In the end, Qiao Wanqing found an office on the 16th floor of a building.

The office was originally used by a small software development and sales team of 48 people.

However, their investor suddenly withdrew their funding, and they couldn’t find a new investor.

The company couldn’t even pay salaries.

With no other options, the company had to move out of the high-rent building.

Since they couldn’t get the paid rent back, they decided to sublet the space.

Although the office wasn’t in the city’s busiest area, it was conveniently located, had a high-end office area, and a very good working environment.

After inspecting it, Qiao Wanqing decided to rent it and renovate it to her taste.

The renovations made the office stylish and comfortable.

The office couldn’t be moved into immediately after the renovation, so they planned to move in next year.

Soon it was time for the winter bamboo shoots season.

Qiao Wanqing’s team had put the winter bamboo shoots they sold last year back on the shelves.

Although they didn’t have the same luck as last year with unexpected sales, they had a working team now, and their sales were still very good this year.

Moreover, due to last year’s success and many repeat customers, they saved on promotion costs.

They were close to reaching the 3 million sales target for marriage that Tang Yueyue had mentioned.

By the New Year, they were sure to reach it.

Qiao Wanqing knew that Tang Yueyue’s promise of marriage upon reaching the 3 million sales target was just an excuse.

Now that they were about to meet the target, Qiao Wanqing couldn’t help but ask with a hint of schadenfreude: “Miss Tang, is the 3 million sales target still valid for marriage?”

“…” Tang Yueyue fell silent for a moment, then sighed deeply. “It’s not that I don’t want to get married. It’s my mom. She doesn’t want me to marry so far away.”

“Hmm?” Qiao Wanqing was surprised. Tang Yueyue had never mentioned this before. “Why not?”

“My parents only have me. They want me to find someone in our city. If I marry far away, it’ll be hard for them to see me, and they’re afraid the next time we meet could be the last. It makes me really uneasy.”

“With modern transportation, it’s not that big of a deal,” Qiao Wanqing reassured her. “You can just take a quick flight.”

Gu Yanqing’s parents also only had him, and since he moved to City C for work, it essentially meant he settled down there.

Despite occasional remarks, they fully supported him.

Finding someone you love in the vast sea of people is hard enough without having to factor in distance, family background, and career.

It makes finding the right person even more challenging.

“My mom says she won’t feel at ease if I marry so far away.”

“Why don’t you buy a house here and bring your parents over after they retire?”

Given their store’s current sales, buying a house would be easy for Tang Yueyue.

“I thought about that, but my mom said all her relatives, friends, and social network are in City X. She doesn’t want to start over in a new city. What can I do?”

This was quite a predicament.

Her parents clearly wanted either Qi Xing and her to move to City X or for them to break up—there was no middle ground.

“What are you planning to do?”

“I don’t know,” Tang Yueyue said, looking dejected. “Breaking up would be hard for me, but we definitely won’t be moving to City X.”

Aside from Qi Xing’s good treatment at Gu Yanqing’s company, Tang Yueyue had earned more in her time there this year than she ever had before.

Despite the hard work, she wasn’t willing to go back to a job that paid only a few thousand a month.

Qiao Wanqing couldn’t offer much help but tried to comfort her: “There will be a solution.”

“Yes, there will be,” Tang Yueyue sighed. “I’m thinking about doing what you suggested—getting pregnant before marriage. Once the baby is born, they won’t have a leg to stand on.”

Qiao Wanqing: “……”

That’s quite bold.

But with parents on one side and love on the other, Tang Yueyue must be feeling very conflicted.

---

After the New Year, Qiao Wanqing officially returned to work.

Their studio had moved to the new location and had hired new staff, setting up their own HR and operations teams.

Qiao Wanqing had finally realized her dream of being a boss.

They had turned their crispy snacks into a brand and opened a flagship store on Tmall.

Even Chen Yu, who had taken training classes with Qiao Wanqing, joined their company.

Qiao Wanqing became the top performer in their training program, adhering to the principles of selling agricultural products.

Her commitment never wavered, especially when it came to their town’s dried persimmons.

Previously, these persimmons would pile up and go unsold, forcing growers to sell them to traders for mere cents per pound, leading many to abandon their persimmon orchards.

Last fall, as the persimmons were about to ripen, they began to heavily promote dried persimmons.

Their shop could sell them for over 10 yuan per pound, while the purchase price wouldn’t heavily undercut the growers.

Typically, they bought fresh persimmons for 2 yuan per pound.

These persimmons were quite hefty, and in fruit stores, they sold for 3.5 yuan per pound, or even as low as 2.5 yuan during peak season.

