Chapter 114: Striking It Rich

Song Tieniu’s wife, Xiang Chuntao, walked in carrying a shoulder pole. "Auntie Taohua, Sister Huiyin, the mushrooms you asked for have been picked."

Qin Huiyin hurried over to greet them. "Sister-in-law, you’ve really worked hard."

"Oh, listen to you," Xiang Chuntao said with a beaming smile. "I’m not good with flowery words, but I remember how kind you’ve been to our family!"

"Sister-in-law, are there more coming?" Qin Huiyin asked, gently wiping the sweat from Xiang Chuntao’s forehead.

Xiang Chuntao, who had been using her sleeve to wipe her face, felt embarrassed when she saw Qin Huiyin using such a clean handkerchief. She waved her off, saying, "Don't get such a nice handkerchief dirty! I’ll just wipe it off myself; I can wash it when I get home. Sister Juying is right behind me, so let me go fetch her. You go ahead and start weighing these, Sister Huiyin."

"Take your time, no rush," Qin Huiyin advised.

Xiang Chuntao ran off faster than a rabbit. Despite the instruction to take it easy, she looked more anxious than anyone else.

The "Sister Juying" that Xiang Chuntao mentioned was Wang Juying, the wife of Zhang the Stutterer. This couple was known throughout the village for being honest and simple, often becoming easy targets for the neighborhood busybodies who loved to take advantage of others.

Song Tieniu and Zhang the Stutterer were close friends who often worked together after they married, which led their wives to become close sisters as well. Xiang Chuntao had a fiery and straightforward personality, while Wang Juying was timid and submissive. Just as Song Tieniu protected Zhang the Stutterer wherever they went, Xiang Chuntao did the same for Wang Juying.

Before long, Xiang Chuntao returned with her shoulder pole again. Following her was a small, thin, dark-skinned young woman wearing clothes covered in patches.

Though she was called a young woman, her clear eyes, petite frame, and a face that looked like it belonged to a thirteen or fourteen-year-old made her appear like a middle-schooler who hadn't fully grown yet.

In this era, if a girl wasn't married by fifteen, her family had to pay a tax. Most families couldn't afford it—or simply didn't want to—so they would arrange marriages when girls were twelve or thirteen, sending them off by fifteen. Some, in their haste, married their daughters off even earlier. Thus, it was possible that Wang Juying didn't just have a "baby face," but was genuinely young.

"You two are amazing! You picked so many in just one morning," Qin Huiyin praised. "Sister Lüwu, please bring some water out."

Tang Lüwu was inside taking inventory of the ingredients Tang Dafu had brought back. Just as she moved to get up, Tang Yixiao, who was cleaning nearby, told her to keep recording while he ran the errand.

Tang Yixiao brought out the tea and said sweetly, "Sisters, have some tea to soothe your throats."

Xiang Chuntao gestured at Tang Yixiao’s height. "My goodness, Xiao-ge'er, haven't you grown too fast?"

Tang Yixiao puffed out his chest with pride, mimicking the exact expression his father wore when being complimented. Seeing this, Qin Huiyin couldn't help but wonder: would this boy grow up to be a romantic fool, too?

"Huiyin, this is just what the two of us picked. We’ll bring another batch later. Weigh ours first, then we’ll go pick out the good ones for you; we won't accept anything of poor quality."

"Are there really that many mushrooms on our mountain?"

"Of course not. The mushrooms on our mountain are just so-so. We went to others. They’re a bit further away, but the mushrooms are larger and more plentiful."

Qin Huiyin understood now. These mushrooms weren't even from a single mountain, and the fact that they had carried them all back explained why they were covered in mud and their exposed skin was scratched.

"Alright, let's start weighing," Qin Huiyin said, bringing over the large scale.

After weighing, the net weight came to eighty catties, which meant eighty wen.

Xiang Chuntao took the money and shoved half of it into Wang Juying’s hand. The latter waved her hands, blushing. "Sister, I didn't pick many. Most of these were yours."

"Don't be so polite with me," Xiang Chuntao insisted. "I'm just trying to butter you up so I can bum a meal at your place tonight! Take it, or if others hear, they’ll start eyeing your earnings again."

Wang Juying’s eyes reddened, and she sniffled.

"Put it away. It’s because you’re always making that face that people bully you. Let’s go; we need to collect the others' mushrooms. Let’s not hold up Sister Huiyin."

Wang Juying wiped her tears and said sheepishly, "Pardon me. Let’s go. The other sisters must be getting impatient; I saw they had gathered quite a lot, too."

Xiang Chuntao and Wang Juying left, chatting and laughing. Sunlight fell upon them, and these two simple yet optimistic women from the countryside seemed to step out of a painting and into Qin Huiyin’s life.

"What are you daydreaming about?" Li Taohua tapped her on the shoulder.

"Mother, we should hire two workers to help. Otherwise, when will all this work ever end?" Qin Huiyin gestured toward the jars and the mushrooms.

"I’ll listen to you," Li Taohua said.

"Mother, you don't seem surprised at all that I can do these things."

"Because you were born different from others," Li Taohua said, stroking her cheek. "Daughter, in my eyes, you have always been the most dazzling one."

Qin Huiyin felt embarrassed by the compliment.

"So, daughter..." Li Taohua leaned in closer. "That habit of yours of not wearing a bodice needs to change. Mother doesn't want you to have such a beautiful, charming face only to have things sag later on..."

Qin Huiyin: "..."

Li Taohua was holding Qin Huiyin’s bodice in her hands.

Qin Huiyin looked around nervously and quickly snatched the bodice, stuffing it inside her clothes. "Mother, why did you take something like that out?"

"If I hadn't gone in to tidy your room, I wouldn't have known you disliked wearing one so much. This material is soft and should be comfortable. Is there something you're unhappy with? I can alter it for you."

"I’m just not used to it. Fine, I’ll remember to wear it tomorrow." Qin Huiyin quickly put the item back in her room.

Once things settled down, she would have to figure out a proper undergarment. She really couldn't get used to the traditional Chinese bodice; it felt strange. And then there were her skincare products—she had to sneak in time to tinker with them only after all the chores were done, and she had only finished half of them so far. She felt like she had so many things she wanted to do. She seemed busy, but she loved this rich, colorful life.

Xiang Chuntao and Wang Juying returned with their shoulder poles again.

After several trips back and forth, they finally brought all the mushrooms in. Seeing the scale of it, Qin Huiyin knew there would be no problem producing two hundred bottles of mushroom and minced meat sauce.

She noticed Wang Juying holding a wooden board with crooked characters written in charcoal. Curious, she asked, "Sister-in-law, can you write?"

"I only know a few characters. It’s enough to keep records for the other sisters and calculate their weight, but that's about it," Wang Juying said, blushing.

"That’s much better than us! We don't know a single character; we’re completely illiterate. You’re so lucky—you can even tell the difference between a tea shop and a wine shop when you go into town," Xiang Chuntao said.

"You’re teasing me again. Even without knowing characters, you can tell the difference just by the smell," Wang Juying said, giving Xiang Chuntao a gentle nudge as they laughed together.