She shopped from one end of the street to the other.
Clothes, jewelry, even antique ornaments—Su Ning picked and chose, casually buying quite a few things. The shops gathered here all catered to wealthy clientele, facilitating exchanges among themselves.
Word spread like wildfire before long.
Miss Su was finally interested in going shopping—while each shop cheered with delight, they also dug out their best stock, the treasures kept at the bottom of their chests, and displayed them. Other customers, unaware of the reason, began to joke:
"Oh my, what's going on? Has the shopkeeper finally deigned to show us the treasures? Is business so bad you're planning to lower prices as a thank you?"
"If that's really the case, I'll buy it."
The shopkeeper wiped his sweat, bowing and smiling obsequiously, but inwardly sneered and rolled his eyes.
Lower prices? As if!
Spending all day, from morning till night, loitering here, eating and drinking tea and snacks to your heart's content without going home, and as for buying anything? Anything over a hundred yuan is considered too expensive, only daring to buy one item every month or so.
If it weren't for the old shop's emphasis on maintaining relationships,
he couldn't be bothered to serve them.
Just as he was thinking this, Su Ning had already entered. The people following her, front, back, left, and right, swarmed in, practically filling the shop, automatically taking up guard positions at various points.
"Miss Su, you've come."
The shopkeeper of this store instantly went up to greet her, had an assistant serve tea, and introduced with a beaming smile: "This year's new tea, nothing valuable but the flavor is quite nice, just for you to taste."
"No need for tea."
Su Ning refused.
She directly pointed out a few items that caught her eye. Unsurprisingly, one of the treasures from the bottom of the chest was among them. People often say wealth nurtures a person—this is the principle. After seeing many fine things, one can intuitively distinguish what is good and what is not.
"Wrap up these few items and send them to my place."
"Certainly. Shall we put it on the account or..."
"Cash settlement."
The shopkeeper was happy, but also felt it was only natural. Miss Su's reputation among the common folk might not be great, but among their circle, it was excellent.
Who doesn't like a generous customer who settles in cash?
However, the previous customers felt somewhat displeased. Where did this young girl come from? The old Beiping custom is to put purchases on account and settle collectively during the festivals—besides, doesn't acting like this make them seem stingy?
They were about to step forward to teach her a lesson.
Suddenly, a more seasoned one among them narrowed his eyes, pulled back his impulsive companion, and whispered something. Not to exaggerate, his companion broke out in a cold sweat all over:
"What? Is it really her?"
"I know Assistant Lin, I've spoken with him!"
The more seasoned one proudly raised his head. The companion thanked him repeatedly, then muttered softly, "Why would she come here? Wasn't she inspecting the fertilizer production line this morning? Quite the grand manner and airs... Huh, those subordinates behind her don't look as fierce and murderous as the legends say either?"
The latter part of his comment carried a hint of implication.
Feeling the reputation was undeserved.
"Because they're not the same group at all. You, you should drink less and get out more."
The more seasoned one, because he knew Lin Sen, felt a burst of superiority and automatically sided with Su Ning.
Hearing this, he shook his head and mocked:
"Look, these are the usual subordinates who follow Miss Su. They've shown their faces often, I'm familiar with them."
"You're amazing."
The companion rolled his eyes:
"Then tell me, where did that other group, the ones who kill without shedding blood, go? Why isn't Miss Su bringing them?"
"You..."
The seasoned one really didn't know. Being able to mix together meant their social levels were similar; any advantage was limited.
Living off family wealth, aside from having no worries about food and clothing, they couldn't and didn't want to do any proper work.
But he didn't want to admit defeat.
He forced out an explanation:
"They are Miss Su's subordinates. Why are you, a bystander, worrying so much about things that don't concern you? She has businesses abroad too, much larger than here in Beiping, and they need managing as well. The affairs in Beiping aren't significant enough to require them!"
If Su Ning knew he said this,
she'd be delighted.
Yes, spread the word just like that. It wasn't that she couldn't buy robots, it's just that Beiping was easy to manage, so she didn't need them for now... What nonsense.
She wanted them so badly.
And then the wish was half-fulfilled—
"Ding..."
