Gu Yanqing’s side remained quiet.

Xu Han changed her phone number, suspecting that he might try to call her again, but without success.

Regardless of how he might handle things later, Xu Han busied herself with her own affairs.

She bought seeds for out-of-season cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplants, and others, and planted them, watering them with Kou Kou’s “magical pee,” hoping to yield out-of-season crops without a greenhouse.

Boosted by the “Spiritual pee,” these plants grew rapidly after sprouting, becoming lush and promising despite not yet bearing fruit.

However, although their vegetable garden was large, they couldn’t plant everything.

Xu Han noticed a nearby piece of fertile but abandoned land and wondered why it was left unused.

She asked Grandma Qiao about the ownership of the land.

If possible, since they weren’t using it, they could rent it to grow vegetables, preventing it from going to waste and earning some money, which the other party would likely agree to.

To Xu Han’s surprise, the land belonged to their family.

“Our closer relatives originally had several pieces of public land. To make farming easier, each took a piece.

But after your parents passed away, your new uncle from the other branch insisted they also had a share in this piece.

He forbade me from using it privately.

Every time I planted something, they came and pulled it out. After several disputes, I got tired and left it abandoned.”

This was blatant bullying.

From Qiao Wanqing’s memories, Xu Han vaguely understood that their family members couldn’t get along, not even maintaining superficial relationships.

It was okay when Qiao Wanqing’s parents were around.

But after their accident, Grandma Qiao, childless and weak-willed, faced even more open bullying from these people, taking advantage of their family.

Xu Han asked, “If they won’t let us plant, why don’t they come and plant themselves?”

“Their son made money, and they all moved to town.”

“If they’ve moved away, why occupy so much land? Plus, if we plant here, they won’t see it in town.”

“Some villagers would inform them,” Grandma Qiao sighed, “People are like that. Even if they don’t need it, they’ll fight for it, just to make sure you don’t have an easy time.”

Xu Han nodded thoughtfully.

Indeed, no matter how simple people in a place seemed, there would always be those with good or bad intentions, inevitable in any community.

But then Xu Han asked again, “Do we have any deed or certificate for this land?”

“We have a land ownership certificate, but it’s not effective when dealing with unreasonable people.”

“Who needs to reason with them,” Xu Han scoffed. “Grandma, tomorrow you buy some herbicide. We’ll develop the land and start planting vegetables.”

Grandma Qiao wanted to say something more, but seeing Xu Han so determined, she stayed silent.

Though they hadn’t been close before, Grandma Qiao had noticed Qiao Wanqing’s change.

She seemed like a different person now.

But whether she changed or not, Grandma Qiao decided to get along with the present Qiao Wanqing and not dwell on who she used to be.

…

The land hadn’t been abandoned for long. After clearing the weeds with herbicide, they brought in pig and chicken manure for fertilizer.

They hired someone with a machine to plow the land, mixing in the manure.

After preparing the soil, Xu Han didn’t rush to decide what to plant.

Instead, she watered the soil thoroughly with a hose and then spent hours with Grandma Qiao pulling out the poorer quality and overcrowded vegetables.

Together, they planted the plot with fresh vegetables.

Looking at the slightly crooked rows of vegetables, Xu Han smiled satisfactorily and brushed the dirt off her hands.

Now, they just had to wait for things to grow.

After washing her hands, Xu Han went to Kou Kou’s room.

He was still sleeping, his little hands clenched into fists beside his head, resembling Gu Yanqing’s thin, pursed lips, with his chubby face puffed up, making Xu Han want to poke him.

Mischievous Xu Han couldn’t resist.

She lightly poked Kou Kou, who squirmed uncomfortably in his sleep.

Finding it amusing, Xu Han poked him again mischievously.

Annoyed in his dreams, Kou Kou turned his face away.

Enjoying the fun, Xu Han giggled and poked him a couple more times.

This irritated Kou Kou enough that he looked like he might wake up crying.

Xu Han chuckled and gently pulled his blanket back over him.

As she was about to leave, she heard a sound from under Kou Kou, “Uwa Uwa Uwa.”

Xu Han: “…”

―― Xu Han was familiar with this sound; it was the noise Kou Kou occasionally made when he was stretching.

Accepting her fate, Xu Han picked him up and changed his diaper.

After taking care of Kou Kou, Xu Han saw that it was still early and decided to make some rice noodle rolls (cheung fun).

A few days ago, while cleaning the house, Grandma Qiao found a stone mill used for grinding tofu and soybeans.

Xu Han had a sudden idea to make rice noodle rolls using it.

Back in college, Xu Han loved a rice noodle roll shop near her school. It was a delicacy her hometown didn’t have, and the first time she tried it, she was amazed by its deliciousness.

The only downside was that the shop was always crowded, often requiring waiting in line.

Xu Han had researched how to make rice noodle rolls.

In the traditional method, sticky rice needed to be soaked in water for an hour, then ground into rice milk using a stone mill to ensure the rolls were chewy.

Grandma Qiao helped grind the rice milk because Xu Han couldn’t move the heavy stone mill herself.

Xu Han minced the lean meat, chopped the green onions, and prepared the dipping sauce for the rice noodle rolls.

The secret to whether rice noodle rolls are good or not lies entirely in the rice milk and the dipping sauce.

The rice milk shouldn’t be too watery or too dry; too much water makes it shapeless, while too little makes it too firm.

