Travel to the mountains and make a fortune in silence

Wang Qing'er said, "Grandma, Mother, I specially left half a bowl of bamboo shoots in cold water to chill today. Tomorrow morning, Mother, you can stir-fry some mushrooms and have Father take them with him so that people can try them before buying. If others are afraid to eat mushrooms, we can just eat them ourselves to show them. If no one dares to buy them after that, we'll just eat them ourselves."

Madam Zhou beamed with joy, "Qing'er's method is excellent."

Wang Qing'er then asked Zhou Shi, "Grandma, what are the prices of the vegetables that Dad usually sells? Where do they usually sell them?"

Zhou said, “There’s a restaurant in town that buys our vegetables. It pays two coins a pound for leafy greens, three coins for spinach, one coin for two pounds of radishes, and three coins a pound for bamboo shoots. If the restaurant can’t buy all the leftover vegetables each day, it will sell them at the market.”

Wang Qing'er made a quick decision and set the prices for bamboo shoots and mushrooms: "Then tomorrow, bamboo shoots will be sold for four coins per catty, and mushrooms will be sold for eight coins per catty. If the restaurant wants mushrooms, there's no need to take them to the market to sell, otherwise people will see them and pick them up to sell, and the price will drop quickly."

Zhou thought to herself that this girl was very thoughtful, and that she had considered every step so carefully.

Upon hearing that Wang Qing'er had set such an expensive price for the mushrooms, Wang Cuiying hesitated and asked, "Qing'er, are you sure you want to sell the mushrooms for eight coins a pound?"

Wang Qing'er parted her lips slightly, "Hmm, I think the price is too low. Mushrooms are a rare delicacy, and rich people might really like them."

"Grandma, Mom, I'm going to boil the peeled bamboo shoots and then take them out to dry tomorrow."

Zhou said, "You go ahead, leave this to us."

After taking a bath, Old Man Mu, having nothing else to do, joined the bamboo shoot peeling team. As he peeled, he joked, "These bamboo shoots are incredibly delicious, but they're too tough on the body." This remark was like a spring breeze, making the whole family laugh heartily.

The courtyard was immediately filled with laughter, "Haha...haha".

Zhou couldn't help but chuckle and said, "Qing'er's cooking is absolutely delicious, but it uses up a lot of seasonings. Bring back some more soy sauce tomorrow, I see there's hardly any left in the jar."

Not long after, Mu Xiao finished bathing. Seeing that it was still early, he moved a small stool, sat down, and began peeling bamboo shoots.

I peeled one, pinched it, and it was quite tender. No wonder it tasted so fresh and delicious. It's just that the outer skin of this bamboo shoot was really too difficult to peel.

Wang Cuiying explained the matter of selling bamboo shoots and mushrooms to Grandpa Mu and the others, and also informed them of the agreed prices.

When Old Man Mu heard the price, he was only slightly taken aback and did not say anything more.

In the kitchen, Mu Nan was in charge of starting the fire, while Wang Qing'er added half a pot of water to the pot. After the water boiled, she put the bamboo shoots in and cooked them for more than ten minutes. Then she took them out and soaked them in cold water.

It took several large pots to cook all the bamboo shoots.

The bamboo shoots in the yard shed their outer skin like strippers, and Zhou led the little ones to meet the Duke of Zhou (a figure in Chinese mythology associated with dreams).

Leave 30 jin of bamboo shoots to take to town to sell tomorrow.

Wang Qing'er and her mother-in-law worked together to place all the bamboo shoots in a bamboo sieve. They put them under the eaves at night and moved them to the yard the next day to dry in the sun.

While working, Wang Cuiying was worried that no one would buy the bamboo shoots. Wang Qing'er comforted her mother-in-law gently, like a spring breeze: "If no one buys them, just keep them for yourself. They won't spoil after being dried. When you don't have any vegetables, just soak them in water and stir-fry or stew them. The aroma will fill the whole house."

After everything was tidied up, Wang Qing'er dragged her body, which felt as if her soul had been taken away, back to her room, where Mu Nan had already thoughtfully prepared bathwater for her.

