Chapter 11 The Domineering CEO

It's true that she was penniless, but it's not entirely untrue that Qingran said she could help.

As the old saying goes, "Those who live by the mountains live off the mountains, and those who live by the water live off the water." Having lived in the mountains for many years, he knew very well what valuable things were in the mountains.

Not to mention anything else, some of the mushrooms he occasionally picked up on Butterfly Mountain for a treat were quite valuable.

Yan Chen looked at the mushroom and egg soup on the table.

Qingran: "That's termite mushroom, it costs 60 yuan per catty in the county town."

At 60 yuan per jin (500g), consuming one jin a day would amount to nearly 2000 yuan a month, equivalent to the current average wage.

Yan Chen didn't know how others were doing, but when he and Qing Ran picked mushrooms, he never found them hard to find. It was as if Qing Ran had a scanning device on her body, always able to accurately locate the mushrooms.

This does seem like a good way to make money.

Yan Chen said no need, since his lover was lazy most of the time.

“No pressure. You have things to do, and I’m just sitting here doing nothing anyway,” Qingran said nonchalantly. “Wang Lei said a few days ago that he wanted to make money, so I might as well take him along.”

With a system scan available, finding fungi isn't difficult for him.

Yan Chen: "Wang Lei?"

Qingran rested her chin on her hand: "I introduced you to each other before."

He knew the person who said he was an online friend.

Having made up her mind, Qingran took action that very day.

After breakfast, Yan Chen stayed home to translate, then went out with his basket on his back.

Feixian County produces and consumes mushrooms; in the county seat and various towns, as well as along the roads, it is common to see people picking mushrooms and setting up stalls to sell them.

Qingran had previously picked mushrooms to sell when she wanted to replace her belongings but didn't have the money.

However, we don't harvest much; we only harvest as needed, and we usually finish in one morning. We really don't know how much we can harvest in a day.

[Host, host, under the withered leaves on your left!]

[Next to the tree roots directly in front!]

[Wow, host, there's a huge clump of mushrooms under that fallen pine tree!]

The system felt as comfortable as if it were in its own backyard when it entered the mountains, skillfully using the 100-meter scanning function.

Qingran didn't even need to use his divine sense to perceive; he only needed to take a step forward and follow the system prompts to see clusters of fresh and juicy mushrooms growing in the ground as if waiting for him to pick them.

Bending down to brush away the pine needles under the dead tree, round, brownish-yellow mushrooms with black stripes appeared before my eyes.

[They're tiger paw mushrooms! One, two, three, there are seven of them!] the system exclaimed happily.

Mushrooms are divided into two categories: valuable and worthless. Valuable mushrooms can sell for hundreds or thousands of dollars each, while worthless miscellaneous mushrooms are only worth a fraction of the former.

Tiger paw mushrooms are considered relatively valuable, though they are slightly cheaper than termite mushrooms, regardless of quality.

Each of the tiger paw mushrooms in front of me is as big as an adult's fist; a rough estimate puts them at a few tens of dollars.

Qingran picked the mushrooms one by one and put them into her basket, looking around at the dappled sunlight that silently shone into the forest.

It was now broad daylight, and the woods were filled with the scent of trees and earth. The clean air rushed into my lungs through my nostrils, as if it had cleansed my body.

[Host, there's a patch of dried mushrooms ahead!]

Hearing the reminder, Qingran took a step forward. As she lifted her foot, she suddenly kicked something. Looking down, she saw a semi-transparent object next to the fallen leaf where she had picked up the mushroom.

I brushed the fallen leaves aside with my foot, and the translucent thing was completely exposed to my view.

It turned out to be a piece of resin that had been stored for quite some time.

There was a butterfly wrapped in resin, and the overall shape was quite nice. He picked it up, wiped off the mud, and casually put it in his pocket.

Picking mushrooms doesn't take much time; most of the time is spent on the journey to find them.

With the mushroom staining under control, we picked about 10 kilograms of mushrooms in a day, filling our baskets to the brim.

It's four o'clock in the afternoon, and it's not too hot with the trees providing shade.

When Qingran returned home, Yan Chen was working at his desk in the shade, his calm and focused demeanor particularly captivating.

Upon seeing Qingran return home, the man pinched his brow, stood up, and asked as he approached, "Are you tired?"

Qingran glanced at him: "You look rather tired."

