Married to a man in Northwest China, the delicate wife with a soft waist is spoiled rotten by the ro

Chapter 20: Cooperation?
Shen Zichen told himself not to meddle in other people's business, but seeing that Ji Sisi hadn't made any progress for a long time.

He felt like countless ants were crawling inside him, making him extremely uncomfortable. He glanced down at the firewood he had almost gathered on the ground, gritted his teeth, tied up the firewood, carried it on his back, and walked towards Ji Sisi.

Ji Sisi searched for a long time but couldn't find any cordyceps heads. Just as she was wondering if she had made a mistake and there were no cordyceps in this area, a rather helpless male voice came from behind her.

"You're standing on a cordyceps, can't you really see it at all?"

Shen Zichen was speechless, wondering if Ji Sisi hadn't done any homework before coming to dig for cordyceps, being both ignorant and greedy.

He definitely wouldn't have come if he hadn't felt so sorry for such good cordyceps.

Ji Sisi hurriedly lifted her foot and retreated repeatedly. She looked up at Shen Zichen, a tall man of 1.8 meters. His clothes and trousers were covered in patches and the trouser legs were too short. He had regular features and smooth facial lines, and was quite good-looking. However, the way he looked at her was as if he were looking at an idiot...

Shen Zichen put the firewood aside, bent down and lay on the ground, carefully parting the trampled grass with both hands, revealing the brown caterpillar fungus head in their sight.

Ji Sisi's pupils contracted slightly, and she opened her mouth, unsure of what to say, her heart filled with excitement.

Shen Zichen pulled a sharp wooden stick from the firewood, placed it four fingers' width away from the cordyceps, stuck the stick into the soil, then used force to loosen the soil. He dug it up and took out a cordyceps.

"Wow, that's amazing! Are you a herdsman from nearby or a member of the cooperative?"

Ji Sisi's gaze never left the cordyceps in his palm.

“I’m not like that. I’m an educated youth from Kyoto who came to the countryside. You don’t find cordyceps like that. You need to prepare a small hoe to dig. I’ve already demonstrated how to dig. Keep four fingers’ width apart and don’t dig up the cordyceps roots.”

Shen Zichen glanced at her, his hands empty. "You can't dig it out with just your hands."

Shen Zichen casually tossed the cordyceps in his hand onto the ground, picked up the firewood, and prepared to leave. "If you're digging it up for your family or to take yourself, remember not to overdose. Overdosing can cause irreversible damage to your organs."

Ji Sisi is the first person he's ever looked for cordyceps since he came here. Since this stuff can't be sold, she's probably digging it up to eat.

Cordyceps is said to nourish the kidneys and lungs, stop bleeding and resolve phlegm, but Ji Sisi looked rosy-cheeked, full of energy, and had a good spirit; she didn't seem like someone who needed to nourish her kidneys.

The only explanation is that someone else needs to be replaced.

Shen Zichen recalled Fang Fei's words, saying that Ji Sisi was the director of the research institute's lover, and that the person who needed to be replaced was that director.

Shen Zichen turned to leave, and a balding middle-aged man over fifty years old appeared in his mind, expressionless, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.

Ji Sisi picked up the cordyceps from the ground, looked at the cordyceps, and then looked at Shen Zichen's back.

"Comrade, you know about cordyceps, why don't you dig some up?"

Ji Sisi didn't believe he didn't know how valuable cordyceps was; one piece could be worth five cents to two dollars.

Shen Zichen paused. "It's useless to dig it up. I don't need to nourish my body, and I can't sell it. In my eyes, this thing is no different from weeds."

Why did Ji Sisi feel that his words about "nourishing the body" were implied?
Ji Sisi tried to persuade Shen Zichen to stay, "I have a way to maybe exchange cordyceps for some money. Would you like to cooperate with me?"

Her intuition told her that this man must know about herbs, and that it was definitely more than just cordyceps. If they could cooperate, she could discover even more hidden herbs on the grasslands in the future.

