Chapter 1842 — The Thunder Pig Hunts for Treasure, Part One

And Granny Sun's words seemed to mock the life they had once lived. Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu knew the old woman meant no such thing—yet they could not help thinking of their former days.

Back then they had thought themselves frugal compared with those rich second-generation heirs wallowing in luxury. Only now did they realize how freely they had always spent.

Of course, if the people in that villa Granny Sun spoke of had been them, perhaps they would have made the same choice.

Three thousand yuan—to the girls they had once been, a trifling sum. If some kind soul had found it and brought it back, they would naturally have thought him a decent sort and handed the money over as a reward.

But that was then, and this was now.

"Of course, such things come only by luck—you can't count on them. Every day, our real income still has to come from this scrap paper and these drinks bottles." Granny Sun had not noticed the awkward looks on Gu Mengyao's and Shen Yushu's faces.

"Oh... so we just keep scavenging..." Shen Yushu said, her face red.

At Guan Xuemin's home.

Here sat several people who had never been close, drawn together only because each of them was connected to Guan Xuemin and Wei Zhao.

They were Guan Xuemin, Fatty Lai, Wu Chengtian, Sun Jingyan, Qiu Lingshan and Chen Yutian.

Qiu Lingshan and Chen Yutian laid out Wei Zhao's predicament before Guan Xuemin, Fatty Lai and the rest without holding anything back, hoping they might think of some way to resolve it.

But Yu Liu belonged to one of the hidden families, and among those present there was not one who could stand against a hidden family.

"Ah—I had thought of having a word with Director Qin, to ask him to waive Gu Pengzhan's medical fees, but Xiaoxiang turned me down flat..." Guan Xuemin said with a bitter smile.

Guan Xiaoxiang had already quarreled with Guan Xuemin once over the collapse of Guan Daifu Pharmaceuticals. He had warned Guan Xuemin back then not to let himself be swindled—and what had come of it? Guan Xuemin had sunk every last cent of his coffin money into Guan Daifu Pharmaceuticals, and still could not save the company from bankruptcy.

So Guan Xiaoxiang had nursed the grudge ever since. In his youth he had been refused permission to use Guan Xuemin's name to found a pharmaceutical company of his own; now, naturally, he had no kind face to show anyone connected with Wei Zhao.

Gu Pengzhan's medical fees would be handled strictly by the book—not a single cent would be waived.

And the reason they had all gathered at Guan Xuemin's house today was to discuss those fees. After all, when Fatty Lai's company had been in crisis, nearly all of them had emptied their personal savings; now they had no money left to put on the table.

"If only my company hadn't been sold a while back—then I wouldn't be so hard-pressed..." Sun Jingyan sighed. The Sun family had already tacitly accepted her freedom to love whom she chose, and so she had simply sold her company and gone home. Now look: the moment Wei Zhao ran into trouble, the old master of the Sun family froze her accounts and left her with nothing to spend.

Wu Chengtian's grandfather, Wu Gonggao, was an even greater snob, and Wu Chengtian too had been left penniless.

As for the Song and Chen families, neither had much business to speak of; on their salaries alone, the two of them could never cover Gu Pengzhan's enormous medical bills...

"It's all my fault... if I hadn't been so eager to expand the factory, none of us would have come to this!" Fatty Lai said in deep distress.

"Enough—this is no time to be blaming anyone..." Guan Xuemin sighed. "If it comes to it, I'll swallow my pride and go to old Director Qin. Not a waiver—but could the payments be postponed? Once Xiao Yi has recovered, everything else can be settled!"

"That's right—once the boss is back on his feet, we'll take back everything we've lost!" Fatty Lai nodded.

A week passed in the blink of an eye. Even with the Mighty General's help, the three of them never brought in more than five hundred to a thousand yuan a day, and no great windfall ever came. Wei Zhao's medical fees were being propped up entirely by the money Granny Sun had not yet had time to deposit in the bank. But watching that sum dwindle day by day, with every day a tight squeeze, Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu were still deeply worried.

If this went on, the day would surely come when they had nothing left—they could never hold out until Wei Zhao woke.

"If we really have no other choice, then tomorrow let the Thunder Pig join us," Gu Mengyao said.

The Thunder Pig spent every day at home with Wei Zhao. Its shape was so peculiar that Gu Mengyao had been afraid to take it out for fear of drawing curious stares and crowds. But now there was no other choice.

"The Thunder Pig... hey?" A light suddenly came to Shen Yushu. "Can't the Thunder Pig sniff out rare treasures? Then couldn't it sniff out junk as well?"

"That's right!" Gu Mengyao started at her words, then said delightedly, "How did we forget that? If the Thunder Pig can hunt treasure, it ought to be able to hunt for treasures in the trash too!"

"Thunder Pig, come here!" Shen Yushu beckoned to it.

The Thunder Pig seemed to have heard their conversation, and came over somewhat reluctantly.

"Can you find the valuable things in the garbage? And don't you dare say no!" Shen Yushu told it.

"..." The Thunder Pig was speechless. If I can't say no, why ask at all? It could only nod, aggrieved.

"Good. Tomorrow you disguise yourself as a dog—I'll dress you in a furry suit, and you pretend to be a dog and help us hunt treasure!" Shen Yushu said.

Disguise itself as a dog? The Thunder Pig shook its head vigorously at once. It was not like a human; it had long been used to wearing nothing. To suddenly put on a furry suit—wouldn't it be roasted alive?

"Listen—if you don't help us hunt treasure, Brother Arrow will never wake up, and then no one will help you level up. You'll be left to fend for yourself!" Shen Yushu threatened.

The Thunder Pig really could not take a scare. At her words it nodded hastily, agreeing to everything: fine, a dog it would be.

"Tomorrow we'll see how you perform!" Shen Yushu nodded in satisfaction.

In truth, before the Thunder Pig had been brought into the scavenging, Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu had not held out much hope at all...

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