The real world operates by real rules.
For the younger generation of the Cheng family, there were two viable paths in life. The first was to pursue the imperial examinations, becoming respected civil officials—or if one sought a more prestigious yet less materialistic path, they could try entering the Holy Church as a priest. The Cheng clan held considerable prestige locally, and most of its descendants took this route.
The second path was to become an awe-inspiring astromancer, like those flying figures Cheng Jinzhou had seen earlier. However, this road demanded far more innate talent and luck.
An astromancer's future was largely determined by their star arrays. While theoretically, anyone could engrave countless star arrays, in reality, these arrays placed immense strain on the human body—especially the more advanced ones. To wield them effectively, an astromancer needed not only comprehensive knowledge but also sharp intellect. The star arrays commonly used by the masses were never the choice of noble scions.
As for Cheng Jinzhou, he wanted neither of these paths.
He was already thoroughly sick of the exam-oriented learning required for the imperial examinations. As for becoming an astromancer? The required study was several times more demanding. Fortunately, he was still young and had plenty of time to squander.
Occasionally, Cheng Jinzhou would hesitate. Having crossed worlds once, shouldn't he do something earth-shattering, something that would leave his name in history? Yet whenever he seriously considered it, he found himself at a loss, unsure where to even begin.
"Ah, this ring..." Cheng Jinzhou sighed deeply, flopping onto his bed as he rubbed the signet ring on his finger and muttered to himself, "Just tell me what you want, won't you? Money? A ring that summons beauties? Let's each get what we need—though a Playboy magazine wouldn't be bad either."
As he spoke, his gaze drifted toward the illusory Playboy floating nearby. In this world, even though the maids were decent-looking, they couldn't compare to the photoshopped models of his past life—let alone the stark difference in how much skin was shown.
"Star Alliance Library, Service No. 010, at your service. What do you require?" A deep male voice suddenly emanated from the ring.
Cheng Jinzhou's first instinct was to look behind him. Then he quickly covered the ring with his hand, blinking twice before asking, "What did you say?"
"This is Star Alliance Library, Customer Service No. 010. We understand you're willing to pay for reading material?"
"Yes, yes!" Cheng Jinzhou nodded so vigorously it seemed his neck might snap, his eyes glued to the ring.
Customer Service 010 recited in a monotone: "Pricing is 2 yuan per thousand characters. No free previews. Full subscription required. No discounts. No promotions."
"2 yuan? What currency is that?" Cheng Jinzhou was highly sensitive to numbers and money.
"2 star yuan. However, we accept various currencies. Based on your regional standards..." The voice paused briefly before continuing, "You can only pay with physical commodities, primarily in two forms. For energy: 1 yuan equals 0.25 tons of standard coal equivalent. You may also pay with wood, petroleum, natural gas, or other energy sources—direct energy like electricity is also acceptable. Alternatively, you may pay with edible resources: 1 yuan equals 0.1 tons of grain or half that weight in meat. For other elements and valuable materials, specific exchange rates can be found by purchasing the 'Star Alliance Library Exchange Table,' totaling 6,000 thousand characters, priced at 12,000 yuan. Full subscription mandatory."
Cheng Jinzhou ignored the details about standard coal equivalents and quickly did the math. "A full subscription for 12,000 yuan would mean... 3,000 tons of coal? Or 1,200 tons of grain?" He whistled. "That's ridiculously expensive. How do I pay you?"
Regardless, he wasn't about to let this opportunity slip away. The pricing issue paled in comparison to the marvel before him. The exchange table could wait—keeping this customer service representative engaged was the priority now.
"After initiating the payment process, your user terminal can serve as the medium." Perhaps worried Cheng Jinzhou wouldn't understand, the voice added, "Your user terminal is this ring."
If Cheng Jinzhou hadn't been a transmigrator, these terms might have given him a headache. Right now, he was just excited. "What about silver? And copper—how are those calculated?"
Customer Service 010 hesitated briefly. "We'll provide these two for free. The exchange rate for silver is approximately 50 grams per yuan. Copper is 100 yuan per ton."
Without needing to calculate, Cheng Jinzhou knew using currency as payment would be unwise. He immediately followed up: "Who are you people? I mean, what's this Star Alliance? This library?"