Her slightly upturned face was clean and sweat-free, leaving Yan Chen with no room for rebuttal.

Helping him unload his overflowing basket, Yan Chen asked, "Are we going to sell these later when we go down the mountain?"

Qingran: "Yeah, if it's not fresh by the next day, the price will be reduced."

Then she took something out of her pocket and stuffed it into the man's hand: "Here, a gift for you."

Yan Chen looked down and asked, "Amber?"

The calm lake of his heart seemed to ripple with invisible waves as he held up the amber to observe it in the sunlight.

Encased within a honey-like, translucent lipid body is a butterfly poised for flight. The butterfly is entirely gray-blue, with its wings displaying a gradient of color from light to dark from the inside out, both enigmatic and beautiful.

"Thank you, I like it very much." The man withdrew his hand and said softly, went inside to put the amber away, and came out: "I'll go down the mountain, you stay home and rest."

Actually, Qingran wasn't tired: "You don't know where to collect mushrooms."

Yan Chen: "You can ask."

Qingran: "You don't want me to come with you?"

Yan Chen: "...I'm afraid you'll get tired."

Qingran chuckled meaningfully, "I won't get tired even if you do."

After saying that, he picked up his basket and turned around: "Let's go, finish work early and come back early."

The two went straight to the mushroom market in the county town after descending the mountain, and sold 10 jin of mushrooms for a total of 400 yuan.

The price is relatively low, but the unified purchase price is mostly this low.

Selling them individually could bring in about 200 more, but whether or when they'll sell out is uncertain.

Yan Chen didn't know much about the wild mushroom business, so he quietly followed Qing Ran around, listening to the villagers and buyers haggling over prices, and observing the men in the field who neither sold nor bought goods, his eyes thoughtful.

As for Qingran... he didn't haggle, and just sold it to a buyer who was straightforward and offered a reasonable price.

It's clear that he doesn't have much attachment to money.

If he had such a strong conviction, he wouldn't have been penniless when picking mushrooms to sell for money wasn't difficult for him.

"I'll give Wang Lei a call," Qingran said as she left the acquisition market.

Yan Chen snapped out of his thoughts: "Hmm?"

Qingran: "Ask him if he picks mushrooms."

Yan Chen gazed at his lover's beautiful features, and after he finished explaining the whole story, an excited male voice immediately came from the other end of the phone.

"Holy crap, four hundred a day?! I didn't know mushroom picking was so lucrative!"

"Come on, I'll definitely come. I'll be at your house first thing tomorrow morning!"

"Hey, wait a minute, where do you live again?"

The man's expression immediately softened considerably.

Qingran: "I'll be waiting for you at the foot of the mountain."

Wang Lei: "Okay, it's settled then!"

After ending the call, the two had dinner and then went home.

As I approached home, I encountered a plump middle-aged woman.

The woman, with a round face and short hair, dressed in a red top, black pants, and cloth shoes, muttered impatiently as she walked: "It's almost dark. Where could Zhou Qingran be if he's not home? He's never home. When we need to find him, we can't even find a trace of him..."

She noticed people on the road ahead, glanced up, and exclaimed, "Wow, two handsome young men!" She kept looking up to stare at their good looks.

Just as they were passing each other, she suddenly stopped and turned around: "Wait a minute, is that you, Zhou Qingran?!"

Qingran sighed with regret as her plans fell through.

Before he could answer, the quick-moving woman had already strode around to stand in front of them.

After carefully examining Qingran's appearance, his confidence level immediately rose from 50% to 80%!

Hey, luckily she had seen Zhou Qingran when she was a child and she was fair-skinned, otherwise she really wouldn't have recognized the person in front of her who had changed so much.

Yu Xiuhong complained with a long face: "Why didn't you greet Fourth Sister-in-law when you saw her? I almost didn't recognize you."

After scrutinizing her appearance, he then began to openly examine Qingran's clothing and attire, trying to determine whether Zhou Qingran had recently made a fortune, otherwise why would she have changed so much?

"You came back from the foot of the mountain to go to town? What are you going to town for—"

Qingran interrupted her: "Is something the matter?"

Reminded by the reminder, Yu Xiuhong remembered the important matter, clapped her hands, and a bright smile bloomed on her face: "Hey, good news!"

Taking the initiative, he pulled Qingran towards home: "Come on, let's go to your house and have a drink of water first."

