Richest Rag-picker

Chapter 305: Chapter 304: If You Don’t Study Hard, You’ll Have to Collect Junk

Xia Huren, on the other end of the line, was utterly dumbfounded. For a moment, his brain simply short-circuited.

He couldn’t wrap his head around what Fang Chenyi had just said. ’Give it to everyone to drink for free? What does that even mean?’

After a long pause, Xia Huren swallowed hard and asked uncertainly, "Mr. Fang, forgive my bluntness, but what exactly do you mean by ’give it to everyone to drink for free’?"

"It means exactly what it sounds like," Fang Chenyi said. "My hand slipped, and I accidentally ordered a billion yuan worth of Coca-Cola. I can’t possibly drink it all myself, so I figured I might as well treat the entire country. And since the money’s already spent, I can use this as a chance to promote my company. So, any problem with that on your end?"

"N-N-No problem at all. In that case, I’ll be waiting for your design files."

Xia Huren’s brain officially crashed. ’Holy hell,’ he thought. ’Treating the entire country to Coke... This is the first time I’ve ever heard of something so damn incredible.’

’This isn’t ’Young Master Fang is covering the bill for everyone here’ anymore. This is ’Young Master Fang is covering the goddamn bill for the entire nation’!’

They exchanged a few more words, agreeing that Fang Chenyi would send the design files over that evening, and then Fang Chenyi hung up.

Never mind how Xia Huren was scrambling to prepare for round-the-clock overtime to produce all that Coke. Back on Fang Chenyi’s end...

After getting off the phone with Xia Huren, he called his father-in-law.

’It just occurred to me,’ he thought, ’that my father-in-law’s side has always had a high demand for Coca-Cola.’

After all, with so many planes in the Southern Airlines fleet, the daily demand for Coke on the flights alone was a considerable amount.

Once the call connected, he briefly told his father-in-law about the matter and then asked about the current state of the company.

It had to be said, Fang Chenyi’s method was incredibly effective. With the employees below them eyeing their positions hungrily, every newly promoted manager was working with all their might, terrified that the seat they had just warmed would be snatched away by one of their former colleagues.

Meanwhile, the rank-and-file employees were full of fighting spirit, focused on proving themselves in hopes of getting promoted.

As a result, the employees at Southern Airlines were more motivated than ever before. After all, Fang Chenyi’s method had given every single person hope—a tangible goal right within their grasp.

Hearing the excitement in his father-in-law’s voice, Fang Chenyi knew he was genuinely thrilled.

After a few minutes of conversation, his father-in-law mentioned he had to attend a meeting about relocating the headquarters, so they ended the call.

Everything was moving in the right direction, which left Fang Chenyi feeling quite pleased.

He slipped his phone back into his pocket, and his gaze fell upon the sea of empty bottles covering the ground. His eyes immediately began to sparkle.

’I really didn’t expect these bottles to trigger a special system reward,’ he thought. ’What a pleasant surprise.’

’No time to dwell on it. There are still bottles in a dozen more trash cans to collect.’

And so, the trash grabber in Fang Chenyi’s hand moved like a blur, plucking plastic bottles from the ground and trash cans and tossing them one by one into his woven sack.

All the while, the system’s collection notifications chimed continuously in his mind.

[Master has collected one plastic bottle. System reward: 100 yuan. The reward has been deposited into Master’s bank account. Please verify receipt.]

...

The area was filled with parents waiting for their children to finish their exams, so Fang Chenyi’s activities naturally drew a lot of attention.

It wasn’t just what he was doing; it was that his age and ridiculously handsome face seemed completely out of place for a scrap collector.

If an old man were doing it, no one would have batted an eye.

Fang Chenyi was just about to finish clearing out a trash can, planning to pretend his sack was full and take it back to his car. Just then, the voice of a middle-aged man drifted into his ear. The man, clad in a suit and leaning against the hood of a Honda Accord, was speaking to a seven or eight-year-old boy.

"Son, do you see that? You have to study hard in the future. Otherwise, you’ll end up like that man over there, collecting trash at such a young age. You have to understand, without a degree these days, no company will hire you."

Looking up and seeing the scene, Fang Chenyi couldn’t help but give a wry, helpless smile. Since it was just a parent trying to teach his kid a lesson, he didn’t say anything. Instead, he picked up the last few bottles on the ground, stood up, and headed toward his car with the sack in hand.

He walked to the back of his Hongqi, popped the trunk, and made a show of tossing the sack inside. Then, reaching in again, he pulled out the now-empty sack, pretending it was a fresh one. He even gave it a little shake as he took it out.

At that very moment, the little boy who had just been lectured by his father stared at Fang Chenyi’s actions and spoke to his dad in a confused tone.

"Dad, look! That trash-picking guy’s car is huge! I think it’s even bigger than our car."

The man, sweltering in his suit, had been busy checking out the more attractive mothers in the crowd. Hearing his son, he followed the boy’s pointing finger just in time to see Fang Chenyi close the trunk of his car. A wave of embarrassment washed over his face. ’Holy shit,’ he thought, ’I spoke too soon!’

’What’s with this guy?’ he fumed inwardly. ’Driving a car like that and he’s out here collecting trash? He’s an even bigger show-off than I am! He must be using this as a gimmick to get the attention of all the moms here.’

’Damn, that’s just devious.’

With that thought, he couldn’t help but say to his son:

"Mm, you see that? That’s what happens when you don’t study. It’s bad enough he has to work as someone’s driver, but he even has to collect trash on the side to make ends meet. Alright, stop staring. You better study hard in the future."

Fang Chenyi, of course, had no idea what the man was thinking. And even if he had, he wouldn’t have given him the time of day.

After making a show of getting a new sack, Fang Chenyi returned to the remaining trash cans and continued his collection.

[Master has collected one middle school math workbook with corrected problems. System reward: 8,000 yuan. The reward has been deposited into Master’s bank account. Please verify receipt.]

...

After another flurry of activity, a steady stream of system notifications continued to chime in his head.

Whenever he felt the sack was getting full, he would run back to the trunk to "empty" it. He did this three times in total, until only a single trash can remained. However, even after he had collected everything from it, no new special reward appeared.

However, just as Fang Chenyi finished collecting all the trash and was about to head back, the man in the suit with the Honda Accord waved him over.

"Hey, trash-picking kid! I’ve got a few bottles here. You want ’em?"

...