Naturally, he had endless questions. The customer service representative was prepared, responding formulaically: "For information unrelated to transactions and payments, we charge an information fee of 20 yuan per minute. Payment must be made in advance."
"It's not like I'm hiring a prostitute," Cheng Jinzhou grumbled, momentarily nostalgic, before adding, "What about that Playboy earlier? What was that?"
"A trial version."
"Trial versions—pretty but useless," Cheng Jinzhou shrugged. "Then get me a book on glassmaking. Any recommendations?"
"You may purchase the 'Star Alliance Library Catalog' for reference. Total 85 million characters, priced at—"
That was absolutely unaffordable. Cheng Jinzhou cut in: "Got it, but you have to at least give me a title."
"If you don't purchase the 'Star Alliance Library Catalog,' you can only select random books," Customer Service 010 stated bluntly.
"Not even if I know the name?" Cheng Jinzhou asked quietly.
"That requires raising your Star Alliance membership level—"
Cheng Jinzhou immediately interjected: "What's a Star Alliance membership level?"
"For information unrelated to transactions—"
"Understood," Cheng Jinzhou sighed, making one last effort. "But at least give me a category. Don't give me literature when I want chemistry. And what about publication dates? How many years has your Star Alliance existed?"
He still couldn't resist probing for information.
After a pause, Customer Service 010 replied: "As the sole user in this region, you may select books by broad category—content from this star sector."
Cheng Jinzhou ignored the "broad category" part and quickly stated his requirements: "Basic applied sciences. Something usable in my current era. And... cheap."
Customer Service 010 might have been too lazy to argue, responding directly: "Random selection complete. One book matching criteria found. 3.6 thousand characters. Please pay 7.2 yuan."
"What's the title?"
"Please pay 7.2 yuan," Customer Service 010 repeated impassively.
Left with no choice, Cheng Jinzhou couldn't let this opportunity slip. "If I pay now, I can read it immediately, right?"
"Correct." With that, the voice fell silent. Even the phantom Playboy vanished—clearly, the trial period had ended, shorter than the most unscrupulous mall promotion.
Cheng Jinzhou had never realized how much he craved knowledge. The disappearance of Playboy only elicited mild regret—beautiful women were nice, but they were everywhere. The Astral Library, however, was unique to this world.
Before his transmigration, the sickly Cheng had painstakingly saved dozens of taels of silver—given his frail health, spending it had been difficult. Now, it all fell into Cheng the Scholar's lap.
Cheng the Scholar didn't take it all out. He counted out two silver ingots and a few smaller silver pieces, carefully storing the rest before stepping out of his room.
A maidservant was always waiting outside, immediately bowing in greeting. Cheng Jinzhou waved dismissively. "Liu'er, right? Do you know the current market price for grain?"
Though puzzled by her young master's question, Liu'er performed a proper curtsey before answering: "Unpolished rice is 400 copper coins per dan, wheat about 350."
Unpolished rice—husked rice retaining some outer layers—was quite different from the refined rice of the 21st century. Unsure if it was suitable for trade, Cheng Jinzhou pressed further: "What about coal and firewood?"
"Coal produces too much smoke—the household rarely uses it," Liu'er replied cautiously, eyeing Cheng Jinzhou curiously. She had no idea why her master was suddenly concerned with such matters. "Firewood depends on quality—20 to 30 coins per bundle."
Cheng Jinzhou acknowledged this and walked out, silently calculating.
Exchanging silver for star yuan was the least cost-effective—the other party didn't treat it as currency.
Coal wasn't worth considering either. With this era's technology, production costs were high, and quality varied by mining location. Buying small quantities would be inefficient. From what little he knew, coal that produced more smoke inevitably yielded less heat.
As for grain, one dan was roughly 50 kilograms—20 dan made a ton. In other words, one ton of unpolished rice cost 8,000 copper coins. Though copper was devalued compared to silver, it still amounted to at least 4 taels.
Four taels of silver for 10 star yuan. Cheng Jinzhou wasn't sure whether to be pleased by silver's purchasing power or dismayed.
At just twelve years old, his monthly allowance was already 4 taels—more than many adults earned. He could only hope to buy two useful books with it. Otherwise, he'd be running a deficit for sure.