Achieving Sam's Club Freedom

It's company policy; almost everyone is rotated in once every two months.

"Bei Wei, you took a day off last week, so how about you take tomorrow? We'll count it as your compensatory leave, alright?" Wang Shijie asked, looking at Bei Wei.

"I have no problem with that." Bei Wei nodded, seemingly having expected it.

"I'll find one more male colleague." Wang Shijie scanned the room and looked at Zhang Yang. "Zhang Yang, you're scheduled for a shift tomorrow."

Hearing it was Zhang Yang, several young, single guys in the office let out a collective sigh of relief.

It's Brother Zhang, so it's fine. We can relax.

In their eyes, Zhang Yang was harmless and absolutely the least threatening person there; there was no way he could be a rival in their pursuit of Bei Wei.

"Sure." Zhang Yang also nodded.

Although he planned to go pick up his car tomorrow morning, he could just give Bei Wei a heads-up and slip out for half the day.

Everyone had often helped each other out with these kinds of favors in the past, so it wasn't an issue.

After arranging the weekend shift, Supervisor Wang announced the end of the workday, and everyone scattered, eager to welcome the long-awaited weekend.

After clocking out, Zhang Yang saw Bei Wei packing her bag to leave and went over to talk to her about it.

"That's fine, Brother Zhang. If you have something to do, go ahead. I don't mind covering for a while." Bei Wei nodded and agreed readily.

"Thanks, I'll treat you to a meal later," Zhang Yang said casually.

"Oh, that's nice of you?" Bei Wei looked at Zhang Yang, her eyes filled with a smile. "Brother Zhang, are you... are you serious about that?"

"Serious. Your Brother Zhang can still afford a meal." Zhang Yang waved his hand. "You pick the place, you set the time."

He had the confidence of someone earning over ten thousand a day. He couldn't afford those sky-high prices in the hundreds of thousands, but a few thousand was nothing. Even in Magic City, a meal for two costing several thousand was high-end enough.

"I'm just teasing you, Brother Zhang." Bei Wei pursed her lips lightly. "If it's convenient, just bring me something to eat tomorrow on your way in. I don't really want to order takeout."

With her personality, she naturally wouldn't be like some girls who would climb up the pole, let alone take a polite gesture seriously and put someone on the spot.

"Alright, I'll bring you something tomorrow at noon." Zhang Yang, however, took the request to heart.

After work, Zhang Yang went to the nearby Sam's Club in high spirits.

On his first day of earning over ten thousand, he wanted to achieve "Sam's Club freedom."

Today was destined to be a massive shopping spree.

In the past, he would never have chosen to come to Sam's Club; after all, he was a lone wolf, and Sam's Club portions were always huge, often costing hundreds—it was never his first choice.

His usual haunts were the wet market, the supermarket, or the convenience store downstairs...

But now, Sam's Club welcomed him.

He grabbed ten bags of salmon fillets at nearly three hundred per kilogram, seven or eight bags of cod chunks at two hundred per kilogram, and a good amount of blueberries on the vine at eighty per jin. Mostly, he figured he shouldn't hoard fruit, just buy more when he ran out.

There were also things he had long coveted but couldn't bring himself to buy due to the price, like beef ribs and cashews; he grabbed a whole lot of those, too.

If you have money and don't spend it, it's just a number.

Don't look at how he spent several thousand in one go; it might seem like a lot, but when he went back, slept, and opened his eyes, huh? Another ten thousand.

If he wasn't buying a car, a house, or luxury goods, how could he ever spend all that money?

Pushing a cart filled to the brim and carrying bags upon bags of spoils, Zhang Yang returned home fully loaded.

The sky was pitch black, but the small single apartment was brightly lit.

"Up and down, finally managed to stuff it all in." Zhang Yang closed the refrigerator door and let out a long sigh of relief.

His previously empty, off-brand fridge was now packed tight, with every nook and cranny utilized.

They say that if you have grain at home, you won't panic. The simplest definition of a comfortable life is having plenty of food and clothing, and Zhang Yang felt exactly that way now.

