I am a Big Player
Chapter 134 - 133. Eliminate Future Worries (Fourth Update)_1

Chapter 134: 133. Eliminate Future Worries (Fourth Update)_1

By the time Ren He and his group were descending the mountain, the uncles nearby still hadn’t recovered. They were seriously considering something: wondering if they should really replenish their kidneys once they got back...

The journey back went smoothly. After retrieving all their belongings from the farmhouse inn, they immediately headed back. On the way, Ren He received a call: Zhou Wumeng had already arrived in Luo City, eager to discuss matters regarding the Qinghe Fund with him.

As for the Qinghe Fund, Ren He was quite invested in it. This endeavor was in itself a boundless act of charity. Furthermore, once all the procedures for the Qinghe Fund were settled, he would no longer face any punishment tasks for his divine books and the subsequent Kunlun releases.

Compared to now, that would be a major relief. It meant he would no longer have any fixed tasks. The number of tasks would depend on how many literary works or songs he wrote in the future.

It was an everlasting solution.

With the middle school exams approaching, and then a two-month summer holiday, there was no worry about heading back to the Capital with Yang Xi and having any unfinished tasks lurking.

Whenever he remembered he had tasks to complete, it felt like a headache—as if he owed someone millions.

Once in Luo City, Ren He first dropped off Yang Xi and Xu Nuo at their homes for some rest. After all, both of them weren’t as free as he was; they had parents waiting at home.

Having been out for a day and a night, their families were probably worried. Before getting out of the car, Xu Nuo was a bit scared, "You don’t think my dad will find out anything, do you?"

"Don’t worry, he won’t find out. If he does, we’ll vouch for you," Ren He reassured him. But as for whether their proof would be convincing, that was unknown. In any case, it wasn’t him who would be getting the beating...

When he saw Elder Zhou at the entrance of his house from a distance, Zhou was walking back and forth at the gate, unable to hide the excitement on his face.

It was noon, and upon seeing Ren He, Zhou Wumeng greeted him with a surprise, "You’re finally back, let’s go, let’s go, I must treat you to a meal today."

"Yo, instead of skinning me, you’re treating me to a meal today?" Ren He laughed.

"You’re willing to use the royalties from the Three Character Classic for such a good cause; what’s a meal to me?" Zhou Wumeng pulled Ren He and headed off to the distance. "I’ve consulted about the Qinghe Fund as well. If you really don’t want to come forward, just write me a power of attorney. I’ll handle it. And don’t worry, not a single cent will end up in my pocket. Every dime will be spent in impoverished mountain areas. I don’t even need a salary from you. I’m willing to do this for free."

In fact, Elder Zhou was now 61 years old. Although he should have been enjoying his retirement, he was still fit and had no intention of retiring. He had spent his whole life working on literature, but now, in his old age, he wanted to change his lifestyle: he wanted to do charity.

He had never quite figured out how to go about it. Should he continue to donate all his life savings? However, he didn’t have much in savings as he had spent most of it supporting impoverished college students; he had never managed to save his own royalties.

And his own works weren’t as commercially successful as Ren He’s. In other words, he didn’t make much money. Although he had always received top-tier royalties, his books lacked bestseller appeal.

This was not a contradiction. Films and literary works that are well-received but not commercially successful are plentiful, but that did not stop Elder Zhou from becoming a prominent literary master.

But now, with Ren He willing to contribute the permanent royalties from the Three Character Classic to the Qinghe Fund, it was as if a new path had lit up for Elder Zhou—no wonder he was so thrilled!

This made Ren He feel a bit embarrassed, after all, his primary reason for doing this was for the exemption from his tasks. He explained, "Elder Zhou, you don’t need to thank me so much. I’m doing this for my own future..."

As Ren He spoke, Elder Zhou was taken aback, "So young and already accumulating good deeds for the afterlife? Have you done that many bad things?"

What the hell! Ren He’s face darkened on the spot, "You’re overthinking it, I’m not superstitious." But he couldn’t tell Elder Zhou the real reason, so he let him believe what he wanted—no harm done.

Elder Zhou sat down in the restaurant and ordered four dishes in one breath, making Ren He feel oddly uncomfortable as if Elder Zhou was afraid he would change his mind. That shouldn’t be the case; with pupils all over the country, setting up a charity foundation should be a piece of cake for Elder Zhou, right?

What Ren He didn’t know was that even though Elder Zhou had students everywhere, who at that time in the country would do charity without good reason? Elder Zhou had always lived a humble and frugal life and, what he disliked the most was asking others for favors.

Asking his students for money once might result in them contributing, but what about after the funds were spent? Ask them again? Elder Zhou felt too embarrassed to broach the subject again—even though everyone needs to make a living, no one’s money falls from the sky.

Charity is not a one-time deal, especially when there are still so many children in China struggling to receive an education.

Therefore, when Ren He took the initiative to mention it, Elder Zhou felt as if he had found a kindred spirit and now was simply afraid that Ren He would back out.

While serving Ren He some dishes, Elder Zhou said, "From what I gather... you plan to keep contributing the proceeds from your other works to Qinghe Fund as well? Why don’t you include Kunlun too?"

Heh, wishful thinking...

Ren He, with a stern face, responded, "You want to milk me dry, don’t you? Kunlun is definitely out of the question. I have other works in the pipeline. We’ll discuss those later. You won’t need that much money for the initial operations anyway. But rest assured, what I promise, I deliver. You just focus on your work with peace of mind, Elder Zhou."

In fact, Ren He was certainly planning to funnel the rights of his other works into the Qinghe Fund in the future. After all, the Three Character Classic had merely exempted him from the subsequent tasks for both the Divine Book and Kunlun.

"Alright, then I won’t ask anymore. Just remember your promise. Come on, sign the authorization document," Elder Zhou said.

"Sure, consider this my promise to you," Ren He replied as he picked up a pen and signed the authorization document. Seeing how earnestly Elder Zhou took the matter, Ren He couldn’t bear to disappoint him, and besides, doing charity was indeed a great thing. In the future, he thought, he would just create more works for charity.

Neither Ren He nor Zhou Wumeng could have anticipated how that promise would shape the future existence of Qinghe Fund because of those works.

Just as Ren He signed his name, the Divine Punishment System suddenly spoke in his mind: "Host has contributed the proceeds from one work to charity; you may choose two works to exempt from subsequent tasks."

Without any hesitation, Ren He said in his mind, "Divine Book, Kunlun!"

"Exemption granted. The income from the Three Character Classic must not be used for personal gain in the future. Should you renege, the punishment will be a lifetime of blindness," the Divine Punishment System declared before disappearing.

My goodness, the penalty was valid for a lifetime—it seemed that the Divine Punishment System took this matter very seriously, but Ren He also knew that trading charity for exemption was the right gamble!

He wasn’t concerned about the punishment since he had already signed with Elder Zhou, there was no way he would go back on his word. There are so many ways to make money; there’s no need to tarnish one’s integrity.

Today was indeed a day worth celebrating. From now on, even if there were other works, Ren He had already figured out how to avoid subsequent punishment tasks. His mood brightened considerably!

Moreover, the Qinghe Fund was legally his, and if it came down to it, he could claim to have done many good deeds.

...

Reward for additional updates