Chapter 17 After a rain shower, mushrooms sprouted on the mountain...

Lin Changhai stood in the courtyard, his face ashen. His mind was buzzing when he heard Feng's words. His son had stolen eggs, and he was about to lose all face. A principal offender and an accomplice! Were there really such big differences between thieves?

"Enough!"

Seeing her angry husband, Zhang called over Lin Jiabao and Lin Jiacai.

"You guys think about it, when did you start taking other people's eggs, and which companies did you take them from? We need to figure it out and return them."

After Zhang finished speaking, she waited for them to speak, but the younger ones bit their lips and secretly glanced at Lin Jiabao. Lin Jiabao also pouted and didn't say anything. Zhang's brow twitched.

"say!"

Lin Jiabao remained silent. Madam Yang looked at her two sons and snorted coldly.

"Tell your aunt when your son Bao started taking eggs from you, and which families he took them from?"

Lin Jiacai pursed his lips, glanced at the adults with a shifty look, and said in a low voice, "It started last year when the wheat was harvested. They would take it every other day or two, taking it from three or four families at a time. Except for a few families who raised geese and locked their gates, they took it from almost everyone."

It's been a couple hundred days since last autumn's harvest. Zhang gasped in shock. He looked at Lin Jiabao in disbelief: "So you've been eating an egg almost every other day, is that right?"

“Sometimes there’s no separation,” Lin Jialiang said.

Zhang closed her eyes heavily. Even if it was four eggs every other day, she would still have to pay two or three hundred eggs in compensation. Not to mention that she didn't have that many eggs at home, even if she did, Tian would never give them to Zhang to pay for them.

Before she could speak, Madam Tian sternly stopped her.

"Why are you still asking these questions now? The children are too young to remember such things clearly." After she finished speaking, she turned to look at her grandsons and instructed them, "You are not allowed to do such things in the future, or you will be caught and have your hands and feet broken!"

Tian's attitude was clear: she would not return the eggs.

Zhang didn't say anything more, and no one in the entire Lin family said anything either.

But she thought about how she would face people if she didn't repay the promise she made outside.

But she couldn't vent her anger on Madam Tian. Lin Jiabao was already sixteen and should be getting married. Now he had such a reputation. With the speed at which these gossipy women spread rumors, it would soon spread throughout the surrounding area. Then it would be difficult for Lin Jiabao to get married. The money was already in the old lady's hands. If she offended the old lady, it would only make things more difficult.

She hated Lin Chuntao more and more, all because of her vicious heart and the way she exposed things in front of those gossipy women.

That night, everyone in the Lin family had their own agenda. Not only Zhang thought it would be difficult for Lin Jiabao to find a wife, but the other branches of the family also had similar thoughts.

The family's only hope now is to marry off Lin Xian'er. Nearly thirty taels of silver is enough for several young boys to get married.

*

Lin Chuntao fell asleep as soon as she got home, before the system even tallied her points.

They planned to get up in the middle of the night to kill pheasants, thinking that they would get up just before the pheasants crowed, and then they could go pick mushrooms after killing the pheasants.

That was the plan, but when the time came, Lin Chuntao sat up and all she heard was the sound of rain pouring down outside.

It started raining, and before she could even wake her sisters, she saw them all sitting up, rubbing their eyes.

"Sis, are we going to kill some pheasants?"

Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "I'm afraid we can't go. It looks like it's raining."

As she spoke, she reached out to put on her shoes. When she opened the door, she saw that the uneven parts of the ground were already covered in water.

A flash of lightning was followed by a deafening rumble of thunder.

The eaves of this thatched hut don't extend long enough, so when the wind blows, rainwater blows into the hut.

Just as I was about to call my sisters back to sleep, Pei Ying from next door poked her head out.

"It's been raining for quite a while now, but I reckon it'll stop soon."

Lin Chuntao looked up and saw that the rain had not lessened and would probably continue for a while before stopping.

Lin Duo'er and the others looked out the door with gloomy faces. They had been looking forward to getting up early to kill the chicken, but it started raining heavily, which made them feel terrible.

Seeing their expressions, Lin Chuntao laughed.

Even Pei Ying, who was standing at the door of the next room, looked at her in confusion.

"What's there to worry about? Once this rain stops, the mushrooms on the mountain will sprout up like bamboo shoots after spring!"

Mushrooms can be sold for money, and money makes people happy, but right now I just want to eat chicken.

Even though there were plenty of mushrooms in the mountains, they still wanted to eat chicken, and Lin Chuntao's words couldn't alleviate their disappointment.

Pei Ying noticed her sisters' emotions.

"The rain will stop soon, and we'll definitely be able to have chicken for lunch today."

Lin Chuntao added, "That's right. Anyway, we'll have to wait until noon to eat it. We can go into the mountains to pick mushrooms later and bring some back to cook with chicken soup. It'll taste even better than what we stir-fried yesterday."

Lin Duo'er and Lin Chunhe cheered up when they heard about something even more delicious.

Lin Chuntao thought that if she went to the city again, she must buy a bucket for carrying water so that it would be more convenient to use water.

It was still dark and raining, so Lin Chuntao told them to go back to sleep.

Even if we go into the mountains to pick mushrooms, the trees will definitely be covered in water, and we'll be soaked when we come out of the forest.

