Chapter 69 - Two-in-One Gray Fungus

The sisters' eyes sparkled with anticipation.

These were eggs, but not the boiled eggs they had eaten before. The peeled eggs were hard to pick up with chopsticks, and Lin Duo'er couldn't pick them up even after two tries. Lin Chunxing got up and got a spoon, and they each took a bite.

The eggs are cold now, but it doesn't seem to affect anything.

The brine soaked into the eggs, turning the originally tasteless egg whites into something fragrant, and the yolks, which initially had a slightly fishy smell, were now completely gone. Lin Chuntao added a lot of chili peppers, so the eggs had a slightly spicy taste. They had all eaten scrambled eggs, boiled eggs, and sweet soup eggs, but they had never imagined that eggs could be braised like this.

Lin Duo'er ate one after another, feeling she still wanted more, but Lin Chunxing wouldn't let her.

"We'll cook a few more for ourselves tomorrow, and keep the rest to sell tomorrow."

Hearing this, Lin Duo'er chuckled and nodded.

When rural people go out to work, they usually make pancakes or steamed buns. Yizhou is rich in potatoes and sweet potatoes, so they will also boil a whole bag of potatoes, which can be eaten even when they are cold.

In the past, when Pei Ying went out of town with his master to buy pigs in the village, his master's wife would feel sorry for them and would always boil a bag of eggs for them before they went out.

The eggs had a strong smell when they were cold, and the fishy smell lingered for a long time after eating them. They often went out and ate them frequently, so they eventually got tired of them.

Seeing his sisters praising the braised eggs so much, he decided to try some too. These braised eggs are so addictive; he wanted to eat another one after finishing one.

The fishy smell was masked by the braising sauce, but the texture remained: the egg white was chewy and the yolk was soft and fluffy.

Lin Chunhe sighed from the side, "This boiled egg has been transformed into a spicy braised egg by my sister's hands. It's so delicious!"

Pei Ying smiled as well.

Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Eggs are delicious, but you can't eat too many in one day. If you like them, you can boil a few every day. It's very simple."

Lin Chunhe nodded. She had been watching Lin Chuntao make it today and was almost there. She could do it herself later.

The next day, before dawn, Lin Chuntao was woken up by the system, which kept broadcasting the location of the Grey Fungus.

Today, the noodle stall is having a promotion, and she wanted to go with Lin Chunxing to set up the stall. Now that there's a mushroom announcement, and it's gray mushroom, which she hasn't found this year, this mushroom is like termite mushroom, it only appears occasionally and is not easy to encounter on weekdays. Since the system announced it, she definitely has to go and pick it up, even if she doesn't sell it. This mushroom is also very fragrant when fried in mushroom oil.

She had just sat up when she heard noises from next door, which sounded like Lin Chunxing and Lin Chunhe talking.

When Pei Ying saw her get up, she also sat up.

"The rooster hasn't crowed yet, has it?"

Lin Chuntao replied, "No, not yet. I'm going into the mountains to pick mushrooms. Could you help Chunxing and the others carry their things for a bit?"

Pei Ying nodded. Carrying things was a small matter. But Lin Chuntao's job of picking mushrooms in the mountains and selling them at the market was too tiring.

"Aren't you busy with your stall today? If you can't keep up with the mushrooms, then don't bother picking them."

Lin Chuntao smiled. She made money selling soup noodles, but she couldn't accumulate points. Besides making money, she also needed to accumulate points to redeem things. Even if she didn't need them now, she would need them in a few days.

"I'll go first, and after I've picked the mushrooms, I'll head straight to the county town."

Lin Chuntao had her own ideas, and Pei Ying had no choice but to agree.

These past two months have seen an abundance of mushrooms in the mountains, and villagers have frequently gone into the mountains to pick them. He has encountered quite a few of them on his trips, but he has also noticed that the mushrooms the villagers pick are a mixture of various kinds, and they don't pick many. Some lucky ones, however, are overjoyed to have a whole basketful of mushrooms.

Lin Chuntao seemed different from them, but Pei Ying couldn't quite put her finger on why.

Lin Chuntao helped put the things together to prevent Lin Chunxing and the others from taking anything out of the house. After explaining things to Lin Chunxing, she carried her basket and left the house.

As the Mid-Autumn Festival approached, a half-moon hung high in the sky, and the night wind rustled the corn leaves along the roadside.

