They said they were busy preparing for the wedding, but it was mostly Gu Yanqing who was occupied.

Qiao Wanqing had hardly been involved in the wedding preparations and was mostly waiting to be the bride, so she didn’t have much to do and felt more like she was on vacation.

Their wedding location was near the beach, and they were staying in a rented seaside vacation villa.

When they opened the windows, they could see the beach, the sea, and coconut trees outside.

It was Kouko’s first time seeing the sea, and he was very excited.

Early in the morning, he tugged at Qiao Wanqing, eager to go see the ocean.

Qiao Wanqing bought him a set of sand digging tools so he could play on the beach.

Kids seem to have a special love for digging in the sand.

Anyway, Kouko was thrilled to dig in the sand for the first time with his small shovel.

He happily dug away, wiggling his little bottom, and played for a long time.

Qiao Wanqing relaxed on a beach chair, watching him.

The weather was just perfect—neither too hot nor too cold.

Wearing a short skirt and short sleeves was ideal, and they didn’t sweat while outside.

The sea breeze was gentle, making it a great vacation spot.

It was also very convenient because the area had wireless internet coverage over the entire beach, so Qiao Wanqing could use her phone and chat with friends on WeChat, feeling very relaxed.

“Mommy, there’s a crab, crab, crab~” Kouko found a small crab and was so excited that he was stuttering.

The little crab moved very quickly.

Kouko threw aside his shovel and chased after it, calling out, “Mommy, crab, crab!”

Running on the beach was tricky, and Kouko didn’t manage to run far before he fell and ended up in the sand.

Qiao Wanqing, who had put down her phone and come over, wanted to pick him up, but Kouko didn’t want her help.

Instead, he pointed at the crab running away and excitedly said, “Mommy, catch, catch.”

Oh, my dear, you’re really going for it.

Qiao Wanqing quickly helped him up, chased after the crab, and caught it.

She put it in a bucket that matched his shovel.

Kouko peered into the bucket, watching the crab move around, and happily said, “Kouko caught it, crab!”

The day before, they had a seafood feast, and Kouko really liked the steamed crabs.

Qiao Wanqing didn’t let him eat too much, so he wasn’t completely satisfied.

Now, seeing Kouko’s excitement, it was clear he wasn’t just happy about catching the crab but was also thinking about eating it.

Qiao Wanqing brushed the sand off him, checked that he wasn’t hurt, and said, “Kouko is so great! Let’s dig up more crabs and Mommy will cook them, okay?”

Kouko’s eyes lit up at this: “Yes! Koukou likes it, likes to eat!”

Seeing him dig even more enthusiastically, Qiao Wanqing shook her head in resignation, thinking she should bring Yuanyuan along next time.

Two kids together might be more fun and easier to manage.

She planned to discuss it with Gu Yanqing later.

Back at her lounge chair, she saw a WeChat message from Chen Yu.

Chen Yu had sent several screenshots of Taobao links for winter bamboo shoots, all claiming to be “crisp winter bamboo shoots”!

These sellers clearly saw how well her product was selling and wanted to take advantage of the trend.

They used the same “crisp” label to attract buyers and divert them to their own listings.

Their prices were set very low—around 40 to 45 yuan for 5 pounds—hoping to catch attention through a price war.

But that wasn’t all.

Qiao Wanqing searched for their product details on Taobao and found that their listings were very similar to hers, or even identical.

She didn’t mind others selling winter bamboo shoots, but she hated that they were blatantly copying her work.

Moreover, when she checked one of the more popular sellers, she saw that among a few reviews, there were two negative ones:

[Underweight! It says 60 yuan for 5 pounds, but I only got 4.5 pounds and there was a lot of dirt. Bad review!]

[Last time I bought from Crisp Winter Bamboo Shoots, I got two big and well-weighted shoots and gave a good review. Now, I received five or six small ones. The quality has dropped too quickly.]

Qiao Wanqing was really angry.

Not only were they stealing her brand name, but they were also selling inferior products, damaging her reputation.

