It takes two hours to drive from their home to City C.

Qiao Wanqing has a bit of OCD.

Even though she knows her ID card is all there, she can’t help but rummage through her bag.

Kouko watches her and leans in, wanting to take something out.

“Kouko, be good. You can’t mess with mommy’s bag,” Qiao Wanqing instructs him.

Many kids are curious and often think bags hide something good.

Qiao Wanqing has encountered such kids before, and finds them annoying.

So, she insists on teaching Kouko early on.

Even though he’s young and might not understand, she doesn’t spoil him.

Kids at this age are already conscious of what they shouldn’t do, like playing with fire because it burns.

“But Kouko wants it!” Koko insists, tugging at her bag.

Qiao Wanqing closes her bag. “Mommy’s bag has important things that Kouko can’t play with.”

Though Kouko understands he shouldn’t play with it, he still wants to.

He pouts as if about to cry.

In the front seat, Gu Yanqing picks up a handbell to amuse him. “Would you like to play with this instead, little one?”

“No, want… want bag!” Kouko persists.

“Kouko, stop fussing. Big brother will do a magic trick for you,” Yuan Yuan says from the side.

Kouko hasn’t heard of magic tricks before and is immediately intrigued.

Even though Yuan Yuan’s “magic tricks” are full of flaws—Qiao Wanqing can see his props—Kouko, the naive son of the her, is easily satisfied and stops fussing.

Qiao Wanqing breathes a sigh of relief and quickly tidies up her bag, which Kouko had just messed up.

There’s a lot of miscellaneous stuff in her bag.

Qiao Wanqing sorts through it and finds a brochure from the last time she went to Nongtao, a fine-looking piece of work that seems legitimate.

Gu Yanqing looks back and sees the brochure in her hand. “Nongtao? Are you planning to venture into e-commerce?”

“No, this was handed to me last time I was out shopping. I don’t have time for that now,” Qiao Wanqing replied.

“Let me see,” Gu Yanqing said, taking the brochure.

Qiao Wanqing finished organizing her bag and heard him say, “This looks pretty good. The policies are solid, and they directly link Taobao with the government. They’re definitely looking to support a few successful cases to showcase.”

“Is that so?” Qiao Wanqing said casually. “Too bad it’s half a year too late. I would have considered it.”

Last year, Qiao Wanqing couldn’t sell her vegetables anywhere, so she planned to dry them and sell them on Taobao.

However, setting up an online store required a lot of capital and expertise in the industry, which she didn’t quite understand, and she didn’t have much time.

So, she didn’t pursue it.

Now, her fresh vegetables were barely enough to sell, and she didn’t want to complicate things further.

“The support policies seem well thought out, especially the benefits for express delivery. Actually, the biggest issue with Nongtao is the delivery problem. If they help solve that, they’re halfway to success.”

“That’s true. Should I give it a try?” Qiao Wanqing wondered.

She knew Gu Yanqing probably wouldn’t support her.

Not only was she already busy, but whatever she earned would be a drop in the bucket for him.

To her surprise, Gu Yanqing nodded. “Sure, if you want to venture into entrepreneurship, it’s a good path.”

“Entrepreneurship,” Qiao Wanqing chuckled. “Mr. Gu, you’re overestimating me.”

“People need dreams,” Gu Yanqing’s perspective seemed similar to Tang Yue’s. “And with me around, you can go ahead confidently. If you fail, I’ll take care of you.”

Oddly enough, Qiao Wanqing found herself tempted.

If she really opened an online store, she could focus solely on supplying local restaurants and selling dried fruits and vegetables online.

Plus, the online store wouldn’t just sell dried produce—it could also feature wild goods like the honey, lingzhi mushrooms, and dry golden thread lily she was giving to Gu Yanqing’s parents.

She could also use her restaurant to promote her dried fruits and vegetables, encouraging customers who enjoy them to order more online.

It seemed like it could work well.

However, there were many issues to solve—like ensuring the quality of the dried produce and addressing customer trust issues with so many counterfeit products online.

To succeed, it would likely require a lot of effort and dedication.

Qiao Wanqing shook her head, trying to push away the urge to dive into this venture. “Mr. Gu, following your advice, I’d work myself to death.”

“As the boss, your role would be to oversee and plan. Look at me—I manage my own business and have taken over part of my family’s industry. Yet, I still find time to be with you. Do I seem too busy to you?” Gu Yanqing reasoned.

She had to admit, he had a point.

Gu Yanqing had spent a lot of time with her.

Apart from handling a crisis in the city and going on a few business trips, he’d mostly been with her.

He didn’t seem like the busy big shot he was.

“Well then, let me think about it,” Qiao Wanqing conceded.

Gu Yanqing nodded and glanced through the brochure again before neatly folding it and handing it back to her.

Of course, he wasn’t interested in her making money from this venture.

But he noticed that participants in the Nongtao project, like agricultural producers, were required to study and exchange ideas in City C.

This would give Qiao Wanqing more opportunities to be in the city.

