Chapter 34: Careful, or I'll Pin You Against the Wall (Please follow and recommend)

At that very moment, Chen Anquan felt he might die.

A skill proficiency of 70 points represented hundreds of hours of diligent practice and over a hundred gigabytes of instructional videos—all of it surged into Chen Anquan’s mind at once.

He was utterly stunned, collapsing helplessly to the floor as his limbs began to twitch uncontrollably.

This was simply fatal!

*

*

"Anquan! Anquan!"

It was impossible to tell how much time had passed before his second uncle's voice sounded outside, calling into the room for Chen Anquan.

After waiting for a full minute without seeing any sign of Chen Anquan, he finally entered the room himself—only to be shocked by the scene before him.

Chen Anquan lay on the ground, his arms and legs convulsing as if in the throes of an epileptic seizure.

"Epilepsy?" With limited experience, his uncle’s first thought upon seeing Chen Anquan’s spasms was precisely that.

He rushed into the room, scooping Chen Anquan up and slapping his cheeks vigorously, "Anquan, Anquan..."

Chen Anquan gradually came to himself and found his uncle holding him. He gave an embarrassed smile. "I just accidentally fell asleep."

"Nonsense! Who falls asleep on the floor, shivering all over? I’m taking you to the hospital right now!"

That scene just now had truly frightened his uncle.

"I’m really fine!" Forcing himself to his feet, Chen Anquan hopped up and down on the spot. "Look, see? I’m perfectly fine!"

His uncle looked at him doubtfully. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely certain!"

"Alright then. But you’re not building houses this afternoon. Just rest. I’ll talk to Old Wang and get you a half-day’s leave."

Chen Anquan chuckled and waved it off. "No need. I still have to earn money to get married."

His uncle fell silent, truly unwilling to dampen Chen Anquan’s spirits. Marrying a wife in the countryside these days was nothing like in the city… and with Chen Anquan’s situation… best not to say more.

The three-wheeled motorcycle rumbled to life again, and after a bumpy ride, they finally reached Wang Family Village.

Old Wang, the bearded foreman, stood in front of the construction site, notebook in hand, making notes. "Chen Jintang, ten days on the job. His nephew, Chen Anquan, half a day on the job…"

After recording the workers’ attendance, Old Wang looked over at Old Liu, who was squatting silently on the ground.

"Liu, can’t you fill up the basket? It’s already afternoon, and that kid hasn’t quit yet."

Old Liu, his hair gray and body gaunt, said nothing, continuing to pick up bricks.

Bang!

The last firebrick was slammed down onto the already stacked pile.

Startled by the sudden noise, Old Wang looked over with annoyance. "Liu, what are you doing?"

Old Liu remained expressionless, loading more bricks into the other basket.

Old Wang glanced at the basket, his eyelids twitching three times.

Damn it!

He’d expressly told Old Liu to only fill Chen Anquan’s basket halfway.

But Old Liu had left only a fist-sized gap in the basket of bricks. If it weren’t for the hook needed to carry it, Old Liu probably would’ve filled the basket to the brim.

If that happened, Chen Anquan would have to carry the basket with both arms up the stairs!

"A basket full like that must weigh at least 150 jin. Can that kid handle it?"

At that moment, the horn of his uncle’s three-wheeler sounded in the distance.

Old Wang looked over and saw Chen Jintang and his nephew arriving.

He immediately put on a cheerful expression and called out, "Come on, get to work! The boss is waiting to move into his new house!"

"Alright!" His uncle, an honest man, replied with a smile.

His daily wage was 300, and in the past, he’d only worked six or seven hours for that. Now, rushing to meet the deadline, he had to work eight or nine hours, but the pay was still just 300.

"Young man, can you handle it? If not, you can give up," Old Wang said to Chen Anquan with a smile.

Chen Anquan smiled back. "I can manage, Uncle Wang. Just make sure you don’t dock my or my uncle’s pay."

"Don’t worry. Once the house is finished, I’ll pay you ahead of time."

"Good, that’s a relief," said Chen Anquan.

His uncle had already been warned by other villagers that bosses often withheld wages on construction sites.

If that ever happened to him, Chen Anquan was not the sort to swallow such an insult.

With that, he walked over to Old Liu and said with a grin, "Sir, thank you for being so generous and packing it full for me."

Old Liu, caught off guard by Chen Anquan’s friendly gaze, trembled and dared not meet his eyes, bowing his head and continuing to stack bricks.

This time, Chen Anquan decided to take on a new challenge. He reached out with both hands, one on each handle of the basket. "Ah!"

The three men around him were nearly scared out of their wits.

A strong young laborer might manage to carry a load of 300 jin on a shoulder pole.

But for even a seasoned laborer, lifting 150 jin with one hand was no easy feat!

Yet there was Chen Anquan, gripping a basket in each hand, his biceps bulging like a pair of heavy barbells as he strode up the wooden planks.

"Good heavens! Jintang, your nephew’s strength is incredible!"

"Of course, Anquan’s been strong since birth," his uncle replied proudly before joining the construction crew.

Before long, Chen Anquan had reached the second floor.

The uncles above, seeing the display, fell silent, not daring to provoke him for fear he might slap them straight into a wall.

On his return to the ground, Chen Anquan decided to raise the difficulty. This time, he let both arms hang at a forty-five-degree angle.

Instantly, he felt the pressure intensify…

By after seven in the evening, Chen Anquan was sitting on his uncle’s three-wheeler, heading back to Aobei Village.

After more than four hours of work that afternoon, his attributes had increased noticeably.

Chen Anquan glanced at his status panel:

Name: Chen Anquan

Age: 24

Strength: 1.73

Agility: 1.46

Spirit: 3

Constitution: 1.86

Unused Attribute Points: 0.08

Skills omitted.

Both strength and constitution had risen by 0.05, unallocated points by 0.08, and agility by 0.02.

Whether carrying loads in the morning or gripping the baskets in the afternoon, his agility had improved, albeit slightly.

Perhaps going up the stairs, balancing his body precisely, had boosted his agility?

Chen Anquan wasn’t entirely sure, but that didn’t matter—the point was that he could improve!

He planned to strengthen himself further with the 0.08 attribute points when he lay in bed that night.

Back home, after dinner, a shower, laundry, and changing into fresh clothes, Chen Anquan stood at his doorway and—

Suddenly, he encountered a troubling question...