"I'll have these for dinner tonight." Zhang Yang took out a box of beef ribs and sliced himself a piece of salmon.

That evening, he busied himself for a good while with great enthusiasm.

After blanching the beef ribs, he stewed them until they were soft and falling off the bone. He sliced the salmon and even tried his hand at plating it, and washed a large bowl of cherries.

With a hiss, he cracked open a bottle of Zero Coke and poured himself a full glass.

The window was half-open. He sat at the table, feeling the evening breeze, looking at the few dishes that seemed simple yet were actually quite sumptuous, and took a large gulp of Coke, enjoying the pleasure of Sam's Club freedom.

"Right, let me check the Little Blue Book."

Even though the system hadn't made a sound, he couldn't help but want to see the replies to his new post from today.

"Is this the same person!?"

"Are you sure you lost this much in a month? You didn't just lose it beforehand and come here to trick us, did you?"

"Please, please, please, tell us the method! How did you lose it?"

"It's definitely the same person. You look so much more energetic after losing the weight, damn! I'm suddenly so excited!"

"There's hope, there's hope! A month ago it was hopeless, but looking at it now, there is definitely huge room for improvement!"

"Your skin isn't loose or sagging, and you look so much younger. How did you do it?"

From top to bottom, it was pure, unadulterated disbelief.

In truth, if Zhang Yang had simply lost weight and ended up with sagging skin, many would surely have said he looked aged after his transformation. But thanks to the system, he didn't have a single loose fold of skin from head to toe.

This result meant that he was a completely different person compared to a month ago.

Zhang Yang spent some time interacting with netizens and sharing his weight-loss experience. Naturally, he only shared the healthy methods; as for those extreme practices like fasting just to drop weight, he kept those to himself.

"I wouldn't call it experience, just results verified through practice."

"When it comes to fat loss, rest is more important than diet, and diet is more important than exercise. For those with a high starting weight, focusing on diet and creating a caloric deficit while ensuring your basal metabolic rate is met is enough to lose weight."

There were too many people asking for weight-loss advice, and so many girls wanted to slim down. Zhang Yang wasn't a professional, so he could only answer based on what he knew from his own experience.

However, everyone's focus seemed a bit off; the advice he was actually seeking had yet to appear.

He decided to ask again.

"Patience is key." Zhang Yang closed the Little Blue Book, stood up to clear the dishes, and then headed downstairs for a walk to aid his digestion.

Living far from home, alone in Magic City, he actually lived quite freely, especially now.

In the past, his life was nothing but work, never having the chance to stroll leisurely like he did today. Wandering through the nearby park, the pace of life seemed to slow down all at once.

There were young women walking their dogs, youths out for a night run, influencers livestreaming outdoors, and children with pigtails running wild and free in the park.

The charm of Magic City wasn't just its prosperity, but the vibrant atmosphere of life found everywhere on this land.

On his way back, Zhang Yang received a call from his father, Zhang Zhaohai. After the two chatted for a while, his father got straight to the point.

"Right, add a WeChat later?"

"Setting me up on a date?" He was accustomed to such things and wasn't particularly opposed to them.

Some things that seemed like soap opera tropes were actually common in real life, especially when he was at the age of twenty-five.

"Yes, it's the niece of your mother's former colleague. She works in Magic City too, and she's great in every way. Make sure you seize the opportunity." Zhang Zhaohai spoke earnestly. "You're twenty-five this year. Once this year passes, your market value will be different."

Men had a market value too; if one was average in every aspect, age was the only thing they could leverage.

Once you pass twenty-five, you're heading toward thirty.

If you don't look great, have an average job, a plain family background, and are pushing thirty, it becomes very, very difficult...

Fortunately, Zhang Yang had turned the age threshold into a turning point in his life.

"Fine, send it over, I'll add her later." He would politely decline the unreliable ones, but since his mother was the one introducing her, he had to give her some face regardless.

A moment later, his mother, Song Wenqin, sent the WeChat contact.

Zhang Yang added her on the spot, then stopped by a fruit shop outside his apartment to buy a bag of fruit that looked sweet, carrying the bag back to his place.