I changed the world.

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Around 22 PM that night, after washing up, Zhang Jing was scrolling through his phone in bed before going to sleep. A local news item on his news app caught his attention, and he clicked on it to read:

Yesterday, the cause of the ground subsidence at the Jiqingfang bus stop in our city has been determined. The road administration company discovered an ancient tomb from the Qianlong era beneath the collapsed site. Currently, a team led by Professor Li Zichen of the History Department of Southeast University has begun a rescue excavation. Preliminary assessments suggest the tomb's occupant is likely Wang Dingbang, a prominent official of the Qianlong era. Wang Dingbang served as the Governor-General of Jiangnan in the third year of the Zhide reign of the Qianlong Emperor, later rising to the position of Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent. The Wang family was once a prominent clan in Jiangnan, but they were massacred by the rebel forces under Zuo Baoxing during the late Qianlong period when they refused to surrender while defending an isolated city. Historically, there have been many speculations regarding the location of Wang Dingbang's tomb…

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Chapter Six: The Intern

"Sister Lingzi, I need to take half a day off this afternoon. I have some urgent personal business to attend to." On the morning of the second day, not long after starting work, Zhang Jing walked up to a woman's workstation not far from his own and whispered.

"Does it have to be done today? The new game just launched recently, and the team is very busy." The woman, wearing light makeup, with a thin face and thin lips, looked to be around 30 years old. She looked up and frowned as she spoke. After thinking for a moment, she added, "You just took a day off yesterday. Why don't you take it next week and get through this period first?"

"No, it's urgent. I'm asking Sister Lingzi for help..." Zhang Jing shook his head, speaking with considerable determination.

"What is it about?"

"It's a rather private matter, and it's not convenient to talk about it..."

After staring at Zhang Jing for a few seconds, she pinched her brow and said, "Alright... Go and complete the OA process. You need to catch up on your work. If it affects teamwork, it will affect your chances of getting a permanent position later."

Zhang Jing pretended not to notice the displeasure in the other person's tone, thanked them, and turned to walk back to his workstation.

"What's wrong? It seems Sister Lingzi isn't too happy?" Sun Yunxing, an intern colleague who joined the company at the same time as Zhang Jing, came over to ask gossipy. This guy usually liked to gossip about other people's business and was a bit talkative, so Zhang Jing didn't like him very much.

"It's nothing, I just took the afternoon off." Zhang Jing smiled and shook his head, then said no more.

Seeing that Zhang Jing didn't say much, Sun Yunxing was somewhat bored. He muttered something under his breath and turned his head away.

In reality, having been a seasoned professional in his previous life, he took the talk of being promoted to a permanent position with a grain of salt. From the very first day he transmigrated, he had already noticed the company's shady hiring practices. Because interns were paid far less than full-time employees, the company recruited a large number of interns for extended periods, setting the internship at six months. In his observation, very few of them actually became permanent employees; the so-called promotion was nothing more than empty promises made to these inexperienced newcomers.

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Linzhou Airport is located in the northern suburbs of Linzhou City. Linzhou is the capital of Jiangdong Province and one of the largest cities in the southeast of the empire. Therefore, from the very beginning, Linzhou Airport was built as a regional hub airport.

Zhang Jing arrived at the airport by subway. Linzhou City's public transportation system primarily uses subways, supplemented by buses. The subway lines, completed ten years ago, cover the city's main urban areas.

The airport's architecture is very modern, with an all-metal structure and glass facade. When viewed from above, it looks like a giant black lotus blooming on the ground. To the west of the airport is a large area under construction and closed off. According to official announcements, the construction site is the Linzhou City Spaceplane Home Port. In the future, people will be able to board spaceplanes directly from here to fly to Hope City on the moon. Hope City is the first free city in human history to transcend national boundaries and belong to the Human Alliance (abbreviated as Human Alliance).

Since the signing and promulgation of the Free Moon Act by various nations in Gomenburg, the capital of the Seljuk Empire, in 1988, Hope City has become the headquarters of the Human United Defense Command (HUDC) and humanity's largest aerospace industrial center. Due to its unique low-gravity advantage, most of humanity's heavy airships are currently manufactured here. With massive investments pouring in, Hope City's resources and talent pool are constantly expanding.

