Chapter 29: People These Days Really Love to Learn
Chapter 29: Chapter 29: People These Days Really Love to Learn
[Task: Return to Health: Progress increased by -1%]
[Current Task Progress: 42%]
"Starting today, I must quit drinking!"
Last night’s late-night snack had been his first social appearance, after all. It would have been inappropriate not to drink, which resulted in him breaking his streak right before the daily settlement time.
Brother Tongzi had good intentions when issuing this task. For a "thirty-eight-year-old" like Zhang Yan, this was the exact period to nurse his body back to health and pull himself together, so quitting smoking and drinking was perfectly reasonable.
However, the current Zhang Yan had essentially skipped that phase and entered a stage of normal socializing and networking. At this point, while it wasn’t impossible to abstain completely from alcohol, it felt somewhat inappropriate.
Fortunately, it only deducted 1%, which was just a drop in the bucket. He could easily make up for it in other areas.
"Kegel exercises, begin!"
Yesterday, with Yiyi, the professional male muscle relief therapist, Zhang Yan had felt a trace of pressure. Now, he possessed an extraordinary enthusiasm for this particular exercise.
[Task: Return to Health: Progress increased by 5%]
Today, Zhang Yan didn’t start his morning run from his doorstep. Instead, he took a cab bright and early to the area where he had previously bumped into Xia Xiqing, only beginning his jog through the streets and alleys once he arrived.
His luck didn’t seem too good today, though. He circled the area several times but failed to spot the beautiful figure he was longing for.
[Task: Return to Health: Progress increased by 3%]
Finally, he returned to Big Picture’s spot. Watching the fat cat lying lazily on the ground basking in the sun, he suddenly had a thought and pulled out his phone.
Finding the WeChat ID he had gotten from Brother Gan, Zhang Yan tapped to add her as a friend, but a prompt popped up saying a friend request verification was required. He thought for a moment and typed a single sentence:
[Senior Sister Xia, what brand of cat treats do you usually feed Big Picture?]
Through his form of address, he indicated that he wasn’t some creepy stranger, but rather a junior from the same university. Using "Big Picture" and "feeding the cat" as conversation starters, he subtly revealed that he was the guy she had bumped into during her morning run that day.
His question was entirely reasonable too, making it seem like he merely cared about the adorable stray orange cat without any intention of trying to get close to her. Yet, this simple sentence also hid information that would pique her interest, tempting her to accept the friend request just to chat and ask a few questions. For instance, how did he get her WeChat ID? Or the fact that the name he gave the cat that day was actually "Big Picture" instead of "Big Orange"...
Seeing that she didn’t reply immediately, Zhang Yan stopped paying attention to it. He gave Big Picture a few pets before heading back to prepare for his reading session.
Yesterday, Zhang Yan had already tested and proven that his baseline state while reading under normal circumstances would greatly affect the efficacy of the Concentration Potion. Therefore, today he deliberately chose the early morning when his mind was clearest, and headed to the library—the place with the most suitable atmosphere for studying. He even opted for physical books, the most comfortable medium for reading.
He wanted to see just how good the final results could be if he optimized all these artificial factors to the best of his ability.
As for the progress of his first book, he had already consumed two potions and squeezed in some reading during his spare time, finishing about two-thirds of the content. His current comprehension rating for the book was still at [Familiar]. He wondered if going through it meticulously with a mindset of deep study and comprehension this time would elevate his rating to [Understood].
However, he had clearly underestimated everyone’s enthusiasm for learning—or rather, he had underestimated the severity of the current economic downturn.
He arrived at the entrance of the Provincial Library fifteen minutes before it opened, only to find the line outside resembling a game of Snake that had reached the final level. The queue twisted and turned, densely packed, completely filling up the plaza in front of the library.
He remembered that the library at the Provincial University used to be like this. But that was on campus, where everyone was a student with a certain passion and necessity for studying. To see a public-facing Provincial Library this popular was quite beyond Zhang Yan’s expectations.
He thought, "Today is Friday! It’s a workday! Do you all really love studying this much? And do none of you have to go to work?"
Zhang Yan silently took his place at the back of the line. Not long after he settled in, more people began lining up behind him in steady succession. Seeing everyone’s profound love for learning, Zhang Yan actually felt a twinge of "shame."
The person in front of him was a man who looked about twenty-six or twenty-seven, boredly scrolling through short videos on his phone. Waiting in line was boring, so Zhang Yan struck up a conversation. "Bro, are there this many people at the Provincial Library every day?"
The man was quite friendly. Hearing Zhang Yan’s question, he enthusiastically replied, "Every single day! The early birds start lining up at 6:00 a.m. There are even more people on weekends and holidays!"
"This is my first time here. I didn’t expect everyone in Meng City to love studying so much."
"Love studying, my ass. We’re all just forced by life. Very few people come to read purely out of interest. Mostly, it’s just people whose home environments aren’t suitable for studying.
"On weekdays, most people here are studying for civil service exams. On weekends, you’ll see a lot more high school and college students, plus people studying for certifications."
Looking at the sheer number of people ahead of him, Zhang Yan felt tempted to abandon today’s plan. "Forget it, there are just too many people. There’s no way there are enough seats inside. If I go in, I’ll probably have to stand while reading. I might as well go home and read."
Seeing Zhang Yan about to leave, the man hesitated for a moment before calling out to stop him.
"I really shouldn’t be advertising for them, but there are people who actually need this. Plus, they go in there and hog seats without actually reading, which is just annoying to look at.
"See those young guys loitering over there? They have a whole team. They line up at 5:00 a.m. every day to sell seats.
"Those are Air Jordans on your feet, right? I wanted a pair back in the day too, but they were too expensive and I couldn’t bring myself to buy them. If you’re well-off, you can go ask them."
He thought, "Isn’t this just a disguised form of scalping? Truly, wherever there is a demand, there is a market."
The library finally opened its doors, and the people in line began to file in one after another. Enlightened by the older guy’s tip, Zhang Yan thanked him, stepped right out of the line, and walked straight up to the group of young men.
As soon as he approached, the leader, Little Yellow Hair, came over to greet him. "Bro, need a seat?"
"How much?"
"Ten yuan for the main hall, fifteen for a private booth on the third floor. There are also a few ’Divine Thrones’ with the best views and locations for twenty, though they aren’t always available."
Zhang Yan was momentarily speechless—not because he thought it was expensive, but because it felt surprisingly cheap.
He thought, "You guys wake up at the crack of dawn and wait in line for hours just to earn this little?"
Twenty yuan wouldn’t even buy a decent meal on a food delivery app these days without using coupons. A random cup of milk tea on the street would easily cost twenty to thirty yuan.
"Give me a twenty-yuan one. Let me see just how good these ’Divine Thrones’ are."
"Sorry, bro, today’s ’Divine Thrones’ are already sold out!"