Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Dawn broke after a long night.

Qi Mo woke up to find Huo Liangzhou already gone to work.

He checked the time—8 a.m.—grabbed a quick bite with his kid, and then headed out to look for a storefront.

It didn’t take long. Just three kilometers from the villa was a half-empty shopping center, with more shopkeepers than shoppers.

What a money pit.

Qi Mo soon found a large corner store with a makeshift storage space upstairs—perfect.

He immediately called the landlord, asking to lease it for three months to store some items.

The landlord hesitated at first.

But Qi Mo offered a generous amount—three months’ rent plus a deposit, equal to six months' rent.

Since the place was hard to rent out anyway, maybe even unsold for half a year, the landlord agreed.

A quick text contract was sent over for temporary use, and Qi Mo paid on the spot.

Then he called a baby supply wholesaler and scheduled delivery for the afternoon.

Once that was done, he took his kid to a nearby supermarket.

Though the area was dead, there was still a big supermarket—even if business was slow.

Outside the supermarket stood a pharmacy, which Qi Mo walked into.

He bought out nearly the entire stock—disinfectant, iodine, alcohol, masks, anti-inflammatory drugs, cold medicine, fever reducers, thermometers—you name it, he cleaned them all out.

After loading up the trunk of his car, he took a quick spin around the block before heading back.

Inside the supermarket, he got five cases of toothpaste, five cases of toothbrushes, ten cases of shampoo, five cases of facial cleanser, ten cases of tissues, ten cases of laundry detergent, ten cases of soap, ten cases of bath soap, ten cases of bug spray, towels, bath towels, pajamas, drinks, liquor, chocolates, sausages…

Food, daily necessities, beverages—everything you could need.

He had the supermarket staff deliver it all to the warehouse in his store.

When questioned, he said it was for staff giveaways and prize drawings, so no one doubted why he was buying so much.

Once everything was delivered, he stashed it in his inventory and locked up.

Then he received a call from the water tank company—the tanks had been placed in the warehouse.

Qi Mo quickly went over.

Seeing the huge water tanks lined up inside, he felt pleased.

He paid up right away.

Then he handed the goods list to the security guard, instructing him to receive the remaining supplies.

Qi Mo added an extra 500 yuan to the man’s pay for the day, which made his day. The old man patted his chest and promised Qi Mo he’d get it done right.

At noon, the maternity and baby supplies company called Qi Mo to inform him that they would be delivering the goods shortly.

Returning to the shop, Qi Mo watched as milk powder, diapers, and other items were carried up to the second-floor warehouse.

After settling the payment and seeing off the delivery staff, Qi Mo placed everything into his storage space.

With these supplies secured, half of Qi Mo’s worries vanished—he wouldn’t have to worry about formula, clothes, or diapers for his little one anymore.

He had been busy all morning and was completely exhausted.

Luckily, the kid was well-behaved.

In the afternoon, he received a reply from the person he had contacted.

At the teahouse, the man looked at Qi Mo in surprise. “Since when does Master Qi need money? What, is Huo unwilling to support his own wife and child?”

Everyone in Jiangcheng knew that when the Qi family was on the verge of bankruptcy, Master Qi had latched onto Huo Liangzhou—the wealthiest man in Jiangcheng and ranked among the nation's top tycoons, an undefeated myth in the business world.

Taking over a nearly bankrupt company at seventeen, he had turned it into a Fortune 500 enterprise within just ten years.

Anyone who partnered with him struck gold.

Such a diamond-eligible bachelor—every family’s dream son-in-law—had been snatched away by Qi Mo in just one night.

Back then, countless wealthy heirs in Jiangcheng had banged their fists in frustration, thinking that if they had known winning Huo Liangzhou would be so easy, they would’ve made their move ages ago.

How could they have let the Qi family’s clueless young master beat them to it?

Qi Mo shook his head. “It’s not like that. I just want to help Brother Chen. He’s planning to invest in a project and might be short on funds—I want to prepare some for him.”

Bai Jiu, the Pale-Faced King of Hell, held sway in both legal and underworld circles in Jiangcheng.

