The bracelet feels comfortable on his wrist, and seeing how much Koukou likes it, Qiao Wanqing lets him wear it all the time.

“Dad, dad.”

Recently, Gu Yanqing’s project ran into problems, so he hasn’t been around much lately, only occasionally video calling.

Koukou used to see his dad almost every day, but now it’s been so long that he probably misses him.

When Koukou sees the little bracelet, “seeing the object and thinking of the person,” he suddenly calls out for his dad.

Qiao Wanqing suddenly feels a pang of heartache and kisses him. “Koukou misses daddy, right?”

“Daddy.” Koukou calls out softly again, sounding pitiful.

“Alright, don’t be sad,” Qiao Wanqing laughs and cries, not knowing why his little obsession with his dad is so strong at such a young age.

“He’ll come to see you in a couple of days. Today, Mom will take you to town.”

Today is market day in town, and Qiao Wanqing needs to buy some seasonal vegetable seeds for the next planting season.

She decides to take Koukou out for a walk as well.

Koukou loves lively places, and the weather is just right today—not too cold, not too hot—for a stroll.

Qiao Wanqing walks around with Koukou in her arms, buys what she needs, and seeing he’s still excited, decides to take him to the nearby agritainment farm for a bit.

There’s a crowd gathered at the entrance of the agritainment farm, though it’s only 10 in the morning and the farm should just be starting its day.

Why is it so lively?

Qiao Wanqing walks over and overhears people gossiping about something.

After listening for a while, she finally figures out why.

It turns out that recently, Qiao Wanqing had only supplied a small amount of vegetables for guests at the agritainment farm, and stopped selling fresh vegetables.

However, an elderly couple who had eaten vegetables bought from the farm during a visit to their friend’s house were so impressed that they traveled a long way to buy more.

Boss Cai repeatedly explained to them that there were no fresh vegetables available at the moment and they would need to wait.

He promised to call them as soon as new stock arrived.

The problem arose when this elderly couple came to eat, believing that the vegetables they were served were available for sale.

They couldn’t understand why there weren’t fresh vegetables for sale, accusing Boss Cai of deceiving them.

Around the same time, the greenhouse side, thinking they had eliminated Qiao Wanqing’s vegetable supply, wanted to build a good relationship with Boss Cai to sell their fresh vegetables.

They sent over a large bag of fresh vegetables.

Boss Cai has a good relationship with Qiao Wanqing and sells her vegetables because they’re delicious.

Naturally, he disregarded the greenhouse’s offer and left the bag of vegetables conspicuously at the entrance.

The elderly couple mistook these vegetables for the ones they had eaten and hastily filled their own bags with the vegetables they liked, akin to a robbery.

Despite Boss Cai’s attempts to explain, they insisted that these were the same vegetables they had eaten.

As they were elderly, Boss Cai couldn’t do much to stop them.

In the end, he reluctantly let them take the vegetables and charged them 200 yuan.

Initially, Boss Cai didn’t want to do business with the greenhouse side.

He sent the 200 yuan back to them through someone else, thinking this would settle things.

But today, the elderly couple’s family members came knocking, accusing them of deceiving the elderly by selling ordinary vegetables as delicious green vegetables at a much higher price.

These people were not to be trifled with, and they were causing a scene at Boss Cai’s shop.

Qiao Wanqing heard them arguing loudly and worried it might frighten Koukou, so she didn’t take him inside and instead took him for a walk elsewhere before returning home.

In the afternoon, Qiao Wanqing was in the yard using her laptop to design the menu for her shop.

She knows a bit of Photoshop, so she handles these tasks herself.

After nearly a year of renovation, Qiao Wanqing’s yard is now adorned with flowers and a few vegetables.

It’s late spring, and the yard is vibrant with blossoms and a pleasant fragrance.

In one corner of the yard stands a large cinnamon tree under which sits a set of wooden leisure tables and chairs—Qiao Wanqing’s usual “office seat.”

When she’s not in the fields, she prepares what she needs to open her shop here.

Koukou either plays with toys on a crawling mat or dominates the small courtyard in his walker.

This life is tranquil and comfortable, exactly what Qiao Wanqing anticipated a year ago when she dreamed of rural living, now fully realized through her diligent efforts.

In a sunny corner of the yard, there’s even a cherry tree planted by Gu Yanqing.

“Flower, flower.”

Koukou somehow picked a flower and rolls over in his walker, presenting it to Qiao Wanqing with his little face upturned and hand outstretched.

“Is this for Mommy? Thank you, Koukou.”

Qiao Wanqing takes the flower, but Koukou nods towards himself, indicating he wants to wear it.

Qiao Wanqing couldn’t help but laugh and cry.

Feeling a bit blocked in her thoughts, she decided to pick several flowers in the yard and weave a small flower crown for Koukou.

Koukou, with his rosy cheeks, didn’t look out of place wearing the tiny flower crown.

