I'm A Baller - Chapter 13

Chapter 13: An Impromptu Trip
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The next morning, Wang Yan went straight to the China Bank of Construction.
The price of gold was at 233 yuan per gram. He could choose between gold bars and paper gold.
Paper gold was a unique asset that reflected the market price of gold, but the trading process of paper gold was obscure and difficult to understand.
Wang Yan was rushing for time. He desperately wanted to advance the levels in the system before heading back to set up his stall. Without a second thought, he bought 30 ounces of paper gold.
Suddenly, a notification popped up in the system.
[After acquiring EXP points through investments, the monetary rewards will be frozen. When withdrawing cash rewards, only the appreciated value will be translated into EXP. This is to prevent the doubling of EXP.]
Was this to prevent cheating?
Wang Yan understood immediately. Thus, he didn’t hesitate to press “accept.”
On hundred ninety thousand yuan and more was spent. The system upgraded to a higher level.
[System level: 5]
[Every breath will generate a cash reward of one yuan.]
[Whenever you eat something delicious, there will be a 4% chance of unlocking a secret reward associated with food.]
[Whenever you are enjoying your drink, there will be a 3% chance of unlocking a secret reward related to drinks.]
[When you are gaming, there will be a 2% chance of unlocking a secret reward related to games.]
[When you are sleeping, there will be a 1% chance of unlocking a secret reward that is related to sleep.]
[EXP: 0/100]
Nice!
Looking at numbers that were rounded off was much more comfortable!
The system had seen a minor but obvious change.
The EXP became 100, and every expenditure of ten thousand yuan would only result in an increment of one EXP.
Moreover, the cash reward for breathing wasn’t 0.8, but one yuan. That would mean that the EXP increased from 810 thousand points to a million points.
What was it trying to foreshadow?
Has the system reached a new stage?
Eat, drink, and play, after which was sleep and not enjoyment.
Was there a secret reward that was related to sleep?
‘Could the system actually give me a girlfriend, too?’
Wang Yan couldn’t suppress his laughter at his thoughts and burst out into laughter.
‘I must be crazy! What a weirdo!’
The difficulty of leveling up had escalated quickly, but that didn’t pose a challenge to him. His income was increasing as well. It became 20 yuan per minute, which amounted to 28,800 yuan daily.
It was a number that would make people smile in their sleep.
How much money would he earn in a month?
Eight hundred sixty thousand yuan!
‘Little Yue Yue, where are you?
‘Could you make a sticker that demonstrates my feelings right now? Oh my god!’
Bursting with excitement, he went to wash the melons. When he returned to the entrance of the Xiangshanyuan Villas, Wang Yan looked at the residences inside, his eyes green with envy.
How much did it cost for one villa?!
‘Who will tell me the price?!’
There was no manager to let him know the cost, but there was an endless stream of customers wanting to buy melons.
That day, he was met with new challenges at his watermelon stall.
Not only did the customers pay for their items, but they even paid deposits for home delivery services.
Wang Yan promised them and noted down their details in a blur. He was definitely as busy as a beaver. After many calculations, he was struck dumb.
Damn it, he had taken orders for 172 watermelons!
Since when were there so many orders?
The Xiangshanyuan Villas had less than 100 houses. Each one of them was a detached and private bungalow, there was no townhouse.
Assuming that there were 80 households, each household was eating two melons on average!
Were they that hungry?
Actually, he couldn’t be sure with these calculations.
The Xiangshanyuan Villas’ residents were usually middle-aged tycoons who had their elderly parents and children at home. On average, each household had four people.
Including nannies, housekeepers, wet nurses, caregivers, security guards, drivers, and assistants, how many people would that add up to?
Even though not all of them stayed in the villas, they were still treated fairly. They were given meals and also fruits to cool down during the hot weather.
Sometimes, they would buy an extra one for someone else to try, and it wasn’t a light load.
Using Uncle Liu’s words, “Why aren’t the helpers driving, too? Twenty-two pounds worth of groceries? How is it possible to carry all of that without cars?”
Wang Yan giggled.
Twenty-two pounds? What had they bought?!
…
Either way, Wang Yan had to transport 172 watermelons—112 Crispysweet and 60 Blackhoney.
Wang Yan was on the edge of his seat.
Wu Ye needed to have that many watermelons in his field!
When he was collecting the orders, he hadn’t calculated the exact number of watermelons. He only realized after he returned home to calculate. This was definitely a lesson for him to learn!
The next morning, Wang Yan went to the melon farm extremely early. After choosing for some time, he picked out 80 Crispysweet melons.
Wu Ye hadn’t planted many Crispysweet melons in the first place. There might have been less than two thousand that could be harvested. After Wang Yan picked out so many, the number of watermelons might not suffice for much longer.
The Glutton protocol was that out of all that the watermelons that were present, he could choose the highest-quality ones.
There were 50 melons in total, so after choosing the best one, there would be forty-nine left.
