They returned with a full basket of bamboo shoots.

Gu Yanqing happened to come over today and, before he could praise them for their haul, saw his son proudly holding a small bamboo shoot tip and saying, “Kouko found this.”

Gu Yanqing picked him up and said, “Wow, Kouko is so amazing!”

“Yeah,” Kouko nodded without modesty, “Better than Mommy.”

Gu Yanqing laughed and patted his head.

Qiao Wanqing sorted the bamboo shoots.

The ones that were damaged, although still edible, were ugly and not good for giving away, so she kept those for herself.

The good ones were reserved for gifting.

Winter bamboo shoots were especially valuable and in high demand during this season.

She wondered if they would sell well on Taobao.

She checked and found that bamboo shoots were indeed being sold online, with prices high—60 yuan for 5 pounds, which was 12 yuan per pound.

This was quite expensive, as the bamboo shoots come with skin and roots, meaning the edible part is much less.

Buying 5 pounds could result in only enough for one meal.

Despite the high price, there were still many buyers.

In Qiao Wanqing’s village, where there were many bamboo forests, many people dug up bamboo shoots.

At the local market, they sold for up to 4 yuan per pound.

Because people could dig them themselves and the cost was low, there weren’t many buyers.

Her vegetarian restaurant bought them at 3 yuan per pound in bulk, and there was still high demand.

If she sold them on Taobao…

It would be foolish not to make money. Although Gu Yanqing always suggested that Qiao Wanqing should only sell fruit and vegetable chips, she decided to give selling bamboo shoots a try.

That day, she stayed late to create a product detail page.

She was now very skilled at making these pages—creativity came easily, and she could quickly adapt templates. She finished it up in no time.

By the time she listed the product, it was just past 11 PM.

It was the fastest she’d ever done it, fueled by enthusiasm.

She took a look at the page and was pleased with how it turned out—it looked very rustic and had the right feel.

She stretched and saw Gu Yanqing coming in after his shower, rubbing his arms.

She couldn’t help but laugh and said, “Your son’s been a real handful.”

Kouko, having discovered bamboo shoots in the morning, was feeling quite proud of himself and thought he was amazing.

In the afternoon, he insisted on continuing to dig for bamboo shoots, but Qiao Wanqing was too busy and bothered Gu Yanqing instead.

Gu Yanqing, having no choice, told Kouko that there were bamboo shoots in the small forest next to their house.

Kouko kept pointing out where there were shoots, and Gu Yanqing ended up swinging the hoe for the entire afternoon, even though he usually just typed and wrote.

By dinner, Gu Yanqing could barely lift his arm.

“So, spoiling a child isn’t always good; they need to be disciplined,” Gu Yanqing said.

Qiao Wanqing replied, “If you were willing to lift a finger against him, I might believe that.”

Sometimes, when she was really angry, she would give Kouko a few light swats on the bottom.

Gu Yanqing, on the other hand, was too soft-hearted even to touch Kouko—his playful taps were barely noticeable.

Kouko would often laugh, thinking his dad was just joking around.

Gu Yanqing said, “… Just wait until he grows up. You’ll see how I handle him then!”

Qiao Wanqing didn’t believe Gu Yanqing’s talk about discipline and went to take a shower.

In the rural winter, temperatures are 1-2 degrees lower than in the city, and heating conditions are not as good, so even with a heater, taking a shower was uncomfortable, but it felt great afterward.

Especially since someone had warmed up the bed.

Kouko, who was lying in the middle of the bed, didn’t budge.

Qiao Wanqing had to squeeze in from the edge and grabbed her son to use him as a hand-warmer.

In his sleep, Kouko felt his mother lift the blanket and was uncomfortable with the cold air around him.

He sleepily reached out his little hand to push her away and mumbled, “Elbow, elbow~”

Qiao Wanqing didn’t let go but kissed his forehead and soothed him, “It’s okay, it’s Mommy~”

Hearing his mother’s voice, Kouko felt reassured and settled back into sleep, content to be her hand-warmer.

Gu Yanqing: “……”

Such proficiency meant this wasn’t the first time.

…

Qiao Wanqing initially just wanted to test selling bamboo shoots, but unexpectedly, sales exploded after a few days.

What started as dozens or hundreds a day quickly turned into thousands of pieces daily.

Even Qiao Wanqing was shocked and couldn’t understand how it happened.

But selling meant profit.

She hired people to help her buy spring bamboo shoots at a rate of 3.5 yuan per pound, and everyone preferred to sell to her first.

Soon, all the bamboo shoots were sold out.

Qiao Wanqing made a substantial profit, catching the attention of the higher-ups.

Although she wasn’t the top seller in their training program, her impressive sales drew attention from the county, which sent officials to inspect her winter bamboo shoots.

Knowing she was getting married in ten days, they also gave her a large red envelope.

The official, smiling, watched several people weigh bamboo shoots and pack them at the farm-to-table site, and told Qiao Wanqing, “Next spring, we’re hosting a high-level e-commerce seminar in our city. Our county has two invitations, and you’ll be one of them.”

The high-level e-commerce seminar was something Qiao Wanqing had only read about in e-commerce news and had never attended in person.

It was said to be a gathering of e-commerce giants where one could learn a lot.

Excited to be one step closer to her goal, Qiao Wanqing said, “Thank you, leader!”

The leader was very pleased.

Qiao Wanqing’s impressive performance meant that everyone could enjoy a good New Year.

With this success, Qiao Wanqing was on her way to becoming a well-known figure in the village and even the town.

However, Qiao Wanqing remained very low-key.

She was only truly happy when counting her earnings.

Seeing her busy with the calculator all night, Gu Yanqing shook his head and said, “I think you need an accountant.”

“It’s not that serious. Can you guess how much I’ve earned recently?”

“Five figures, probably starting with four or five,” Gu Yanqing guessed her earnings accurately.

Qiao Wanqing pushed him playfully, “How do you know so well?”

“Just estimated.”

Well, he was smarter than she was, but even Gu Yanqing didn’t always get it right.

He didn’t fully support her selling bamboo shoots and had hoped she would focus on fruit and vegetable chips. He didn’t expect this windfall.

Qiao Wanqing said, “It’s probably enough for the down payment on a house in C City.”

Koko would be almost two years old, and by the time he turned three, he would need to start kindergarten.

The town’s kindergarten couldn’t compare to those in the city.

Qiao Wanqing hoped he could attend the best kindergarten for better safety and education.

Therefore, moving to the city was inevitable.

While moving in with Gu Yanqing would be fine, Qiao Wanqing knew that Grandma Qiao wouldn’t be comfortable living there. Since she wasn’t the owner, it would be better to buy a house.

If Grandma Qiao was willing to move to the city, she could live there, and they could visit her regularly.

Qiao Wanqing also thought that her uncle and aunt could occasionally stay there for a while.

So she decided that with the money she earned, she would buy a house first.

Even if Grandma Qiao preferred the countryside and didn’t move, the house would be a good investment and wouldn’t depreciate in value.

“You want to buy a house?” Gu Yanqing was a bit surprised; she had never mentioned it before.

Qiao Wanqing laughed lightly, “Gu Zong, don’t you know? Earning money to buy a house and then keeping a young lover is my dream.”

Gu Yanqing: “……”

Was his face not white enough?

With the local mountains being stripped bare of bamboo shoots and nothing left to find, Qiao Wanqing closed the sales link.

With just six days left before her wedding, the family of three flew abroad to prepare for the wedding.