Zhang Jing walked out of the subway station from the exit of the large square in front of the west gate of the airport. The square was crowded with people. On one side of the building, the four characters "Linzhou Airport" were hung in clerical script. On the large screen next to it, a recruitment advertisement for the Earth Defense Force First Fleet was playing. The screen showed the scene of the orbital airborne troops assaulting. Several "Hill-class" landing ships were breaking into the planet's atmosphere. It was a magnificent sight that attracted many passers-by to stop and watch.

The Earth Defense Force's First Fleet is subordinate to the Human United Defense Command (HUDC). Its hypothetical enemy is an invasion from outer space, and its home port is Beacon Tower in the Kuber planetary debris belt on the edge of the solar system.

What amazed Zhang Jing the most after transmigrating was that the aerospace industry of this world was indeed more than a generation ahead of his previous life, and this was related to the momentous event that changed world history 100 years ago...

Zhang Jing took out his phone and checked the time. It was 2:30 PM. The "Jiang'an Star Hotel" where Zhang Jing had arranged to meet someone was less than 100 meters away. Zhang Jing glanced around and immediately saw the hotel's sign in the distance.

Upon entering the hotel lobby, Zhang Jing booked a short-stay room on the second floor. He sent a message to the elderly man with the room number, then sat on the sofa in the room, scrolling through his phone while waiting.

About half an hour later, just as Zhang Jing was getting a little impatient and was about to get up and walk around, there was a knock on the door.

Zhang Jing hurriedly stepped forward to open the door. Standing outside was a slightly plump, smiling, and rather dignified old man, dressed in a light gray, narrow-sleeved Confucian robe and wearing a square crown. This kind of attire was actually a variant of Confucian robes modified with modern aesthetics. Compared to those traditional robes with wide sleeves, this type of clothing was more convenient for travel and was quite popular among contemporary nobles and scholars.

Zhang Jing quickly cupped his hands in greeting, and the old man returned the gesture. The two exchanged greetings, and then Zhang Jing led the old man into the house.

In this world, because the inheritance of Eastern culture has been consistently maintained, traditional etiquette is not as simplified as it was in Zhang Jing's previous life.

The room wasn't large. There were two single sofas by the window, and a small coffee table in the middle of the sofas.

The old man was quite talkative. After introducing themselves, the two sat on two single sofas in the room. They chatted for a while about their experiences on the plane to set the mood. Then, Zhang Jing took out the money wrapped in a tissue from the inside pocket of his clothes, unfolded the tissue, and carefully placed the money on the coffee table in the middle of the sofa.

The old man didn't immediately take it, but waited until Zhang Jing had placed the coins securely and withdrawn his hand. Only then did he leisurely take out an eyeglass case from his pocket, take out a pair of tortoiseshell-rimmed glasses, and put them on.

Then, he took out a pair of thin cotton gloves, put them on, and then reached for the coins, examining them in the light from the window.

After a short while, he let out a long sigh and exclaimed, "It's really good, so well preserved."

In fact, with the old man's discerning eye, he could tell that, judging from the patina and the state of cleanliness, it looked more like a recently unearthed coin. Therefore, he didn't really believe Zhang Jing's claim that it was an heirloom. However, in the antique trade, the origins of collectibles are diverse, and some even have unclear connections to tomb raiding. Therefore, being too particular about the provenance of an object is unnecessary and can sometimes create an awkward atmosphere. Hence, the old man didn't intend to bring it up.

Chapter Seven: One Million in Hand!

"Young friend Hongjian, how do you plan to conduct the transaction? Is it acceptable to use a bank card transfer?" The old man didn't mince words and went straight to the point.

“Of course, just transfer it to this card.” Zhang Jing took out a Southern Bank bank card from his wallet. This was Zhang Jing’s only bank card, and there was 1530 yuan in it. Southern Bank was a large commercial bank, especially with many branches in the southern provinces of Dazhao. It was said that it had shares in the famous Jiangdong Consortium.

The old man took out his phone and confirmed with Zhang Jing once again that the transaction amount was one million Imperial Scrolls. After both parties confirmed that there was no error, he used the online banking transfer function to transfer one million to Zhang Jing.

While waiting for the money to arrive, the two chatted for a while about the evolution of ancient coin shapes. In Zhang Jing's opinion, the old man was indeed very knowledgeable in this area. Although it was just a casual chat to pass the time, he listened with great interest and occasionally asked some questions, which the old man answered.

About five minutes later, Zhang Jing's phone beeped. He checked and saw a text message from the bank informing him that 100 million yuan had been deposited into his account. He quickly checked online banking and, seeing the balance displayed as 1001530 yuan, felt reassured.