When Qi Mo reached out to him, Bai Jiu had been curious. With nothing better to do, he decided to meet this young master whom Huo Liangzhou doted on so much.

“Then what collateral do you have? Even if you are President Huo’s beloved, without collateral, we don’t lend money,” Bai Jiu said with a smile.

Qi Mo patted the baby in his arms, who was squirming and making noises as it tried to crawl away.

“The house—the lakeside villa. It has a market value of over 50 million yuan. If I mortgage it, how much can you lend me?” Qi Mo asked.

Bai Jiu tapped the table. “For 50 million yuan, we can give you 40.”

Qi Mo then pulled out more items. “Plus these yachts and luxury cars.”

“Then we’ll add another 10 million—50 million yuan total. How’s that? This price is fair and square, and only because of President Huo’s face. Otherwise, we’d offer half at most.” Bai Jiu chuckled.

Qi Mo nodded. “Deal.”

“Master Qi, I must make this clear—our interest rates are high. When do you plan to repay? Think carefully, because if you miss the deadline, these items become ours. No amount of crying will get them back,” Bai Jiu warned.

Qi Mo nodded again. “I understand. One month is all I need for cash flow.”

“Oh, and by the way—I heard you can get firearms. I’d like some,” Qi Mo added.

Bai Jiu raised an eyebrow. Mortgaging assets was one thing—but guns? Was this guy actually planning to murder your husband for an ex?

“How many do you want? They don’t come cheap,” Bai Jiu replied. Business that came knocking was still business—no reason to turn it down.

After some thought, Qi Mo said, “How many do you have? I want fifty pistols, ten thousand rounds of ammunition. Do you have automatic weapons?”

Bai choked on his tea, coughing so hard tears sprang to his eyes.

This kid—did he even know what he was saying? *Fifty* guns? *Ten thousand* rounds?

No way this guy was an undercover cop.

No cop would be this damn bold, demanding fifty guns and ten thousand bullets right off the bat.

And he wanted automatics too.

In your dreams! Yeah, right!

Even if I *could* get them, no cop would dare ask like that.

Qi Mo’s face fell, his expression dripping with pure disdain: Some ‘Third Master’ you are. More like Third-rate punk.

Third Master Bai, thoroughly scorned by that look.

Alright, call me whatever.

I really can’t get you that much.

Seeing the other man unmoved, Qi Mo sulked, “Then how much do you have? Ten guns at least, right? And a thousand rounds.”

With the young master’s face clearly threatening: Say no and I’ll start bawling.

Bai was *this close* to losing it.

Huo Liangzhou, how the hell do you deal with this brat?

With a sigh, Bai said, “Fine, I’ll see what I can dig up. But the most I can give you is a hundred rounds.”

“No way. At least five hundred,” Qi Mo whimpered. In front of this big shot, the move was to act helpless—never push too hard, because if you did, he’d push back harder.

But if you played weak, he’d cave.

Qi Mo whimpered, and the fussy toddler in his arms immediately let out a screech.

Big teary eyes welled up instantly, wailing straight at Bai.

Bai: “I didn’t *do* anything!”

He stood up fast. “I’ll keep you posted. Call when I’ve got something.”

“Make it quick. Within a week, or else it’s a breach of contract—you’ll owe me compensation,” Qi Mo said, on the verge of waterworks.

Bai booked it out of there.

Once outside the teahouse, in the car, one of his guys looked at Third Master Bai. “Boss, what’s this rich kid’s deal?”

“Don’t talk. I need a minute. That was *nuts*. President Huo actually puts up with him? No wonder big shots have nerves of steel. Truly formidable.” Bai was deeply impressed by Huo Liangzhou.

After a pause, the guy couldn’t resist asking, “Boss, what did he do to scare you like that?”

Recovered but still shaken, Bai replied, “He asked for fifty guns. Ten thousand rounds. Wanted automatics too. When I said no, he started tearing up—and then the little one screamed too. That piercing cry… Thank *God* I got outta there!”