Choosing for the second time, one could still choose the one with the best quality from the 49 melons left.
However, the quality of the melon picked out from the second round would be lackluster in comparison to the first melon that was picked.
The difference wasn’t very evident now, but as the selection process continued, the differences would become obvious.
Wang Yan looked through the melons available many times. When it was time to choose the 81st melon, he decided to crack it open and try it. He frowned immediately.
Compared to the first melon that was chosen, the texture was slightly different.
While other people might have been unable to differentiate between them, Wang Yan, who was equipped with Glutton, was able to spot the disparities.
Wang Yan had to give up.
‘I can’t tarnish my brand’s name! I will no longer sell Crispysweet watermelons.’
It was much easier to select 60 of the best Blackhoney watermelons from the field. They were planted in larger quantities.
Unfortunately, he could no longer come over for his supply of watermelons, as there was a need to allow the watermelon field to recuperate.
New fruits were growing each day. He believed that the situation would improve as the days passed by.
‘Okay, I’ll do it this way!’
Setting his mind on it, Wang Yan brought 140 quality Crispysweet melons and ten lackluster ones back to the city.
After cleaning and packing them into boxes, he allowed the security guards to deliver the melons directly to the houses of those who had ordered. The Blackhoney melon orders were delivered according to when they had placed their order. However, there were reductions in the number of Crispysweet melons delivered depending on the household.
Wang Yan had to call each and every customer personally to notify them of the cancellation of their orders and that they would be able to receive full refunds. Wang Yan was out of breath as he contacted each customer.
“Madame, there are watermelons available, but the quality of these watermelons is not the best. I can’t give you substandard products, you see!
“You don’t believe me? If you don’t, you can come to the store to try one. I picked ten lackluster melons that aren’t for sale. Come and taste the difference!”
Unexpectedly, some people really headed to his store to try out the watermelons. “How are these watermelons lower quality? They taste good to me!” questioned the customer in confusion.
The store was open until eight, as there were many onlookers. Of course, they weren’t the tycoons themselves. They were generally housewives, nannies, drivers, security guards, and the like.
Even after opening his store for so many days, Wang Yan had never seen the tycoons personally. The person with the highest authority was Brother Hu.
They had nothing to lose, so everyone took a piece to try. Some people felt that the quality of the melons was really not up to standard, but there were people who still felt that the melons were tasty.
The crowd was divided down the middle.
Wang Yan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at the situation, but he insisted on not putting them up for sale.
“You can put the watermelons through a test. There will be at least a five percent difference from a higher-quality melon in all aspects. You may not be able to taste it, but I know!”
Everyone was cheering for him.
“What an ethical merchant!”
“What an honest child!”
“You’ll make it big in the long run!”
Wang Yan let smiled humbly, but in reality, he was cursing them out in his heart.
‘I didn’t lie because I knew you wouldn’t fall for it!
‘If any of these moguls think that I’ve been substituting the watermelons for those of a lower quality, they’d definitely end my business in the snap of a finger.
‘With just a few words, the property agent would chase me out in an instant!’
Losing business just because he was selling lackluster melons wasn’t worth it.
One old man was so satisfied with Wang Yan’s way of dealing with the issue that he gave the money back to Wang Yan.
“How about this? You keep the deposits with you and deliver the two watermelons to my house tomorrow.”
Wang Yan refused to accept it.
“Sir, I won’t be opening the stall tomorrow. There are no more quality melons left in the field, and I’m not magic!”
All hell broke loose the moment he finished his sentence.
“What?! When will you be back?”
“I’ll be resting for three days. I’ll be back on Monday!”
“Oh no, my granddaughter is still waiting to eat your watermelons. Why won’t there be any stock during the weekend?”
Wang Yan shrugged his shoulders and started to pack his stuff, ready to call it a day.
“I really have no other options. I can’t even predict how many melons I’ll be able to sell on Monday, so I cannot accept your deposits. I’ll update you all of the status next week!”
Amid the complaints, Wang Yan dashed off into the distance.
…
Lying on the bed and staring at the ceiling, Wang Yan was feeling empty and lost.
His delivery had reached his house. The newly purchased Alienware laptop was laying right on his table in his rented apartment. At that moment, he was feeling…
He didn’t know!
Wang Yan hadn’t even used it once because he hadn’t had the time.
Seven different Louis Vuitton bags were lined up in a straight line on the table. It was a breathtaking sight.
Wang Yan thought to himself, ‘Do I look like a tycoon now?
‘Nope, I look like someone that sells these bags.’
Wang Yan couldn’t help but admire his taste in items. All seven items weren’t basic designs nor did they have large logos imprinted on them. The designs were restrained yet trendy.
‘Why am I so good at selecting items?!’
The Alienware looked overpowering, whereas the Louis Vuitton bags were pretty. The tissues were soft, and the underwear was extremely comfortable.
Calvin Klein was super comfortable. Wang Yan had never once thought that there would be such a vast difference between underwear that was sold at ten yuan for three and those that were sold at 183 yuan per pair. Calvin Klein perfectly sculpted the body and let the skin breathe. The material was thin and gentle on the skin.
His old underwear, which was sold at ten yuan for three pairs, was made of poor materials that were rough and uncomfortable.
Up to that point, the only item that Wang Yan was unsatisfied with was the pair of deluxe Warrior shoes.
It was summer, so most people would feel hot even wearing slippers, and he had bought canvas shoes. What had he been thinking?
Okay, at least they weren’t expensive, and he could wear them sooner or later.
To Wang Yan, 1,500 yuan now felt like nothing, not to mention that his savings would exceed a million yuan soon. Just by breathing, he was paid 28,800 yuan daily.
How would he finish spending all of it?!
He wasn’t kidding when he said that he didn’t know how to spend his money.
Continue buying paper gold?!
That was one million yuan!
It wasn’t 190 thousand yuan like the last time!
He would definitely be blacklisted if he had such a huge sum of money in his bank and was still buying more from the bank.
After much consideration, he was left with three options:
1. Wait until midnight on Monday. When the system resets, bet that an item that costs a million yuan will be in The Mall. That would be the perfect amount.
2. Bang an online streamer and lose his virginity.
3. Donate the money anonymously.
The advantages of these three options were that they wouldn’t attract any attention, and he wouldn’t have to think of ways to hide it from his family.
Nonetheless, the downsides to these options were pretty obvious as well.
The first choice came at a risk. The price of the new item wouldn’t necessarily be fixed at a million yuan.
Wang Yan was apprehensive about the second option, too. It wasn’t because he was going to spend money on an online streamer but that he didn’t want to do it with a random woman.
These online streamers looked like goddesses due to their makeup, beauty enhancement effects, and filters provided by the app.
On the live streams, all of them looked very pretty, but in real life, half of them were old hags.
If they were real goddesses, he would be willing to spend any amount, since his money was easy to earn anyway. He wanted to experience this while he was still young and fit.
If they were aunties, then he’d forget it. ‘Why would I spend money and give my virginity to these old ladies?’
How stupid!
The third option seemed the most ideal, but the problem was that Wang Yan didn’t trust any organizations. However, the country didn’t allow private charity funds to be set up. At that moment, he realized there was no place to donate.
Wang Yan was only an 18-year-old high school graduate. Apart from studying, his understanding of the outside world was limited to gaming, live streaming and other ways to pass his time. Despite having the idea of donating to charity, he was held back by various concerns.
Charitable work was something he definitely would do, but he would put it off until he was older.
Nothing seemed to fit, and Wang Yan was lost. After pondering for a while longer, he felt like it was time to read. He checked the time on his phone and he had an idea.
‘That’s it!
‘I’ll buy myself a watch!’
He would be heading off to Xing Cheng for his undergraduate studies. They didn’t have Patek Philippe or Vacheron Constantin franchise stores in that area either, so he would lose the opportunity to buy these brands if he didn’t do it soon.
Moreover, he hadn’t traveled away from home since he was young. He hadn’t dared to go on a graduation trip as he hadn’t had the money for it.
Money was not of his concern at that moment, and with the additional two holidays, why not take an impromptu trip?
Cool!
Taking action immediately was his biggest takeaway from the past week. He just did whatever he wanted to do immediately and went to search for tickets.
The journey from Gujiao to Sheng Hui by train was around an hour, and from Sheng Hui to the capital would be two and a half hours. It was exceedingly convenient.
The departure time would be at six on the following day. The timing was perfect to have breakfast in the capital. Then, he would stay there for a day and return on the afternoon of the second day in the month. There wouldn’t be any delays of the contract signing the next week.
Since this was his first time traveling to the capital, he wanted it to be memorable. Thus, he would definitely take the chance to watch the flag-raising ceremony.
Wang Yan set his mind and booked the ticket.
After booking the ticket, he felt a wave of excitement again.
He would buy the first wristwatch of his life the next day!
He would have only been at level 2 if he had waited for the system’s cash payouts and spent normally from the 26th until that point.
How long would it have taken for him to reach level 5 if he had only relied on the system’s pay?
Wang Yan did some calculations and found it would take 56 days.
That meant that if he didn’t take the extra effort, he would have to wait 56 days starting from the 26th to gain a 400-thousand-yuan income.
After going through much trouble, the cash rewards that he could gain from merely breathing would be 1,440,000 yuan. This was after the system had leveled up.
He would earn 1,040,000 yuan more!
If he hadn’t calculated, he wouldn’t have known, but after realizing, he was shocked.
I’m a legend…
At level 5, the system provided 28,800 yuan of income daily. Compared to level 1’s 1,400 yuan, he could splurge in whichever way he liked.
‘Isn’t it only fair that I reward myself abundantly after achieving such incredible results?
‘Capital, I’m coming for you!
‘Branded watch, roasted duck, bars, and night clubs, prepare for my arrival!’