"Qi Mei, take a look at these, how about they? I picked them yesterday, and I haven't eaten them yet."

"Qi Mei, look at all these things I have."

“Songbai, this is my family’s, take a look.”

"..."

Chen Songbai first told a few families with good character that they immediately came to Qimei's place when they heard that he was buying mushrooms.

Qi Mei first accepted Sister Wu's gift, checked it carefully, and then had Chen Songbai write it down.

Because she is illiterate.

"Everyone, come one by one. Let me see. I'll write them down first, and I'll give you the money after we settle the bill. Is that alright?"

Qi Mei was a little embarrassed because it was the first time she had done something like this, but she pretended to be calm. In reality, she had pinched her thighs until they were bruised.

Everyone agreed, since they didn't think these mushrooms were worth much money.

Even exchanging a few cents is good.

Because these women were all kind-hearted, the mushrooms they delivered were of good quality, and Qi Mei didn't find any problems, so she had Chen Songbai write them down one by one.

They didn't leave after delivering the mushrooms; they just sat and chatted in Qi Mei's yard.

Ask her how she got to know the Lotus Brigade and what the workshop was like.

Everyone heard that the Lianhua Brigade set up a workshop and made a lot of money, and even the Dongfeng Brigade, which supplied the goods, got a share of the profits.

The women had long yearned to visit the workshop.

Therefore, knowing that Lin Yu and Chen Songbai had been inside, he asked many questions with great interest.

Chen Songbai poured them tea and then went to tend to the vegetables in the garden. They could see him from their seats in the yard.

Qi Mei took a sip of tea and told them about the workshop, saying that she saw many workers and educated youth in the office.

The women said, "If only our brigade had a workshop, we could work as workers."

Qi Mei just listened to their conversation with a smile, and as they talked, she started complaining about her husband.

Some people saw Chen Songbai chop wood and sweep the floor after finishing tending the vegetable garden.

Looking at Qi Mei with admiration, he said, "How come Songbai is so diligent? Qi Mei, you really know how to teach."

They all thought that Qi Mei was strict, but that wasn't actually the case. Qi Mei was the type to do things herself and didn't like to delegate.

But Chen Songbai felt sorry for her, and whenever he was at home, he did all the chores he could.

He is still learning to cook because he finds it too hot for Qi Mei to cook in the summer.

After chopping firewood, Chen Songbai didn't rest. He went to his room to take out his clothes and wash them.

The way he squatted by the well and rubbed the clothes was so practiced; it was obvious he did it a lot. The older women were all envious.

"Qi Mei, you've really met a good man."

"The pine and cypress trees are really nice."

Qi Mei listened with a smile, saying nothing. She knew that the husbands of these women did nothing at home.

Once, when Sister Wu from next door went out to visit relatives, she asked Chen Dawei to look after her child. He overslept, and the child cried for a long time without waking up.

Qi Mei heard the noise and asked Chen Songbai to go and check it out.

When he came back, he said that their clothes hadn't been washed, the food hadn't been cooked, and the child was crying loudly on the bed and almost fell off.

He was the one who woke Chen Dawei up.

Another woman said that during the Spring Festival, when she asked her husband to kill a chicken, he refused, as he only knew how to go out and smoke and drink with his brothers.

She cooks all the meals at home by herself.

Hearing this, Qi Mei felt even more fortunate that she had met Chen Songbai.

The next morning, the couple carried their baskets to Lianhua Brigade.

When Lin Yu saw Qi Mei, she noticed that Qi Mei looked radiant and knew that she was doing well.

I checked the mushrooms again and found that they were all of good quality and there were quite a lot of them.

"Comrade Chen Songbai, take it to be weighed and the bill settled. Let's have a chat."

Qi Mei sat down next to Lin Yu and thanked her first: "I know you did it for my own good, thank you."

Lin Yu wasn't surprised that Qi Mei could guess her intentions; she was very intelligent to begin with.

But she actually had something else to say: "Don't you think your brigade isn't very competitive in this mushroom picking business?"

"Competitive advantage?" Qi Mei pondered these three words, as if something had just occurred to her, but it vanished in an instant.

“The Niu Tou Brigade cooperated with us because their land is very suitable for growing sweet potatoes. You know the Dongfeng Brigade, they have nothing there but plenty of fruit.”

Qi Mei understood; they all had unique advantages, while the Dongshan Brigade did not.

Because any brigade can go up the mountain to pick mushrooms.

Moreover, mushrooms are not inexhaustible; if the weather continues to be dry, they will become unavailable.

Qi Mei frowned. Just yesterday, they were secretly pleased, thinking they would soon save up a hundred yuan.

But today, Lin Yu dealt her a heavy blow.

She's right. Sooner or later there won't be any mushrooms left, so how will they make money then?

Having experienced the joy of saving money, Qi Mei no longer wanted to live a life without any money in her pocket.

Lin Yu then said to her, "If I asked you to do something that might require you to learn a lot, and there's no guarantee you'd succeed, would you be willing?"

"I do!"

Qi Mei knew that Lin Yu's words were not unfounded; since she had brought it up, it meant that she was quite confident about the matter.

Even if she fails, so what? Qi Mei doesn't think she has anything to worry about.

It's just asking her to learn something and do something, and it doesn't cost any money, so what's there to hesitate about?

Qi Mei felt that Lin Yu was her benefactor and would never betray her.

Another day passed, and Lin Yu took the things to the Dongshan Brigade.

"These are the general steps, and here are the mushroom strains I found. You can try growing mushrooms yourselves."

Lin Yu had already planned that if they waited for them to pick wild mushrooms, the supply would be far from meeting the workshop's needs.

Most mushrooms in later generations are cultivated; Lin Yu's spatial supermarket has books on this topic.

She selected suitable cultivation methods from them, copied down the steps, and handed them to Qi Mei and Chen Songbai.

The bacteria strains also need to be cultivated by ourselves. It seems like the operation is not difficult, but whether it will be successful is unknown.

Qi Mei was illiterate, but she was surprised when she heard that Qi Mei had cultivated mushrooms herself: "Mushrooms can be grown by yourself?"

Qi Mei had only ever heard of people going mushroom picking; she had no idea that mushrooms could actually be grown at home.

But Lin Yu said she believed it.

No matter how difficult it was, she was determined to try, and she also wanted Chen Songbai to keep it a secret, telling no one until it succeeded.

Their family has two rooms, one for living and the other for storing miscellaneous items.

Qi Mei and Chen Songbai cleaned out the room, preparing to cultivate mushrooms there.

Chen Songbai had finished junior high school, which was considered quite educated for that era. He read those few pages to Qi Mei.

Qi Mei did as instructed.

Of course, Lin Yu had already instructed them that in addition to cultivating mushrooms, they would also continue to help with the purchase.

As a result, their lives became increasingly busy.

The workshop opened a new dried mushroom production line, and the yard was expanded by another room.

"Xiaoyu, are you hiring workers again this time?"