Chapter 6 Great Harvest

Perhaps because it hasn't rained, these grass mushrooms are smaller than the ones she saw in her previous life.

Mushrooms require a lot of humidity. The fact that there are mushrooms on this side of East Mountain indicates there must be a water source there!

Originally, she thought she was overthinking, but these few grass mushrooms reassured her that there must indeed be water deep inside East Mountain.

The sun was already high in the sky. Nanzhi wiped the sweat off her forehead and called Gougou to sit and rest for a while.

The sweet potatoes at home were all consumed. This morning she boiled a bowl of chestnuts, which served as their lunch.

It was a pity that there were so many fallen leaves on the mountain that it would be unsafe to start a fire. Otherwise, they could have roasted and eaten the mushrooms.

Thinking about eating roasted mushrooms without chili powder, Nanzhi shivered. It was better to forget it.

Even if the mushrooms were fully cooked, she might still not stomach them. If they were half-cooked, they might not die of hunger but would possibly suffer from food poisoning, vomiting, diarrhea, and die from exhaustion.

After resting for a while, the two began digging around tree roots again and, one after another, actually found quite a few grass mushrooms. Gougou was a bit luckier, often finding several mushrooms under one tree.

After some searching and digging, and trekking deep into the mountain, Nanzhi realized they were among noticeably thicker tree trunks. This was when she realized where they were.

They had already reached the entrance to the heart of East Mountain.

She quickly led the excited Gougou back down the path.

"Mother, why aren't we going in?" Gougou was enjoying himself picking the mushrooms. He found many mushrooms, enough to keep him and his mother from going hungry for a long time.

"Gougou, remember, aside from me, you must never follow anyone else up the mountain," Nanzhi stopped and looked at Gougou earnestly.

"Okay," seeing the serious look on his mother's face, Gougou nodded.

Distracted by finding a clump of wild garlic on the way back to the chestnuts area, Nanzhi almost jumped for joy.

This could be considered the third type of condiment for their home!

Even though they hadn't found a water source, seeing Gougou's small basket filled with purslanes made Nanzhi's heart almost burst with joy.

She had always said that her bad luck couldn't last forever and by the principles of the shifting fortunes, it should be her turn now.

When they descended the mountain, Nanzhi intentionally led Gougou away from other people. The entire journey went smooth with no encounters with others.

Upon getting home, the first thing Nanzhi did was lock the yard door.

Today, they had quite the harvest.

In total, they brought back over forty pounds of chestnuts, a little more than two pounds of purslane, and the grass mushrooms' combined weight wouldn't be less than five pounds.

It would still be two days before market day in town, and if she sold some chestnuts and mushrooms, she should be able to buy some grain for Gougou to eat.

Thinking of the significant amount of silver she would earn, Nanzhi joyously kissed Gougou on the cheek.

Gougou's face turned bright red.

After sorting out the food stores at home, she had more than eighty pounds of chestnuts, about five pounds of mushrooms, a little over two pounds of purslane, a pound of buckwheat left, along with a clump of wild garlic.

Looking at all the food, Nanzhi felt a mix of emotions. Just yesterday, she and Gougou were almost starving, and now they had stores of food at home.

Unfortunately, while chestnuts were filling, they couldn't be the main staple all the time. Plus, the current weather was dry and hot, and without a refrigerator or a fresh-keeping cabinet, the mushrooms wouldn't keep.

Either she could go to town and sell them now, or she could sell them to wealthy families in the village or dry them for storage as food.

Looking at the small basket full of mushrooms, Nanzhi sighed.

It was about four in the afternoon. Even if she went to town now, it would be six by the time she arrived and past dinnertime, making it hard to fetch a good price.

If she sold them in the village, people would naturally ask where they came from. Furthermore, fresh mushrooms at this time would undoubtedly command a high price, and there were not many families in the village that could afford them.

Nanzhi felt a little reluctant to consume them herself. After all, though they had some chestnuts to fill their bellies for the time being, selling the grass mushrooms for silver to buy grains for Gougou was undoubtedly more fruitful than just a few mushrooms.

