“All right. I’ll do as you say.”
A gentle smile spread across Zhuo Chang’an’s handsome face.
Under the bright moonlight, his refined features seemed to glow with a faint halo.
The sight made Zhuo Ling’s heart skip a beat.
The two of them huddled together, whispering about tomorrow’s trip into the mountains. After they finished plotting, they leaned back against the haystack and gazed up at the moon.
“Once we make enough money, we’ll buy a big house like the young madam from the Pang family has!”
Lying flat on the haystack with her arms tucked under her head and one leg crossed over the other, Zhuo Ling happily imagined the future.
“Father and Mother will have a big room. Eldest Brother will have a big room. I’ll have a big room… Oh, right! Great-Grandpa gets a room too!
“And I’ll buy all kinds of convenient things from the Marketplace System that people use where I come from and fill the house with them. Eldest Brother, wouldn’t that be wonderful?”
She rambled on for quite a while.
But Zhuo Chang’an didn’t respond.
“Eldest Brother?”
She turned her head and called to him.
Only then did she meet his cool, clear eyes, quietly watching her with a smile.
Her old heart instantly blushed.
“Let us go back to sleep. We must rise early tomorrow.”
Zhuo Chang’an looked away, bent down, and lifted her little body into his arms.
Then he quietly reminded her,
“If you wet the bed again tonight, come sleep beside me instead. Mother has worked hard all day. Do not wake her.”
Zhuo Ling was speechless.
She covered her face.
Can you not bring up my most embarrassing moments?
“The silver wasn’t wasted after all. Fenniang, ever since you applied that wound medicine, my leg only hurts half as much.”
Zhuo Dawu shuffled over beside Fenniang, who was sewing by the oil lamp, and couldn’t help wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
“Look! Even when I move, it doesn’t hurt nearly as much. It works! It really works!”
“The children will come in and see us.”
Fenniang gently nudged him with her elbow and whispered reproachfully.
Then she glanced at his injured leg.
“The smell isn’t nearly as strong anymore either. That means it’s working.
“It’s just a pity we only bought enough medicine for two days…”
She hesitated before continuing,
“Dawu… I’ve thought about it all day. If we really have no other choice… maybe I’ll go back one more time. Perhaps…”
“No.”
Zhuo Dawu’s expression changed immediately.
He grabbed her hand firmly.
“Haven’t you begged them before? Every single time you came home with red eyes. To them, you’re as good as dead. They said the cruelest things they could think of.
“Fenniang, we won’t rely on them. Life and death are fate. Wealth and honor are in Heaven’s hands. Even if I die from the pain—”
Just then, Zhuo Chang’an came back inside carrying Zhuo Ling.
Zhuo Dawu swallowed the rest of his words and instead urged the two children to get ready for bed.
“Father, have some water.”
Zhuo Chang’an poured him a bowl of water.
While no one was paying attention, he quietly emptied the capsule into it before handing it over.
“Father, Mother, don’t worry about the wound medicine anymore. After the young madam of the Pang family heard that Father’s leg was injured, she agreed to let us have the medicine on credit.
“Tomorrow she’ll notify the shopkeeper at her pharmacy, and I’ll go pick it up. From then on, I’ll chop firewood and gather wild vegetables every day to deliver to the Pang Residence to pay off the debt.”
“Really? Chang’an… you’re not just saying that to make your mother feel better, are you? The young madam really… really said that?”
Fenniang trembled as she looked at him in disbelief.
Zhuo Chang’an nodded.
“If you do not believe me, ask Ling’er. The young madam is quite fond of her.”
“Ah… yes! Pretty Sister… hug Ling’er!”
Zhuo Ling blinked her big, innocent eyes and continued pretending to be a fool.
Fenniang burst into laughter.
She rubbed Zhuo Ling’s little head affectionately.
“What would she understand? If the young madam is truly willing to let us buy on credit, then she’s the great benefactor of our family!
“Chang’an, when you go tomorrow, you must thank her properly for me. We have nothing to repay her with, but… but ask whether her household needs more servants. I’ll go work for her!”
