Xu Han hurriedly got up, listening intently.

The commotion didn’t seem to be coming from near her front door, at least not in her yard.

She switched on a light and grabbed a flashlight, preparing to go outside to see what was happening.

Thinking quickly, Xu Han also grabbed a stick from beside her bed.

As soon as she opened the door, she saw a figure. Reflexively, she swung the stick, but her hand was caught.

Gu Yanqing’s voice came from beside her, “Shh, it’s me.”

Damn, why didn’t I hit him with the stick!

However, with Gu Yanqing there, Xu Han suddenly felt safe.

It was the first time she felt having a man in the house was such a reassuring thing.

The sound had come from the vegetable garden next to their house.

Gu Yanqing took the flashlight from her hand and said, “You go inside first. I’ll go take a look.”

Xu Han was about to insist on going too when screams erupted from that direction.

Amidst the chaos, someone shouted about something underfoot, something foul-smelling, something monstrous.

The flashlight shook wildly in Xu Han’s hand.

She and Gu Yanqing exchanged glances, and Xu Han hurried to the living room to turn on the yard lights.

By the light of the lamp, they saw two figures scrambling awkwardly from the direction of the vegetable patch.

The only road from the vegetable patch to the main road passed outside their yard.

Xu Han made a quick decision, opening the yard gate and blocking their path.

Soon, the people from the other side ran over and were caught red-handed—it was Qiao Wanqing’s uncle, Qiao Xinde, and his wife, Luo Yangxiu.

Luo Yangxiu looked terrified. “What kind of creature do you keep in your house?”

Before she finished speaking, Xu Han saw Huang Daxian suddenly darting out from behind them.

Startled, Luo Yangxiu screamed, and Qiao Xinde picked up something to throw at it, but Huang Daxian agilely dodged.

Under the lamplight, Huang Daxian’s eyes glowed with a faint green light, looking quite frightening.

Seeing it provoked by Qiao Xinde and about to pounce, Xu Han shouted, “Ah Huang, come back!”

Huang Daxian, hearing Xu Han’s voice, gave Qiao Xinde a hostile look, then obediently walked over to Xu Han’s feet, rubbing against her pants legs as if seeking approval.

“It’s actually a yellow weasel. You guys keep a yellow weasel as a pet!”

There was a faint, indescribable odor lingering in the air.

Xu Han replied, “What’s wrong? Is there a national regulation forbidding us from keeping yellow weasels at home that surprised you so much, Auntie?”

Luo Yangxiu awkwardly remained silent.

Seeing the still-frightened couple, Xu Han chuckled, “Uncle and Auntie, visiting my vegetable garden in the middle of the night, are you here to appreciate the moon?”

Luo Yangxiu stubbornly replied, “We couldn’t sleep, so we came for a walk.”

“In that case, does that mean the police officers can’t sleep either, so they come for a stroll around here at night?”

Luo Yangxiu’s face changed color, and she glanced at Gu Yanqing beside Xu Han.

His strong presence made her feel guilty, and suddenly she couldn’t find words to reply.

Xu Han glanced at the small sprayer Qiao Xinde had used to try to spray Huang Daxian—it was a mini pesticide sprayer they also had at home but never used since Kou Kou’s urine effectively kept pests away.

“Uncle and Auntie, were you planning to use pesticides to kill us all?” Xu Han’s voice turned cold.

She hadn’t expected them to attempt to spray pesticides in their vegetable garden.

“How could that be!” Luo Yangxiu glanced nervously at Gu Yanqing, who remained silent. Her voice faltered, “It’s just a bit of herbicide.”

Herbicide—she was trying to kill their vegetables.

They must still covet this piece of land and decided to sneak over at night to spray herbicide, hoping to destroy their crops without them noticing.

But they hadn’t expected Huang Daxian, their pet, to ruin their plans.

Xu Han couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief.

Her voice was colder than ever, “Auntie, don’t you know herbicides can also kill people? If I happen to go to the vegetable garden tomorrow morning to pick some vegetables and cook it, our whole family could end up dead.”

“Don’t scare me. You guys are not gods at farming. It’s only been a few days, and your vegetables have just sprouted, right?”

Xu Han thought to herself, ‘Well, I guess I’m a god at farming.’

