"Lian'er, did your two useless brothers scare you this morning?"
“Grandma has already punished them. Look, their ears are still red from when I pulled them. If it happens again, I’ll punish them with a stick.”
Qiao Lian'er had almost forgotten about it, and only remembered it after being reminded.
She couldn't help but laugh.
"Grandma, it's alright. In everyone's understanding, mushrooms on the mountain are poisonous. And it's only natural that they're frightened after the Han family's accident."
“My two older brothers even said they would take the blame for me. They were terrified. They have such courage. My brothers are very good to me.”
Seeing Qiao Lian'er's bright smile, completely unaffected by the incident, Grandma Qiao couldn't help but admire her granddaughter even more.
This is a manifestation of a resilient mind, which is why one is not disturbed by external forces or things.
She's likely to be quite remarkable when she grows up; even as a woman, she can achieve great things.
"It's good that you think that way. They were a bit reckless and impulsive, but they're not bad at heart."
Grandma Qiao beamed with joy.
When everyone went up the mountain, they not only looked for termite mushrooms, but also found a lot of broom mushrooms and puffball mushrooms.
Everything is readily available from the mountains, requiring no cost, yet it's being speculated on in large quantities.
With plenty of oil at home, every dish is bursting with flavor.
As Qiao Lian'er ate, she thought to herself that there were many other edible mushrooms on the mountain, each with its own unique flavor. She would find an opportunity to tell her family about them.
Now, if someone says that certain mushrooms are edible, the family should be more accepting of it than before.
After a satisfying meal, the Qiao family continued to extract the remaining mushrooms. They extracted a total of 120 jin (60 kg) from the mushrooms they found in the morning and evening, yielding 40 jin (20 kg) of dried matsutake mushrooms. The rest of the mushrooms were eaten, and Qiao Lian'er took out 6 jin (3 catties) separately, saying it would be useful.
Forty pounds were divided into two large jars, and then the oil was poured into them. The oil slowly seeped up to the mouth of the jars.
“Since they gave us another twenty catties of oil, we should be generous and take less,” said Grandma Qiao.
Although the Han family sent the oil so that they could press more mushrooms, they also ended up eating the oil.
Qiao Lian'er agreed; whether Madam Han was willing was another matter entirely.
“The three of you will go to town tomorrow, while we continue our search for termite mushrooms on the mountain,” said Grandma Qiao.
Da Yong and Da Chengdu were overjoyed. Tomorrow they would earn forty taels of silver, which was almost the same price as hunting down a big tiger after going through countless hardships and risking their lives.
Thinking of the forty taels of silver, the Qiao family couldn't sleep again tonight.
Old Man Qiao opened his eyes and looked at the full moon in the sky outside the window: "Old woman, doesn't that moon look like it's made of piled-up silver?"
Grandma Qiao kicked him: "The money doesn't count until you get it. Go to sleep now, or you'll ruin this good fortune."
Old Man Qiao was stunned. Good fortune was right in front of him, how could he not hope for it to pass? However, his wife had been shrewish for decades, so he didn't dare to argue and obediently closed his eyes and went to sleep.
After he fell asleep, Grandma Qiao opened her eyes and stared at the full moon.
It looks like it's piled up with silver.
The next morning, Mrs. Lü got up early and made a big pot of fried rice with eggs, sprinkling it with chopped green onions.
Both oil and eggs were plentiful; yesterday, when they came back, they bought dozens of eggs.
Mrs. Lü washed a few more matsutake mushrooms to make soup, so that everyone wouldn't choke.
Everyone couldn't resist eating two or three bowls.
After eating their fill and wiping their mouths, they gave a shout and everyone headed up the mountain.
Qiao Lian'er, Dayong, and Dacheng also planned to go to town to sell the freshly squeezed mushrooms.
She spread the mushrooms she had taken out on top of the jar, and when she covered it with straw and rags, she deliberately left some of the mushroom buds exposed.
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