“Is it just some money!” Lu Qinghai tossed the bag of pig offal into the corner and hurried over to the elders, waving his arms excitedly. “Grandma, Third Aunt, Mother, you have no idea! My cousin-in-law is amazing! She went to Yue Lai Restaurant in town, wrote a few mushroom recipes, and they directly gave her ten taels of silver! And those mushrooms—sold for three wen a jin—she delivered over forty jin today and earned one hundred twenty-six wen!”
Xu Ru’s voice still carried her shock. The wild vegetable stalks in her hand slipped to the ground, covered in a layer of mud, but she didn’t even bother to pick them up.
She stepped forward, almost pressing right up to Ye Mengyi’s face. “Meng girl, say that again? That recipe… really got ten taels of silver?”
What did ten taels of silver mean? The Lu family worked the land all year long, backs to the earth and faces to the sky. Adding up harvests and occasional odd jobs, they were lucky to save a little over one tael a year.
At this moment, Xu Ru felt like her tongue was tied, her eyes shining brighter than when she saw pork.
Sun Yanfeng froze as well. The cloth in her hand was twisted into wrinkles. “Ten taels… If we exchanged that for grain, it’d be enough for us to eat for three years, right? And those mushrooms really sold for three wen a jin? That’s even two wen more expensive than eggs! Meng girl, how did you sell them?” Her eyes were full of genuine awe as she looked at Ye Mengyi.
Old Madam Lu’s hand on the doorframe trembled slightly. Her cloudy eyes stared unblinkingly at her granddaughter-in-law. Her lips moved for a long time before she finally squeezed out a sentence.
“Heavens… this is showing the Lu family a way to survive…”
The three Lu brothers also gathered around. Their weather-beaten farmer faces were filled with disbelief and restraint.
Lu Dahe, the eldest and most steady of temperament, couldn’t help but ask, “Meng girl… t-this recipe is really that valuable?”
Ye Mengyi stood calmly among them, still wearing a gentle smile. She picked up the wild vegetables Xu Ru had dropped and brushed off the dirt.
“Father, Second Aunt,” she said softly, “the recipe is worth ten taels because it lets Yue Lai Restaurant make dishes no one else has. They’re in business—new dishes attract customers, and they earn far more than ten taels in return.”
She paused, then looked at Sun Yanfeng.
“Third Aunt, the mushrooms sold for three wen a jin because they must be fresh and picked the same day, and they’re a special kind of green-head fungus from our back mountain. No one else has it. I also made an agreement with the shopkeeper—we only supply their restaurant. That’s why the price went up.”
“What about today’s earnings?” Xu Ru quickly asked again, eyes still wide.
“Today we delivered forty-two jin,” Ye Mengyi said clearly. “Three wen per jin—that’s one hundred twenty-six wen.”
“One hundred twenty-six wen!” Xu Ru sucked in a sharp breath. “That’s what Qing Shan earns after four months of labor in town!”
Lu Qinghai scratched his head and grinned. “But my cousin-in-law is really amazing! When the shopkeeper watched her write the recipe, his eyes went straight!”
Lu Qingshan added from the side, “The restaurant also said, as long as we can keep delivering fresh ones daily, the price will stay the same. And if we find other rare mountain goods, they’re willing to buy those at high prices too.”
The courtyard immediately fell silent.
Lu Dahe sat on the doorstep, slowly smoking his dry pipe. The ember in the bowl flickered on and off.
“The restaurant wants fresh mountain goods… and our mushrooms are good quality, so of course they pay,” Ye Mengyi said lightly. “We also agreed to deliver another twenty jin tomorrow morning. We’ll be supplying them for quite a while.”
Sun Yanfeng covered her mouth, disbelief written all over her face. “My heavens, Meng girl really has talent! No wonder she’s from a scholar’s family—her mind is sharp!”
Old Madam Lu’s cloudy eyes welled with tears. She held Ye Mengyi’s hand tightly. “Good child… you’ve truly suffered. You just married in and already started working for the family…”
“Grandma, this is what I should do,” Ye Mengyi replied gently, holding the old woman’s hand back. Warmth filled her heart.
At that moment, Sun Yanfeng noticed the bag in the corner and frowned slightly. “Qinghai, what’s in that bag? It looks sticky.”
“Oh, that’s pig offal!” Lu Qinghai got excited again. “Cousin-in-law said if we clean it properly, it tastes even better than meat—and we can even render lard from it!”
“What? That smelly stuff can be eaten?” Xu Ru looked disgusted. “I saw Butcher Wang throw that straight to the dogs the other day.”
Lu Erhe, squatting nearby with a handful of beans, clicked his tongue. “Honestly, mushrooms are way more profitable than hunting. Qing Shan once spent three days in the mountains and only caught one rabbit, sold it for fifty-five wen, and came back exhausted.”
Lu Sanhe added, “Exactly! Last time I went hunting with him, we set traps all night and only caught one wild chicken—forty wen at most. But mushrooms? One trip into the mountains and you get over a hundred wen, no risk either.”
Lu Qingshan smiled slightly. “Hunting depends on luck. Mushroom picking depends on skill and eyesight. But Mengyi really has the ability to turn ordinary things into money.”
Ye Mengyi nodded with a smile. “Actually, there are many things in the mountains that can be sold—not just mushrooms. Some wild vegetables and fruits, if cleaned properly, might also be accepted by restaurants. And certain herbs can fetch good prices if sold correctly.”
“Herbs?” Lu Sanhe’s eyes lit up. “I know there are plants on the back mountain with serrated leaves. Are those herbs?”
“That depends,” Ye Mengyi explained. “Some ordinary-looking plants are actually medicinal, but you must identify them correctly. Mistakes are dangerous. When I have time, I can teach you a few common ones. We can collect them and bring them to the pharmacy once we have enough.”
Lu Erhe rubbed his hands, full of anticipation. “If that’s the case, then we won’t just rely on hauling labor and hunting anymore. The mountain has endless resources—that’s like having another income source!”
Lu Dahe knocked the pipe bowl and said solemnly, “Meng girl is right, but remember—we must not be greedy. The mountain’s gifts are from heaven. We must take only what we need, or there will be nothing left next year.”
“Father is right,” Lu Qingshan nodded.
Ye Mengyi didn’t speak further. She simply watched Lu Qinghai enthusiastically describing her earlier instructions.
Lu Qingshan chuckled helplessly and cleared his throat. “Alright, enough talking. Let’s get to work. Qinghai, go boil some water. Qinghai and I will clean the pig offal. Second Aunt, Third Aunt, you take the rice, flour, and meat into the kitchen.”
Everyone immediately got busy.
Lu Qingshan and Lu Qinghai carried the pig offal to the stone slab in the corner of the yard. Xu Ru and Sun Yanfeng carefully untied the cloth bundles, their hands trembling as they saw the white rice, flour, and the large slab of pork.
Old Madam Lu stood at the kitchen doorway, looking at the supplies piled on the stove. Tears rolled down her wrinkled face.
These past days, the family had been surviving on thin wild vegetable porridge every meal. The children had grown thin and pale, and she had not been able to sleep at night for a long time.