[Daily Mission completed
Reward : Jinshi Coupan]
[Ding… After analyzing the yearly business model, the system has determined that the most urgent requirement for the host is talent—individuals capable of greatly accelerating the progress of the host's annual plan. The Reward: Jinshi Coupon — Permanent Use. The Jinshi was the final and most difficult imperial examination in ancient China, personally conducted by the Emperor himself. Only scholars who had already passed the Xiucai, Juren, and Gongshi levels could qualify for the Jinshi.
Once applied to the host, this coupon grants the ability to instantly assess a person's skills and loyalty simply by glancing at them through the system panel. With this ability, the host can recruit the most capable and trustworthy individuals to work under her.]
"Wow… what a wonderful tool," Li Ziqing murmured, though she made no move to activate it immediately. Her attention was still on the conversation with Zhou Yichen.
----
Two days earlier, when the Hongqi had been seen in the northern district, it had drawn more than a few curious eyes. Several nosy onlookers even trailed the car all the way to Li Jianfang's house. The moment Han Zhiyuan, the Mayor of Wuhan City, stepped out, recognition spread like wildfire. Within minutes, the entire district was buzzing with speculation.
Adding fuel to the fire, rumors began circulating that just one day before Mayor Han's visit, a man driving a luxury car worth tens of millions had also come to see Li Jianfang.
The two incidents combined created an uproar in the northern district. People talked. And talked. And not kindly.
"Li Jianfang is such a shameless woman—men after men visiting her house."
"I've always said her beauty is a curse, not only for herself but for the wives of these men who can't control themselves."
"Hmph. What's the use of being so beautiful? She's alone, raising two children and a younger brother. No man dares stand beside her in public. Those men will only keep her hidden away."
"Well… I don't think she's that kind of person."
"Exactly. We've known her for decades."
"Then how do you explain her children? Born without a marriage? And the father ran away?"
"You think one of those men is the father?"
The words were venomous, some so cruel they would cut deep if heard. Fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—Li Jianfang remained unaware. No one dared confront her directly, especially now that she was seen with the mayor.
However, half a kilometre away, tucked in a narrow alley, the Li family household was in uproar. In the cramped living room, Li Chengzhi and Zhang Shulan, the elderly heads of the family, sat stiffly. Across from them sat their second son, Li Jianjun, and his wife, Chen Lihua.
Of the four, Zhang Shulan and Chen Lihua were visibly seething, their expressions twisted with anger and resentment.
Chen Lihua—broad-shouldered, sharp-voiced, her eyes swollen red—slammed her palm on the table.
"Mother, you have to teach that bitch a lesson! Hasn't she embarrassed our Li family enough? Back then, she shamed us by getting pregnant with those bastards. And now she's inviting men into her home? The mayor, no less! Does she even know who the mayor is? If his wife finds out, she won't just destroy Li Jianfang—she'll drag us down with her!"
Her shrill voice rattled the small room. The hatred she felt for Li Jianfang had been festering for years—ever since her younger brother fell for her.
It had happened shortly after Chen Lihua married Li Jianjun. Back then, Li Jianfang had been only eighteen—radiantly beautiful, at the perfect age for marriage in the village. The moment Chen Lihua's younger brother saw her, he had been utterly smitten, so much so that he nearly collapsed when she rejected his proposal.
Chen Lihua had been furious—furious enough to threaten divorce only a month into her marriage if Li Jianfang refused to marry her brother. At the time, Old Madam Li had beaten Li Jianfang black and blue, ordering her to accept the match. But the girl had been stubborn. Instead of yielding, she ran away, vanishing for nearly a year.
When she finally returned, she was pregnant. No one knew where she had been during those twelve months or with whom she had been involved. Li Chengzhi's rage had been volcanic—he threw her out into the bitter January night.
From then on, Li Jianfang raised her children alone, taking her younger brother Li Jianping with her. Meanwhile, Chen Lihua's younger brother was the one left broken. Even now, though he had a wife and a healthy, chubby son, the man still harbored an obsession with Li Jianfang—so much so that he was willing to abandon his family to be with her.
His wife still quarreled with him over Li Jianfang to this very day.
So tell me, Chen Lihua thought bitterly, who suffered in the end?
Her brother?
And if her brother suffered, why should Li Jianfang be allowed to live in peace?
Old Madam Li slammed her palm against the armrest of her wooden chair, her voice sharp enough to pierce the cramped room.
"That wretch!" she spat, her face twisting with rage. Her face full of bitterness had carved deep wrinkles into her skin, and the dark spots on her cheeks seemed ready to bleed if she twisted her expression any further. She turned abruptly to glare at her husband, her eyes burning with accusation.
"Why didn't you kill her back then?" she roared. "If she had died, we wouldn't be suffering this humiliation today! Now our A-Jun is about to open a business—what will happen to his reputation after this mess?"
At the mention of his name, Li Jianjun, who had been quietly sitting to the side, cleared his throat and jumped in.
