I'm A Baller

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

His stall business had finally come to an end after he received the 90,000 dollars transferred to him by Uncle Zhang.

Boss Wang lamented, "It isn't easy setting up a business!"

It was a good thing that his new business was getting started; he was looking forward to see how much income it'd generate.

By afternoon, Liu Yuanfang had sent over a video. It was the latest episode of the eating broadcast program.

Before the program started, there was a message displayed on the screen.

"We shall be holding the most expensive eating competition ever—king crabs that cost 500 dollars apiece.

"The winner will be widely promoted by us and take home a cash prize of 20,000 dollars.

"All expenses during the competition period will be borne by us.

"So, are you confident in your abilities?

"If your answer is YES, please get in touch with us.

"Let's eat 'till the boss goes bankrupt!"

Wang Yan laughed at the last line.

'I'm not worried about how much you guys eat. I'm just worried that you won't have enough room for the crabs!

'I would be willing to sponsor even 1,000 king crabs as long as you guys had the stomach for them!'

He had to admit, the lines did sound pretty catchy.

Although it was kind of hasty, and he wasn't sure how effective the advertising campaign would be, there was still a good chance that they would discover someone with a monstrous appetite. He'd be rolling in money if that was really the case!

For every crab that was eaten, he would be able to earn between 40,000 to 200,000.

The only thing that deterred Wang Yuan from asking Dong Yuan International whether they could raise the selling price to 1,000 a pound was his worry that it might not be accepted by the System.

He shouldn't even have been thinking about it. There was no way that there would be such loopholes.

The System might not always make its presence felt, but it had very clear benchmarks and criteria.

…

After he delivered the melons to Uncle Zhang in the afternoon, he had nothing else to do.

Boss Wang wasn't used to having so much free time on his hands.

The rest of the day went by uneventfully as he did some reading, played some games, saved a Crispysweet for himself and kept it chilled in the fridge, had dinner with his parents, and flirted with Liu Li for a bit.

On the 5th, Wang Yan went back to Wangjiaao once again and collected the rest of the melons. He didn't manage to collect 300 melons; only 221 had made the cut.

His stall business was officially over after he refunded Uncle Zhang 3,500 dollars.

From July 26 until then, he had earned 340,000 dollars in the span of 11 days.

Of course, the money earned wasn't the main focus.

What was most important was that he had upgraded the System to Level 6 within 11 days.

If he hadn't done anything, and solely relied on the breathing wages, what would he be looking at right then?

Upgrading the system from Level 1 to Level 2 required 1,400 dollars and one week.

Upgrading the system from Level 2 to Level 3 took 4,200 dollars and 10.5 days.

The System would have only reached Level 2, providing him with approximately 395 in breathing wages.

Wang Yan would have earned about 3,390 dollars in total.

He would have had to pass on both the Habit Incubator and the Attribute Modifier. He wouldn't have gone to the Capital, and he wouldn't have gotten to know Liu Li.

Of course, he would have become a baller eventually, but he might have become one who was vulgar and complacent.

Had he wasted time counting money instead of being bold and focusing on acquiring experience and learning the right values, he wouldn't have the results he had today!

If he had done nothing else, Wang Yan would have upgraded to level 6 on the 93rd day, having earned 20,000 in the process.

And now?

He had earned 17,000 in the first 11 days, and daily wages of 8,000 from the 12th day onwards. By the 93rd day, he would have earned a total of 678,000!

It wasn't just about the extra 480,000 earned from breathing wages, or the cash reward of 339,000. More importantly, upgrading the System quickly had resulted in a series of chain reactions, the effects of which couldn't be measured with money!

What he had gained in the process, whether tangible or intangible, was far more precious than money.

Every step counted, and step by step, Wang Yan had become strong and confident. He had gone through a huge transformation.

Presently, Wang Yan had daily earnings of 8,000, which was more than enough for his daily necessities.

Despite his EXP having soared to 5 million points, which was an awe-inspiring figure, he remained optimistic.

The worst-case scenario would be having to wait another 80 days.

If the Crab King Card worked as intended, perhaps everything would be settled within two weeks.

If God helped those who helped themselves, then Wang Yan must have been the most favored person in the whole wide world.

After calculating his earnings, Wang Yan was practically rolling around in joy. He had gained a newfound respect for himself, and he was totally reveling in it.

After he had finally calmed down, he started racking his brain over the nitty-gritty details of the crab feast.

Liu Yuanfang made a timely call.

"Boss Wang, go on QQ later. I will forward ten videos and information to you. You can start selecting the contestants."

Ha, double the joy!

He could finally start working again, awesome!

Reinvigorated, Wang Yan immediately logged in to his QQ account on his Alienware laptop and started studying the information he had just received.

There was a mix of male and female, fat and skinny, which showed that Liu Yuanfang had not merely considered the physical attractiveness of the contestants.

