Chapter 18 It smells so good, I'd even eat it if it were poisonous (bug fix)...

Lin Chuntao wasn't angry. Even if mushrooms weren't poisonous, eating them undercooked could cause diarrhea and vomiting. She couldn't guarantee anything, so she could only buy them from knowledgeable people. If everyone thought they were poisonous, she couldn't afford to compensate people if they ate them and got sick, so she had to give up.

But someone nearby advised them, "Girls, these mushrooms are really poisonous. Don't harm anyone."

This earnest and heartfelt persuasion attracted a large crowd of onlookers.

Seeing that there were too many people, and knowing she still needed to sell mushrooms, Lin Chuntao had to come up with a solution.

"If you don't believe me, you can find a stove, I'll wash a few flowers, burn them and eat them, and see for yourselves whether they are poisonous or not."

Everyone was stunned when she said that, and someone immediately borrowed a stove from the shop behind.

Lin Chuntao asked the old lady selling pancakes for a bamboo skewer, washed four or five red mushrooms, tore them into small pieces, skewered them, and started grilling.

In just a short while, the mushrooms began to emit a fragrance.

Because there was no salt, Lin Chuntao roasted the mushrooms until they were drier, making them smell more fragrant and have a chewier texture, making them even tastier.

After it was roasted, she took a bite first. It smelled quite good. He shared some with Pei Ying. Pei Ying didn't know about the claim that it was poisonous or not, but since Lin Chuntao ate it, he dared to eat it too.

After taking three bites of the mushrooms, Pei Ying's eyes lit up. Why did he feel that the mushrooms roasted like this tasted better than the ones he had stir-fried last night?

That's too little. He only grilled one skewer, and after it dried out, he felt that one skewer was only enough for one bite.

Seeing that Pei Ying liked it, Lin Chuntao gave him a few more pieces, and ate the rest herself.

The onlookers completely forgot whether the food was poisonous or not; they were only focused on how deliciously the two of them were eating.

Many people were eager to try it, thinking, "Why don't we buy some and take it home?"

Just as everyone was hesitating, an old man squeezed in from outside the crowd.

What are you all looking at?

"Wow, so many red fungi?"

Someone nearby recognized him and replied with a smile, "Oh, it's Dr. He. We're watching the little girl grill mushrooms. Everyone says these mushrooms are poisonous, but she says they aren't. To convince everyone, she's grilling them here."

"Oh dear, what a waste of resources! You're roasting red mushrooms instead of eating them. If I told you, none of you would eat them."

"How much is it per pound? I'll take them all."

The lean old man looked at Lin Chuntao and asked.

Before Lin Chuntao could answer, someone next to her asked, "Dr. He, is this mushroom really not poisonous? If it's not poisonous, we'll buy some too. You can't possibly eat all of this, can you?"

The old man chuckled, "We can't finish them all. I'll buy some and dry them, so you don't need to buy any."

When the man refused, the old man said, "These mushrooms are best dried and used for soup. They don't taste as good when stir-fried. If you want to stir-fry them, you can buy the ones in her bamboo basket."

Seeing that the man was unmoved, the old man said again, "Wait for me to dry them, then come to my pharmacy to buy the dried ones."

"It's rare to see a basket full of red mushrooms. There aren't many, so I'm too lazy to dry them. Little girl, how much do you sell them for per pound?"

This stumped Lin Chuntao. It seemed that no one was selling red mushrooms at the market, and she didn't know how much they cost.

After hesitating for a moment, she quoted the old man a price, "Fourteen coins a pound."

The old man nodded, didn't haggle, and simply waved his hand: "Help me carry it to the pharmacy."

"Hey." Lin Chuntao smiled and helped Pei Ying carry the basket on her back, then followed her with her small bamboo basket.

The people behind them were talking amongst themselves.

"It really isn't poisonous. Look at this little girl, she's still walking steadily."

"Dr. He bought them all, so they must be safe and possibly have medicinal uses."

Lin Chuntao smiled silently. This matter was getting interesting.

The pharmacy was not far from the market entrance. After weighing the items at the pharmacy, the old man had his apprentice bring a winnowing basket and personally picked them from the basket into the basket.

Lin Chuntao had initially intended to offer to pick them up, but then she realized that the old man was checking whether any of the red mushrooms were poisonous. So she stopped talking and quietly stood by and waited.

After tidying them up, the old man got up, washed his hands, and calculated the money for her, asking her as he did so, "Where did you find so many red mushrooms?"

Lin Chuntao didn't hide anything and gave her the name of the mountain stronghold.

The old man said, "Next time you find this much, just bring it to me and I'll take it."

Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Okay, Dr. He, do you only accept red fungus?"

The old man smiled at her and said, "Termitomyces are fine too." As he spoke, he handed over the money. "Here, twenty-one catties, two hundred and ninety-four coins."

Lin Chuntao took the copper coin and replied, "Then next time I find one, I'll just bring it to your shop." After saying that, she bought a pound of dried ginger from the pharmacy.

After selling all the red mushrooms, Lin Chuntao decided not to sell the one in the bamboo basket, but to take it home and cook it with chicken.

After leaving the pharmacy, the two returned the scales at the market entrance. Lin Chuntao looked at Pei Ying and said, "Let's buy two water buckets to take back, otherwise it will be too inconvenient to get water."

Pei Ying nodded slightly, and the two were about to walk into the market when an urgent shout came from afar: "Make way! Make way quickly!"

