AGN -Chapter 314 What’s the Key Point?

Qin Huai felt the question he had just asked was actually quite important, because he still didn’t really understand An Youyou’s behavioral logic. But Luo Jun felt that Qin Huai was completely missing the point.

“What did you just say An Youyou’s current state is?” Luo Jun asked.

“In the process of awakening,” Qin Huai replied.

Qin Huai felt this was normal. Many spirit beings were in this kind of state.

“The obsessions of a three-legged golden toad are mostly related to money. Given their personality and the way they undergo tribulation, their obsessions usually aren’t too strange, and the difficulty isn’t too high. Is An Youyou very short on money right now?”

Qin Huai nodded. “She is relatively short on money. Her family conditions in this life aren’t great, her own abilities aren’t particularly outstanding either, and she has quite a strong obsession with making money.”

“Any other possible obsessions you can guess?” Luo Jun asked.

“Wanting to live in a better house?” Qin Huai wasn’t too sure.

His impression of An Youyou was simply that she liked money, liked earning money, liked spending money, liked enjoying life—she wanted good food, good drinks, good clothes, and a good place to live.

“In that case, that’s easy,” Luo Jun said, immediately turning to Chen Huihong. “Chen Huihong, do you still have any unrented houses in the neighborhood?”

Chen Huihong hadn’t expected to have a role in this and thought for a moment. “It seems like there are two left—one three-bedroom, one one-bedroom. Three-legged golden toads either hoard money tightly or spend it recklessly. Since An Youyou wants a good house, she probably also wants a big one. Let her live in the three-bedroom.”

Qin Huai: ?

“I’ll also contact lawyers and charities to set up a targeted monthly donation of tens of thousands of yuan for her,” Luo Jun nodded.

Qin Huai: ??

“I can give her a free medical checkup package from our hospital,” Qu Jing said quietly, raising her hand.

Qin Huai: ???

Wait, what? None of you except Chen Huihong even know who An Youyou is, right? Is the three-legged golden toad that famous in your spirit world social circle? Helping to this extent just because you feel like it?

Qin Huai was completely stunned.

At that moment, the most normal spirit in the group—Chen Gong—finally spoke.

By the way, Chen Gong was the only one not facing the camera directly, because he was still working on his computer.

After typing the last line, he turned around to face the phone. His expression was as usual, but his tone carried a hint of helplessness.

“I understand everyone’s desire to help their kind. I also understand that the difficulty of a three-legged golden toad’s tribulation is usually not high, and it’s rare to encounter one that has failed. I even understand that everyone wants to watch the fun,” he said calmly. “But does this make sense?”

Qin Huai: ????

Do any of you four just now count as having said anything human?

Oh right… none of them are human. Fine then.

The other three spirits fell silent in response.

“I know it’s possible for pie to fall from the sky, but not like this. In general, spirits still have to rely on themselves to overcome tribulation. If you want to help An Youyou, you can’t help her in this way,” Chen Gong continued. “Qin Huai’s new main quest reward is An Youyou’s next dream. If you force her awakening early, what happens if he misses a dish recipe?”

Hearing this, Qin Huai’s head went from “???” to “!!!” and he instantly became alert.

Right! If An Youyou wakes up early, what if he misses a recipe?

Chen Gong was a perfect cautionary example. He had awakened early, and the system only gave one recipe.

Of course, it would definitely be a good thing if An Youyou could awaken early.

It would just be even better if she could awaken early and still give more recipes.

“Also,” Chen Gong continued, “regardless of differences in spirit races, tribulation difficulty, personalities, and abilities, there is one common rule: excessive interference in another spirit’s tribulation usually leads to failure—for either side. In most cases, we can only nudge things slightly.”

“Are you sure what you’re doing is helping An Youyou, or are you pushing her deeper into it?”

“Three-legged golden toads do love money, but most of them are misers. Someone like An Youyou, who doesn’t hoard during tribulation and instead enjoys spending, must be influenced by other factors.”

“Giving her money, housing, and material help may look like assistance, but what if it actually deepens her obsession?”

“Isn’t that counterproductive?”

“Mr. Luo, I understand your urgency to help your kind, especially given your age and limited remaining lifespan. But you don’t need to rush. Spirits retain memories in their second life anyway. Even if you don’t see An Youyou awaken in this life, you’ll see it after reincarnation.”

“So I think it’s better to let things proceed naturally.”

“Qin chef should just continue as before—just be a little more attentive and a little warmer toward her, nothing more.”