Qiao Wanqing praised him, feeling quite pleased with herself, thinking she looked as beautiful as a celestial being.

“He’s so adorable, but he’s a boy. If we have another child, I hope it’s a girl.”

Just then, her phone rang—it was Boss Cai calling.

Qiao Wanqing picked up and asked, “Hello, Boss Cai, what’s going on?”

“Wanqing, I need your help with something. I really need your help this time,” Boss Cai’s voice sounded pleading.

Qiao Wanqing let Koukou play on his own and stood up, asking, “What’s wrong?”

“It’s about an incident at my shop…” Boss Cai proceeded to explain what had happened at his shop, which matched the version Qiao Wanqing had heard from passersby.

In conclusion, Boss Cai said, “They insist on picking the vegetables in your garden to believe they’re real. I know this is disturbing you, but they’re really difficult to deal with. Whatever they pick from your garden, I’ll compensate you fully, not a penny less.”

It seemed Boss Cai had really stirred up trouble this time.

When it came to money matters, Qiao Wanqing knew she couldn’t afford to lose even a penny.

Even if she knew the person well, she habitually rounded up.

Qiao Wanqing was absolutely unwilling to have these people in her vegetable garden.

Even though she wasn’t currently growing off-season vegetables that grow fast and would not be easily identified, she still strongly opposed strangers coming into her garden.

Cai Boss made this request, which she had to agree to.

On one hand, it was about maintaining good relations, and on the other, during her uncle’s troubles, Cai Boss had helped her a lot and pulled some strings for her.

If she didn’t help with this favor, it would seem ungrateful.

“Sure, Cai Jie,” Qiao Wanqing said, “but I don’t need to entertain them.”

Cai Boss quickly replied, “No need for you to entertain them, just focus on picking vegetables, don’t worry about anything else.”

“Alright, Cai Jie, go ahead and have them come over.”

It was less than half an hour’s drive from town to here, and they arrived quickly.

Qiao Wanqing asked Grandma Qiao to watch Kou Kou and went out to meet them.

In addition to Cai Boss and a helper from her shop, there were also two elderly couples who looked about the same age as Grandma Qiao, a couple in their early forties, and a young woman around twenty.

“This is Miss Qiao, the owner of the vegetable garden,” Cai Boss introduced them.

The forty-year-old woman scrutinized Qiao Wanqing and said, “She doesn’t look like someone who gardens. Cai Boss, you’re not trying to deceive me, are you?”

Before Cai Boss could respond, Qiao Wanqing replied, “What’s this? Is there a strict dress code for gardening now? Are there different classes of gardeners?”

“You’re wearing designer clothes, you can’t possibly be a gardener,” the young woman in her twenties from their group said.

Qiao Wanqing went out today wearing clothes she found from the previous owner.

She didn’t have a strong sense of designer brands and simply chose what she thought looked good.

When the others commented on her attire, Qiao Wanqing became irritated. “If I have money and like wearing these clothes, what’s your problem?” she retorted sharply.

The young woman was at a loss for words.

“Alright, alright,” Cai Boss intervened, her chubby figure shaking as she walked over. “Let’s focus on picking vegetables. We don’t have time to waste, especially with the sun setting soon.”

Under Cai Boss’s insistence, the family finally headed to Qiao Wanqing’s vegetable garden to start picking.

Cai Boss pulled Qiao Wanqing aside, apologizing for their behavior. “These people are something else. Just bear with it, it’s like being bitten by a dog.”

Qiao Wanqing chuckled at the comparison. “No worries. Let them finish picking and then they can leave. You’ve had a tough day too.”

Cai Boss had definitely encountered a difficult group.

Even the young girl among them seemed defiant, exuding a sense of superiority.

“Ah, forget about it,” Cai Boss continued. “In business, you’ll always encounter troublesome people. When you open your shop, consider hiring a couple of tough ones who won’t let anyone mess with you.”

Qiao Wanqing agreed. It made sense to have strong staff to manage things.

“By the way, how’s your shop coming along?”

Cai Boss was optimistic about Qiao Wanqing’s venture.

While their businesses would overlap somewhat, Qiao Wanqing’s focus on vegetarian dishes wouldn’t directly compete with her business, which catered more to meat eaters at the rural retreat.

“It’s almost ready. You must come by when it opens,” Qiao Wanqing invited.

“Absolutely,” Cai Boss pledged. “I’ll bring everyone from my shop to support you. Just give me a free meal.”

Qiao Wanqing chuckled again.

As they chatted, the family enjoyed themselves in the vegetable garden, but Qiao Wanqing soon realized they weren’t respecting her crops.

They were damaging the plants as they picked, like pulling up the bean vines instead of just picking the beans.

Cai Boss rushed to remind them to be careful.

Though Qiao Wanqing hadn’t been tending to the garden much lately, it was still her hard work.

Seeing them destroy her crops made her angry, especially their defiant attitude.

She called Ah Huang, her wary dog, to subtly chase them away with a few well-timed farts.