Chapter 126: Cultivating Mushrooms

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Today, the aunts and uncles were unusually warm and welcoming, making Qin Huiyin, who was used to being overlooked, feel somewhat uneasy. She didn’t consider herself socially anxious, but encountering relatives who engaged in awkward, empty chatter made her begin to understand the feelings of those who truly suffer from social anxiety.

“Hey, Heiwa, don’t pull its tail,” Qin Huiyin said swiftly, snatching “Mantou” away from Heiwa’s grasp. Then, addressing the aunts and uncles who were reluctant to end the conversation, she added, “Sorry, my little dog is too young; we have to go home to eat. Uncles and aunts, let’s chat again when we have time.”

She slipped away quickly, eager to escape.

The villagers watched the direction Qin Huiyin ran off and said, “This young girl is quite adorable, very polite. I guess our previous opinions about her and her mother were just prejudice.”

“I agree. We should interact more with their family in the future. By the way, why haven’t I seen Li Erniu lately?”

“I don’t know. When I saw her the day before yesterday, she was so thin I barely recognized her. Don’t bother mentioning her; she brought her troubles on herself. No need for sympathy.”

Qin Huiyin, clutching the little bun-like dog, ran home as if being chased, startling Li Taohua.

“What’s wrong?”

“The villagers suddenly became so friendly; I can barely handle it.”

Grandpa Tang laughed warmly, “You’ll have to get used to it. More and more people will be warm to you from now on.”

Tang Luwu’s ramen was a complete success, earning unanimous praise from the whole family. Tang Luwu, usually lacking confidence, showed a shy smile, her eyes shining brighter.

After drinking the medicine, Tang Yixiao went to count the chicks. In just a few days, they had grown considerably. He dug in the soil with a shovel, catching earthworms and feeding them to the chicks while Qin Huiyin watched from the yard.

The busy day drew to a close. In their simple courtyard, they watched the chicks eat earthworms, the little dog tugging at their pant legs for attention. Li Taohua and Grandpa Tang sipped wine alongside braised meat and fried small fish, enjoying a comfortable, beautiful life. Only Tang Dafu in the county town was enduring pain, but such suffering was temporary. Afterward, he would emerge renewed—a significant and unique progress for him.

“These small dried fish are quite good. Huiyin, are you planning to sell a new dish again?” Grandpa Tang asked.

“I’m going to the town tomorrow to find a carpenter to make tables and chairs. I plan to bring these dried fish with me and see if I can sell them. If they sell, it won’t have been a wasted trip.”

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Grandpa Tang said to Li Taohua beside him, “Your daughter really can’t stay idle. Whenever there’s a chance, she looks for business opportunities. But since I’m going tomorrow, you don’t have to go. It’s just to find a carpenter; no need for so many people. If you trust me, let me handle selling the dried fish.”

“Thank you, Grandpa Tang. Even though you’re my real grandfather, family means clear accounts. These dried fish are fried so crispy, and it took a lot of oil. We can’t sell them cheaply. Sell them for eight wen per jin. If someone buys two jin, give half a jin free; buy three jin, get one jin free. Also, take our mobile cart to display. When these items sell, I’ll give you twenty percent commission.”

“My granddaughter is so filial. Don’t say twenty percent—I’d take fifty if you said so. Rest assured, this cheap deal is for Grandpa’s benefit.”

Li Taohua giggled, “An old fox and a young fox—they really are becoming more like grandfather and granddaughter.”

The next day, Grandpa Tang loaded the mobile cart onto the ox cart, bringing along the dried fish and braised meat.

Qin Huiyin gave a few instructions, likely about purchasing some supplies, then handed him money and blueprints.

Not long after Grandpa Tang left, Li Taohua came out yawning. “I drank a bit too much with Third Uncle last night. I even heard his voice in my dreams just now.”

“Your tolerance can’t compare to Grandpa Tang’s. Don’t drink so much next time. Grandpa left fifteen minutes ago; you must have been dreaming!” Qin Huiyin teased.

“I haven’t practiced for a long time—I’ve regressed so much,” Li Taohua muttered.

“What?”

“Nothing.” Li Taohua brushed her teeth with a salted willow twig.

The matter of the mushrooms was left to the aunts to handle. Today’s task was to clean the ceramic jars.

After breakfast, Li Taohua went to rent a new place from the village chief, while Qin Huiyin took the Tang siblings to fetch water and wash the jars.

Li Taohua soon returned with good news. Upon hearing they wanted to rent a place, the village chief immediately offered them the largest vacant house at a very cheap rent.

Qin Huiyin decided to move in within half a month. Once settled, they could begin building a new house.

After lunch, Song Tieniu and Zhang Jieba, husband and wife, delivered the mushrooms.

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Qin Huiyin stared at the loads of mushrooms coming in and exclaimed, “There’s even more than last time.”

“Many people came to deliver mushrooms today. I heard they said you agreed to accept them, as long as they passed our inspection. We took responsibility for collecting them.”

“The uncles and aunts in the village did ask me. I said that as long as the goods were good, of course they could be accepted. How many jin do we have in total?”

After receiving the mushrooms, the next step was cleaning them. Song Tieniu and Zhang Jieba stayed to wash them while Qin Huiyin went with other aunts to Song Tieniu’s house to meet the rest.

The aunts who had agreed yesterday to learn mushroom cultivation techniques were waiting at the Song household. Upon entering, Qin Huiyin saw seven or eight aunts gathered there.

They were somewhat nervous. Although Qin Huiyin was young, no one dared to underestimate her. Could an ordinary young girl support a household? None of them had seen such a thing. Despite her youth, she possessed uncommon wisdom. Both men and women admired strength, and instinctively, they felt a bit intimidated by her.

Noticing their tension, Qin Huiyin assumed it was a lack of confidence in their learning ability. She comforted them gently before beginning to explain the mushroom cultivation methods.

In ancient times, conditions were not as favorable as today. Modern mushroom cultivation is easy, but in the past, they could only use local resources.

She first taught them the straw pile method. From her observations, some women had spare rice straw or wheat stalks at home. Livestock manure like cow or horse dung was also easy to find. So this method was simple for them, and they listened eagerly, ready to try.

She also introduced log cultivation and soil covering methods. For these experienced rural women, all these methods were straightforward.

“Huiyin is so clever. We’ve farmed for so many years but never thought mushrooms could be cultivated like this. We used to dig wild grass from the mountains when starving. If only we’d known about these techniques earlier, wouldn’t mushrooms taste much better than wild grass?”

Relaxed, the women’s anxiety eased, and they chatted and laughed with Qin Huiyin.

“Everyone, try it at home first. If you have questions, come find me,” Qin Huiyin said. “If you have cellars at home, you can cultivate there for faster growth.”

A transplanted novel about a farm girl and her beloved older brothers who dote on her—please consider bookmarking: (xiakezw) The Farm Girl’s Transplanted Sister-in-Law, Adored by Her Big Brothers.