Lin Chuntao turned around abruptly and saw a horse in the distance, startled and dragging a person towards them. Pei Ying quickly pulled her aside. Ahead, there were several children playing, staring blankly at the charging horse.

Lin Chuntao instinctively wanted to run towards the child, but Pei Ying grabbed her, saying, "Stand here and wait."

He pulled out the butcher's knife from his waist and threw it, cutting the reins that were dragging the horse. He then chased after the horse, grabbed the reins, and dragged it around, turning it halfway around.

Pei Ying dragged the horse around, its hind hooves sticking out high, quickly creating a muddy patch on the ground.

Not long after, the horse tripped and fell, and Pei Ying quickly used the reins to catch its legs.

The onlookers breathed a sigh of relief and applauded enthusiastically. Lin Chuntao, still shaken, rushed over.

Are you alright?

Pei Ying looked down at his hands, where the skin was slightly chafed from the reins.

"It's nothing, just a scrape."

Lin Chuntao said, "Go to the pharmacy and find a doctor to bandage it for you."

As soon as she finished speaking, Pei Ying suddenly laughed, "It's just a scrape, no need to bandage it."

Just as Lin Chuntao was about to speak, several servants chased after her and rushed toward the man on the ground in a panic.

"Young Master! Young Master! Are you alright?"

Lin Chuntao frowned. This man's boots were gone, and his legs and feet had been dragged and rubbed on the ground by the horse, leaving them bloody and mangled. His face and elbows were also severely abraded. She wondered how the horse had startled him and whether he had fallen and injured his head or internal organs.

The servant went over and untied the reins from the man, then turned him over.

The person is still alive.

Pei Ying went over and picked up the knife stuck in the ground. After carefully checking that it was undamaged, she put it away.

The person on the ground, along with five or six servants, might be a young master from some wealthy family. To avoid unnecessary trouble, Lin Chuntao called Pei Ying to wrap her hands and left.

Some of the onlookers dispersed.

Not long after they left, a middle-aged couple dressed in fine clothes came and took the boy away.

Pei Ying insisted on not going to the clinic, and Lin Chuntao didn't force her; the two of them went into the market.

"Is there anything you want to buy?" Lin Chuntao asked.

"I need to buy a ball of hemp rope to tie up the bamboo fence, that's all."

Lin Chuntao nodded and walked straight to the stall selling buckets. She bought a bucket and then, seeing the well-polished cutting board, asked about the price, which wasn't too expensive, and bought one as well. After searching for a while, the two finally found a stall selling hemp rope and bought some hemp rope balls. Thinking of her younger sister who hadn't come out at home that day, Lin Chuntao also bought two pieces of jujube cake to take home.

There are so many things missing at home, and we need to buy everything, but if you ask her to rank what she wants to buy most, it would definitely be a piece of cloth to make a change of clothes.

With more rain in the summer, and since she often goes into the mountains, she can't keep getting her clothes wet like she did the day she first woke up.

If we don't have enough money for everyone to make a set, then we can make one set first and then take turns exchanging them.

Pei Ying looked at the silent Lin Chuntao, pursed his lips, and hesitated several times before speaking.

It wasn't until Lin Chuntao noticed his gaze was directed at her that Pei Yingcai said, "Next time you come to the county town, why don't you go to the cloth shop and get some clothes made?"

Lin Chuntao frowned slightly and looked down at her worn-out and ill-fitting clothes.

"No...no, it's because in my hometown, people give the bride a piece of fabric to make her wedding dress. You go and choose the fabric."

Lin Chuntao smiled slightly, thinking that Pei Ying thought her clothes were too awkward.

However, her clothes did look very shabby. In Shuangzi Village, many families had clothes with patches, but at least they fit. Unlike the four sisters, whose sleeves and trousers were half a meter short, they could only wear them because they were too thin. If they ate better and were fatter, they wouldn't be able to fit into those clothes at all.

"What should the bride give the groom?" Lin Chuntao asked. Pei Ying paused for a moment, then said calmly, "Nothing."

Lin Chuntao looked at him with a smile.

In ancient times, arranged marriages were common. She had only chosen the man in front of her as a shield in a moment of desperation, without ever considering that they were a real couple.

She didn't know what Pei Ying was thinking, and dared not speak her mind rashly, so she could only live together temporarily and take it one step at a time.

"No rush. Keep the money you saved up. There's been a lot of rain and mushrooms in the mountains lately, so I should be able to save enough money to make clothes soon. Once I've saved enough, we can go buy fabric together."

After thinking for a moment, she added, "I've been too embarrassed to say this for the past two days, but I'll probably be raising my three younger sisters from now on. If you have any thoughts, please feel free to speak up; I'll understand."

"I don't have any particular thoughts. I don't have any family. I will treat them like my own sisters from now on. It's more lively to have more people in the family."

Pei Ying remained calm and spoke in a normal tone.

Lin Chuntao nodded slightly and looked at the distant mountains.

The sky in Yizhou is very blue, and the clouds are very low. In the clear sky after the rain, large, fluffy white clouds, like cotton candy, hang in the sky. The grass and trees in the mountains, and the leaves of the crops below, have been washed clean by the midnight rain, revealing their truest colors: emerald green, deep green, and tender green. And the camellias covering the mountains, pink and white, bloom in clusters, a breathtaking sight.

Last night's rain soaked the ground, and the fields are damp today. Everyone usually waits for the ground to dry before going in, otherwise they'll compact the soil. Everyone carries baskets on their backs and sickles, only cutting weeds on the field ridges.

Meanwhile, the surrounding mountains and forests are filled with children picking mushrooms.