She made sure her winter bamboo shoots were high-quality, even though they cost 50 cents more than others.

She required them to be the right size, not spoiled, and free of dirt.

Quality was guaranteed, even if it meant slightly heavier.

Chen Yu: “These people are so audacious. Don’t they fear being sued for using your product name?”

Qiao Wanqing: “Do complaints even work? Will Taobao take action?”

She hadn’t encountered this situation before.

Reflecting on it, she realized that many popular products on Taobao had similar fake or inferior versions that seemed to be selling well without any action from the platform.

Chen Yu: “I don’t know. And your ‘Crisp Winter Bamboo Shoots’ name isn’t even registered as a trademark, so it might not be protected.”

Qiao Wanqing: “Actually, it is registered.”

Initially, Qiao Wanqing thought just changing the name of her Taobao store would be enough.

However, Gu Yanqing advised her to register the trademark to avoid potential disputes or having the trademark taken by someone else.

So, she did register it.

Qiao Wanqing decided to file a complaint first and look for other solutions if that didn’t work.

She asked her assistant to help with Kōkō, who didn’t want to leave the beach, while she went home to handle the situation on her computer.

She took screenshots of each seller and reported them.

She also posted an announcement in her store: “The links for Crisp Winter Bamboo Shoots have been closed and are no longer for sale. We do not accept any agents. Anything sold outside is counterfeit. Please be careful!”

After posting this, her Wangwang (a messaging system) started ringing.

Since her customer service was outsourced, if there were issues they couldn’t resolve, they would transfer the messages to her for direct handling.

[Hello, how can I assist you today?]

[Hello, boss. We have a lot of unsold winter bamboo shoots this year, all in good condition and very nice-looking. We heard your winter bamboo shoots sold very well before and are now out of stock. Could you sell ours instead? We will handle the shipping and guarantee quality, and we propose a 50-50 split of the profits. How does that sound?]

The other party was very polite and used respectful language.

If she were in the country, she would definitely consider it.

It was like having a dropshipping supplier, where she wouldn’t have to worry about the details.

Qiao Wanqing is currently busy with wedding preparations and isn’t focused on handling these issues.

Additionally, the recent experience with those poor-quality counterfeit products left a bad impression on her.

When it comes to items she hasn’t handled personally, there’s always the risk of substandard quality or some form of deception that she might not be aware of.

Driven by profit and not by the reputation of established manufacturers, Qiao Wanqing feels it’s best not to trust such parties easily.

Moreover, a 50/50 split is obviously too good to be true.

Running a Taobao store and seeking shortcuts requires significant investment.

It’s not as simple as just placing a link and expecting a constant flow of buyers; otherwise, everyone would be making money effortlessly.

The other party was only responsible for shipping and didn’t handle operations, customer service, or after-sales issues.

According to Qiao Wanqing’s home region’s purchasing price of 3.5 per pound, the maximum price she could offer them was 4-4.5 per pound.

【Sorry, I’m dealing with some family matters now and won’t be making links for winter bamboo shoots anymore.】

【Could we apply to be your agent instead? We would open our own specialty store and use your brand name. We can give you 20% of the profit. Is that okay?】

That was even less acceptable, and Qiao Wanqing directly refused the offer.

She closed the Taobao chat, stretched lazily, and walked out of the study.

Making money quickly on Taobao comes with a lot of issues.

Unlike a restaurant, where a manager handles things and she mainly just collects the money, Taobao involves numerous problems throughout the day and night, making it almost impossible to be at ease.

Next year, she plans to find a couple more people to help out; managing everything alone is too exhausting.

After handling the situation, Qiao Wanqing went to the beach to find Koukou.

Seeing that they were no longer at the sand digging area and only two small shovels were left behind startled her.

As she was about to take out her phone to message her assistant Chen Feng, she noticed two figures near the rocks in the distance.

Among them, the excited, bouncing child standing by the shore was Koukou.

Qiao Wanqing sighed in relief and walked over.

