The Peasant Wife: The Prime Minister's Beloved

Chen Xi patted Xiao Chen's back and said with a smile: "Don't be afraid, Mom will teach you a song, and you will know which mushrooms you can't eat when you see them in the future."

Then, a song that is both absurd and full of educational significance rang out in the courtyard: "Red umbrella, white pole, eat and lie on the board..."

Although the lyrics sound a bit exaggerated, it helps children easily remember how to identify poisonous mushrooms in a light-hearted and humorous way.

Xiaoyang and Xiaochen learned very quickly and were able to sing it completely in no time.

"Mom, so those mushrooms with red tops and white stems are poisonous, right?" Xiaoyang confirmed seriously.

"Yes, Xiaoyang is really smart. If you want to eat mushrooms in the future, just tell your mother and she will take you to a safe place to pick them. The mountains are dangerous, so you two can't run around by yourselves. Remember?"

Chen Xi warned earnestly, knowing in her heart that this forest was far from as peaceful as the outside world, with snakes and insects appearing frequently, and she herself had encountered them many times.

However, whenever she goes up the mountain, she always carries homemade insect repellent powder with her.

"I understand, mother. We want to go see Brother Xuanxuan now." The two little guys said in unison.

Chen Xi smiled and nodded, asked the children to take a few eggs as gifts, and watched them skipping out the door.

The two little guys each carried a small basket containing six carefully selected eggs.

However, when they returned, there were still six eggs in the basket, but their hands were full of all kinds of things - cabbage, radish, sweet potatoes, and even a large piece of fresh pork...

"Mom, come and help me, I can't carry it anymore." Xiaoyang shouted.

"Grandfather Fang, come and lend a hand!" Xiao Chen also shouted.

Chen Xi came out upon hearing the sound, and saw the two children’s hands were full of heavy harvests, and their faces were filled with satisfied smiles.

"Xiaoyang and Xiaochen, are you going to the market?" Chen Xi asked jokingly as he took the things.

"No way, mother, these are all given to us by Xuanxuan's mother."

Xiao Yang quickly explained, "Originally Xuanxuan wanted to give us one or two taels of silver as a thank you, but we both said no, so Xuanxuan's mother used these foods instead."

Chen Xi knew in her heart that Xuanxuan's mother did this to express her deep gratitude to her.

After all, it was she who saved Xuanxuan, and the other party had already done his best to exchange these daily necessities for one or two taels of silver.

"You did the right thing. Xuanxuan's family is not well off, and one or two taels of silver is not a small amount for them. They sent us so many dishes and meat to thank us, which is already very rare. Do you understand?" Chen Xi said earnestly.

"I understand, Mom, let's go wash our hands now!" The two children ran towards the well with sweat on their foreheads. Their little hands and faces were covered with sweat, but they couldn't hide their happiness.

Not long after, Li Xuanxuan's body gradually recovered, and he chased and played with Xiaoyang and Xiaochen again, as if nothing had happened.

Xiao Yang even spread the ballad that Chen Xi taught to more friends. For a time, this simple but educational ballad quickly spread in the village, and almost everyone could hum a few lines.

Whenever Li Xuanxuan's parents mentioned mushrooms, an indescribable fear would flash across their eyes involuntarily. It was an instinctive alertness to unknown dangers that came from deep in their hearts.

However, Li Xuanxuan is a fearless child.

After a detailed discussion with Chen Xi, he carefully selected several colorful yet absolutely safe mushrooms and brought them home like treasures.

Mrs. Xiong looked at the tempting yet disturbing fungi in her son's hand, her heart full of hesitation and worry. Her calloused hands wanted to take them but stopped several times.

Finally, she couldn't resist her son's insistence, so she had to hold the basket of mushrooms in one hand, stroke the corner of her clothes with the other hand, and staggered towards Chen Xi's hut.

When Chen Xi confirmed again that these mushrooms were harmless, Mrs. Xiong's frown finally relaxed, and she felt relieved to hand these gifts from the forest to Li Xuanxuan to try.

Mushrooms were once considered mysterious and untouchable creatures in the mountains and forests. Due to ignorance and fear, no one dared to try them even though they were growing right under their noses.

Now, with Chen Xi's patient popularization of science, the villagers have gradually begun to bravely embark on the journey of picking non-toxic mushrooms.

Some people want to add a rare freshness to their own tables, while more people see the business opportunity and bring these mountain game to the town in the hope of earning some extra income.

During this process, Chen Xi became a trusted consultant for everyone. Whenever someone picked a new variety, they would always ask her to identify it first, and she was always happy to do so and never got bored.

In Xianghe Village, the price of mushrooms was marked at 15 cents per pound, which is a rare commodity in the county town and even rarer in the town. Unexpectedly, such a price attracted many buyers.

As the news spread, the villagers' enthusiasm for picking mushrooms grew.

"Mom, you see everyone is making money by selling mushrooms, why don't we give it a try? I heard we can make a lot of money!" Xiao Chen pulled Chen Xi's collar and suggested in a low voice.

Chen Xi heard this with a gentle smile on his face. He gently tapped Xiao Chen's forehead and said earnestly, "You little money-grubber, although our family is not rich, we don't need to work hard for this. Besides, there are limited mushrooms on the mountain. Once over-picked, the ecological balance will be destroyed. Relying on this to make a fortune is not a long-term solution after all."

Xiaochen nodded, not quite understanding. His young heart was touched by his mother's words and he no longer insisted on his own opinion.

At Wang's house, Liu Fang sat alone in the dim room with a gloomy look on her face.

Recalling the mushroom poisoning incident of Li Xuanxuan, she had also watched with a mentality of watching the fun, but she witnessed with her own eyes the miracle of Chen Xi escaping danger.

What was even more difficult for her to accept was that Chen Xi had recently become famous in the village for teaching mushroom identification skills and had won the respect and love of everyone. All of this made Liu Fang, who had a high opinion of herself, feel mixed emotions, and jealousy and resentment grew wildly in her heart.

Of course, Chen Xi didn't care too much about her "fame" in the village. She thought it was just a natural result of neighbors helping each other. Sharing knowledge was just a piece of cake for her and she didn't need to worry about it.

"Why are you still lying in bed? Don't think I don't know your little tricks. You want to be lazy! You don't even know if the baby is a boy or a girl, but you're thinking about enjoying yourself? Get up quickly and go to the mountains to pick mushrooms. Your family is waiting for your income!"

Zhang Genzi's mother stood at the door with a stern tone.

During this period, she also learned to identify several types of mushrooms, and occasionally she would carry a small basket up the mountain to supplement the family income.

Liu Fang suppressed his dissatisfaction, stood up silently, put on the bamboo basket, and revealed a bit of helplessness in his heavy steps.