Volume One, Chapter 3: There Is Hope, There Is Hope for Everyone

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“You can give me as much gold as you have. As long as you can provide gold, not just buns, even roast duck can be delivered to you.”

“This... Very well! May I ask your name?” Dongfang Wan’er asked excitedly.

“My name is Qin Fan. If you ever need anything, you can come find me anytime. I’ll always be here.”

This deal was simply too good. At this rate, within a year, he might be richer than the world’s wealthiest tycoon. There was no need to look for a job anymore; he could just sit at home and watch the fortune grow.

“Alright, tomorrow we’ll go out and see if there’s any more gold. If we find any, we’ll hand it all over to you.”

“Good, then I’ll go prepare the food now.”

...

“Shen Hui!” Dongfang Wan’er shouted his name cheerfully.

“Captain, what’s the matter?”

“Shen Hui, to reward you for working so hard to find gold today, I’ve specially exchanged some powdered milk for you!”

“Look!” Dongfang Wan’er pulled out a big bag of Weiwei Soy Milk.

“This... This is really powdered milk!” Shen Hui burst into tears on the spot.

“Captain, you... You’re the one who truly cares about me.”

“Alright, just look at your son—he’s so thin now. Hurry and make some for him to eat.”

“Oh, and look at this—do you know what it is?” Dongfang Wan’er fanned the aroma of the meat buns toward him.

“Captain... Is this... is this a meat bun?!”

“Hahaha, that’s right! You’ve got a sharp nose!” she laughed. “I’ve already eaten, so you and your wife can each have one of these.”

“Captain, aren’t you afraid those people will come over and try to steal your food?” Shen Hui quickly tried to cover up the buns.

“What’s there to be afraid of? You and I both have powers. Since the central government has abandoned us, and these people just sit here all day waiting for us to bring back resources, why should we cater to them? What’s wrong with taking out some meat buns?”

Dongfang Wan’er walked along, carrying the buns, their aroma wafting for miles. The people inside the base were all itching with envy, but no one dared to make a move; they could only stare and drool.

“Here, hurry up and eat. You haven’t eaten in days. If this keeps up, I’ll have to scold Shen Hui,” Dongfang Wan’er said, handing a meat bun to Shen Hui’s wife.

“Thank you, Sister Wan’er,” she replied, and began to eat ravenously.

“Shen Hui, let me tell you, this time we won’t be lacking in resources,” Dongfang Wan’er said, then opened her dimensional space a crack for Shen Hui to see. He was instantly dumbfounded—the amount inside was beyond counting.

“So much! Captain, did you... did you rob the central government’s supplies?” he stammered.

“Shen Hui, even if we have no food, we can survive with just this clean water. As long as we keep finding gold, we’ll have an endless supply of food.”

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“That’s right! Exactly, Captain, let’s keep looking for gold!”

At this moment, even the meat bun in Shen Hui’s hand seemed less fragrant. Finding gold was the most important thing of all.

...

Qin Fan clutched the gold as he slept through the night, afraid it would disappear by morning. He woke up early. Staring at the gold in his hand, he decided to sell it—to take it to the market trading center and exchange it for cash.

Early in the morning, there was no sign of Qin Fan at home.

“Oh! He’s finally being obedient, getting up so early,” the old lady thought happily.

“I’m heading into town!” he called out.

“What are you going to town for instead of working in the fields?” the old woman exploded in anger. If it were her day, she’d have beaten him for that.

“Hey! Xiao Fan, come back early! I’ll make dinner and wait for you,” his mother called after him.

“Alright, Mom!” Qin Fan replied. He took the bus into town and quickly found his destination—the market trading center, the bustling heart of the entire Luo Province.

“Hello, the total weight of your gold is one hundred and ten grams. Right now, we’re offering 599 yuan per gram, but because you have such a large amount, we can make an exception and give you 600 yuan per gram. How about that?”

“Six hundred yuan!” Qin Fan calculated. At 600 per gram, that was sixty-six thousand yuan.

My God!

That was a huge amount! He worked himself to the bone for a month and only earned nine hundred, and now this was five figures at once.

“Sir, would you like to exchange it?”

“Oh! Yes, please exchange it,” Qin Fan replied. He needed to buy supplies, so exchanging was a must.

“Would you prefer cash or a bank transfer?”

“Cash!” Qin Fan thought for a moment—cash was better, after all, it left no trace.

“Very well, sir, please wait a moment!”

...

Soon after, Qin Fan was walking down the street, his black leather bag bulging. He deliberately put the leather bag inside a dirty sack, since it was a lot of money, and if he ran into a thief, that would be a disaster.

Sixty-six thousand! He decided to buy his parents some clothes, and also a pair of phones for them. After all, they had no phones and it was inconvenient to keep in touch. They had always saved money for him; now it was his turn to be filial.

Qin Fan found the wholesale market.

“Boss, if we work together long-term, what’s your price?”

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“Long-term cooperation? Young man, how much are you looking to buy?”

“Not too much, not too much. I see you have several thousand steamed buns here—I’ll take them all. After that, you can deliver once a month. How does that sound?”

“All of them?” The boss couldn’t believe it, but when Qin Fan pulled out the cash, it dazzled his eyes.

“Boss, I’ll work with you right away!” Qin Fan also looked around and bought some other dry goods.

“Why isn’t Xiao Fan back yet? It’s already dark out. Could something have happened?” Li Ping asked anxiously, glancing at the sky.

“Don’t worry. He’s a grown man. What could possibly happen?” The old woman picked up her chopsticks and started eating.

“But...” Li Ping frowned.

...

Just then—

“Dad, Mom! I’m back!”

“Oh, you’re finally back! Your mother and I were so worried we didn’t know what to do. Why are you so late?” Qin Yong asked.

“Dad, Mom, I bought some things, so it took a bit longer,” Qin Fan replied, handing them the items.

“What’s this?”

“Dad, Mom, these are mobile phones. Now you can reach me no matter where I am,” Qin Fan said.

“These must have been expensive!” Li Ping hurried to give them back.

“That’s right! Xiao Fan, you worked so hard to earn that money, you shouldn’t spend it on us,” his father agreed.

“Oh, Dad, Mom, it wasn’t that much. Just keep them! Besides, money is meant to be spent.”

“Oh, son, we’re old folks—what would we do with these...”

“The elderly need them even more! You have to keep up with the times if you want to know how to make money these days. Isn’t that right?” Qin Fan took out a few more bags.

“Right, Dad, Mom, I bought you some clothes, too.”

“You spendthrift! All this must have cost a lot! Your father and I don’t know anything about these things—Xiao Fan, you’ve wasted your money. Why not give these two phones to your uncle’s son? They work out of town and it’s hard for them to keep in touch.”

“What does my uncle’s family have to do with us, Grandma? Besides, do I even have an uncle?” Qin Fan said a little unhappily.

“Oh, Xiao Fan,” Qin Yong said, clearly annoyed with what his mother had said, but after all, she was elderly.

“Qin Fan, don’t talk nonsense. Your uncle will always be your uncle.”