After dinner, Shi Tou began teaching everyone to read the words: Heaven and Earth are dark and yellow, the universe is vast and desolate.

He taught them many times, but the next day they all forgot everything. Of course, Liu Huan was just pretending.

Stone always memorized what the Master taught very quickly, which Liu Huan truly admired. Could this be the legendary Wenquxing (God of Literature) descending to earth? He recalled the first time he recited "Goose, goose, goose," and forgot it as soon as he turned his head.

We were reluctant to use the paper we bought, so we all wrote and drew on the ground, which was quite inconvenient.

Liu Huan remembered seeing people draw and write with sand in her previous life. Although there was no sand here, there was soil.

We took Xiaoshi to collect a lot of fine soil, put it on a large wooden board, wrote a word, erased it, and continued writing, having a great time.

When Shi Tou returned and saw this, he asked Su's father to make him a box with four sides covered by a partition. He filled it with mud and took it to school. The villagers saw this and followed suit.

When the chicks started to grow feathers, Xiao Huang stopped laying eggs.

Su's mother took Liu Huan to buy eggs. Aunt Lian pulled her aside and asked, "Didn't you buy some earlier? How come you finished them so quickly? You can't spoil the kids at home all the time. This money is hard to earn."

This time, she bought twelve eggs, but Su's mother still didn't say what she was going to do with them. On the way home, she felt guilty: "Your Aunt Lian is so considerate of us, and I've kept everything from her. I really..."

Liu Huan thought for a moment and said, "Mom, when we make money in the future, we can just tell them how to hatch them."

Su's mother felt a little better after that.

After clearing the weeds, they started preparing firewood. In ancient times, firewood was used for everything; you couldn't do without it.

Some villagers have even gone to town to buy firewood, paying five coins for a bundle.

Liu Huan had never been to the mountains before, firstly because she was too young and her mother wouldn't allow it, and secondly because there were wolves in some places and she didn't dare to go.

She insisted on going with us this time, wanting to see if there were any mountain products she could sell, like mushrooms or wood ear fungus. Even if they couldn't be sold, they could be dried and added to dishes.

A chill ran through me as soon as I entered the mountains; mushrooms should grow in a place like this.

She glanced around and spotted a large yellow porcini mushroom. Before she could even feel happy, Su's mother stepped on it. "..."

That kick felt like it had stomped on her heart. She went over and picked up the broken mushrooms. The natural aroma of the mushrooms made her want to kill one of the chickens in her house.

"Mom, why aren't you picking the mushrooms here?" She wanted to find out if it was really what she thought.

Upon hearing this, Su's mother turned around and said sternly, "Throw it away immediately! This mushroom is poisonous and cannot be eaten."

...Poisonous? Just as I suspected, the villagers believed it was poisonous.

Liu Huan just wanted to laugh out loud. In his previous life, these wild mushrooms could sell for anywhere from tens to hundreds of yuan per kilogram.

Not wanting to show her smugness, she countered, "But it doesn't look poisonous at all."

Su's mother gave the reason: "There was a person in our village who died because he ate mushrooms, so don't pick them randomly."

I see!

Heavens above, earth below, why didn't I come to the mountain a year or two earlier? It would have been such a waste!

No, I need to find a way to convince them to let me pick it up.

A thought struck me!

"But I saw people selling this when I went to town that time. Why would it be poisonous?"

Su's mother frowned suspiciously: "You saw that?"

Liu Huan nodded seriously: "Yes, it's in the shop, and there's also some dried."

Su's mother tried hard to recall why she hadn't seen it when she went there.

Liu Huan didn't give her time to think: "Mom, why don't we pick them up and try? If we can really sell them, wouldn't that be another source of income? Even if we can't sell them, it's just a waste of time."

Su's mother thought it made sense, and seeing that she was carrying a basket, she simply stopped caring: "Alright, you and Xiao Shi can pick them up. Remember, don't put them in your mouth."

Having received permission, Liu Huan, like a badger in a melon patch, excitedly ran around everywhere.

Milk cap mushroom, dried mushroom, chanterelle mushroom, green-headed mushroom...

Oh my god, these mushrooms look exactly like the ones in my dream. Holding one in each hand is so relaxing.

Xiao Shi picked up a colorful mushroom and held it up to Liu Huan's face. "Huanhuan, look, this one is so pretty."

Liu Huan glanced at it and said, "These are poisonous mushrooms, throw them away."

Xiao Shi crushed the mushroom and asked, "Why?"

Liu Huan: "Because the prettier the thing, the more dangerous it is. Just pick from here in my basket, and don't touch anything else."

"Okay, I understand."

The basket was full in no time, but there was still a lot on the ground. While Su's father was carrying firewood back, she took the basket back and changed to a different one.

That was specially made by Su's father for her and Xiao Shi.

She stopped only after filling two baskets. The mountain path was difficult to walk on, and she slipped and fell on her bottom on the way down.

After school, Shi Tou and Da Shi came over and took her basket without saying a word. Seeing that she was limping, they asked her what was wrong.

Liu Huan blushed and said that she had fallen on the ground and hurt her bottom.

Stone didn't question the mushrooms in her basket; he squatted down and carried her back home.

Cao'er embroidered for a while longer, and it was almost time to eat, but she hadn't started cooking yet. So she could only scoop up some black flour to make dumplings.

That evening, Liu Huan cleaned the mushrooms she had picked, removed the weeds, sorted them, and put them away. The next day, she had arranged to sell firewood in the village, and she wanted to take them to see if she could sell them.

But she's too young. I'm afraid that, like last time, her foot will get injured and her family will have to take care of her.

Su's parents also needed to carry firewood, which was difficult to do.

"I'll go. I'm going to deliver the handkerchief anyway."

Cao'er clutched the hem of her clothes tightly, her face slightly nervous, as she spoke of wanting to go out for the first time at home.

Liu Huan hugged her happily: "Sister, my dear sister, you're so wonderful!"

Su's mother was taken aback, but smiled and said, "Alright, let Cao'er go with us. My Cao'er is all grown up now and can help her parents with the burden."

At night, Liu Huan insisted on sleeping next to Cao'er. The two of them squeezed together on the small bed and whispered to each other, "Sister, you're amazing."

Cao'er thought she was talking about embroidery, so she took her hand and said, "I'll teach you when you're two years older."

Liu Huan laughed it off, "We'll see." She wasn't cut out for delicate work, and she didn't want to waste such good fabric.

Liu Huan: "If you can't sell the mushrooms, so be it. Just remember to stick close to your parents."

Cao'er pressed her head down: "I know, you little busybody, can't you let people sleep?"

When Liu Huan woke up the next day, all that was left in the house was a small stone and a bowl of dough balls that were still warm in the pot.

Xiao Shi stared blankly at the chicks outside, looking unhappy.

"Hey buddy, what's wrong?"

Xiao Shi turned and glanced at her, then said, "I was just wondering what the town is like."

"Huanhuan, when we grow up a little, can we go?"

Children are curious about everything and will hold onto a grudge if they don't do something.

“Yes, we can go when we grow up. Look at my foot, it looked like that when I went last time. So it really doesn’t work when you’re too young.”

Stone clenched his fist and nodded vigorously: "Yes, so we need to grow up quickly."

Liu Huan, holding a dumpling in her hand, asked, "Would you like some, sir?"

Xiao Shi shook his head: "No, I've already eaten. You eat, so we can grow up together."

After finishing her meal, Liu Huan was about to boil water to wash the dishes when she heard Xiao Shi shouting loudly outside, along with the clucking of chickens.

She put down her bowl and went outside, where she found Xiao Shi chasing away someone—Wang Laizi from the village.