Star Tycoon

Chapter 3 Collecting Junk

夜晚
The electric light dancing at your fingertips is my unwavering faith; only my Railgun will endure forever!

Tian Ersan quickly came up with a title that would resonate with the anime and manga community at this time, and also posted the edited video.

Although you won't get paid for watching videos and it's difficult for fans to monetize their fanbase, you can create fan groups. In a group of several hundred people, there are bound to be a few wealthy guys.

Having more fans is definitely a good thing.

After posting a spliced ​​video that resonated with anime fans, Tian Ersan quickly started live streaming to earn money for food.

"Family! We can't lose! If we win, I'll perform my special act for you all: biting a lighter!!!"

In one night, Tian Ersan earned five hundred yuan.

There was no luck involved, only skill.

If a handsome and eloquent young man is willing to put aside his pride to earn money, he can earn five hundred a day!

The next morning, Tian Ersan began tidying up the house.

"I never imagined my grandfather would leave me so much wealth."

Tian Ersan looked at the broken cardboard boxes and bottles in the room and showed a distressed expression.

What a shame!
Tian Ersan sighed and quickly began working upstairs and downstairs, cleaning up the cardboard, broken bottles, and dirty clothes in the house.

Not long after, Tian Ersan took the junk to the recycling station.

If we don't hurry up and accumulate 100,000 yuan, we won't have the money to start that system that we don't even know what it is!

Tian Ersan has hands and feet and can even wiggle his butt in the live stream, so he definitely won't starve. His main reason for wanting to see what that system is all about is.

The roads in the old town are complex; apart from the main roads leading into the city, the other side streets are much more rugged.

Tian Ersan wasn't in a hurry to go to the scrap yard; he rode his tricycle to familiarize himself with the road conditions.

There aren't many old houses nearby. In the narrow alleys, which are only three or four meters wide, there are many cement buildings and courtyards, mostly four or five stories high with enclosed cement courtyards.

The old street began to decline twenty years ago, mainly due to the construction of the new urban area.

Ten years ago, the county's bus station became the old station, and a new station was built in the new urban area.

Five years ago in 08, long-distance buses were banned from entering the city, and passenger stations were built in the suburbs outside the city, and new bus routes were set up.

The real fatal blow came four years ago.

At that time, two nearby schools moved to new campuses, which resulted in fewer people renting houses there, and supermarkets and restaurants were also subletting their prime locations.

With a large number of empty houses unoccupied, the city dwellers who collected rent had to find something to do and soon moved out of this desolate old district to live in apartment buildings with elevators in the county or city.

The lack of people made it seem very desolate, with most of the houses on both sides of the alley having their doors tightly shut.

Some walls are overgrown with weeds, and disgusting feces can be seen everywhere.

Tian Ersan pedaled his tricycle, looking at the vast expanse of village and town-level buildings on both sides.

"Even if the property prices rise in a few years and the area is demolished, it will most likely remain an unfinished building."

“I checked yesterday, and the house prices here are two to three thousand yuan per square meter. The cement houses in these alleys are at most two thousand yuan per square meter. I heard that the houses near the young women here are very shady. I feel that the demolition team can squeeze the price down to five or six hundred yuan per square meter.”

“My house is on the side of the road. If I rent it out, I can get a little over a thousand a month. If I sell it, I won’t get much money.”

Tian Ersan rode his bicycle around, looking at everything.

Soon, an old man eating at the door saw Tian Ersan.

"Hey kid, come here! How much is cardboard per pound?"

Tian Ersan was not one to respect the elderly or care for the young, so he walked away as if he hadn't heard anything.

Not swearing is already a sign of good manners.

If he continued to wander around, he would still be mistaken for a junk collector, so Tian Ersan decided to go to the scrap yard and sell his junk first.

They hadn't walked far when someone called out to them again.

"Do you collect junk books?"

A beautiful woman in her thirties stood at her doorstep; this was still a traditional alleyway.

The door behind the woman had been splashed with red paint, making it stand out starkly against the original rusty, warped iron door.

Tian Ersan said irritably, "I didn't bring a scale! I won't accept it!"

I sell junk, why would I buy anything?

Zhang Shuya quickly walked to the middle of the grassy brick path and blocked the tricycle's way. She said gently and somewhat ingratiatingly, "Just give me whatever you want. They're all books, no need to weigh them."

Tian Ersan judged that the young woman was only in her early thirties. She had a mature and delicate appearance, and she wasn't wearing much in the middle of summer. It looked like she was only wearing a white dress. Her hair was tied up at the back of her head with a hairpin, giving her a lazy and soft temperament.

Zhang Shuya felt embarrassed but also amused as she watched the handsome young man staring at her soft body.

"Are you buying or not? We don't have many books. Come in and take a look, or you can choose not to."

Zhang Shuya grabbed Tian Ersan's bicycle handlebars and "persuaded" him to go back with her.

Tian Ersan felt he had nothing to be fooled, so he got off and pushed his tricycle over there.

Just as I got out of the car and was about to follow, the old woman from before raised her hand and waved, calling out, "Come over here after you've finished collecting your stuff! I have some things here too!"

Tian Ersan didn't look at the old woman, and quickly followed the young woman through the tin door that looked like it had been kicked open.

The yard was a bit damp, with traces of water spilled on the ground and a hand pump.

The courtyard walls were covered in moldy water stains and had a decaying, sandy base, indicating that they had been in disrepair for many years. There were no vehicles or other means of transportation, and apart from women's clothes drying in the sun, there was no sign of men's activity.

