Chapter 1

Two cars were driving along the national highway by Xiuan Reservoir. They soon passed through Lanxi Town.

Xiuan City, Lanxi County, and Lanxi Town were, sixty years ago, just a small mountain village with only a few dozen people.

Sixty years ago, the Xiuan Dam was constructed, turning the mountains into a vast lake.

The towns and villages submerged by the reservoir had some of their residents relocated to Xiuan City, while others were resettled nearby.

Lanxi Village, due to its suitable geographical location and relatively open terrain, was chosen as a resettlement point. Its population increased tenfold in a short time, and it was upgraded to Lanxi Town, later becoming the seat of the Lanxi County government.

Lanxi Town is located by the reservoir.

About two kilometers southwest of the town, by the reservoir, there is a village called Xikou.

A concrete road runs through Xikou Village and extends another 1.5 kilometers southwest to its end.

This place was originally a gorge. Now, it is a small reservoir, with a dam less than ten meters long, located just a few dozen meters from the Xiuan Reservoir.

The concrete village road climbs up to the small reservoir dam at its end, leading to a thirty-acre flat area.

In the middle of this flat area stands a large three-section house with green walls and black tiles. The entrance has five stone steps, and at the bottom of the steps, there is a pair of stone lions.

The main door of the house is wide open, and a young man walked out.

His name is Feng Shen, and he has been the current owner of the house for less than a month. Today, his friend said he would come, bringing two other friends.

He had just received a call from his friend saying they were almost there, so he came out to wait.

At the bottom of the flat area, there is an iron gate on the concrete road.

The iron gate is connected to a wall.

The wall extends upward to the top of the flat area, then circles around the edge and goes up the mountain, connecting to a wire fence.

Downward, the wall extends directly to the edge of the Xiuan Reservoir's drawdown zone, then connects to a two-meter-high concrete pillar and wire fence, forming a gate at a sloping pier. It finally crosses the waterway between the small reservoir and the Xiuan Reservoir, climbing up the cliff.

Inside the wall is all Feng Shen's land, including the small reservoir.

Although it is called a small reservoir, it is only relative to the Xiuan Reservoir. In fact, it covers an area of about 500 to 600 acres, submerging the entire gorge.

The reservoir is winding, about three kilometers long, with a maximum width of over 200 meters and a narrowest point of only 30 meters. Its shape is so winding that it is called "Fish Intestine."

Feng Shen used a remote control to open the iron gate and waited for about ten minutes, but his friends still hadn't arrived.

This was unusual.

When they called, they said they had already passed Lanxi Town, and it should have taken only three to four minutes to get here.

Could they have taken a wrong turn?

He waited another four or five minutes before finally seeing a large Mercedes-Benz drive onto the flat area, followed by a Volkswagen. He also saw his friend in the driver's seat of the Mercedes.

He pressed the remote control to close the iron gate and gestured for the cars to move forward. There was a metal shed where he parked his car, and it could accommodate about ten more cars.

The two cars parked, and three men got out.

Wei Shijin slammed the car door and walked over with a smile, opening his arms.

They hugged...

Wei Shijin and Feng Shen were classmates in university and roommates for four years. After graduation, when Wei Shijin started his business, he asked Feng Shen to work hard for him, and they have always cooperated well.

Feng Shen had recently decided to return to inherit this place and resigned from his job. Wei Shijin was very reluctant to let him go and tried every way to keep him. Unfortunately, he didn't succeed.

However, this didn't affect their close friendship.

As a second-generation rich kid, Wei Shijin becoming such a close friend to Feng Shen was quite unexpected by everyone.

He is the same age as Feng Shen, just three days older, with a short haircut and wearing a white polo shirt, looking very energetic. In reality, he is a carefree and unpredictable person.

Feng Shen, on the other hand, is very disciplined and cautious in his dealings with people.

Feng Shen often wondered why Wei Shijin looked up to him so much. He even asked when Wei Shijin was drunk.

Wei Shijin replied, "Because on the surface, we both fit in with the crowd, but deep down, we are both solitary and handsome men."

After that, Feng Shen never asked again.

Feng Shen let go of Wei Shijin and asked, "Did you take a wrong turn on the way?" Before Xikou Village, there is a bridge on the national highway that crosses a branch of the lake. He suspected they might have made a mistake there.

Wei Shijin laughed and said, "Your place is so remote that even GPS doesn't work accurately. We just passed the bridge."

"Who are you, Wei Shijin? A little GPS inaccuracy can't stop you?"

Feng Shen laughed and shot back, then looked at the two men who got out of the Volkswagen.

Both men wore glasses and looked to be around thirty years old.

He didn't recognize them.

