Qiao Wanqing now had about 100,000 yuan gathered from bits and pieces, but she still needed another 200,000.

Should she go to the bank for a loan?

She wondered if getting a loan would be too troublesome.

What if she lost money and couldn’t repay it? Would she have to sell her son to pay off the debt?

“Knock, knock.”

While Qiao Wanqing was worrying about money, there was a knock on her door.

She opened it to find Gu Yanqing standing there holding Koukou, who was already asleep in his arms.

It was so late, and he hadn’t left yet!

Qiao Wanqing had been hiding in her room on purpose, planning to come out only after he left to avoid any awkwardness.

What she feared more was that Gu Yanqing might suddenly agree with Tang Yueyue’s idea and think it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try, even though the chances of that happening were low.

“Put him on the bed to sleep.”

Qiao Wanqing wanted to take Kouko from him but remembered the awkwardness from last time when she accidentally touched his chest.

So, she let him put Koukou on the bed himself.

Gu Yanqing put Kouko down, took off his outer clothes, and covered him with a blanket.

Then he asked Qiao Wanqing, “Why were you hiding in your room alone?”

Of course, she was hiding from him!

But Gu Yanqing looked so calm, as if nothing had happened.

Qiao Wanqing felt she was overthinking things.

He hadn’t given the incident any thought at all.

Which was good because she didn’t want to feel awkward around him, even though she wasn’t interested in him.

Qiao Wanqing said, “I’m planning to open a vegetarian restaurant. I’ve rented the land, so now I need to figure out how to start it.”

Gu Yanqing knew exactly what was troubling her the most.

He said, “The legal case against that mother and baby store that used your image for their marketing campaign last year is moving forward. There should be a substantial compensation coming your way soon. I can transfer the money to your account when it comes through.”

“Oh, that money… forget it,” Qiao Wanqing felt uncomfortable just thinking about that negative marketing incident and had no interest in accepting their compensation. “Please help us donate it to a charity instead. Thank you.”

Gu Yanqing was a bit surprised that she refused the money.

It didn’t seem like something Qiao Wanqing would say, but at the same time, it was exactly the kind of thing she would say.

“Then… how about I lend you the money?”

“Let’s talk about it later.”

Qiao Wanqing didn’t want to discuss money with him.

Their relationship could be that of strangers, friends, or even someone who bought milk powder for Koukou—it was all normal social interaction.

But she didn’t want any financial entanglements with him.

In the book, Qiao Wanqing died miserably because of money.

Her greed for Gu Yanqing’s money led her into a downward spiral from which there was no return.

So even though Gu Yanqing was being tactful, saying it was a loan and not a gift, just a debt between them, Qiao Wanqing couldn’t get past it.

Maybe it was just being overly sensitive.

Gu Yanqing looked at the woman in front of him.

Her eyes were slightly lowered, and her long hair fell down, revealing her snow-white forehead and trembling long eyelashes from his angle.

He suddenly wanted to know what had been going through Qiao Wanqing’s mind since they had been together until now.

After all, there’s a saying that it’s hard to change one’s nature.

The change in Qiao Wanqing was too thorough to believe.

Thinking of this, Gu Yanqing said, “I know someone in City C who runs a vegetarian restaurant. They’ve been doing well for seven or eight years. Would you like to go and check it out, maybe learn from them?”

Qiao Wanqing’s eyes lit up.

This was exactly what she needed.

Having an experienced mentor’s guidance was far better than figuring everything out on her own.

Qiao Wanqing had only eaten at a vegetarian restaurant once in this world.

It was a self-service place, so she knew that vegetarian restaurants could have a wide variety of dishes, but she had no other experience to draw from.

Such restaurants generally don’t share their secrets with strangers unless introduced by someone they know.

Seeing her interest, Gu Yanqing continued, “If you need, I can introduce you. Consider it a thank-you for your hospitality towards me and Yuan Yuan these past few days.”

With him framing it that way, Qiao Wanqing felt no pressure and said, “Thank you in advance, Mr. Gu.”

On the sixth day of the new year, everyone returned home.

Since it was still the New Year period, the farm stay also had to start operating again on the sixth day.

The contract for the land in Meishan hadn’t been signed yet, so Qiao Wanqing was busy at the beginning of the year.

She wasn’t in a hurry since the restaurant hadn’t been built yet.

She planned to call her uncle and aunt to help.

Once everything was on track, she would visit the vegetarian restaurant.

Before leaving, Tang Yueyue sent her a “family photo” she had secretly taken the day before.

The candid shot captured everyone smiling, looking warm and happy.

Qiao Wanqing’s hand paused over the photo for a moment before she exited WeChat.

…

The farm stay was just reopening on the sixth day, and the second batch of fast-growing vegetables in Qiao Wanqing’s field was ready to be harvested and sent to the farm stay for sale.

To avoid drawing too much attention, Qiao Wanqing had reduced the number of off-season vegetables she was growing.

She now only grew vegetables in season, which just happened to grow better than others.

There are many vegetables that can be grown in each season, and as long as they taste good, there would be plenty for the restaurant’s customers.

She talked with her second uncle and aunt, who didn’t have much work at the beginning of the year.

Since she really needed help with the large field and putting up fences, they agreed to come and assist her.

Qiao Wanqing offered to pay them the highest wage she could afford, but her second uncle and aunt refused to accept it.