The sisters only had one set of clothes, and they were all soaked when they came back with no clothes to change into, so Lin Chuntao decided not to take them with her.

The rain was still falling, and Lin Chuntao was no longer sleepy.

After sitting at the door for a while, I heard the roosters crowing in the village, and the rain gradually subsided.

The system's voice slowly sounded, announcing the location of the check-in mushroom nests.

Lin Chuntao then checked the control panel. Yesterday's points had been credited to her account, and her balance was 312 points.

She saw that the number was 143 the day before yesterday, so if she calculates it that way, it was 169 yesterday.

"How do you calculate the points? Is it based on the number of mushrooms?"

The system replied slowly, "Yes."

Lin Chuntao frowned and started complaining, "Why don't you include what I picked up myself?"

"Too few locations cannot be detected, check-in is not enabled, and points cannot be earned."

Lin Chuntao said with some disdain, "This is so unintelligent."

After she finished speaking, the system remained silent for a long time. She thought it was ignoring her, but then a cute but fierce little boy's voice suddenly popped into her mind.

"Impossible, I am the most intelligent person in the world, you are not allowed to say that."

Lin Chuntao was stunned for a moment.

"Wow... you even have a voice changer?"

"Ignorant humans, I can have countless voices, all according to my mood."

Lin Chuntao raised an eyebrow slightly, then smiled and said, "Wow, that's amazing! Can you sign in for me anytime, anywhere?"

"That doesn't follow the procedure. How about this, if you find more than ten mushroom clusters, I'll sign you in, okay?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Chuntao immediately laughed, "It'll be alright, I guess."

"What do you mean 'barely acceptable'? This is a backdoor that this system opened for you!"

"Fine, this system won't hold it against you. You'd better hurry up and get going, or all the mushrooms will be picked clean in no time."

Lin Chuntao was in a good mood. She carried the basket on her back and also picked up the small bamboo basket. She then told her younger sisters to take good care of the house.

Pei Ying pondered for a moment and then suggested to Lin Chuntao, "I'll go into the mountains with you. Why don't we put the important things in this room? I'll lock this room, and the girls can play over there."

Lin Chuntao was also a little worried, but this was not bad. She quickly moved the things over, told Lin Chunxing, and led Pei Ying out into the mountains.

There was no moon after the rain, and the road was pitch black. She was guided by the faint light of the system arrow, and Pei Ying was used to walking at night.

The two moved at a good pace, but unfortunately the ground was wet and slippery. To avoid getting their clothes wet, Pei Ying walked ahead and used a branch to beat the surrounding grass and trees.

With a tap, the sound of leaves touching and water droplets falling fills the air.

Although the location was closer than the previous two times, it still took a lot of effort to find the mushroom nest.

Lin Chuntao skillfully removed the leaves and soil, and soon the mushrooms underneath were revealed.

The bright red caps, some still hemispherical and others already expanded, are quite delightful.

Pei Ying squatted down and helped her pick the mushrooms into the basket.

"Can you find mushrooms here all year round?" Pei Ying asked.

Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "There are more from summer to autumn, but almost none in winter."

"That's not bad either, at least you can have mushrooms to eat throughout these two seasons."

"That's true. As long as you're willing to go into the mountains to pick them up, you can find as many as you want."

The two chatted idly, and before they knew it, dawn was breaking. However, the sea of ​​clouds in the sky had not yet dispersed, and it was impossible to tell whether it was sunny or cloudy, or whether there would be rain.

Lin Chuntao turned to Pei Ying and said, "Let's head down the mountain. It might rain again soon, and we'll be late getting into town."

Pei Ying listened to Lin Chuntao, and the two began to walk down.

On the way down the mountain, they picked up some more green-headed mushrooms and milk cap mushrooms, and put them all in a small bamboo basket. By the time the two of them came down the mountain, the bamboo basket was full.

In the mountains, Lin Chuntao was worried that Pei Ying might damage the mushrooms if he carried them carelessly, so she carried them down the mountain herself. Once they reached the bottom, Lin Chuntao put down her basket and switched with Pei Ying. He carried the basket, and she carried the small bamboo basket. The two of them walked together toward the county town.

When they arrived in the county town, the sun had already risen.

The market was as lively as ever, and the rain even seemed to have lifted the spirits of the people there.

Today, Pei Ying carried the basket without straw on it through the market, and people kept turning around to look at the bright red mushrooms.

"Wow, so many red mushrooms look so fresh."

"Isn't it said that red mushrooms are poisonous and can't be eaten?"

"That seems so. I often hear about people getting poisoned from eating red mushrooms."

Upon hearing this, many people's expressions changed.

Pei Ying was unaware of this situation, and he looked at Lin Chuntao in confusion.

Lin Chuntao then said loudly, "Sisters, there are many kinds of red mushrooms. These are all non-toxic. Not only are they non-toxic, but they also have beauty benefits, nourish the skin, and replenish qi and blood. They can be stir-fried or stewed in soup."

Pei Ying listened to her words and tried his best to calm himself down, otherwise he might have looked just like the passersby across the street.

"Oh dear, young lady, you can't just say things like that to sell mushrooms. Poisoning is no small matter."