Shen Zichen stopped in his tracks, his eyes filled with doubt.

"What method?" Ji Sisi smiled. "Teach me how to dig for cordyceps and distinguish between good and bad, and I'll tell you."

Ji Sisi's idea struck a chord with Shen Zichen; he needed money, desperately needed it!
Before going to the countryside, his father gave him twenty yuan, but now only one yuan is left. In the past two years, without any help from his family, Shen Zichen has had to work harder than other educated youth and put in twice as much labor to earn more work points in order to make a living.

His cotton-padded coat and quilt had been stolen by someone. He had to save money to buy a cotton-padded coat and quilt during the summer and autumn, otherwise he would freeze to death in the winter.

Shen Zichen had considered selling cordyceps, but the thought of being discovered made him hesitate.

With no hope of returning home, he couldn't afford to make a mistake.

Now that Ji Sisi mentioned it, Shen Zichen had an idea. She was different from him; she was the lover of the director of the research institute, so she must have more connections and be much safer.

"I agree, but identifying and harvesting cordyceps are very simple things, so it's not really a collaboration. I just need you to help me sell it once and earn two yuan in return."

Ji Sisi nodded, holding up the cordyceps in her hand, "Okay, there's no time like the present. Tell me first what the quality of this cordyceps looks like, and then take me to dig up a few more to try?"

"It's good that you didn't crush it." Shen Zichen put down the firewood, took the cordyceps from Ji Sisi's hand, and began to teach her how to distinguish the quality of cordyceps.

Ji Sisi stood next to Shen Zichen, studying and silently noting down the key points he made.
-
What are you looking at those two for?

Wang Cuicui was about to pack up and go back when she subconsciously looked in the direction of Ji Sisi. She saw Ji Sisi standing with a tall man, and the two of them were talking.

"A lone man and a lone woman, Ji Sisi is really shameless, getting together with a male educated youth when she's about to get married."

Li Hongying kept a close eye on Wang Cuicui, and when she saw Wang Cuicui picking on Ji Sisi again, she spoke up in dissatisfaction.

"Instead of worrying about others, you should mind your own business. You're always meddling in other people's affairs. A lone man and a lone woman? What, do you think everyone is dead? There are so many eyes watching, how can you say such a thing?"

Wang Cuicui was humiliated, and the high-altitude red on her cheeks deepened with anger. "What do you know? If she didn't have ulterior motives, why would she run so far away? The moment she left, that man followed her. What else could it be but a problem?"

"Besides, this concerns Director Qi's reputation. Director Qi's affairs are our institute's affairs, and our institute's affairs are our staff quarters' affairs. Do you think I should interfere? As for you, you're not even from our institute. It's your interference that's meddling!"

After rebuking Li Hongying, Wang Cuicui raised her chin, slung her basket over her shoulder, and strode away arrogantly.

She had to deliver this good news to Guo Xiaolan and take her with her to find Qi Yan. Wang Cuicui was glad she hadn't written to her cousin; if she could get rid of Ji Sisi, perhaps her cousin really could marry Director Qi.

Wang Cuicui became more and more excited as she thought about how her husband could be given important responsibilities. Her feet felt like they were coated with oil, and she covered the journey in half an hour instead of an hour.

Guo Xiaolan was called out by Wang Cuicui.

"Sister-in-law, where are we going?" Guo Xiaolan had tried to win Fang Shijie's favor last night but was rejected, and she was feeling suffocated.

I really don't know if Fang Shijie is a true gentleman or if he's just not interested in her.

"Go find Director Qi and have him ask Ji Sisi to apologize to you. I also have something important to discuss with him in person."

Upon hearing Wang Cuicui's words, Guo Xiaolan's alarm bells went off. She immediately shook off Wang Cuicui's hand, saying, "I'm not going. Ji Sisi and I have nothing going on. She doesn't need to apologize to me."

(End of this chapter)