Zhuo Ling suddenly understood.
The underground city really did have all kinds of dark-dwelling pests—cockroaches, flies, mosquitoes, ants, fleas, pill bugs, bedbugs…
Every one of them was famous for its incredible ability to survive.
They lived right alongside humans, and no matter how many you killed, another swarm would appear.
They were endlessly annoying.
“Ling’er?”
Zhuo Chang’an called to her softly.
“It’s all good, Eldest Brother!”
Zhuo Ling quickly grinned.
“The poisonous mushrooms are used to make natural insecticide.”
Truthfully, once she sold them to the Marketplace System, it had nothing to do with her if someone else bought them and ate them.
She’d only been curious.
Zhuo Chang’an said in surprise,
“I never imagined that something everyone avoids as poison could be turned into something useful where you come from.”
“That’s nothing!”
Zhuo Ling declared proudly.
“Resources are scarce in the underground city. We have to make full use of everything.
“Forget poisonous mushrooms—even poop gets collected where I come from so people can extract useful materials from it!”
Zhuo Chang’an fell silent.
That was… quite a pungent statement.
Mushrooms always grew in clusters.
There had to be at least eight liang, if not half a jin, of these little red-capped mushrooms.
They’d earn at least several hundred copper coins.
Without another word, the brother and sister squatted down and started picking mushrooms.
They patted each mushroom cap, twisted it off with a little snap, and tossed it into the basket.
The whole process was strangely therapeutic.
If only they were edible…
According to the archives, there had once been a beautiful place on ancient Earth called Yunnan, famous for producing every kind of wild mushroom imaginable.
They were unbelievably delicious.
Whenever mushroom season arrived, the people there practically lived and died for mushrooms.
Some even claimed they saw little people or went crazy after eating the wrong ones.
Zhuo Ling had eaten mushroom-and-chicken-flavored ration packs before.
But she’d never tasted real mushrooms.
Before long, nearly half the basket was filled with bright scarlet mushrooms.
They were so vivid and beautiful they made people want to take a bite.
“Chang’an? foolish girl? You’re already out gathering wild vegetables this early?”
Someone suddenly stepped out from behind a large tree.
It was Zhuo Feng.
Spotting the siblings, he walked over to check on them.
“How much’ve you dug up? This part of the woods is pretty remote. You shouldn’t be wandering around with the foolish girl—”
Before he could finish speaking, his eyes widened in horror as he spotted the poisonous mushrooms in the basket.
“Good heavens! Aren’t those poisonous mushrooms? Chang’an, why are you picking those? Hurry up and throw them away!”
“Uncle Feng…”
Caught completely off guard, Zhuo Chang’an reached to cover the basket, but it was already too late.
“Those mushrooms have killed people before! You can’t eat them! Don’t you know that, Chang’an?”
Seeing that Zhuo Chang’an remained calm, Zhuo Feng became so anxious he stamped his feet.
“Just this spring, during the lean season before the crops came in, a child from the neighboring village picked a few of these, took them home, and died after eating them! Didn’t you hear about that?”
“I heard.”
Zhuo Chang’an nodded calmly.
“I know. Uncle Feng, we’re not picking them to eat…”
“If you’re not eating them, then why pick them? What if they’re poisonous just to touch? Hurry and throw them away!”
Zhuo Feng, flustered and furious, snatched the basket from Zhuo Chang’an’s hands.
With a loud rustling sound, he dumped every last red mushroom into the grass.
Then, just to be safe, he stomped on them hard.
Zhuo Ling’s heart ached.
That was over half an hour of hard work!
Several hundred copper coins!
Fine, throw them away if you must.
But why did you have to stomp on them?
What if the Marketplace System refused damaged goods?
Wouldn’t that be a huge loss?
“Uncle Feng, please listen to me…”
Zhuo Chang’an pressed his lips together and was about to explain.
But Zhuo Feng immediately launched into another lecture.
“You’re usually such a sensible child! How could you fool around like this? And you even brought the foolish girl with you! She doesn’t know any better. What if she accidentally took a bite?”
Zhuo Ling felt utterly miserable.
Not only had their mushrooms been trampled…
Now they were getting scolded too.
And she couldn’t even defend herself.
Just then, several village aunties who had been gathering wild vegetables together came over.
