Liangzhou University, a tuition fee of 100,000.
Grandpa's income simply couldn't afford it.
Xiang Beifei still dared not tell his grandpa his goal.
At least, he had to wait until after the college entrance examination.
Xiang Qingde was bustling about, while Xiang Beifei was observing the people around him.
At a glance, all the systems he saw were [N-level Vegetable and Fruit Merchant System][N-level Seafood King System][N-level Butcher System]...
He occasionally saw an R-level system, but they were mostly used by people who stopped by to buy groceries after work.
N-level Awakeners in this world could only live at the very bottom; the tasks released by their systems were very unreasonable, and it was very difficult for them to get ahead.
The vegetable merchants and customers haggled vigorously and then occasionally checked their systems to see if they had completed a system task, gaining a glimmer of hope to continue living.
As Xiang Beifei was thinking, a lazy voice emerged from the stall in front of him.
"Old man, you know the rules, hurry up! Swap the taro for potatoes today."
Xiang Beifei looked up and saw a man with a haughty expression.
This man had a red armband on his arm that read "Market Civilization Supervisor."
When Xiang Qingde saw the man, his face showed an odd expression, but he still squeezed out a smile and said, "Right away."
He took out a plastic bag, picked some vegetables from the stall, quickly filled a large bag, and then handed it to the man.
"The lettuce is good today."
The man rudely picked a few more sticks of lettuce, stuffed them into the bag, weighed the bag, and then, satisfied, turned to leave.
Xiang Beifei furrowed his brow and spoke out, "You forgot to pay."
Xiang Qingde, hearing Xiang Beifei's words, quickly gave him a look and subtly shook his head, asking Xiang Beifei not to speak.
"Pay?"
The man stopped, turned around, and looked at Xiang Beifei meaningfully, then tugged on his armband, "What did you just say?"
"Nothing, Captain Ma, it's just the child talking nonsense, don't take it to heart," Xiang Qingde hurriedly said.
Xiang Beifei looked at the man's system interface:
[Host: Ma Dongqiang]
[N-level, Endure Silently System]
[Realm: Mid-stage Qi-Controlling]
[Your choice to endure the oppressive behavior of the old vegetable vendor silently has increased your endurance value by +1]
Xiang Beifei thoughtfully looked at Ma Dongqiang's system.
In the system's description, he saw a line:
[Endure Silently System, when you choose to silently endure something or someone else chooses to silently endure your behavior, you can gain endurance value]
Ma Dongqiang, as a Market Civilization Supervisor, managed this entire area of the market. The small vegetable vendors who wanted to sell their goods here had to listen to him.
Thus, if he wanted to take someone's goods, he would just take them, and the vendors dare not object, but could only choose to endure silently.
This way, he could gain endurance value.
Ma Dongqiang looked at Xiang Beifei with a half-smiling expression. This kid was obviously new and didn't understand the rules here; in this place, he was the market's tyrant, and no one had ever dared to ask him to pay.
"Kid, as the Market Civilization Supervisor, I need to inspect the quality of the vegetables in the entire market. These vegetables are for me to test for pesticide residues. Do you have any objections?"
Ma Dongqiang narrowed his eyes at Xiang Beifei, a smug look appearing at the corner of his mouth.
Of course, he was going to take the vegetables home to eat. Sometimes he would also take them to give to his superiors. How could he possibly test them for pesticide residues?
But with this excuse, he could keep these people completely under control.
"No objections, no objections, it's right to follow the rules," Xiang Qingde quickly said.
He was certainly aware of Ma Dongqiang's domineering nature, but if he wanted to sell vegetables here, he was forced to bow his head and pick out a portion of vegetables to give to Ma Dongqiang every afternoon as protection money.
"I was asking him, not you, why are you mouthing off?"
Ma Dongqiang glared at Xiang Qingde, then walked over to Xiang Beifei, his stature half a head shorter than Xiang Beifei's, so he haughtily looked up at him.
But he found this posture to be a bit odd, lacking a bit of dominance.
"Do you, a little brat, have any complaints about my work?"
Ma Dongqiang tried to stand on his tiptoes, making himself a bit taller, which he thought made his words more intimidating.
Xiang Qingde was a bit nervous and pulled at Xiang Beifei's sleeve from the side. He was worried that Xiang Beifei, being young and impetuous, might say something rash and cause trouble.
Xiang Beifei looked down at Ma Dongqiang, who was unsteady on his tiptoes and slightly trembling, assessing the other's system interface.
[Current endurance value is 20967. When the endurance value reaches 21000, you can exchange for items: 1. 2000 yuan of Alliance currency. 2. Primordial Strengthening Pill]
Xiang Beifei thought for a moment, then very amiably said to Ma Dongqiang, "No complaints."
[The vegetable vendor's grandson swallowed your threat without a word, your endurance value +1]
When Ma Dongqiang saw this line appear on his system interface, he was instantly filled with pride.
This kid just gave in like that?
Just as I thought!
In the vegetable market, there's no one who dares to challenge me, Ma Dongqiang!
"Smart lad! I'm in a good mood today so I won't bother arguing with you. Here's a piece of advice, kid. It's good for you to suffer losses."
Ma Dongqiang looked at Xiang Beifei contentedly.
Just a student-looking youngster, could he not handle him?
"You're right."
Xiang Beifei nodded sincerely.
He couldn't agree more.
According to Ma Dongqiang's way of flaunting his power, he only needed 43 more points to complete his system rewards, which he should collect by tomorrow.
It could even be shipped for free.
Ma Dongqiang thought he had bluffed another naive young man and was in high spirits!
He chuckled, grabbed a handful of fava beans, and then walked confidently to the next store to inspect it.
Xiang Qingde finally spoke up after Ma Dongqiang had left, "It's fortunate you didn't cause trouble, or it would have been a hassle."
"Grandpa, does he come here every day to take our vegetables?" Xiang Beifei asked.
"Yes, he comes exactly once a day to pillage. We've gotten used to it."
Xiang Qingde sorted the unsold vegetables, shaking his head slightly.
After a while, he smiled at Xiang Beifei and said, "Don't take it to heart; life is like this. We're always going to meet all sorts of people who add trouble to our lives; it can't always go smoothly. But we must learn to choose our battles, and sometimes, it's okay to take a loss and not dwell on it."
Dwell on it?
How could I!
I sure know how to take a loss.
Xiang Beifei nodded, "I understand, Grandpa."
"Good, as long as you understand. No matter what happens, never lose hope for the future. We must always believe in one principle: as long as life doesn't defeat us, it means we are in control of our lives!"
Xiang Qingde patiently advised his grandson.
He was giving Xiang Beifei these life lessons because yesterday Xiang Beifei had just awakened his system, which unfortunately turned out to be the lowest and least promising N-level system.
But people should not give up on themselves.
He hoped his grandson would face life with an optimistic attitude.
However, Xiang Qingde would never understand just how good Xiang Beifei's mentality was.
Incredibly good.
Xiang Qingde continued to attend to the customers buying vegetables, while Xiang Beifei watched his somewhat stooped grandfather and smiled softly.
This was his only relative in this system world.
And the one he must protect.