Adding the right amount of tapioca starch and sweet potato starch makes them chewy and tender.

As for the dipping sauce, it varies with personal taste.

Xu Han prepared it according to the flavor of a shop near her school, aiming to recreate a familiar taste.

She heated peanut oil in a pan, sautéed minced garlic and chopped green onions until fragrant, then added small shrimp.

After stir-frying, she added soy sauce, oyster sauce, salt, sugar, and water in the right proportions to create a rich and savory sauce.

Boiling it over high heat, she added a little water starch to thicken it.

Pouring this sauce over the rice noodle rolls steamed with rice milk, minced meat, chicken broth, and lettuce leaves, Xu Han topped it with a spoonful of chili oil for those who liked it spicy.

This layered flavor made the rice noodle rolls appetizing.

Unfortunately, Xu Han couldn’t eat spicy food now because whatever she ate would affect her baby through breast milk, potentially causing discomfort.

So, she settled for a spoonful of fragrant scallion oil, which tasted equally delicious.

“Grandma, try it. Is it good?” Xu Han handed chopsticks to Grandma Qiao.

Grandma Qiao took a bite and couldn’t help but squint with approval, giving Xu Han a thumbs up. “Delicious.”

No matter what Xu Han cooked, Grandma Qiao always praised it.

Last time, even when Xu Han accidentally overcooked the dish, Grandma Qiao ate it without complaint.

Xu Han no longer doubted her taste buds. Deciding to taste it herself, she heard a knock at the door from outside.

Someone was visiting.

Thinking it was a neighbor, Xu Han didn’t mind.

She picked up the plate and walked out to see who it was.

Their courtyard gate was open.

As Xu Han stepped out of the kitchen, she saw the person standing at the door.

Gu Yanqing had visited twice before when Xu Han came out of the kitchen.

Last time she had a knife; this time she carried a plate…

But the crucial point was, beauty was beauty.

Even when carrying a plate and chopsticks to greet a guest, there was nothing untoward about it.

On the contrary, seeing Xu Han’s neatly arranged rice noodle rolls in the plate, Gu Yanqing felt unexpectedly hungry.

Xu Han had a natural talent for cooking.

While she hadn’t made rice noodle rolls before, the ones she made looked as good as those sold in the market, if not better.

Gu Yanqing suddenly felt his mouth watering a bit excessively.

He shifted his eyes slightly and asked, “Eating?”

Probably because Wang Xiao had angered her last time, fearing her mood would not be good if she saw him, Gu Yanqing came alone this time.

Xu Han strictly said to him that there was no grudge between them.

Actually, if Wang Xiao hadn’t treated him like that day, Xu Han’s attitude towards him would also be polite.

Everyone is an adult and can calmly resolve things.

Why must they be at odds with each other?

Xu Han also didn’t want them to repeatedly disturb her current life.

She decided to settle things this time.

So, she tilted her head, looked at him, and asked without any sincerity, “Do you want to eat together?”

To her surprise, Gu Yanqing nodded and said, “I’m actually a bit hungry.”

Xu Han: ???

How did this turn of events differ so much from what she imagined?

Gu Yanqing shouldn’t have looked disgusted and refused to eat, saying he’d leave after she spoke, even finding their floors dirty!

She wasn’t misjudging Gu Yanqing; that’s exactly how it’s written in the book!

Later, Qiao Wanqing got sick and finally met Gu Yanqing again.

Gu Yanqing didn’t even want to look at her, feeling absolute disgust towards her, feeling dirty with every word she said.

And now, he was actually going to eat her cooking.

But the words were spoken, so Xu Han couldn’t take them back.

She had to let Gu Yanqing sit in the house and then turned to the kitchen.

When she brought the rice noodle rolls to the living room, she saw Gu Yanqing standing by the small bed in the living room, staring at Kouko’s sleeping face.

Xu Han actually let Gu Yanqing come to the living room first on purpose, hoping he could see the son who had come out of nowhere and calm down a bit.

After all, she was not calm when she suddenly had a son.

Koukou was well taken care of, looking fair and plump like a sticky rice dumpling.

He liked to pout his little mouth when sleeping, especially cute.

Every time Xu Han saw his adorable sleeping face, she couldn’t help but kiss him.

She wondered what Gu Yanqing felt when he saw she had such a cute son.

However, Xu Han couldn’t detect any flaws on Gu Yanqing’s expressionless face, unsure of what was going on in his mind.

“What’s his name?”

Noticing Xu Han’s entrance, Gu Yanqing asked in a flat voice.

This was Gu Yanqing’s first time seeing his son, whom he had never met before.

Almost instantly, he was sure it was his son.

The reason was simple: Kou Kou looked a lot like him, especially his nose and lips, as if they were carved from the same mold, specially when he was a kid.

Xu Han calmly replied, “Gu Siqiao. ‘Gu’ as in your surname Gu, ‘Si’ as in yearning, and ‘Qiao’ as in Qiao Wanqing.”

Gu Yanqing: “…”

Xu Han noticed his indifferent expression change subtly and couldn’t help but inwardly laugh.

This name was chosen by the original owner, shameless and lacking restraint, each character brimming with the fantasies of an infatuated woman unable to obtain her man.

In truth, she just wanted to see Gu Yanqing’s reaction when he heard this name.