Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 542 Hidden Trap

The main post contained detailed information, and the poster said they were among the second group of residents to arrive in the satellite city yesterday.

After selecting the plot of land, I excitedly went to the machine to choose the apartment type and paid, thinking that everything was included.

I only found out this morning when I was chatting with my neighbor on the next plot of land.

The official construction team is only responsible for the frame structure, exterior wall painting, roofing, and door and window installation of the house, which is the so-called "delivery of a bare shell".

Internal electrical wiring, water pipe installation, switches and sockets, light fixture installation, wall painting, floor leveling, kitchen stove, bathroom fixtures, stair railings...

All of these are not included; you'll have to find a construction team or renovation workers to do them separately.

The poster also added a reply, saying that they had asked the person in charge of the official construction team, and the reply was:

"The company is only responsible for the main building. The interior decoration is a personalized requirement. If we do it uniformly, we cannot meet the different requirements of different residents. Therefore, the owners need to solve it themselves."

The comment section below the post has exploded, with hundreds of replies appearing in just a few hours.

Some people are criticizing the authorities for not explaining things clearly, some are calculating how much money they have left for renovations, and some have already started inquiring about whether there are any skilled plumbers or electricians in the satellite city.

Some people complained that after choosing a house, they found that their account balance was almost empty, and they couldn't even afford basic interior decoration.

The more Xu Xiaoyan read, the heavier her heart became. She quickly exited the post and opened her order details.

I dug out all the terms and conditions I had checked before paying on the machine and read them carefully, word by word.

Sure enough, there was a line of inconspicuous small print at the end of the product description.

The font size is two sizes smaller than the body text, and the color is light gray. It's easy to miss if you don't look for it intentionally.

"This price includes the main building frame, exterior wall and roof construction, and door and window installation."

The price excludes indoor electrical wiring, water supply and drainage pipes, interior wall painting, flooring, and other renovation projects. The owner must entrust a third party to complete these projects.

Xu Xiaoyan stared at the small print, feeling a lump in her throat that she couldn't swallow.

She put down her phone, closed her eyes, took a few deep breaths, then picked it up again, opened her mobile banking app, and glanced at her account balance: 1398 yuan.

This was all the money she had left after paying for the house yesterday. At the time, she felt she had plenty of money and could easily cover her daily expenses.

But now, after seeing this post and looking at this number, it feels completely different.

The 1,398 yuan is to be used for the complete set of internal plumbing and electrical work, walls, floors, sanitary ware, lighting fixtures, stove... and some emergency funds should also be reserved.

Is that enough? She had no idea.

She had no experience in home renovation, knew nothing about building material prices and labor costs, and didn't even know where to find renovation workers or building material shops in the satellite city.

She leaned against the headboard, holding her phone in her hand, a vague and inexplicable sense of unease slowly rising within her.

"It's like when it rains, it pours..." she muttered to herself.

When she first moved out, she thought she had thought everything through.

Choosing a location, selecting a house type, making payments, and confirming property rights—every step went smoothly. She secretly rejoiced that she acted early and made quick decisions, getting ahead of most people.

Now I realize that I was too hasty back then. I rushed to place the order, rushed to pay, rushed to confirm, and didn't read the product description word by word at all.

If she had paid more attention to that line of small print back then, at least she would be prepared now and wouldn't have been caught off guard by this post.

But it's too late for regrets now.

The money has already been paid, the contract has been signed, and the house is already under construction. She can't just go to the official construction team now and say, "I'm not building it anymore, please refund my money."

Even if she could get a refund, there wouldn't be enough time for her to find another construction team now.

Moreover, the official construction team was already the most cost-effective option she could find; the labor cost of manual construction would only be more expensive.

She stared at the ceiling for a while, then picked up her phone and started browsing the comments section of that post to see if anyone had shared their renovation experience and cost estimates.

After flipping through dozens of pages of replies, she roughly grasped some of the basic information, with comments from people who had already moved in.

He said his house was about 100 square meters and he only did basic interior decoration.

Just doing the plumbing and electrical work, painting the walls white, laying cheap floor tiles, and installing the most basic lighting and bathroom fixtures already cost a little over a thousand.

If you want carpentry work, ceiling installation, or wood flooring, the price will double.

Xu Xiaoyan felt increasingly distressed as she looked at the phone, so she simply put it aside and sat on the bed with her knees drawn up to her chest.

My gaze fell on the almost excessively blue sky outside the window, and my mind raced as I calculated how to settle this score.

Save money wherever possible, avoid doing unnecessary projects for the time being, and never hire others to do things yourself whenever possible.

She has plenty of time and energy now; the only things she lacks are money and experience.

But then she thought, she didn't necessarily have to wait until the house was built before she started.

During the eight-day construction period, she could first inquire about where to buy building materials in the satellite city, scout out the locations in advance, and find out the prices.

You can also look for cheap labor, or if there are any other new residents who plan to renovate together and buy materials together. If there are more people, you should be able to get wholesale prices.

She went through all the money-saving methods she could think of in her mind, and finally felt a little more at ease.

There's always a way. She got out of bed, slipped on her slippers, walked to the window, and opened it to let the wind in.

Xu Xiaoyan turned back to the bedside, picked up her phone, clicked on someone's profile picture in the comments section of that post, and sent them a private message:

"Hello, I saw that you replied that the renovation is finished. I would like to ask which construction team you hired?"

How much would it cost? Could you share the details with me if it's convenient? Thank you.

After sending the private message, Xu Xiaoyan thought she would have to wait several hours or even longer to receive a reply.

But to her surprise, just ten minutes later, her phone vibrated and the other party replied.

"Hello, I'm looking for a renovation team called Lao Zhou in the satellite city. Their skills are decent and their prices are reasonable."

The house is about 100 square meters. The plumbing and electrical systems were completely renovated, and the walls were painted and the floors were tiled. It cost a total of 1,100 yuan. If you are interested, I will send you Lao Zhou's contact information.