I Got Rich in Period Fiction
Chapter 199: Fish Seek Fish, Shrimp Seek Shrimp

Chapter 199: Chapter 199: Fish Seek Fish, Shrimp Seek Shrimp

"Of course, I agreed. Wow, that’s half less than expected," Qiao Qingyu exclaimed in amazement.

"Boss Chen is a profiteering merchant. How could he rest until he makes a half profit out of the goods he’s smuggled?"

Qiao Qingyu pouted, "I thought he was a rather honest businessman."

He Xiuyu smiled noncommittally, "I’ll go transfer the payment, and then have him send the goods to the Qiao Family Team."

"That would be best..." Qiao Qingyu smiled, her eyes curving, "Thank you for the trouble."

He Xiuyu glanced at her and then leisurely said, "Do you remember the old Mr. Wu Xiujie?"

Qiao Qingyu nodded, "Of course, I remember."

"He has now taken citizenship in Huaxia."

"Really? Are you serious?" Qiao Qingyu could hardly believe it, "Now so many people in our country are desperate to go to ’M country’ and dream of becoming ’M country citizens’. Why would the old man do the opposite?"

"It’s true, but it’s also quite normal. When people get older, they tend to follow the saying ’all leaves return to their roots.’"

"What about Wu Xiucai?"

He Xiuyu shook his head, "I’m not clear about that. However, in a week, old Mr. Wu Xiujie will come to Xichuan."

Instinctively, Qiao Qingyu felt a heaviness in her chest, "What is he coming to Xichuan for?"

"Of course, to inspect his work. The chemical factory invested by Wulong Group is about to be completed. He will surely want to come and check on it."

Qiao Qingyu was about to say something when the door of her house was knocked on.

At that moment, the two of them happened to be sitting under a grape trellis enjoying the cool breeze, while He Xuerong, who had played all day, was doing the homework assigned to her by He Xiuyu every day.

She wasn’t allowed to sleep until it was done.

Although He Xuerong wasn’t a once-in-a-lifetime genius, she was still extremely smart. The math problems she worked on were already at the first-grade level.

This was yet another future top student, and Xiao Hu was also there doing homework with her.

So, in the yard, only He Xiuyu and Qiao Qingyu were present.

Then they heard someone outside shout loudly, "Chief Engineer He, it’s Old Lin here."

It turned out that Director Lin had come.

He Xiuyu stood up to open the door for Director Lin. He arrived in a hurry, fanning himself vigorously with a big palm-leaf fan several times before sitting down under the grape trellis and saying, "I just got a call from Imperial City West District Police Station. They said that a technician named Zhao Gang from the Imperial City’s Number One Steel Factory committed suicide last night."

He Xiuyu was unaware of this matter, so he was taken aback.

"Why would they call you?"

He asked, puzzled.

Director Lin then looked at Qiao Qingyu, "Qingyu, do you know him?"

He Xiuyu immediately turned to look at Qiao Qingyu sitting next to him. When had she met this Zhao Gang?

His brows furrowed slightly.

Director Lin hurriedly said, "No worries, no worries, it’s just a routine inquiry because some time ago, Qingyu and Zhao Gang had been to the police station together to make a statement."

He Xiuyu knew nothing about this.

Qiao Qingyu was also startled by the news. Coming to her senses, she quickly explained, "I thought it was a minor issue and didn’t tell Chief Engineer He about it. But why would he commit suicide? Isn’t he a model worker of the steel factory?"

"I’m not sure about that. The police station was also just inquiring as a formality. Don’t worry."

Seeing that He Xiuyu’s expression had turned somewhat serious, Qiao Qingyu quickly recounted the events of that day to him. She concluded with, "I was planning on telling you, but then your mother was hospitalized. Besides, other than a slight scrape on my arm, I was fine and didn’t mention it at the time. Then I forgot."

Director Lin stood up, "I just wanted to talk to you for a bit, and now, it’s time for me to head back."

Qiao Qingyu hurried to the kitchen and found two freshly washed cucumbers and three tomatoes in a large bowl, which she handed to Director Lin, "They were just picked today, already cleaned."

Director Lin laughed heartily, a bit proud, "I figured that your little vegetable garden would have another batch of ripe tomatoes these days, so I didn’t call ahead."

"Director Lin, your attention to detail is impressive," Qiao Qingyu replied with a smile.

Director Lin left with the large bowl, and He Xiuyu turned to Qiao Qingyu, inquiring in detail once again about the incident.

He Xiuyu’s serious demeanor made Qiao Qingyu tense up as well, and she couldn’t help but ask worriedly, "I felt like someone pushed me from behind, but if he pushed me, why did he save me? And why push me when we don’t even know each other?"

He Xiuyu went silent, unable to judge since he wasn’t at the scene, and mumbled, "Why would he commit suicide when he was living just fine?"

After speaking, he stood up, "I’m going to make a call."

He had grown up in Beijing, and with many acquaintances in his circle, making such inquiries was easy for him.

The reasons behind Zhao Gang’s suicide were straightforward. He made a mistake at work and was harshly criticized by his superior, who told him to go home and reflect. But when he pushed open his front door, he found his wife in an affair with his classmate...

The double blow drove him to jump off a building.

Qiao Qingyu had a deep impression of this Zhao Gang, who seemed to be such a positive and upbeat person.

Yet unexpectedly, he chose such a way to end his life.

But this gave her a very strange feeling.

He Xiuyu held Qiao Qingyu’s hand and said in a low voice, "Don’t worry, I’ve asked my classmate to look into it."

"What does your classmate do?" Qiao Qingyu asked curiously.

She noted that although some of He Xiuyu’s classmates were young, they all seemed to be characters of significance. Perhaps this was what they meant by ’birds of a feather flock together’?

"He graduated from the Police University this year and just reported to the West City Branch a few days ago."

"Uncle, Uncle, I finished my homework," He Xuerong shouted as she ran out of the house, interrupting their conversation.

But Qiao Qingyu didn’t have any more questions anyway.

...

The next day, Qiao Qingyu dropped Rongrong off at kindergarten and rode her bike to her potato field, which spanned several acres.

One acre was dedicated to the base.

The rest was her own.

Qiao Qingyu remembered that the potatoes should be quite large at this time of year—their skins were very thin, not requiring peeling, and they were especially fragrant when washed and stewed with green beans.

The potato plants bred in the lab were somewhat different from those she remembered at the Qiao Family Team; the plants before her had dark green leaves and thick stems, giving them a robust appearance.

Wearing gloves, Qiao Qingyu started digging and soon felt something round. Suddenly, she experienced the thrill of treasure hunting.

She began digging potatoes out of the soil, which was both exciting and surprising. Under the thick stems, it seemed that a large cluster of potatoes had formed. She carefully tried not to touch the small ones, as they still had the potential to grow.

Qiao Qingyu pulled out a few large ones, then carefully covered the area with soil again.

After digging up several potato plants, she filled about half a basket.

Qiao Qingyu squatted at the end of the field, eyes shining as she gazed at the round potatoes in the basket. It looked like these acres of potatoes would yield a bountiful harvest.

She happily placed the basket on the rear seat of her bike and decided to push her bike home...