When they set off up the mountain after breakfast, the sky had only just begun to brighten. The family compound was still quiet, but the bugle for reveille was already sounding from the nearby military camp.
By the time they entered the mountains, it was fully daylight. Carrying her things on her back, Lin Zhi was so tired she was gasping for breath.
If she had known it would be this exhausting, she wouldn’t have put the clay pot inside. The twins wouldn’t have known whether there was anything in it anyway.
But it was too late to say that now. With the twins glancing at her from time to time, even if she had ten times the courage, she couldn’t just let things suddenly disappear in front of them.
After finally reaching their spot, Lin Zhi plopped down on the ground and waved at the twins, signaling for them to go pick mushrooms on their own.
Her luck had never been very good, so she didn’t bother putting in the effort. She would just leave it to fate.
Originally, even when she searched seriously, she couldn’t find any. Now that she was being casual about it, she couldn’t even see the shadow of a mushroom.
By the time the twins came back with two full baskets, she had completely given up. Sitting cross-legged, she looked like an old monk in meditation.
“Mom, what are you doing?” Xiao Heze came over, staring at her face and circling around her several times while tilting his head.
“I’m not doing anything. Don’t slack off—go keep looking.”
Xiao Heze poured the mushrooms into the back basket, scratched his head, and looked at her in confusion. “Mom, did you not find any mushrooms?”
Lin Zhi rolled her eyes at him. “Kid, there’s a saying: ‘See through it, but don’t say it.’ I hope you remember that well.”
Xiao Heze made an “oh” sound. “I don’t understand.”
He said he didn’t understand, but had no intention of asking further. After speaking, he ran off, leaving Lin Zhi behind rolling her eyes.
Maybe they had found the right spot, or maybe the twins were just lucky. In any case, they found a lot of mushrooms that morning.
Besides the nearly full basket, Lin Zhi had also stored many in the grocery shop space—probably half a basket’s worth.
Xiao Heze came back carrying half a basket of mushrooms. Seeing that Lin Zhi was preparing to cook, he wiped his sweat and looked up at the sky.
“Mom, are we eating on the mountain? We’ve already found so many mushrooms—aren’t we going home yet?”
Including the mushrooms he and his brother had just brought back, the basket should already be full.
“Even if we keep picking, we don’t have anything to carry them in!” Xiao Heze pulled his younger brother over and wiped his sweat with his sleeve, not letting him go back to pick more.
Lin Zhi was trying hard to start a fire. Hearing this, she glanced at them and, without turning around, reached behind her and suddenly pulled out a large sack.
“Don’t worry, I came prepared. Just keep picking.”
Xiao Heze didn’t know she had prepared a sack. He scratched his head. “Even if we find more, we can’t carry them back.”
He and his brother were already tired just from walking, and she had been panting even with an empty basket earlier. How could they carry everything?
If he had known she was this greedy, he would have picked more slowly earlier.
“What’s there to worry about? Mushrooms aren’t heavy,” Lin Zhi said indifferently. Free food—she would bring it back even if she had to grit her teeth.
“It’s all food. Don’t you want to take everything home?” Mushrooms couldn’t be kept until tomorrow, and someone else might find this place soon.
“If we bring them all back, we won’t lack food all winter.” Lin Zhi licked her lips and added, “Pick more. I’ll make mushroom sauce. It’s especially good with porridge.”
“Is mushroom sauce good?”
Lin Zhi had finally gotten the fire going and was blowing on it with pursed lips. She didn’t answer immediately. After the flames really caught and she threw in a few thick sticks of wood, she nodded.
“Of course it’s good. You chop them into small pieces with meat, fry them, then add various spices and cook them in lots and lots of oil. Just the smell alone will make him drool buckets.”
In truth, Lin Zhi had never made it before. But something like that—after a few tries, she would surely succeed. Even if she failed, they could just eat it as a dish that day.
Xiao Heze half believed and half doubted her. After all, he had never seen her cook anything truly delicious.
The food she had made these past few days did smell good, but that was because of the cured meat and sausages. Her cooking skill had only played a very small role.
Lin Zhi could tell what he was thinking from his expression. She didn’t mind. When she actually succeeded, she would see whether the boy drooled or not.
She picked up the younger brother, who was watching the excitement nearby, and rubbed him several times like a toy before putting him down.
Xiao Heze hugged his brother, looking indignant. “Don’t keep rubbing him! What if you hurt him!”
Although they were the same age, he was a bit smaller, yet he always protected his brother.
Lin Zhi smiled and tapped his forehead. “If I don’t bully him, how about bullying you?”
Xiao Heze struggled internally, looking at his brother and then at her. “Can’t you bully neither of us?”
Lin Zhi shook her head. “No. My hands get itchy. If I don’t do something for three days, they’ll itch to death.”
No one else could talk about bullying others so righteously—Lin Zhi was one of a kind.
Xiao Heze pressed his lips together and nodded slightly. “Alright then. From now on, you can rub me. Don’t bully my brother.”
Lin Zhi secretly laughed to herself. Children who hadn’t even gone to kindergarten were so easy to fool.
Just yesterday, when he had called her “Mom,” he had made her promise to always be good to them. Now, after a few coaxing words, he was letting her bully him again.
Fortunately, she wasn’t violent and didn’t like hitting people. Otherwise, they really wouldn’t have had a good life.
After lunch, they went to pick mushrooms again, with Lin Zhi following at a short distance while carrying their things.
The mountain was next to the military camp, so there were no large wild beasts. But better safe than sorry—being cautious was best.
After walking a few more meters deeper, Lin Zhi refused to let them go further. “Search around here. If there aren’t any, we’ll go home.”
They had already gathered a full basket and half a sack—enough to last a long time. They could come again in a few days.
As for why not come again tomorrow, Lin Zhi’s answer was simple: today was too tiring, and she needed to rest.
After searching the surrounding area, they filled two more small baskets. Lin Zhi immediately announced she would reward them.
“With what?” Xiao Heze carried mushrooms while occasionally freeing a hand to scratch his neck.
There were too many mosquitoes and bugs among the branches. He had been bitten countless times and felt unbearably itchy.
Lin Zhi pulled his hand away and applied some cooling balm before leading them out.
“You decide. As long as it doesn’t exceed fifty cents, I’ll give it.”
“Then just give us the money!” Xiao Heze didn’t hesitate for even a second and made the decision.
Lin Zhi looked at him, then at Xiao Herun. Seeing he had no objection, she gritted her teeth and agreed.
“Fine. Fifty cents each. I’ll give it to you when we get back.” She said it decisively, but inside, Lin Zhi’s heart was already bleeding.
She only had a few yuan left. She had planned to save it as private money next month, but now—there went another fifty cents.