This price was very acceptable and welcomed by the persimmon farmers.

The government even awarded Qiao Wanqing the title of “Outstanding Entrepreneurial Young Woman of City C,” which was a significant recognition.

Qiao Wanqing’s prestige soared, and local news reporters came to interview her.

However, the highlight was when she received an invitation to this year’s high-level e-commerce conference—the E-commerce Entrepreneurship Summit.

She was invited to give a 15-minute speech as an outstanding entrepreneurial representative.

This summit was jointly organized by the China E-commerce Association and the government.

The organizing committee included prominent government units, organizations, and media outlets.

The attendees were all notable figures, and many companies desperately sought to obtain an invitation but failed.

Now, Qiao Wanqing was asked to give a speech at this prestigious event.

When her company heard about their boss receiving such an impressive invitation, they all came to congratulate her, praising her achievements.

Qiao Wanqing felt a bit elated by all the attention and praise.

After the initial excitement, Qiao Wanqing began to panic.

The conference was filled with influential figures, industry leaders, experts, and university professors.

She, a small woman, worried that if her speech was too basic or low-level, she would be laughed at.

“What should I do? Can I cancel the speech and just attend the conference?”

In her study at home, Qiao Wanqing paced back and forth nervously, grabbing her hair multiple times as if trying to pull it out.

This seemed like a huge problem.

Seeing her anxious all night, Gu Yanqing, who had watched her, pulled her towards him and sat her on his lap, saying, “You’re making me dizzy with all this worry.”

“I’m just worried!” Qiao Wanqing said, holding her forehead.

Gu Yanqing said, “Kiss me, and I’ll help you solve it.”

Qiao Wanqing brightened up, “Really?”

“Absolutely.”

Qiao Wanqing gave him a kiss and said, “Alright, what’s the plan?”

“That was a bit dismissive,” Gu Yanqing said with a smile.

Seeing she wasn’t in the mood for jokes, he continued, “You just need to organize your content. I’ll get someone to help you write the speech and create the PowerPoint.”

“……Is that allowed?”

Gu Yanqing shrugged, “Do you want to write it yourself?”

“I’m not good at writing speeches.”

“So,” Gu Yanqing said, “speeches for formal occasions are usually written by professionals. The person who presents it just reads it.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that,” Qiao Wanqing said, still worried about the speech content, “But will I be criticized for just reading from a script?”

“Who said it’s just reading from a script?” Gu Yanqing said, wrapping his arms around her waist. He took out his phone and showed her a speech he had given at a government event. “Look at this. Does it look like reading from a script?”

Qiao Wanqing looked at the speech Gu Yanqing had given. The content was very… official, even touching on national policies like the Belt and Road Initiative and supply-side reforms, making it seem quite impressive.

The main point, however, was that Gu Yanqing spoke with great flair, blending humor and wit into the serious atmosphere. It didn’t come off as stiff or dull.

“You spoke so well,” Qiao Wanqing said with admiration after watching for a minute. If only she could achieve half of what Gu Yanqing had done.

“These speeches are written by my assistant. I just reviewed it the night before and then delivered it,” Gu Yanqing said casually.

Qiao Wanqing: “……”

Comparing oneself to others is discouraging.

“I’m not as amazing as you,” Qiao Wanqing admitted.

Gu Yanqing’s success was not just due to memorizing scripts but also his extensive preparation and ability to improvise.

“Hard work can make up for a lack of talent,” Gu Yanqing said confidently. “I’ll have someone prepare the speech for you, and I’ll personally train you on how to deliver it. You won’t embarrass yourself.”

With Gu Yanqing’s reassurance, Qiao Wanqing felt relieved.

She got up from his lap and said, “Let’s go, time to shower and sleep.”

Gu Yanqing, who had hoped for something more, was left speechless.

Qiao Wanqing went to the living room, where nearly one-year-old Zhenzhen was playing with toys on the floor with Koukou.

Zhenzhen, growing up beautifully with a bit of length to her hair, had a cute cherry-shaped clip in front, revealing her big, pretty eyes.

Her smile was sweet and charming.

Although Zhenzhen resembled Qiao Wanqing, she had her own unique features.

As long as she continues to grow well, she will certainly become a great beauty.

However, Zhenzhen seemed a bit aloof.

She didn’t smile much or get close to others, except for her parents.

She adored Koukou, always drooling and clinging to him, which annoyed Koukou.

Koukou, now in kindergarten, was very bright.

He could count until you fell asleep, recite the alphabet from start to finish, and even knew a lot of English words compared to other kids in his class.

Though he still called bananas “bubanana.”

With his good looks, he was very popular at school!