Chapter 38

"I'd long since had no chance with him." Talking about things she had deliberately avoided, Xu Han felt upset. "Oh, Grandma, please stop worrying about me. I know what I'm doing."

"Oh, all right. Then I'll turn him down."

After resting for a while, Xu Han first took a stroll through the vegetable garden, picking quite a lot of vegetables to make hot pot for dinner.

When she passed through town earlier, she happened to find someone selling fresh beef. She bought some beef belly and tripe, as well as a big pork bone for the soup base.

The vegetables were all readily available. Xu Han picked some broccoli, chrysanthemum greens, tender snow pea shoots, corn, and tomatoes, then cut down a plump, tender lettuce stalk. They were all perfect vegetables for hot pot.

Xu Han made the soup base herself. Since she was still breastfeeding and couldn't eat much spicy food, she made a clear broth base. She took a slab of pork belly from the fridge, cut off the skin, and simmered it with the large bone until the broth turned milky white.

She stir-fried scallions, ginger, garlic, and other seasonings until fragrant, added the prepared stock, then simmered it with bay leaves, white cardamom, red dates, goji berries, and shiitake mushrooms. She added tomatoes and corn for freshness, then seasoned it with salt, chicken essence, and other condiments. The simple yet rich and flavorful broth was done.

A clear broth hot pot did not have the intense flavor of a spicy red broth, but it had its own unique charm. The thinly sliced beef turned tender and silky after a quick dip in the pot. The cattle here had been raised by local herders, so the meat was firm and full of beefy flavor. The tripe was crisp and springy, while the vegetables already tasted far better than ordinary produce. Once they had soaked up the broth, they became even sweeter and fresher.

Although the city had lavish dishes prepared with exquisite care, once she came home and ate, she still felt that the food at home was more delicious and natural.

Xu Han ate until she was full, then gave Koukou a bath. After coaxing him to sleep, she sat down to do the accounts and make a small plan for her future.

This time, the landlord had refunded 15,000 yuan. Of the 50,000 yuan Qiao Wanqing had left behind, she had spent some during this trip back to the countryside, leaving only 40,000. The school had settled two months' worth of vegetable payments, and with the sales to Tan Yue and the farmhouse restaurant, she had made around 10,000 yuan in bits and pieces. After deducting her usual expenses, she had 63,000 yuan left.

That was not a small amount for an ordinary person, but for someone who wanted to start a business, it was probably just a drop in the bucket.

One of Xu Han's other goals in seeking out Tang Yueyue this time had been to ask her about opening an online store. Tang Yueyue worked in e-commerce herself and knew quite a bit about it.

If she could learn from her and open an online store, her family's dried fruits and vegetables were so delicious that they would surely have great market prospects. She could spend 40,000 yuan on a drying machine, and maybe make a fortune from it.

Reality proved that she had been thinking too optimistically.

The two permits were not the biggest problem. The key was that running an online store was nowhere near as simple as she had imagined. She had thought that she could just open a store, do some marketing, and once people discovered how delicious her dried fruits and vegetables were, her reputation and sales would naturally rise.

But Tang Yueyue told her that online stores had all sorts of hidden rules and tricks: fake orders, paid traffic, Diamond Booth ads, and more. Xu Han was left completely confused.

Still, she understood the conclusion: selling dried fruits and vegetables through an online store would not be easy. She might even lose everything without getting it off the ground.

Just as she was at her wits' end, her phone chimed, notifying her of a WeChat message. Xu Han picked it up and saw that someone named "z" had added her as a WeChat friend.

Note: Gu Yanqing.

Why was he back again?

Xu Han held her phone, propped her elbow on the table, and stared at those three words on the screen. Should she accept him or not?

Her original plan had been to come back and deny knowing him, but he had done her a huge favor. If she turned her back on him now, it seemed a little ungrateful.

Though gratitude could not fill her stomach, a person still needed some principles.

It was only adding him on WeChat, not getting together with him. Thinking that, Xu Han accepted the request and added a note for him.

Not long after, Gu Yanqing sent her a message.

Gu Yanqing: You're home, right?

Xu Han: Mm.

Gu Yanqing: Has Koukou been behaving?

Xu Han: Yes.

Gu Yanqing was probably annoyed by her coldness. After a long while, he finally sent: The dried fruits and vegetables you gave Yuan Yuan tasted great. I want to buy some. Do you have any?

Xu Han: Sorry, they're not for sale. I just made some casually for myself.

Xu Han sent that reply with great resolve. In truth, she really wanted to sell them. He was a major customer, after all. If she pleased him, maybe he would give them out to his entire company as New Year's gifts. Wouldn't that use up a lot?

But she truly did not want anything to do with Gu Yanqing anymore. Otherwise, it would never end. Was she really supposed to have some harmonious brotherly relationship with the male lead?

The male lead probably would not be willing to share what was his with anyone else.

Gu Yanqing did not give up and sent another message: Then could I trouble you to make a little more?

Maybe she should make some for him, considering he had helped her out. But why did she dislike the idea so much?

After thinking for a moment, she suddenly had an idea and rapidly typed out a message to Gu Yanqing.

Xu Han: (blush) (blush) President Gu, since you like the dried fruits and vegetables I make so much, why don't I quickly pack up and move in with you? Forget dried fruits and vegetables—you can even eat me if you want.

After sending it, Xu Han was practically floored by her own cleverness. Gu Yanqing hated nothing more than her throwing herself at him. She wanted to see how he would reply this time.

Sure enough, Gu Yanqing did not respond for a long time. Xu Han sneered inwardly. Heh, men!

You have the nerve to flirt with me, so why don't you have the nerve to marry me?

Xu Han put down her phone and ignored him. As she pondered her future, she doodled aimlessly on paper. The online store route was not viable for now, so she should focus on offline sales first. Once she bought some relevant materials and courses, she could study while figuring out how to run an online store.

She had to take care of a child, grow vegetables, pick vegetables, and deliver vegetables. Now she had added studying to her list of tasks. Even with Grandma Qiao helping her, Xu Han felt utterly exhausted.

She considered hiring someone to help deliver vegetables and such if the farmhouse restaurant's sales really took off.