Time flies. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, everyone will be busy with the autumn harvest. With less rain, the mushrooms in the mountains will gradually become fewer, and it may be difficult to find mushrooms at all. She pondered this and opened the seed section of the control panel. In addition to crop seeds, there were also various mushroom seeds. She had become quite well-known at the market selling mushrooms this summer. Since she couldn't find wild mushrooms in winter, she wondered if she could grow mushrooms so she could continue to sell them.

There were too many things to do right now, and she was too busy to handle them all, so the thought only flashed through her mind.

The gray fungus has a slender stem and an umbrella-shaped cap with a thin tip, making it even more fragile than other fungi like the green-headed mushroom. She lined the bottom of her basket with some fallen leaves and searched half the mountain, filling a shallow basket. By the time she finished, it was almost dawn. Lin Chuntao breathed a sigh of relief and quickly headed down the mountain towards the county town.

When Lin Chuntao arrived, it was already broad daylight, and people heading to the early market were already arriving one after another. Many women brought their children and went straight to the noodle soup stalls as soon as they entered the market.

When Lin Chuntao arrived, the stall was surrounded by people, and the rice noodles were already being cooked on the clay stove. Lin Chuntao carried the mushrooms directly into Helan's house and put them down. She went to the backyard to wash her hands and then came out to help.

As she went outside, she saw an old woman frowning and saying unhappily, "Didn't you say you'd give away braised eggs? Why do we still have to buy soup noodles? Ten coins a bowl isn't cheap!"

"We only came because the kids told us they were delivering braised eggs!"

Two elderly women nearby chimed in, "That's right!"

The old ladies had loud voices, and Lin Chunxing was speechless for a moment at the sight. Just then, Lin Chuntao walked up from behind and said with a smile to the old ladies, "Aunties, it's true that these braised eggs are free! We don't charge for them! We give them away as a thank you to our customers who eat our soup noodles here!"

The old lady naturally knew that nothing in this world is free, but when she came here and saw that they were just a few young girls, she thought she could take advantage of the situation and see if she could get a few eggs for free.

Hearing Lin Chuntao say this, her face turned bright red.

"Then the shopkeeper's wife must make it clear that when this child goes back, he should tell us that eggs will be delivered here for three consecutive days, today, tomorrow and the day after."

Seeing that she was taking the opportunity to back down, Lin Chuntao pretended to be naive and chimed in, "Yes, the child didn't explain clearly! We're having soup noodles with a free braised egg!"

"These braised eggs are made with a variety of spices and taste just as good as braised meat. You can get a free braised egg if you eat soup noodles for the next three days. After that, we'll start charging you three coins for one egg or five coins for two eggs!"

Those present hissed in disapproval. "Three coins for an egg? That's way too expensive! Eggs are only one coin each!"

Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Eggs cost one coin, but spices are expensive! It's not cost-effective to buy spices to braise several eggs, but buying one or two is more convenient for everyone!"

As soon as he finished speaking, many people behind him nodded in agreement.

She announced loudly, "Today, the rice noodle soup is still ten coins a bowl, and each bowl comes with a braised egg. Everyone is welcome to try it! First come, first served. Once the braised eggs are gone, that's it. Those who want to eat rice noodles, please line up here to get a number."

As they were talking, the four bowls that had been cooking earlier were ready. Lin Chunxing took out four eggs from the jar and put one in each bowl. The eggs were colored with the braising sauce, and the children were so envious that they pulled on the adults' hands and urged them to buy some.

Lin Chunhe served the food to the four guests who had sat down earlier.

Lin Chuntao had seen the two young ladies and two young gentlemen several times before, and from their conversation, they seemed to be cousins.

They all loved the noodle soup, and when they heard that the braised eggs were a free gift, they made plans to sneak out early and come here for breakfast.

As soon as the soup noodles were served, the group stared at the brownish-yellow egg in the bowl. It was difficult to pick up with chopsticks, so they quickly stuck their chopsticks into the egg, poked at it, took a bite, chewed, and looked at each other with delighted expressions.

"Brother, this egg is delicious! It's even a little spicy!"

The young man who was called "brother" nodded and looked at the two younger women beside him, "What do you two think?"

The young woman replied, "This is much better than the fried eggs my cook at home makes." Then she looked at the young man who had asked the question and whispered, "Brother, could you ask the shopkeeper if we could buy a few to take home?"

Although they spoke in hushed tones, Lin Chuntao and the other guests nearby heard them. Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Young master, we will not be selling braised eggs for the next three days. If you like them, come again tomorrow. We will start selling them again on the seventeenth."

