from a receptionist. There are plenty of people willing to do this job everywhere. I’m just lucky to be good-looking and well-spoken, so the recruiter chose me.”
Yuan Guang asked, “Would you mind telling us what your monthly salary is?”
Xiaodong didn’t mind at all. “It’s 3,500.”
Yuan Guang had an indescribable expression after hearing this. In this world, even the people selling buildings can’t afford to buy them… This is simply too surreal.
Shi Qian asked, “Normally, shouldn’t you get a commission after selling an apartment in a building?”
“What’s a commission?” Xiaodong looked slightly puzzled.
After Shi Qian explained what a commission was to Xiaodong, she suddenly understood. “Oh, you mean that thing. That’s for the proxy developer to eat. He takes a 27% cut for every building he sells. We don’t get any of that profit; we’re just working for the proxy developer.”
Yuan Guang frowned and asked, “Proxy developer?”
In the real world, he could understand having a proxy developer, but here, the land was directly in private hands, so why was a proxy needed?
Couldn’t they just set the price however they wanted, and gouge people however they pleased? Why was there still a proxy developer in the middle taking a cut of the difference?
“Yes, every new real estate project has a proxy developer,” Xiaodong explained while wiping her fingers. “The proxy developers generally seem to be top-tier developers, that is, the descendants of the Five Great Developers who hold all the land.”
“The Five Great Developers contract out the real estate projects to their descendants to act as proxy developers. The Great Developers never show their faces; it’s always the proxy developers who handle the projects. For example, I know that the proxy developer for this new project in District C is the grandson of one of the Five Great Developers.”
Xiaodong continued, “The proxy developer is mainly responsible for researching the home-buying needs, desires, and affordable pricing of the residents of Sunshine City, allocating the project area, and designing various layouts suitable for residents to live in.”
“Affordable pricing?! Area suitable for residents to live in?” Shi Qian couldn’t help but swear. “Fuck, you call this affordable and suitable for living?!”
Yuan Guang’s eyes flickered as he pressed, “So you mean, the ownership of the new project is in the hands of this proxy developer, right?”
Xiaodong nodded. “Yes.”
“Do you know where he lives?” Yuan Guang asked carefully. “Or rather, Xiaodong, do you know if the proxy developer for this new District C project behind us will appear tonight?”
Xiaodong turned around and pointed to the brightest top floor in District C in the night. “There, he lives right there.”
“He’ll definitely appear tonight.” Xiaodong pointed it out to Yuan Guang and then turned back to him. “Because the pricing for this new project hasn’t been set yet tonight. We have to wait for him to come over and set the price.”
Yuan Guang repeated softly, “Set the price?”
Xiaodong said, “Yes, how much a square meter costs. He should be discussing it with other proxy developers on the top floor right now. He’ll probably come down around 7:30 to set the housing price for the new project.”
At 7:30 PM.
In the bustling, resplendent sales hall, the glow of the crystal chandeliers abruptly dimmed. Accompanied by a melodious violin playing from an unknown source, a halo of white light hit the entrance. A middle-aged man wearing loose sportswear and sneakers, with slightly wrinkled and flat features, appeared right in the center of the light.
Everyone fell silent, making way respectfully and nervously as this person stepped into the hall. The man smiled, cupped his hands in greeting to the people on both sides, and walked leisurely inside, accompanied by the halo of light. He walked all the way to the towering podium directly facing the main entrance, turned to everyone, and gave a slight bow:
“Good evening, everyone.”
Xiaodong leaned in close to Shi Qian’s ear and whispered, “He’s the general proxy developer for District C. We usually call him Director C.”
Shi Qian and Yuan Guang exchanged a glance, both feeling very strange inside.
This Director C… actually looked quite like a normal person and was quite polite.
This so-called Director C stood on a red wooden podium over a meter above the ground. Behind him hung a massive three-dimensional step chart. The chart had wooden planks rising step by step, going up until they vanished from the sight of the people below. These wooden planks protruded from the picture like stairs. Next to the planks were numbers, sequenced from 300,000, 305,000, all the way up to 580,000.
Each wooden plank corresponded to a number. On the plank corresponding to [320,000], a small blue flag was placed. The flag had the words [Today’s Housing Market Price] embroidered in bright gold.
This Director C slowly picked up the small flag from the [320,000] plank. Shi Qian heard the people around her take a tense, collective deep breath. Everyone stared unblinkingly at that little blue flag.
A child’s voice piped up from the crowd:
“Mommy, you’re pinching my shoulder and it hurts.”
