"By the way, I’ve come back this time to take Mom, Dad, and my younger brother to the city for a couple of days. Your son-in-law said the new house is all renovated, and you all should go stay there for a few days," Qin Jingru said happily.
"We’ll go! We’ll all go! My son-in-law is truly filial," Li Cuihua said, her face creasing into a wide grin.
"Big Sister, I want to go too, Jingru!"
"Jingru, take me along as well!"
Qin Qianru and Qin Yunru, two little sycophants, immediately expressed how much they missed their cousin—so much that they couldn't eat or sleep—and how they simply had to go to Sijiu City to visit her.
Qin Qianru was only a few months shy of eighteen. She wanted to take this opportunity to see Sijiu City; if she happened to find a suitable partner, she would stay at her cousin’s place for a few months and then get married right there.
Qin Yunru was younger, just turned fifteen. She had been thoroughly mesmerized by Qin Jingru’s tall tales and wanted to see the bustling Sijiu City and the duplex house belonging to her brother-in-law.
At noon, Qin Jingru sat on a small stool, cracking melon seeds and snacking. Qin Tianfu brought out the leftover mutton and pork that Zhou Junfeng had brought over last time to treat her. His daughter was someone special now, married into such a good life, and she would need to help her maiden family in the future, so he had to keep her in high spirits.
After Li Cuihua placed the dishes on the table, Qin Jianjun reached out his chopsticks, only for Qin Tianfu to slap his hand away. "Your sister hasn't even started eating yet. You children have no manners. Go ahead and eat, Jingru."
Seeing her parents fussing over her, Qin Jingru was deeply moved. Even though they favored her brother, they loved her too, and one shouldn't be too calculating in life.
"Mom, Dad, you two eat more of what Junfeng brought. I have meat every day in the city. I'll come back to visit you whenever I have time."
"Jianjun, it's not that I want to nag, but I told you to study hard and you wouldn't listen. Your sister at least graduated from middle school and barely managed to get into the Sub-district Office. With just your elementary school diploma, even if your brother-in-law wanted to help you, what kind of job could he find for you? A dung-shoveler?"
"Your sister makes 37.5 a month now, and your brother-in-law makes 106. Do you think anyone can make that much? Your brother-in-law is a college graduate; how many college graduates are there these days? If you don't study hard and just mess around every day, even the dung-shoveling crew won't want you."
"Dad, Mom, listen to what she's saying! What do you mean even the dung-shoveler won't want me? Is she trying to humiliate me?"
Qin Jianjun didn't get to eat any meat and was scolded right to his face by Qin Jingru. This time, even Qin Tianfu and Li Cuihua wouldn't back him up. The stubborn kid wouldn't study hard; talking to him about school was like pulling teeth.
"Jianjun, do you want to live a good life in the future?" Qin Jingru asked.
"Of course I do, what kind of stupid question is that?" Qin Jianjun retorted defiantly.
Qin Jingru: ... *Stubborn brat, still mouthing off.*
"Then study hard. Your brother-in-law is a college graduate; the money he earns in a month equals what a whole rural family makes in a year. If you don't study hard, you'll have no future. Do you want to work in the fields your whole life? Don't you want to work in an office and eat meat every day?"
Qin Jianjun: "I don't have the talent for studying."
Qin Jingru: "Do you have the talent for getting slapped?"
Qin Jianjun: "You’re too much, I can’t argue with you."
"From now on, if he doesn't study hard, he can go shovel every latrine in the village."
Qin Jianjun: ...
Qin Tianfu: ...
Li Cuihua: ...
Qin Qianru and Qin Yunru were stunned by their cousin. She was incredible; she was so cool.
***
After lunch, the parents packed up and brought Qin Jianjun, Qin Qianru, Qin Yunru, and Qin Huairu’s brother, Qin Jianguo, to Sijiu City.
It was still early, so Qin Jingru took them around Sijiu City, strolling through the park near her home twice. She didn't dare buy anything expensive. Each child got a stick of candied hawthorns—they only cost a few cents. Even though Junfeng had given her plenty of money, she didn't dare spend it recklessly; in their village, a woman who squandered her husband's money would get beaten.
Zhou Junfeng: *Am I really that weak or that violent?*
"Sijiu City is so beautiful. It’s like a different world compared to Qin Family Village."
After arriving in Sijiu City, Qin Qianru was captivated by the prosperous city, firming her resolve to become a city dweller. If her two cousins could do it, and they were all Qin family girls, why couldn't she?
As the sun began to set, Qin Jingru finally brought the group back to the Courtyard.
***
The Zhou family’s new house at the Courtyard.
After Qin Jingru went back to the village, Zhou Junfeng had spent the whole day lying at home. To him, anywhere away from his bed was a "faraway place." It was too boring. In this era, there were no cell phones, no television—it was nothing short of a tragedy.
Zhou Junfeng was sprawled across the bed in an 'X' shape, eyes vacant, when suddenly a strange jolt of electricity surged through his body.
"Ding..."
"System successfully bound..."
"What the hell? Who's talking?" Zhou Junfeng looked around, bewildered. Who was playing tricks?
"Host, don't look around. I am inside your body—the system you’ve been wishing for."
"Considering you had 300 million in cash that remained unactivated when you transmigrated, I am here to deliver that money to you."
Zhou Junfeng: "I don't need you to deliver the money. Send me back to the modern era."
"Host, your body in the modern era has been scorched to a crisp. Are you sure you want to go back?"
Zhou Junfeng: *Damn it.*
"I can't even spend the money if you bring it here! And how am I supposed to spend such a huge sum? If I deposit it in a bank, the staff will arrest me."
"Host, don't worry. I will convert the money into the currency of this world. You can exchange it for currency, materials, anything you want."
"Think of it this way, Host: in ten years, you'll be able to use that money."
Zhou Junfeng was furious. "You garbage system," he muttered. "Why don't you wait until I'm dead to give it to me!"
"Host, after you die, your children and grandchildren can inherit the fortune. You suffer alone so the whole family can be happy."
Zhou Junfeng: "You sure know how to comfort someone. Don't bother next time."
"What kind of system are you? Aside from delivering this 300 million, what else can you do?"
"Host, one shouldn't be too greedy."
Zhou Junfeng: ...