Since returning here, besides the villagers coming to admire the “beauty” of Xu Han, hardly anyone else sought her out.

Curious about who it might be, she looked up and saw a tall figure standing at the entrance of their yard.

She froze in disbelief.

Gu Yanqing?!

Holy cow! Xu Han couldn’t help blinking, wondering if she was seeing things.

Wasn’t it written in the book that Qiao Wanqing would never have a chance to meet Gu Yanqing again?

So why was he standing right in front of her now?

Could it be that because the supporting characters weren’t detailed enough, this plotline was simply ignored?

Gu Yanqing also seemed taken aback when he saw her coming out with a knife, looking rather fierce.

The two of them stared at each other in silence.

The man who had brought Gu Yanqing here, Uncle Wang from the village entrance, smiled and said, “Are you cooking? This gentleman said he was looking for you, so I brought him over. Is he a relative or a friend of yours?”

“Yes, a friend,” Xu Han replied reluctantly.

“That’s good then, since he’s your friend. I’m heading back home for dinner now.” With that, Uncle Wang waved off any thanks and left.

Once Uncle Wang had gone, Grandma Qiao came out from the kitchen, about to ask who had arrived.

Xu Han quickly handed her the knife and said, “Grandma, go wrap the dumplings. Don’t come out.”

“Oh, okay,” Grandma Qiao looked a bit worried as she glanced between Xu Han and Gu Yanqing, but seeing Xu Han’s calm expression, she took the knife and went inside.

Xu Han walked up to Gu Yanqing in three swift steps.

She couldn’t deny that in real life, Gu Yanqing was indeed handsome—tall, with a dignified face and sharp features.

Standing there, his natural air of authority was undeniable.

If Xu Han hadn’t known their story was already written in the book, she might have fallen for such a man.

Gu Yanqing had only brought an assistant, if she remembered correctly, named Wang Xiao.

He was the one who had delivered the message with the check to her earlier, and she vaguely recalled his unfriendly attitude.

Brushing off the vegetable crumbs from her hands, Xu Han didn’t invite them inside but stood at the door and asked, “Mr. Gu, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?”

Gu Yanqing furrowed his brows slightly.

The contrast in her attitude before and after was quite stark.

But without beating around the bush, he also didn’t want to waste time.

He went straight to the point and asked, “Did you give birth to my child?”

Um… when it came to children, just a few days ago Xu Han had been planning to raise Kouko as Gu Yanqing’s child.

Now, thinking about the outcome of her recent experiment, she suddenly hesitated.

After all, this “spiritual urine” ability was her only cheat in this book world!

Everyone else has a personal space, a support system.

She, on the other hand, has only brought a “spiritual urine” of her son, the villain?

…

Xu Han had little social experience, and the answer was already written all over her face.

Gu Yanqing understood and asked coldly, “Qiao Wanqing, what exactly are you trying to do?”

Xu Han shrugged, making up a story with a serious face, “My brain isn’t functioning well. By the time I found out I was pregnant, it was already seven months along, too late for an abortion. What could I do but choose to keep it?”

Gu Yanqing: “…”

Xu Han continued, “Don’t worry, I won’t ask you to take responsibility. But if you could support with some child support, that would be even better.”

As dusk fell with dimming light, Gu Yanqing’s expression was inscrutable.

However, Xu Han could imagine the awkward expression on his face and found it quite satisfying.

Gu Yanqing hadn’t expected this negotiation outcome.

He had thought this vain woman was going to have the child to extort money from him, perhaps even to blackmail him into taking responsibility for her.

After all, she was someone who had used underhanded means to sleep with him and now wanted him to be responsible.

But her change of tune was as sudden as a tornado, leaving him speechless when he had prepared for the worst.

He had originally planned to immediately take the child for a paternity test.

If it confirmed the child was his son, he would acknowledge him as a Gu family heir, along with compensating Qiao Wanqing financially.

