Fortunately, the villagers were cautious and unwilling to go too far, so they soon saw a large patch of mushrooms.
Jiang Sheng, along with Zheng Ruqian, quickly picked up, pulled, and plucked mushrooms.
Before long, the bamboo basket was full.
"Let's go." Zheng Ruqian said cautiously, afraid that something might suddenly appear.
Jiang Sheng didn't say anything. She poured the mushrooms from the bamboo basket into her old clothes, wrapped them tightly around her waist, and continued picking.
They kept picking until sunset, when the bamboo basket was full again, and the two little ones finally walked out of the mountains, nestled together.
We were lucky not to encounter any wild boars or be bitten by any venomous snakes.
Jiang Sheng was overjoyed. Clutching a handful of mushrooms, she returned briskly to the dilapidated temple.
She picked out a small portion to cook and eat, and followed the villagers' example by drying the rest on the ground, which is said to remove moisture and make the mushrooms easier to preserve.
What she didn't know was that if the mushrooms were dried too much, they would lose weight, and she would naturally earn less money.
Jiang Sheng was left to dry for three days.
The mushrooms were dry on the outside but still moist inside. She thought they were ready and carried her bamboo basket to the market.
Zheng Ruqian was still accompanying them.
As she was about to leave, Jiang Sheng patted her chest and said, "Don't worry, Brother Xu Mo, I will definitely bring you the book."
Xu Mo nodded with a smile.
Jiang Sheng turned around and let out a long breath.
Zheng Ruqian and Xu Mo both thought selling mushrooms was simple, but it was actually not.
Picking mushrooms is not difficult, drying mushrooms is not difficult, and selling mushrooms is not difficult either.
The difficulty lies in protecting the mushrooms and the money earned from selling them.
As soon as she entered the market, Jiang Sheng looked around warily to make sure the group of beggars were not there before finding a corner, placing her bamboo basket on the ground, and loudly hawking her wares.
Goods from the mountains are in high demand, and the mushrooms, being dry and without moisture, were quickly sold out.
Zheng Ruqian's eyes lit up as he stared at the dozen or so copper coins; he almost jumped up on the spot.
Ah, the feeling of making money, he loves it!
Jiang Sheng was very cautious, so he divided the copper coin in two and put each in his own container.
"Let's go, let's go pawn our books."
Nothing unexpected happened until they left the market. Just as Jiang Sheng was about to breathe a sigh of relief, she was blocked in the alley.
Several teenagers blocked their way from both sides, their expressions nonchalant. "Hand it over."
"Hand over what?" Jiang Sheng feigned ignorance, trying to get away with it.
She had lived in this town for seven years, and as far back as she could remember, she knew that there was a group of domineering beggars in the town who often bullied the weak.
Those with men in their families dare not offend them, those with large and powerful families dare not touch them, and those with money and influence are best avoided.
Living alone like Xiao Jiang Sheng, being so young and a girl, is practically a tailor-made victim of weakness.
Every time she found something good or stole some food, if she didn't hide it properly, they would snatch most of it away.
Jiang Sheng had tolerated it before, after all, Aunt Zhang had said that even a powerful dragon cannot suppress a snake.
But now, these dozen or so copper coins are for Xu Mo's medical treatment, the very foundation for three mouths to feed, and Jiang Sheng cannot hand them over even at the cost of her life.
"You've even learned to play dumb." The boy, who looked to be about ten years old and was the leader of the beggar gang, grinned and slapped Jiang Sheng to the ground.
Zheng Ruqian was terrified and rushed over to shield Jiang Sheng with his body, shouting, "What are you doing? You're not allowed to hit people!"
"Hand over the money, and we won't hit you." The teenager glared at them. "If you don't, we'll beat you to death."
He waved his hand, and his henchmen began to stir.
Zheng Ruqian was both anxious and angry. He didn't want to hand over the money in his arms, but he was also afraid that Jiang Sheng would be beaten again. He didn't know what to do at all, so he could only vent his fear by wailing.
Jiang Sheng sighed inwardly.
It seems there's no escaping it today. Luckily, she had divided the money into two portions earlier, and now she only took out the portion from her pocket, saying with a pained expression, "Could you leave me a little?"
The boy grinned, snatched the bags, and hid them all in his arms.
Jiang Sheng's face turned pale with heartache, and she trembled, unable to speak.
The boy whistled contentedly, then turned around and saw someone at the alley entrance.
To be precise, it was a child, even younger, only eight or nine years old, holding a wooden stick in his hand, looking over with a majestic air.
"Give the money back to her!" The child's voice was childish, but his face was solemn and deep, like a little devil.
The boy paused for a moment, then quickly laughed, "I, Pang Dashan, have truly seen something today. Kids these days are so bold, they even dare to threaten me, Grandpa Pang."
"I won't give it to you. If you've got the guts, come and hit us. Do you think I'm afraid of you?"
Before he could finish speaking, the child rushed over, raising and lowering the wooden stick in his hand, and then chopped it directly at his forehead.
Pang Dashan was startled and quickly dodged, but unexpectedly, the wooden stick seemed to have eyes and followed him, striking him on the head again.
In an instant, the once arrogant Pang Dashan rolled his eyes and collapsed to the ground.
The lackeys were terrified and immediately ran away.
The alleyway has returned to peace.
The child walked over with a sullen face, took out eight coins from Pang Dashan's arms, and returned them to Jiang Sheng.
It's that simple and straightforward.
After paying back the money, the child turned to leave.
Fortunately, Jiang Sheng was quick-witted and hurriedly grabbed his sleeve, asking expectantly, "Brother, I want to thank you."
The child was taken aback, and his icy expression cracked a few times. "No...you're welcome."
My father taught me to help those in need when I see injustice.
"Brother, are you going home now?" Jiang Sheng persisted, asking again.
The child was silent for a moment, then said, "I'm not going home."
Although she didn't know why, Jiang Sheng was exceptionally happy. She asked eagerly, "We're not going home either. We don't have parents. Brother, would you like to come with us?"
One blow from that stick and he'd knock Pang Dashan's brother unconscious! If he were around, we wouldn't have to worry about being robbed in any business we did.
Even if it means having to feed another mouth, it's still worth it.
Jiang Sheng's inner thoughts were racing, and she didn't notice that the child's expression had turned somber at some point.
After a long silence, he uttered a single word, "Okay."
Anyway, I no longer have parents, and I can't go back to that place.
As they left the alley, the three children exchanged names.
Jiang Sheng learned that the older brother's name was Fang Heng, that his parents were dead, that he had just escaped from a bad family, and that he had only wandered to the town yesterday.
He also knew that he had been hungry for several days and had not eaten a full meal.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