“Of course, that’s just my opinion. If you all have other thoughts, feel free to discuss them. The more ideas we share, the better the outcome.”

After finishing his summary, Chen Gong smiled, turned back around, and continued typing away at his computer, clicking furiously as he worked on his PPT.

Everyone: …

Qin Huai spoke first. “I think what Assistant Chen said makes sense. Let’s all just think it through. Mr. Luo, your idea of direct cash donations is a bit too extreme. It’s not like An Youyou has any serious illness—why would someone suddenly donate money to her?”

“However, renting Chen Huihong’s house to her is fine. She’s been working seriously and has been promoted somewhat. I was already planning to give her a raise after further observation, but since we’re all on the same side now, I’ll promote her next month to assistant manager and increase her salary by 1,500 yuan.”

“Assistant manager? That position exists in the canteen?” Qu Jing asked curiously.

“It didn’t before,” Qin Huai said calmly, “but it does now.”

“As for Sister Chen, if you have time, try to interact more with An Youyou at the canteen. I’ll arrange for her to run more errands and deliver things to the neighborhood committee.”

Chen Huihong immediately understood. “Got it. From now on, the neighborhood committee’s afternoon tea will only have radish cakes!”

Qin Huai checked the time and felt he had been in the bathroom too long. If he stayed any longer, staff might start worrying about his digestive system. So he said, “I still haven’t finished practicing knife skills today, and I also want to try the new recipe I just got. I’ll head back to work first. We’ll talk tonight if needed.”

“Alright, bye,” Qu Jing waved.

“Xiao Qin, when will those pork-and-vegetable buns be on sale? I’ll come buy them tonight,” Chen Huihong said.

“What time? I’ll send Zhang Shumei to buy them,” Luo Jun added.

Faced with this group of spirit beings living in the same neighborhood and getting first-hand access, Chen Gong could only smile and wave at the phone.

“Qin chef, take care of yourself. Don’t overwork. Bye.”

Qin Huai hung up the video call, tidied up, washed his hands, and went back to the kitchen to continue cutting radishes.

What Qin Huai didn’t know was that although he had ended the call, the group video had not actually ended.

Almost immediately after he hung up, Chen Huihong couldn’t help but speak first.

“Luo Jun, why were you in such a hurry? I thought you were confident. Turns out you were just improvising. If it weren’t for Xiao Chen reminding us, I almost went along with you and ruined An Youyou’s tribulation.”

Luo Jun snorted in dissatisfaction. “Improvising? I was using the fastest way to help her. She’s not in her final life—why are you in such a hurry? Three-legged golden toads have strange obsessions. Traditional methods may not work. Sometimes you need unconventional solutions.”

Qu Jing also hadn’t hung up and asked softly, “Mr. Luo, I’m curious… why are you so eager to help An Youyou with her tribulation?”

Luo Jun was usually a warm-hearted citizen, but not this enthusiastic.

He coldly said, “Chen Huihong, you’re really slipping. Even worse than Qu Jing. Haven’t you realized the real point today?”

“What, isn’t it about helping her tribulation?” Chen Huihong looked confused.

“The main quest,” Luo Jun and Chen Gong said in unison.

Seeing that even Chen Gong agreed, Luo Jun glanced at his side of the split-screen—at Chen Gong’s profile—and continued slowly: “An Youyou’s memories are given by the main quest.”

“Nothing new about that—your memories and mine were also given by the main quest, weren’t they?” Chen Huihong said. “Memories either come from main quests or side quests. Since An Youyou hasn’t triggered any side quests, of course the main quest has to give them.”

Luo Jun: …

“Have you ever even read system novels?”

“Nope. What’s wrong? I don’t like reading novels,” Chen Huihong replied confidently.

Luo Jun: “…Main quests and side quests are the same thing? What do you mean our memories were also given by the main quest—are we some unimportant side characters or something?”

“I’m getting annoyed just talking about side characters or not,” he said, trying to steady himself. “What I mean is that An Youyou’s next memory is also coming from the main quest.”

“That means she’s important. At least in the system’s arrangement, she’s important. Her memories are very significant.”

“What?!” Chen Huihong was shocked. “You mean Xiao An is a key character? Even more important than us side characters?!”

Luo Jun: …

He once again looked at Chen Huihong through the screen with an expression that basically said “are you sick?”, as if he could spit fire through the phone and burn her.

“What I mean is that although An Youyou is not a spirit in her final life, her awakening is still urgent because it is related to the main quest.”

“At the very least, within Qin Huai’s current tasks, her weight is higher than other side quests.”

