Chapter 178

178. Chapter 178: A Bountiful Harvest

As the women were chatting happily, one of them suddenly said, "Eh, why don't I see Dayong's wife?"

How could Li Dayong's wife, who loved to take advantage of small things, miss out on such a good thing as picking wild mushrooms?

Several women looked around, and indeed, Li Dayong's wife was nowhere to be seen.

One of the women said, "Don't look; Li Dayong's wife has been lying at home for the past two days and can't come up the mountain."

"What happened to her?"

"Hasn't it been raining these past few days? The road is slippery, and Li Dayong's wife accidentally fell while going to the latrine and fell into the pit, almost drowning."

"Haha, is she that unlucky?"

Several women burst into laughter.

Even Jiang Xiaoxiao, who was eavesdropping nearby, couldn't stop herself from laughing.

Ha, Li Dayong's wife really deserved it!

Who told her to always badmouth their family? Now she's getting her retribution, right?

However, this matter of falling in the latrine should also be taken seriously.

The latrines in this era were long dirt pits, two feet wide, with several wooden planks laid across them; when using them, you would step on one plank with each foot.

It had been raining these past few days, and most families' latrines were surrounded by walls but had no roof; rain would fall on the planks, making them very slippery, and it was easy for someone to fall in if they weren't careful.

It was said that someone in Yuhe Village had once drowned while using the latrine.

While listening to the village women's gossip, Jiang Xiaoxiao kept her hands busy, and before she knew it, her basket was already filled with wild mushrooms.

This basket of hers wasn't the size of a normal back basket, but one her mother had woven for her using bamboo from the backyard, according to her size.

She was only five years old and small, so the basket was naturally small, and it was filled in no time.

Jiang Xiaoxiao had no choice but to go back and find her mother, put the wild mushrooms from her basket with her, and then come back to pick more.

"Sister Chunya, I'm going to find my mother first." Jiang Xiaoxiao called out to Chunya not far away.

"Okay!" Chunya responded, her basket also filled to the brim.

Jiang Xiaoxiao then trotted back on her short legs to find her mother.

Jiang Wei was still chopping wood, and a small mountain of firewood was already piled up at her feet.

There was no one around, so she waved her hand, and the mountain-high firewood was collected into the space.

Jiang Xiaoxiao also handed over the wild mushrooms in her basket, saying with a grin, "Mother, collect these into the space too."

Jiang Wei glanced at the wild mushrooms in the basket, a bit more warmth in her eyes, "You picked so many, not bad."

With a wave of her hand, the basket was instantly empty.

Afterward, she also took out a large back basket, "I'll go pick with you."

Wild mushrooms in these mountains were rare; picking more was better, as they were especially delicious whether stir-fried or stewed with chicken back home.

The smile on Jiang Xiaoxiao's face grew even brighter, "Okay, let's go together!"

The mother and daughter chose a spot with fewer people to pick.

Jiang Xiaoxiao had originally thought she could tell her mother the knowledge she had just learned from Chunya and show off a bit, but she didn't expect Jiang Wei to pick correctly every time, all of them non-toxic and edible.

Alright then.

Her mother was an omnipotent female lead; would she not recognize these few wild mushrooms?

Jiang Xiaoxiao sighed softly in her heart and began to bend down and pick.

However, she hadn't picked many before she saw that her mother's basket was already full.

Jiang Xiaoxiao: "..."

This is too fast...

Jiang Wei, however, still seemed unsatisfied; she scanned the area and then pulled Jiang Xiaoxiao directly toward the deep mountains.

It had to be said that this autumn rain had soaked everything thoroughly; not only were the outskirts of the mountain full of wild mushrooms, but there were even more in the deep mountains—porcini, dry-bar mushrooms, termite mushrooms... all of them, and in large quantities.

They could completely pick here without having to compete with the villagers for the wild mushrooms on the outskirts.

Jiang Xiaoxiao scanned casually and even saw a few matsutake mushrooms.

This stuff wasn't cheap and was hailed as a treasure among edible mushrooms!

Just as she was about to put down her basket to pick them, her mother spoke, "Xiaoxiao, step back."

"Huh?" Jiang Xiaoxiao was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, but she still obediently took two steps back.

Just as she was wondering what her mother was going to do, she saw Jiang Wei squat down, place one hand on the slightly damp ground, and call out softly, "Collect!"

As soon as the words fell, all the edible wild mushrooms within ten meters around them disappeared, along with the bird eggs in the bird nests on two pine trees nearby.

Jiang Xiaoxiao's eyes widened in shock.

This works too!?

This ninth-tier space ability is too powerful!

It can even take things from a distance!

"Let's go."

Jiang Wei's voice pulled Jiang Xiaoxiao out of her surprise.

She swallowed her saliva and hurriedly followed her mother's footsteps.

They advanced quite a bit further into the deep mountains until they reached the next spot, which was full of wild mushrooms and some medicinal herbs; Jiang Wei did the same, squatting down again, pressing her palm to the ground, and all the living things within ten meters were collected into the space by her.

After finishing this spot, they continued to move inward, looking for places where wild mushrooms grew.

Most of the villagers didn't dare to enter the deep mountains, so the wild mushrooms in the deep mountains would be wasted if not picked, so Jiang Wei had no concerns at all; as far as the eye could see, everything she could see, whether it was wild mushrooms or medicinal herbs, she collected into the space.

There were also a few wild rabbits that were frightened and scurrying around, which were also collected into the space by Jiang Wei.

Jiang Xiaoxiao had gone from initial shock to numbness, following behind her mother like a wooden stake.

Speaking of which... why did she come along?

This was completely her mother's home field; following along, she had nothing to do except watch...

She didn't know how much time had passed, long enough that Jiang Xiaoxiao couldn't count how many wild mushrooms her mother had collected into the space.

Jiang Wei then reluctantly took her hand and left the deep mountains.

On the way down the mountain, the mother and daughter still encountered many people carrying baskets up the mountain, both old and young.

It seemed everyone had heard the news that there were wild mushrooms on the mountain and had put down their chores at home to rush over to pick them.

In this era of scarce resources, everyone had an almost fanatical enthusiasm for edible food, thinking that picking more to take home would save a lot of grain for the family.

Moreover, these wild mushrooms could be dried and stored for a long time without going bad.

Returning home and closing the courtyard gate, the mother and daughter took out the wild mushrooms from the space to dry.

They were busy until the afternoon.

Jiang Xiaoxiao looked at the courtyard full of wild mushrooms and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

She felt that their courtyard was already the largest in the village, but the wild mushrooms laid out to dry were not even one-tenth of what her mother had collected into the space...

By dinner time, the meal was quite sumptuous.

First, there was a large pot of white rice, a large basin of wild mushrooms stewed with an old hen, a large plate of egg pancakes, braised rabbit meat, stir-fried wild mushrooms...

The mother and daughter sat around the table, satisfied, drinking several large mouthfuls of the wild mushroom and old hen soup; it had to be said that these wild mushrooms were truly delicious and fresh, and the old hen meat was stewed until soft and tender, and with a light tear, the chicken bones could easily come off.