3: Snag a signed copy of Harry Potter!

Half an hour later.

Chen Kai pushed open the door of the dilapidated old Rental House, quietly closed it behind him, and sat on the edge of the bed, unable to contain his excitement.

He fetched a pair of scissors from the kitchen and carefully cut through the ribbon wrapped around the rose stems, afraid of accidentally damaging the hundred-yuan bills.

After tearing off the ribbon and tossing it casually into the trash, he found each rose stem bound with a rubber band holding a hundred-yuan bill, along with one ten-yuan note and four one-yuan notes.

Chen Kai excitedly counted the money over and over before finally confirming that, thanks to the intel, he had earned a thousand yuan in just one day!

Normally, delivering takeout for ten hours a day, he'd be lucky to make a little over three hundred yuan with tips. If there were delays, he'd only earn around two hundred.

With the system, he had earned four days' worth of money in less than half an hour!

Even if he only scored bargains worth a little over a thousand daily, combined with his delivery earnings, he could make forty to fifty thousand yuan a month!

In Dragon Country, a monthly income of forty to fifty thousand yuan would put him ahead of 90% of the population!

It also meant he could pay off all his debts in less than a year! He could even ensure his parents enjoyed a comfortable retirement.

After being excited for a long while, Chen Kai finally pulled out his phone from his pocket, intending to transfer ten thousand yuan to his mother. Paying back the relatives even a day sooner would mean one less day of worry for his parents.

Opening WeChat, he noticed he hadn't yet accepted the delivery tip Liu Yunshang had sent. He hesitated for a moment, then typed on the keyboard.

"Thank you, Sister Liu."

Only then did he accept the red packet from Liu Yunshang—twenty-eight yuan and eighty cents. For regular orders, the tip was usually five yuan at most, or as little as three-fifty. This was definitely a super-sized tip.

"No need to be so polite, little brother. Get some rest soon. Good night."

Chen Kai smiled and made a WeChat video call to his mom.

The call connected quickly, and his mother's somewhat weathered face appeared on the screen.

"Son, you've lost weight again. Don't overwork yourself. Your dad and I can handle the money issues. Today, his boss even gave him an extra fifty-yuan bonus for fixing a car."

"Quick, let your dad say a few words. You two hardly speak a few sentences to each other all year."

His mother smiled, hurriedly passing the phone to his father, teasing playfully, "Dear, you're always talking about Xiao Kai. Don't pretend now that you're on video. Say something."

Looking at his father's hunched back on the screen, Chen Kai couldn't help but feel a pang of shame.

That's just how traditional Dragon Country father-son relationships are. Unless one side falls, a son never truly earns his father's approval.

Watching his father's weathered face on the video, the two of them remained silent for half a minute.

"Dad, you've worked hard... It's my fault for not being more capable... If I hadn't lost that money, you wouldn't have to struggle like this..."

Chen Kai's words caught in his throat, his voice choking up.

On the other end of the video, the weathered face showed a trace of imperceptible emotion, but he still turned his head away, his tone slightly stiff.

"Just take care of yourself. Don't carry any guilt. I'd be doing this work with or without you."

The silence lingered for a few more seconds. "Don't overwork yourself. If you get tired, just come home. Your old man will back you up."

Chen Kai pressed his lips together and nodded, watching as the phone was handed back to his mother.

"Mom, I transferred ten thousand to you. Just earned it. I've got something to do, so I'll hang up now."

"Love you, Mom. See you tomorrow."

Chen Kai quickly ended the video call, trying hard to calm his emotions.

"Ding-dong."

The next moment, his phone chimed. He quickly picked it up to look.

[Mom: How do I return a transfer? Son, keep the money for yourself. Don't make life too hard out there.]

Chen Kai quickly typed, "It's fine, Mom. I still have some left. You take it."

He spent five or six minutes persuading her before she reluctantly agreed to accept the ten thousand yuan.

He let out a long sigh of relief and checked his Green Bubbles balance. His salary had just been paid today; after deducting the ten thousand, only thirty yuan remained. But he still had the cash from today's system bargain.

He swore silently to himself that he would definitely carve out a future for himself!

Chen Kai lay on the bed, staring at the system panel in front of him where the time kept ticking.

Waiting felt like an eternity, but finally, the clock struck midnight.

[Today's Intel Refreshed: Tomorrow morning at 9:20 AM, Auntie Liu from Sihai Residential Complex will take a stack of old books to the Scrap Recycling Station. Among the stack is a second-print edition of 'harry potter and the Philosopher's Stone' with J.K. Rowling's autograph on the cover. Suggested selling price: 7200 yuan]

"Holy crap?! Seven thousand two hundred!!!"

Chen Kai was shocked!

He had read quite a few books from the harry potter series and even collected several back in his hometown.

He never imagined a single book could sell for 7200 yuan?

He quickly focused on the autograph. A second print edition too?

A quick search revealed that the harry potter series was first printed in the 90s. First printings were the most valuable, even fetching sky-high prices of ten thousand dollars at auctions.

Second printings were worth considerably less, but the autograph was what made this book worth seven thousand two hundred!

Chen Kai rubbed his hands together excitedly. Yesterday's intel was worth thirteen hundred; today's intel had skyrocketed to a staggering seven thousand two hundred!

Averaged out, earning a million a year wasn't just a dream!

Soon, however, he was troubled by how to intercept Auntie Liu.

"That shrew won't be easy to deal with."

Auntie Liu was notoriously the neighborhood bully and shrew of Sihai Residential Complex.

He had delivered takeout to Sihai Residential Complex a few times, and without exception, had been given a hard time by Auntie Liu, who worked as a sanitation worker.

She made him park his electric scooter outside the complex to 'avoid polluting their environment' and forced him to carry three cases of bottled water into the complex by hand.

After that delivery, even Outerman would be flashing a red warning light.

She was probably the only person who single-handedly made all delivery riders steer clear of Sihai Residential Complex.

And now he had to Score a Bargain from her?

Frowning, Chen Kai opened the intel details again.

"Wait? Going to the Scrap Collection Station?"

An idea slowly formed in his mind. He glanced at the time—already half past midnight. Although his body clock usually had him up reliably by 8:30 AM...

Just to be safe, he set two alarms before sinking into a deep sleep. Missing out on seven thousand two hundred because he overslept would be a slap-in-the-face mistake.

...

Early the next morning, Chen Kai got up, washed up, hurriedly put on his delivery uniform, and rode his little electric donkey towards Sihai Residential Complex.

By nine o'clock, he had already parked his little electric donkey at a street corner. After some thought, he decided to buy two bags of eggs from the supermarket at the complex entrance.

The allure of eggs for elderly folks is something everyone in the know understands.

After buying the eggs, Chen Kai checked the time and started pacing near the complex entrance with the two bags, occasionally glancing in the direction of Auntie Liu's place.

"There she is!"

Chen Kai muttered to himself, spotting the Old Woman walking from the distance towards the gate, holding a stack of old books. He mumbled excitedly.

He pretended to head nonchalantly in Auntie Liu's direction.