Chapter 378: Chapter 379: Collecting Waste Products

Qu Huimin had never seen someone with such an odd way of thinking; she was so angry she couldn’t utter a single word. Stomping her foot, she left in a huff.

She figured he was just a country bumpkin, careless and inattentive. She should not have given him that reminder. It would serve him right if his wife were swindled away by someone else.

Then she’d like to see how he’d find a new partner.

As soon as Xu Ying got home from school in the afternoon, Huo Chen stopped her with an arm and rested his chin on her shoulder, his eyes tired and closed.

“What the heck, you scared me.”

“Your classmate came to see me this afternoon,” Huo Chen said with a raspy voice.

Xu Ying was somewhat surprised, “Classmate? Which one?”

“A guy with the surname Qu said you were seducing others at school,” Huo Chen said, sounding a bit sour.

As soon as Xu Ying heard this, she exploded and turned to look at him, “What, you think I would do something like that?”

Huo Chen shook his head; he trusted his wife.

“No, I don’t think that’s likely. I’m confident in myself and I trust you too,” Huo Chen said, pinching her waist and then lifting her up in a princess hold and gently placing her on the bed.

Lying in bed, Xu Ying looked at Huo Chen curiously, “What have you been up to these last few days, coming home covered in dust every day? Have you started collecting scrap?”

Huo Chen froze for a moment.

Xu Ying got it right on the mark, he really had.

“You’ve really been collecting scrap? What, is the business not making money?” Xu Ying asked with a puzzled face. That shouldn’t be the case; on the opening day the shop made a net profit of one thousand yuan.

Although business had settled down afterward, they were still averaging four to five hundred yuan a day, easily raking in over ten thousand a month.

Huo Chen shook his head and climbed into bed, lifting the covers, “How can it not make money? A net profit of at least twelve thousand yuan a month. Wu Qingsong and I have found another way to make money.”

It was quite a coincidence. On the way to check on the store, he and Wu Qingsong came across an elderly couple collecting scrap.

The elderly lady wanted to sell a piece of iron, but the offer from the elderly man was too low. They haggled back and forth and Huo Chen happened to see it.

The item in the lady’s hand looked familiar to him, and thinking back to the books he had read and the time in his youth when he followed an elder to learn about antique appraisal in a cattle shed, he recognized the item as a treasure at a glance.

Eventually, they managed to snag it for just several yuan.

Upon hearing Huo Chen’s story, Xu Ying’s face was a picture of shock; she hadn’t expected her man to know about such things.

Nowadays, many cultural relics are scattered outside, with many valuable items being sold cheaply by those who don’t know their worth.

But Xu Ying, having spent days in the apocalypse as a person from the future, naturally knew the value of these treasures.

Her eyes shining brightly, she took out her savings and handed them to Huo Chen, “I support you in this job, and this is my investment.”

Huo Chen took the passbook, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. His wife had spent over a hundred thousand yuan when contracting the mountain, followed by construction and setting up a farm, all of which amounted to at least two hundred thousand yuan spent together.

Now, she was taking out tens of thousands more. Just how rich was his wife?

Huo Chen suddenly felt a great deal of pressure.

“Take it, what are you staring for?” Xu Ying urged when she saw him standing there stunned.

Accepting the passbook, Huo Chen’s lips curled up, “You’re telling me I married a little rich wife?”

Xu Ying gave him a playful glance and said with a smile, “Pretty much. I’m investing this money with you, and you’d better earn it back for me.”

“At your command!”

The spots for the foreign language competition had been set, and the school asked several people to prepare; they would start heading to Shanghai next week.

To ensure that the three of them could prepare well, the school specially arranged a small classroom for them to study and review.

Xu Ying arrived at the classroom early in the morning to find Zhang Wu already studying, while Qu Huimin was sneakily watching Zhang Wu on the side.

Initially, she might have wanted to rekindle their relationship because of Zhang Wu’s family background, but as time went by, she was repeatedly rejected.

Zhang Wu’s actions had ignited a sense of unwillingness in Qu Huimin’s heart. Now, seeing that Zhang Wu was both academically and familially outstanding, Qu Huimin was even more convinced that such a man was only worthy of her.

“Xu Ying, you’re here. I have something to discuss with you alone.” Zhang Wu saw Xu Ying’s face light up with surprise, then turned his head and noticed the darkened expression in Qu Huimin’s eyes. He took Xu Ying out of the classroom and both stood in the corridor.

Qu Huimin was even more annoyed when she saw this scene. What secrets could these two possibly have that they needed to hide from her?

Damn Huo Chen, it’s his own fault his wife is being taken away.

Xu Ying looked at Zhang Wu with curiosity, “What’s up?”

Zhang Wu locked eyes with Xu Ying’s clear and bright ones, a hint of guilt and discontent flashing across his own, “My dad said the authorities are taking the college entrance examination matter very seriously and will help with the investigation.”

Upon hearing this, Xu Ying’s eyes instantly sparkled, and she excitedly said to Zhang Wu, “Thank you, Zhang Wu, and thank your dad too. I believe those students who’ve been wronged will be very grateful to you.”

Professional matters definitely required professionals to handle, and with Zhang Wu’s father involved, things would undoubtedly go smoother.

Zhang Wu smiled humbly, facing Xu Ying’s cheerful countenance, his own face blushing with a hint of shyness.

Thinking about how Xu Ying’s partner was someone from her village, he boldly asked, “Xu Ying, is yours an arranged marriage?”

Xu Ying frowned instantly upon hearing this.

Seeing her reaction, Zhang Wu’s heart sank, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend.”

Xu Ying waved it off, showing indifference, with a slight reduction in her smile, she said lightly, “My partner and I are in a relationship by choice.

We grew up together in the same village, and our feelings for each other run deep. I love my man very much, as well as the child.”

As she spoke, Xu Ying gently touched her belly with a tender expression, as if the child inside could feel her affection, it kicked through the belly.

Xu Ying, surprised, looked at her stomach and called out to it, “Baby, did you hear what mommy said?”

Then there was no more movement, but Xu Ying was still delighted.

When Zhang Wu heard Xu Ying speak of their strong relationship, a bitter smile appeared on his face.

He really had no chance at all.

When Xu Ying returned to the classroom, Qu Huimin watched her impatiently, “Xu Ying, you have a man.”

“So what?”

“And you’re not allowed to smile at Zhang Wu, that’s cheating,” Qu Huimin said, frustrated and fury in her tone.

Xu Ying sneered, though unclear about the grievance between her and Zhang Wu, she still retorted, “Instead of watching him get taken away by someone else, you might as well improve yourself.

When you’re good enough, good men will come looking for you instead of you chasing after them with no one wanting you.”

Qu Huimin choked up, her face turning red with anger as she glared at Xu Ying, “Are you saying I’m throwing myself at him?”

“I didn’t say that; you seem to think that’s the case,” Xu Ying lifted her eyelids mockingly.

Qu Huimin, enraged and clenching her teeth, didn’t dare make a move on Xu Ying; the woman was pregnant, after all, and what if she were accused of something?

Qu Huimin was seething internally, turning to Zhang Wu with a face full of reproach, “Even if you liked a divorced woman who’s already married with a child, you still wouldn’t be with me?”

It was the middle of the day, and Qu Huimin’s shouting, along with the explosive news, attracted quite a lot of attention. People were craning their necks to listen to her words.