“Right now Qin Huai only has two tasks anyway—Old Wang’s side quest, and Xiao An’s main quest.”

Luo Jun took a deep breath. “Chen Gong, you explain it to her.”

Chen Gong stopped working. “What Mr. Luo means is that the priority of the main quest is higher than side quests. Qin chef helps us awaken by completing quests, and he also gains rewards himself. From any perspective, the rewards from main quests are greater than those from side quests. So prioritizing An Youyou’s main quest yields more benefit than other side quests.”

“Also, neither An Youyou nor Mr. Wang are in their final life cycle. Their awakenings are not urgent. Mr. Wang’s current awakening state is actually very good and does not require much external intervention. Meanwhile, because Mr. Luo does not have much time left, he wants to do everything he can to help An Youyou awaken sooner.”

Luo Jun snapped, “Don’t add your own assumptions!”

Chen Gong continued calmly, “And since the tribulation difficulty of a three-legged golden toad is not high, the margin for error is large. That’s why Mr. Luo proposed a more aggressive method just now—to gamble a bit.”

“If it succeeds, everyone benefits. If it fails, it won’t seriously affect An Youyou’s tribulation.”

Luo Jun took a sip of tea. “Do you even know what I meant, and you still said that?”

“Because I don’t agree with your view,” Chen Gong replied. “I don’t want An Youyou and Qin chef to take such risks in a rushed manner.”

He looked directly at the phone—everyone could tell he was looking at Luo Jun.

“Mr. Luo, you are too arrogant.”

“Even though you have paid a price for that arrogance, you still haven’t changed this habit.”

“I believe during this time you have helped Qin chef a lot. You’ve given him many useful suggestions based on your identity and experience. But you are not omnipotent, and you are not all-knowing.”

“The system belongs to Qin chef. This is his mission. What we should do is give advice when he asks for it, within our ability—not influence his decisions.”

“You already failed your tribulation because of arrogance, and you don’t even intend to succeed in this life. At the end of your lifespan, shouldn’t you reflect on that arrogance?”

“After all, if you could live to 90 in every life, Qin chef wouldn’t even be able to reach your final reincarnation to help you succeed through memories.”

At this, Chen Huihong and Qu Jing were completely stunned, their expressions clearly saying: Wow, you really have guts.

Spirit beasts really are different—directly challenging a Bifang.

Chen Huihong was already looking forward to what An Youyou would be like after awakening.

A three-legged golden toad, in a sense, is also a kind of auspicious beast—one that brings wealth and fortune.

Luo Jun: …

He wasn’t angry. He just pursed his lips.

“I admit what you said makes sense. I didn’t handle the balance properly.”

“But next time, say that to me privately instead of in a group video call in front of everyone.”

Chen Gong smiled. “Alright, I’ll pay attention next time.”

“Mr. Luo, your temper is better than I expected. For a Bifang, it’s actually quite good.”

Luo Jun angrily hung up the call.

Chen Gong also left the video call, leaving only Qu Jing and Chen Huihong staring at each other.

Qu Jing was stunned for a long time before asking, “Sister Chen… is this really something we were allowed to hear?”

Chen Huihong was already cracking sunflower seeds. “Hearing it is earning it!”

Qu Jing nodded. “Sister Chen, I’m going back to work. Bye.”

And thus, the group video call finally ended.

Meanwhile, Qin Huai was already cutting radishes.

Since Cao Guoxiang had gone out shopping with her friends, she wasn’t supervising him, so Qin Huai was practicing alone.

Even though he wasn’t in an online class, his phone was still mounted on a stand out of habit.

While he was cutting, the phone vibrated.

A message.

It was from Luo Jun.

Luo Jun: What time are the meat-and-vegetable buns sold?

Luo Jun: I’m coming to the canteen to eat them.

Luo Jun: I’ll sit and eat there.

Luo Jun: Remember to save me a serving of Chenpi tea.

Luo Jun: And also the “beaten lemon tea” shop coconut No. 1.

Qin Huai: …

The shop is called Xiao Ou Hand-Shaken Lemon Tea, not “Beaten Lemon Tea.”

He replied with a simple “Okay.”

Strange. Who just upset Luo Jun? Why does he sound calm but still so clearly angry?

Qin Huai didn’t think much of it and turned to An Youyou.

“Yoyou, are the radish cakes done frying? Once this batch is finished, switch shifts. Help me chop a batch of cabbage filling and diced pork fat.”

“Can you work a bit later today? I want to talk to you about something later—overtime paid.”

“Of course! I can leave anytime!” An Youyou replied cheerfully.