Xu Han once again enlarged her small savings, feeling very happy.

Finally, she could celebrate the Lunar New Year joyfully.

This was her first Lunar New Year here, and despite some unpleasant incidents, overall she was quite happy.

So, Xu Han bought a lot of New Year goods and decided to have a good New Year celebration.

She bought new clothes for her family, including Huang Daxian.

She had planned to buy herself a piece too, but the clothes sold in town were just too plain.

Xu Han visited several stores but didn’t find anything she liked, so she didn’t buy any for herself.

Anyway, Qiao Wanqing had plenty of clothes, all branded and tasteful.

Xu Han didn’t feel the need to force herself to buy something ugly just to celebrate.

After all, she wasn’t a child who needed new clothes for the New Year.

Back home, Xu Han first hugged Kou Kou.

She bought Kou Kou a special toy— a “never-fall doll”.

When you pressed it down, it would make a weird “ah ah ah” sound, but when released, it would stand up quietly again.

Xu Han initially thought Kou Kou would be scared, but Kou Kou was actually very interested.

He pressed the doll down and wouldn’t let go, making it scream “ah ah ah” continuously, which made Kou Kou as happy as the kid next door.

“Wow, where did all these oranges come from?” Xu Han noticed several pounds of oranges on the ground packed in a mesh bag.

Grandma Qiao said, “Aunt Zhu brought them. She said she bought them while traveling. They were cheap and sweet, so she bought extra and gave some to us.”

Xu Han often gave Aunt Zhu some vegetables, so it wasn’t unusual for her to give something in return.

Xu Han said, “Grandma, pass me two of them.”

Grandma Qiao handed several oranges over to Xu Han, placing them within her reach.

Xu Han peeled one, but unfortunately, she picked a sour one.

Her face wrinkled in displeasure, and her body shivered involuntarily.

Kou Kou saw her expression and thought she was making funny faces to amuse him, so he giggled.

“You little heartless one,” Xu Han pinched his nose.

“Ah, ah,” Kou Kou reached out to grab the oranges in her hand, indicating he wanted to eat one too.

“It’s very sour, Kou Kou. Are you sure you want to eat it?”

Kou Kou opened his mouth decisively.

Grandma Qiao passed a peeled sweet one to Xu Han.

Mischievously, Xu Han didn’t give him the sweet one and deliberately passed the sour one into Kou Kou’s mouth.

Kou Kou still trusted his mom and took a big bite.

As expected, Kou Kou’s little face wrinkled from the sourness, and his whole body shivered as he resisted the sour taste, saliva flowing down uncontrollably.

“Hahaha.” Xu Han, the mischievous mom, couldn’t help laughing. “Children aren’t meant to be played with. What’s the point!”

Then, amidst her laughter, Kou Kou bravely finished eating the orange in his mouth, still smiling foolishly at Xu Han.

Xu Han seemed to hear him saying again, “What’s the point of having a son if you don’t play with Mom!”

Xu Han: “……”

After interacting with Kou Kou for a while, Xu Han placed him on a crawling mat to play with the “never-fall doll”, while she unpacked the items she bought from the market.

Mischievously, she had bought a baby dress for Huang Daxian, a genuine tomboy who had a bit of a human touch.

Xu Han had a mischievous idea to tease him.

Ignoring Huang Daxian’s determined resistance, Xu Han carefully dressed him in a small pink dress with lace edges.

Maybe because she had been single for too long, Xu Han thought Huang Daxian looked quite charming in the dress.

Ahem.

Huang Daxian stood there with a crooked face, wearing the pink dress, looking utterly disheartened.

Xu Han couldn’t resist taking a photo and uploading it to her social media, where it later became a popular meme.

Poor Huang Daxian, psychologically scarred, ate an extra half bag of chicken during dinner to express his grievance.

Last time, Xu Han met her long-lost second aunt, who said she and her uncle would come together.

They finally made it on the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, bringing winter bamboo shoots from Uncle Lin Xinhua’s bamboo grove.

They also heard that the villagers had slaughtered a sheep, so they brought a leg of lamb.

That’s how it is when villagers visit each other—bring something fresh and tasty from home, and at the very least, bring a few eggs. It’s rare to give gifts or red envelopes.

Her aunt was skilled in brewing wine and brought a jug of homemade red yeast rice wine.

Xu Han stewed a large pot of lamb with radishes grown at home.

The winter bamboo shoots had a bit of bitterness, so she sliced them and boiled them in cold water for a few minutes to remove the bitterness.

Then, she stir-fried them on high heat with crisply rendered pork belly, adding some garlic leaves to make the dish aromatic.

With the excess oil from rendering the pork belly, Xu Han used it to fry some baby mustard greens.

That’s how she prepared a simple family meal.

Xu Han mashed two pieces of softened radish into a puree, added a spoonful of lamb broth, and mixed it evenly for Kou Kou’s lunch.

The family gathered around to eat.

Although Grandma Qiao and Xu Han’s mother didn’t get along, it didn’t mean there was a problem with her maternal family. Sitting down to eat and chat was still fine.

Lin Xinhua tasted a piece of radish stewed with lamb. “Hmm, not bad! Qingqing’s cooking is so good.”

Xu Han laughed, “It’s not that my cooking is good, it’s that the radishes we grow taste good.”

“I just checked. You’ve planted so many vegetables in those two plots. Are you really planning to sell them?” Aunt Zhong Xiumei asked, still thinking Xu Han was joking with her.

Xu Han replied, “That’s the plan for now. Both Grandma and I rely on those two plots of vegetables to make a living. If the market goes well next year, I’ll rent the plot at the entrance and plant more.”