"The money has arrived, so I have no problem here." Zhang Jing put down his phone and smiled at the old man.

"That's good. Then we're even." The old man smiled upon hearing this.

“Of course, we’re even.” Zhang Jing understood the old man’s unspoken meaning. In the world of collecting, it’s all about clearing the money and goods at the same time. Risks are borne by each person’s own judgment. Once a piece of goods has been sold, there’s no going back if the price increases later.

"If Mr. Yunshan has nothing else to say, then I shall take my leave," Zhang Jing said with a smile.

"Then I won't keep you any longer. Farewell, young friend."

“Mr. Yunshan has the demeanor of an elder, and I have benefited greatly from his teachings today.” Zhang Jing stood up and cupped his hands in greeting: “I hope to have the opportunity to listen to your teachings again in the future.”

After exchanging pleasantries, the old man escorted Zhang Jing to the door and watched him go downstairs.

After going downstairs to the front desk, Zhang Jing prepaid the room fee for the old man for 5 hours. During their conversation, he had learned that the old man had already booked his return flight when he arrived, which was for around 7 p.m.

Throughout the journey, Zhang Jing was quite excited. Although in his previous life, his net worth exceeded this figure, that included the value of real estate and other immovable assets. Moreover, this amount of money still had considerable purchasing power in this life. As long as Zhang Jing didn't immediately buy a house, his normal expenses would be more than enough for him. After all, for many lower-middle-class families, this was more money than they could earn in a lifetime.

Taking the subway and then a bus, suppressing his excitement, Zhang Jing returned to the slums of Jiqingfang, carrying groceries he'd bought along the way, intending to cook dinner. It was already 17:20 PM. Walking through the alleys of the slums, he saw groups of unemployed men squatting on the ground, basking in the sun; small dogs chasing each other among the garbage. Women were washing their hair at their doorsteps; faded posters of idol groups adorned the walls; schoolgirls in uniforms and hair ribbons walked home in groups; and children gathered in an open space to play football…

He even saw a soup kitchen, which was used as a temporary resting place by some homeless people. Some gentry from Linzhou would distribute soup here from time to time, usually once or twice a week, to help some poor people.

As Zhang Jing approached his doorstep, he saw three young people handing out flyers. There were two women and one man. One of them was a girl with a round face and shoulder-length hair. She wasn't stunningly beautiful, but she was very energetic and approachable. She greeted the residents who passed by with a smile from time to time, and most of the people who passed by also greeted her kindly.

"Sister Yuzhu is here! Sister Yuzhu is here! Sister Yuzhu is giving out candy!"

Before Zhang Jing could even reach her, a group of children rushed up from behind him, jostling to get to the round-faced woman. These were children from the neighborhood, the oldest no more than six or seven years old, all filthy, some barefoot, and some completely naked.

"Line up properly, everyone gets one... Tie Dan, you're not allowed to cut in line, or you won't get any candy!"

Most of the outstretched little hands were covered in black paint, but the girl showed no impatience whatsoever. Instead, she magically produced a bag of candy, lined up the children, and, smiling, placed three candies in each of their hands, behaving like a true queen of the kids.

The children, having received their candy, thanked the girl excitedly and then ran off to play. Only after all the children had received theirs did one child, who had been running at the back, stumble and fall towards the girl. This child looked to be at most four years old, and apparently had tripped and fallen while running; his face was covered in streaks of mud, and he looked like he was about to cry.

"Oh, little Nuomi, don't cry. I've saved you... um... five candies!" The girl squatted down, wiped the dirt off the child's face with her sleeve, smiled and patted his head, then placed five candies in his hand in a surprised manner. The child immediately stopped crying and started laughing. He popped a candy into his mouth and mumbled "thank you, sister."

Zhang Jing was familiar with these people; they were a non-profit organization founded by young people to help the poor fight for their right to work. The young, round-faced girl was a recent graduate and intern lawyer named Miao Yuzhu, who was also the founder of the organization. The other members of her team were likely her juniors from university whom she had recruited to do this charity work.

It should be said that this organization has done a lot for the poor people here, including helping them recover unpaid wages, seeking compensation for those injured on the job, and demanding improvements to their poor working conditions. Therefore, the poor people here generally have a very positive impression of these young people.

