Chapter 51: The System's Astonishing Reward

"Good! Good! Indeed, the Khan did not misjudge you," Kang Li praised Liu Chunlai, then continued, "You must have already heard of the two miraculous medicines that have recently appeared in Chang'an. The Khan is very concerned after receiving the news."

"He commands you to obtain the recipes for these two medicines by any means necessary. Of course, you are not to attempt stealing them from the palace. Our investigations suggest that the young man who presented the medicine, Du Chengfeng, likely already possesses the recipes."

"Your task, therefore, is to make him write out the recipes anew and deliver them to me. Complete this mission, and you will be free."

"I understand. I will begin my preparations tomorrow. No matter what, I will make sure that boy hands over the recipes," Liu Chunlai pledged earnestly, a peculiar glint flashing in his eyes.

Thinking of his family, still under house arrest, he felt hope dawn within him even though it was deep into the night—a hope dazzling and brilliant.

Kang Li’s appearance was but a brief interlude; such things occurred frequently in the shadows. All at once, spies from various nations within Chang'an became increasingly active, making their secret plans and waiting for the right moment to strike at Du Chengfeng.

Du Chengfeng, however, was entirely unaware of all this, and even if he had known, he would not have cared. At that moment, he was lying on a lounge chair beneath the large pagoda tree in the front courtyard, grinning from ear to ear.

"Ding! The host's benevolent actions have benefited countless lives. For your compassion, the system awards you three million fame points."

The familiar voice of the system suddenly echoed in Du Chengfeng’s mind, leaving him momentarily unprepared.

Three million fame points—my goodness, am I favored by Heaven itself?

Du Chengfeng couldn't help but burst out laughing, his joy almost overwhelming.

Never would he have thought that his casual act of empathy would bring him such unexpected rewards. Truly, as the saying goes: "The flowers you plant with care may not bloom, but the willows you plant unintentionally will form a grove."

Such windfalls were always welcome; the more, the better. He hoped there would be more to come, he thought to himself.

"Has the young master gone mad today? Why is he laughing foolishly all by himself?" Xiaohong, the maid passing by, muttered while scratching her head.

Hearing this, Du Chengfeng leapt up from the lounge chair in alarm, quickly brushing aside the thoughts running rampant in his mind.

He gently tapped the maid on the head, and with feigned seriousness said, "What nonsense are you thinking, little girl? Your young master is perfectly sane. What madness is there? Your young master is wise and valiant—do I look like someone suffering from delusions? Do I? Hmm?"

"Young master, please don't call me little girl. You're not even as old as I am!" Xiaohong pouted in protest.

"Oh? Is that so? How come I didn't know?" Du Chengfeng was momentarily stunned, instinctively still thinking of himself as the soul from his thirties in the modern world.

To him, a man in his thirties calling a teenage girl "little girl" seemed only natural.

"It's true! Just a few days ago, you said yourself that you were sixteen. I'm seventeen this year, so you can't call me little girl," Xiaohong replied earnestly.

She was actually seventeen? But looking at her, she didn't seem to have developed as much as she should, and where she shouldn’t, she was thin as a reed. Du Chengfeng was puzzled.

"Fine, fine. From now on, I promise not to call you little girl—just 'maid' then, alright? And make sure to eat more meat to grow stronger and put on some weight. Look at you—if you didn’t say anything, people would actually think you were a little girl, understand?"

"Yes, young master," Xiaohong replied shyly, lowering her head.

"Alright, off you go. Don’t disturb my thoughts!" Du Chengfeng waved her away.

"Understood."

Truly, after being interrupted by the maid, he hadn’t even had the chance to ask the system his questions.

"By the way, system, why did it take so many days for my reward to arrive?" Du Chengfeng asked, puzzled.

"The system must observe and evaluate the host’s actions for a few days before making a judgment. In any case, the reward is yours. Does a few days’ delay really matter?" the system replied indifferently.

"It’s nothing, I was just asking," Du Chengfeng replied with an awkward laugh.

"So, system, how much fame do I have in total now?" It had been days since he checked his fame growth, and this was something he now cared about deeply. With three million more points today, he wondered if the total would be much higher than before.

"Currently, your fame totals eight million," the system replied flatly.

"How did it increase by several million all of a sudden!" Du Chengfeng was surprised and amazed, recalling that only a few days ago it was just over a million.

Subtracting today’s three million reward, that meant his fame had increased by four million recently.

"Your displays of talent before the emperor, as well as the admiration of many prominent figures in Great Tang, are the main sources of your fame. The admiration of celebrities and the emperor brings fame dozens of times greater than that from commoners."

"After all, they hold considerable status in society, so they cannot be compared to ordinary people. The host should continue to strive. And a reminder: fame will have many more wonderful uses in the future," the system explained and advised.

"I see. I always thought that fame would have other uses," Du Chengfeng realized with a flash of understanding. As his suspicions were confirmed, his anticipation grew all the more.

"Today is a good day—everything goes as I wish." With eight million fame points and the promise of further uses, Du Chengfeng was in exceptionally high spirits. Humming a familiar tune, he suddenly noticed he was feeling hungry and continued humming as he walked to the kitchen.

"Young master, why are you so happy today?" the cook asked, picking up some firewood and smiling as she saw Du Chengfeng approach.

"Heh, the young master is in a good mood today, so you’re all in luck. I’m going to cook you a delicious meal myself," Du Chengfeng replied with a bright grin, rolling up his sleeves as he strode confidently into the kitchen.

The idea of cooking had occurred to Du Chengfeng long ago, but for various reasons, he’d never put it into action. It was a plan that would kill two birds with one stone—his second way to make a fortune. He was counting on this to strike it rich.

"Young master, you’re going to cook yourself? Did I hear that right?" The cook eyed Du Chengfeng skeptically, doubting the seriousness of his words.

Another chef, while picking vegetables, kindly said, "Exactly, young master. Your health is too precious—how could you cook yourself? Let us do it. You just wait in the dining room and enjoy the meal."

"What’s with those looks? Are you looking down on your young master? Are you so sure I can’t cook?" Du Chengfeng retorted, somewhat annoyed.

He was in a good mood and wanted to reward everyone with a feast, yet here he was being doubted by the kitchen staff.

Back in the modern world, although he often took on different tasks, in order to excel, he’d mastered all sorts of skills to a level approaching greatness.