I Start with a Mysterious Island-Chapter 69: A Three-Cup Penalty

It took over half an hour, but Lin Li’s entire truckload of about 2,100 jin of white radishes was finally hauled away, and his WeChat account received a transfer of 1,050 yuan from the vegetable vendor.

"Young man, next time you have a haul like this, you have to come find me! I can even pay you a bit more."

The vegetable vendor repeated himself to Lin Li before leaving. Afraid that such a good source of produce would get away, he even added that he’d give Lin Li a bit more money.

Watching the vegetable vendor walk away, Lin Li muttered to himself, ’If I ever decide not to continue down the path of a Cultivator, I could probably make a fortune just by growing vegetables on the Mysterious Small Island.’

...

The sun, having been busy all day, was finally about to clock out. The brilliant red sunset dyed half the sky.

Lin Li glanced at the time on his phone and saw that it was already 5:20 PM.

It was still nearly forty minutes until the start of his old classmate Zhang Dawei’s birthday party.

’I should head over now!’

Although it would only take him about a dozen minutes to drive to the party location Zhang Dawei had sent, he had been unlucky enough to get stuck in traffic just a short while ago when meeting Su Yue, which made him over ten minutes late.

He couldn’t be late for an old classmate’s birthday party, so it was better to set off a little early.

He got into the driver’s seat and started the van.

RUMBLE...

As Lin Li stepped on the gas, the unremarkable silver van drove off into the distance.

The workday was ending, and the roads were quite congested during the evening rush hour.

However, the route to Zhang Dawei’s birthday party was free of congestion, and Lin Li arrived at his destination smoothly.

After parking his car, he got out, walked out of the parking garage, and then pulled his phone from his pocket to call his old classmate.

"Hey, Zhang Dawei, I’m here."

"You’re here! Then hurry on over! Everyone else is already here; we’re just waiting for you."

Hanging up the phone, Lin Li checked the time.

There were still more than ten minutes to go before the scheduled time.

’How did everyone get here so early? Good thing I’m not late, otherwise that guy Zhang Dawei would definitely make me take three penalty drinks.’

Lin Li mumbled under his breath, shoved his phone back into his pocket, and walked towards a star-rated hotel in the distance.

...

「Xixing Hotel, Private Room 206.」

Three men and two women were sitting around a table, drinking tea and snacking on sunflower seeds.

These five young people were all Lin Li’s college classmates: Zhang Dawei, Wang Kai, Zeng Zhixian, Li Lin, and Liu Yanmin.

Liu Yanmin, like Lin Li, was a Rongcheng local; the others were from out of town.

After graduating from college, Zhang Dawei and the others had chosen to stay and find work in Rongcheng rather than return to their hometowns or try their luck in other cities.

After hanging up, the birthday boy, Zhang Dawei, smiled at his classmates and said, "Lin Li’s right outside the hotel. He should be here in a few minutes."

"Zhang Dawei, do you know where Lin Li ended up working?" asked Wang Kai, who had landed a job at a large corporation after graduation.

"He still hasn’t found a job," Zhang Dawei said after thinking for a moment.

"It’s been over a month since graduation, and Lin Li still hasn’t found a job?" Li Lin, who worked at a cosmetics company, said in surprise.

"During our senior year, everyone else did an internship, but he was the only one in our class who didn’t. After graduating with zero work experience, what company would want him?" Zeng Zhixian, who worked in sales for a real estate company, said, shaking his head.

"There are plenty of jobs that don’t require experience. Lin Li just doesn’t want to look for one. If he really wanted to, he could find something in no time," Zhang Dawei defended.

"That’s right! Jobs like a security guard or sanitation worker don’t require any experience. You can start immediately," Zeng Zhixian said with a laugh, but his words carried a sting.

Zhang Dawei frowned, hearing Zeng Zhixian’s passive-aggressive digs at Lin Li.

"I don’t know what his savings are like, but he has two properties.

With those two properties, he can live in one and rent out the other for income. That’s enough for him to not have to struggle like the rest of us," said Liu Yanmin, who had been quiet up to this point, in a level voice.

...

Hearing Liu Yanmin’s words, everyone except Zhang Dawei—Wang Kai, Li Lin, and Zeng Zhixian—froze. Their hearts were instantly filled with envy.

That’s right! Lin Li owned two properties. So what if he didn’t get a job after graduating from college?

He didn’t have to do anything, and given Rongcheng’s current real estate prices, even if they worked their hardest after graduation, they probably couldn’t afford even one of his properties.

Liu Yanmin’s words plunged the private room into a sudden silence.

Just then, with a CLICK, someone pushed open the door to the private room and walked in.

The silent group all turned to look at the doorway.

"Hey everyone, long time no see!" Lin Li, dressed in a white T-shirt and blue jeans, walked into the private room and greeted his classmates.

"Lin Li, we’ve all been here for a while, just waiting for you. You’ll have to take three penalty drinks later," Zhang Dawei said with a hearty laugh when he saw Lin Li.

"But I’m not late! I’m actually more than ten minutes early for the time you sent me," Lin Li quickly retorted.

"It has nothing to do with being late. The last person to arrive has to take three penalty drinks. What do you all think?" Zhang Dawei said with a grin, then looked to the others.

"Zhang Dawei’s right. The last one here has to drink three," Wang Kai chimed in with a smile.

"Yep, three penalty drinks it is," Li Lin and Zeng Zhixian added in agreement.

The only one present who didn’t join in was Liu Yanmin, as she wasn’t the type to go along with the teasing.

"Alright, fine! I’ll take three penalty drinks later," Lin Li agreed with a smile, scratching his head and giving up on arguing.

"Lin Li, come, sit here next to me," Zhang Dawei said, pointing to the empty seat to his right.

Lin Li nodded, pulled out the chair, and sat down. The person sitting to his right was Liu Yanmin.

"It’s been over a month since graduation. How’s work going for everyone?" Lin Li had chatted with Zhang Dawei before, so he had a rough idea of what his classmates were doing now.

"It’s alright. You know how it is when you’re the new guy at a company. You get stuck doing a bit of everything."

Among Lin Li’s five classmates, all but Liu Yanmin had found their jobs on their own.

"I quit my job a few days ago," Liu Yanmin suddenly announced, shocking everyone at the table.

...