"That crow's mouth, really.
Yesterday, just babbling and it actually started to rain.
His house is located outside the fifth ring of Capital City, near the sixth ring in Beixin'an Urban Village, comprising a bedroom, a living room, and a small kitchen.
The rent is fifteen hundred a month.
Three entrances in and out, in the third ring that would be a sky-high priced Siheyuan, but here in such an Urban Village, it's basically the rental habitat for outsiders like them.
Just this set of courtyards houses over ten families, and many were introduced by him.
The heavy rain poured down relentlessly, and Song Yanxi got up early to wash up and cooked a big pot of noodles, with two steamed eggs on the side.
Chen An'an was still in kindergarten, and now that it's the holidays, she's become quite fond of sleeping in.
Lethargically dragged out of bed by her mother, her eyes were only half-open, her little eyelids fluttering, almost falling back to sleep without care.
"Pingsheng, if you're free later, take An'an out to play, okay?"
The sleepy Chen An'an's eyes, upon hearing of going out to play, lit up brighter than anyone's.
What a pity, even if it rained, he still had to go out and earn money.
"We'll see later, if I don't get any jobs, I'll take her out to play."
After a simple breakfast, Chen Pingsheng rode his small electric scooter and, donning rain gear, dropped his wife off at work first.
She works as a customer service representative at an internet company during the day and sells flowers on a street popular with young people after finishing.
Their combined income wasn't too shabby by the end of the month, clearly, both spouses were striving for their little home.
In the early morning, Capital City was still bustling with people.
Those scurrying about in the rain were workers much like themselves.
After waving goodbye to him, Song Yanxi turned and went to work.
Chen Pingsheng then headed home, recalling the sudden "ding" in his head from the night before.
According to those online novels he had read, this must undoubtedly be the arrival of the Golden Finger that changes fate.
What could it be?
Arriving home, Chen Pingsheng couldn't wait to open the ripple of thoughts in his mind, revealing a line of golden text before him.
First, an introduction.
[Host: Chen Pingsheng]
[Age: 30]
[Level: LV1]
[Today's Income: 0]
[Explanation: Every day based on one's income, there is a chance to win a multiplier lottery, with LV1 having a reward multiplier of 2–10 times.]
Can it really be used like this?
Going by this Golden Finger's explanation, if he earns five hundred today and gets a multiplier lottery, and if it hits 10 times, doesn't that mean it would shoot straight up to five thousand?
Tsk... Excitement, unparalleled excitement.
This Golden Finger was too powerful; with this, he definitely had the chance to strike it rich.
Chen Pingsheng rubbed his hands together and planted a kiss on the expectant face of Chen An'an.
The little one was still holding onto her mother's words about being taken out to play, brimming with anticipation.
Chen Pingsheng wasn't in the mood for that now, but he still consoled her.
"An'an, daddy has to go out and make money now, but once I've earned enough, I'll take you wherever you want to play, okay?"
Chen An'an was a bit disappointed but still obediently nodded her head.
Daddy always said that, yet he never took her out, not even once.
She so wanted to visit those places the other kids talked about.
There was nothing Chen Pingsheng could do, next year she would be starting first grade, and if they didn't secure a house, no good school would be willing to accept a child with a non-local household registration like hers.
Education and real estate are tightly bound together.
For outsiders like them, if they can't buy a house, how can they hope to get their children into a good school?
Chen An'an often stayed home alone, nibbling on snacks when she felt hungry, and she even knew how to cook noodles for herself.
She was so sensible it was heartbreaking.
Chen Pingsheng locked the door and went next door to give a few instructions.
He knew every one of the ten or so families in this courtyard; with the ongoing downpour outside, he definitely couldn't go out to sell durians today.
Just to see if he could pick up a moving job.
Isn't it said that his luck wasn't too bad? As soon as he left the courtyard and went under the old tree, he encountered a gentle, frail young girl holding a large black umbrella.
"Miss, are you new here?"
"Yes."
The girl was pretty, albeit a bit skinny, and had a sweet smile.
Zhao Liying took the initiative and asked, "Big brother, do you live here too? Do you know where I can find movers?"
"Yep, I live just over there."
Chen Pingsheng pointed in the direction of his place and then introduced himself, "I usually sell durian outside, but on rainy days, I help people move. That tricycle over there is mine."
He had bought the tricycle two years ago, and through sun and rain, it had stood out conspicuously by his side until today.
Upon hearing that he was in fact a mover, Zhao Liying felt a small thrill of excitement.
She had just moved herself, previously living even beyond the sixth ring.
After chatting for a while, Chen Pingsheng learned that the girl was actually an actress.
One of those whose names you never hear of, which meant she hadn't been very successful.
That's normal; if an actor were doing well, why would they ever move to a place like theirs?
Chen Pingsheng was not one for pomp and circumstance; he was always sincere with others.
And straightforward when he spoke.