When they saw the poisonous mushrooms scattered across the grass, they panicked as well and all began lecturing Zhuo Chang’an at once.
“Chang’an, why’d you pick those? Those things have killed people! You mustn’t eat them!”
“Think about it! If they were edible, do you really think they’d still be growing here? People would’ve picked them clean long ago!”
“Chang’an, didn’t your mother teach you? The brighter the mushroom, the more poisonous it is. And you even picked so many with the foolish girl!”
…
They were surrounded from every side and thoroughly scolded.
Yet they couldn’t explain a thing.
Zhuo Ling rolled her eyes internally.
What an unfair beating to take.
Zhuo Chang’an listened quietly to everyone’s lecture without changing his expression.
Only after they had all finished did he speak softly.
“I understand. I was wrong. I won’t pick them again.
“Uncle Feng… Aunties… please don’t tell my mother about this when you get back. I don’t want her to worry.”
“If you’re worried about making your mother worry, then why were you fooling around out here in the first place?”
Zhuo Feng glared at him in disappointment.
“That’s enough. You two aren’t staying in the woods any longer. Come back with me.”
That wouldn’t do.
The aunties hadn’t gone far yet.
There was no way Zhuo Ling could sell the mushrooms with people watching.
She immediately grew anxious.
Tilting her head up, she began blinking frantically at Zhuo Chang’an.
Now they could only outwit Uncle Feng and buy enough time to recover the mushrooms.
“Uncle Feng, we haven’t gathered any wild vegetables yet. Let us dig for a little while longer before we go back.”
Knowing Uncle Feng was only worried about them, Zhuo Chang’an spoke in a negotiating tone.
“If you’re still concerned, Ling’er and I can stay with the aunties while we gather. Would that be acceptable?”
“What wild vegetables? If I hadn’t seen that half basket of poisonous mushrooms, you two still wouldn’t have realized how dangerous they were!
“Chang’an, your father’s injury still hasn’t healed. Your whole family is depending on you and your mother now. If something happened to you too, how would your father go on living?”
Zhuo Feng waved a hand and spoke earnestly.
“Be good. Your family isn’t lacking food at the moment. Missing a few wild vegetables won’t make you starve. I won’t be at ease until I see you both safely home.”
As he spoke, he forcibly took the empty basket from Zhuo Chang’an and started walking.
Zhuo Chang’an pressed his lips together.
For the moment, even he had no solution.
He glanced at Zhuo Ling and gave a slight, helpless shake of his head.
If all else failed…
They’d just have to come back later.
Zhuo Ling instantly understood.
Her little mind raced.
Then suddenly, an idea popped into her head.
She grabbed Zhuo Chang’an’s arm and shouted in her best foolish-girl voice,
“Eldest Brother… tummy hurts!… Need… poop!”
“Ling’er needs to poop?”
The corners of Zhuo Chang’an’s lips twitched upward.
He bent down and played along.
“Can you hold it for a little while? Let’s go home with Uncle Feng, and you can poop after we get there, all right?”
Zhuo Ling squeezed her little butt together and wailed dramatically.
“Can’t hold… it… Poop… coming out…”
Zhuo Chang’an immediately turned toward Zhuo Feng.
“Uncle Feng, she really can’t hold it anymore. How about…”
“Go on, then. I’ll wait for you up ahead.”
Zhuo Feng waved them off helplessly.
“Beat the grass before you go in. There might be snakes hiding in there.”
“Understood.”
Smiling faintly, Zhuo Chang’an took Zhuo Ling’s hand and walked away.
By then, the aunties had gone farther down the path.
Uncle Feng was standing some distance ahead.
There wasn’t another person in sight.
Zhuo Ling hurriedly opened the Marketplace System.
The instant the red targeting frame locked onto the poisonous mushrooms, she pressed Sell.
Ding…
“380,000 Underground Credits have been deposited into your account. Current balance…”
“Phew…”
Zhuo Ling let out a long sigh of relief.
She shot out of the bushes in a flash, then winked mischievously at Zhuo Chang’an.
“Mission accomplished!”
“You little rascal.”
Zhuo Chang’an laughed helplessly.
He reached out and lightly tapped the tip of her nose.
“Come. Let’s go.”