“At least he’s not an undercover,” the guy muttered, shuddering.

Upon hearing this, Third Master Bai remarked, "I've seen spies bringing kids along, but I'd worry he's planning to off his own husband."

"How about you tip off Boss Huo? If anything happens, let him handle it himself," the underling suggested after a moment's thought.

Third Master Bai nodded. "Let's wait and see."

They didn’t earn money as easily as big bosses like Huo, who made millions in minutes.

Flipping 50 mil into 60 mil with a cool 10 mil profit—where else could you find such a deal? And with zero risk. Third Master Bai wasn’t worried Huo Liangzhou would renege.

Watching Third Master Bai scramble away, Qi Mo thought it matched exactly what his husband had described.

Happy as a clam, he scooped up his kid and left the teahouse.

Later, Qi Mo headed to the blacksmith’s forge.

In his past life after the apocalypse, he’d visited with his husband. The blacksmith carried all kinds of bladed weapons—swords, daggers, crossbows—and even took custom orders.

He left the car outside the old street and made his way down the cobblestone path, about two and a half meters wide—too narrow for vehicles.

Carrying his little one, Qi Mo stood at the entrance of the blacksmith’s forge as the clang of hammer on steel rang out.

He pushed through the curtain, finding the shop empty.

"Anyone here?" Qi Mo called loudly.

A youth emerged from the backyard. "What can I do for ya?"

"I’d like to buy some things," Qi Mo said.

The boy gestured to the items in the shop—flower hoes, small shovels, military shovels, kitchen knives, fruit knives, axes, and cleavers—and said, "Help yourself. Prices are marked."

Holding his child, Qi Mo grabbed small shovels, hoes, military shovels, kitchen knives, fruit knives, axes, and cleavers, dumping them into a basket before adding, "I’ll take ten of each. Also, ten straight swords, ten curved blades, twenty crossbows, and a thousand bolts."

"We don’t sell those kinds of weapons here," the youth refused.

Qi Mo replied, "Boss Huo sent me."

"My surname is Qi, and my little one is named Huo Jingyan," Qi Mo said, giving his kid’s butt a pat. The little one immediately babbled, "Dada, dada."

The youth gave Qi Mo a once-over, pulled out his phone, and searched.

A moment later, he found a slightly blurry photo that resembled the man before him.

"Wait here. I’ll get my dad," the youth said.

Soon, a middle-aged man came out and greeted Qi Mo warmly. "Young Master Qi Mo! Boss Huo’s child is already so big? Well, well!"

"What do you need these for?" the man, Tie Dong, asked.

Qi Mo explained, "Uncle Tie, I want to bulk up my collection. Your craftsmanship is excellent."

"But I’m in a hurry. Can you pull it off in three days? I’ve got a duel—can’t afford to lose. I trust your skills," Qi Mo pressed.

Tie Dong nodded. "Say no more. Come back in three days. I’ll have everything ready."

The youth, Tie Xiaobei, pushed a cart piled high with Qi Mo’s picks—daggers, kitchen knives, hoes, military shovels, and more. The pile was heavy, needed hauling.

After putting the stuff in the trunk, the young man looked at Qi Mo and said, "Your kid is so cute."

"Yeah, my kid’s always been the cutest and smartest, right, Yan Yan?" Qi Mo ruffled the little one's head.

The kid grabbed his face and smothered him in wet kisses.

Qi Mo burst into laughter.

That evening, Qi Mo checked in with the warehouse foreman. Just paying the unloading crew ran him tens of thousands.

He then told the foreman to rest and come back the next morning.

He flipped the power switch and shut off the cameras.

Then Qi Mo stashed everything from the warehouse into his space.

They’d gotten a ton of deliveries today—loads of fruit—watermelons, cantaloupes, strawberries, grapes, you name it—tens of tons worth.

There were also multiple truckloads of vegetables, grains, meat, and bottled water, along with all the seasonings already delivered.

Holding his kid, Qi Mo looked over the stockpile in his space, grinning like crazy.

With this much stuff, he and his kid were set for life.