As the year-end approaches, many people start taking their vacations.

In the nearby town, there is a small but famous plum blossom mountain below the Yue Lao Temple that Tan Yue mentioned last time.

It attracts quite a number of tourists from the city and even from other places.

Business at the local agritourism farm suddenly boomed.

The most direct effect was that the farm started ordering a lot more vegetables from Xu Han.

Previously, she only needed to deliver once every three days, but now she delivers a big bag of vegetables every day.

“How do you grow your vegetables? They’re so delicious!” The farm’s owner, who initially had a haughty attitude, warmed up to Xu Han after getting to know her better.

Now, he welcomes her with a smile.

Xu Han exhaled to warm her cold hands and said, “I just use natural fertilizers, no chemicals or pesticides. I grow them with care.”

The owner whispered, “You might fool others with that, but not me. Did you buy those genetically modified seeds they’re talking about on the news to grow such good vegetables?”

“Of course not,” Xu Han laughed at the owner’s imagination. “If you don’t believe me, you can buy some seeds from the market and plant them in my garden. I guarantee they’ll be just as tasty.”

The owner waved his hand, saying, “Forget it. I’m just talking. As long as your vegetables are good, I sell well. I wouldn’t mind if you could grow vegetables that taste like chicken!”

“Mr. Cai, now that your agritourism business is doing so well, have you thought about selling raw vegetables as well as cooked ones?”

“Hey, I’m not stupid. If I sell raw vegetables, who will come to eat the expensive cooked ones?”

Oh, so you do know you’re selling them at a high price.

At that moment, a helper from the farm handed Xu Han a cup of hot water and shyly said, “Sister Qing, have some water.”

“Thank you,” Xu Han said. After riding her bike for such a long time, she was freezing, and a sip of hot water made her feel much better.

Continuing the conversation with the owner, she said, “It’s not necessarily true. People who buy your vegetables must have eaten them and found them delicious first. You’re actually making double the money. Once you build a good reputation, many people who don’t come for meals will come to buy vegetables. While buying vegetables, they might sit down for a meal too. Business drives more business, right? And since my vegetables are tasty, you can sell them at a higher price because rare things are more valuable.”

“Well, you make a good point. No wonder you educated folks have a better business sense. Okay, send me more vegetables tomorrow, and I’ll see how it goes.”

Seeing a chance, Xu Han smiled and said, “Sure, but boss, like I said, rare things are more valuable. I will raise the price this time.”

Mr. Cai laughed, “I knew you weren’t that generous. Fine, I’ll try it first. If it works out, we’ll discuss the price.”

Xu Han agreed, but she realized that her electric bike might not be enough for deliveries.

She might need a small three-wheeled truck and would probably have to hire one of the village’s three-wheeler drivers to help her.

After saying goodbye to Mr. Cai, Xu Han rode her bike home.

Passing through the market street, she saw fresh duck blood and giblets for sale and decided to buy some to make duck blood vermicelli soup for dinner.

As she was paying and waiting for the vendor to bag her purchase, she suddenly heard a hesitant voice, “Wan, Wan Qing?”

Huh? Xu Han looked up curiously to see a woman around 50 years old with a slightly worn canvas bag.

When the woman saw her face, her eyes lit up, and she said, “It really is you! When did you come back?”

Xu Han searched through Qiao Wanqing’s memories but couldn’t recall anything about the woman in front of her.

She asked with a hint of confusion, “May I ask who you are?”

The woman adjusted her hair and said somewhat nervously, “I’m your second aunt, Zhong Xiumei. Do you remember me?”

Second aunt?

Since Qiao Wanqing had been away since high school and rarely returned home, she wasn’t close to her relatives.

Additionally, there had been significant tension between her mother and grandmother.

After her mother passed away, there was no contact with her maternal family.

So, Qiao Wanqing’s memory of her second aunt was very vague.

With this reminder, Xu Han finally remembered.

“Oh, it’s Second Aunt,” Xu Han said politely, taking the cleaned duck giblets and a box of duck blood from the vendor.

She and her aunt moved to the side of the road. “Sorry, I didn’t remember right away. Don’t take it to heart, Second Aunt.”

“It’s normal for you not to remember. Your parents passed away these past few years, and there hasn’t been any contact between our families,” Zhong Xiumei smiled. “Are you back to visit family?”

“No, I’m living at home now and growing some vegetables.”

“Living at home and growing vegetables?” Zhong Xiumei was taken aback, then asked in shock, “You’re not working outside anymore?”

“Not for now,” Xu Han didn’t want to delve into the long story, so she changed the topic. “How have things been for you these past few years, Second Aunt?”

“Just the usual. Your grandmother passed away last year. Your eldest uncle’s family moved to the city because your eldest cousin made a name for himself. Your second uncle and I are still at home, farming and raising some chickens and ducks. That’s how we’re living.”