The young man nodded upon hearing this, but since he really wanted to eat more, he asked, "If I cook the noodles and take them home, will you still give them to me?"

Lin Chuntao said, "It was a gift."

After saying that, the two slurped up their noodles and ran off, saying as they left, "Shopkeeper, please leave us eight. We'll be back in a bit."

Lin Chuntao smiled and agreed.

Watching them run away, the people who had been watching in front of the stall started ordering noodles one after another. Lin Chuntao collected the money and gave out number tags. In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen number tags were gone. Fortunately, the bone broth was boiled inside, and the noodles were cooked quickly with four fires burning at the same time.

Lin Chuntao asked Aunt Guizhi to make bamboo trays. At that moment, Lin Duo'er and Lin Chunhe were serving noodles to the guests using the trays, which was faster than serving them with bowls.

After eating one of these braised eggs, many people still want more. Children are fine; they can eat some noodles and then have an egg, which is enough to fill them up. But adults crave this bite even more than children.

After the guests finished eating, Lin Chuntao went over to help clear the table and wash the dishes.

That morning, long queues formed in front of both the meat stall and the noodle soup stall, a stark contrast to the surrounding shops. The owner of the sweet soup stall next to the meat stall looked at He Lan and Lin Chuntao standing side by side and said sourly, "Oh dear, you two have made all the money on this street!"

Helan laughed and said, "Manager Fu is joking. I only make money from pork, and Madam Lin only makes money from soup noodles. We can't possibly make money from sweet soup."

The shopkeeper gave a forced, insincere smile and walked away.

Today, Chai Xingyu and Guo Jixiang came together. The mother and son watched as the stall was bustling with activity. Chai Xingyu's eyes were filled with surprise, while Guo Jixiang was somewhat astonished.

Chai Xingyu thought that the braised eggs must be delicious, while Guo Jixiang thought that Lin Chuntao and her sister had a good business sense. Such a small stall, with just one braised egg, had attracted a long queue.

Chai Xingyu resisted the marriage they arranged for him, but he didn't mind getting to know Lin Chuntao and the others. Guo Jixiang thought to herself, if people develop feelings for each other beforehand, then it can't be their arrangement, right?

After figuring it out, she followed Chai Xingyu's lead. Occasionally, when she noticed that he hadn't visited Lin Chuntao and the others for several days in a row, she would ask him about it.

Hearing that Lin Chuntao had made braised eggs and was giving them away for free to those eating soup noodles, Guo Jixiang took the opportunity to invite Chai Xingyu to come and eat with her.

Upon seeing the two, Lin Chuntao greeted them, "Madam, what brings you here?"

Guo Jixiang laughed and said, "I heard from this brat that you guys made something new, so I came along to join in the fun."

Lin Chuntao was so busy that she barely had time to breathe, while Helan was almost done. With Chunzi and Pei Ying there, she could take a break, so she invited the mother and son into the house and went upstairs for tea.

Taking advantage of a break, Lin Chuntao cooked three bowls of food, and then put two braised eggs in one of them before having Lin Chunhe serve it to her.

He Lan had met Lin Chunhe several times, but this was the first time she had met Guo Jixiang.

She greeted the three of them calmly, served them the noodles, set out their chopsticks, and said, "Manager He and Madam, please enjoy your meal. Call me if you need anything."

Guo Jixiang nodded. After Lin Chunhe left, she said to Helan, "Is this Lin Niangzi's third sister?"

"Yes, her name is Chunhe."

Guo Jixiang said, "The little girl seems neither humble nor arrogant."

Helan nodded. Lin Chunhe didn't talk much, but she wasn't silent either. She seemed very composed, even a little more so than the Second Madam.

Guo Jixiang looked down from upstairs at the four busy sisters. Although the sisters had different personalities, they all knew how to behave appropriately and knew when to advance and retreat. She found this to be very admirable. She glanced at Chai Xingyu, who was engrossed in preparing food, but her mind remained unchanged.

They've already tried the noodle soup; today, they mainly want to try the braised eggs.

Helan took a bite and was pleasantly surprised. She thought that many children would love this flavor, and it would be perfect to sell it at a market stall.

After tasting it, Guo Jixiang was amazed. As expected of Lin Chuntao, a single egg was enough to fill the stall with customers. This taste must have taken some skill.