"I have to say, miss, I didn't expect you to be an actress. Well, you'll have to give me an autograph later so that if you become a big star in the future, I can brag about it as my claim to fame."
Zhao Liying smiled so sweetly; her lifelong dream had been to become an actress.
Seeing her with such an optimistic expression, it was hard to imagine she had been an extra for four years."
In other words, they had spent four years without any hope.
The future was unclear, shrouded in uncertainty.
The two hit it off as they chatted, both dream chasers fallen from grace in this big city.
But business still had to continue; Zhao Liying had lived too far away before, it took more than four hours to commute.
That was not the main issue; the key point was that she lived on the sixth floor with no elevator.
The furniture inside was all accumulated by her over the years, representing the prime of her four years drifting in Capital City.
It also represented her four years of struggle in the entertainment industry.
Chen Pingsheng needed to move all of these downstairs, and he offered her a discounted price of a thousand yuan.
It was a job meant for two, but he could handle it alone.
As long as it meant earning more money, what Chen Pingsheng feared least was hard work.
Not earning money was the real hardship.
"Mr. Chen, shouldn't you find someone else to help?"
Having arrived at her place, Zhao Liying opened the door and was still worried he wouldn't manage on his own, even with her added to the effort.
After all, there was quite a lot of stuff.
Having finally got a job that paid a thousand, how could Chen Pingsheng call someone else? Wouldn't that just be giving away money for no good reason?
"It's okay, I can handle this amount of stuff on my own."
Chen Pingsheng grabbed a moving strap and secured the small sofa first, then carried it downstairs step by step.
If he encountered someone on the way, he made sure to move aside.
In this chilling weather, breaking into a sweat was an oddly refreshing experience.
Making money is never without fatigue.
Zhao Liying helped out as well, but after all, she was a woman and couldn't manage the heavier tasks, so she took care of the lighter items.
After seven or eight trips up and down.
They finally managed to move all the things from the room.
Outside, a heavy rain was still pouring, and Chen Pingsheng carefully covered the furniture with a tarp to keep them from getting wet.
He tried his best to avoid the rain.
He put on a raincoat for himself, and Zhao Liying wore a black one; his tricycle was larger than average, and though noisy, it was manageable on the streets.
Other than the noise, all was well.
The two sat at the front and drove home rumbling along.
They didn't get home until three in the afternoon, and Chen An'an was still locked inside her room.
Hearing someone unlocking the door, she ran over joyfully; she had fixed herself a bowl of noodles for lunch without much oil and boiled an egg.
Knowing her father had returned, she immediately turned off the TV, which was playing her favorite show, Teletubbies.
Then she swiftly arranged her homework on the table, waiting eagerly behind the door.
"Little Ying, this is my home, and you are our neighbor."
As it happened, the room Zhao Liying rented was the one next to theirs that had been vacant for almost three months.
It was also a one-bedroom, one-living room apartment.
Chen Pingsheng brought her over to recognize the place; after all, in the countryside, the relationship between neighbors wasn't as indifferent as in the city.
Some city dwellers live decades without knowing their neighbors' names.
Such a scenario was utterly unheard of in the countryside.
After moving the furniture, Chen Pingsheng brought her over to formally meet.
"Big brother, is this your child? She's really cute."
Chen An'an had her hair tied into a tiny ponytail and had a bit of baby fat with chubby cheeks.
Anyone would say she was super cute.
"Hello, aunty."
Chen An'an's eyes crinkled with her smile. She was quite adept at greeting strangers, not shy in the slightest.
Of course, if her parents weren't present, she would never talk to a stranger.
Zhao Liying took an instant liking to the little cutie.
Chen Pingsheng hadn't eaten all day after doing physical work all morning, and by now, he was really hungry.
He quickly fried a couple of dishes in the kitchen and made a fragrant egg-fried rice with the rice already cooked that morning.
Life was simple.
Since Zhao Liying had just met them, she naturally felt uncomfortable staying for dinner.
Laughing, she said, "Mr. Chen, I really can't thank you enough for today. You have Alipay, right? I'll send the thousand yuan to you."
Of course, he did.
Chen Pingsheng presented his payment code for her to scan.
A "ding" sounded, and a thousand yuan was credited to his account.
[Today's earnings: one thousand yuan]
[Would you like to activate the random multiplier lottery now?]
Once again, a line of golden text appeared in his mind.
Chen Pingsheng was excited; he couldn't wait to see the effect of the Golden Finger.
"Activate."
Two golden dice appeared, bearing only the numbers one to five, without a six.
Chen Pingsheng shouted for it to stop.
The die on the left showed a three, and on the right, the smallest number one, adding up to four.
[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained a random quadruple rate.]
[Four thousand yuan has been credited to your Alipay account, with a balance of four thousand five hundred yuan.]
Tsk... Chen Pingsheng was so excited he nearly jumped three meters in the air.
The Golden Finger was too powerful. With it, would buying a house or raising a child ever be a problem again?