SMMW | Chapter 17

There were only 600 qian left in the account. Song Hao felt that the zero-top-up challenge would most likely fail, but he had not expected there to be an unexpected gain.

After Grandfather Wen gave him the Internal Nourishment Method, the system prompted that a new optional itinerary had been added: 〖Meditation〗.

Choose Meditation, remove 3 Fatigue, increase Martial Arts by 1.

There were a total of 30 action chances in this new stage, and the required conditions were: ‘Literary Talent > 200, Physique > 50, and Martial Arts or Intelligence or Reputation > 50.’

Thanks to crazily eating duck and Buddha Jumps Over the Wall while recovering from his injuries, Song Hao now had Literary Talent 190 and Physique 54. Of the third condition, the only one that was relatively easy to achieve was Martial Arts.

“If I do nothing but meditate, that definitely won’t work. That only gives 30 points, which means I still need to get at least 20 Martial Arts points from that cheap master. Thinking about it like that, it actually seems passable.” Song Hao felt there was still a pretty good chance.

[Why does their whole family love giving people things]

[Targeted poverty alleviation]

[If Wen Qing doesn’t become empress, this is going to be very hard to wrap up]

[They’re treating Brother Sweet Potato as their future grandson-in-law]

[Is the Wen family some paid cheat you bought?]

〖Wen Qing: Grandmother made two sets of clothes and told me to bring you one.

Your choice: Dark Green / Indigo〗

“Holy shit, I’m even getting a gift?”

Even though it was sent by an NPC, the Wen family had already given him far too much since the stream began, and Song Hao was starting to feel a little guilty accepting it.

Of course, he only felt guilty in his heart. He was still absolutely going to take the gift.

“The system default is blue clothes, so this time let’s get the green one.”

〖Yuan Hao chose the dark green outfit and tried it on, praising, “The clothes look very nice.”

Wen Qing left.

※ Obtained outfit ‘Pine-Soot Dark Green.’ Outfit attribute bonus: Charm +5〗

[Sure enough, Grandmother had to give something too, very proper in etiquette]

[Couple outfit~]

[He picked green, he loves him, I ship it]

[Wen Qing wearing the leftover indigo one still makes it a couple outfit with the streamer~]

[So sweet [Lollipop x1]]

Although he had gotten new clothes, he still had to wear the escort outfit when learning martial arts from the drunkard master.

Song Hao went to the food shop ahead of time and bought three jars of liquor. Since if he failed this task the money would be useless anyway, he simply spent all 600 qian. Now his money was 0.

〖The tipsy Huang Zhan drained it in one gulp. After savoring it for a long while, he sighed, “Good wine.” He stood up, grabbed your shoulder, and sent inner force into you, wanting to test whether you had the foundation for martial arts.

※ You must have Physique > 50 to learn martial arts. Checking ‘Yuan Hao,’ Physique 54.

“Your bones are good. You can train.” Huang Zhan said in relief.〗

“Holy shit, I knew there was a trap. If I hadn’t thought one step ahead, it would’ve all been for nothing.” Song Hao was glad he had not been stingy back then and had hurried to raise his Physique. Otherwise, even the martial arts route would have been closed off, and the other routes were practically just one step short of writing ‘pay money’ directly on top of them.

〖Huang Zhan: Everything I teach you are killing moves for the battlefield. There’s nothing flashy about them. If you want to learn, you’ll have to risk your life.

Yuan Hao: Yes, Master.

※ After arduous study, Martial Arts +3, Fatigue +5〗

So-called literary-route games were, at the end of the day, just math games. At this stage, among all the ways to gain points, Reputation cost 100 qian for 1 point, Intelligence cost 200 qian for 1 point, and Martial Arts came out to an initial 300, then 3 points for every 200 qian afterward.

You needed to scrape together 50 points to clear the stage. Reputation required 5000 qian, Intelligence required 10000 qian, and Martial Arts required 3700 qian. The martial arts route was still cheaper. On top of that, Song Hao also had the cultivation method given by the Wen family, which raised Martial Arts by 1 each time, so he did not actually need to study that many times. Song Hao’s goal now was to first save up 10 points of Martial Arts and start making money by escorting goods.

So, in the first month’s five actions, Song Hao used up all the burnt liquor and trained martial arts three times at high intensity. After that, he meditated once to reduce Fatigue.

His current stats had reached 〖Martial Arts 10, Fatigue 12〗.

The 〖Escort Goods〗 itinerary lit up, meaning Song Hao was now qualified to make money. Near the very end of the first month, Song Hao finally took an order at the escort agency.

The client was Wen Qing again.