A familiar sound. Su Ning remained completely unmoved, her steps never faltering. Hah, don't try to fool her. The trashy little system had tricked her several times already, always broadcasting messages about rewards from plot characters.
"Can't you put in a little effort? You just broadcast one three minutes ago. Even if I were an idiot, I wouldn't be fooled."
"This time it's not."
The Rich and Heartless System couldn't hold back a laugh.
"?"
Su Ning's eyes suddenly brightened. Sure enough, the system interface showed the update was complete. The mall had indeed undergone a qualitative leap. First, the newly added products were quietly lying in the product column.
Below was a line of small red text:
"This month, the host has one opportunity to input the name of a desired product in the search bar. Note: The value cannot exceed the total amount of products purchased last month."
"Why is there this restriction?"
"Without restrictions, how would it be fun?" The system was blunt: "If you could buy anything arbitrarily, then all hosts would specifically choose extremely expensive products and complete tasks in minutes."
"Someone has done that before, right?"
Su Ning asked abruptly.
"Yes."
She knew it! The emergence of every restriction is preceded by someone who once found a loophole and succeeded.
After feeling a bit emo for a moment,
Su Ning gathered her emotions, entered "robot," and instantly a full fifteen pages of products jumped out. She selected the filter for purchasable items, reducing it to a page and a half.
Not bad, not bad. At least there were some she could buy.
"Don't look at the first ten."
The system reminded.
"Why?"
Su Ning was very puzzled. She glanced casually. Well, the prices were all very high, meeting her spending requirements. The modeling was even exquisitely detailed, capable of cultivating her aesthetic sense.
Their sales figures were also far ahead of the rest.
"You could actually buy them, but they don't quite fit your needs, host." The system pretended to be sincere, holding back a laugh: "These robots were developed for taskers who don't want to engage in real-world relationships. Their emotional interaction functions are very well-developed, no different from real people."
"But other aspects aren't so great."
"If you want to buy one..."
"I'm not buying."
Su Ning refused decisively, instantly losing interest. Engaging in a relationship with a robot in the Republican era, where one's life could be lost at any moment—her brain wasn't clogged with cement.
Although she passed on them,
she was still curious:
"Why would so many hosts buy them?"
The system sighed: "I didn't want to say it originally, afraid of discouraging you, host. But since you asked, I'll tell you—it's very simple. Because the other hosts' task worlds aren't set in the Republican era!"
They didn't have to worry about life safety at all.
Su Ning's eyes went dead.
Hah, when one is well-fed and warm, thoughts turn to lust. With money and safety, of course they'd expand their spiritual horizons...
…………
After carefully picking for a long time,
Su Ning did all sorts of research and comparisons, frequently pestering the system until it simply refused to respond to her anymore. Finally, she selected the robot she wanted to buy.
A flash of white light.
"You shall be called Su One."
"Understood."
Finally having an existence that would never betray her, was powerful, and forever under her control, Su Ning's mood these past few days simply soared. Those around her could also tell.
But they only thought it was because the fertilizer plant was about to begin construction.
This day.
Su Ning had just returned from the banquet where she, Boss Duan, and others had discussed the allocation of shares in the chemical fertilizer plant. No sooner had she sat down than Lin Sen informed her that Chen Huaiqian urgently requested her presence.
"...It seems to be about the military force under your command, Miss. Mayor Chen has found a suitable candidate for the training officer position." At this point, Lin Sen couldn't help but glance at the tall, straight figure standing behind the sofa, then continued:
"I heard he has many years of military experience and possesses remarkable capabilities."
Su Ning did not want to go.
Her private armed force should, of course, be completely under her control. The reason she hadn't rushed to assemble it before was precisely due to this consideration—fearing that problems would arise if others inserted their own people.
Now that she had Su One, she needed it even less.
But—
"Mayor Chen's intentions are good. I should at least make a trip." Rubbing her temples, Su Ning instructed Lin Sen to arrange a vehicle and stood up. The person behind her followed closely like a shadow.
In the eyes of others,
it appeared intimate,
and also demonstrated Su Ning's unparalleled trust in him.
