Chapter 1 Inheriting the Estate

In a clean and minimalist two-bedroom apartment, one large item after another symbolizing a new move was being carried into the living room. After unloading the final refrigerator, the movers carefully wiped the sweat from their heads.

“Thanks for your hard work, young man. Have a glass of water,” the hostess, who was checking the inventory, handed over a cup of water.

The mover repeatedly thanked her and downed the water in one gulp, quietly sizing up this affluent family.

The slender, sharp and capable hostess; the slightly chubby but robust master of the house; the fair-skinned, refined and polite son; and the round-faced, cheerful and adorable daughter.

What a happy family.

Not only was it a textbook family, but they were also very low-key. They lived in a place where the average price per square meter was in the six-figure range, yet the clothes they wore were not branded and looked like something bought online for 39.9 yuan.

Still, wealthy people these days tend to keep a low profile. Perhaps these seemingly ordinary clothes were actually high-end custom pieces—one outfit might be worth a year of the mover’s salary.

So envious!

After settling the bill, the mover left with an expression full of admiration.

After he left, the sharp and capable hostess Zhao Rong tightly grasped her trembling right hand with her left. Her voice trembled along with her hand, and she suddenly raised her head as if waking from a dream, asking her son:

“Huaihuai… this house… 16,000 per square meter, over 90 square meters… more than ten million yuan… is it really yours?”

The somewhat sturdy father Qin Congwen rubbed his lower back—which had acted up the previous year—and asked further:

“And that cafeteria… we can really just take it over without paying?”

The adorable, round-faced daughter Qin Luo looked at her phone and exclaimed:

“Cleaning services cost 100 yuan per hour?! Brother, let me help you clean! I’ll only charge 50!”

The refined and polite son Qin Huai: “……”

Qin Huai glanced at the exclamation mark in the upper-left corner of his vision and nodded affirmatively:

“Dad, Mom, that’s right. Your son has inherited an estate.”

The story goes back to a month earlier.

Qin Huai, the male protagonist who possessed a system, was originally an ordinary person who had grown up in an orphanage and had never activated his system. At the age of 10, he was adopted by the Qin couple, who ran a breakfast shop across from the orphanage and had been childless for many years. Later, the couple had a biological daughter, living an ordinary life thereafter.

He went through an unremarkable academic journey, was admitted to an ordinary undergraduate university, completed his college life uneventfully, returned home, and worked in the family breakfast shop, living a routine “work from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.” grind.

Then, one day, a seemingly ordinary lawyer came to visit.

According to the lawyer, Qin Huai’s biological parents were inspirational figures who had built a business empire from scratch. After years of searching, they finally found their long-lost child. Unfortunately, due to bad timing and malicious interference, and after a series of absurd, drama-level events that couldn’t even be filmed, their company went bankrupt. While driving absentmindedly, the couple got into a car accident and both passed away.

In the end, the inheritance left to Qin Huai consisted only of:

An unoccupied two-bedroom apartment located in Yunzhong Community in Shanshi City, combining school district and commercial area advantages, quiet amidst the bustle, with a market value in the eight-figure range.

A community cafeteria at the entrance of the neighborhood, with a five-year operating contract already signed, fully renovated, and ready to open.

In simple terms:

Two years after graduating with a bachelor’s degree, through his own hard work—and the inheritance he received—

Qin Huai had achieved financial freedom.

“Brother, why did you choose to inherit that community cafeteria? Didn’t you say working in the breakfast shop was exhausting and that once you had money you’d turn our shop into a dessert shop?”

Zhao Rong and Qin Congwen thought that hiring hourly cleaners online was too expensive and preferred to clean themselves. They also felt the siblings Qin Huai and Qin Luo were in the way, so they kicked them out and told them to find something to do. The two had no choice but to go to a convenience store across the street, buy drinks, and sit there enjoying the air conditioning.

“It doesn’t cost anything. The five-year contract has already been paid for, over six million yuan in renovation costs have been settled, all channels are already in place, and even the manager is already assigned. How is this any different from those novels you read where the female protagonist is transported to a post-apocalyptic world and given a small shop by a system to run? It’s all part of the inheritance—why not take it?” Qin Huai said.