"Exactly, Dad," he said, his voice laced with irritation. "I've been working myself to the bone trying to gather the money, and now someone's finally willing to lend me enough to start. But just when I'm about to take that step, Li Jianfang's dirty rumors are spreading all over the northern district. How am I supposed to run a business here with her dragging our family name through the mud?"
Chen Lihua, sitting beside him, gave a supportive nod on the surface—but inside, she sneered.
Working himself to the bone? she thought with contempt. The only thing he's worked hard at is draining his parents dry.
Seventeen years of marriage, and not once had Li Jianjun earned a single yuan on his own. Every coin he ever spent came from Old Madam Li's hand. Time and again, he had gone to her, whining about needing "venture capital" for some grand business idea, only to return empty-handed after wasting it away.
And the money his mother so freely gave him? It wasn't even theirs to begin with. It came from Li Jianguo, the eldest son, and even from Li Jianfang—who, though kicked out by her gave her allowance, Li Jianping who still lived off his sister's kindness has to pay 300 yuan a month, and their second daughter Li Jianrong although married, sent a monthly allowance of three hundred yuan, a total of twelve hundred yuan a month, which the old couple conveniently pooled into the household funds.
In truth, every child of the Li family contributed money to their parents—except for Li Jianjun.
Two years ago, Chen Lihua's patience had finally snapped. She had issued her husband an ultimatum: if he didn't open a small business within a year, she would divorce him and take their son with her.
It had been two years. Nothing had changed.
Li Jianjun had made half-hearted attempts, but after a decade of idling, no one trusted him enough to lend him money. His parents had refused to approach Li Jianguo for help, and so they remained stuck in the same rut—still trying to scrape together the initial capital that never seemed to appear.
Chen Lihua's lips curved into a tight smile as she looked between her husband and mother-in-law. She knew exactly how this family worked—and exactly why she'd make sure Li Jianfang didn't get to live in peace.
"Mom," Chen Lihua began in what sounded like a casual tone, though her eyes gleamed with calculation, "I also heard something even more interesting about Li Jianfang."
Old Madam Li's gaze sharpened instantly.
"Her breakfast stall has been doing so well lately that people are lining up from her stall all the way across the road. She's selling two hundred portions of each dish in just a few hours, then packing up and going home." Chen Lihua leaned forward slightly, lowering her voice for effect. "I don't know what trick she's using—or what she's putting in that food—but ever since a few days ago, her stall has caused a real stir in the northern district."
She paused, watching their faces, then continued, "One day she made a profit of 3,000 yuan, the next day 5,000, and the day after that… 8,000. But then, after three days of raking in money, she closed her stall for the last two days. Still, that's 16,000 yuan in just three days. Enough to live on for a year. And if she kept it up every day?" Chen Lihua let out a low chuckle. "A few hundred thousand yuan a month wouldn't be impossible."
She let her words sink in, then added, as if it had only just occurred to her, "Until last week, she was barely making a hundred yuan a day. Giving you 300 yuan a month as allowance was fine then. But now that she's making tens of thousands… shouldn't she give you at least a few thousand yuan every month?"
The effect was immediate.
"What?!"
Three loud voices—Old Man Li, Old Madam Li, and Li Jianjun—boomed together in the small living room. The shock was so great that all three seemed to forget to breathe for a moment.
"She—she's making tens of thousands? And she didn't tell us?" Li Jianjun was the first to find his voice, his eyes wide.
Old Madam Li's face darkened until it was nearly purple. Her whole body trembled, the air around her seeming to thicken with rage. For her, if Li Jianfang was struggling, she could still be squeezed dry—and that would be satisfying. But knowing the girl was doing well and choosing not to hand over money? That was intolerable. And the fact that she was earning more than her eldest son, who worked as a government official, burned her pride to ashes.
"That… that bitch," she spat, her voice cracking with fury. "So now that she's doing well for herself, she doesn't want to support her own parents?"
Old Man Li's cane slammed against the floor with a sharp thwack. "Too much! She's still unmarried—she's part of this family. She should contribute to the Li household!" His voice was thick with greed, conveniently forgetting the night he had thrown her out into the cold years ago.
Li Jianjun's mouth twisted in resentment. "She knows her second brother is struggling. Couldn't she offer a little help? If she can keep that freeloader Li Jianping around, letting him sponge off her, why can't she help me?"
"Freeloader, my foot!"
The voice came sharp and cold from the courtyard entrance.
All three turned to see Li Jianguo, the eldest son of the Li family, standing there with his wife Wang Yunmei, whose nose was tilted skyward in her usual air of disdain.
Li Jianguo was a thickset man, a little greasy in appearance, but years of working in bureaucracy had given him a veneer of refinement—though his post was nothing prestigious. His wife, on the other hand, carried herself like a queen presiding over her court. Moving to the Eastern District had only deepened her contempt for the rest of the Li family.
And yet, in one thing she was exactly the same—they both shared the same venomous dislike for Li Jianfang. For Wang Yunmei, it was a mix of envy and spite: envy of her beauty, envy that her children were better-looking and better at school than her own.
Until now, Wang Yunmei had taken comfort in the fact that she was financially better off. But when her husband had told her that Li Jianfang might actually be earning real money… she simply could not stay silent.