Qiao Xinde saw her looking so knowing, and suddenly felt a bit intimidated.

He smiled awkwardly and said, “Um, niece, we were just feeling aggrieved and did something foolish in the heat of the moment. We know it was wrong. Please forgive us this time. You’re an adult, so please let us off just this once. We promise not to do it again.”

“Let you off?” Xu Han scoffed. “Uncle, you sure think highly of my generosity.”

“Niece, we were wrong, truly wrong. Please don’t call the police. We won’t ever think of touching this land again. Please, spare us this once,” Luo Yangxiu saw the situation turning against them and immediately changed her tone, almost kneeling down.

Xu Han: “…”

You really know how to bend the situation to your advantage!

Just then, Gu Yanqing tugged at Xu Han’s sleeve.

Xu Han turned to look at him. “What’s up?”

“It’s cold now, and it’s late. The local police might not come out,” Gu Yanqing whispered in her ear. “Let them go, and I’ll ensure there won’t be any future trouble.”

Xu Han was startled. “Killing someone is against the law.”

Gu Yanqing chuckled. “Where did you get that idea?”

Since Gu Yanqing put it that way, Xu Han believed in his methods.

Dealing with Qiao Xinde’s family was indeed straightforward.

Last time, they had acted similarly in front of the police, promising to mend their ways, but they returned to their mischief.

She and Grandma Qiao, two vulnerable women— who knew what they would do next?

Such sneaky people were truly hard to guard against.

After thinking it through, Xu Han said, “Fine, I’ll let you go this time. But you owe me for all the vegetables you’ve destroyed.”

“We haven’t even started yet,” Luo Yangxiu said. “We just got to the vegetable patch when your yellow weasel came.”

In the end, Qiao Xinde and Luo Yangxiu left profusely thanking her.

Xu Han closed the courtyard gate, and looked down to see Huang Daxian slowly grooming its tangled fur.

Just a few days ago, she had bathed it and taken it to the village health center for vaccinations.

After all this commotion, Huang Daxian was dirty again, just like when it first arrived.

Gu Yanqing shone a flashlight on Huang Daxian. “Well done, you did a good job tonight.”

“Thanks to Ah Huang tonight, or else tomorrow we’d only be able to watch helplessly as all the vegetables wither. There’s no place to complain about grievances.”

Ah Huang seemed to understand Xu Han’s words, lifted its head proudly, seeming quite proud.

Xu Han couldn’t help but rub its smooth fur, and Ah Huang nudged her hand with its head.

Gu Yanqing said, “You and Grandma Qiao living alone with children, it’s safer to have something more fierce to guard the house. Should I bring over a border collie?”

“No need, Ah Huang is enough,” Xu Han felt their conversation was getting too intimate, so she yawned discreetly. “I’m going to bed.”

“Goodnight,” Gu Yanqing replied.

The night passed without further words.

Grandma Qiao’s room was further inside the house, so she didn’t hear anything last night.

However, she was pleasantly surprised in the morning to see her granddaughter getting along quite well with Mr. Gu.

Mr. Gu even accompanied her to the fields to pick vegetables and received a basket of vegetables from Xu Han as a gift.

She was delighted inside.

Could it be that the two of them were going to reconcile?

In Grandma Qiao’s mind, she had always thought that Xu Han and Gu Yanqing were like a couple who quarreled and broke up, completely unaware of the twists and turns between them.

Breakfast was thick and fragrant white rice porridge, served with her homemade pickled green beans stir-fried with minced meat, and a dish of pickled radishes.

Both dishes were deliciously salty and flavorful, perfect with the porridge, warming the stomach and comforting the soul.

Kou Kou was feeling better now.

Xu Han fed him some thick rice soup, and the little guy giggled happily, looking carefree.

Xu Han leaned down to kiss his little face.

Gu Yanqing watched the heartwarming scene of the two of them with gentle eyes.

Everything seemed harmonious and happy.

Until Gu Yanqing went out to take a call and returned to tell Xu Han, “I’m sorry, I have to go back now. My cousin who’s staying with me isn’t feeling well. I need to check on him.”

Xu Han’s face suddenly turned pale.