After all, this child was the result of Qiao Wanqing’s ten months of pregnancy and enduring the pain of childbirth.

He had done nothing but plant a seed.

Saying such things would make him appear too much like a beast.

“Alright, it’s getting late,” Xu Han knew he probably needed time to reconsider his plans, and she didn’t mince words in showing him out.

“We didn’t prepare extra dinner, so we won’t keep you. Please go ahead.”

At that moment, Kouko woke up inside the house, crying loudly.

Xu Han ignored Gu Yanqing and went back inside.

Upon hearing the child’s cry, Gu Yanqing’s hand tightened at his side.

After a few moments of silence, he finally said to Wang Xiao, “Let’s go.”

“Is that all?”

Recently, Gu Yanqing had been searching tirelessly for Qiao Wanqing’s whereabouts.

Finally finding her, he had dropped everything to rush over, only to leave just like that?

Without even glancing at the child?

Gu Yanqing didn’t respond and simply left on his own.

Knowing about the Destiny Child’s arrangement, this incident didn’t affect Xu Han much.

At most, she inwardly hoped Gu Yanqing might throw her a million yuan check for child support or something.

While she wasn’t as vain as Qiao Wanqing, she certainly wouldn’t refuse a windfall from the heavens.

Ahem.

…

After discovering Kouko’s little secret, Xu Han didn’t throw away his diapers.

Instead, she soaked them in a bucket used for watering plants in the vegetable garden.

In rural areas like this, using human urine as fertilizer for vegetable crops was common practice.

It was the quickest and most direct way to fertilize, allowing the nutrients to seep directly into the plants’ roots, ensuring excellent results.

Next in line was composted manure from poultry and livestock, which acted as solid fertilizer for the fields.

Now that Xu Han had Kouko’s urine, she found she could save on everything else.

The vegetables in the garden grew exceptionally fast—about three to four times the normal rate.

Xu Han conducted an experiment with a row of mustard greens.

She watered one side with Kouko’s urine and ignored the other.

Several days later, the side watered with urine had grown lush and vibrant, while the other side remained small and sparse.

Vegetables that normally took 20 days to mature were ready in just 8 days on the urine-watered side.

Truly, Kouko’s spirit urine was remarkable!

Moreover, these vegetables looked fresher and more tender than those sold in the market.

Their leaves were plump, and when snapped, they made a crisp “snap” sound.

Xu Han picked a handful of fresh mustard greens and took them home.

Grandma Qiao was amazed to see vegetables ready to eat in just a few days.

Xu Han didn’t mention the urine’s role to avoid alarming the elderly woman.

Instead, she said it was a cultivation technique she learned in school to accelerate plant growth.

Grandma Qiao, who had limited exposure to technology, believed her without much doubt.

However, Grandma Qiao had another concern: “We’ve planted so many vegetables, and they’re growing so fast. What if we can’t eat them all before they spoil? Mustard greens are prone to rot and aging quickly.”

Hmm, that was a problem.

“How about selling them at the market?” The idea struck Xu Han immediately. “We currently have no income, so selling vegetables could earn us some daily expenses.”

Grandma Qiao pondered this new direction.

Was this really the start of their farming fortune?

Nevertheless, it seemed like a good plan.

The two decided they would wait for the vegetables to mature and then take them to the market to sell.

Although their village was largely self-sufficient, there were also elementary schools and kindergartens that needed to buy vegetables for lunch.

Some people were too busy with other tasks to grow vegetables, or they didn’t grow enough.

During market days, they would buy vegetables to store in the refrigerator, cooking them when needed.

Recently, they had been buying vegetables at the market to eat.

Although Aunt Li said they could pick vegetables from her garden, since vegetables were needed every meal, it would be embarrassing to take too much.

Xu Han selected the vegetables, Grandma Qiao washed them.

Perhaps due to the “spiritual urine” of Kou Kou, the bok choy leaves were all growing exceptionally well, with hardly any bad leaves.

