However, this was not her concern.

Qiao Wanqing knew this restaurant posed no real threat to their vegetarian place, which was renowned for its delicious food and had a solid reputation that drew people in.

On the other hand, this place was unlikely to build a good reputation, as even the picky Gu Yanqing barely touched his food.

The same went for Kou Kou, who inherited his father’s fussiness.

“Aren’t you two going to eat? It’s a waste to order so much and not eat,” Qiao Wanqing felt they were being too dramatic.

This was just an average restaurant, not terrible, but nothing special either.

“No choice, my taste buds have been spoiled by my wife,” Gu Yanqing took the opportunity to tease Qiao Wanqing.

“I haven’t cooked for you recently. Do you have another wife?”

Gu Yanqing: “…… Can’t you just play along?”

“Not everyone can spout sweet talk like you,” Qiao Wanqing said, placing a piece of fish belly, free of bones, into Kou Kou’s bowl. “Sweetie, don’t be like Daddy. Eat a bit, or you’ll be hungry.”

She then brought a piece to Kou Kou’s mouth, but he stubbornly shook his head, lips tightly pressed together. “No, no.”

“……”

Qiao Wanqing ended up eating it herself.

She wasn’t sure if the fish was from a reservoir, but it was well-prepared, not fishy, and quite fresh and sweet.

The only downside was that it had been steamed a bit too long, making it slightly tough, but still edible.

“I think it’s pretty good. Come on, try it.”

Father and son gave her a uniform look of disdain.

Qiao Wanqing: “……”

She wondered if they were even the same species as her.

……

By the time they returned to the vegetarian restaurant, it was already 2 PM.

Just as she arrived at the entrance, Qiao Wanqing noticed Boss Cai riding her little electric scooter down the road, making a “putt-putt” sound as she came towards her.

Qiao Wanqing asked Gu Yanqing to take Koukour inside and make him some milk. He hadn’t eaten much for lunch and was getting sleepy.

If he didn’t eat again after his three-hour nap, he’d be starving.

She waited at the entrance for a bit.

When Boss Cai parked her little scooter and walked over, Qiao Wanqing smiled and said, “Sister Cai, how come you have time to visit me today?”

Qiao Wanqing was quite surprised to see her.

Boss Cai had been running her farmhouse restaurant for a long time, and its reputation was just as good as hers. Business was booming during the National Day holiday, and while Qiao Wanqing’s place was still bustling with guests, the farmhouse restaurant should have been just as busy.

“Heh, it’s all because of that nonsense with the ‘Happy Wedding Farmhouse Cuisine’ place.”

There were guests coming and going at the entrance, so Qiao Wanqing said, “Sister Cai, let’s not talk here. Come inside and sit down.”

Qiao Wanqing led the boss lady to the back of their vegetarian restaurant, where she had set up a table and chairs specifically for entertaining friends.

“This family is ridiculous,” Boss Cai said, taking the water Qiao Wanqing poured for her. “They’ve caused trouble several times, even bringing a cockroach once and putting it in my food to make a fuss and claim my restaurant was dirty.”

Qiao Wanqing didn’t realize their feud had lasted so long.

She only knew that Boss Cai had faked a heart attack one day, scaring the other party off.

She hadn’t known there was more to the story.

“So what happened then? How did you handle it?”

“Heh, I simply cooked a new dish and put a cockroach in it. I showed it to them. The difference between a cooked and uncooked cockroach is obvious. The one they put in my food was still dry. Who were they trying to fool?”

Qiao Wanqing chuckled.

Boss Cai was so clever; there was no way she’d be taken advantage of in situations like this.

“Now they see our businesses doing well and are jealous. They think there’s money to be made here, so they come from the city to open a shop. I’d like to see if their food is good enough to compete.”

“We just came back from their place. The food was just okay.”

Qiao Wanqing then told Boss Cai about their experience at the new restaurant.

After listening, Boss Cai scoffed, “I saw their advertisements everywhere, almost at my doorstep, thinking they were something special. Oh, sister.”

Boss Cai leaned in and whispered, “Should we mess with them a bit?”

Last time, Qiao Wanqing was still shaken by the greenhouse incident.

She didn’t hold a grudge against them, and running a restaurant was supposed to be fair competition.

Even if they didn’t open a new place, someone else would see their success and try to replicate it.

No single restaurant could monopolize all the business.

At most, they had been a bit unfair to their two restaurants, but it wasn’t worth going after them for it.

“Forget it, let’s not play any tricks. We’re not afraid of them. At worst, my vegetarian restaurant will lose some traffic and make a bit less money.”