After some inner struggle, Nanzhi finally pocketed the last ninety-five wen coins she had at home, shouldered half of the chestnuts in a carrying basket, had Gougou lift a small basket containing four pounds of grass mushrooms, and finally covered it with some withered dandelions before heading out the door with him.

She remembered that Aunt Liu had a donkey cart, and it wouldn't take more than an hour to go to town if she used the cart—just in time for lunch.

Gougou obediently trailed behind Nanzhi without asking where they were headed, holding tightly onto the basket.

As they got to Aunt Liu's front gate, Nanzhi heard voices coming from the yard.

She hesitated for a moment but still knocked on the door, "Aunt Liu, are you home?"

The chatter in the yard ceased for a moment before Aunt Liu's footsteps were finally heard.

"Who is it? Coming…"

Upon opening the door, she saw Aunt Liu's eyes were somewhat red, and she looked weary.

"What is it, Nanzhi?" Aunt Liu looked surprised at the sight of Nanzhi and Gougou, weighed down with their baskets.

Nanzhi didn't acknowledge Aunt Liu's strangeness, and said, "Aunt Liu, I wanted to ask if I could borrow your donkey cart, I want to take Gougou to town."

This request caused Aunt Liu to hesitate, clearly conflicted.

It was a dry season, and she didn't have much fodder left for the donkey.

"Aunt Liu, I won't be borrowing it for nothing," Nanzhi added after glancing around.

Noticing Nanzhi's gesture, Aunt Liu understood, thus inviting the two into the yard.

"Aunt Liu, I can't offer much in return right now." Nanzhi looked at Aunt Liu and continued: "I know times are hard for all of us. Gougou and I went to East Mountain today, and we gathered some chestnuts."

On hearing this, Aunt Liu's eyes twitched. Chestnuts were currently a luxury; it wasn't yet autumn, half a year had passed without rain, and her family was relying on sweet potatoes and taros to stay full. However, even those were running out.

That's why she went to West Mountain yesterday hoping to dig up some wild plants, but aside from inedible weeds, there was no substantial food to be found.

She had even fought with her husband over the food situation this morning.

Their two grandchildren were now skinny as sticks, and she wanted to use some money to buy some grains, even if coarse, to mix into their food.

But her husband refused to spend their savings, urging they hold out till the autumn harvest.

If she could bring home chestnuts, she could use some for her own family and then sell the rest in town to buy grains.

"Well…"

Seeing Aunt Liu's reaction, Nanzhi knew there was hope. She added, "Aunt Liu, if it works out, tomorrow I can take you with me to gather chestnuts on the mountain. However, I was hoping to borrow your cart, so I can go to town to buy some grains for Gougou."

Aunt Liu clenched her teeth and nodded: "Alright."

Her husband didn't want to touch their savings, but she still had grandchildren to feed.

The donkey was there to be put to use anyway, and she could cut more grass on the mountain tomorrow to feed it.

After helping Nanzhi put the items on the cart, she had initially wanted her son to drive for them, but considering Nanzhi's situation, she ultimately instructed her to come back early not to waste time.

Luckily, Aunt Liu's donkey was quite mild-mannered, so even a newcomer like Nanzhi would be able to drive it smoothly.

"Mom, why did you tell Granny Liu about the chestnuts?" Gougou asked quietly once they left the village.

He didn't want his mother to faint again like yesterday. They had no food at home, and he didn't understand why she had told others about the chestnuts.

Petting Gougou's head, Nanzhi said, "Firstly, we are borrowing Aunt Liu's donkey cart, and we can't just take advantage of her kindness. Even if we have a few dozen wen, we still need them to buy grains. Secondly, because..."

Nanzhi paused for a moment and then looked at Gougou, who was full of curiosity, "Secondly, there're still a lot of chestnuts on the East Mountain that we can't finish eating by ourselves. When we didn't have food in the past, our aunts and grannies in the village all helped us. Now they're not in a good situation either. Instead of letting those chestnuts rot on the mountains, we might as well tell them."