In the early morning, as the sky was just beginning to lighten, even the most diligent servants had not yet gotten up.
In a guest room at the Lin residence, Lin Zhen was fast asleep on the bed. Although he still hadn't seen Lin Meimei, his progress in winning over Lin Ruhai was still slow.
But he can sleep!
A series of loud slaps rang out, jolting Lin Zhen awake from his sweet dream with a sharp pain in his head and face.
"Ah...who attacked me?" Lin Zhen covered his face and looked around warily, but he couldn't see anything except a dim light.
"It's your father!" A loud bang echoed in the sky, and the system giant made a dazzling appearance.
Before the furious Lin Zhen could speak, the burly man preemptively crossed his arms and looked at him with disdain:
"Look at the time! The early bird catches the worm. If you don't study hard, how will you pass the imperial examination? If you don't pass the imperial examination, how will you improve your status? If you don't improve your status, how will you support me!"
The layers of sound stunned Lin Zhen for a moment, but the pain on his face brought him back to his senses.
"No, what are you talking about? I have a system, why would I need to study? Those bookworms study hard because they don't have any cheat codes."
Lin Zhen stood tall and proud, his thin upper body erect, ignoring the pain in his face, and said smugly, recalling how that fellow clansman had mocked him for not working hard enough when he was taking the imperial examination.
Hmph, the final ranking will still be behind mine.
"Did that guy in front of you help you cheat?" the big man asked curiously.
"What does 'cheating' mean?" Lin Zhen frowned, feeling uncomfortable. After nine years of compulsory education, he really disliked this word.
"I complete the tasks assigned by the system, and then the system helps me take the exam; this is an equivalent exchange."
"Oh my god, isn't this cheating? What are you trying to deny?"
The burly man burst into laughter, then looked at Lin Zhen with a mixture of mockery and pity, and said:
"Anyway, I will never let you cheat like this. This system is upright and incorruptible, and it despises this kind of thing the most. If you want to take the imperial examination, you have to study on your own."
Lin Zhen felt a sharp pain in his chest, barely managing to control his breathing, and clenched his fists, saying:
"You are the system, serving me as your host. You must listen to whatever I say!"
"Oh dear, I'm so scared, my dear master! Do you have any right to order me around, you poor wretch!"
The big man slammed his fist, as big as a clay pot, onto his chest, feigning fear.
Lin Zhen hurriedly checked his points and found that he really didn't have many left. He then remembered that he had taken the imperial examination and exchanged some miscellaneous items, so his points were used up very quickly.
His vision blurred, but he gritted his teeth and said, "Just do the tasks to earn points." Lin Zhen looked at the burly man with disgust.
"I have tasks to complete every month, and you can't stop me from doing them."
Big Han: Hehehe, I've been waiting for you to take the bait. After all that talking, I'm finally going to achieve my goal.
"Does the host confirm that the mission will be initiated?" the burly man suddenly asked in a mechanical, electronic voice, his face hardening.
Lin Zhen glanced at him suspiciously, wondering to himself if this damn system's task mode was different.
"Confirm to start the task"
Before he could finish speaking, a line of text flashed on the system panel in front of him:
"Mission: Make a name for yourself at the farewell banquet for Lin Ruhai, gain widespread fame, and earn Lin Ruhai's praise."
Reward: Points…
Lin Zhen fell into deep thought. How could he make a name for himself? He couldn't just take out those soaps and cements rashly; those were the things that would make him money in the future.
"I've got it! Copying poems!" Lin Zhen's eyes lit up. The Dream of the Red Chamber is a fictional world where many poets don't appear, which would make it convenient for him to copy poems.
In his previous life, he had written countless poems and lyrics from the Tang and Song dynasties, some magnificent, some subtle, and some gentle. He could easily write a few and still dominate the world.
Lin Zhen shared his thoughts and excitedly used his meager points to exchange for several poems.
Li Bai's "Bring in the Wine," Wang Zhihuan's "Liangzhou Ci," and Xin Qiji's "Po Zhen Zi" are all famous lines of poetry.
He was laughing so hard his teeth were almost showing. A young man barely twenty, someone who had never left the South in his life, writing about the frontier? Writing about war?
That's not all. Lin Zhen, who hadn't even grown his hair yet, dared to write the line "Pity my white hair" from Xin Qiji's "Po Zhen Zi".
After returning to Ling Xiao, he recounted the story as if it were a joke.
Ling Xiao was filing her nails with a small knife, scrubbing hard until only a little white powder appeared. Without looking up, she said:
"That's the effect we wanted! The Fairy Disenchantment pays attention to Lin Daiyu and the others like a farmer cares about his crops. When someone like Lin Zhen, who is so illogical, suddenly appears, she'll definitely send someone to check him out."
"It should be the two people, the Vast and Boundless Master and the Infinite Immortal."
Ling Xiao blew a breath onto her fingertips and said with a smile:
"Before fighting the boss, fight a couple of smaller monsters first to practice, otherwise you'll get rusty."
"Host is brilliant! Moreover, at the salt merchants' banquet, so many innocent... no, wealthy people saw the Goddess of Wealth unleash her power to subdue demons, and they would be prejudiced and believe in the existence of the Goddess of Wealth from the outset."
—Then you can do business.
La la la la, we've won so much!
The host was all smiles, and even while doing his personal work, he didn't forget the mission, which really touched the system. Besides, it was indeed a lot of fun.
"Alright, how many more taels of silver do we need to earn to unlock the next level of the shop?"
This layer has moved beyond everyday necessities; it now contains modern firearms and technologically advanced items, and even basic introductory items for civilizations like cultivation and magic have appeared.
Therefore, the price is also extremely high.
"A total of 800,000 taels of silver is needed," the system replied after checking.
"It's alright." Faced with this astronomical figure, Ling Xiao remained calm. After all, those who engage in crooked and unethical practices never treat money as money.
"After we make money this time and unlock the next level of the shop, we can draw even more items from the treasure chests."
"Yes, finally we don't have to sell washbasins and toothbrushes anymore," she said, her eyes welling up with tears. "I felt like I was running a convenience store."
Ling Xiao nodded, "Let's make a quick buck from the salt merchants first, then head to the capital and pull off something big!"
………………
The much-anticipated banquet at the Lin family mansion finally began.
One group of salt merchants after another arrived in luxurious carriages. Lin Zhen was full of ambition and began to fantasize about the glory he would enjoy after becoming famous throughout the land.
In the shadows, Ling Xiao sharpened his claws, patiently waiting for his prey to walk into his trap.
They are feeding Lin Ruhai medicine.
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