Zhang Jing knew that life was much harder for the poor here compared to his previous life, with many earning only around 500 yuan a month. Besides the general lack of labor protection regulations and minimum wage rules in this world, another reason was the extreme polarization in education levels.

Although the government also subsidizes education in this world, relatively inexpensive public schools lack resources. They cannot compare with private schools that promote elite education in terms of teachers, teaching materials, and curriculum. As a result, most poor children can only play "happily" until they graduate from junior high school in public schools, and then drop out to work. In reality, all they learn in school is literacy, and some of them cannot even perform complex arithmetic operations without a calculator.

However, this level of education prevents them from taking on technically demanding, higher-paying jobs, while the exorbitant tuition fees of private schools (often tens or hundreds of thousands of yuan) are beyond their means. This has resulted in a significantly lower proportion of university students in this world compared to China in the previous era.

In this world that has entered the space age, a large portion of the workforce has become marginalized due to a lack of education, with most only able to make a living through low-end, short-term jobs. At the same time, their job opportunities are squeezed by continuous technological changes such as the development of robots.

As far as Zhang Jing knew, this was not only a problem for Da Zhao, but also a social problem faced by countries around the world.

In fact, if Zhang Jing's original body hadn't completed community college night school through part-time work and study, earning a college diploma, his current situation would probably not be much better than theirs.

Zhang Jing still remembers that it was Miao Yuzhu's team that provided free legal consultations here. The original owner of the body, who was worried about tuition fees, went to consult them and learned that he could complete his studies by applying for "student loans." Zhang Jing even added Miao Yuzhu's WeChat account, Qianluo, and consulted her on several issues afterward, receiving detailed answers each time. That's how the two became acquainted.

"Sister Yuzhu." As he walked past them, Zhang Jingchong smiled and nodded at Miao Yuzhu.

"Hongjian, you're back from get off work?"

"I have something to take today, so I'm taking the day off. I'll be back as soon as I'm done."

"Here, take a look at our initiative! Remember to support it!" Miao Yuzhu handed him a flyer with a smile.

"Definitely, definitely." Zhang Jing took the flyer, paused to exchange a few more pleasantries with Miao Yuzhu, and then said goodbye and left. As he walked, he looked down at the promotional material in his hand.

I quickly skimmed through it. The gist of it was a call to establish a minimum wage standard for ordinary employees in Jiangdong Province. To this end, they had launched a petition with 10,000 signatures on the Jiangdong Provincial Advisory Council's website. According to the rules, a proposal only needs 50,000 signatures online to become a formal proposal and enter the Provincial Advisory Council for discussion. If it is ultimately passed, it will be promulgated as a provincial regulation and implemented throughout the province.

Shaking his head slightly, Zhang Jing, with his past life experience, didn't believe such a proposal could ultimately pass. Even if they could collect the 5 signatures, the bigwigs in the Advisory Council wouldn't approve such a law that would clearly cut them out of their livelihood. Of course, he still appreciated the sincerity of these young people, so he would definitely sign his name in support.

………………

Back home, Zhang Jing first used his phone to open the website of the Jiangdong Provincial Advisory Council. He quickly found the proposal initiated by Miao Yuzhu and others to collect signatures, so he clicked the support button and left his information.

After finishing this task, Zhang Jing turned off his phone, then summoned the wishing book, opened the pages, and unsurprisingly found some additional words:

My wish: I want to obtain one million Imperial Scrolls, without breaking the law.

That wish has been fulfilled.

10000 wish points will be deducted.

Solving the Rules of the Wish Book in Chapter 8

Closing the book and turning it over, the number on the back cover had indeed changed, from 75613 to 65613, a decrease of 10000 points.

Based on the previous wish, Zhang Jing had reason to believe that the string of numbers on the back cover of the book represented the remaining wish points. Each wish would consume some wish points, and according to this logic, once the remaining wish points were used up, it would be impossible to make another wish.

So, how should one increase the wish points? Zhang Jing thought about it for a while, but couldn't come to a conclusion yet, so he listed it as an important question that needed to be clarified next.

In addition, Zhang Jing has basically confirmed that if one simply uses the wishing book to wish for money, there seems to be a corresponding relationship between the wishing points spent and the money. According to the information obtained from the current attempts, it is approximately 1 point to 100 yuan. Based on this calculation, if the remaining 65613 points are all exchanged for money, it should be possible to obtain 6561300 yuan, which is more than six million yuan.