The free-range chickens around the yard and the newly bought goslings saw the vegetables in her hands and quickly ran over, gathering around her.
—Not only the children at school; even the poultry at their home loved vegetable leaves. Every time she returned from the vegetable garden with freshly picked greens, these little creatures would excitedly crowd around, waiting for her to sort out the leaves for them.
Unfortunately, although the vegetables were delicious, they had no effects like "Make Chickens Grow Faster." The chicks did not grow any faster than those from other households.
"Miss Qiao." The man in the yard greeted her politely when he saw her come in.
Seeing her surrounded by a flock of little animals, he could not help twitching at the corner of his eye. He could not understand why such a stunning beauty had returned to the countryside to live.
And she was even dressed like a farmwife.
The key was that even without makeup and in casual clothes, she was still so beautiful and glamorous, not losing in the slightest to those carefully styled celebrities on screen.
He could not understand why someone with Qiao Wanqing's looks always liked taking such unconventional, extreme paths.
Xu Han plucked off the old outer leaves of the lettuce to feed the chicks and goslings, then asked politely, "What brings you here, Mr. Wang?"
The last time Gu Yanqing had come, Xu Han's attitude had differed too greatly from what he had expected, so they had failed to reach an agreement and put the matter aside for the time being. Now that Wang Xiao had come again, he was here to settle it on Gu Yanqing's behalf.
Since Qiao Wanqing had stated that she intended to raise the child herself, Gu Yanqing was not the sort of person who would forcibly take what he wanted just because things did not go his way. He could only make sure the child lived better through compensation.
Since it was only compensation, there was naturally no need for him to come personally. He had sent Wang Xiao to handle the matter.
"I'm here to discuss the matter concerning the child with Miss Qiao on Mr. Gu's behalf. I'll only take ten minutes of Miss Qiao's time."
Although Wang Xiao spoke politely, his tone always carried a trace of contempt and disdain, as though speaking to her would dirty his mouth. It was inexplicably unpleasant.
Xu Han knew this was already considered polite. Through Qiao Wanqing's memories, she knew very clearly how Wang Xiao had mocked and looked down on her when Qiao Wanqing had slept with Gu Yanqing and asked him to take responsibility. Acting on Gu Yanqing's orders, Wang Xiao had come to speak with her and thrown her a check.
Since the other party's tone was unpleasant, Xu Han had no reason to fawn over him. She kept working with her hands and said flatly, "Go ahead. I'm listening."
"Miss Qiao," Wang Xiao said, his face darkening, "this isn't merely a verbal discussion. There's also an agreement that requires Miss Qiao to read and sign. Sorry for the trouble, but please be more straightforward."
"Or..." Wang Xiao shifted his tone, his voice laced with mockery. "Did Miss Qiao originally imagine that President Gu would personally come to negotiate with you? Perhaps you thought your completely different attitude would catch his attention, only to end up with an unwelcome person like me instead. Are you feeling upset? If so... I'm terribly sorry."
Wang Xiao's tone was incredibly punchable. Xu Han tightened her grip on the vegetable leaves in her hand. She understood that, from Wang Xiao's standpoint, it was perfectly normal for him to mock someone like her, and he was mocking Qiao Wanqing, not her.
But anyone would feel unhappy being spoken to like that.
"There's a check for one million here, along with an agreement. Please look it over and sign it, Miss Qiao." Wang Xiao handed over a document envelope. "This is the highest compensation President Gu is willing to offer. I advise Miss Qiao to put away those messy thoughts, take the money, and raise the child properly. You could never earn one million in your entire life on your own, so don't think that secretly having President Gu's child means you can use it to climb the ranks. When the time comes, you may lose both the money and the man, and you won't get a single cent."
Wang Xiao's lofty, charitable tone finally enraged Xu Han.
"Who wants your filthy money?" Xu Han finally exploded. "Get out!"
"I..."
"Get out! Did you hear me?" Xu Han rudely cut him off, tossing the vegetable leaves at his feet. "Take your precious one million and get out of my house. If you don't leave, I'll sue you for harassment."
Wang Xiao: "..."
In the end, Wang Xiao was unceremoniously driven out by Xu Han without accomplishing anything.
Xu Han decided to fix up the gate to her yard and add a lock, so uninvited guests like these could not so easily enter her home.
After Wang Xiao left, Xu Han went inside to check on Koukou and found that he was already awake. He was sucking on his little hand while staring at the ceiling. Who knew whether he was thinking of something tasty? He sucked away with great relish.
Upon hearing Xu Han enter, he immediately stopped sucking and curiously searched for the source of the sound.
When Xu Han came into his field of vision, he seemed to recognize her as his mother. His gaze followed her, watching every movement she made.
Xu Han took a deep breath and calmed herself down. In truth, she had not been that angry, but for some reason, a wave of resentment had risen from within her just now, making her want to tear Wang Xiao apart with her bare hands.
Even Xu Han was startled by that thought. Now that she had calmed down, perhaps it was... the resentment Qiao Wanqing herself had left behind toward Wang Xiao, stirred up under these circumstances?
Shaking her head, Xu Han did not dwell on the reason. She went over, opened the swaddling clothes, and felt his diaper. There was not much urine in it, so she did not change him for now.
Koukou drank milk now and urinated more than ten or twenty times a day, using seven or eight diapers daily. It might not sound like much, but Xu Han felt that if this continued, she would not even be able to afford diapers.
Actually, she no longer wanted compensation either, because she had suddenly considered another problem.
If Gu Yanqing paid child support, that would mean the child belonged to both of them. Koukou would have to acknowledge this father, and Gu Yanqing would have the right to come see him.
If Koukou learned that he had such an incredible father, would he become dissatisfied with his current pastoral life, or even resentful? Would he even think that she was the reason he could not be acknowledged by the Gu family?
```