Although she liked it, Guo Jixiang remained calm in front of Helan, while Chai Xingyu ate with great relish, praising, "Sister Chuntao's cooking is really good. I think in a few days the children in the market will be bringing copper coins to buy it."

Helan smiled and said, "This tastes good for all ages. Lin Niangzi's noodle stall business will be even better in the future."

Guo Jixiang chimed in, "Lady Lin's hands are truly skillful."

The three chatted as they ate. When they finished eating, Lin Chuntao and the others were still busy, so Chai Xingyu asked Sanbao to bring the bowls down to Lin Chuntao and the others.

Lin Chuntao asked Sanbao, "Sanbao, are you free to eat now? If so, I'll cook you a bowl."

Hearing Lin Chuntao's words, Sanbao was touched, but he waved his hand. Lin Chuntao thought that Guo Jixiang was there, so she said, "Then you and Ayu should come early for dinner tomorrow."

Sanbao nodded. "Thank you, my wife."

Lin Chuntao laughed and said, "You and Ayu are like brothers, why are you being so polite with me?"

Seeing that Lin Chuntao and the others were busy washing dishes and the water in the bucket was almost gone, Sanbao asked, "Does Madam need any water?"

Lin Chuntao glanced at the bucket; the water was almost gone. Hearing Sanbao's question, she said directly, "Yes, I want it."

Sanbao asked, "Is it the one next to the stove inside the house?"

Lin Chuntao nodded, and Sanbao said, "Then I'll help my wife carry out two buckets."

As he spoke, he carried the wooden bucket into the house, filled it with water from the water vat, and then carried it out. After setting it down, he asked Lin Chuntao, "Madam, did you draw this water from Manager He's well?"

Lin Chuntao nodded slightly and said, "Then you can tell me when you need to buy water in the future. I have an uncle who pulls a water cart in the city, and he can give you a discount."

“Okay! I didn’t know anyone here before, and Manager He said I’ll use her money first. I’ll let you know if I need it later.”

Guo Jixiang and the others left after sitting for a short while. While Madam Guo and Helan were exchanging pleasantries, Chai Xingyu whispered to Lin Chuntao, "Sister, we'll have to wait a few more days for what we talked about a few days ago."

Lin Chuntao said, "It's alright, no rush, take your time."

Lin Chuntao and the others were much busier than before today. Fortunately, Lin Chunhe was very organized and knew what to do without being told.

Estimating that it was almost 9 AM and the market was bustling with people, Lin Chuntao suddenly remembered that she hadn't sold her basket of mushrooms yet. She quickly took them out, called out "Mushrooms for Sale," and the people who had been waiting with their signs immediately crowded around her.

"Oh dear, a gray fungus!"

"so much?"

"Wife, how much is this per pound?"

Everyone chimed in with their own opinions, and Lin Chuntao said, "It's gray fungus, which is very hard to find. I only found it this year, and it cost eighteen coins a pound."

Eighteen coins—it was a bit painful. The crowd hissed, hesitated for a moment, and then said resolutely, "Give me two catties. We can't buy matsutake mushrooms all year round. Buying two catties of gray mushrooms to fry into oil and eat with noodles is not bad."

There weren't many mushrooms today, just a small basket, less than twenty pounds. Lin Chuntao kept two pounds for herself, and the rest were quickly sold out.

After selling the mushrooms, Lin Chuntao carried a basket on her back to the market to buy vegetables and eggs. The stalls were very busy, so she went and came back quickly.

We've been selling a lot these past two days, so we're also using a lot of vegetables and meat.

They were so busy today that they didn't finish delivering all the braised eggs until almost noon. They also sold out of noodles, leaving less than a bowl's worth. The meat sauce was almost gone. The sisters were all exhausted, their cheeks flushed. They quickly cleaned up, washed the dishes and pots, and then carried everything inside.

The harvest was almost finished, but some people were still late.

"Shopkeeper, do you still have braised eggs?"

Lin Chuntao called out, "Sorry, we're out for today. Please come again tomorrow."

"Where's the powder? Do you still have any?"

"It's gone too!"

The man stopped in his tracks, his face full of disappointment: "Shopkeeper, could you have prepared more? We didn't get to eat any yesterday."

Lin Chuntao was squatting down washing the dishes when she heard this, so she stood up and looked over. "Tomorrow, I'll save some for my sister tomorrow!"

Upon hearing Lin Chuntao's words, the woman replied, "Two bowls, please save some for me."