Shi Qian looked over and found it was the couple who had consulted about houses with them that morning. The mother crouched down and hugged her child tightly, tears seemingly glistening in her eyes. Patting the child’s shoulder, she whispered:
“I’m sorry, Mommy is bad for bringing you to a place like this.”
The child, not understanding, held his mother’s hand and smiled happily. “It’s okay, Mommy. We’re here to buy a new home, there’s nothing bad about it.”
The mother took a deep breath, buried her head in her child’s shoulder, and let out a very soft “Mhm.”
The father beside her kept his head down, not daring to look at the child. His hands, holding the other two children, trembled slightly.
Shi Qian withdrew her gaze, slowly clenching her hands.
But this Director C didn’t put the flag down right away. Instead, he mysteriously hid it behind his back and smiled amicably at everyone. “I believe everyone came here today for a home.”
“Giving everyone who comes to Sunshine City a warm home is our common pursuit. Housing prices are also the issue everyone cares about the most. To this end, I discussed with the proxy developers of the other districts for a whole afternoon, without even taking a sip of water, just to try and lower the housing price from 320,000 per square meter.”
Everyone’s eyes began to shine. Even Xiaodong was so excited she stood on her tiptoes in her high heels, trying to see what was happening at the front.
Someone couldn’t hold back anymore and asked, flushed with excitement: “Director C, are you really planning to lower the housing prices for the new project?”
Director C smiled and nodded. He spread his hands in feigned helplessness. “Of course. I already live in the top-floor suite of Sunshine City, and I can earn over a billion a month. Does it make any sense for me to make more money off of you?”
“Even if I earn more, can I go buy a house on the sun?”
Director C’s joke made all the tense homebuyers laugh. The atmosphere involuntarily lightened up, and people below started cheering:
“Director C is a great philanthropist!”
“I’ll definitely work hard to get a job at Director C’s company in the future!”
That couple was also incredibly excited, their heads pressed together as they whispered:
“If it drops a lot, let’s not mortgage the kids. We can just work a few more jobs and earn it back ourselves.”
The man nodded in strong agreement. “This new project is hiring construction workers, and the pay is pretty good. I’ll go haul bricks. If the price drops to around 200,000 a square meter, you and I can work 20 hours a day, and maybe we can break even.”
Xiaodong was so excited she was almost crying. Yuan Guang and Shi Qian, however, felt more and more that something was wrong. They exchanged a glance, spotting the exact same doubt in each other’s eyes.
Discovering his conscience at a time like this? Where was it before?
Director C raised his hands and pressed downwards, smiling. “I personally really feel there’s no need for housing prices to rise any further. I sincerely hope that everyone in Sunshine City can work hard and live in a top-floor suite like me.”
“So, after fighting for it,” Director C brought the flag out from behind his back and slowly lowered it, placing it below the lowest grid, marked 300,000. “The pricing for this new project has been lowered to 260,000 per square meter.”
As soon as these words came out, the entire hall fell silent for two seconds. Then, everyone started shouting and screaming excitedly like maniacs.
“Oh my god! This is the housing price from two years ago!”
“Pinch me, am I dreaming?!”
That couple hugged their children tightly. The husband let out a long breath, and the wife wept tears of joy outright. They had painstakingly raised three children crammed in a tiny home. Although they initially had the idea of getting a loan when they had kids, by now, they inevitably had feelings for them.
They had delayed until now, when housing prices had risen to an unbearable level. It was only when this new District C project opened that they brought their kids to ask about the [Sunshine Seedling] loan.
How could they bear to so simply send the children they had raised for years into a fire pit?
“However,” Director C’s brow furrowed sorrowfully, and the small blue flag in his hand slowly rose. “Although the housing price has been lowered, my actions have caused extreme dissatisfaction among the proxy developers of the other districts. They demanded—”
Director C raised his friendly, affable face. “—to increase the commission from 27% to 40%.”
“So although the housing price is 260,000, adding the 40% commission, the total is—”
Director C unhurriedly raised the small blue flag and placed it next to the wooden grid corresponding to [370,000]. He sighed heavily at everyone. “I tried my best. The final housing price is 370,000 per square meter. You won’t blame Director C, will you?”
Everyone stared blankly at the small blue flag placed on [370,000]. Xiaodong stumbled backward two steps, suddenly covered her mouth, ran to a nearby trash can, and began vomiting, her face deathly pale. The contents of her stomach were nothing but expired, moldy bread.
The couple collapsed to the floor in utter despair, dazedly yet tightly hugging their children. They clutched the [Sunshine Seedling] contract paper in their hands, the light completely gone from their eyes, and muttered to themselves: “We don’t blame, we don’t blame Director C…”