[Fate, wondrous beyond words]

[You two really can’t be separated, huh]

[Can’t you just ask Wen Qing for spending money directly? I’ve had enough of your little tricks]

[This romance reality show really lives up to its name]

[Bro, you… no… you… aiya…]

His contact with Wen Qing really had been a little too frequent. But then again, every time Wen Qing appeared, he brought this steady, reassuring feeling. To Song Hao, Wen Qing was like Doraemon to Nobi Nobita.

After Song Hao submitted his request to take an escort order, the escort agency’s middleman found him a client, and then he himself would go negotiate the specific price. The middleman would take a 10% cut.

〖Wen Qing: …It’s you? Long time no see.〗

“So this time you recognized me. But how is it ‘long time no see’? I was at your house eating ten minutes ago.”

[What a straight guy thing to say]

[Hahahahahahahahahaha]

[In game time, you two haven’t seen each other for a month]

[So lovesick he’s fallen ill]

[One day in heaven, one year on earth]

〖Wen Qing: My family has a batch of medicinal herbs that needs to be transported to Chunxi Town three hundred li away. It’s worth 50,000 qian. I wonder how much escort fee should be paid?

※ Escort fees are generally 3%-10% of the total value of the goods. The lower the price, the easier the deal is to conclude. You may enter a quote from 1500 to 5000.

Your quote is: _ _ _ _ 〗

Song Hao hesitated. If it had been someone else, he could have used the save-load trick and forced the other party, in some parallel world, to accept the high-end 10% price. But the client standing opposite him was Wen Qing. He had eaten their food and stayed in their house. Even the inner cultivation method he was learning was theirs. If he kept squeezing money out of them, that would be pretty immoral.

But this was not the real world, just a number in a game. Was it really necessary to put so much emotion into it? Every NPC’s actions here were all designed in advance anyway. He was playing this game to clear it. And if he was going to develop feelings, it should be with a female NPC. Why was he being so awkward and sentimental about this?

That was what he thought, but he still obviously hesitated. The viewers in the livestream saw everything.

[??? 5000, what is there to think about]

[Sister-in-law is rich, he’ll definitely pay]

[The streamer is scared Wen Qing will spend too much money]

[You’re practically stuck at the checkpoint and you still have the mood to think about this?]

[I’m sick of this love-brained nonsense]

[Jokes aside, don’t mess around with money]

[If you dare quote 1500, I’ll snap to death on the spot]

[What are you thinking, look at me, what exactly are you hesitating over]

[[Smoking][Smoking][Smoking]]

[5000! After the middleman takes a cut and your master takes his share, you can still get 2000 at least. That’s enough no matter how you farm stats]

[I ship it. Losing to love isn’t your fault [Heart x10]]

[What exactly made this stingy streamer resist the temptation of money]

[Love goes both ways]

[Can I top up for you? I’d watch you play for a lifetime [Fireworks x1]]

[He can’t bear to scam the wife, sob sob sob]

“This is the first order, and it’s with someone I know. Quoting high wouldn’t be appropriate. But I’m not about to quote 1500 either.”

After hesitating for a long time, Song Hao gave a quote of 2000.

〖Yuan Hao: 2000 qian.

Wen Qing: Wouldn’t that be too low?

Your choice is: 2000 qian / Requote〗

“What’s wrong with him, why’s he嫌 it’s too low? I already gave a friendship price. There’s no taking it back now. I’ll butcher you next time. Rich people really don’t understand the hardships of ordinary folks.”

〖2000 qian〗

〖Yuan Hao: 2000. I’m not changing it.

Wen Qing: …All right.

※ Deal concluded. 50,000 qian worth of medicinal herbs will be transported to Chunxi Town. Escort duration: 20 days. If successfully delivered, your share will be 800.〗

“800 is still not bad. That’s enough to learn martial arts four times and get 12 points of attributes. At this rate, I’ll save up enough soon. Making money is really hard. First the middleman takes a cut, then Master takes a cut too, and whatever’s left all has to be spent on Master again.” Song Hao painfully calculated the numbers. The comment section had no sympathy at all, only mockery.

[Heh. They gave you a chance to requote, what are you pretending for]

[Big 50k orders are hard to come by]

[Yeah, this trash game has no lower limit. There are even 100-qian errands where they make you deliver takeout for the food shop]

[So spineless]

[No guarantee you can even deliver it]

[Escort one trip and you’ll know [Smile]]

[Ever heard of Journey to the West]

[The higher the total value of the goods, the harder it is. Charging less won’t make the system go easy on you]

[This is why I top up]

[By the way, first recharge is 3 yuan for 3000. After that, the normal rate is 5 yuan for 3000 qian]

[Damn, you really can’t play without paying]

[The streamer is mooching off sister-in-law’s family and still getting stuck, think about that]

[Hahahahahahahahaha mooching off him]

[Yeah, and he’s never interested in female characters either [laugh-cry]]

[Anyone who sees this would call him a deeply devoted gay man]

Song Hao did not care. Song Hao played blind. Song Hao started escorting the goods.

