Her Cultivation Diary
Chapter 1014 - 994. Qiaoqiao’s New Shoes

Chapter 1014: 994. Qiaoqiao’s New Shoes

Master Li didn’t really take it seriously.

Renting a car with a driver—it’s perfectly normal for night shifts! He’ll just be grateful if they’re normal people. The last customer complained about the price while requesting the best car in the fleet, nitpicking all the way through the trip...

Of course, the contracted hours were from 6 AM to 8 PM, but now with Song Tan giving him an extra overtime fee—which didn’t need to be split with the rental company—Master Li was naturally happy.

After all, workers don’t mind overtime; they just don’t want unpaid overtime.

Thanks to the money, when he dropped the siblings off at a nearby hotel, he asked: "Should I come by early tomorrow to take you to breakfast? There are a few authentic old spots nearby; not sure if you’ll enjoy their food."

He added, "Are your things being showcased at the exhibition tomorrow? Which area will it be? I’ve got a taxi driver group chat—if someone’s headed there, I’ll casually mention it."

"If you’re aiming to boost sales, you could even hand out some red envelopes to the drivers—they’d go out of their way to bring you customers!"

This was simply too thoughtful. Song Tan gave him a thumbs-up—this car rental company was great, the taxi driver was awesome; all-around solid choice!

However...

"Thanks, but tomorrow we’ll just have breakfast at the hotel. We got here too late, and in the morning, we must head out to set things up."

"As for boosting sales, it’s really not necessary. We don’t keep any stock at home and weren’t planning to sell anything."

"Huh?" Now it was Master Li who felt disappointed.

"You’re not selling that sweet potato sesame stuff from yesterday?"

"What about the cucumbers? Aren’t cucumbers easy to grow in winter? You see them in supermarkets all the time. Can’t afford cucumbers at 20 bucks a pound, but I can splurge on fruits at that price, right?"

"Not for sale." Song Tan laughed. "Our produce is already pre-ordered by other buyers. We’re here for the competition; we didn’t bring anything to sell."

Master Li was quite let down.

Throughout the drive, he’d been mentally preparing himself—reflecting on how hard life as a worker was while daydreaming about the taste of sweet potato pancakes and the freshness of their cucumbers.

His mind clashed, theater scripts replaying 108 versions. He’d braced himself to splurge, treating it as buying an indulgent fruit—but alas, they weren’t selling!

Who could understand this?

The inner turmoil about whether to buy or not had now turned into sheer frustration.

But since they weren’t selling, there was nothing he could do. Sighing, he dropped them off at the hotel, still unwilling to give up:

"You really should consider selling—the exhibition will bring tons of people, and many will write online reviews. Good things go viral so easily..."

But Song Tan simply smiled and led a half-asleep Qiaoqiao into the hotel.

"Do you know how to check into a room?" The devilish sister shook her brother awake. "Here, take the ID; I’ve already booked the room. Try following the instructions on your own to register."

Qiaoqiao was no longer the clueless younger brother from the countryside. He had traveled properly before, so now he perked up and proudly declared: "I know how! It’s super simple—just hand over the ID, scan the face, and wait for the room key."

Saying this, he handed over the ID confidently.

Song Tan nodded approvingly. "Not bad."

...

Song Tan had booked a family suite. Exhausted from the day, Qiaoqiao didn’t care to explore the hotel. Barely awake, he washed up and fell asleep the moment he hit the bed.

Song Tan, lying in the inner room, heard faint snores and chuckled: Silly boy, you haven’t tasted the real hardships of the working life yet!

But thinking of it this way, she soon lay down as well.

No meditation tonight—the air quality in the Imperial City was far worse than back home. If it weren’t snowing, she might even consider wearing a mask outside.

...

Still, Song Tan underestimated Qiaoqiao’s energy.

He woke up before 7 AM, flipping on lights and experimenting with the electric curtains, fiddling with the ventilation system, and even attempting to open the windows after a while.

Shortly after, he ventured into the bathroom to splash around.

Once everything was tidy, there came the sound of untying shoelaces—

Oh, the new shoes he didn’t have time to test yesterday were definitely going to be worn today.

Then, while running around the room experimenting with the desk lamp, he bounced a few steps here and there, savoring the joy of new shoes. That was when Song Tan finally got out of bed.

The siblings weren’t ones to dawdle. After quickly freshening up and dressing, Song Tan called out to Qiaoqiao: "Take your stuff, bring the room card, and check out. Let’s head down for breakfast. After we eat, we go straight to the venue."

If everything went smoothly, the judges would finish their evaluations tonight—after all, much of the fresh produce couldn’t last more than a few days.

The Imperial City wasn’t her kind of place anyway, so Song Tan was already planning to drive back overnight.

That said, the hotel breakfast wasn’t half bad. The glutinous rice porridge was thick and soft, and there was a wide variety of breakfast items, but...

After slurping down two bowls, Qiaoqiao concluded: "Still not as good as what we have at home!"

Song Tan laughed: "If it doesn’t taste good, why eat so much?"

Qiaoqiao shook his head. "It’s still good, just not as good as ours. But today I have work—I need to eat well and not be picky."

After some thought, he sighed wistfully: "If the handsome guy had sent more last night, I could’ve eaten less this morning."

"His salted egg yolk sweet potato porridge is so good."

Indeed, Song Tan had to admit it was a masterpiece.

The seemingly odd pairing of sweet and savory actually complemented each other, each flavor showcasing its strengths.

The salted egg yolk was gently salty but deeply fragrant. The sweet potato served as an accent, and with the fresh scent of the rice porridge, its mild sweetness elevated the porridge’s flavor.

Even the handful of diced chives sprinkled on top, despite not being the freshest, were the perfect garnish to enhance the aroma.

One could easily imagine how brilliant that sweet potato porridge looked fresh out of the pot—golden yellow and emerald green intertwined vibrantly.

Song Tan also sighed: Yesterday’s shredded radish pancakes were fantastic, too.

She perked up. "Alright, agreed—let’s get going. Once today’s tasks are done, we’re heading back overnight."

"Okay!" Qiaoqiao cheered up, placing the tray aside: "Time to work, time to work!"

He stood on tiptoes and boasted: "Sis, the handsome guy’s shoes are so pretty! Prettier than any of my other shoes! And they’re super comfortable to wear!"

Song Tan took a closer look. The white sneakers indeed looked good on him. Even though she didn’t know much about shoes, she could see how superior they were compared to Qiaoqiao’s boxed-up old ones.

She complimented him: "They really are nice. Let me check which model they are. Next time, I’ll buy you the same ones." They weren’t strapped for money nowadays, and buying some decent clothes and shoes for the kid was more than fair.

So she snapped a photo to search for the same model—

A while later, Song Tan put down her phone, disappointed: "This style is only available in the Imperial City. Next time we visit, I’ll buy them for you."

Gasp! Over 3,000 for a pair of sneakers—who even wears these?!

Could these improve efficiency at farming?!

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