Different usage of 普通に?

Question

So, I was watching this show called Terrace House, and the following exchange between two participants caught my attention.

翔平:「 テラスハウスに入って、一番の…ここに来ての…財産じゃないけど、聖南と出会えたことだな。」

聖南:「いや、何か…普通にうれしいなと思って。普通にね。」

There are two things I don’t really understand here, by the context and the scene itself, she seems very happy about what he told her...

so is it right for me to assume that 普通にうれしい is close to 結構うれしい? And can I use it in other situations? Like saying the food is good 「普通においしかったよ」

My second question is about 財産, jisho says it means “property”, but I can’t really understand how it fits the context here...

Answer 1

In this context 普通に means "just ～", "plainly ～", "simply ～", "～ in its plain sense" or "not in a tricky way but in a straightforward manner". This usage is relatively new and many people see it as slangy, if not incorrect. 結構 is different because 普通に嬉しい is about the type/quality of joy whereas 結構嬉しい is about the degree of joy.

You can also say 普通においしい which means it's simply delicious rather than "delicious in a sense". From the blog of 平野啓一郎 (novelist):

「普通においしい」

たとえば、ブルーチーズを食べたとき、人は、「クセがあるけどおいしい」という言い方をします。そんなふうに条件や留保をつける必要のある食べ物とは違って、ストレートに、一般の誰もが「おいしい」と同意するであろうような味の食べ物（あるいはその水準に達している食べ物）を食したときに、現代人は「普通においしい」と言うわけです。

Other examples include 普通に間違っています ("It's just plain wrong") and 彼は普通に強い ("He is simply strong" rather than "He is moderately strong").

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財産 ("property") usually refers to one's money, real estate and other things that have financial values. But it sometimes figuratively refers to one's valuable experience, unforgettable memory, important human relationship, etc. For example you can say "この留学での経験は私の一生の財産になりました". In 翔平's case, 財産じゃないけど seems to imply "calling 聖南と出会えたこと as my 財産 may be too much (but still it was the best thing that happened here)".