Chapter 5

Beicheng Tianjie, Qingfeng Garden, Small Villa Area.

The new house that the family bought two years ago, including the renovation, cost about three million yuan. In Qingshan City, this price could be considered a fairly luxurious residence.

Less than a hundred meters from the community is a kindergarten, and next to it is an elementary school, which can be considered one of the best in the entire Qingshan City.

It's a perfect school district house, and for this reason, when they first looked at the house, Mom immediately fell in love with it, waiting for Chen Muyu to get married, have children, and go to school in one go.

Unfortunately, plans don't always go as expected. Her son, who is quite handsome, is still single.

In the living room, after dinner, Dad sat by the dining table, smoking and tapping the ash. The ashtray was already half full of cigarette butts.

The room was filled with smoke, and the honest face of Chen Jianzhong was etched with melancholy.

"Dad, are you really planning to sell the recycling station?" Chen Muyu asked cautiously.

Chen Jianzhong exhaled a long puff of smoke and remained silent for a while.

At this moment, Mom came out of the kitchen with a cloth to wipe the table, "Honey, if you ask me, if you're going to sell it, just sell it. Qin Hong is someone we can't afford to offend, and besides, the recycling business is not only hard work but also makes people look down on us, making it hard for our son to find a girlfriend. If you're going to sell it, just sell it and switch to a more respectable business..."

The gold chain around Xu Yanfen's neck jiggled. She was a capable and practical woman, and in her eyes, her son came first, followed by her husband and money.

Beside them, Chen Muyu shrank his neck. In the past, if Mom said such things, Dad would definitely get angry, as the recycling station was left by Grandpa and could be considered family property.

However, this time, Chen Jianzhong broke the tradition and did not respond, as if he hadn't heard, continuing to smoke in silence.

"Dad, what's going on?" Chen Muyu felt something was off.

Chen Jianzhong shook his head and didn't speak.

Mom said, "Your father has an old comrade who passed away from an illness recently. His family owes a large debt, and the creditors are causing trouble every day. Your father found out and wants to help pay off the debt."

Chen Muyu looked at his father in surprise, "Dad, why didn't you tell me about this?"

Chen Jianzhong's face was serious as he pressed the cigarette butt into the ashtray, "He saved my life. As the saying goes, the favor of saving a life is greater than the sky. Not to mention paying off the debt, I should give him my life in return."

"Dad, are you talking about Uncle Xu Haoran who pulled you out of the ice hole?" Chen Muyu recalled the story his father had told him before.

Chen Jianzhong nodded, his emotions slightly agitated, "If it weren't for saving me, Uncle Xu wouldn't have been left with a chronic illness. I've been trying to find him for years, and now that I finally have, I didn't expect..."

"Dad..."

"Xiao Yu, do you think your father should help pay off this debt?"

"Uh... yes, of course he should!"

Chen Muyu nodded. A life-saving favor should be repaid with one's life; otherwise, he would be ungrateful.

After all, if his father had died back then, Chen Muyu wouldn't be here either, so he saved two lives.

Hearing Chen Muyu's response, Chen Jianzhong's frown eased a bit.

"Dad, how much does Uncle Xu's family owe?" Chen Muyu was still rational. The family should have some savings, so why would Dad consider selling the recycling station?

"About two million yuan," Dad said.

"So much?" Chen Muyu was a bit surprised.

For Chen Muyu's family, two million yuan wasn't a small amount, but it wasn't a huge sum either.

"I don't oppose this, but most of the money we've earned in recent years has been used to buy property. We only have about a million yuan in the bank. It's hard to come up with such a large sum all at once," Mom said, looking worried.

Hearing Mom's account, Chen Muyu almost drooled. If he managed the finances, how much wealth would he have?

Dad lit another cigarette, "I've thought about it. Your mother is right. Our business isn't very respectable, and it's getting harder to make a living. Plus, Qin Lao San has been targeting us. Given his temper, once he sets his sights on something, he won't stop until he gets it. It's better to avoid trouble. As long as he offers a reasonable price, we'll give it to him!"

Saying this, Chen Jianzhong seemed to have shed a heavy burden, exhaling a long puff of smoke.

"Dad!"

Chen Muyu was touched, "We don't have to rush. Maybe I can help a bit..."

Although Dad said he wanted to sell, his hesitation in avoiding Qin Hong showed that Chen Jianzhong was a bit hesitant about it.

"I'm not in a rush, but Uncle Xu's family is. They're being harassed and threatened every day. Who can stand that?" Chen Jianzhong glared, "You can't even take care of yourself, how can you help?"

Chen Muyu was a bit embarrassed. He couldn't say that he had a painting that might sell for a good price, as he wasn't sure if it was genuine, and even if it was, it was just a damaged painting.

...

Before going to bed, Dad was still sitting in the living room, smoking.

Chen Muyu ignored him, closed the door, and started researching the Multiverse Recycling Station in his mind, trying to understand its functions and how it had suddenly appeared in his head.

Unfortunately, without money, nothing could be done.

"Host currently has 1 recycler. Do you want to recruit more?"

A message suddenly appeared in Chen Muyu's mind, somewhat inexplicably.

Recruit a recycler?

It should be similar to hiring workers for the recycling station, right?

After a moment's hesitation, Chen Muyu chose to confirm.

"Recruitment information has been sent. Please wait patiently!"

Another message appeared in his mind, then it was like a stone sinking into the sea, with no further response.

"Is that it?"

After waiting for a long time with no response, Chen Muyu complained and went to bed.

...

—

The next morning, Chen Muyu first went to the bank to check his account.

Balance: 2000 yuan. Indeed, it was linked to the system's wealth value.

He had to sell the painting in his hand as soon as possible, or Dad might really sell the recycling station left by Grandpa.

Leaving the bank, Chen Muyu, with a bit of anticipation, took a taxi to the west side of the city.

...

Qingshan City isn't very big, but it's not small either. It took about half an hour to get from the south gate to the west gate.

There's an old goods market in the west gate called Huanhua Garden, as the name suggests.

Huanhua Garden is in a shantytown, one of the few older districts in the city. It lacks management, giving it a chaotic feel. It's a market for old goods, with plenty of fake cigarettes, fake alcohol, and fake antiques, and all sorts of shady characters.