Xu Han nodded and then smiled. “Second Aunt, since we’ve run into each other, why not come to my house for a visit? It’s been years since you’ve been to my place, hasn’t it?”

“Today might not work. I have some things to do at home later. Maybe next time. I’ll come with your second uncle. Are you still living at the same place?”

Xu Han nodded, exchanged contact information with Zhong Xiumei, and then rode her electric bike back home.

When she arrived, she found there were visitors at her house.

“Miss Qiao, long time no see.”

As soon as Xu Han walked into the yard, she saw Grandma Qiao sewing shoes under the eaves, with Koukou sitting in a stroller.

Tan Yue was playing with him.

Seeing Xu Han return, Tan Yue smiled and greeted her.

There was also a young woman with him, whom Xu Han didn’t recognize.

She was very attractive, with slightly curled brown hair hanging over her chest and wearing light makeup that made her look elegant and beautiful.

The woman was teasing the sleeping Huang Daxian with a small twig.

Huang Daxian lazily opened one eye, glanced at her, then turned around and went back to sleep with his back to her.

“Mr. Tan, what brings you here?” Xu Han pushed her bike into the yard and asked, “Why didn’t you tell me in advance you were coming?”

Tan Yue smiled lightly, “If I told you in advance, there wouldn’t be any surprise.”

Xu Han couldn’t quite understand what surprise he was referring to.

Koukou saw her and reached out his hands, babbling for her to hold him.

Xu Han parked her bike, picked him up, and Koukou giggled as he buried his head in her chest.

Xu Han kissed his forehead with a light laugh.

“Are you here to buy vegetables again?” Xu Han patted Koukou’s head and asked Tan Yue.

“Yes, as the year-end approaches, things have slowed down, so I came to buy some vegetables and relax a bit,” Tan Yue replied calmly, then introduced the young woman to Xu Han. “By the way, this is my sister, Tan Xin.”

“Hello, Miss Qiao.”

Xu Han looked at the charming young woman in front of her and thought, “…”

What kind of twist is this?

Xu Han felt as if a thousand alpacas were galloping through her mind.

She had tried hard not to get involved with the original characters, but they kept showing up around her one by one.

Did she have some kind of irresistible charm that attracted all the original characters to her?

Xu Han gently grabbed Koukou’s hand as he playfully slapped her face.

She smiled politely, “Hello, Miss Tan.”

“Is this your child?” Miss Tan asked, looking at Koukou. “He’s really cute.”

Whether he was cute or not was one thing, but Xu Han felt that Miss Tan wasn’t just complimenting Koukou.

Koukou looked very much like Gu Yanquing, and it was clear that Miss Tan had an ulterior motive.

Perhaps she had seen the news about Xu Han and Wen Yao’s conflict and noticed a child who resembled someone she liked.

With Tan Yue knowing Xu Han, she might have used the pretext of buying vegetables to come and investigate.

After all, Gu Yanquing had kept the child’s existence well-hidden.

Even if they tried to investigate, they wouldn’t find any clues.

But Xu Han had nothing to hide and wasn’t afraid of being discovered.

She nodded openly, “Yes, he’s my child. His name is Koukou, like the character for ‘mouth.'”

“Koukou, what an interesting name.”

“Babababa.”

Hearing someone call his name, Koukou babbled happily.

Recently, he had learned to make the “ba” sound and loved repeating it.

Every time he said it, Xu Han felt like he was calling for “papa.”

Despite all her efforts, she had never heard him say “mama.”

Miss Tan curiously asked, “Oh, is he calling for his dad?”

“He’s not even seven months old. He’s just making random sounds.”

“Oh, I see,” Miss Tan responded, looking enlightened.

After a moment of excitement, Koukou started nuzzling Xu Han’s chest, a sign that he was hungry.

Xu Han said, “Why don’t you both have a seat? I’ll take him inside to feed him.”

Xu Han carried Koukou into the house and closed the door.

As she nursed him, she took out her phone and found Gu Yanquing’s number, intending to call him to come and take his admirer away.

But just as she was about to dial, Xu Han reconsidered.

Calling Gu Yanquing would reveal that Koukou was his child.

Given Tan Xin’s close relationship with Mrs. Gu, it was highly likely that she would tell her about the child.

Gu Yanquing might have boundaries and wouldn’t forcibly take the child, but Mrs. Gu might not be so easygoing.

The book didn’t describe Mrs. Gu’s character, so Xu Han couldn’t predict if she would act like the stereotypical domineering mother-in-law, offering money to take her grandchild away.

Xu Han had grown too attached to Koukou to let that happen.

Thinking this, Xu Han put down the phone. It was better not to invite trouble.

She looked down at Koukou, who was happily nursing, and brushed his cheek with her hand.

The little guy gazed up at her with his big, watery eyes, and when Xu Han smiled at him, he pulled away from nursing to give her a big grin before continuing to drink.