Chapter 117: Who’s Worth More?
Xu Youyou’s gaze locked onto Aunt Liu’s hands as she asked, “Aunt Liu, what do you have there?”
Aunt Liu explained, “These are homemade chew sticks from a friend of mine. They’re dried, milk-flavored lamb hooves—low in fat, durable, and gentle on the teeth. She heard that Guai Guai likes to chew on things, so she gave me some. Her cats and dogs all love them.”
Xu Youyou reached out and took the few lamb hooves wrapped in newspaper.
As she moved, the system’s pointer shifted, pointing straight at the package of milk-scented lamb hooves.
Xu Youyou lowered her head to carefully examine them. They smelled delicious and looked very clean. It was clear that whoever made them was skilled and put a lot of care into the process.
For a moment, she felt an impulse to take a bite herself.
But she held back—humans shouldn’t compete with dogs for food.
Her first thought was: Could there be a huge business opportunity in dog treats? The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to taste them.
But something felt off. If dog treats were incredibly valuable, the system’s pointer should be directing her to the person making them, not the chew sticks themselves.
“Dog bowl.”
As soon as she spoke, Xu Fang moved swiftly, like a shadow, grabbing a nearby dog bowl and handing it to her.
Xu Youyou placed all the chew sticks into the bowl.
Her suspicions were confirmed.
The system’s pointer didn’t point at the treats—it kept targeting the newspaper in her hands.
Finally, she took a proper look at the newspaper. At first glance, it seemed ordinary—just some old sheets used to wrap things. The person who wrapped the treats had been generous, using multiple layers, making it feel thick and sturdy. The paper had a yellowish tint, suggesting it had been around for quite some time.
When she unfolded all the layers, she noticed that the text was arranged vertically and filled with traditional Chinese characters.
Guangming Daily.
Issue No. 1.
Wait, wait, wait—what?!
Xu Youyou felt like she had stepped into some kind of surreal fantasy. This newspaper—anyone who even glanced at it would know it wasn’t just any old paper. And yet, the person who had it didn’t even look at it and had used it to wrap food?
She should be grateful the food inside was dried lamb hooves, low in fat and not greasy. Otherwise, the newspaper wouldn’t have remained in such good condition.
“Woof woof! Human! Why are you spacing out? Where’s my chew stick?!” Guai Guai barked impatiently, circling Xu Fang, who was still holding the dog bowl.
But without Xu Youyou’s command, Xu Fang didn’t move.
Xu Youyou quickly said, “Give it to Guai Guai.”
Xu Fang immediately squatted down and placed the chew sticks in front of Guai Guai.
Guai Guai was well-mannered—he took one lamb hoof and ignored the rest, happily trotting off to his dog bed in the living room.
Soon, the sound of him gnawing filled the room.
“Aunt Liu, what does your friend do for a living?” Xu Youyou asked.
Aunt Liu watched Guai Guai with a fond smile. Hearing the question, she casually replied, “She takes on some cleaning jobs here and there and collects recyclables on the side.”
Xu Youyou followed up, “Did she get this newspaper from collecting recyclables?”
Aunt Liu turned to her, serious now. “Miss Xu, don’t worry, this newspaper is clean. I saw her pick it from a pile of newspapers. My friend may collect recyclables, but she really cares about cats and dogs. She would never use anything dirty to wrap Guai Guai’s food.”
Xu Youyou realized her question had been misunderstood and quickly reassured her, “Aunt Liu, that’s not what I meant. Don’t worry.”
Aunt Liu’s expression softened. Talking about her old friend seemed to bring a hint of sadness to her face. “A lot of people have misunderstood her over the years, but she’s a really good person. She would never do anything to harm an animal.”
Xu Youyou figured Aunt Liu’s friend hadn’t taken a good look at the newspaper. Without hiding the truth, she handed it back to Aunt Liu.
“Aunt Liu, give this back to your friend. Tell her this newspaper is valuable and she should take good care of it.”
Aunt Liu was startled. “Huh? A newspaper can be valuable? Miss Xu, are you serious?”
She took the newspaper and squinted at it for a moment before rushing off to find her reading glasses.
Xu Youyou held her back. “This is the first issue of Guangming Daily. I don’t know the exact market value, but selling it could easily get tens of thousands—maybe even hundreds of thousands.”
Guangming Daily was one of the four major official newspapers, with significant historical importance. While regular issues weren’t valuable, the first issue was different.
Aunt Liu’s hands trembled as she held the paper. “This… this is just trash, isn’t it? How can it be worth so much?! Miss Xu, I’ve never seen anything like this before—I have to tell her right now!”
Aunt Liu hurried off to call her friend.
Xu Youyou turned to look at Guai Guai, happily chewing away in his dog bed. A message appeared before her eyes:
[Host, obtaining high-value items at a low cost is the true purpose of the Treasure Hunting System. If you keep giving things away like this, it will be hard to earn rewards.]
Xu Youyou replied, “Some money is easy to take, some money I don’t want.”
The system flickered briefly before displaying a new message:
[Congratulations, Host! You have completed the treasure hunt mission and earned a reward: one Rolls-Royce Arcadia.]
Xu Youyou was confused. She hadn’t even taken the newspaper—why was the system recognizing the mission as complete? “System, are you favoring me?”
[This is the reward for the birdcage treasure hunt.]
Only then did Xu Youyou realize.
She had never heard of the Rolls-Royce Arcadia before, so she pulled out her phone to search for it.
Thirty seconds later—
Xu Youyou: !!!
Staring at the massive luxury car in the photos, she felt torn. It didn’t match her usual taste, but with a price tag of 180 million, suddenly it looked beautiful. In fact, the more she looked at it, the more dazzling it seemed. Her eyes practically turned into golden coins.
This reward was worth far more than the birdcage.
She had even complained earlier about having to rent a luxury car during her trip to the capital instead of driving her usual vehicle. Now, the system had gifted her a brand-new ride.
Back in Shanghai, she drove a Rolls-Royce Phantom. She used to think a car worth over ten million was luxurious enough. But now, seeing the difference between “Phantom” and “Arcadia” was just one character—yet the price had multiplied more than tenfold.
“System, you’re amazing! You’re my precious baby! I love you the most!” Xu Youyou said happily.
The system interface flickered again.
[This morning, you said Guai Guai was your precious baby.]
Xu Youyou, completely unfazed, replied, “My heart is like a durian—there’s plenty of room for all of you!”
The system flickered again.