Zhuo Chang’an shook his head.
“I will find a way to earn the silver. Mother, you only need to take good care of Father.”
“Why’s this water so bitter?”
After finishing the bowl, Zhuo Dawu smacked his lips.
Then he patted the edge of the kang with a grin.
“I really am enjoying the blessings my son and daughter bring me! Come here, little girl. Daddy will hold you while we sleep.”
“N-No!”
The moment Zhuo Ling heard that, she twisted her little body and hid behind Zhuo Chang’an, only poking her head out.
“Father… noisy! I want Eldest Brother! I want Eldest Brother!”
Zhuo Dawu fell silent.
…
At first light, Zhuo Chang’an carried Zhuo Ling on his back.
After informing Fenniang where they were going, he gripped his wood-cutting knife and headed out.
Zhuo Ling rested her head on his shoulder and immediately fell back asleep.
A five-year-old’s body was like a tiny battery.
It simply didn’t hold much charge.
Every now and then they passed villagers who had also come out before dawn.
After all, the early bird caught the worm.
The earlier they arrived to gather wild vegetables, the more they could collect.
Some people had already filled half their baskets.
Zhuo Chang’an deliberately avoided the areas where people were gathering.
Meanwhile, Zhuo Ling focused on searching for medicinal herbs the Marketplace System would buy.
Ding…
“Natural fly agaric mushrooms discovered. Value: 800,000 Underground Credits per jin. Sell?”
The system notification rang out.
A red targeting frame locked onto the base of a large tree.
Scattered across the damp grass beneath its thick roots were brilliant scarlet mushrooms, dotted everywhere like drops of red rain.
The ground here was shaded and moist, protected from the sunlight by the towering tree.
That was why mushrooms could grow here.
Too bad…
They were poisonous.
“F-Fly agaric?”
Zhuo Ling stared at the system interface in disbelief.
“Are you kidding me? Those things are highly poisonous! System, do you have a death wish?”
She had always dreamed of seeing the world above ground.
Back in the post-apocalypse underground city, she’d spent plenty of time browsing the historical archives about what Earth used to be like.
She clearly remembered reading about these mushrooms.
One encyclopedia dedicated to fungi described fly agarics as one of the world’s most famous—and most poisonous—mushrooms.
They looked as though they’d come straight out of a fairy tale.
A vivid red cap speckled with white spots sat atop a white stalk, making them strangely enchanting.
But they contained powerful psychoactive toxins.
Eating them could cause hallucinations, damage the kidneys, and in severe cases, even lead to death.
The archive had even mentioned that people on ancient Earth had written a little song to warn children never to eat them.
It went:
“Red cap, white stem—eat one, and you’ll end up lying on a board…”
Ding…
“Sell?”
The system prompted her again.
“Ling’er, did you find something we can gather?”
Feeling the change in Zhuo Ling’s breathing on his back, Zhuo Chang’an turned his head slightly and asked softly,
“What is it?”
“Mushrooms…”
Zhuo Ling swallowed.
Pointing toward the patch of grass in the distance, she said,
“Those… fly agarics.”
“What?”
Following the direction of her finger, Zhuo Chang’an’s brows immediately knitted together.
“Ling’er, those are poisonous mushrooms. Everyone in the village knows they’ll kill people. No one dares pick them.
“Your Marketplace System… wants poisonous mushrooms?”
Zhuo Ling scratched her head, equally puzzled.
“Yeah… Eight hundred thousand Underground Credits per jin.
“I have no idea why it wants them either. Let me ask.”
She quickly opened the customer service window tucked into the corner of the interface and typed:
Why can highly poisonous fly agaric mushrooms be sold?
Ding…
A smiling virtual customer service avatar appeared before her.
“It is our pleasure to assist you!
“Based on your question, I have retrieved the relevant information regarding fly agaric mushrooms. Please review the following.
“Fly agaric mushrooms contain abundant muscimol and ibotenic acid, natural toxins that can be used in the production of high-potency insecticides and antimicrobial agents…”