“That’s not what I meant by ‘mess with them.’ Don’t think I’m so shady. I’m a good citizen,” Boss Cai explained.

Qiao Wanqing remained silent.

“How about this: we run a joint promotion. If customers eat vegetarian at your place, they get 20% off fresh vegetables at my shop. And if they buy vegetables at my shop, they get 20% off at your restaurant. What do you think?”

“Are you sure this is to mess with the ‘Happily Ever After’ restaurant and not just to use my vegetarian restaurant to promote your vegetables? I know your farm tourists buy up all your veggies and rarely come to eat at my place.”

“Isn’t that even better? Fewer customers for you to discount.”

Qiao Wanqing couldn’t argue with that twisted logic. “Boss Cai, I may not be well-read, but don’t fool me.”

“Come on, it’s mutually beneficial. If I sell more vegetables, doesn’t that mean you make more too?”

In the end, Qiao Wanqing reluctantly agreed to the promotion, realizing she wouldn’t lose out.

In fact, she hoped Boss Cai would sell even more vegetables.

After sending Boss Cai off, Qiao Wanqing returned to her room where Koukua was already asleep.

She told Gu Yanqing, “I’ll have the kitchen make you something to eat. You didn’t have much for lunch.”

“Okay.”

Qiao Wanqing went to the kitchen and saw the chefs either busy working or taking a break to eat.

Feeling bad about bothering them, she washed her hands and prepared to cook a bowl of noodles for Gu Yanqing herself.

They didn’t buy much for dinner today, and since Gu Yanqing is picky about food, Qiao Wanqing decided to make him some mixed noodles.

She finely chopped some pork belly and mushrooms.

She heated oil in a pan, added chopped green onions to bring out the aroma, then fried the minced pork belly for a while.

She added a spoonful of spicy sauce, stir-fried it until fragrant, then added the chopped mushrooms and cooked them.

She poured in some water and let it boil for a bit, then added soy sauce and salt.

Once the soup smelled delicious, she thickened it with some cornstarch water and set it aside.

Next, she boiled another pot of water, cooked the noodles, added a few leaves of green vegetables and bean sprouts, then drained them.

She mixed the noodles with the sauce she just made and sprinkled some chopped green onions on top.

These mixed noodles were somewhat like braised noodles.

They were aromatic, with a smooth and rich texture, and a unique flavor.

Because the starch thickened the sauce, the noodles didn’t absorb more water and didn’t stick together or become mushy.

They retained their chewy texture.

Paired with a clear soup, the bowl could be licked clean.

Cough cough.

As expected, Mr. Gu ate with great satisfaction.

Then, feeling full, he got some naughty thoughts, but Qiao Wanqing slapped him back to reality.

Around four in the afternoon, Qiao Wanqing suggested that since it was golden autumn and the persimmons were ripe, they should go pick some to eat.

Koukou hadn’t slept enough and was woken up, so he was in a bad mood, kicking his little legs and howling.

Qiao Wanqing intentionally said, “Oh, Koukou still wants to sleep and doesn’t want to pick persimmons. Let’s go without him, and he’ll probably be awake by the time we get back.”

Koukou immediately stopped kicking.

“Alright, I’ll go start the car. Don’t forget to bring something to hold the persimmons,” Gu Yanqing said to Qiao Wanqing.

The two of them actually started to leave the room when they heard Koukou urgently call out, “Mommy!”

“What’s up, baby?” Qiao Wanqing held back her laughter and looked back at him.

Koukou quickly got off the bed, hugged Qiao Wanqing’s leg, and looked up at her, “I… I want to go too, to pick persimmons.”

His eyes were bright and clear, with no sign of having cried.

Since Koukou hadn’t eaten much for lunch, just a bottle of milk, Qiao Wanqing planned to give him something to eat.

She saw some small wontons in the fridge, which she remembered were bought by her second aunt who came to help.

She took some out and cooked them for Koukou.

Since Koukou was eager to go pick persimmons, he sat in the chair and ate actively.

When Qiao Wanqing cooled the wontons down, he obediently opened his mouth to eat.

But after chewing a few bites, he suddenly spit it out as if he had eaten something awful.

He panted and started shaking, saying something unclearly: “ra, ra.”

“Ra?” Qiao Wanqing was confused.

Gu Yanqing saw Koukou sticking out his tongue and realized he was probably feeling spicy.

He quickly handed him his water bottle.

Koukou drank a bottle of water in gulps and finally stopped, then started crying loudly, feeling very wronged.

Qiao Wanqing, puzzled, took a wonton and chewed it.

She then realized that the wonton filling was surprisingly spicy!