Tiled house, main room.

Yu Xiuhong, who never hesitated to visit someone else's home, went inside, pulled out a bench, and sat down, her eyes darting around.

Not seeing anything valuable in the room, he turned his gaze to Qingran, who had entered shortly afterward.

The more Yu Xiuhong observed, the more astonished she became.

Good heavens, did Zhou Qingran take some kind of magic pill? She suddenly became so beautiful!

She asked directly, "Have you recently struck it rich? You've suddenly become so fair-skinned?"

Qingran smiled faintly: "It just turned white from being covered up in the deep mountains and forests."

Yu Xiuhong thought about it and agreed. Zhou Qingran looked like a lucky doll when she was a child, so it was reasonable for her to become fairer and prettier.

Besides, if I made a fortune, would I still want to stay in this awful place?

At this moment, Yan Chen came in carrying a kettle and a bowl.

She shifted her focus and asked, "You are...?"

"I've come to see my friend," Qingran said, not wanting to say much more. "Let's get down to business first."

Tch, how old are you and you still can't read the room?

Yu Xiuhong felt disdain.

She looked down on Zhou Qingran, but thought his friend was even more handsome and had an extraordinary aura, looking like a rich man...

Despite having various thoughts running through her mind, she still spoke aloud: "Fourth Sister-in-law has come to bring you good news so you can share in the joy!"

Yu Xiuhong smiled broadly and said, "My Jianming is getting married next Wednesday. Remember to come to the wedding banquet!"

"Oh? And the invitation?" Qingran sat down opposite her with a relaxed air.

Yu Xiuhong's expression froze, and she pretended to touch the left and right sides of her clothes with annoyance, saying, "Oh dear, Fourth Sister-in-law, you forgot in your haste to leave!"

"However, given the relationship between our two families, we don't really need these."

Seeing that Qingran still had a calm expression, Yu Xiuhong tried to appeal to her emotions.

“Qingran, although you are not a member of our Zhou family, your uncle took you in and raised you. You have called me your fourth sister-in-law for twenty years. According to seniority, you should call my Jianming your nephew.”

Upon hearing the words "not a member of the Zhou family," Yan Chen's brow twitched slightly. He poured himself a bowl of water and listened silently.

Yu Xiuhong was still marveling, "You've grown up so much in the blink of an eye, you must be 20 now, right? I can still remember what you looked like when you were little, so fair and tender, you were so adorable."

“Let me think about it. It was only the 80s back then. Your uncle found you and insisted on raising you. You know your uncle’s situation. We were struggling to support ourselves back then, let alone raise a baby. So everyone was firmly against it.”

"Those years were tough for everyone, so don't blame us for being heartless. But your uncle wouldn't listen to our advice and insisted on keeping you, so we just acquiesced."

Yes, the default assumption is to kick people out of their homes and leave them to fend for themselves.

"I'll lend a hand whenever I can, and I'll even tighten my belt to squeeze out a bite to eat for you. By the way, the clothes you wore when you were little were hand-me-downs from my son Jianming!"

"Look at my mouth, I've gone off on a tangent again. Why bring up things from the past?" Yu Xiuhong said, patting her mouth lightly.

He put down his hand and said earnestly, "Anyway, if you're free next week, please come to our wedding. We understand if you're too busy."

"The wedding banquet will be held at home. Do you still remember where your fourth sister-in-law lives? She's practically watched you grow up. Just come in person, and don't bring any gifts!"

After saying this, she stood up and said, "Alright, it's getting late, I need to hurry back."

He didn't even touch the water poured on the table, waved his hand and left: "No need to see me off, I'm leaving now."

Once inside the woods, Yu Xiuhong spat on the ground.

This is outrageous! Zhou Qingran is not only oblivious to social cues, she doesn't even look people in the eye anymore!

Everyone says that whoever is a relative should invite the guests. She shouldn't have gone out today. That damned Zhou Laosi should have made the trip himself!

The atmosphere in the main room became quiet for a moment.

Qingran looked at the unusually silent person at the table.

The man was pouring the second bowl of water, his profile revealing half of his hard, cold face.

Qingran slowly picked up her water and took a sip, then asked with interest, "Is there anything you want to ask, Achen?"

Ask Yu Xiuhong about his family situation and the reason for his cold attitude.

Yan Chen did ask, but only two words.

"friend?"

A note from the author: