Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Qi Mo didn’t usually pay attention to these things, so how could he possibly know the reason?

After thinking for a moment, some buried memories resurfaced.

Other than the apocalypse, this port was a joint development project.

"Because it's a joint venture. It's not just our country doing it alone. Recently, relations with them seem fine, but problems could pop up at any time. I think it’s a huge trap—once the two sides start arguing, the project will be delayed indefinitely," Qi Mo offered as an excuse.

The bidding was happening in the next couple of days.

Once they won the bid, they'd need to put up a huge deposit and front the initial costs.

Although the Huo family had money, tying up that much capital would make things hard after the apocalypse.

"By the way, hubby, I think our family should stockpile some cash and gold. I’ve seen people buying lots of gold and keeping it in their home safes. Shouldn’t we do the same?" Qi Mo tugged at Huo Liangzhou and asked.

Huo Liangzhou listened to his young husband’s strange notions and replied, "As long as you’re happy. Just withdraw the money or use the secondary card to buy gold."

"How much can I spend?" The little master tugged at his stoic husband.

Huo Liangzhou felt a soft voice whispering in his ear, making his skin tingle.

After a brief pause, Huo Liangzhou answered, "A hundred million yuan."

"Great! Thank you, hubby!" The little master immediately cheered and pecked a kiss on his stoic husband’s cheek.

After the apocalypse, with power and internet cut off, banks would be useless. Money in passbooks could still be withdrawn, but cards would be basically worthless.

Soon, cash would become just paper—not even good enough to wipe your ass with.

Gold, though—even in the apocalypse—would still be good as gold.

As for cigarettes and alcohol, Qi Mo planned to hoard some of that too.

Those would have to come out of his allowance, though.

There was no way to justify them as aid for poor areas.

Qi Mo thought about how much allowance he had. Huo Liangzhou gave him a million a month, and all expenses were covered by Huo Liangzhou’s secondary card.

The baby was nine months old, and he had been pregnant for nine months—adding up to eighteen million, none of which he had spent.

Plus there was the holiday gift money Huo Liangzhou gave him. He probably had over twenty million.

Worth fifteen mil for a sports car, over a million for an off-road vehicle, over two million for a luxury RV, and a yacht.

The baby also had a villa worth over fifty million and New Year’s money totaling over fifty million.

Too bad—after the apocalypse, all of it would just be worthless paper.

At least the house would still be standing.

Maybe he could quietly sell off the baby’s house, mortgage it for gold, or trade the cars and yacht?

Who’d be buying that crap now?

Well, not impossible—Chen Feng, for glittering gold—or better yet, guns.

[censored], a bit risky.

If I do it sneakily, people might actually believe me. I want guns—even a crossbow would work.

Decision made, he tossed aside his money-provider husband and skipped off happily to play with Baby Yan.

Sitting back on his heels on the carpet, Qi Mo watched the chubby little Baby Yan crawling after a round bell. The bell, as big as his fist, jingled as it rolled...

The little guy was completely oblivious to Daddy’s arrival.

Happily occupied, the baby finally grabbed the handle of the bell—then immediately shoved it into his mouth. Everything had to go straight into his mouth for a taste test.

Noticing that Baby Yan was ignoring him, Qi Mo picked up a small duck toy and gave it a squeeze.

A sharp, loud QUACK! cut through the room.

Baby Yan's attention snapped instantly. Spotting Daddy nearby, he dropped the oversized bell without hesitation and began crawling toward him.

"Dada! Dada!" The little one reached out, trying to grab the duck from Daddy’s hand. Though he could crawl, standing upright still scared him.

He could only whine impatiently.

Baby Yan’s eager babbling and the sound of the squeaky duck filled the living room.

Huo Liangzhou’s attention kept straying from his paperwork, his gaze drifting repeatedly to Qi Mo and the baby.

After playing with Baby Yan for a while, Qi Mo picked him up. “Dear, I’m taking Baby Yan to bed.”

“Mm, go ahead,” Huo Liangzhou nodded.

As soon as Qi Mo lifted Baby Yan, the little one started gnawing at his cheek.

He looked anxious, and Qi Mo suddenly remembered—he’d eaten, but the baby hadn’t had a proper meal yet.

Nanny Zhang brought over a bowl of vegetable and lean meat porridge, reminding him, “The little one must be starving.”

“Oh right, I almost forgot,” Qi Mo laughed, taking Baby Yan to the kitchen to feed him the porridge.

Baby Yan’s appetite had grown. Formula alone wasn’t cutting it anymore—he needed porridge, vegetable puree, fruit puree, and more.

Watching Qi Mo carry the baby to the kitchen, Huo Liangzhou tugged at his tie, his throat working as he swallowed hard.

His expression darkened, eyes icy and unreadable, hiding who-knows-what secret plan.

After feeding Baby Yan, Qi Mo carried him back to their room.

While the baby played in the nursery corner, Qi Mo started scouring Jiangcheng-based online shops.

Soon enough, he found a baby supply wholesaler in Jiangcheng.

He shot them a direct message.

Qi Mo ordered ten boxes of the highest safety-rated baby bottles—ten per box.

A hundred... Wait, no—that might not be enough. He still had two more babies on the way.

So he tacked on ten more boxes just to be safe.

Then came diapers—five hundred boxes, covering all sizes, including a smaller portion for baby girls.

Might as well stock up.

Could be useful.

Formula was the real priority.

For their older child, Qi Mo ordered five hundred boxes of premium brand formula—two hundred boxes of Stage 1, two hundred boxes of Stage 2, and one hundred boxes of Stage 3.

Older kids used formula for extra nutrition, while younger ones depended on it for survival.

No point overdoing it in one go.

Then Qi Mo added two other highly-rated brands, three hundred boxes total—a hundred per stage.

Then came baby tissues, baby wipes, baby lotion—these were all must-haves, so he stocked up.

Then things like drool bibs, teething toys, and toys.

Not to mention baby clothes, shoes, socks—everything for all seasons.

His sugar-daddy husband was covering it, so he went on swiping without a care.

Huo Liangzhou had just stepped out of the shower when he saw the spending alerts from the secondary card—his young master was at it again.

It was all from a baby supply company. Must still be spooked from whatever he saw on TV.

As long as it made his young master happy, it’s whatever—just some shopping.

Huo Liangzhou didn’t care about that.

What truly concerned him was the development of the Haicheng docks.

In his study, he called a few friends to ask how things were looking—whether tensions between the two countries might escalate.

Over an hour later, his friend finally called back—yeah, things might get messy.

Huo Liangzhou tapped his fingers slowly on the desk. So his young master wasn’t totally oblivious—he still cared about him.

Throwing Chen Feng under the bus? Huo Liangzhou had zero remorse.

His young master was already married to him, they even had a kid together—using that two-faced Chen Feng as emotional leverage worked just fine.

Especially since his young master wanted to screw with Chen Feng—that made Huo Liangzhou happy.

Even if he hadn’t fully won his young master’s heart yet, no way in hell was he letting Chen Feng get a foothold. That spot was his…

Once everything was settled, Qi Mo told the supplier he’d text the delivery address by next noon.

He needed to find a storefront—something that looked like a shop. Then bulk-buying baby stuff would look legit.

With the baby supplies sorted, Qi Mo stretched lazily.

He rubbed his stomach—at last, it felt lighter.

It was 8:30 PM.

He took a shower, then gave the baby a thorough bath.

Qi Mo lay down and quickly fell asleep.

Meanwhile, Huo Liangzhou called the bank president—he needed to withdraw ten million in cash the next day.

If the young master wanted to keep some money in the safe, so be it.

He’d also buy gold tomorrow as a surprise for the young master.

Late at night, Huo Liangzhou opened the bedroom door.

The blanket had been tossed aside, and the young master and his child lay uncovered.

Luckily, the AC was set warm, keeping the room around 27–28°C.

Huo Liangzhou kissed the young master’s forehead, gently patted the baby’s head, then left the room silently—as if he’d never been there.

At the Chen residence, Jiang Nuan, Qi Huai, and Chen Feng met.

Jiang Nuan turned to Chen Feng. “What did my *dear* cousin say about the Haicheng Port bidding?”

“Will this work out?” Qi Huai asked.

Chen Feng sipped his wine before saying, “Relax, if I’m handling it, there won’t be any mistakes. He’s already agreed to bring it up with Huo Liangzhou.”

“As long as Qi Mo speaks, Huo Liangzhou won’t refuse,” Qi Huai chuckled.

Jiang Nuan looked worried. “The Jiang family is on the verge of bankruptcy. The internet boom has hit traditional industries hard. Chen Feng, could you talk to Qi Mo and see if Huo Liangzhou would consider injecting capital?”

“Foreign snack brands have flooded the market, and the Jiang family’s products haven’t adapted. Their competitiveness is lacking. Pumping money in won’t help—they’ll go bankrupt anyway. It’d be better to find someone to acquire them,” Chen Feng replied.

“Their situation keeps getting worse. There’s no saving them. Who’d take on such a sinking ship?” Qi Huai added.

They exchanged glances. Jiang Nuan said, “Huo Liangzhou—for Qi Mo’s sake, he’d definitely agree. As long as my *dear* cousin is willing to open his mouth.”

After saying that, they both instinctively looked at Qi Huai.

Qi Huai swirled his wine glass. “He isn’t mine yet. Go ahead and use my little cousin. Only when Huo Liangzhou sees Qi Mo’s a fool will he finally see my worth.”

“Huo Liangzhou must be blind—how could he fall for that useless airhead?” Jiang Nuan remarked.

Chen Feng smirked. “If he weren’t blind, would he have fallen for him? He’s fun to toy with, but marrying him? That’s asking for dumb kids.”

“Shut it,” Qi Huai snapped. “You can insult Qi Mo all you want, but Huo Liangzhou is just temporarily deceived.”

Jiang Nuan laughed at her cousin’s anger. “Oh? Defending him already, and you haven’t even won him over?”

“Huo Liangzhou’s *so* lucky,” Jiang Nuan sneered.

Qi Huai glared—sour grapes, huh?

“I’ll ask Qi Mo out tomorrow to chat,” she said.

“I already asked. He’s busy tomorrow.”

“Then the day after. If we wait too long, I’m afraid he might catch on.” She wasn’t close to Qi Mo anyway, but Chen Feng and Qi Huai had grown up with him—their bond ran deeper.

Pity Qi Mo was too clueless to see he was a pawn.