Qin Luo shot him a look that said, “Nice try fooling ghosts,” then lowered her head and drank her beverage without speaking.

In reality, Qin Huai was indeed lying.

A community cafeteria—something that sounded like a public welfare project and not at all profitable—was something he would never touch even if it were free.

But this was different—

Because he had a system.

Qin Huai mentally tapped the exclamation mark in the upper-left corner of his vision.

Player Name: Qin Huai

Unlocked Catalogs: 0/12

Skills:

Dough Fermentation (Intermediate): Your dough fermentation skills surpass 99% of breakfast shop masters nationwide. (0/10000)

Filling Preparation (Advanced): Your filling skills surpass 100% of breakfast shop masters nationwide. (0/100000)

Hand Technique (Beginner): You don’t even bother shaping pastries. (0/1000)

Frying (Intermediate): Your fried dough sticks are quite good. (0/10000)

Knife Skills (Beginner): Household level. (0/1000)

Heat Control (Beginner): Won’t poison people. (0/1000)

Food Tasting (Advanced): Well… you’re quite good at eating. (Not upgradeable)

Management (Intermediate): Decent at business; won’t run at a loss. (0/10000)

Lying (Master Level): You can talk to humans and ghosts alike—perfectly fitting for you! (0/1000000)

Main Tasks (Optional):

[Cafeteria Opening]: As a qualified protagonist, properly handling sudden wealth is a basic requirement. Moreover, this cafeteria was left to you by your biological parents. Take over Yunzhong Cafeteria and successfully open it.
Reward: Popularity +100 [Yes/No]

[Family Business Inheritance]: As a qualified protagonist, inheriting the family business is essential. Furthermore, much of the reputation of this business was built by you personally. Take over the Qin family breakfast shop and secure full control.
Reward: Popularity +100 [Yes/No]

Side Task:

[Chen Huirong’s Worry]: As an outstanding neighborhood committee member, Chen Huirong has worked diligently for years, helping others with dedication. However, few realize she also needs help. Her daughter’s elementary school will hold a parent-child cooking event on June 27. After three months of practicing dough kneading and filling preparation, the dumplings she made are so bad that even the family dog refuses them. Please help Chen Huirong shine at the event and make her proud.
Reward: Title [Chen Huirong’s Recognition], Popularity +100 [Yes/No]

Side Tasks: None (activated after selecting a main task)
Achievements: None
Titles: None
Items: None
Evaluation: A newcomer just starting out

Game Instructions:

This game has extremely high freedom; players may explore freely.

The game will not interfere with any of your choices. Please work hard to unlock the catalog.

All interpretations belong to the game.

With so many tasks issued right at the start, Qin Huai felt that if he didn’t take advantage of it, he’d be wasting the system’s stingy rewards.

Faced with Qin Huai’s strange behavior, Qin Luo rolled her eyes in resignation and complained loudly:

“Brother, do you still think I’m a three-year-old? Do you really think I’d believe your nonsense like when you told me that there’s a red exclamation mark in the upper-right corner of your vision and that clicking it shows ‘game loading’? At least make up a complete story! Because of you, I even went to kindergarten bragging that my brother had a system. Grandma still remembers it. Why don’t you just say that you decided to inherit the cafeteria because the system gave you a mission the moment you walked in?”

Qin Huai nodded seriously:

“That’s right. You figured it out. There’s no need to hide it anymore. Originally, the system wasn’t activated, but the moment I walked into Yunzhong Cafeteria, it triggered and issued two main tasks—either go back home to inherit the breakfast shop or stay here and take over the cafeteria. You know me, Luo Luo—I love challenges. Of course I chose to stay here and take over the cafeteria.”

Waking up at 5 a.m. every day to sell breakfast—no human being could endure that.

Qin Luo: “……”

In frustration, she grabbed the iced cola Qin Huai hadn’t touched and chugged it in one go.

After finishing it, Qin Huai kindly reminded her:

“Drink less. We’re about to eat. Mom just messaged me to find a fancy restaurant to treat Ou Yang and Sister Hong. They’ve helped us a lot these past few days. If you drink too much now, you won’t have room to eat later.”

A burp got stuck in Qin Luo’s throat—neither able to come out nor be held back.

〒_〒

“Brothers are the worst!”