"Hmm?"
Li Jianjun had just been about to eat and drink when he suddenly heard the System's voice, which caught him entirely by surprise. It had been so long—had the System actually responded? He had long since given up hope. After all, through years of hard work, he had finally qualified as a level-six fitter, and his life was finally starting to look up. And yet, the System had appeared now?
"Ding. Does the host wish to check in?"
The System's voice sounded again, and Li Jianjun finally snapped back to reality.
"Having a System is fine, I suppose. It’ll save me a lot of hard work in the future," Li Jianjun thought to himself. He then silently recited the command in his mind.
"Check in."
"Ding. Congratulations to the host for a successful check-in. You have received one Body-Strengthening Pill, one bicycle voucher, three hundred yuan in cash, and twenty vouchers each for grain, oil, and meat, with each voucher worth twenty jin."
"Not bad at all. I got so many great things on my first check-in."
Li Jianjun was genuinely surprised. It was wonderful to have a System; everything was great, and rewards fell right from the sky. With that in mind, Li Jianjun immediately took the Body-Strengthening Pill. Instantly, he felt a surge of immense power flowing through his body, as if he had an endless supply of strength. True to the System, it was a high-quality product.
"Good, truly good."
Li Jianjun felt incredibly content. He poured himself a generous glass of liquor and began to sip it slowly. Life was quite comfortable this way. The only thing missing was a wife; if he had a wife, his life would be perfect. Just a week ago, a matchmaker had mentioned setting him up with someone, though he didn't know if it would come to anything.
"Never mind. I'll find out in a few days," he muttered, shaking his head before continuing his drink.
After he had eaten and drunk his fill, Li Jianjun sat by his doorway, leisurely snacking on fruit. It was a very pleasant scene. Seeing this, the people passing by couldn't help but feel envious. Li Jianjun’s life was clearly getting better and better. What frustrated them, however, was that Li Jianjun ignored them completely, though they couldn't exactly blame him given their history of unfriendly relations.
Naturally, Banggen saw all of this, too. He kept drooling; in this day and age, meat and fruit were incredibly expensive, and average people couldn't even afford meat! Banggen began making a fuss about wanting fruit, which left Jia Dongxu speechless. They didn't even have money for meat, let alone fruit! But hearing that Li Jianjun was eating fruit made them furious.
"That damned Li Jianjun! It’s unforgivable. He’s actually using fruit to tempt our Banggen!"
"Qin Huairu, get over there and get some for my precious grandson, do you hear me?" Mrs. Jia scolded, glaring at Qin Huairu.
"What? Me?" Qin Huairu was at a loss for words. How could she possibly go to Li Jianjun and ask for fruit? Everyone in the courtyard knew that their family and Li Jianjun had been at odds for years. Why would he ever give them anything?
"What are you waiting for? Go!" Mrs. Jia barked again.
"Mother, you know as well as I do that our relationship with Li Jianjun is terrible. Why would he give us fruit?" Qin Huairu sighed.
"You wretch, you’re useless," Mrs. Jia cursed. But deep down, she knew it was true; she just didn't want to lose face in front of Banggen.
"Alright, alright. When Dad passes the next assessment, I’ll buy you some. Don't worry, there's one more assessment before the New Year," Jia Dongxu said, his expression just as sour. He felt even more resentment toward Li Jianjun—the damn guy was just too lucky.
"..."
Banggen felt deeply dissatisfied, but since they had already said as much, he could only swallow his saliva and wait patiently.
...
In the middle of the night, Banggen couldn't sleep. Every time he thought of Li Jianjun eating fruit, his mouth watered uncontrollably.
"Should I go take a look?" the thought suddenly occurred to him. The urge grew stronger, so he got up, dressed, and crept outside.
He soon reached the backyard and stopped by Li Jianjun’s window. Sure enough, there were several pieces of fruit sitting on the table. He checked around and saw that everyone seemed to be asleep, including Li Jianjun. He climbed through the window and snuck inside. He reached the table, grabbed a piece of fruit, and took a bite. It was sweet and crisp, and he enjoyed it thoroughly.
*Clang!*
Suddenly, Banggen knocked into something, creating a loud noise.
"Who's there?"
Li Jianjun opened his eyes, threw on some clothes, and quickly stepped out.
"Banggen? You dare to come here and steal?"
Seeing Banggen sneaking around infuriated him. This little brat dared to break into his home to steal his fruit?
"Ah!"
Banggen hadn't expected to wake Li Jianjun up. Without thinking, he stuffed two pieces of fruit into his pockets and bolted for the door.
"You're not going anywhere!"
Li Jianjun gave chase, kicked Banggen to the ground, and sent him sprawling face-first. But he wasn't going to let him off that easily. He proceeded to give Banggen a sound beating.
"Ah! Stop, stop! I was wrong, I was wrong!"
Banggen screamed, his cries echoing loudly through the quiet night. Hearing the commotion, many people from the courtyard rushed out to see what was happening. Mrs. Jia and Jia Dongxu had been sleeping soundly, but they scrambled out as soon as they heard the noise.
When everyone arrived in the backyard and saw Li Jianjun beating Banggen, they were shocked. Mrs. Jia and Jia Dongxu were livid.
"Li Jianjun! What are you doing? How dare you beat our Banggen like this?" Mrs. Jia screamed in rage.
"Exactly! You’ve gone way too far," Jia Dongxu added. "Banggen is just a child! How could you be so heavy-handed? Look at what you’ve done to him!"
They had never gotten along with him, and seeing his son beaten so severely made Jia Dongxu lose all restraint. But Li Jianjun ignored them and kicked Banggen in the stomach once more, causing the boy to spit out the fruit he had just eaten.
"Li Jianjun! You dare hit my son again? I’ll kill you!" Jia Dongxu lunged toward Li Jianjun.