"This is my brother, Feng Shen. This farm is his," Wei Shijin said, then introduced the two men to Feng Shen: "This is Director Zhuang from Huating TV. This is Mr. Wu from Zhuoying Culture Company."

Feng Shen shook hands with both men and welcomed them.

"Feng Shen, your place seems to cover several thousand acres," Mr. Wu said.

Feng Shen smiled and replied, "It's said to be over 3,000 acres, but apart from the water surface and this flat area, there isn't much usable land."

Wei Shijin laughed and said, "Your reservoir is quite nice... Director Zhuang and Mr. Wu are looking for a suitable place to film a new program. You know the area well; do you have any recommendations?"

Feng Shen listened and looked at Mr. Wu and Director Zhuang, smiling. "There are many good places around the Xiuan Reservoir. There are seven or eight national forest parks alone. What kind of place are you looking for?"

Mr. Wu smiled and said, "We want to film a leisure and entertainment program."

"A countryside life that relieves the stress of city life?"

"Something like that."

Feng Shen was a bit puzzled. If they really wanted to film such a program, shouldn't they look for a place far from the city?

This area, though in the mountains, is not far from the city.

After all, it is on the edge of the most prosperous region in the country.

There is a highway exit near Lanxi Town, and it is only about 200 kilometers from Hangzhou City.

He thought for a moment and said with a smile, "The sun is too strong outside. Let's go inside first."

The main door of the house is on the right side of the front, about 1.6 meters wide. The two heavy wooden doors are about 8 centimeters thick.

The threshold is not high but is made of stone.

Director Zhuang accidentally glanced at the door bolt and was surprised. "This door... is it made of rosewood?" The door bolt was well-worn, and the wood grain was visible. He immediately recognized it as rosewood.

If the door bolt is rosewood, the door itself should be too.

Rosewood, scientifically known as Dalbergia cochinchinensis, is strong, hard, and resistant to insect damage. It is now a very expensive wood, costing 300,000 to 400,000 yuan per ton.

Using it for a door, wouldn't it be stolen for candy?

Feng Shen looked at it and smiled, "I'm not too sure... Let's go inside, the living room is in the second section."

He wasn't sure how valuable the door was. However, when the house was built, it probably wasn't very valuable, or perhaps his second uncle had connections.

Now it might be valuable, but he didn't want to admit it, nor did he need to deny it.

After all, experts can see through it at a glance, while others would just think it was made of hard miscellaneous wood.

There was no point in saying more!

The entrance hall is small, only about ten square meters, with a dragon and phoenix relief wall. Turning past the wall, there is a large courtyard.

On both sides of the courtyard are covered corridors. In the middle is a stone path, with flat blue brick ground on both sides. There are several thirty-year-old poplar trees, lush and green.

In front is a row of houses, level with the entrance hall, with a total of six rooms.

Directly opposite is a large hall. The entrance to the hall is very wide, about two meters.

They walked into the hall through the stone path. Crossing a one-foot-high rosewood threshold, the hall is empty, with a wooden screen wall connected to the wooden pillars on both sides. The wooden door is thick and can be opened, with a one-and-a-half-foot-high threshold below.

However, this is a feature of large houses, usually serving as a wall. It is only opened for particularly respected guests or on New Year's Day for welcoming the gods and good fortune.

On a regular day, people use the one-meter-wide wooden archways on both sides of the pillars to enter the second section.

After passing through the hall, there is another courtyard, but this one is much smaller. There are moon gates on both sides, and there are also moon gates on both sides of the hall, making it look like a small courtyard.

Wei Shijin laughed and asked Feng Shen, "Are these courtyards used for homestays?"

"Before, they were. But they have been closed for over a year."

Mr. Wu smiled and said, "Your place is quite nice. If you did homestays, business should be good. Such courtyards are suitable for families to visit... Are you not planning to do homestays anymore?"

"It's not intentional. This place used to belong to my second uncle. He had no children around, and as he got older and his health declined, he stopped. After he passed away, I inherited it a month ago."

Wei Shijin said, "Mr. Wu, Director Zhuang, you don't know. He graduated and started a business with me. If he had continued for two more years, buying a house in Huating wouldn't have been a problem. But he came here to inherit this place. I almost died of frustration."

Director Zhuang and Mr. Wu didn't know how to respond, so they just smiled.

Feng Shen smiled and said, "Don't sound like a怨妇 (complaining woman). Yibo is on track, and I'm a bit tired... These days have been the most relaxed I've had in years."

Mr. Wu then said, "That's just to say everyone has their own aspirations!"