After some negotiation, they settled on a daily rate of 130 yuan, only paying for the days they worked.

Qiao Wanqing decided not to tell them about Koko’s secret. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust them, but she felt that such a revelation would be hard for anyone to accept.

If she hadn’t read so many novels, she might have thought Koko was a monster herself.

Strange things are often seen as supernatural, so Qiao Wanqing resolved to keep this secret to herself.

When watering the plants, she mixed Koko’s “magic urine” with other organic fertilizers so they wouldn’t notice anything unusual.

She also bought a cool tricycle for transporting vegetables, which cost nearly 8,000 yuan.

Although it was expensive, it would be very useful for her future vegetarian restaurant.

On the ninth day of the New Year, Qiao Wanqing signed the contract with the person in charge and rented the land, starting the construction process.

The biggest headache for Qiao Wanqing was still the funding issue.

Fortunately, apart from the rent, other expenses would come gradually rather than all at once.

She still had a few thousand yuan, and the farm stay was in its peak season.

The second batch of vegetables was growing, so money was coming in slowly but surely.

She planned to spend what she had and worry about the rest later.

Additionally, Tang Yueyue transferred 50,000 yuan to her through Taobao, leaving a message: “I know you need it. I can’t give you more, but use this for now. Just give me a lifetime free meal card at your restaurant.”

Qiao Wanqing was moved to tears.

Having such a supportive best friend was a true blessing.

With Tang Yueyue’s money and her own slowly earned income, Qiao Wanqing could start building the restaurant.

She decided to build only one floor initially. If business picked up, she could consider expanding later.

She didn’t want to spend a lot of money on a two-story building and its renovation only to risk significant losses if it didn’t succeed.

With elderly parents and a young child to support, she couldn’t afford to take big risks.

The vegetarian restaurant was designed by Qiao Wanqing herself, but she outsourced the construction entirely.

Her second uncle found her a small, reliable, and reasonably priced construction team that promised to complete the basic structure within a month.

After another month or so for renovations and a couple of months to let everything settle, they aimed to open around the Dragon Boat Festival, coinciding with the opening of the Yue Lao Temple nearby.

Gu Yanqing’s purchase of baby formula greatly pleased Koko, who already loved drinking formula and was now even more addicted.

Qiao Wanqing’s milk supply had significantly decreased.

Now that Kouko had teeth, if he couldn’t get any milk, he would sometimes bite, which hurt even though he wasn’t very strong.

After discussing with Grandma Qiao, they decided to wean Koukou since he had already been breastfed for eight months.

However, it seemed like Koko was determined to make things difficult.

Despite his newfound love for formula, he started fussing for breast milk as soon as Qiao Wanqing stopped nursing him.

Every time she held him, regardless of whether he was hungry, he would nuzzle against her, wanting to nurse.

When she tried to nurse him, he often just held onto the nipple without really drinking, occasionally sucking a little, but mostly preferring the formula.

“Are you just trying to make things difficult for Mommy, huh? Little rascal!”

Qiao Wanqing said, gently pinching his cheek as he nuzzled her but didn’t nurse, instead playing with his little feet.

Koukou, sensing he was being scolded, gave a half-hearted suck or two before stopping again.

Qiao Wanqing laughed in exasperation, “You’re quite the clever one!”

She wondered where he got his mischievous streak.

Meanwhile, Grandma Qiao was knitting hats.

In her spare time, she made hats, socks, and gloves to sell at the village market, where they sold quite well.

Seeing their predicament, Grandma Qiao chuckled and said, “When we weaned our children, we would sometimes rub a bit of ginger juice on ourselves. The spiciness would make the kids stop nursing after a few attempts.”

Qiao Wanqing was surprised, “Won’t that traumatize the child?”

She imagined a child eagerly trying to nurse, only to get a mouthful of spiciness, which would certainly be confusing.

“It’s not as bad as it sounds. Our children went through it and turned out fine. Forcing them to sleep separately and not letting them near their mothers can be worse. The child cries for the mother for several nights, which is much harder on everyone. If you keep doing it this way, it could take weeks to wean him.”

Qiao Wanqing realized her current method wasn’t working.

Every time Koukou nuzzled her and fussed, she gave in, feeling too soft-hearted to deny him.

If he wanted it, she’d give it to him, even if it meant fetching divine nectar.

So, she nodded and said, “I’ll give it a try.”

Qiao Wanqing prepared some ginger juice and applied a bit to both sides of her nipples.

When Koko woke up from his afternoon nap and started his usual act of wanting to nurse, Qiao Wanqing boldly offered him her breast.

Koko, as expected, spat it out after being hit by the spiciness.

He didn’t cry immediately, though.

He tried again, disbelieving, but after confirming the spiciness twice, he finally burst into tears.

Qiao Wanqing was amused by his reaction and, suppressing her laughter, held him to comfort him half-heartedly.

Grandma Qiao prepared a bottle of formula and handed it to him.

Koko, still sniffling, latched onto the bottle and drank his favorite milk, quickly cheering up.

Qiao Wanqing repeated this method a few times.

Soon enough, Koko understood that his mother’s milk had inexplicably turned spicy and unpleasant.

Within a couple of days, he stopped nuzzling her for milk altogether.

So, if a child refuses to wean, a bit of spiciness might do the trick.