After arriving home, Xu Han decisively contacted the village truck driver to help deliver vegetables for a few days.

But spending this small amount of money… Xu Han comforted herself, “Money is just an external thing.”

She used to find Qiao Wanqing’s love for money hard to understand, but facing it herself, she realized she was quite attached to it too.

However, what she loved was the feeling of earning money herself.

Watching her small purse slowly swell up gave her a sense of achievement and satisfaction.

The night passed quietly.

Sure enough, the next day was covered with thick frost.

After the frost, the big mustard greens in the vegetable field would become particularly sweet.

Big mustard greens are a bit different from regular mustard greens.

When they haven’t been frosted, they not only taste bitter but also have a poor texture.

But once frosted, they become delicious. After plucking off the leaves, you’re left with thick and tender stems.

Cut them diagonally into thin slices, stir-fry them quickly in hot oil until just tender, add a few pieces of small chili peppers, season with salt and chicken bouillon.

A plate of stir-fried big mustard green stems is ready.

The stir-fried big mustard greens are a vibrant green color, glistening with a layer of oil, looking very appetizing.

For breakfast, along with porridge, besides a plate of stir-fried mustard greens and a plate of pickled radish made by Xu Han herself, she was worried that these young masters might not be used to vegetarian dishes, so she also fried a plate of homegrown eggs.

And as usual, Koukou had a small bowl of steamed egg.

Huang Daxian was a carnivore.

He could snack on vegetables and fruits, but for meals, meat was a must.

So, besides eating white rice porridge for breakfast, Xu Han gave him a few pieces of dried chicken.

Xu Han was young and in good health. Combined with taking medicine in time yesterday and having a good night’s sleep after a hot bath, the next day, aside from a sore throat, she wasn’t uncomfortable anymore.

She was lively and energetic, completely different from the weak person she was yesterday.

Inside the house, Grandma Qiao had started a fire in the stove, making it warm and cozy even in this cold winter.

While Xu Han fed Koukou his steamed egg, Yuanyuan rubbed his sleepy eyes and came out.

“Good morning, Grandma Qiao, Aunt Qiao, and little brother Koukou,” Yuanyuan greeted sweetly.

He didn’t understand the generations, so he just called Grandma Qiao like the adults did.

Grandma Qiao wasn’t really old, and it felt awkward to be called something else, so everyone just let it go.

Koukou heard someone call his name and happily exclaimed, “Ah!”

Grandma Qiao smiled and said, “Good morning. Come and have breakfast. Where’s your uncle?”

Yuanyuan replied, “Uncle is still brushing his teeth.”

People in the mountain village slept and woke up early.

Xu Han thought they might sleep in a bit later, saying, “You’re up so early. Did you sleep well last night?”

With Grandma Qiao’s help, Yuanyuan sat on a stool and said, “I slept well, but it was too dark.”

Unlike the city, in the countryside, even when the lights were turned off at night, there were still lights outside.

And now, many children had a bedside lamp to prevent them from being afraid of the dark.

But here, they didn’t bother with bedside lamps.

Each room had just one energy-saving light. Xu Han, who got up in the middle of the night to nurse the baby, worried that the energy-saving light would be too bright.

So, she bought a small desk lamp, but it was only for her room.

Yet, leaving the energy-saving light on made it too bright for sleep, and turning it off made it too dark.

This was probably quite an adjustment for Yuanyuan.

“Is Yuanyuan scared?” Xu Han asked.

Yuanyuan puffed out his little chest proudly, “Not scared.”

Yuanyuan’s confidence amused Xu Han, “Let’s eat then. Which dish do you want? Auntie will serve it for you.”

Yuanyuan could eat with a small spoon by himself, but he couldn’t serve himself dishes.

Grandma Qiao scooped a bit of each dish into a small bowl for him and placed it in front of him, letting him scoop and eat with his small spoon.

After Yuanyuan scooped up and ate a piece of stir-fried big mustard green stem, he grinned and said, “Delicious.”

Xu Han loved such appreciative diners.

Koukou, who had been patiently waiting for Xuhuan to feed him spoonfuls of steamed egg, suddenly couldn’t sit still.

When Xu Han fed him the steamed egg again, he turned his head away, pursed his lips, and refused to eat, making an “Mm, mm” sound.

He reached out to grab the spoon from her hand.

“Sweetie, this isn’t something to play with,” Xu Han used her leg to gently push against his body, freeing her other hand to catch his grabbing little hand.

Koukou, being so young, didn’t understand reason.

He didn’t care whether it was fun or not; he just reached out to grab it.

Grandma Qiao handed over a clean wooden spoon and said, “Let him play with this.”

Koukou held the spoon in his hand, still dissatisfied.

He glanced at Yuanyuan and then at the steamed egg on the table, making “Ah, ah” noises with his mouth.

Xu Han initially didn’t understand what he wanted to do, but Yuanyuan figured it out and said, “Little brother wants to eat by himself.”

“Oh? Really?”

Koukou had never shown this kind of initiative to eat by himself before, so Xu Han was a bit skeptical.

Still, she brought the bowl of steamed egg closer to him to see.

Sure enough, Koukou wanted to scoop it himself.

Seeing his clumsy attempts, unable even to aim properly into the bowl, everyone at the table laughed.

It was all part of growing up, and Xu Han was especially happy.

She reached out and gently touched his little face, saying, “You little rascal.”

Yuanyuan said, “It must be because little brother saw me eating by myself that he wants to do it too.”

Xu Han had heard that children often imitate other children.

It was like seeing someone with a lollipop and wanting one too.

She just didn’t expect Koukou, at such a young age, to have such thoughts already.

“What’s so funny? Where’s Koukou” Gu Yanqing came out after washing up, seeing everyone’s smiling faces.