Having good-looking contestants would no doubt contribute to the popularity of the program, but Wang Yan couldn't have cared less. It was more important to him that they had enormous appetites.

From the video clips, it was apparent that four of them had especially huge appetites. There was an obvious disparity between them and the rest of the contestants.

Among them, there was a tall fat man called Brother Gang who could gobble 26 pounds worth of pig trotters and noodles.

Of course, a substantial amount of the weight could be attributed to the bones in the pig trotters, but there was no doubt that he had a great appetite.

There was a kid called Xiaodai, who was only 17. He managed to eat seven pounds worth of spicy beef noodles and three bowls of rice and had no difficulty moving around after eating all that.

There was also a pretty girl named Mizi, who could only afford to eat plain bread. She ate the equivalent of what would be four meals for Wang Yuan, all in a single sitting, while still looking pretty.

Last but not least, there was a girl who ate seafood, leaving a heap (a mountain!) of shells on the table after the meal that looked quite impressive.

Having settled on the four of them, Wang Yan decided to let Liu Yuanfang decide on the remaining three.

He would probably take commercial value into account and end up selecting three good-looking and chatty contestants.

That didn't really matter to Wang Yan, but it would be important to Liu Yuanfang, as it would have an impact on later episodes. Attractiveness was, after all, an advantage.

He had already made good use of his networking skills and gotten in touch with Douyu with regards to the broadcast. He wanted to make a big splash.

Of course, not every contestant would be willing to sign a contract with him to become the host of an eating broadcast program.

Therefore, the remaining three slots were crucial.

If he had a say in it, he would be able to insert his own people and work on increasing the program's popularity.

Hence, although he was cognizant of the carrot and stick approach being employed, Liu Yuanfang was still very grateful for having been given any discretion.

"How nice of you, Boss Wang! Don't worry…"

Wang Yan had no interest in hearing all that. He only wanted to know when the contestants would arrive.

"Does Saturday work for you?" Liu Yuanfang asked cautiously.

"Nope," Wang Yan promptly rejected his suggestion.

He was holding his graduation party on Saturday, so it was hard to say whether he'd be free in the evening.

"How about Friday, then? They'll arrive at noon, and we'll be able to start the broadcast in the evening? What do you think?" Liu Yuan immediately changed his tune.

There was no faulting his efficiency.

Wang Yan was, of course, very pleased.

"Take care of the transport expenses first, and I'll reimburse you twice the amount after you give me the final figure. How many days of accommodation do you need?"

To his credit, Liu Yuanfang had no intention of squeezing any extra out of Wang Yuan.

"Just one night will do!" he replied.

"Okay. I'll book the rooms and table tomorrow. Ten people in total, is that right?"

"Yes, yes. Three of us and seven contestants."

"Well, it's settled then. Stay in touch!"

As soon as the call ended, Wang Yan immediately made a call to the catering manager at Dong Yuan International.

What was his name, Liu or something?

"Hi, Manager Liu. I'm the customer who ordered 20 king crabs."

"Hi, Mr. Wang! Do you have instructions for me?"

Manager Liu was so polite that he was practically fawning over Wang Yan.

That was how VIP customers ought to be treated. A wedding banquet with twenty tables might not necessarily have been on the same level as a table spending 80,000. So, what kind of level would this table be on?

Wang Yan merely laughed and didn't bother with small talk.

"Manager Liu, help me reserve ten rooms. Check-in will be on Friday, and single rooms would do. And on Friday afternoon, please send someone to the train station to pick them up."

"Certainly! It will be 798 a night for a single room. Complimentary breakfast and spa coupons will be included. Would a twelve-seater minibus suffice for the pick-up?"

"Yup, that works. One more thing; how many king crabs do you guys usually have on hand?"

"At least fifty. We usually have an extra twenty, just in case."

"Not including the twenty that I've ordered?"

"Of course not. Those were set aside just for you. Will you be having the crab feast on Friday evening?"

"That's right. Save me a spacious room, please."

"Don't worry, sir. The Imperial Pavilion will be reserved for you. It is befitting of the crab feast. I guarantee that you'll be satisfied!"

"Alright, keep in me in the loop."

1

Wang Yan could finally rest assured. He wouldn't have to worry about not having enough crabs on the day itself, in case they were capable of eating more.

As for how much they could actually eat, he had to wait and see.

He had already done what he could to the best of his ability. The only thing left to do was wait.

The next two days, he continued to read, play games, chat with Liu Li, and drool over the Attribute Modifier. He didn't spend any more money.

Although he hadn't received any Crit Rewards for eating, sleeping, or gaming, Wang Yan was not at all disappointed. He took everything in stride.

Boss Wang had to be the most low-profile and easy-going baller ever. He took it easy and stayed home for those two days.

When he had accumulated about 130,000 in savings, the big eaters finally arrived.