Chapter 49 - 51: Hiring the System as a Worker

Chapter 49: Chapter 51: Hiring the System as a Worker

When the first truck drove up to the fish pond, all the anglers cast curious glances in its direction.

"Driver, pull up to the end of the road."

Chen Yuan had arrived with the truck. The first one had to unload at the very end, or the others wouldn’t be able to get in.

"Boss Chen, what are you up to?"

Seeing Chen Yuan jump down from the truck, the anglers couldn’t help but ask, their curiosity piqued.

"Haha, you know how the pond is surrounded by dirt paths on three sides? I was thinking they get slippery when wet, which affects the fishing experience. So, I figured I’d have them compacted and paved with a layer of cement."

Chen Yuan jumped out, closed the truck door, and pointed to a small slope on the opposite side.

"And over there, I’m going to clear that out and build a toilet. That way, you gentlemen won’t have to run to my house anymore. It’ll save a lot of time going back and forth, and maybe you’ll even catch a few more fish."

The anglers were stunned.

Then, someone started clapping in admiration.

"I’ve really seen how much of a big shot Boss Chen is. He’s spending a fortune to build a road and a toilet just for our convenience."

The other anglers also clapped and cheered.

They praised Boss Chen for being down-to-earth and magnanimous.

He says he’ll build a road, and he builds a road. He says he’ll build a toilet, and he builds a toilet.

What other fishing spot would show this much respect to a bunch of anglers like them?

"Driver, you can back up a little more."

While Chen Yuan was talking to the anglers, Chen Dequan and his wife had shrewdly made their way over to the truck and were already directing the driver to back up further.

’That kind of perceptiveness... No wonder Dad appreciated him back then, even if he was a bit slow on the uptake.’

"Okay, okay, that’s enough! You can raise the truck bed now. Easy does it~"

Chen Dequan had often done this kind of work on construction sites. He was truly in his element now, methodically instructing the driver to tilt the truck bed.

"That’s good, driver!"

Seeing that it was tilted enough, Chen Dequan shouted to the driver, then motioned for Liu Fang to help him stack the bags of cement off to the side.

Chen Yuan was about to go help.

"Leave this work to us. You go contact a construction crew and get this stuff taken care of as soon as possible."

Chen Jun rode over on a three-wheeler and called out to him. His uncle was sitting in the back, and not only that, but Tang Ying and Lin Cuiju had also been summoned. Both families had come out in full force.

"Alright."

Chen Yuan thought for a moment. This really did need to be done as quickly as possible.

’If I open for night fishing, there won’t be time to work on the paths. And once the cement is poured, it has to cure.’

"Boss Chen, you haven’t found a construction crew yet?"

Just as Chen Yuan pulled out his phone, unsure of who to call and thinking of asking in the group chat or contacting Uncle Bin, the truck driver hopped out of the cab, walked over, and held out a cigarette.

"Yeah."

Chen Yuan took the cigarette and answered casually. But just as he was about to light it, something occurred to him, and he snapped his head up to look at the driver.

’How could I have forgotten about the System?’

’This guy is definitely from the Store, or he works for the System.’

’Once or twice could be a coincidence, but he’s the one who makes the delivery every single time. It’d be weird if he had nothing to do with the System.’

"Driver, do you have any suggestions?"

Chen Yuan smiled and lit the driver’s cigarette for him.

"When it comes to matters of the fishing spot, you’ve asked the right person."

The driver lowered his head, brought the cigarette to the flame, and took a long, satisfying drag after it was lit.

Chen Yuan’s expression brightened, and he looked at the man expectantly. But after saying that one sentence, the driver didn’t say another damn thing for the longest time, just kept smoking.

’What’s that supposed to mean?’

Remembering how the driver had seemed hesitant to speak earlier, Chen Yuan had a guess and asked tentatively,

"You must know a thing or two about construction, right, driver?"

"I can do it all."

The driver nodded matter-of-factly. It was hard to tell if he was bluffing, but his calm and composed demeanor exuded confidence.

Chen Yuan was inclined to believe him.

’After all, he’s very likely one of the System’s people. How could he not be amazing?’

"Can I hire you to help with the construction?"

"Of course, you can. When you’re out and about, you’re just trying to make a living. Who would turn down work?"

The driver’s face suddenly broke into a brilliant smile. He seemed even more excited than Chen Yuan, as if he had been waiting for him to ask all along.

"What are the terms of employment?"

