70s Delicate Girl: A Guide to Being a Rich Woman-Chapter 65: Mushroom Picking

Though Xu Mumu also brought tools to the mountain, she didn’t expect to catch any game.

Xu Mumu led a group of kids towards the West Mountain, where fewer people went compared to the south side.

On the way, they spotted some edible wild vegetables, but Xu Mumu wasn’t in a hurry to pick them yet; she thought it’d be better to do so on their way back home around noon since they were planning to pick mushrooms first.

"Sis, I’m going to check the traps for anything good." Xu Minglei said excitedly and ran towards the traps, which were already nearby.

Tiedan also ran quickly with a basket, and the two kids reached the traps one after the other.

"Ah, nothing again." Xu Minglei said, extremely disappointed.

"It’s okay, maybe next time. No need to be sad about it." Xu Mumu came over and patted his head.

"Big sis, there’s a bird’s nest over there. Let’s climb up and see if there are any eggs." Xu Tao pointed to a clump of grass amid the branches of a tall cypress not far away. It was obviously a bird’s nest.

"I’ll go, I can climb fast." Xu Minglei put down his basket and quickly started climbing the tree.

The little guy climbed faster than a monkey, leaving Xu Mumu speechless. Didn’t he know to be afraid? The cypress was tall and straight with few sturdy branches to hold onto, making it difficult to climb from the base. The upper branches were thinner and definitely couldn’t support Xu Minglei’s weight.

Feeling a bit worried, Xu Mumu decided she’d discipline him slowly after they got back home since this reckless kid was in too much of a hurry.

At ten years old, Xu Minglei wasn’t exactly a small child anymore. Xu Mumu thought it best not to scold him in front of others, as his pride was quite strong.

Xu Mumu watched Xu Minglei’s climb carefully, ready to catch him in case anything went wrong.

Thankfully, Xu Mumu’s worries were unnecessary, as Xu Minglei soon reached the bird’s nest.

"Sis, there aren’t any eggs, just three sparrows that can’t fly yet." Xu Minglei said disdainfully.

He was about to climb down since the tiny birds, not yet fully feathered, weren’t edible, and he had little interest in them.

The other kids were also disappointed, but Xu Mumu didn’t mind since there was no shortage of food at home.

"It’s okay, just be careful coming down," Xu Mumu said calmly.

Once Xu Minglei climbed down, Xu Mumu led them to an area known for finding mushrooms.

There were many branches in this area, making it easier to spot mushrooms, and soon Xu Mumu and the kids found some exceptionally good-looking oyster mushrooms.

However, these wild oyster mushrooms were much smaller than those she had seen at the market in her past life, less than half the size. Nonetheless, they looked very appealing with their fresh, tender white appearance.

"Brother, be careful. You’re so clumsy; you ruined the mushrooms." Xu Jiaojiao’s voice rang out, and Xu Mumu looked over to see the young girl accusingly staring at Xu Tao.

Xu Tao was holding a small mushroom, and the ones around it had been trampled by him.

"I accidentally stepped on them." Xu Tao said, feeling a bit guilty. Their family didn’t have much food, so from a young age, the kids were taught to be thrifty and value what they had.

"Jiaojiao, it’s okay, it’s just one mushroom. Little Tao, be more careful and mindful not to step on them." Xu Mumu said helplessly.

"I understand big sis, I’ll definitely be more cautious," Xu Tao promised sincerely.

The little guy felt increasingly frustrated, especially when learning from big sis and constantly lagging behind his little sister.

"Jiaojiao, your brother is a bit careless, help him out a bit more." Xu Mumu said gently.

"I know, but my brother is just so clumsy, not even as good as Brother Tiedan," the little girl muttered, quite fed up with her brother. But since he was her brother, she was willing to keep an eye on him to prevent further mistakes and avoid embarrassment.

Xu Mumu had no idea Xu Jiaojiao was thinking so much. Seeing that the siblings were no longer arguing, she felt relieved. She continued using a stick to brush aside the surrounding weeds in search of larger, dried trees, as those were the most likely places for mushrooms to grow.

"Sis, come quick, what’s this mushroom? Is it edible?" Tiedan’s voice called out, and Xu Mumu went over to see.

In front of them was a cluster of mushrooms, blue in color, growing in various sizes.

Xu Mumu’s eyes lit up; these mushrooms were a gem, recognized as the bluehead mushroom (Qingtoujun) she was familiar with.

"These are called bluehead mushrooms, and they’re edible. Everyone come over to pick them, but be careful." Xu Mumu said with a faint smile. The bluehead mushroom was nutritious and, most importantly, tasted great.

The children, upon learning these were edible, were thrilled and rushed over to pick them as if discovering treasure.

Especially Tiedan, who found them first, had a face full of pride and satisfaction.

The morning’s harvest was abundant, as Xu Mumu discovered many mushrooms on the mountain. The baskets they brought were full.

Even the basket that Xu Minglei carried was more than half full, leaving some space to collect wild greens on their way back.

"Sis, these mushrooms can last us a long time." Xu Jiaojiao said with a contented smile. During busy farming periods, they ate three meals a day at home, but she was never full. Only Dad, who worked a lot, could eat to fullness.

When they weren’t busy, the family only had two meals a day, making it even harder to fill up.

These wild mushrooms were delicious, though she couldn’t recognize them, but she had remembered all the edible ones big sis taught them today, so she could go look for them on the mountain anytime.

Thinking about how she used to encounter these edible mushrooms without recognizing them, Xu Jiaojiao felt a great sense of loss.

"Not only can we save them to eat, but we can also dry them and sell them for money." Xu Mumu said with a smile.

"These can be sold for money?" the little girl asked with wide eyes.

"Of course they can." Xu Mumu replied, still smiling. While these mushrooms weren’t worth much in the countryside, they were definitely a rarer find in the city, and selling them was a possibility.

"Sis, let’s sell all of these." Xu Minglei looked eagerly at Xu Mumu, as his only savings amounted to the fifty cents Xu Mumu had given him before; he had nothing else.

"If we dry them, it won’t be much, probably not worth a lot." Xu Mumu said with a smile.

Seeing the children’s excitement, Xu Mumu felt like letting them have some fun. Wasn’t she friends with Qi Feng? She could always talk him into buying all these wild mushrooms from them later.