Collecting Rent From All Realms, Even Empresses Must Pay Tribute
Ch. 17 - Missed Beginner Mission?

"Meat buns, vegetable buns, barbecued pork buns, spicy beef buns, Orleans chicken buns." Ye Chuan stood in front of the bun shop and rattled off a list of bun names to the busy auntie.

"Eight yuan." The buns were packed into a plastic bag.

"Add two cups of soy milk and two steamed buns." Ye Chuan looked at the buns in the bag and suddenly wondered if it would be enough for Bai Qianshuang.

"Eleven yuan."

Ye Chuan took out his phone to scan the QR code, but found that the camera was broken. He fiddled with it for a while, but it wouldn't open. 

After all, it was a seven or eight-year-old phone with a big button, and the cracks on the back cover were held together with tape.

Brother Redmi, have you reached your limit?

"Chuan Chuan, are you trying to buy on credit again?" The breakfast auntie glanced at Ye Chuan and shook her head. "No way."

"Auntie, the camera's broken," Ye Chuan pointed at his phone.

"You've said that before." The auntie's expression remained stern.

"Really."

"You've said that before too."

Ye Chuan: "..."

Hmm.

Had he said that before?

As Ye Chuan was thinking, he found that the phone camera suddenly worked. He quickly scanned the code and paid. 

"See, it went through. I wasn't lying to you."

"Hmph, no credit, understand? ChuanChuan, I remember all the buns and steamed buns you've freeloaded off me."

"Haha."

Ye Chuan carried the buns and walked towards home, but he kept thinking about his phone—it was on its last legs. 

If it died completely, would the Landlord app disappear too?

No, he had to see if he could transfer the app. If he lost his daily two thousand yuan, he would be rolling around on the floor in agony.

He probably wouldn't be able to sleep at night.

Ye Chuan glanced at a mobile phone shop not far away and walked over quickly.

"Boss~" Ye Chuan called out as he entered the shop.

A middle-aged man with a cigarette dangling from his lips, who was playing on his phone behind the glass counter, looked up lazily at Ye Chuan. 

"What's up, Chuan? Your ancient Redmi finally broken?"

"The camera's broken," Ye Chuan said.

"You brought your own parts again, right? Ten yuan labor fee, no bargaining."

Ye Chuan smiled. "I'm here to buy a phone."

"Buy a phone? Get out of here, I wouldn't even pick up that piece of junk if you threw it on the ground." The boss glared, assuming Ye Chuan was trying to take advantage of him again. 

Who knew what this kid had been through?

"Buy!" Ye Chuan emphasized.

"Buy? Whoa? Did you strike it rich?" The boss was intrigued to hear that Ye Chuan was actually going to buy a phone. 

This kid had been using that broken first-generation Redmi for years, bringing his own parts for repairs and haggling over the labor fee.

His labor fee was originally fifty yuan, but this kid had managed to grind him down to fifteen.

What a pain.

"Small fortune." Ye Chuan snapped his fingers and sat down. "Water."

"Alright." The shop owner took a plastic cup from the water dispenser and poured Ye Chuan a glass of water. 

"Here, this phone, three hundred yuan, take it home. It's an older model, but much better than the one you have."

Ye Chuan didn't look at it. "I want a new model, something with good value for money."

"Oh? New models are around one or two thousand," the boss emphasized the price. He knew Ye Chuan's family situation; they were practically penniless, and no one would even buy that old house of theirs.

"Two thousand, something with good performance and value," Ye Chuan said, noticing the battered Redmi in his hand and shaking it. 

"Do you have any new models of this brand?"

Ye Chuan didn't know much about phones. He never had the money to buy one, so naturally, he didn't research phone models and features like his peers.

Being able to send messages, make calls, browse the internet, and scan QR codes to pay was enough.

As for games and such, that was a luxury.

"Redmi, right? Yes, the K70 is selling like hotcakes online." The boss took out a phone box. 

"Redmi K70, two thousand yuan, Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, 120W fast charging. Except the OS isn't very smooth… oh, compared to yours, it's like trading a slingshot for an aircraft carrier."

The boss almost forgot that Ye Chuan was still using a first-generation Redmi.

This would be a huge upgrade.

"Okay, I'll take it." Ye Chuan glanced at it. He wasn't worried about the boss scamming him; they had known each other for years, and the guy was reliable.

He wasn't the type to rip off acquaintances.

"No credit," the boss added, seeing how readily Ye Chuan agreed.

This kid was the king of credit in the neighborhood, every merchant knew him. But he was also willing to help out with odd jobs, so sometimes they let him slide with the credit and even helped him out occasionally.

"Full price," Ye Chuan said, hearing the boss assume he wanted credit.

"You didn't take out an online loan, did you? Young people these days like to use online loans and Huabei, but the consequences can be serious if you're not careful."

The boss reminded him.

"No, I'm being kept by a sugar momma."

"Oh." The boss knew Ye Chuan was joking and didn't ask further. After receiving the money, he helped activate the phone.

"Look, fingerprint, facial recognition…" The boss taught Ye Chuan how to use it.

Ye Chuan learned quickly; he was always quick-witted. After learning how to use the full-screen phone, he suddenly thought of Bai Qianshuang.

Should he get her a phone too?

But after considering it, Ye Chuan decided against it for now.

He'd think about it later. He still had three or four thousand yuan left and had a lot of things to buy.

"New phones are different, so smooth." Ye Chuan swiped through the phone's interface and suddenly saw a familiar app in the corner.

[Ten Thousand Realms Landlord]

Ye Chuan: "..."

He looked at his old phone, puzzled, and found that the Landlord app had disappeared from it.

It was as if the app had found a more comfortable home and moved to his new phone.

"What's wrong, is it lagging?" The boss asked, seeing Ye Chuan freeze. "It's normal for Redmi phones to lag occasionally, it's a feature."

"No lag, it's great, I love it." Ye Chuan put his old phone in the new phone's box and left the shop.

On the way back, Ye Chuan fiddled with his new phone. This was the first time he had used a high refresh rate screen, and even using the Landlord app felt incredibly smooth.

But then he noticed that he could scroll down on the Landlord app's main screen?

"Huh?"

[Beginner Side Mission: Gain Bai Qianshuang's initial favorability (Completed)]

Seeing that the reward could be claimed, Ye Chuan tapped on it.

(SHMOLL: I also had a Redmi once. Where is my Redmi army at?)

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