Koukou, hearing Gu Yanqing call his name, became even happier, loudly exclaiming “Ah, ah” like a little whistle.

Sometimes, Xu Han’s ears would hurt from him calling so loudly.

Gu Yanqing reached out to him, “Baby, do you want me to hold you?”

After not seeing him all night, Gu Yanqing was once again a new father figure to Koukou, who eagerly reached out his little hands to be held by him.

Xu Han was accustomed to her son’s rebelliousness by now, calmly remarking, “He hasn’t eaten enough yet.”

Gu Yanqing sat down with Koukou in his arms. “I’ll feed him.”

Xu Han handed him the spoon without objection.

While Gu Yanqing fed Koukou, Xu Han quickly drank two small bowls of porridge herself, saying, “I’m going to the vegetable garden to pick some vegetables. If you don’t want to hold him anymore, just call me at the gate. I’ll be in this nearby vegetable garden.”

Taking care of the farmstay activities was quite demanding.

Yesterday, only part of the work was completed, so today Xuhuan planned to deliver both the morning and evening portions together.

Otherwise, making the truck make two trips would lead to heavy losses.

Despite the cold, Xu Han enjoyed picking vegetables.

Seeing her garden full of plump and tender vegetables brought her great satisfaction.

Each rapeseed plant was so thick that only two or three could fit in a basket.

The sprouts of mustard greens were stacked layer upon layer, filling the basket with just a few handfuls.

For Xu Han, all of this was the result of her and Grandma Qiao’s hard work.

“Your vegetable garden would surely attract a lot of attention if you took some pictures.” Gu Yanqing’s voice suddenly broke the silence while Xu Han was picking vegetables, startling her.

Damn, does this guy walk without making any noise?

Xuhuan had actually enjoyed watching rural cooking shows in the past, especially admiring the lush and vibrant vegetable gardens featured.

She had even entertained the idea of becoming an online sensation herself with her own garden.

However, between taking care of her children, tending to the crops, and managing various household chores, she simply didn’t have the time.

On top of that, she was also self-teaching herself photography and editing, which was becoming a full-time endeavor.

Another consideration was the saturation of rural live-streaming influencers in today’s world.

To stand out and become famous, one needed something unique. Xu Han realized that aside from her appearance, she didn’t have any distinctive features.

Moreover, being attractive often attracted unnecessary gossip and accusations of being fake or pretentious.

Xu Han thought that focusing on farming to prosper and support her family was a more suitable path for her.

“Who would even watch that kind of thing? Only if they’re really bored,” Xuhuan muttered as she continued picking vegetables.

“If you’re interested, I can invest in building a team for you—handling filming, editing, and marketing all in one go,” Gu Yanqing suggested.

Xu Han paused, considering.

Was this… what it felt like to be courted by a wealthy benefactor?

“No, no, no, I’m not interested,” Xu Han quickly responded, still wary from the incident with the baby store.

Especially after learning that the store had leaked the situation for marketing purposes, it had left a bad taste in her mouth. “What about Koukou?”

“He’s asleep, with Yuanyuan,” Xu Han replied.

“Oh, when are you leaving?” Gu Yanqing asked, slightly annoyed.

“Why else?” Xuhuan thought.

Gu Yanqing saw her silence and understood her meaning clearly.

Suddenly, a surge of frustration welled up inside him, though he didn’t know where it came from. It was just an uncomfortable feeling.

He remained silent for a while before muttering, “This afternoon.”

“Then look at what dishes you and Yuanyuan like. I’ll pick some for you to take back later,” Xuhuan said.

Gu Yanqing didn’t even want to talk anymore.

He turned with a cold face and went back to the yard.

He had originally wanted to help her, but it seemed like this woman just wanted him to leave.

Xu Han shrugged.

“Such a handful, that young master.”

After Gu Yanqing and Yuanyuan left, the house fell silent again.

With the New Year just a few days away, Xu Han took advantage of the wave of tourists before the holiday to pick and sell most of the vegetables from her two gardens.

Surprisingly, she sold almost everything.

She knew how abundant her vegetables were.

Just the mustard greens alone filled half a small truck.

Not to mention the cucumbers and other vegetables that were all over the ground.

Unlike others who had greenhouses, XuHan’s vegetables were all sun-ripened, rain-soaked, and frost-bitten.

Regardless of the season, these vegetables had been through the recent frost.

Xu Han was initially worried that the frost would ruin the vegetables’ taste, but after being frosted, many of them actually tasted even better and sweeter!

Xu Han had specifically searched on Baidu and learned that the starch in vegetables, after being frosted, undergoes enzymatic action within the plant where starch is hydrolyzed into maltose and then further into glucose.

Since glucose easily dissolves in water and is sweet, the vegetables become sweeter and more delicious.

As a result, their vegetables sold exceptionally well.

According to Boss Cai, many people came specifically to buy vegetables after hearing about their quality.

Seeing her garden nearly emptied like it had been raided, Xu Han breathed a sigh of relief.

She could now enjoy the Lunar New Year without worrying about vegetables rotting in the fields.

Once the holiday was over, a new batch of vegetables would be ready for harvest.

By the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, the number of tourists had significantly decreased, and the farmhouse inn owners were preparing to close for the season.

Xu Han made her final trip to deliver vegetables, and the owner generously settled her bill.

Xu Han had a rough idea of how much money she had earned, but when Boss Cai handed her the account totaling 17,081 yuan, she couldn’t help but be overjoyed.

In such a short period, she had earned nearly twenty thousand yuan.

Though it was due to the peak tourist season, Xuhuan was still ecstatic.

Almost twenty thousand yuan! If she had a job, it would probably take her three months to earn that much!

She felt like she was on her way to becoming a wealthy woman.