"What's the matter, Uncle Huang?" Xiao Han curiously stopped the car and asked.
Uncle Huang's face was glowing with joy as he exclaimed, "Xiao Han! I really have to thank you! Huang Gang has become a completely different person now. He works on the farm every day, and occasionally catches fish for the family to eat. I never thought you could change him so much!"
Xiao Han listened dumbfounded, instinctively shaking his head, "Uncle, maybe it's not because of me? I didn't really do anything."
"Hey! Don't be modest, kid! Here, this red envelope is my token of appreciation—you must take it." Uncle Huang pulled a large red envelope from his pocket and handed it over with both hands.
"No, no, no, Uncle, I really can't take this envelope. I haven't done anything deserving of it," Xiao Han waved his hands repeatedly. Why on earth was he handing him a red envelope?
"Just treat it as a New Year's gift! It's not even the end of the first lunar month; it's still New Year!" Uncle Huang moved quickly, stuffing the envelope into Xiao Han's pocket before scurrying away into an alley and disappearing.
[Congratulations, you received a New Year's red envelope: 1000 gold.]
Looking at the now deflated envelope in his hand, Xiao Han didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"Uncle Huang, you're too much. Your son works for you, but you end up giving me money..."
He had originally intended to return the red envelope, but the system had already claimed it.
Forget it, forcing it back wouldn't feel right either.
Guess I'll reluctantly accept it, then.
No big deal, I'll raise the competition score to 2000 points!
And find a way to sweet-talk Huang Mao again!
Unbeknownst to him, Huang Mao, busy with his work, suddenly sneezed.
"Damn! Don't let me actually catch a cold! I don't want being sick to affect my work!"
It's fair to say, a lot of loneliness has its reasons.
After casually buying some greens in town, Xiao Han went home. First, he pulled out the tuna and kept it chilled with ice blocks. Since he had already drained its blood yesterday, the fish had no fishy smell. Thanks to the storage slot's properties, the tuna was as fresh as if it had just been caught from the sea.
Following an online recipe, Xiao Han made a tuna head soup, which was simple enough—just prepare the ingredients and let it simmer.
"Knock, knock, knock."
The fence gate rang for the first time.
"Mr. Tang is here? Why so early?" Xiao Han felt a little flustered. He wasn't ready yet; it was only 9:40 in the morning.
Xiao Han ran over to open the door, only to pause in surprise.
Outside stood a middle-aged man in a tailcoat, smiling warmly at Xiao Han.
"Young man, I heard you have a damaged 'Teru-Teru Bozu.' May I take a look at it?" the man asked politely.
"Sure, please wait a moment. I'll go get it." Xiao Han closed the door, went to the storage slot, and fetched the [Damaged Teru-Teru Bozu]. A dozen seconds later, he opened the door again.
Outside, the middle-aged man leaned in closer to carefully examine the Teru-Teru Bozu, his smile growing wider.
"Hello, I'm Zack, a curator at the Ancient Museum. This [Damaged Teru-Teru Bozu] has significant historical value. Would you be willing to it?"
[Would you like to the ancient artifact: 'Damaged Teru-Teru Bozu'?]
[Donating will unlock a system building: Museum.]
Donating unlocks a new building? Why hesitate for something ?
"I'd be happy to ." Without any attachment, Xiao Han handed the Teru-Teru Bozu over.
"Thank you for your generosity. As a reward for your first donation, you may pick something from my personal collection." Zack smiled and pulled out a tablet, which displayed a clickable button.
[Congratulations on completing your first donation. You've earned a chance to spin the wheel. The museum is now open; feel free to visit.]
After receiving the system's notification, Xiao Han immediately understood—Zack, like Gongshuzi, was probably an NPC spawned by the system.
Time to spin the wheel—no need to worry about bad luck!
Because when you expect nothing, you're never disappointed!
After clicking the button, the pointer on the wheel began spinning furiously.
It spun for a full minute.
Even with his enhanced vision, Xiao Han's eyes started to blur.
Fortunately, the pointer finally stopped on an image. Upon closer inspection, the image depicted a supermarket. A child and an adult each had their own shopping cart. The child placed a box of cookies into his cart while putting a loaf of bread back on the shelf. Meanwhile, the adult's cart had both cookies and bread, along with soda.
[Please interpret the meaning of the image. Your answer will determine your reward tier.]
Interpret the image? Why make this so complicated? A spin-the-wheel contest has turned into a quiz!
"Only kids choose! Adults, of course, want everything!" Xiao Han envisioned a smug expression on Baozi the Thunder Leopard.
The curator Zack's smile froze suddenly.
"An unexpected answer. I hope you'll bring more artifacts to heal my broken heart." With that, Zack bent his legs slightly, gathered strength, and suddenly leaped into the air, disappearing in seconds.
[Congratulations, you've received a Professional Compatibility Potion (Iridium Quality).]
[Professional Compatibility Potion: Cannot be used without an unlocked profession.]
Although this was the first time Xiao Han had obtained such a high-quality item, he immediately knew it was valuable just by looking at it once he retrieved it from the storage slot!
Why else would the museum curator Zack be so upset?
The Professional Compatibility Potion was stored in a large test tube roughly the thickness of a wrist. Under sunlight, the potion shimmered with rainbow colors.
No wonder it's iridium quality. After all, the element iridium's name originates from the Latin word for "rainbow."
"Thanks, Mr. Xing! When your next movie comes out, I'll buy extra tickets!"
Stowing away the Professional Compatibility Potion, Xiao Han pondered whether he should go fishing for a bit. From what he'd seen so far, only fishing treasure chests seemed to have the potential to hold crystal spheres. Opening those could lead to ancient artifacts, which could then be d to the museum for rewards.
"If only the fishing spot were closer to home." After mulling it over, Xiao Han dismissed the idea. The nearest river was a twenty-minute walk each way. Spending so much time commuting would cut into fishing time.
And most importantly, what if Mr. Tang had to wait too long?
With that thought sorted, Xiao Han returned to the yard and began using the camouflage feature to modify the wasteland's appearance.
First, it couldn't look too bad—what if Mr. Tang felt compelled to fix it for him?
Secondly, it couldn't be empty either—that would make it seem like Xiao Han had no workload.
In the end, Xiao Han planted a few patches of small green seedlings near the entrance while camouflaging the rest of the wasteland as a dense, overgrown area that was hard to traverse. The pond water was made to look murky.
It showcased his workload while masking the problems with the wasteland. Perfect!
After finalizing the setup, Xiao Han deliberately walked over to touch the wind-blocking grass. Under the camouflage, he could only feel soil on the ground.
Turns out it had full holographic tactile realism!