Still, Xu Han picked some leaves with more mud on them and threw them to the chickens.

— She wondered if feeding these leaves to the chickens would have a “chicken growth” effect.

“Next time we go to town, let’s buy a few geese to raise,” Xu Han said, looking at the chirping chicks. “When the geese lay eggs, we can feed them to our KouKou.”

Originally, she also wanted to raise pigs, but she heard that pigs smell bad and feeding them was difficult, so she decided against it for now.

Grandma Qiao was already accustomed to her determination to settle down here and nodded, saying, “Okay.”

Xu Han made lunch.

Despite only recently graduating from university, cooking was her specialty.

Moreover, she had watched many food live streams and had a repertoire of recipes.

First, she diced the pork belly and marinated it in starch and soy sauce.

Then, she stir-fried it with chopped scallions, ginger, and garlic in hot oil until fragrant, adding diced onions which she cooked until they changed color before adding her own sauce mixture.

She covered the pot and simmered it over low heat until the sauce thickened.

When the meat sauce was ready, rich and fragrant, Xu Han scooped a bit with a spoon, tasted it, and nodded in satisfaction.

The salty sauce slid over her tongue, slightly spicy from the chili she added, intimately engaging her taste buds with its refreshing spiciness.

It was delicious.

Xu Han was pleased with the taste, nodding to herself.

This was the flavor.

The noodles had been prepared ahead of time and rested.

Xu Han rolled out the dough into thin sheets, cut them into noodles with a knife, and tossed them with a bit of raw flour to prevent sticking.

Then, she boiled water, cooked the noodles for a minute, scooped them out, and blanched the bok choy in the noodle water until tender before placing it on top of the noodles.

She added some of the noodle water and two spoonfuls of the simmered meat sauce.

A bowl of noodles with a perfect balance of color, fragrance, and flavor was ready.

This was Xu Han’s first time cooking here, and Grandma Qiao had originally thought she might burn down the kitchen.

However, she was amazed to see Xu Han bring out two bowls of noodles that looked and smelled delicious.

“Grandma, try it. It’s been a while since I’ve cooked,” Xu Han said truthfully.

After all, she was still a student and had few opportunities to cook.

“Alright, it looks very appetizing. It looks much better than what I make, and I’m sure it tastes special too,” Grandma Qiao praised her before picking up her chopsticks and taking a bite of the noodles.

Xu Han’s handmade noodles were surprisingly smooth and chewy, with a delightful texture.

The meat sauce was spicy and fragrant; the addition of starch made the sauce thick and rich, enhancing the flavor of the meat.

But what amazed Grandma Qiao the most was the bok choy.

The stems were crisp and fresh, soaked in the savory taste of the meat sauce, providing a refreshing sweetness with every bite.

The two of them finished both bowls of noodles.

After they were full, Grandma Qiao cleaned up while Xu Han took care of feeding Kou Kou.

Kou Kou, now almost two months old, was chubby from being well-fed with breast milk.

As Xu Han held him, he instinctively nuzzled against her, eager to nurse.

Seeing his eager expression, Xu Han couldn’t help but laugh.

This little one would definitely grow up to be a foodie.

On market day in the village, Grandma Qiao took a basket of bok choy to sell.

Surprisingly, she returned shortly after selling out, saying that the only school canteen in their village, which also served as a kindergarten, knew her and bought all her vegetables because they had run out of greens.

Bok choy was selling for 3.5 yuan per kilogram, and Grandma Qiao sold the entire basket for a total of 38 yuan, marking their first income.

Xu Han asked Grandma Qiao to take the money and order a pork leg from the family in the village who sold pork to celebrate.

…

Two days later, the auntie from the school canteen who bought their vegetables came to visit.

The students at their school had eaten their homegrown bok choy, and even the children who usually didn’t like vegetables finished all the greens in their bowls.

They said it was delicious and wanted more vegetables.

Even the toddlers at the kindergarten, who were picky eaters, enjoyed it!