2: First settlement

After receiving his wages, Chen Xiangbei's fatigue eased slightly. Although an income of 160 for two hours seemed like a lot, it was genuinely not something an ordinary person could do.

If he continued doing this long-term, his body would eventually develop problems.

Chen Xiangbei hailed a car on the roadside and returned to his rented room.

The rented room was located in an urban village in Linhai City, a place where the dreams of countless university graduates began.

It was a small single room costing 700 yuan a month. The room could only fit a bed, a table, and a small wardrobe.

Speaking of a wardrobe, it was actually just a wardrobe frame where clothes hangers could be hung.

Near the entrance, there was a small stove area that could only accommodate an induction cooker.

Besides that, there was only a toilet, nothing else.

You might think it's a bit expensive, but it's not at all. This was actually a cheap room only available in the more inner areas.

Rooms a bit further out started at 1000 yuan a month, which was undoubtedly a high price for recent university graduates, considering their monthly living expenses in university were only about 1500 yuan.

The money for this rented room was borrowed by Chen Xiangbei from a good friend.

Otherwise, the two-month deposit and one-month rent payment would have been very difficult for him.

Chen Xiangbei didn't want to ask his parents, as they were both farmers with no significant income, and it was already impressive that they had supported him through university.

The first thing Chen Xiangbei did upon returning to his rented room was rush into the bathroom to shower. The weather in Linhai City during August and September was extremely hot.

After two hours of physical labor, he was already drenched in sweat.

After taking a cold shower and washing away his exhaustion, Chen Xiangbei opened a food delivery app and ordered a pig's trotters rice.

Linhai City is an internationally renowned coastal city full of opportunities, with countless migrant workers and an endless supply of pig's trotters rice.

7:30 PM.

After finishing his pig's trotters rice, Chen Xiangbei opened Timi. As an ordinary university student, he hadn't kicked his gaming addiction yet.

After work, he would always play a few games to relax.

Chen Xiangbei didn't stop until past 11 PM, almost midnight.

Because the daily settlement time was approaching, Chen Xiangbei was quite looking forward to it.

"Ding! The system begins settlement: Host's daily loading and unloading income +160, average hourly wage 80, system reward +160, physique +0.02, settlement points +20. Please keep up the good work!"

"Buzz~"

After the system settlement, Chen Xiangbei felt a slight tingling sensation in his body.

It should be due to the physique points rewarded by the system. Although it was only 0.02, it still had a slight effect.

It seems this system is real. He only worked for two hours today, and with the system reward, his total income was 320 yuan, and he could even improve his physique.

Tomorrow will be double the income reward. He's really looking forward to it!

Chen Xiangbei drifted into a dream in a daze.

In his dream, Chen Xiangbei was driving luxury cars, living in luxury mansions, with beauties downstairs, holding fine wine, eating delicious food, winning big!

At 8 AM, Chen Xiangbei woke up, finding his body achy and unbearable. Not exercising for too long, the feeling of exploding muscles was not pleasant.

After washing up and having a simple breakfast, he began to ponder today's work.

Today was a double reward day, meaning the higher the income, the higher the reward.

Chen Xiangbei wanted to find a daily-paid job with a higher hourly wage, because long-term work didn't quite fit the system's daily settlement.

Because long-term jobs are usually paid monthly, this would mean losing many system rewards. Daily payment was more cost-effective, with rewards every day.

The most important thing was that it was already the 20th, almost the end of the month, and next month's rent was due.

He now only had 1400 yuan left. After paying the rent, he would only have 700 yuan, and 700 yuan for a month would be quite difficult.

He couldn't just eat steamed buns every day; insufficient nutrition could lead to illness, and he couldn't afford to get sick now.

Chen Xiangbei thought for a moment and decided to find a longer-duration job, preferably one he could do while sitting.

After browsing daily-paid jobs posted online for a while, he quickly found one that met his expectations.

"Zhongshan Fishermen's Wharf oyster shucking, three mao per oyster, more work, more pay. Currently seeking 50 workers. Contact number..."

This job relied on hand speed, but most importantly, he could do it while sitting, which was quite ideal for Chen Xiangbei now.

There was no team cooperation; he would earn based on how much he did, which was easier for him to control individually.

The key was that he was very short on money now, terrified of being poor.

If he worked hard, he could shuck at least 1000+ oysters, which would amount to over 300 yuan.

The physical exertion was also relatively low, and with the system reward, he could earn eight or nine hundred yuan in a day.

After contacting them by phone, Chen Xiangbei immediately took the subway to the station near the Fishermen's Wharf, then walked a few minutes to reach it.

This was a Fishermen's Wharf warehouse, where a plump boss had leased a 2000-square-meter warehouse to store oysters.

Several fishing boats were docked at the Fishermen's Wharf; these were specialized oyster transport boats.

Linhai City boasts the largest oyster farming base in the country.

Many bosses made their fortunes here through oyster wholesale, and Chen Xiangbei's boss, Xu Dafa, started his business this way.

Bosses are stingy. He relied on posting daily recruitment ads to save expenses.

Firstly, there were no contract disputes, and secondly, he didn't have to provide workers with the five social insurances and one housing fund. It was convenient, and a large number of people were eager to work.

Chen Xiangbei arrived at the warehouse entrance check-in counter, signed in, and received a tag.

Then he went to the warehouse management to collect a cart of oysters. Each cart had 200 oysters; he would collect the next cart after finishing one.

This made accounting easier. Chen Xiangbei didn't delay, collected all his tools, found a spot to sit down, and began his great oyster shucking endeavor.

Shucking oysters was a bit of a skilled job. At first, it took 30 seconds to shuck one. Gradually, as he got the hang of it, he could shuck one in 25 seconds, then 20 seconds, about 3 per minute.

That amounted to 54 yuan an hour.

It was 9 AM, and Chen Xiangbei shucked with all his might, striving to shuck as many as possible.

As for hand speed, a man cannot say he can't do it. Even if it aches, he must persevere.

There was an hour for lunch in between. The boss was quite decent, providing each person with a bento box, one meat and one vegetable dish.

Although it was a bit humble, Chen Xiangbei didn't mind; it wasn't like he hadn't eaten such food before. He quickly finished eating and returned to his post to continue shucking.

He shucked 96 oysters in the first hour.

He shucked 108 oysters in the second hour.

He shucked 110 oysters in the third hour.

...

Until 6 PM, when the regular workers started to leave, and oyster shucking for the day concluded.

Chen Xiangbei averaged about 105 oysters per hour. Excluding time for meals and restroom breaks, he shucked a total of 940 oysters in just over 8 hours.

Xu Dafa saw that this young man worked very diligently, so he counted an extra 10 for him, making it a total of 950 oysters, for a total of 285 yuan.

He calculated that it wasn't as cost-effective as Chen Xiangbei's two hours of work yesterday.

However, for him, being sore all over, this job today was still quite good.

At least he could do it while sitting, minimizing his movement to help his muscles recover faster.

"Little Chen, you did well. Are you coming again tomorrow?"

Xu Dafa saw that Chen Xiangbei was diligent and wanted him to come again tomorrow.

Chen Xiangbei naturally knew, but he wasn't sure if he would come back here, because although it was easy, it didn't pay much.

"Thank you for the compliment, Boss Xu. I'll see how it goes tomorrow. If I come, I'll let you know in advance."

"Good. Add me on WeChat. I have work every day here. Just tell me if you want to come, and I'll arrange it for you."