70s Delicate Girl: A Guide to Being a Rich Woman-Chapter 117: Termite Mushroom

It rained for three days straight, and the rain was quite heavy, causing the river water to rise significantly.

"Sis, the water’s rising, do you think there are fish in the river?" Xu Minglei asked excitedly upon seeing the water rise.

"I don’t know, why don’t we just go and check?" Xu Mumu replied calmly.

Xu Mumu led a group of Boy Scouts to the riverbank, and there were indeed quite a few people trying to catch fish, though not many were successful.

There were plenty of people watching the excitement, and after checking, Xu Mumu found that there weren’t many fish in the river; they probably jumped out from the reservoir due to the rising water.

"If my brother were here, he’d definitely catch more fish than they did," Xu Minglei said a bit sourly as he watched the villagers who managed to catch fish.

"It’s just fish, not like we’ve never eaten it before. Do you want to go for a walk up the mountain? I’ll take you." Xu Mumu said with a smile.

Lately, there haven’t been any reports from the village about large wild animals on the mountain, so Xu Mumu thought of taking the kids up there for a bit of adventuring.

"Big sis, let’s go pick mushrooms." Xu Jiaojiao was still thinking about the money they earned from picking mushrooms, which was being held by Xu Mumu.

"Let’s go check if there are any mushrooms first. If there are, we’ll come back with baskets in the afternoon to pick them." Xu Mumu nodded; dry mushrooms are quite profitable.

But to dry a few pounds of mushrooms, you need to pick a lot, and only these little rascals have the time to roam the mountain looking for mushrooms.

With Xu Mumu’s suggestion, the kids naturally had no objections.

She took the kids up the mountain, armed with nothing but a stick.

As they moved through the underbrush, she was beating the ground to scare away any snakes or insects.

"Big sis, look, under that eucalyptus tree, are those mushrooms?" Xu Jiaojiao said excitedly.

"They really are! Jiaojiao’s eyesight is great. These are called chicken fungus, locally known as ’fighting roosters.’ They’re delicious in egg soup or stir-fried." Xu Mumu’s eyes lit up; the mushrooms grew in a secluded spot where no one else had seen them.

These mushrooms are definitely best eaten fresh. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"There are so many; drying them would surely yield quite a bit." Xu Jiaojiao exclaimed excitedly.

"No need to dry these; we can wrap them in leaves and take them straight back to sell in the afternoon. We’ll go get our baskets. Chicken fungus tastes great and fetches a good price. Since they grow here, they must grow in other places too."

Xu Mumu and the kids dug up the chicken fungus with sticks, even those buried in the soil that hadn’t sprouted yet.

On their way back, each kid had several mushrooms in hand, and Xu Mumu originally had a few herself but they were snatched away by Xu Minglei. The kids were all very interested in things that could be sold.

When they got home, Madam Chen saw the mushrooms they had brought back; some were particularly big and looked very good, without any insects eating them.

"Granny, could you help us clean them? We still want to go pick more chicken fungus." Xu Mumu, holding a basket, asked Madam Chen happily.

"Alright, I’ll clean them for you. But don’t go too far, and don’t venture into the deep mountains, understood?" Madam Chen couldn’t help but give a few more instructions.

"Granny, I remember it. We’ll just look around outside." Xu Mumu nodded.

Xu Minglei carried a basket on his back that wasn’t large but was almost half as tall as him.

For this trip up the mountain, Xu Mumu brought a sickle, and Xu Tao had a small hoe. This hoe was the only one at home; during the campaign to produce steel, many iron tools were confiscated. Xu Mumu was quite surprised to find this many tools at home.

Xu Mumu led the kids running all over the mountain, and some plots of land on the mountain also grew chicken fungus. Apparently, people didn’t know these fungi were edible, and Xu Mumu’s group had quite a good harvest by the end of the morning.

Half a basketful of chicken fungus; some were crushed, which made Xu Mumu feel a bit distressed.

"Sis, so many got ruined." Xu Minglei said, looking heartbroken, as the crushed mushrooms filled more than half a bowl.

"No worries, we’ll stir-fry them for lunch. Jiaojiao can take half home and let your mom make it into soup with eggs; it’s really delicious." Xu Mumu said with a smile.

"Got it, big sis." Xu Jiaojiao nodded obediently. She hadn’t tasted this type of mushroom before, but since big sis said it was delicious, it must be; the little girl started to look forward to it.

At noon, Madam Chen made egg soup with the damaged chicken fungus, and Xu Mumu could smell the fragrance from afar.

Xu Minglei ran straight to the kitchen to guard the pot, filled with anticipation for the egg soup.

Soon, it was time for lunch, and instead of porridge, they had rice mixed with some pumpkin. Madam Chen had taken out the old pumpkins from the storeroom; there were still several pumpkins left. It’s foreseeable that in the coming days, whether it’s rice or porridge, pumpkin will surely be included.

After the pumpkins were sliced open, the seeds were laid out to dry in a tray, which in the countryside is a rare treat.

The chicken fungus egg soup at noon was liked by everyone in the family, and Xu Minglei ate quite a bit.

The fourth household was also surprised that such a simple dish as fungi egg soup could be so fragrant.

"Wifey, I remember there were two mushrooms by the tree stump of a chopped willow along the road we take to work in the morning." Xu Po wiped his mouth, recalling he had indeed seen these mushrooms.

"I think it was, the color looks the same. Let’s dig them up when we head to work later; Mumu said we could stir-fry them directly, let’s try it tonight." Sun Huiping also liked the chicken fungus egg soup.

"Big sis said these can be sold, don’t eat them. Sell them for money. Dad, be careful when you dig; don’t break the roots, some roots grow really long." Xu Tao seriously advised his dad.

"I know, I know." Xu Po felt a bit frustrated, wondering why his kids got so excited about earning money. They weren’t deprived of food or drink, yet their enthusiasm was overwhelming.

Xu Po didn’t realize his son and daughter had changed a lot under Xu Mumu’s influence, yet he and his wife hadn’t noticed at all.

Especially Xu Jiaojiao, who had become more obedient, sensible, and ambitious. Xu Tao was only slightly less so, but still much better than other village kids.

"Big sis, I want to go with you to sell the stuff." In the afternoon, when Xu Mumu was preparing to take these items into town to sell, Xu Minglei tugged at her sleeve and looked at her eagerly.