Chapter 46: Treasure in the Trash
[Unfair favoritism, ban her already!]
[Film Emperor Chi is numb: my kid just went berserk out of nowhere, and I couldn’t even stop her.]
Wen Li and Tang Xin, who had reached the island early, watched in disbelief as boat after boat behind them got wrecked.
The second team to arrive? Chi Qian and Chi Fengxiao.
As for everyone else…
Well, at least they were good swimmers.
Gu Hua looked livid. As soon as she got ashore, she rounded on Chi Qian. “Qian Qian, that was way too much! Why did you suddenly ram us? Don’t you know how dangerous that was?”
Chi Qian stuffed her hands in her pockets. “Which rule of the show says contestants can’t do that?”
“Even if it’s not written, you still—”
“If it’s not written, then hit me back if you’re not convinced.”
Gu Hua’s face flushed red with rage. If she could ram her back, she would’ve already!
Ling Qian tried to soothe her. “Hua Hua, don’t stoop to her level. She’s just uncivilized.”
Chi Qian: “I may lack manners, but at least I don’t flaunt it. Unlike certain people, who can’t go a day without announcing to everyone that they’re wearing underwear—afraid people won’t notice otherwise.”
Ling Qian’s face went stiff; he couldn’t get a word out.
Chi Fengxiao took off his sun hat and plopped it on Chi Qian’s head, scolding her. “Didn’t I tell you not to argue with animals? You never listen.”
Chi Qian pressed her lips together, smiling as she obediently wore the hat.
The two across from them looked even more furious.
Shen Jing quickly tried to smooth things over. “Enough. Right now, finding water and food is more important, or we’ll be in trouble once it gets dark.”
Luo Fan wrung out his shirt as he walked over. “I know a way to turn seawater into freshwater, but I’ll need some tools.”
“There’s a lot of trash on the island,” Gu Hua suggested. “We might find something useful in it. We can split up: one group searches for water, one for food, one for tools in the garbage, and two groups stay here to set up camp.”
“That’s a good plan. It’ll save us time,” Luo Fan said approvingly.
Gu Hua smiled modestly, though she was already calling to her system in her mind.
System: [Leave it to me.]
In the end, Gu Hua’s group and Wen Li’s group stayed at the campsite.
Knowing Wen Li’s secret, Gu Hua quickly bonded with her.
Tang Xin squatted by herself, happily playing with ants.
The other three groups entered the forest.
Luo Fan casually sidled up to Chi Qian, his wet shirt clinging to his chest, muscles practically flexing at her.
“Chi Qian, your group got assigned to pick through trash, right? That’s too dirty for a girl like you. Want to swap tasks with us?”
Chi Qian yawned. “Nope.”
What’s so bad about trash? Might come in handy someday.
And this guy actually wanted to fight her for it—unbelievable.
Luo Fan chuckled. “You’re really different from the girls I’ve met before. Small, aloof, kind of mysterious. That’s special. But if you were just a little gentler, you’d be even more likable.”
Chi Qian thought his words sounded off, but she didn’t bother to analyze. She said flatly, “Being aloof is just my camouflage. My real ultimate move is being insane. Want to die?”
“…I’ll pass.”
“Then stop pointing fingers at me. I don’t eat your food, so why should you care about my personality?” Chi Qian rolled her eyes and walked off.
Chi Fengxiao gave Luo Fan a once-over, snorted, and followed after her.
The corner of Luo Fan’s mouth twitched uncontrollably.
Troublesome.
The young miss had a temper, that much was clear.
Better let Luo Zichuan, someone her own age, deal with her.
Chi Qian had no idea she herself had already been marked as a “target to capture.”
Being Chi Lisen’s granddaughter came with an aura that big and that dazzling.
So much so that even the side characters ignored the female lead and turned to chase after her instead.
The island really was covered in garbage.
Chi Qian reasonably suspected the production team had brought them here as cheap labor—and she even had evidence.
Fortunately, there were also plenty of useful items hidden among the trash.
She even managed to find a pot and a stove.
“Uncle,” Chi Qian suddenly called out, “come take a look at this.”
“What now?” Chi Fengxiao kicked aside some junk and crouched down. When he saw it, his eyes went wide. “Is that—”
Chi Qian lifted it up. “Wow.”
It was a gold nugget.
And not just any nugget—one the size of a fist!
The thrill of treasure-hunting in the trash spiked to the max.
Chi Fengxiao couldn’t stop grinning. “There’s no name on it, so by the rule of thumb, it’s ownerless. Whoever finds it, keeps it!”
“What if there are more nearby? Should we search again?”
“Hell yeah!”
The two of them immediately dove back in. Suddenly the garbage heap before them was no longer just garbage, but a mountain of gold and silver!
[！！！Was this also arranged by the production team?! A nugget that big nearly blinded my titanium dog eyes]
[Tell me the address of this island right now. I don’t even care about the gold, I just want to contribute to protecting the island’s ecosystem!]
[Ahhh! Even Film Emperor Chi is digging treasure! I’m so excited!]
[Some people pick trash to survive. They pick trash and strike it rich. I won’t say who’s jealous, but it’s me.]
Unfortunately, there was only the one big nugget.
The rest were no larger than half a fist.
Still, put together it wasn’t a small haul.
“Qian Qian,” Chi Fengxiao said, “You think this island could be a gold mine? Otherwise why so much gold?”
Chi Qian shook her head. “These nuggets were buried too shallow. More likely, they were dropped here.”
“How many did we find in total? How do we split them?”
“Let me see.”
Chi Qian tossed all the nuggets into a scavenged bucket and started counting. “One for Grandpa, one for me. One for Eldest Uncle, one for me. One for Second Uncle, one for me. One for Third Uncle, one for me—”
Chi Fengxiao grabbed her head. “Hey now, you’ve really gamed the system, haven’t you?!”
Chi Qian howled for him to let go. “Uncle, uncle! I actually have another theory!”
“Say it.”
“When we came this morning, wasn’t the island surrounded by fog? I think maybe a ship once crashed here, spilled some cargo, and then sank.”
“You’re saying—”
Chi Qian lowered her voice. “It must’ve been a treasure ship.”
The way the gold was scattered so close to the sea, buried not too deep in the silt—it couldn’t have been there for more than fifty years.
Chi Fengxiao slung an arm around her neck and whispered back, “Knowing is useless. It’s not like we can fish it up.”
“True.” Chi Qian hefted the bucket happily. “But having this much is already enough.”
Together, they hauled back a bucket full of gold.
And immediately shot to the top of the trending charts.
#I pick up trash, you pick up gold??#
[Before clicking: another clickbait post. After clicking: I am losing my mind.]
[A whole bucket of nuggets! Someone help Film Emperor Chi carry it, I’m begging!]
[Dying of laughter at Qian Qian splitting the haul: Grandpa, Eldest Uncle, Second Uncle, Third Uncle—are you even polite?!]
[Excuse me, but what’s Gu Hua’s deal? Saying Chi Qian’s find counts as communal property? Shameless much??]