There is a flower bed in the yard, but the plants in it have been dead for a long time.

The main house is a three-story building, and some windows show obvious signs of breakage.

Tian Ersan parked the car and followed the woman into the dimly lit house.

Inside the room were a broken sofa and some leftover rice, steamed buns, and pickled vegetables from the morning meal. There were also several pairs of women's shoes on the floor, including leather shoes, slippers, and high heels.

But they all look cheap.

There were also some plastic sheets, seemingly covering something, and several glass bottles on a nearby table.

Zhang Shuya walked towards the inner room. "This way, my sister's last day of the college entrance exam is today. She doesn't need any books. Just give me a price. I don't know how to read scales, but since you seem like an honest person, just give me whatever you want."

Tian Ersan followed the woman into the house, which was a dark room filled with many items.

The curtains are drawn, making it dark and the room a bit chilly.

As Tian Ersan walked forward, the woman turned around to speak, and the two bumped into each other.

Tian Ersan quickly reached out and touched it, pretending to be embarrassed, and said, "Why isn't the light on? I almost fell. Are you alright, sis?"

The room was dimly lit; although you could see roughly what was going on, it wasn't very clear.

In addition, the somewhat enclosed environment and the age difference between the two gave Zhang Shuya, who was in her early thirties, a thrilling feeling of wanting to take the initiative to make a move on this boy who looked to be seventeen or eighteen.

Zhang Shuya wasn't embarrassed at all, and said with a smile, "It's okay. I thought you were an honest kid, but I didn't expect you to be so glib."

"Sigh!" Tian Ersan sighed.

Zhang Shuya looked at Tian Ersan and said, "Why are you sighing? You look more worried than I am."

Tian Ersan said, "I sigh. If I were to pretend to be an honest boy in front of a woman as beautiful as you, I would have no chance with a woman as beautiful as you."

Zhang Shuya felt that this kid was good at talking, so she cooperated and said, "So, are you being honest now, or not?"

Tian Ersan looked at her with a mischievous grin, "So, do you prefer me to be honest, or dishonest?"

Zhang Shuya turned her head to look to the side and said with a smile, "You don't seem like an honest person."

"I'm an honest kid," Tian Ersan quickly praised himself. "I've been an honest kid since I was a child."

Zhang Shuya glanced down at Tian Ersan again, then quickly looked at his youthful face and said with a smile, "You say you're honest, but you're not honest in other ways."

"Behave yourself down there too." Tian Ersan walked to the bedside, which was clearly belonging to a girl, and sat down, crossing his legs. "You're dressed so beautifully, and I'm perfectly healthy. If I stay obedient, wouldn't something be wrong with me?"

Zhang Shuya didn't dare to continue and quickly said, "It's broad daylight, don't do this, this is my cousin's bed."

Tian Ersan looked around and noticed that there were still candles on the desk.

"Then let's turn on the light. You look like you have something on your mind, and I have quite a few things on mine too. Are you talking about those books in the corner?"

Zhang Shuya breathed a sigh of relief, feeling both relaxed and embarrassed, yet also somewhat disappointed.

“Everything in the house counts. My sister finished her college entrance exam today and won’t be staying here anymore. She’s sold all her things.”

Zhang Shuya showed a distressed and worried expression, with the troubles of an adult.

Tian Ersan was stunned, carefully examining the rather good-looking woman in front of him.

"You don't look like you're thirty years old yet, do you?"

Zhang Shuya laughed and said, "I'm already thirty-two. If my son hadn't been hit and killed when he was little, he would be about your age. I got married early and had my son when I was fifteen or sixteen. People say I look like I'm in my early thirties, but I'm not under thirty at all."

Tian Ersan actually felt that the woman was in her thirties, but he didn't expect that women in small towns and villages would actually get married and have children in their teens.

In my previous impression, this kind of woman did exist, and she was mostly found in junior high school, but I never expected to meet her so casually.

Where are you moving to? In the city?

Tian Ersan casually added another compliment.

Zhang Shuya sighed, "I'm not destined for that. My husband died with over 100,000 yuan in debt. Now I only have a little over 20 yuan left. I'd better hurry up and get some money. I'll just have to take it one step at a time and avoid those creditors for now."

Looking at the beautiful woman, Tian Ersan quickly suggested, "Why don't you stay at my place, and let your sister go to her parents' or uncles' houses?"

This woman can definitely make money from live streaming!

With more people working together, you'll definitely make money faster.

And if all else fails, we can help her apply for online loans to get money.

One more person means one more source of strength.

Zhang Shuya stared at Tian Ersan in astonishment. After carefully examining the handsome young man's face, she hesitated before asking, "How many people are in your family?"

Tian Ersan said, "I'm all alone. I'm an orphan, and my house is fairly big and not too dirty, though it's a little worse than yours. But you'll definitely have to do something for me when you come over, like cooking or helping out. Consider it rent."

"Okay!" Zhang Shuya said happily, "I don't think you're a bad person. Does your home live far from here?"

Tian Ersan said, "It's not far, just across the street from the repair shop."

Zhang Shuya felt even more relieved after hearing this. Although she was not familiar with the area, she felt that it was safe since it was so close.

"Okay! Let's hurry up. I'm a little scared that those people might suddenly come over. I also need to pick up my sister from school. I don't want her to come back."

Tian Ersan thought he would have to explain for another half hour, but unexpectedly, the beautiful woman quickly urged him to leave.

Just like being afraid of danger that might appear at any moment, they panicked and ran away without thinking.

(End of this chapter)