Wang Qing'er lay quietly in the wooden tub like a mermaid, the hot water gently embracing her slender body.

The toiletries here are all made from soapberries. After washing, my skin felt dry and tight, which was very uncomfortable. I only applied a little bit to remove the smell of sweat.

As she washed, she dreamed of finding soapberries or soap pods so she could start researching how to make various scented soaps to moisturize her skin.

If she could find He Shou Wu (Polygonum multiflorum), she could also try to make shampoo bars to make her hair smoother and shinier.

After taking a bath, Wang Qing'er, like a well-behaved kitten, quickly climbed into bed and soon drifted off into a sweet dream.

When Mu Nan returned from his shower, he looked at Wang Qing'er's porcelain-white sleeping face and felt a surge of emotion. He couldn't help but reach out and touch her smooth, delicate face.

Wang Qing'er rolled over, startling Mu Nan, who quickly withdrew her hand, lay down, and closed her eyes.

After waiting a while and finding that his wife had not woken up, he opened his eyes again, looked at her, and embraced her.

When Wang Qing'er woke up the next day, the sun was already high in the sky, like a giant fireball hanging there. "Oh dear, how did I oversleep?"

She quickly finished washing up and went to the front yard, where she was surprised to find that the mushrooms and bamboo shoots had been neatly moved out to dry.

She stepped into the kitchen and saw her mother-in-law cooking pig feed. Feeling a little embarrassed, she called out softly, "Mother."

"Get up! You must be exhausted from yesterday. Mu Nan told you not to go up the mountain today, but to rest at home for the day." Wang Cuiying said as she took the food she had specially saved for her out of the pot. "Eat it while it's hot."

Steamed buns, porridge, stir-fried mushrooms with pork cracklings, and delicious pickled vegetables—Wang Qing'er ate with relish right by the stove. "Mom, these stir-fried mushrooms with pork cracklings are so fragrant!"

Wang Cuiying, “Yesterday your father and the others went to the market and a rabbit sold for fifty coins, and a large bamboo shoot sold for more than one hundred coins. Mu Nan had been collecting herbs but hadn’t taken them to sell until yesterday. He sold them for two taels of silver, bought some rice, and a few catties of pork fat.”

Wang Qing'er was puzzled. With so much land, why did they need to buy grain? And there weren't many people in the family. So she asked curiously, "Mother, don't we farm? Why do we need to buy rice?"

"Most of the grains grown in the family's fields are high-quality grains, and the land is planted with wheat. Except for the grains used to pay taxes, the rest are sold to pay off debts."

"We do grow some buckwheat, so we don't need to buy buckwheat noodles. We do need to buy brown rice, which we eat at home every day."

Whenever Wang Cuiying talked about grain, her face would fall into a worried expression, like an eggplant that had been hit by frost, listless and dispirited.

As the saying goes, even a clever cook can't cook without rice!

Seeing that only she and her mother-in-law were at home, Wang Qing'er asked Wang Cuiying, "Mother, where did Grandma and Brother Mu Nan go?"

Wang Cuiying replied, "Your grandmother is weeding in the vegetable garden next door with Muqin and Yao'er, while Mu Nan went up the mountain to pick bamboo shoots."

Wang Qing'er thought to herself, since she wasn't going to the mountains today, she would go to town instead. However, she didn't want to go alone, so she went up to Wang Cuiying and asked with a smile, "Mother, do you have anything to do today?"

"It's nothing important, I just have to go to the vegetable garden to weed. The weeds grow faster than the vegetables, it's such a hassle." Wang Cuiying felt annoyed thinking about how she could never finish weeding all the weeds in the garden.

"Mother, I want to go to town to buy some things. Can you come with me?" Wang Qing'er tugged at her mother-in-law's sleeve, speaking softly and coquettishly.

“If you want to go, I will go with you. It just so happens that it’s market day today, and the village’s mule carts will be running back and forth. We’ll take a mule cart to town later.”

"Okay, thank you, Mother!" Wang Qing'er ran happily to her room and took a few taels of silver.