Gu Yanqing asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, you should go,” Xu Han replied, not looking up at Gu Yanqing.

“I’ll come visit you again next time,” Gu Yanqing said.

Xu Han’s tone was cold. “No need. I wasn’t joking last time. Please respect my wishes, Mr. Gu, and don’t come to see me again.”

Gu Yanqing paused, taken aback by her sudden change.

Her expression shifted faster than turning a page in a book.

However, Gu Yanqing was genuinely in a hurry and didn’t probe into why she suddenly changed her attitude.

He didn’t even have time to take the basket of vegetables Xu Han had given him before he left.

Meanwhile, her naive son, who had gotten a bit familiar with him, curiously watched Gu Yanqing disappear, seemingly still hopeful for his return.

Seeing this, Xu Han couldn’t help but sigh.

The cousin Gu Yanqing mentioned was none other than the male lead, Gu Mingyuan.

Just thinking of that name made Xu Han’s heart tremble involuntarily.

To ensure Kou Kou could grow up healthy and live a good life, Xu Han had distanced herself quite far from the city full of drama and had been trying hard not to get involved with those people.

But it seemed fate’s shackles were always there, preventing her from breaking free.

Xu Han decided she would keep her distance from Gu Yanqing in the future and not welcome him into her home anymore.

Two peaceful days passed like this.

One day, Xu Han was fretting over the vegetables growing too quickly and too plentiful to finish eating.

The school didn’t need so much either, and they would go bad soon.

Just as she was thinking this, there was a knock on the courtyard gate.

Xu Han went out to open it and found it was Ah Lai, the person who had delivered bamboo to her a few days ago.

What was shocking was that he was holding a big pig’s head in his hands.

“Miss Qiao,” Ah Lai greeted her shyly as usual. “Is your Huang Daxian here? I’ve come to fulfill my vow.”

Xu Han: “… Fulfill what vow?”

“You know, a couple of days ago, I asked it to bless me to find a wife this year, and yesterday my second sister-in-law introduced me to a girl. We both quite like each other,” Ah Lai explained earnestly.

Xu Han: “…”

This was also possible???

Damn, was this really superstition at work?

Xu Han was stunned.

Ah Lai saw Huang Daxian sunbathing in the courtyard with its belly exposed and hurriedly walked in, holding the pig’s head.

He bowed three times in front of Huang Daxian, saying earnestly, “I’ve come with a small token of thanks to fulfill my vow. Thank you, Huang Daxian, for blessing me to find a wife.”

With that, he placed the pig’s head in front of Huang Daxian.

Huang Daxian, intrigued by the large pig’s head, hopped over and sniffed it curiously from different angles.

Seeing this, Ah Lai’s face lit up with joy. “Thank you, Great Immortal, for not minding this humble offering. Please bless me with a happy family life, with two children within three years.”

Xu Han once again: “…”

This was never-ending.

Xu Han absolutely refused to accept such a huge pig’s head.

It took her quite some effort to clean off the hair, and despite its scary appearance, Ah Lai insisted it was just a small token of appreciation.

After thanking Huang Daxian again, he swiftly left.

Looking at the pig’s head that seemed to stare back at her lifelessly, Xu Han couldn’t help but laugh and cry.

She lifted Huang Daxian off the pig’s head, patting its paws stained with blood, and said, “Are you really that powerful?”

Huang Daxian stared back with its big, shiny eyes, clearly not understanding her words.

“If you’re really that powerful, bless us with a big customer who can buy all the vegetables from both of my gardens, making me richer than Gu Yanqing, so my son won’t envy his wealth anymore.”

After a moment’s thought, Xu Han added, “Well, the second wish might be a bit difficult. So let’s focus on the first one for now.”

Xu Han said this in jest.

Ah Lai’s visit was definitely just a coincidence.

He was a spirited young man who was practical and hardworking.

Cutting bamboo and selling it could earn him nearly 200 yuan a day.

With a month’s work, he could easily make at least 5,000 yuan.

In the countryside, earning 5,000 yuan a month was considered a substantial income, especially since building a three-story brick house here would cost around 100,000 yuan.

So it was perfectly normal for girls to be interested in him; it was just a coincidence.

However, as fate would have it, the next day, they really did receive a wealthy customer at their home.