There were only two people in the escort team, him and Master. Master said the pay was too low, so the escort agency would not assign any other escorts. They could only handle it themselves. More accurately, he had to handle it himself.

〖Huang Zhan: I’m going to sleep. Call me when it’s time to eat.

Yuan Hao: Don’t sleep, Master. What if bandits come?

Huang Zhan: You fight them.

Yuan Hao: What if I can’t beat them?

Huang Zhan: Then you die.

Yuan Hao: …〗

“…” Song Hao looked at those words and almost coughed up blood. What the hell did he mean by, “Then you die”?

“How can he be like this? I already paid my apprenticeship fee. Is this the kind of service attitude I get? I’m leaving a bad review!”

[That’s what a 300-qian master is like]

[You get what you pay for]

[Lmao, the game’s rating is 2.3, it’s not scared of bad reviews at all]

[The 500-qian master will fight alongside you. The 700-qian one charges ahead and fights in front]

[I advise you not to reload. Of the other two masters, one demands good tea worth 300 every time, and the other goes into seclusion so often you can never find him]

[The devs never intended anyone to take the martial arts route, did they?]

[That’s right, dear. You just need to spend money]

Song Hao refused to believe it. He was thinking that with the save-load trick, he ought to be able to muddle through somehow.

As a result, the moment he left the capital, it made him choose a route. Hah, same old routine.

〖Your choice is: Left Route / Middle Route / Right Route〗

〖Left Route. Government soldiers inspect the goods. You must bribe them with 500 qian worth of alcohol.〗

No money. Reload.

〖Middle Route. The road is rough. The goods are jostled and 5% are damaged.〗

Couldn’t afford it. Reload.

〖Right Route. Two bandits. Battle begins!〗

A pile of face-down mahjong tiles appeared on the game screen. Song Hao suddenly had a bad feeling.

〖Battle Rules: Match 20 pairs of tiles of the same suit. Time limit equals the total of ‘Physique + Martial Arts.’ If you fail, the battle is judged lost, and 20% of the goods are lost.〗

“Your damn official devs call this battle?! Why are we playing minigames again?!”

[All the money went into the female character models, stop asking]

[You should be glad it’s not just pure Martial Arts stat checking]

[Hahahahahahahahaha, such a classic]

[Stop yelling, there’s more later]

[Special minigame puzzle showcase]

Song Hao’s Martial Arts plus Physique was only 64, which meant he had to flip enough tiles to make 20 pairs in one minute, averaging one pair every three seconds. That was no easy task.

In fact, by the fourth attempt, Song Hao had already started pounding the table.

The comment section did not care whether he lived or died. They were either laughing hahaha or chatting gossip.

Finally, on the ninth try, Song Hao successfully cleared it, beat back the bandits, and crossed the first hurdle of escorting goods. By then, he had already wasted fifteen minutes flipping mahjong tiles.

〖Bandits: Ah! As expected, your kung fu is formidable. We’re leaving!〗

“What kung fu? Flipping mahjong tiles?” Song Hao had a blank look on his face, already numbed by this braindead game.

Of course, things were still very far from over. Goods worth fifty thousand were destined for a troubled fate. After the mahjong-flipping came tile-matching, elimination games, find-the-cat, idiom guessing, block puzzles…

〖Battle Rules: Hit 30 birds. Time limit equals the total of ‘Physique + Martial Arts.’ If you fail, the battle is judged lost, and 20% of the goods are lost.〗

Here it came, a shooting minigame.

Song Hao wilted in his chair, drinking his Snow King lemonade, looking exactly like a middle schooler sitting in an internet café, lost and full of thoughts after losing five matches in a row.

[Brother Sweet Potato is about to break]

[My kindergarten nephew doesn’t even play games like this]

[What a childhood memory]

[The streamer is about to quit gaming]

[Official devs, you have committed countless crimes]

“Sometimes I really wonder, is any of this necessary?” Song Hao muttered.

“A cup of lemonade costs four kuai. This piece of crap game gives 3000 with just a three-kuai first recharge, and then I could become a prince. Why am I spending two hours playing this kind of crap, tile-matching, spot the difference, haha.”

