Initial results

The next day, after Zhao Dongchuan had washed up and eaten breakfast, he rode his bicycle to Cao Yuan and her mother's house first.

Cao Yuan and her mother were already waiting for him.

"Little Zhao, you're here! Have you eaten? There's still some meat left from yesterday, I'll make you another plate of stir-fried meat," Li Huiying said, greeting Zhao Dongchuan warmly when she saw him arrive.

"No need, I've already eaten."

"Let's go inside first!" Zhao Dongchuan and Cao Yuan and her mother entered the house.

"Here's a watch I brought over. See if you can sell it. It's okay if you can't, just test the waters first!" Zhao Dongchuan said, taking a plastic-wrapped electronic watch from his bag and handing it to Li Huiying.

Although he had made many plans and strategies yesterday, he didn't know what might happen during implementation, so Zhao Dongchuan didn't want to put too much pressure on Li Huiying.

"Don't worry, Little Zhao. You trust me like this and are willing to help our mother and daughter. It's not an exaggeration to say you are our reborn parents. I, Li Huiying, am just a woman and don't understand much else, but I will never forget your great kindness and virtue," Li Huiying said, her eyes reddening, as she was about to kneel.

Zhao Dongchuan quickly stopped her.

"Auntie, please don't do this. I'm just helping with a small favor; the main thing is your own efforts."

Afterward, Zhao Dongchuan discussed it again with Li Huiying and decided on the first sales location: the entrance of the East Gate Cinema. People who could afford to watch movies were usually young people from well-off families who were dating and could afford the money, and there weren't many people checking there.

So, Li Huiying put the watch in her bag and headed to the cinema.

Watching Li Huiying's retreating figure, Zhao Dongchuan instructed Cao Yuan to stay at home, not to run around, and not to open the door to strangers, then he rode his bicycle to the Cultural Center for work.

At the Cultural Center, Jia Bing had also arrived and was sitting at his desk, drinking tea and reading an editorial in the "People's Daily."

After greeting Jia Bing, Zhao Dongchuan sat down at his own desk and caught up on the work he had neglected for over ten days.

Zhao Dongchuan worked while chatting with Teacher Jia.

Although he was physically there chatting with Teacher Jia, his mind was constantly monitoring the task progress on the system interface. After Zhao Dongchuan learned the amount of the foreign debt, the system progress had changed to RMB.

[Completion Progress: 0 / 200 Yuan]

The morning passed quickly, and the system remained unchanged. Zhao Dongchuan couldn't help but worry: Had she not found a buyer? Or had she gotten caught off to a bad start?

Zhao Dongchuan no longer had the heart to stay in the office. After greeting Teacher Jia, he left the Cultural Center and rode his bicycle towards Cao Yuan and her mother's house.

When he arrived at Cao Yuan's doorstep, even before entering, he vaguely heard Cao Yuan and Li Huiying's voices from inside, a sound filled with joy.

Zhao Dongchuan also relaxed. No matter what, at least they were safe, and that was the best news.

"Oh, Little Zhao, you're here! Come in quickly!" Zhao Dongchuan knocked on the door, and Li Huiying, hearing the sound, quickly came to open it.

"How did it go?" Zhao Dongchuan asked quickly as he entered the inner room. This concerned the system task, and he couldn't help but be nervous.

"It's done!" Li Huiying said, unable to contain her inner joy, a wide smile on her face as she spoke to Zhao Dongchuan.

"When I arrived at the cinema entrance, it wasn't long before I saw a young man taking a girl to watch a movie."

"I quietly followed behind them and found an opportunity to ask. The young man wanted to buy it on the spot, but he didn't have enough money in his pocket at the time. He said he would go home to get the money, and then he rode his bicycle back."

"I was quite conflicted then, wondering whether I should wait for him or not. In the end, I still felt that the young man genuinely wanted it, so I decided to wait there."

"Finally, the young man really came back with the money. I sold it for a total of 160 yuan." Li Huiying pulled out a stack of money, mostly 10-yuan 'Great Unity' bills, and some 5-yuan 'Steel Refining' bills (at that time, the largest denomination was 10 yuan, printed with 'People's Great Unity'; the 5-yuan bill had a pattern of steelworkers).

Zhao Dongchuan also felt relieved. It seemed this first deal was a success, but why was there no system prompt, and the progress bar hadn't changed?

Could it be that this money wasn't considered Li Huiying's yet? Would it only count after she received her commission??

Is the system that smart? (System: Get lost, I'm a Heaven-Defying System, who are you looking down on????)

Zhao Dongchuan took the money and pulled out a 10-yuan 'Great Unity' bill and a 5-yuan banknote with a steelworker printed on it.

"This is your commission." Zhao Dongchuan handed 15 yuan to Li Huiying.

"Ding, Completion Progress: 15 / 200."

Indeed, he hadn't guessed wrong; it only counted towards the task progress after the commission was settled.

Li Huiying clutched the 15 yuan in her hand, her heart filled with excitement. Although she had carried 160 yuan in her pocket before, she knew it wasn't hers, so she felt nothing. But now, with only 15 yuan in her hand, it was truly her commission, money she had earned.

When she used to set up a stall, on a good day, she would earn at most one yuan.

Calculated this way, 15 yuan was equivalent to her working half a month from dawn to dusk. Thinking about it, a wave of emotion surged in her heart. Indeed, this "Little Zhao" was the noble person in the lives of her and her daughter.

"Yay, yay, Mama, we earned money!" Cao Yuan, on the side, couldn't help but jump up.

Li Huiying hugged her daughter, wiped away tears from the corners of her eyes, too excited to speak.

Although Zhao Dongchuan didn't think this was a big deal, he understood the excitement in the hearts of Li Huiying and her daughter. After continuous misfortunes, their hearts were filled with despair, and they never expected such a turn of events, a change in their situation, and even more earnings. For their mother and daughter, it truly was a blessing from heaven.

After discussing with Li Huiying that he would bring two more watches in the afternoon, Zhao Dongchuan returned to his dormitory.

Back in his dormitory, Zhao Dongchuan happily treated himself to an extra meal, cooking a pot of fatty pork belly.

The watches sold for 160 yuan. After deducting the cost and Li Huiying's commission, the total profit was 130 yuan. This was truly a huge profit.

So delightful!!!!

Thinking of this, Zhao Dongchuan found the meat in his bowl even more fragrant.

Hmm, so fragrant!!!

So, in the following days, Zhao Dongchuan would come every morning to deliver two watches to Li Huiying, then return to work, and after work, he would come back to collect the payment and settle the commission.

[Completion Progress: 90 / 200]

Seeing the task progress displayed by the system, Zhao Dongchuan's mouth curved into a wide smile.

"Hahaha, the task progress is almost halfway there!"

After calming down, Zhao Dongchuan thought about it and felt it was almost enough. They couldn't go to the cinema anymore; he estimated that many people were probably already watching Li Huiying by now.

That day, after settling up with Li Huiying after work, Zhao Dongchuan brought up the matter with her.

Li Huiying naturally agreed; she had also noticed recently that someone seemed to be observing her at the cinema entrance.

Fortunately, she and Zhao Dongchuan had thought of this in advance. They both used scarves to half-cover their faces and took several detours on their way home, walking into crowds before returning via small paths.

Luckily, the people they found were all relatively honest young men, and none of them reported her.