While he didn’t mind staying with her in town and in the village, he knew it was important for people to experience life in the city.

Besides, the living conditions there were better.

If she studied there, leaving the affairs of home and the restaurant to others, she wouldn’t be as tired.

Moreover, he could help her manage the online store, unlike with farming and running the restaurant where he couldn’t be much help.

…

They had booked a flight for 2 p.m.

The family first went to Gu Yanqing’s apartment in City C, not a mansion that wealthy people preferred, but a suite in a high-end residential complex.

However, the space was quite large, and he lived alone, often not staying there, which seemed a bit wasteful.

Apart from himself, there were only a chef who took care of his meals and a butler who managed his private life.

There were no other servants like those often seen in novels.

The packaging boxes were already prepared by the butler.

Gu Yanqing asked him to help pack everything.

The boxes were exquisite and elegant, originally filled with wild goods from the mountains.

Once packed into these brocade boxes, their elegance was elevated significantly.

They packed one box of dried golden thread lily, two boxes of lingzhi mushrooms, and one box of gastrodia elata, neatly stacked together, ensuring they had enough quantity.

“Good, very good,” Gu Yanqing nodded in satisfaction at the gift boxes, then instructed the butler, “Uncle Qing, please pack them up and have Chen Feng take them later.”

“Yes, Mr. Gu.”

With the gifts settled, Gu Yanqing asked Qiao Wanqing, who was feeding Kouko water, “Would you like to visit my home?”

Qiao Wanqing had only read about the homes of wealthy people in novels and hadn’t visited one before, so she was immediately interested.

She went with Gu Yanqing to visit his home.

Gu Yanqing’s house was spacious.

Besides a master bedroom, two guest bedrooms, and a study, there were separate living quarters for the nanny and the butler.

Next to the master bedroom, a small room had been converted into a boy’s room.

Since Yuan Yuan hadn’t moved to his own room yet, it was clear who the room was prepared for.

Outside the living room was a large scenic balcony adorned with green plants, leisure tables and chairs, and even a rocking chair, making it feel like having a small courtyard of its own.

Qiao Wanqing’s imagination had been limited by poverty.

She had never known that a courtyard could be like this.

Apart from the limited space, this setup rivaled the small courtyards that came with villas.

Moreover, the high floor provided a sweeping view, offering a clear sight of the nearby lake, boasting an excellent view.

Imagine during the peak of summer, sitting here in the evening, sipping tea, cooling off, and chatting.

Or in winter, spending the day here sunbathing, reading, and relaxing—it’s all quite delightful.

Little Koukou, a country bumpkin, had never seen the world from such a height before.

He clung to the railing, looking out excitedly, shouting with joy, oblivious to what got him so worked up.

Qiao Wanqing checked the railing, ensuring it was tightened another round just to be safe, so Koukou couldn’t slip through.

Seeing her cautious demeanor, Gu Yanqing remarked, “You’re being so careful.”

“I’ve seen too much messy news lately; I have to be cautious.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve had every railing here meticulously inspected. It’s absolutely safe.”

With him handling things, Qiao Wanqing naturally felt reassured.

After all, this was also his cherished little worry.

Leaning against the railing, Gu Yanqing propped his elbows on the crossbar, smiling as he asked her, “So, future Mrs. Gu, are you satisfied with our future home?”

Qiao Wanqing teased him deliberately, “If I’m not, can Mr. Gu just get us another house?”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

“…You’re rich, big guy.”

Gu Yanqing looked at her deeply, “And you’re mine.”

Ahem, these were all things the previous owner had longed for but never attained.

Now Gu Yanqing was saying them with his own lips.

Qiao Wanqing felt a little nostalgic and a little happy.

Just as she was about to say something, Koukou excitedly shouted, “Birds, birds, big birds!”

Koukou pointed happily into the distance, rushing over to tug at Qiao Wanqing and Gu Yanqing’s trousers, eager to show them.

Qiao Wanqing looked up and saw a plane slowly ascending in the distance.

Koukou had never seen such a large aircraft before and mistook it for a bird.

“That’s an airplane,” Yuanyuan corrected him.

“Chicken…” Koukou clearly misunderstood, unable to grasp why a chicken could suddenly fly like a bird.

But he was quick to accept things and happily exclaimed, “Big… big rooster!”

Yuanyuan corrected him again, “It’s an airplane, not a big rooster. Airplanes are for people to ride in. We’ll be taking one to visit Grandma and Grandpa soon.”

“Fly… airplane…” This was way beyond Koukou’s comprehension.

He tilted his head in thought and then brightened up, “Yummy, Koukou eat.”

…

Koukou’s logic was quite amusing, leaving Gu Yanqing and Qiao Wanqing amused.

How did he manage to connect eating with airplanes?

Everyone burst into laughter at Koukou’s antics.

Qiao Wanqing teased him further, “How does Koukou know it’s yummy? Have you eaten one before?”

Feeling a bit shy under everyone’s attention, Koukou hid behind his mom’s legs but asserted confidently, “Eaten~”