Chapter 82: Returning with a Full Harvest (Please Recommend)

At eleven in the morning, the blazing sun hung high in the sky, radiating endless heat and leaving the pedestrians on the street irritable and restless. Sun umbrellas, sunglasses, and sunscreen had become essential gear for anyone out shopping. Suddenly, a large truck pulled over on Qingfeng South Road, immediately drawing the attention of all the shopkeepers along the roadside.

“Whose truck is that? Who would just park it here?” The young owner of the milk tea shop poked his head out to have a look, for the truck had stopped right in front of his store.

Business was slow at this hour, so as soon as one person called out, the others came out from their cool shops to see what was happening.

“Suzhou plates? Isn’t that a truck from Southeast Suzhou? What’s it doing here?”

“Is someone getting a delivery or moving house?”

“Don’t park it there, you’re blocking our business.”

When Zhang Wenbo stepped out of Hanlin Pavilion Bookstore, he was shocked to see that the person getting off the truck was none other than his troublesome son!

“Aren’t you supposed to be filming a show? Why are you coming home in a big truck? Don’t tell me you lost all your money?”

Zhang Chu quickly stopped his father from spiraling further. Grinning, he said, “Of course the show’s finished. This is the prize I won.”

As he spoke, the back of the truck was opened, revealing stacks of meticulously packed boxes.

“You mean you won all this stuff?” Zhang Wenbo could hardly believe it was real—his son had gone to record a show and actually won so many prizes!

Good heavens, there were refrigerators, air conditioners, computers, phones, and more—no wonder they needed a truck for all of it!

At that moment, their neighbor Chen Bin, who had been watching the commotion, came over and congratulated them, “Old Zhang, your son Zhang Chu is really thoughtful, buying so many things for the family first thing in the morning. That must’ve cost a fortune, right?”

“Not a penny spent—not a penny!” Zhang Wenbo raised his voice, bursting with pride. “Zhang Chu won all this on ‘Stand Your Ground!’”

“What? When did he go on the show? I watch every week and haven’t seen him yet!” Chen Bin exclaimed in surprise.

“He went last weekend and just got home. Young people these days have such quick minds—there’s no way we’ll fit all this in the house.”

Having watched “Stand Your Ground” before, Chen Bin knew contestants usually received some prizes, but this was almost excessive—had Zhang Chu brought home everything by himself?

Standing to one side, Zhang Chu rolled his neck to work out the stiffness. He had rented this truck specifically, taking the highway all the way from South City to Jiangcheng—thankfully, the two cities weren’t far apart.

He quickly directed the workers to move everything from the truck. Their house was so small there was no way it would all fit, so he decided to send some of it to his grandmother in the countryside.

Chen Bin sidled up to Zhang Chu and asked, “Zhang Chu, isn’t this rather a lot for prizes? Don’t tell me you were this episode’s ‘Champion’?”

“That’s right, Uncle Chen. You know about the ‘Champion’ title too?”

“If I’d known you were going to be on TV, I’d have gone to cheer you on!” Chen Bin said regretfully. He’d always wanted to see how the show was filmed. “When will your episode air? I absolutely have to watch it.”

The more viewers, the better. Zhang Chu smiled and said, “It’ll be on this Friday night, Uncle Chen. Make sure you watch!”

“Of course, I wouldn’t miss it for the world!”

By now, more and more neighbors were coming out into the sun, and even passersby stopped to see what was going on.

Their conversation was hardly private, and soon everyone had learned the truth.

While the prizes were still being carried inside, people started discussing it among themselves, marveling at how Zhang’s son had made them all proud again.

“Wow, Zhang’s family must have ancestors blessing them!”

“What is ‘Stand Your Ground’ anyway? How can they give away so much?”

“My own kid just plays video games all day. When will he win us a fridge or a washing machine in a competition?”

“Being a top scorer really is impressive—writing books, winning contests. Their family’s finally made it.”

“How many questions did he have to answer right to win all that? I want to go on the show too.”

“Zhang Chu’s grades don’t just save money—they make money!”

“What a kid! He’s made our whole street proud. We ought to rename the street ‘Champion Avenue.’”

Zhang Chu put on a modest front as everyone praised him, but inside he was over the moon.

In his previous life, when he had lazed about at home, these same people had gossiped endlessly behind his back.

Now, with all the prizes, Zhang Chu managed to fill up the living room, the study, and the balcony at home—he even had to stuff some boxes into the bookstore’s storeroom.

...

Returning home with a basket of groceries, Chu Lan was startled by the sight of their living room—there was barely any space left to stand!

“What’s all this? What am I supposed to do with so many refrigerators?” Chu Lan was completely at a loss. It seemed impossible to walk from the front door to the kitchen.

Zhang Wenbo was clearly thrilled. “Your son won all this on ‘Stand Your Ground.’ He must have done really well.”

“So much stuff—can we return it for cash?” Chu Lan asked the crucial question. After all, there were several different models of phones. Were they supposed to use two phones each?

Zhang Chu shook his head. “Probably not. We don’t even have receipts.”

“That’s a pity. But if you took home all the prizes, how miserable were the other contestants?”

Chu Lan didn’t need Zhang Chu to describe it; she could easily imagine how his opponents must have felt. The Top Scorer Competition had really wiped the floor with the others—her son was clearly the best!

“Dad, you’d better hire another clerk. I’ve won you several travel packages—some to the US, Australia, and New Zealand. You both have passports, so go get your visas!”

It was the perfect opportunity for a spontaneous trip. Zhang Wenbo had always wanted to travel, but with the money needed for Zhang Chu’s education, they had only managed short trips around East and Southeast Asia. Now they could finally see more of the world.

“Visas probably won’t be ready until September. By then, I’ll have to work and you’ll be back in school—who’s going to travel?” Chu Lan said. She wanted to go, but couldn’t just take time off work unless it was her annual leave.

“Doesn’t matter to me—I’m not going. You two figure it out.” Zhang Chu shrugged. He would have liked Chu Lan to quit her job, but that wasn’t realistic. She couldn’t just stay home indefinitely.

With that, he retreated to his bedroom; the sofa was piled so high with boxes there was nowhere left to lie down.

Truth be told, recording “Stand Your Ground” had been a bit of a letdown. The questions were too shallow and easy—not just for students, but for anyone with basic common sense.

He had originally wanted to play the role of a scholar, but the show made all the top scorers seem rather overrated.

Still, the trip hadn’t been a waste. By observing the audience, he discovered the system’s reputation points weren’t strictly one per person; he could actually gain multiple points from the same person.

He didn’t know the precise conversion formula, but it seemed that anyone who merely knew of him gave him one point, while those who remembered him clearly gave five or even ten—and his die-hard fans contributed even more.

It was just like a reputation system in online games: Neutral, Respect, Admire, and Worship—each level brought more points.

At first, it was all about increasing his fame; later, he would need to maintain his fan base, since loyal fans could provide a steady stream of reputation points!

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Power outages are such a nuisance. I’ve been writing on my phone with a power bank since seven this morning. Thank goodness for the power bank—otherwise, posting chapters using 4G would have been out of the question.