Lin Chuntao agreed, then turned to Lin Chunxing and said, "Remember to save two bowls for tomorrow."

Lin Chunxing nodded, and after they finished packing, they carried the meat and vegetables on their backs and prepared to go home.

Lin Chuntao asked, "Are you hungry? Do you want to eat in the county town?"

They were a little hungry, but food in the county town wasn't cheap. The food they made at home was quite delicious, so they all shook their heads. Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Then let's go to the flower nursery and the general store. Tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and I'll make a pancake for you to share."

The sisters beamed with joy at the news that there was something new to eat.

"What does my sister want to buy?"

Lin Chuntao said, "Let's buy some flower petals and a baking slab for baking cakes." After saying that, Lin Chuntao suddenly said, "We also need to buy some candy. Let's go buy them separately. Chunxing, you take your sister to buy the baking slab. You know the general store owner well."

After saying that, she looked at Pei Ying and said, "Go to the flower nursery and ask to buy some roses. Tell the shopkeeper you're making cakes and she'll know what to do. I'll go buy some sugar and come right back."

She ran off as she spoke, and Pei Ying had no choice but to do as she was told.

Lin Chuntao went to the pastry shop, but she only bought one jar of maltose. However, she used her points from the system to redeem two jars of maltose and two jars of wild honey. She then went to the grain shop, bought a peck of buckwheat flour, and redeemed ten catties of red beans from the system.

Then, they secretly went to find Lin Chunxing and the others. They had already bought the stone slabs, but Pei Ying hadn't bought any petals yet. Lin Chuntao went with them to buy some. They couldn't buy any rosebuds anymore. They had just picked the second batch, so there were still some left, but in small quantities. Lin Chuntao only managed to buy a little over two jin. Jasmine was in season, so she bought two jin.

Buying flower petals was nothing new to Lin Chunxing and the others; they had eaten wild vegetables and wildflowers before. Pei Ying found it rather unusual, as he had never eaten anything other than the stir-fried melon flowers that Lin Chuntao and the others had made.

On the way back, Lin Chuntao, Lin Chunxing, and Pei Ying were all carrying things. They had closed their stall late today, and everyone was a little hungry halfway there.

Lin Chuntao said, "Let's buy a donkey cart or a mule cart in a few days."

Lin Duo'er turned around and looked at her with a face full of joy, "Sister, when are we going to buy it?"

Before Lin Chuntao could speak, Lin Chunxing said, "We'll definitely buy a house after we finish building it. We need to save money to build a house now."

Hearing Lin Chunxing's words, Lin Chuntao did not refute them, but echoed, "Yes, we'll buy it after the house is built."

When they returned to the village, everyone was working in the fields, their faces turned to the earth. The potato seedlings were turning yellow quickly, and when they saw that the seedlings were turning yellow, they dared not wait any longer, for fear that if it rained, the seedlings would turn yellow again and the potatoes would easily rot in the ground. Every household was busy digging up potatoes.

Each household didn't plant a lot, but by the middle of the month, they had all dug up almost everything.

There were many of them, including the Sun family, and before she could even help, they had already dug almost everything up.

The people picking potatoes in the field were quite surprised to see them return with several baskets full.

"Oh, Chuntao, what did you buy?"

Lin Chuntao looked at the person who asked the question and replied with a smile, "We're out of food at home, almost none. Are you digging for potatoes?"

Hearing Lin Chuntao say there was no grain, they looked at their bountiful potato harvest in their field and suddenly didn't feel the sun was so hot anymore. After all, it didn't cost any money; they could just dig them up and carry them back. If they had to spend money to buy so many potatoes, they didn't know how much it would cost.

"Yes," the woman replied.

Lin Chuntao added with a smile, "I heard from Grandma that everyone in the village had a bumper potato harvest this year. Each vine could yield about ten potatoes, and they were all quite big."

The woman couldn't hide her smile as she said to Lin Chuntao, "It's a pity you didn't plant any this year. The harvest was indeed very good. But I see that the corn you planted is growing well, so you should be able to harvest quite a lot of corn. Dried corn is easier to preserve than potatoes; it can be stored for a year or two without any problem."

Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Thank you for your kind words, Auntie. But I planted mine late, so I guess the harvest will be a little late too."

The woman said, "A couple of days in the morning or evening won't make much difference. Judging from the weather, it shouldn't be cold this year."

Lin Chuntao echoed this sentiment and then bid farewell to the person.