[Another one’s gone crazy]

[Can someone call 120]

[The streamer can’t hold out anymore, he’s about to top up]

[This is the devs’ strategy, they deliberately do this to mess with your mentality]

[So what, Brother Sweet Potato is practically dying here]

“But I’ve already played for two hours. No, not right, it’s been more than a month already. Save, load, save, load again, and the devs haven’t earned a single cent. They’re panicking. They must be panicking hard. Well I won’t do it. I’ve already come this far. There’s no way I’m letting them make money off me.”

[I’m a little scared, bro]

[If you can’t do it then stop playing. Three kuai isn’t even enough for registration]

[The official devs have harmed too many people]

[Big big big big Sweet Potato, darkened version]

[Consort Xi returns to the palace!!!]

Song Hao straightened his back, viciously sucked down a big mouthful of lemonade, grabbed the mouse, and continued the battle!

After the shooting minigame, he went through jigsaw puzzles, poker, and fill-in-the-color, and finally, at a new fork in the road, he encountered a triggered plot event.

〖A group of people rode up from the distance and stopped in front of the escort cart. The leader wore a veiled hat, and judging from the figure, she was a woman.

Woman: What’s loaded on the cart?

Yuan Hao: Some worthless medicinal herbs.

Woman: Medicinal herbs! Truly heaven is helping us. The Yanshan Sect is not fated to perish. Leave this cart of herbs behind. Give your name and address, and I’ll send money in repayment another day.

Your choice is: Hand over the herbs / Refuse〗

“If you’re robbing, then rob. She even makes it sound righteous.” These goods had cost him countless brain cells to protect. There was no way he would hand them over just because of a few words. Of course he refused.

〖Yuan Hao: I was entrusted to escort and deliver these goods. I truly cannot comply.

Woman: So you refuse the toast only to drink the forfeit. Men, seize him, tie him up, and throw him by the roadside. Take the herbs back.

Several burly men behind the woman all had martial arts skills. With two fists unable to beat four hands, you were quickly subdued. But their movements woke the sleeping Huang Zhan.

Huang Zhan: Huzi… Huzi! Stop shouting!

Woman: Tie up that drunkard too.

Several burly men turned to tie up Huang Zhan, but who would have thought Huang Zhan would roll over and leap up, kicking two of them flying. Before they could steady themselves, he darted forward and threw another down with an over-the-shoulder toss.

One man slashed at him with a saber. Huang Zhan sidestepped, deftly twisted his wrist, seized the blade, planted one foot on that man’s shoulder, and pointed the broadsaber at the woman.

The man being stepped on shouted: Junior Sister, don’t worry about us, go back and find Sect Leader!

Huang Zhan: Tsk. Too much talk.

Huang Zhan pressed down harder with his foot. The man cried out in pain and could no longer speak at all.

Huang Zhan: The Yanshan Sect was once counted among the notable sects ten years ago. Has Lou Yanqiong become so useless that he’s fallen to becoming a bandit?

Woman: You… you know my father?

Huang Zhan: Your father? You are… Lou Xiaoyu?

Lou Xiaoyu: Senior, I am Lou Xiaoyu. This time there truly was a reason. The Yanshan Sect was secretly plotted against, and there are many wounded. We urgently need medicinal herbs, so we had no choice but to resort to this. Since you are an old acquaintance of my father’s, may I ask whether you might help us and let us have this cart of herbs? The entire Yanshan Sect would be endlessly grateful.

Huang Zhan: This shipment was taken on by my disciple, so he has to make the decision.

Lou Xiaoyu hurriedly had someone untie your ropes.

Lou Xiaoyu: Righteous hero, in our urgency we offended you, please forgive us. Might you let us have the herbs? If you want money or goods, just name it.

Your choice is: Yanshan Swordsmanship / Money / Lou Xiaoyu〗

“Swordsmanship, money, Lou Xiaoyu? What does the third option even mean? Can I just ask for the person directly?”

[She’ll offer herself in marriage, obviously]

[Holy shit! I finally lived to see this!!!]

[33333333333333333333]

[If you don’t pick 3, you’re not a man!]

[After so much suffering, the sweetness is finally here ahhh]

[No! This is Wen Qing’s escort cart]

[There won’t be a good ending if you act like a scumbag]

[You said before you’d only marry after becoming a prince]

[Ahhhhhhhhh I object]

[You can’t wrong Wen Qing!]

The comments were scrolling so fast that Song Hao could barely make them out. He did not respond directly. Instead, he saved the game and clicked the first option. “Let’s try the swordsmanship first.”

