Chapter 006: There Are No Good People Selling Watermelons (Please Bookmark, Please Vote for Monthly Tickets)

Another task has arrived...

One year old...

Why does her task even have a timeline?

Looking at the task details, it was slightly complex, lacking a clear definition. What kind of behavior would be classified as "outdoor socializing"? Chen Yuan asked in his heart, but the System gave no response. It was a case of "managing the kill but not the burial."

Soon, the four reached Apartment Building Nine.

"I suddenly have an idea," Wang Chuyue said. "There is a scrap collection station behind our school. Let's take our dormitory's waste cardboard boxes there to sell later. Maybe it’ll be enough to pay the electricity bill."

"That works, we’re free anyway," Cao Yumeng said.

"Niannian, are you coming?" Wang Chuyue asked.

"I'll listen to you guys," Song Jianian said blankly.

Wang Chuyue looked at Chen Yuan. "Does your dorm have anything to sell? Shall we go together?"

"We don't have that many packages, but I'm free. I can go with you—consider it a way to kill time."

"Alright then. Wait for us for a moment; we’ll go up, grab our stuff, and leave."

"Mm."

The three girls went upstairs, and Chen Yuan calculated in his mind. The System's requirement was to take her on an outdoor social outing. Going to sell scraps together should count, right? If it didn't, this task would be quite difficult to complete. After all, the two weren't close, and finding another opportunity to complete the task wouldn't be easy.

He sat on a flower bed, sipping his fruit tea and scrolling through his social media feed. Jiang Wanyi had posted a new update.

"Today is a lucky day. I hope you remain carefree and grow up slowly..."

The attached photo was of the child sleeping; it must have been newly taken, edited with some cute patterns.

"Might as well give it a like."

After finishing his tea, the three girls returned, having bundled the cardboard boxes together, though they were loose and flimsy. Chen Yuan threw his empty cup into the trash and went over to help.

"Put them here. Let me re-tie them, or they'll fall apart before we even get there."

"Mm."

The task didn't require much skill, just strength.

"Did you weigh them? How many pounds in total?" Chen Yuan asked.

"18.3 pounds in total, but I think they'll try to scam us. They won't tell the truth, just like that melon vendor," Wang Chuyue said.

"Add some water inside. It will get heavier after absorbing the water. That way, it’ll even out."

Wang Chuyue and Cao Yumeng looked at Chen Yuan with a hint of admiration. Thinking of a trick like that made him seem quite impressive.

"I'll go do it."

"We'll go together."

Wang Chuyue and Cao Yumeng ran back to their dorm, leaving Chen Yuan and Song Jianian outside.

"I, I..."

With her dorm mates gone, Song Jianian’s social anxiety flared up. Being alone with Chen Yuan felt completely unnatural.

"I'm going back too..."

Like a startled fawn, Song Jianian trotted back toward the apartment building. The summer breeze lifted her skirt and her waterfall-like long hair, making her look like a heroine from a Makoto Shinkai film.

Not long after, the three returned with two bottles of tap water. Chen Yuan untied the bundles, and Wang Chuyue and Cao Yumeng slowly poured the water over the cardboard. They then placed the intact boxes on top, tied them up again, and it was impossible to tell from the outside.

"One bottle is one pound. Now that we’ve added two pounds of water, even if they try to scam us, we won't lose too much," Wang Chuyue said.

"Let's go."

The four walked out through the back gate and reached the scrap yard, but they didn't rush over.

"Niannian, see that scrap yard?" Wang Chuyue said.

"I see it."

"You go sell it. Student Chen, sorry to trouble you to help her carry it over."

"Mm."

"I can do it myself," Song Jianian said softly.

"Feeling brave, are we?"

"I meant I can carry it myself."

Song Jianian carried the twenty-pound bundle and walked toward the scrap yard.

*Whoa, what hidden strength.*

With the task still pending, Chen Yuan followed her and took the scraps from her hands. Seeing a college student approaching, the male owner stood up and walked over.

"Just put it on the scale there."

Chen Yuan placed the load on the scale, and the owner pressed a few buttons.

"11.8 pounds. I'll count it as 12. Fifty cents per pound, that’s six yuan."

Chen Yuan: ???

Even the Great Love Immortal Venerable would lose half his cultivation getting scammed like this.

Song Jianian didn't know what to do. She knew the owner was cheating her, but she was too embarrassed to argue. She looked at Chen Yuan, then back at Wang Chuyue and Cao Yumeng. The two girls didn't chime in because Chen Yuan was there.

"What do we do now?" Song Jianian asked quietly.

"Ask him if his scale is accurate. Be a bit bolder," Chen Yuan whispered to her.

"Oh, oh."

Song Jianian looked at the owner. "Is your scale accurate?"

"Of course it is. I just had it calibrated," the owner said firmly.

Chen Yuan whispered a few more words, and Song Jianian said, "Then I'll go find somewhere else to weigh it."

"Fine, go ahead," the owner said dismissively.

Chen Yuan carried the load away. He looked around and spotted a small truck selling watermelons nearby.

"Big brother, we'd like to borrow your scale to weigh these boxes, is that okay?" Wang Chuyue walked over and asked.

"Sure, put it on."

The owner was straightforward. He flicked his cigarette ash and glanced at the digital display.

"24 pounds."

"Emmm..."

Damn, are there no good people among those who sell watermelons?

*It's over!*

The melon vendor and the scrap collector exchanged glances; the atmosphere was quite awkward.

"Neither of them is accurate. Let's call and report them," the rather blunt Cao Yumeng said.

"No rush..."

Chen Yuan looked at the two men and said, "How should we handle this? Should we call the Market Supervision Bureau and see whose scale is wrong?"

"Young man, there's no need for that."

The scrap yard owner spoke first, offering a fawning smile. "It's not much money anyway. I'll give you ten yuan, how about that?"

With the water added, it weighed twenty pounds; at fifty cents a pound, ten yuan was perfectly fair.

"Is that okay?" Chen Yuan asked, looking at Song Jianian.

"I don't need ten, nine is fine," Song Jianian whispered.

*Such an honest child.*

"It's fine, it's fine. I'm not missing that one yuan. I'll scan ten yuan to you."

After the payment was sent, the deal was done.

[Task completed: Reward 500 yuan cash, comprehension increased by 5%.]

With the reward received, he felt at ease. Having earned ten yuan, they bought four ice creams on the way and returned in high spirits.

"Chen Yuan, we're heading off."

Passing by Apartment Building Nine, Wang Chuyue said. After the recent incident, she no longer addressed him with the formal "Student Chen."

"Mm."

The three left. Chen Yuan returned to his dorm, where Sun Pengnan was still reading a novel with great interest. Chen Yuan washed his accumulated clothes and socks in the bathroom, fiddled with his phone for a while, and took a nap.

When he woke up, there was a message from Jiang Wanyi.

Jiang Wanyi: "Is it convenient for me to send you a video?"