Liu's mother nodded and said, "Go ahead. Anyway, you're just wasting your time at home. Go if you want."

Liu Aiguo had no objection and waved to Li Hongying: "Go ahead, go ahead."

Li Hongying, as if a prisoner had been given a chance to be released, said, "Thank you, Mother, thank you, Aiguo. Thank you for your mercy!"

She happily went up the mountain with her bamboo basket, just like yesterday. However, after a night of heavy rain, some parts of the mountain were slippery and not as easy to walk as yesterday.

She was heading in excitedly when she suddenly remembered that Liu's mother had asked her to pick mushrooms.

If she comes home with an empty bamboo basket again today, her mother and son will probably beat and scold her again.

No problem, she quickly came up with a solution.

She has found a place where mushrooms are growing on the outskirts. When she returns from the valley, she can just randomly pick some from there and that will be enough to get by.

She looked around, memorized the spot where the mushrooms grew, and then continued her journey into the deep mountains to find the valley she had visited before.

This time it was even more difficult than the last time she went down into the valley. She was going all out to get space and supplies.

She fell down in the valley, got up, fell down again, and got up again, showing that she was not afraid of hardship or any obstacles.

In order to find the bloodstone necklace as soon as possible, I was reluctant to leave even at noon. Before I knew it, it was afternoon, and then dusk fell.

Another day ended with nothing to show for it.

She knew that finding a bloodstone necklace in such a large valley was no easy task, so she wasn't going to give up yet.

Besides Zhuang Feifei, only she knows this secret. Zhuang Feifei won't come looking for me anymore. As long as she doesn't give up, I will find her someday.

These days she doesn't have to work, so she can come and search every day.

If she couldn't find it in this valley, she would search for the next one.

Nothing is impossible for a willing heart; she will surely succeed.

She clenched her fist to encourage herself: "Brave Hongying, fear no difficulties, keep going, charge!"

She climbed the hillside and retraced her steps. She remembered picking mushrooms, and when she reached the spot where the mushrooms used to grow, she wanted to pick some to take home.

However, when she arrived at the place where the mushrooms had grown, she found that the area that used to be full of mushrooms was now bare, with only a few mushrooms left. But those few mushrooms were quickly plucked away by a pair of nimble hands.

The woman put all the mushrooms she had picked into her basket, stood up to go home, and turned her head to meet Li Hongying's eyes, which were as sharp as a hawk's.

Li Hongying recognized the woman; she was Kang Damei from the same village.

She glanced into Kang Damei's basket, which was filled with mushrooms.

That damned woman actually picked all the mushrooms she had ordered! How awful!

She pointed at Kang Damei and said, "Who told you to pick my mushrooms? Give them back to me right now."

Kang Damei looked at her with an expression as if she were an idiot: "Tch, your mushrooms? Li Hongying, have you lost your mind? The mushrooms on this mountain don't belong to any one person. Whoever picks them and puts them in their basket owns them. How can you say these are your mushrooms? You're simply insane!"

“Kang Damei, these mushrooms don’t belong to anyone, but I found them first, so they’re mine. Give them back to me now.”

"Give it back to you? Give it back to you my ass! You say you saw it first, but who can testify? Besides, just because you see it doesn't mean it's yours. You saw these trees, so they're all yours? Why don't you say you saw this mountain first, so it's yours too? I think you're not just sick, you're seriously sick."

Kang Damei ignored her and prepared to go home with her basket.

"Kang Damei, give me back my mushrooms!"

Without mushrooms, she'll get scolded, and maybe even beaten, when she gets home.

Looking at Kang Damei's basket of mushrooms, she softened her voice: "Sister-in-law Damei, I came here today to find mushrooms. I've been looking all day and haven't found a single one. Could you please share some with me so I can take them home? Otherwise, if I go home with an empty basket, my mother-in-law will scold me."

Kang Damei wasn't buying it at all. "Stop pretending to be pitiful in front of me. Do you think you can trick me into giving you mushrooms by saying a few pitiful words? You're dreaming. If you want mushrooms, go find somewhere else to pick them yourself."

Kang Damei was not a generous or kind person to begin with, and given Li Hongying's harsh words to her earlier, she was even less likely to share the mushrooms she had picked with Li Hongying.

Li Hongying remained steadfast in her support, saying, "Sister-in-law Da Mei, it's getting late now. Where am I supposed to find mushrooms? Please take pity on me and help me out by sharing some with me."

"No, no, that's final. I won't give it to you no matter what you say." Kang Damei's attitude was very firm.

Li Hongying bit her lip, finally revealing her true nature.

"Kang Damei, you're going to refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit. Since that's the case, don't blame me for taking action against you."

As she spoke, she reached out to grab the mushrooms from Kang Damei's basket. Kang Damei was no pushover either, so she quickly put the basket down and rolled up her sleeves.

"Li Hongying, you dare to mess with me? Fine, I'll show you what I'm made of today. It's been a long time since I've fought anyone, my hands are itching for a fight. Take this!"

Li Hongying was exhausted and weak after a long day. She was grabbed by the arm and thrown to the ground.

After throwing Li Hongying to the ground, Kang Damei went over, pulled her up, and threw her to the ground again. She repeated this two or three times like playing with a roly-poly toy. Li Hongying was so dizzy from the falls that her hands and feet hit the ground, causing her even more pain. She wanted to fight back against Kang Damei, but unfortunately, she didn't even have the strength to stand up.

Kang Damei glanced at her lying on the ground like a dead dog, then picked up her basket and went down the mountain.

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