Chapter 59: Cousin Is Going to the County Town

Although it had been raining frequently these days, the temperature was rising, and everything in the mountains was coming back to life. All kinds of plants were growing wildly.

Common sights like wood ear mushrooms and wild vegetables were everywhere, and even some of the rarer fungi had started to sprout.

Unfortunately, most of those small mushrooms were inedible, and many were poisonous.

The three of them wandered around the mountaintop for a while and harvested a large pile of wild vegetables and wood ear mushrooms, but the main fungi they were looking for were nowhere to be seen.

Tang Yao and the others were already warmed up from walking, and Fang Mingxi was downright overheated.

The clothes she wore today were already quite warm, and after trekking around, she was now sweating all over.

When they reached the forest, Fang Mingxi opened her system panel.

He Yu had been eagerly hoping to find some fungi, so Fang Mingxi moved a few black truffles, the kind most suitable for this season, over to her side.

Then she also relocated some nearby wild raspberries. Since the wild raspberry bushes were too large, she used the system panel to split them into two bushes, leaving only enough fruit for a single round of picking.

Although it was a bit strange for wild raspberries to appear this season, with the Lunar Second Month approaching, fruits ripening a month early wasn’t all that shocking.

Fang Mingxi realized that having too many people around wasn’t always convenient. Whenever she moved fruits out, she had to consider whether they were supposed to appear in this season.

If she were alone, she could simply harvest everything she saw. Even if she couldn’t sell it, she could still keep it at home to eat.

Spotting where the black truffles had appeared, Fang Mingxi tugged on He Yu’s arm and said, “Big Sister, look over there. The soil’s been pushed up, could there be fungi underneath?”

He Yu looked over and saw a mound of earth beneath a patch of green moss. The soil on top was cracked, clearly disturbed by something underground.

She carefully dug into the dirt. It wasn’t too wet, and it split apart easily.

A black fungus about the size of Fang Mingxi’s palm was unearthed. He Yu stared at it in disbelief.

“Is this a mushroom? I’ve never seen one like this before. Xixi, can it be eaten?”

Fang Mingxi answered uncertainly, “I don’t know, Big Sister. How about we take it back and let Grandpa and Grandma have a look?”

He Yu nodded and kept digging.

Soon, she found another black truffle. Nearby, there was another mound of soil, and inside that one, she discovered yet another truffle.

He Yu was completely immersed in the joy of treasure-hunting for fungi. Meanwhile, Tang Yao had found a small wild raspberry bush with red fruit.

These wild raspberries were much bigger than the red thorn berries they’d seen before. The last time they found wild fruit was back in August or September. Now, seeing raspberries again, Tang Yao quickly folded a leaf into a small basket.

Fang Mingxi went over to help and swiftly picked the limited number of raspberries.

After finishing her truffle digging, He Yu was shocked when she saw the raspberries in their hands.

“Raspberries?! How can there be raspberries this season?”

Tang Yao asked in confusion, “Aren’t there raspberries this time of year?”

He Yu thought carefully. “I remember raspberries usually appear in March or April. It’s only just after the New Year, could they have ripened early?”

Fang Mingxi echoed, “Maybe they ripened early?”

He Yu shook her head. She wasn’t sure either, so she simply assumed they were lucky to stumble upon them today.

She proudly presented the four black truffles to Fang Mingxi and Tang Yao.

“I found four black mushrooms. I don’t know if they’re edible, but let’s each take one back for Grandpa and Grandma to check. If we can eat them, we’ll have them for dinner tonight.”

Tang Yao and Fang Mingxi waved their hands in refusal.

“Big Sister, no need. You found them, you should keep them.”

He Yu frowned and forcefully handed each of them one.

“What do you mean ‘no need’? Take them!”

After giving one to each of them, she even gave Fang Mingxi an extra smaller one, leaving herself with just a single truffle.

“So what if I found them? Didn’t we agree to share everything? If you pick raspberries, would you not let me eat them?”

“Of course we would,” Tang Yao quickly said, placing He Yu’s share of raspberries into her hand and putting the truffle into her own basket. “Then I’ll accept it. Thank you, Big Sister.”

Fang Mingxi held her two truffles and smiled.

“Big Sister, are you in a better mood now? You finally found some fungi.”

Of course, He Yu was in a good mood. She popped a raspberry into her mouth. The sweetness matched her cheerful mood perfectly.

“Of course! This is my first time finding mushrooms. So this is what it feels like. If they turn out to be edible, that would be even better.”

She had fallen in love with going up the mountain again. Just a few days ago, she thought her luck was terrible, but today she had found fungi.

Even though her hands were covered in dirt, it was more fun than simply picking things off the ground.

Fang Mingxi smiled faintly. As long as He Yu was happy, that was enough. Tomorrow, she would quietly come back and collect all the black truffles.

Rare fungi like these would sell quickly on the black market.

However, before Fang Mingxi could even decide to go there, she received some great news that very evening.

Tong Xueyan had decided to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy things, not in Hongqi Town, but in the county town.

Since there were no farm chores for the next few days, she planned to make one big trip to buy everything at once, so she wouldn’t be too busy later.

When Fang Mingxi heard this, she was overjoyed. She practically wanted to kneel down and bang her head against the wall in gratitude to her cousin.

Just that morning, she had been thinking that if He Xi and the others were going to the county town, maybe she could go too.

The map wasn’t unlocked yet, and her real body had never left home. Going out in her “fake body” wasn’t very meaningful, and she wasn’t even sure she could make it out of Hongqi Town.

Now, with Tong Xueyan bringing this news, it saved her a lot of trouble.

Fang Mingxi hugged Tong Xueyan’s leg tightly.

“Big Sister, I want to go too! Take Xixi with you, okay?”

Zhou Yulan smiled and gently pulled her away.

“Xixi, be good. It’s a long walk to the county town, and you’re still so little. Let’s go when you’re older, alright?”

Ou Wenrui agreed.

“Exactly, Xixi. The county town is really far. You have to walk a very long way to get there. Don’t tire out your Big Sister.”

Even Tong Lingxian and the others disapproved, telling Fang Mingxi not to go.

The county town was too far away. Even getting to Hongqi Town took over an hour on foot. Fang Mingxi definitely wouldn’t be able to endure it.

But their words didn’t work. Fang Mingxi refused to give up. She pinched her own thigh, forcing out a couple of tears.

“Big Sister, you’re the best. I want to go play too. Please take me with you?”

She looked at Tong Xueyan with pitiful eyes.

Tong Xueyan’s heart softened. She squatted down and patted Fang Mingxi’s head.

“Of course. I was planning to take you with me anyway. How about I buy you big meat buns?”

“But we’ll have to walk to the county town. Can you handle it, Xixi?”

“I can! Thank you, Big Sister. You’re the best!”

Fang Mingxi cheered and planted a loud kiss on Tong Xueyan’s cheek.

She glanced at the black truffles on the table that hadn’t been dealt with yet. Her eyes rolled, and a plan quickly formed in her mind.

“Big Sister, Grandpa said mushrooms can be sold for money. Can I take these to sell too?”