When Feng Shen resigned, everything that needed to be said was said. A month has passed, and Wei Shijin's dissatisfaction has long faded. He wasn't really complaining but just trying to make the atmosphere more familiar.

"I just think it's a pity. Inheriting this place means taking on over ten million in debt... Even if you sold it, you couldn't pay it off."

The last sentence was directed at Feng Shen. Deep down, he was still a bit unwilling. He thought Feng Shen shouldn't retire to the countryside at this time.

Feng Shen had to take on his second uncle's bank debt to inherit this place. However, if it weren't for the debt, this place wouldn't have been his to inherit.

His second uncle borrowed 18 million yuan from the bank through credit, mortgage, and guaranteed loans to help his son, but he couldn't save him—his son was killed.

His second uncle's daughter, who should have been the first in line to inherit, gave up her rights because the place was only valued at 14 million yuan. Inheriting it would result in a 4 million yuan loss.

Not only did his aunt give up her inheritance rights, but his cousin, the second in line, also gave up. Finally, they found him, a blood relative and a member of the same household.

He was willing to inherit it.

This clearly disadvantageous decision was hard for others to understand.

His public explanation was that he was raised by his second uncle and didn't want to see his efforts go to waste.

In reality, when the bank's lawyer contacted him, he received some good news.

The message appeared directly in his mind: ["'Beautiful Life' system successfully activated. Signing conditions: land, house... Signing conditions not met. Please achieve the signing conditions as soon as possible. If the conditions are not met within a month, it will be considered a waiver of the contract..."]

["System activation package has been sent..."]

Receiving those two system messages, he immediately agreed to inherit the house, taking on the corresponding debt.

He resigned and returned to Xikou Village almost a month ago.

Now, all the signing conditions have been met.

The house, of course, is this house.

In a broad sense, he has several thousand acres. In a narrow sense, there are over ten acres of dry land on one side of the flat area, to the left of the house.

In the back yard, there are a few acres of garden, and on the hillside, there are a few acres of terraced fields.

There were no paddy fields originally. Below the concrete road to the Xiuan Reservoir's drawdown zone, there are three terraced fields, which were created to meet the system's signing conditions.

The total area is about twenty acres, but because ditches were dug for fish, only about fifteen to sixteen acres are planted with rice.

Before planting, the signing conditions were not considered met, as the system probably thought it wasn't a paddy field until it was planted with crops.

At that time, he was almost out of money, but he still dug out his last bit of savings to buy fertilizer and hire people to plant the seedlings.

Rushing to meet the deadline, he paid extra to the villagers to work faster, just managing to meet the signing conditions before the deadline.

To inherit this place, the tens of thousands of yuan used to pay the bank interest were not wasted.

If the system hadn't signed, he wouldn't have been confident in earning enough to pay the bank interest, let alone save money to pay off the principal in a few years.

The system only recognized the conditions as met yesterday.

This morning, the system gave him the ["Signing Package"]. At the same time, Feng Shen could start signing in the system.

The system said: ["Sign in every day, enjoy every day."]

In the system, he could see the next 360 consecutive sign-ins. This should be the first round of sign-ins, and if he can sign in successfully every day, it would be about a year.

The system promised a reward for each sign-in.

However, for some special sign-ins, such as the first, fifth, tenth, fifteenth, twentieth, thirtieth, fortieth, sixtieth, eightieth, and hundredth, he could see special package icons.

The contents of those packages are unknown for now.

Feng Shen felt that the system interface looked like a low-quality online game, and the sign-in reward system should be similar—more consecutive sign-ins mean better rewards.

If that's the case, Feng Shen feels hopeful about the future.

He isn't greedy. He is already quite satisfied with what the system has given him so far.

By today, he has received three packages from the system: ["System Activation Package"], ["System Signing Package"], and ["First Sign-in Package"].

Those three packages are probably starter packages. The contents are quite good and have given him confidence.

Taking on 18 million yuan in debt shouldn't result in a loss in the future.

But could he tell others about this?

Of course not.

He also didn't want to use empty words to敷衍 (fuyan,敷衍 means to应付 (pay off) or敷衍了事 (handle perfunctorily)) his close friend: "Why say all that? Let's sit down and have some tea."

---

2021.06.27 Addendum:

Last week, the book was tested, and it relied entirely on the support of all the readers, with their collections and recommendations. I am very grateful.

Additionally, the book has been updated daily for thirteen consecutive days with over 3,000 words each day. Before it goes on sale, daily updates will exceed 4,000 words. And I don't want to abandon it again. The book will definitely go on sale, and it will definitely be completed after it goes on sale.

So, investing in this book now will at least yield three key points of profit: thirty consecutive days of 3,000-word updates, the book going on sale, and the book being completed.