【Recovered: Fly Agaric ×3. Total: 3 star coins.】
After the crisp system notification sounded, Shen Qingyue’s account balance displayed 3 star coins.
The smile at the corner of her lips was impossible to suppress. The system really was a wonderful thing—far more convenient than modern trading platforms.
The only downside was that she had to search for recyclable items one by one.
An idea struck her, and she asked,
“System, do you have an automatic detection function for recyclable items?”
【Yes, Host. Unlocking the automatic detection function within a hundred-meter radius only costs 1,000 star coins. Would you like to unlock it?】
Of course Shen Qingyue wanted to—but she didn’t have enough star coins.
She tried hopefully, “Can I run a tab?”
The system answered bluntly:
【No.】
Shen Qingyue spread her hands helplessly. Fine—manual searching it was. She’d think about the rest once she saved up a thousand star coins.
Shen Erya took a sip from her water pouch and tilted her head toward Shen Qingyue.
“Brother, why are you standing in the grass? There are tons of mosquitoes here.”
Shen Qingyue turned around and suddenly thought of something.
“Erya, you’re familiar with the outer slopes—have you seen red poisonous mushrooms around here?”
Shen Erya asked warily,
“What do you want poisonous mushrooms for?”
Guessing her thoughts, Shen Qingyue patted her shoulder and said solemnly,
“Relax. I have other uses for them. I’d never hurt anyone.”
Afraid she wouldn’t agree, she added,
“If you don’t take me to them, I’ll tell Mother you’ve been secretly visiting Scholar Wang.”
Panicking, Shen Erya gave in.
“I’ll take you—but promise you won’t use them to hurt people. Not even chickens or dogs.”
“Got it. Hurry.”
Shen Qingyue urged her forward.
Along the way, Shen Qingyue found 15 fly agarics, plus two white pasqueflower plants and three pinellia roots. Altogether she sold them for 31 star coins. With the previous 3, her balance now stood at 34 star coins.
With money in hand, she could finally buy food.
The problem was—how could she reasonably take the food out?
She scanned the surroundings and her eyes landed on a shallow cave. A plan formed instantly.
“Erya, I’m going to relieve myself over there. Wait for me.”
She pointed toward the cave.
“Okay, I’ll wait here,” Shen Erya nodded obediently.
Shen Qingyue walked to the cave entrance, carefully checking around to make sure no one was nearby, then purchased from the system marketplace:
2 jin of coarse rice
2 jin of white rice
1 jin of millet
2 jin of flour
5 eggs
Total cost: 31 star coins.
She had 3 star coins left.
Flat broke again.
No use overthinking it—she just wanted to get home and eat a proper meal. She was starving.
Returning to Shen Erya’s side, she lowered her voice.
“I found some grain in the cave.”
Shen Erya stared at her in disbelief.
“Brother, are you kidding? What idiot would store precious grain in a cave—especially such a shallow one? Aren’t they afraid someone will steal it?”
Shen Qingyue didn’t explain. She simply dragged Shen Erya over.
Staring at the small pile of food, Shen Erya’s eyes shone.
There really was grain!
And really some idiot!
She glanced around guiltily and whispered,
“Brother… can we really take this?”
Shen Qingyue corrected her calmly.
“We’re not taking it—we’re picking it up.”
Shen Erya wasn’t overly sentimental. In famine years, survival was hard enough—finding grain in the mountains meant you’d be foolish not to collect it.
She quickly packed the food into the basket, carefully covering it with weeds on top.
Then the two of them headed downhill.
Thinking about finally eating real food again, Shen Erya practically flew—she wished she could teleport home.
Auntie Zhang saw how briskly they were walking and couldn’t resist blocking their path.
“Dog-Egg, what good stuff did you find? Why the rush?”
Shen Qingyue narrowed her eyes, her bully aura bursting forth.
“You come up the mountain every day—wouldn’t you know if there were good things? Blocking my way—are you inviting me to your house for a meal?”
She stared straight at her, as if she might march over immediately.
Shen Qingyue was infamous for being a tyrant—things others wouldn’t dare do, she absolutely would.
Auntie Zhang recoiled and bolted.
“I just remembered I’ve got something at home!”
Shen Qingyue watched her flee with a sidelong glance. To avoid further trouble, she slowed her pace slightly.
No one else stopped them after that, and they made it home smoothly.
As soon as she stepped into the courtyard, she saw Liu Cuihua holding a bowl of even thinner wild-vegetable porridge than yesterday. There were barely any grains visible, only bits of greens floating in it.
Liu Cuihua hurried over.
“Dog-Egg, you must be hungry after going up the mountain. Come drink some porridge.”
Shen Qingyue knew that bowl was likely the family’s last bit of food—everyone else had gone hungry so she could eat.
Even though the porridge looked awful, she still felt a small tug in her chest.
Smiling, she gestured for them to follow her inside.
Liu Cuihua and Shen Dabiao didn’t understand, but followed eagerly.
Shen Erya trailed behind, cheeks flushed with excitement.
In front of the whole family, Shen Qingyue brushed aside the weeds covering the basket.
Rice, flour, and eggs came into view.
Liu Cuihua’s eyes widened.
“Where did this grain come from?!”
“I found it in a cave,” Shen Qingyue said, pulling out the eggs and rice. “Mother, go cook. We’re eating a full meal today.”
The room filled with the sound of stomachs growling.
Everyone was starving.
Liu Cuihua wasted no time and rushed into the kitchen with the basket.
“I’ll cook right now.”
Food was precious—especially in a famine.
Liu Cuihua originally planned to mix the coarse rice and millet into porridge, but Shen Qingyue stopped her.
“Cook one jin of white rice. And fry a plate of eggs.”
“That’s too extravagant,” Liu Cuihua protested. “With this much food, we’ll finish it in three days.”
“Do as I say. I’ll figure out the grain situation,” Shen Qingyue replied. She was beyond tired of watery porridge.
Left with no choice, Liu Cuihua complied.
Half an hour later.
A plate of golden eggs sat on the table, and each person had a big bowl of steaming white rice. The air was filled with the aroma of rice and eggs.
The four of them gathered around, practically drooling.
Shen Qingyue, genuinely famished, urged them,
“Don’t just stare—eat!”
No one held back. They shoveled food into their mouths.
Used to delicacies in her previous life, Shen Qingyue was shocked at how delicious plain white rice tasted.
Onward and upward—next time, I’m aiming for meat.