"Don't you believe it?" Fang Zhiyi said as he picked up a light bulb, connected it to the small device, and began cranking the handle. After a few turns, the bulb gradually lit up.
"This..." Lin Jianguo was astonished, but then he shook his head. "What a shame—it's just a little toy."
Fang Zhiyi grinned. "Yeah, just something I made for fun."
Lin Jianguo studied the young man before him. He looked much fairer now, bright and cheerful.
"I came to ask if you’d have time to come over for dinner tomorrow?" He had always wanted to invite his daughter’s savior for a meal, but hearing Lin Xiaowei mention Fang Zhiyi so often made him uneasy. His daughter ought to be with someone like a college graduate.
But later, when he learned Fang Zhiyi had turned down Lin Xiaowei’s invitation, he saw the young man in a new light. This kid had potential! He could’ve easily gained advantages by staying close to his daughter, yet he refused. Now, everyone in the factory spoke highly of him, and Lin Jianguo couldn’t help but take notice.
"Dinner?" Fang Zhiyi thought of Lin Xiaowei and shook his head like a rattle-drum. "I’d rather not. The cafeteria food suits me just fine."
Lin Jianguo was even more surprised. He’d even turned him down?
It stirred a competitive urge in him.
"Come on. I haven’t properly thanked you yet."
Fang Zhiyi replied earnestly, "Saving your daughter was the right thing to do—I didn’t do it for a reward. Besides, you brought me into the electrical machinery factory and let me work on what I love. If anything, I should be thanking you."
Lin Jianguo raised an eyebrow. "So you’re saying no?"
Fang Zhiyi just smiled.
"Ah, that pile of scrap metal is taking up space. I’ll have someone clear it out tomorrow." Lin Jianguo sighed and started walking away.
"Director, I’m free! Very free!"
Seeing Lin Jianguo’s triumphant grin as he left, Fang Zhiyi sighed inwardly. Was this man always so extreme? Couldn’t he just take a middle ground? Still, he needed to get closer to him. In the original storyline, Lin Jianguo was due for a promotion soon—though it wouldn’t end well.
When Fang Zhiyi arrived with a bag of fruit, Lin Jianguo nodded approvingly. "No need to be so formal," he said.
Lin Xiaowei greeted him with a smile and led him inside.
Watching the two, Lin Jianguo thought they looked well-matched. But then he remembered Fang Zhiyi’s family background and sighed inwardly.
"Xiao Fang, you drink, right? Have a couple with me."
Fang Zhiyi scratched his head sheepishly. "Uncle, I’m not much of a drinker."
An hour later, Lin Jianguo was slumped in his chair, slurring his words. Fang Zhiyi got up to help Lin Xiaowei’s mother with the dishes, but she shooed him away. After a few polite words, he left.
The next morning, a hungover Lin Jianguo stared blankly at his daughter’s displeased face, struggling to recall the night’s events.
"What’s wrong? Last night, after a few drinks, you made Xiaowei call Fang Zhiyi her ‘sworn brother.’ Don’t tell me you forgot?" His wife handed him a bowl of congee. "But I think it’s fine. That boy seems reliable."
Lin Xiaowei huffed and stormed out without breakfast.
Lin Jianguo sat frozen. He’d made Fang Zhiyi his daughter’s sworn brother? Really?
Fang's Mother had grown fond of visiting the county town lately. Fang Zhiyi treated her to meals, bought her things, and even gave her money. Her once-worthless eldest son now seemed perfect. She’d asked around and learned that the factory wages were about two hundred yuan. Yet Fang Zhiyi spoiled her with food, shopping, and even handed her a hundred and fifty. Wasn’t he the epitome of filial piety?
Fang Zhiyi also worked on reshaping her mindset, preaching about women’s independence and self-reliance. He even had fashionable accessories sent from out of town. Slowly, Fang's Mother began feeling her current home was beneath her. Fang Zhiyi even promised to move her and Third Son into his future company housing, making them city folk. She loved the idea and warmed up to him more each day.
Third Son was easier—Fang Zhiyi slipped him pocket money and encouraged his carefree habits.
The rest of Fang Zhiyi’s time was spent on his new project: a hand-cranked generator. The principle was simple—a DC motor, gear assembly, crank handle, nickel-cadmium battery, and a bulb socket. The challenge was keeping it compact, easy to crank, and efficient enough to power small appliances.
During lunch breaks and after work, he scavenged the factory’s scrap piles. An electrical machinery plant never lacked spare parts. He salvaged motor casings, gears, and steel rods, then bought wires from the sales department and had them fetch nickel-cadmium batteries from the battery plant.
His dormitory desk became his workbench. Fang Zhiyi focused intently—this device was his crucial first step.
A week later, the first prototype was ready. Cranking the handle lit up the small bulb! Though dim, it was enough for emergency lighting during blackouts. He even crafted a simple plastic casing to give it a finished look.
At a quiet street corner, Fang Zhiyi sat cross-legged behind his makeshift stall, displaying a few hand-cranked generators.
"Hey, young man, what’s this?" Finally, someone stopped to ask.
Fang Zhiyi flashed a grin. "A handy little tool." He picked one up and demonstrated.
"It’s a hand-cranked generator. Crank it during a blackout, and it’ll light up for over half an hour. Ten minutes of cranking gives you enough light to read half the night! Buy one, and your family won’t be left in the dark. Twenty yuan each, no bargaining!"
A crowd gathered, intrigued by the novelty.
The first man frowned. "Twenty? That’s steep. It’s not even that bright—a flashlight’s better."
Fang Zhiyi nodded. "You’re right, flashlights are convenient, but they eat up batteries. This costs you nothing—just a quick crank for temporary light. Think of it as a toy. And how much is a flashlight? Forty? Even the cheap ones are thirty. Mine’s just twenty."
People murmured in amazement, but no one reached for their wallets. Fang Zhiyi wasn’t worried—this was the early days of economic reform, and shrewd minds were everywhere.
Suddenly, a man pushed through, grinning. "Buddy, I’ll take them all."
Fang Zhiyi hesitated. "All of them?"
The man nodded, eyes scanning the generators, already scheming. People were like that—hesitant until someone else showed interest, then filled with regret.
"Hey, boss, sell me one?" The first man pulled out cash.
"I want one too."
The would-be bulk buyer panicked. "Hey, hey, these are mine!" He turned to Fang Zhiyi, still smiling. "Deal?"
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