〖Yuan Hao: I want the Yanshan Swordsmanship in exchange.

Injured man: Junior Sister, this is the very foundation of the Yanshan Sect. We can’t give it away!

Lou Xiaoyu: The Yanshan Sect is about to be gone, what else can we worry about!? The swordsmanship can be given, but you must swear a poisonous oath that you will not pass it on!

Yuan Hao: Deal.

※ Obtained ‘Yanshan Swordsmanship.’ New itinerary added: ‘Sword Practice.’ Each time: Martial Arts +3, Fatigue +7〗

“Holy shit, that adds so much Fatigue. If I practice twice, I have to rest once. No, no, not worth it. This whole cart of goods is worth fifty thousand. That’s enough for my master to drink for the rest of his life. Besides, I already paid the apprenticeship fee. If I don’t keep learning from him, that’s a waste. My master has so much plot content, he’s definitely going to be a huge backer later. Picking the swordsmanship is too much of a loss. Better ask for money.”

〖Yuan Hao: We’re also only escorting goods for someone else, so we can’t make the decision ourselves. If you insist on taking this shipment, then you’ll have to pay for it.

Lou Xiaoyu: Easy to discuss. Righteous hero, just name your price.

※ The profit margin on goods is generally 10%-30%. Your quote should include the cost. The lower the price, the easier it is to conclude the deal. You may enter a quote from 55,000 to 65,000.

Your quote is: _ _ _ _ _ 〗

〖65000〗

[Bro didn’t hesitate for even one second]

[The girl model is this pretty and you still won’t give her a discount at all?]

[Hahahahaha, wrong gender. If the Yanshan Sect leader himself came, maybe you’d actually lower it]

[Brother Sweet Potato gives a quote in two seconds, not because he needs to think, but because typing six digits takes two seconds]

[His worldly tact is nowhere to be seen now]

[The sister-in-law special is relatives-only pricing]

〖Lou Xiaoyu: This… that’s really too much. I can’t gather that much money at once.〗

“Sure enough, too much won’t work. Earlier when they tried to rob me, they were already saying they’d pay later. One look and you can tell they’ve got no money.” Song Hao shook his head while speaking disdainfully.

〖64000〗

〖Lou Xiaoyu: This… that’s really too much. I can’t gather that much money at once.〗

“This still doesn’t work either.” Song Hao frowned, tapping the mouse.

[It’s only one thousand less]

[She already said they have no money, lower it more]

[Not the slightest instinct to cherish beauty]

[If you handle the martial world route well later, you can form secret guards]

[Look at Lou Xiaoyu’s face. I don’t believe your eyes are truly empty]

〖63000〗

〖Lou Xiaoyu: This… that’s really too much. I can’t gather that much money at once.〗

Song Hao said bluntly, “So poor.”

[Getting cocky now too]

[Do you remember your money is 0?]

[That’s about enough. There’s also your master’s face to consider, otherwise they would’ve just taken it by force]

[Petty villain]

[The streamer can play this part for half an hour]

Just like that, he shaved it down by one thousand at a time. Only when the quote reached 57,000 did Lou Xiaoyu agree. Just when the livestream was happily celebrating and urging him to hurry to the next step, Song Hao loaded again and quoted 57,500.

[…]

[…]

[This is too much]

[Are you done or not?]

[At first I was on your side when she tried to rob the goods, but you are really annoying]

Lou Xiaoyu still agreed to the quote of 57,500.

Song Hao quoted 57,800 again.

〖Lou Xiaoyu: This… that’s really too much. I can’t gather that much money at once.〗

“Ah, so from the look of it, her highest acceptable price is somewhere between 57,500 and 57,800.”

[If you dare try 57,700? [Knife]]

[AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I can’t take it anymore]

[Please just end this, I’m begging you]

[You’re penny-pinching so hard you’ve become one with the devs]

[Are you sure you’re not actually the official balance designer?]

Song Hao yawned. It was already one-thirty in the morning. He had gotten so absorbed in playing minigames that he forgot it was time to end the stream. The exhaustion from staring at the screen for so long hit him. He rubbed his eyes and said generously, “Then let’s make it 57,500. Nobody has it easy. We’ll take the money and head back to the capital. It’s really late today, so I’m ending the stream here. See you tomorrow.”

[See you tomorrow]

[It’s finally over]

[This was way more intense than an auction house]

[Good night]

[Bye~]

Song Hao took the money from selling the goods, returned to the capital with his master, clicked save, and ended the stream.

The comment section was equally cheerful. Because of that fierce and drawn-out bargaining battle, everyone had forgotten that the third option had never once been tried.