She saw Chen Feng had taken off his clean leather shoes, rolled up his suit pants, and was catching crabs for Koukou.

Under the rocks, there were many crabs of various sizes.

Chen Feng’s plastic bucket was already filled with seven or eight crabs.

“There, there!” Koukou shouted from the shore, directing them.

That child.

At noon, Koukou had a small plastic bucket filled with crabs.

He begged Qiao Wanqing to cook them for him.

Fortunately, the villa had cooking facilities.

Qiao Wanqing cleaned the crabs, briefly boiled them, marinated them with salt and cooking wine, coated them in flour, and then fried them.

After frying until crispy, she took them out.

Koukou was so excited, he almost cried.

“Sweetie, wash your hands first,” Qiao Wanqing said, placing a plate of crabs on the table.

She was worried they might be too hot and coaxed him to wash his hands.

Koukou rushed into the bathroom, asking Qiao Wanqing to wash his hands.

Just then, Gu Yanqing came back from work to have a meal.

The first thing he saw was a plate of unevenly sized crabs that didn’t even cover the bottom of the plate.

Gu Yanqing wondered if he was going bankrupt, ending up eating such small crabs.

Then he saw Koukou, freshly washed, rushing to him, wanting to be lifted onto a high stool.

“Crabs,” Koukou pointed at the oddly presented crabs, proudly telling Gu Yanqing, “Koukou caught them.”

“…” Gu Yanqing realized it wasn’t that he was going bankrupt, but rather his son had caught the crabs.

He smiled and patted Koukou’s head, “Wow, you’re so amazing.”

Koukou, sitting on his stool, demonstrated how he caught the crabs with excitement: “Under the rocks, flip them over, so many crabs!”

“Did Koukou catch them all by himself?”

“Hmmm~” Koukou said this with a bit of uncertainty but still shamelessly claimed credit, “It’s all Koukou who caught them.”

His statement lacked conviction, especially when he saw Qiao Wanqing approaching.

His voice grew softer, and he bashfully covered his face.

When Qiao Wanqing heard him saying that he caught all the crabs, even though he was feeling guilty, he still tried to boast.

She sighed and said, “Koukou’s face is as big as a basin. I wonder who he inherited that from?”

Gu Yanqing touched his nose and said, “Probably a genetic mutation.”

Koukou, feeling wronged, corrected his mother, “Koukou, Koukou’s face isn’t big.”

The plate of crabs, though small and not very appetizing, had a lot of meat inside and tasted very delicious.

Koukou ate several crabs in one go, and after finishing, he sucked on his little fingers and said, “Delicious. In the afternoon, I’ll catch more.”

Qiao Wanqing: “……”

Qiao Wanqing’s bridesmaids for her wedding are Tang Yueyue and her cousin, Lu Yunfei.

Chen Yu also wanted to be a bridesmaid, but her zodiac sign clashes with Qiao Wanqing’s.

The people from her village are quite superstitious and believe it’s unlucky, so she could only be a guest instead.

For this wedding, they invited only a few guests, chartered a plane to accommodate everyone, and notified others they didn’t want to invite. If those people wanted to come, they would have to pay their own way.

That’s one advantage of getting married abroad.

Otherwise, if it were at home, they would have to set up at least thirty to forty tables to seat everyone.

Many people they didn’t want to invite would be unavoidable, making a quiet wedding nearly impossible.

Others were coming only the day before the wedding.

Tang Yueyue, hearing how much fun it was here, couldn’t wait and took leave early, bringing Yuan Yuan along with her.

Tang Yueyue saw Qiao Wanqing and exclaimed, “Sweetie, why have you gotten so tan? We promised to be the most beautiful bride!”

Qiao Wanqing sighed in resignation, “Try spending two days straight on the beach with kids catching crabs and see if you don’t get tan.”

Tang Yueyue was speechless.

The real culprit, Koukou, showed no remorse at all.

He was dragging the freshly arrived Yuan Yuan, trying to get him to catch crabs too.

He was obsessed with crabs.