The aroma of cooking filled the house: I sent my eldest brother to become the Grand Secretary.

Shen Cao nodded emphatically, "Of course, especially now that the Mid-Autumn Festival has just passed, the male crabs are at their fattest and most delicious, with so much crab roe that it's cloying."

The village chief remembered that when he was a child, he and his friends used to roast Guosuo (a type of roasted fruit) by the river. They secretly ate it. After the Guosuo was roasted, it turned red and had a hard shell all over. There was only a little bit of meat in it, and it didn't taste like much.

However, it is true that Guo Suo is quite large during this time of year.

Some people in the village who didn't have enough to eat would catch it to satisfy their cravings, but most people avoided it.

Those two big pincers can really hurt when they clamp down on you.

Shen Cao had a whole bunch of crab recipes in her mind, such as steamed crab, drunken crab, crab roe noodles, crab roe soup dumplings, crab roe wontons, crab shell oil, and so on.

Grand Tutor Zhou quickly finished the braised rice with porcini mushrooms in his bowl, and then ladled himself a bowl of chicken soup.

He looked at the chicken soup in the bowl, glistening with chicken oil and topped with a few small celery shavings. He took a sniff and smelled the faint aroma of chicken oil, along with a hint of mushroom.

He took a sip. The chicken soup, which looked very light, tasted incredibly rich. The umami flavor of the chicken soup combined with the umami flavor of the mushrooms was so delicious that it made his eyebrows almost fall off.

He quickly finished one bowl and then poured himself another.

After the meal, the guests and hosts enjoyed themselves.

The village chief happily returned to Stone Village with the money he earned from selling chili peppers and mushrooms.

This time, he earned a full seven hundred coins.

Ever since Shen Cao learned that mushrooms could be picked in Stone Village, she has been looking at the sky every day, hoping that it will rain soon.

I thought I would have to wait at least two days, but unexpectedly, after noon on the second day, the sky, which had been clear and sunny, suddenly became covered with dark clouds.

The sky was overcast, and soon large raindrops began to fall.

Shen Cao sat in the lobby, happily watching the thunderstorm.

The heavy rain lasted for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn; the thunderstorm came and went quickly.

After the rain stopped, the sun, which had been hidden by dark clouds, was revealed as the clouds were washed away by the rain.

After the rain, the sun is even brighter than before it rained.

Shen Cao quickly ran out and looked up at the sky.

Sure enough, a huge rainbow appeared on the horizon.

People on the street looked up and felt the joy brought by the rainbow.

The next morning, Shen Cao prepared the meal early.

After instructing Mr. and Mrs. Shen to take good care of the business, she went to Wan'an Hall to borrow a carriage.

He took his elder brother, younger brother and sister, as well as Grand Tutor Zhou and Ye Shu to Stone Village.

The village chief thought that since it had rained heavily yesterday, Shen Cao might come today.

He had instructed his wife early in the morning to prepare some food and fruit.

Under the big tree in Stone Village, a group of people had eaten breakfast and were chatting together.

Suddenly, a horse-drawn carriage drove into the village. Unlike before, no one looked at Aunt Li.

Aunt Li's daughter was sent back by the county magistrate a year ago, and later Aunt Li married her off to an old bachelor in the next village.

Everyone looked at the carriage with suspicion.

They had seen this kind of carriage before, but the Shen family had moved away long ago, so who could they turn to now?

Everyone stared at the carriage, eager to see where it was headed.

They only looked away when the carriage stopped in front of the Shen family's thatched house.

Have the Shen family members returned?

Because no one in Stone Village went to school, no one except the village chief knew that Shen Chen had become the top scholar in the imperial examination.

They didn't even know what "解元" (jieyuan) meant.

Several curious villagers had already headed towards the Shen family's house.

Five or six people stepped down from the carriage one after another. They were indeed the eldest son, eldest daughter, second daughter, and second son of the Shen family. There was also an elderly man and a young man who was unfamiliar with the family.

The villagers were quite surprised to see that the Shen family children's clothes, though not made of fine silk or satin, looked much better than the coarse linen clothes they were wearing.

Especially the children who used to be pale and thin, now all have rosy complexions, and it's clear that they are living a better life than before.

They never expected the Shen family to be doing so well after leaving Stone Village, and their hearts were filled with bitterness.

Shen Cao saw the villagers who had gathered around, but she ignored them and went straight to take out the house key and open the door.

They brought the people inside, and even drove the carriage into the courtyard.

Then they closed the door.

When the villagers saw that Shen Cao had actually closed the gate, some of them started making sarcastic remarks, "Now that the Shen family has become rich, they're so smug."

"Exactly, he just made a few bucks, what's with all the arrogance?"

"It's just passing the imperial examination and becoming a scholar, not becoming an official of the imperial court."

"Yes."

To vent their emotions, the group even spat on the ground a few times before leaving dejectedly.

Shen Cao simply wiped the dust off the room and went to the village chief's house alone.

The village chief was already waiting at home. As soon as he saw Shen Cao arrive, he quickly led her into the inner room.

"I thought you might come today, so I prepared early this morning."

Why did you come alone?

"My older brother and younger brother are waiting for me in the old Shen family house."

"Then why didn't you bring them along? You have nothing there."

Shen Cao was embarrassed to trouble the village chief.

But the village chief insisted on taking Shen Cao to his house with the others, especially the village chief's wife, who was very enthusiastic when she saw Shen Cao, making Shen Cao feel a little uncomfortable.

She also noticed some changes at the village chief's house.

It looks much better than before.

There were also porcini mushrooms and bamboo shoots drying in the yard. The village chief was indeed a man of action. He had just said that the porcini mushrooms could be dried and sold for money, and the village chief had already started drying the mushrooms he had picked earlier.

Shen Cao couldn't argue with the village chief, so he took them to the Shen family's house.

There wasn't enough room in the village chief's house, so everyone brought small chairs and sat in the yard.

There is also an apple tree in the yard, and now in September, the tree is full of bright red apples.

Everyone was holding an apple and eating it; it was sweet and sour, and very juicy.

After everyone finished eating the apples, Shen Cao suggested that they go pick mushrooms.

"Village chief, let's hurry up and pick some mushrooms."

Shen Cao went to the Shen family and got a few baskets. The village chief and his two sons each carried one.

Shen Chen, Shen Cao, and Ye Shu each carried one as well.

The group of people walked in a large procession along the path beside the fields and entered the mountains.

The villagers saw the village chief leading the Shen family, carrying baskets on their backs, heading towards the mountains.

Everyone was filled with doubt and a hint of curiosity: what treasures were hidden in these mountains that would make the Shen family travel all this way?

Some people even ran home, hurriedly slung their baskets over their shoulders, and then went to chase after the group of people.

They followed Shen Cao and the others from a distance.

Seeing that they had actually picked up the unwanted mushrooms, they all looked disappointed.

These people are really ignorant; those mushrooms can kill you.

Several people tried to speak up and stop them, but were stopped by others.

"Those people should be taught a lesson, otherwise they'll really think they're so capable."

"What if someone dies from eating it?"

"But the village chief is there. He hasn't said anything, so why are you in such a hurry?"

The group returned home empty-handed, carrying their baskets on their backs.

"Wow! There's even a Bodhi seed here."