“Can you sell all these vegetables?” Zhong Xiumei asked.

“Not bad,” Xu Han fed Kou Kou some radish puree and said, “We cooperate with local farm stays in town, selling to tourists, and it’s going quite well.”

Zhong Xiumei nodded approvingly, “Oh, that’s good. Otherwise, I’d say it’s not easy for both of you ladies, with a child, trying to live comfortably here.”

Lin Xinhua took another bite of baby mustard greens.

Though bitter at first, Xu Han’s mustard greens turned pleasantly sweet after a few chews, their fragrance lingering in his mouth, inviting him to savor each bite.

Impressed, Lin Xinhua raised his thumb, “These are tastier than usual. Managing all these vegetables to sell, aren’t you tired?”

“Yes, quite tired. We’re planning to hire someone next year to help pick and deliver the vegetables. Doing it all ourselves is exhausting.”

It was true.

When they sold fewer vegetables before, it didn’t seem so tiring.

Now, with more sales, they had to harvest, pack, load, take care of the child, water the crops, weed—every day was exhausting.

Therefore, Xu Han decided to buy a tricycle next year for deliveries and hire someone to help pick vegetables.

It would make things much easier.

As long as they didn’t have to water the crops themselves, their situation wouldn’t be exposed.

Lin Xinhua nodded, “If you get overwhelmed, just give us a call. We’re usually free and have nothing much to do.”

After feeding Kou Kou and letting him play on the crawling mat, Xu Han started eating.

She asked, “Uncle, Auntie, how’s everything at your place now?”

Zhong Xiumei sighed, “We’re just getting by. Wherever there’s work, that’s where we go. This year, we’ve been doing odd jobs near the West Mountain repairing the Matchmaking Temple. It’s exhausting, and the pay isn’t great.”

Grandma Qiao, who had been quiet, interjected, “Isn’t that project funded by the government? I heard construction workers there get decent wages.”

“That’s for construction workers. We’re just doing odd jobs, patching up wherever needed,” Lin Xinhua chuckled. “Too bad Xiumei isn’t good at cooking. Otherwise, we could lease the land next to the Matchmaking Temple and open a restaurant. It would surely do well.”

Zhong Xiumei gave him a sidelong glance and said disdainfully, “Don’t talk as if you have money to open a restaurant for me. It’s a five-year lease on that land, and the rent needs to be paid upfront. You’d have to build and decorate the place yourself. Even if you just put up a simple tent, it would still cost tens of thousands. Don’t talk about tens of thousands; why don’t you show me a few thousand dollars in savings first?”

“Hey, don’t talk in front of our niece like we’ve been struggling for half our lives and can’t even scrape together a few thousand dollars. It’s embarrassing,” Lin Xinhua added.

Xu Han chuckled, “There’s nothing strange about it. Uncle and Auntie raised three university students.”

Xu Han truly admired them.

Relying on odd jobs and farming, they managed to send all three of their children to university.

If it were her, she probably wouldn’t even afford a house, let alone savings.

“University students are everywhere these days. It’s nothing special,” Aunt Zhong modestly replied.

“But Qingqing,” Lin Xinhua asked Xu Han seriously, “considering how well you cook, have you thought about opening a restaurant near the Matchmaking Temple? It attracts a lot of people from the city, and a restaurant would surely do well. At least it’s better than farming at home. If you’re interested, I have connections to lease the land at a favorable rate.”

“Maybe not,” Xu Han replied, brushing off the suggestion. “Apart from being too busy right now, the risk seems quite high. Although tourism is thriving here and there are opportunities, many others see them too. Just relying on vegetables, I don’t think I can compete.”

She continued, “Plus, this area is still quite remote. There aren’t many tourists during weekdays. Depending solely on holidays and weekends to make a profit, with other restaurants around, I might end up doing worse than I am now, just selling raw vegetables.”

“Well, if that doesn’t work out, you could always lease some land to sell vegetables. The rent is really low,” Lin Xinhua lamented, clearly tempted by the low rent.

Zhong Xiumei hit him lightly, “Stop fooling Qingqing. What’s wrong with selling vegetables in a corner? Why do you have to spend money to buy land and make yourself look noble? Why don’t you just suggest opening a vegetable shop there?”

A vegetable shop?

That phrase struck a chord with Xu Han.

Opening a vegetable shop wasn’t practical, but what about a vegetarian restaurant?

That seemed like it could work!

Since it was a place of worship for the Matchmaking God, people would come to burn incense, and often there would be fasting and bathing rituals.

She could cater to this demand by opening a vegetarian restaurant, using the vegetables she grew to create various vegetarian dishes.

This way, she could differentiate herself and not compete directly with similar restaurants.

Moreover, wasn’t it trendy now to say, “If I get what I want, I’ll be a vegetarian for life”? She could use this as a selling point.

Xu Han had visited some vegetarian restaurants in the city, and some were really impressive.

Combined with their delicious vegetables, she was confident she could quickly establish a strong brand.

Moreover, selling cooked dishes is more profitable than selling raw vegetables.

This isn’t false either. With Mr. Cai, although the profits are already quite high, Mr. Cai actually earns a lot in between.

She doesn’t have to do anything and just earns money effortlessly.

If she opens her own vegetarian restaurant, she can keep all the profits to herself.

Not only that, if people enjoy her vegetarian dishes, she can also make dried fruits and vegetables for sale.

Naturally, everyone will buy them too, so she won’t have to worry about the sales channels for dried fruits and vegetables.

This idea seems quite good!

“Uncle Er, can you help me find out the rental price for the land there? What’s the lowest rent for a better location?”

She has decided to give it a try!