Female Farming Pond Fish

The next morning, Chi Xiaotong got up early. After breakfast and packing up, Chi Xiaotong went up the mountain. Going early today, I hope to gain something.

After walking for more than an hour, Chi Xiaotong felt that there were more mushrooms and fungi around. He couldn't pick up anything before, but he could see more as he walked. He picked up more in the last half hour than he did in the whole afternoon yesterday.

Chi Xiaotong even saw wild fruits on the trees, so she found a shorter tree and picked a few fruits to eat. Some were not ripe, and only a few were barely ripe. After eating a few, Chi Xiaotong was not interested in picking the half-ripe wild fruits. She had to carry them back with great effort, but she couldn't sell them for money.

After picking up a basket of mushrooms, Chi Xiaotong went back. She didn't dare to go any further. She had already walked quite deep, and it was no longer safe to go any deeper. It was enough to pick up these today.

After spending most of the day on the mountain and picking some wild fruits to eat at noon, Chi Xiaotong had already exhausted all his strength.

But it must be said that wild mushrooms are good. Even if they are not fully ripe, wild fruits are still more delicious than those that are ripened by modern methods.

Chi Xiaotong carried the fruits of a day's labor and returned along the path he had marked. After walking for a long time without getting out of the forest, Chi Xiaotong finally realized that he seemed to have walked too deep.

Carrying a basket of things and with little energy left, Chi Xiaotong walked very slowly. It was getting dark before he could see the village.

On the way back to the village, Chi Xiaotong saw the boy she had seen the day before. This time, the boy was washing clothes by the stream. Chi Xiaotong looked at him from a distance and then went back to Chen's house. But she felt something was wrong. The boy seemed to have more wounds on his face.

But I can't help now, I can only remember it silently. Back to Chen's house. Chen's father was cooking. Chi Xiaotong put down her things, washed her hands and wanted to help. As expected, she was kicked out again.

Chen Chengshan was also sent out by his father to help Chi Xiaotong pick mushrooms and pick out the good ones to sell tomorrow.

After dinner, Chi Xiaotong went back to her room early to rest as she had to go to town early tomorrow.

The next morning, after a quick meal, Chi Xiaotong set out with a basket of mushrooms on his back. He did not ask Chen's father for help. He had already learned how to weigh and collect money the last time he went out with Chen's father to sell things. He also paid attention to the road and direction last time, so Chi Xiaotong was full of confidence.

Although Chi Xiaotong set out quite early, when she arrived in town, there were already quite a few people at the market, and all the good spots had been taken. Chi Xiaotong could only put down her goods in a slightly out-of-the-way spot and hawk them.

Although the place is a bit remote, thanks to Chi Xiaotong's hawking, customers soon came to see it. They picked and chose and tried to bargain. It was just the beginning of the sale, and Chi Xiaotong smiled and was not in a hurry, but he did not lower the price.

Seeing that Chi Xiaotong was young but very patient, the other party stopped trying to lower the price and picked out some scales. After the first one was picked, people kept coming to buy.

Chi Xiaotong sold out all her mushrooms in the morning. She sold the first eight pounds of mushrooms at 15 wen each, and the remaining three pounds at 13 wen each. She made a total of 159 wen.

Chi Xiaotong felt the coins in her pocket and was very happy! She earned all this money herself.

After selling all the mushrooms, Chi Xiaotong packed up his things and went to the grain shop to ask about the price of rice. He was shocked. Polished rice was 20 wen a dou, broken rice was 15 wen, and brown rice was 10 wen. White flour was the same as polished rice, and sorghum flour was 10 wen a dou.

The copper coins in his pocket were about to be spent before he could even warm them up. Gritting his teeth, Chi Xiaotong asked for a dou of refined rice, a dou of white flour, and five dou of broken rice.

Suddenly, there were only 44 copper coins left in his pocket. Chi Xiaotong was reluctant to buy anything else. He carried these things back to the village.

When Chi Xiaotong arrived at Chen's house, Chen's mother and son had also returned. The village chief was also there, and a group of people were chatting in the house. It was Chen Chengyu who saw Chi Xiaotong first and invited her in.

Putting the backpack in the kitchen, Chi Xiaotong went in and sat in the corner to listen to their conversation, mostly asking Chen Chengyu how she did in the exam? Chen Chengyu responded with "not bad, not bad".

Everyone was talking, and somehow the topic turned to Chi Xiaotong. Facing the questions from the villagers, Chi Xiaotong couldn't answer many of them, and could only respond ambiguously. But it was hard for Chi Xiaotong, she didn't know these people, and she had just been tired for most of the day and had just eaten breakfast, so she was already hungry.

After chatting for a while, everyone dispersed. There was still work to do when we got home. For country people, there was plenty of work.

After sending everyone away, Chi Xiaotong and everyone in the Chen family couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Chi Xiaotong finally had the chance to ask Chen Chengyu how he did on the exam. Chen Chengyu smiled innocently: "I think it's OK."

"Are you sure?"

"I think so. I felt okay when I answered."

"Then there should be no problem. Believe in yourself." Chi Xiaotong patted Chen Chengyu on the shoulder and encouraged him.

Chen Chengyu nodded.

……

After drinking the water, Chi Xiaotong remembered what she bought. She quickly took it out and gave it to Father Chen. When they saw what Chi Xiaotong took out, they were all shocked.

Chen's mother asked, "Did you buy all of them?"

"Yes, the mushroom seller made some money today, so I bought some rice. I didn't make much, and I didn't buy much either, so don't despise me." Chi Xiaotong said with a smile.

Chen's mother said, "If you make money, keep it for yourself first. There's no need to buy these."

"Yes, I can make money now. I can't live here for free. I don't have a place to live yet, so I'll have to bother you for a while. I will work hard and earn enough money to build a house as soon as possible. I will live here and pay the rent when I have money."

"No need. I didn't expect to ask you for much money when I kept you here. You can just live here first. I'll go find the village chief tomorrow. It's not the busy farming season now. I'll find a few people to build you a thatched house. I'll pay for it first, and you can pay me back when you make some money."

"Really? Thank you so much Aunt Chen. I will definitely work hard. But I won't live here for nothing. I will pay for it later."

The two declined several times, but in the end, Father Chen accepted the rice that Chi Xiaotong bought and the remaining forty copper coins, which were used as the meal and room fees for the past few days.