Chen Yuan chuckled and lit his own cigarette. With a driver from the System, not only could he get this project done, but he might even get some direction for the future development of the fishing spot.

"That depends on you."

The driver looked at Chen Yuan.

"How so?" 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

Chen Yuan was confused.

"There are generally two options. The first is a monthly salary. That means you have to pay me every month, whether there’s work or not. The other is piece-rate, where you call me whenever there’s a job, and we settle the payment for each job individually."

The driver explained.

"How much is the monthly salary?"

Chen Yuan asked while smoking. The piece-rate system was too much trouble; a monthly retainer was much more convenient.

The driver held up two fingers.

"Twenty thousand?"

’Twenty thousand a month for an omni-capable engineer... that doesn’t seem too expensive.’

"The number is right, but what I want is points. And that’s just the base salary. Each job will still cost an additional amount of points, but it’s much cheaper than the piece-rate. The monthly salary is definitely the best choice."

The driver gave a sly grin.

’Holy shit~’

Chen Yuan’s eyes went wide.

’He even mentioned points, and he still dares to say he has nothing to do with the System?!’

"Spill it. What’s your relationship with the System?"

Chen Yuan lowered his voice, his guard up. A chill ran down his spine.

The System was his biggest secret. Now, someone who knew about it—and was a worker from the System, no less—had suddenly appeared. Who the hell knew what would happen?

"No need to worry, Boss Chen. You are the host chosen by the System, and we are merely simulation robots created by the System. Strictly speaking, you are our boss."

The driver pointed to his own head. "We have programs in here. We are not allowed to expose the System or the host, nor can we disobey the System or the host, or have any malicious thoughts. Otherwise, the moment such a thought arises, we’re instantly scrapped."

’Phew~’

’That scared the crap out of me.’

’If he were here to usurp my role as the host, that would’ve been a huge problem.’

’Thankfully, the System is rigorous and holds their lives firmly in its grasp.’

’No matter how awesome they are, they can’t make any waves.’

Of course, Chen Yuan didn’t just take his word for it. He secretly asked the System and received the same answer, which finally allowed him to relax completely.

"You’re really robots?"

Completely at ease now, Chen Yuan curiously sized up the man. He looked to be made of flesh and blood, possessed a unique consciousness, and was indistinguishable from a real person. ’This is a robot?’

"CLANG CLANG."

The driver glanced around to make sure no one was looking, then tapped his left hand with his right, producing a metallic clanging sound.

"Badass~"

Chen Yuan gave him a thumbs-up. All he could say was that the System’s technology was definitely light-years ahead of the rest of the world.

"By the way, what do you guys need points for?"

Chen Yuan was very curious. What could a simulation robot do with points? Don’t tell me they have living expenses like humans do?

"To maintain our parts and upgrade our programs."

The driver finished his cigarette, tossed the butt on the ground, and stamped it out with his foot.

"Our programs only have a ten-year lifespan. Without maintenance, they’ll become overloaded and could be scrapped in three to five years. If we don’t want to be scrapped, we have to perform maintenance and then upgrade our programs to enter the next ten-year cycle."

Chen Yuan understood.

’Maintenance is like humans taking medicine when they’re sick.’

’And upgrading is like extending their lives.’

"Let’s go with the monthly salary then. Base pay and commission will be distributed at the end of each month. Any problem with that?"

Having finished his cigarette, Chen Yuan got down to business.

"No problem."

"Then take a look and tell me how many points it’ll cost to pave the paths with cement and to level that small slope to build the toilet."

"It’s a small job. Should only take a few hours. Five thousand points in total."

The driver estimated.

’That’s not too expensive,’ Chen Yuan muttered to himself.

’If I hired an outside crew, with the fees for bringing in excavators and bulldozers, plus labor costs, and then they dragged it out for a few days, it would cost at least twenty or thirty thousand.’

’Five thousand points for the complete job, excluding materials, followed the pricing tradition of the System Store.’

"I’m fine with that. You can start preparing. As soon as the customers leave, you guys can begin. I might open for night fishing tomorrow, so this has to be finished today to ensure it’s usable by tomorrow."

Chen Yuan was ready to be a hands-off manager.

’It’s just points, after all.’

’Once night fishing opens up and I’m running two sessions, will I need to worry about not having points?’

"Boss Chen, if you’re going to build, this isn’t nearly enough."

The driver said suddenly.

Chen Yuan froze.

’What does he mean?’