Transmigrating with a Five Million Dollar Retirement Life

Chapter 15 Encountering Silver Ear Fungus

When Song Jiaojiao woke up, it was already bright outside. She stretched and sleepily walked out of her room. She saw Wang Hefan and the two sisters peeling chestnuts. There was a mountain of peeled chestnuts next to them, showing that they had been working on it for quite some time.

"Mother, you're awake. I left some porridge for you in the pot; it should still be warm. I'll go get it for you." Mu Qing clapped her hands and got up as she spoke.

"No, little sister, I can do it myself. I'll go into the mountains later. You can prepare your own lunch. Don't wait for me. Oh, right, when the cloth delivery person comes, remember to leave someone at home to put the cloth away in the inner room. We'll talk about it when I get back." Song Jiaojiao rubbed her eyes and instructed the group.

After saying that, Song Jiaojiao went to wash up. Seeing the porridge in the pot, she scooped out a bowl of flour, stirred it into a batter, and made pancakes to take with her to eat in the mountains later. She made a large bowl of pancakes, took some with her, and went out with her basket.

Around 9:00 AM, Song Jiaojiao arrived at the foot of the mountain. Once inside, she put her basket into her spatial storage, taking only her wood-chopping knife in her hand. She walked along, head down, searching for something. After searching for about 15 minutes, she found nothing, not even a single wild vegetable or mushroom.

This place is too close to the village; the villagers have searched it countless times. If this continues, we're afraid we'll have to go home empty-handed today.

Thinking of this, Song Jiaojiao stopped walking slowly and quickened her pace.

Half an hour passed, and Song Jiaojiao looked at the sparsely populated woods, where even the vegetation was more lush than on the hillside in front of her. She slowed down and began to search carefully with her head down.

Suddenly, a huge tree appeared in front of her, blocking Song Jiaojiao's path. The tree was covered with fungi. Song Jiaojiao didn't know if they were edible. The fungi she ate in her previous life were all artificially cultivated and very different from wild fungi. She only knew a few that didn't change much and were easy to distinguish.

Thinking of this, Song Jiaojiao picked a little bit of the mushroom, skin and all, and put it in her space, thinking that since the mushroom was white and didn't have any red bits, maybe it was edible.

Seeing the withered tree in front of her, Song Jiao had no choice but to go around it. After going around the withered tree, a river came into view. Looking at the clear water, this must be the Qingshui River. The riverbank was covered with wild grass, and Song Jiao didn't know which ones were edible and which ones weren't. The only thing she knew was that houttuynia cordata was edible, but unfortunately, she didn't see any here.

Song Jiaojiao looked up at the sun, estimating it was past midday, so she found a rock by the river and sat down to have lunch. Enjoying the gentle breeze and eating flatbread, this kind of carefree life was something she'd never experienced in her previous life. In her previous life, she was always busy, the pace of life was fast, and there was never time to stop and appreciate the scenery. This life, although busy too, was relaxed, and she didn't have to worry about mortgages or car loans.

After finishing her lunch, Song Jiaojiao didn't linger and continued walking into the mountains. She walked for an unknown amount of time before finally seeing something she recognized.

On the rotten wood in front of me were several white clumps, which, if I'm not mistaken, were silver ear fungus.

Song Jiaojiao excitedly stepped forward and carefully picked the white fungus. In ancient times, white fungus was not cheap; it was more expensive than bird's nest.

Dried white fungus, the best quality, can sell for several tens of taels a small box (about 100 grams). It only took Song Jiaojiao half an hour to prepare just four or five pieces. There were a few smaller ones, which Song Jiaojiao picked along with the bark. After looking around to make sure no one was watching, she went into her spatial dimension.

Song Jiaojiao held the white fungus and excitedly planted it in the soil, thinking, "This time I can upgrade it, right? Wild white fungus is a rare thing no matter where it is, because white fungus has extremely strict requirements for its growing environment, including altitude and humidity."

No sooner had she planted the seed than Song Jiaojiao was kicked out of the space. "Host, the space is upgrading. This upgrade will take half an hour."

Hearing Fei Hu's voice, Song Jiaojiao breathed a sigh of relief; thankfully, her trip hadn't been in vain. Song Jiaojiao wandered around the area, thinking that since there were silver ear fungus here, there might be more nearby. Sure enough, she found three more nearby.

After drying these few white fungus mushrooms, they should weigh about a pound. Seeing that the sun was already starting to set, Song Jiaojiao turned back. She hadn't gone far when she saw vast fields of wild grapes; the purplish-red berries hung from the vines, looking incredibly appealing. Song Jiaojiao quickly took out her basket and began picking grapes. With so many grapes, she could make wine later. In winter, sitting around the fire, grilling, and enjoying a little wine would be wonderful.

With that in mind, Song Jiaojiao quickened her pace. In less than a quarter of an hour, only a few unripe grapes remained on the vine. Song Jiaojiao also dug up a small grapevine, thinking that she could plant it once the space was upgraded, and soon she would be able to eat fresh grapes.

I put the picked grapes into my spatial storage and hurried down the mountain. It was already late afternoon, so I had to hurry home or it would be dark by the time I got there.

Song Jiaojiao hurried along, and by the time she was almost home, it was already getting dark. Finding a secluded spot, she took out her basket, placed the white fungus on top of the grapes, and headed home.

Seeing a figure peering out from the courtyard gate, he called out when he spotted Song Jiaojiao.

"Mother, is that you?" Wang Hefan's worried voice came. It was getting dark, and Song Jiaojiao had not returned for a long time. He was afraid that something had happened to Song Jiaojiao in the mountains.

"He Fan, come give me a hand! I found something good today. If we sell this, we can repair the house and move into our new house before winter," Song Jiaojiao's excited voice came from inside.

Wang Hefan strode forward and took the basket from Song Jiaojiao's back. "Slow down, don't break the things inside. If they break, they won't be worth as much."

Hearing this, Wang Hefan moved even more gently. After putting the basket down, Song Jiaojiao said, "Hefan, go and get the winnowing basket so you can dry the white fungus. It will be easier to dry it when the sun comes out tomorrow. If the sun is good, it will only take three to five days."

"Okay, I'll go right away." After Wang Hefan brought the winnowing basket over, Song Jiaojiao carefully took out the white fungus and placed it in the basket, waiting for the sun to come out tomorrow to dry it.

Wang Hefan looked at the snow-white, semi-circular object in the winnowing basket. This was the valuable thing his mother had mentioned. It looked quite nice, but he didn't know how much it was actually worth.

"Mom, is this the white fungus? Is this what you meant by something valuable? It looks very nice, but I don't see what's so valuable about it?"

“This is comparable to bird’s nest, so tell me if it’s valuable or not!” Song Jiaojiao said, looking at Wang Hefan’s increasingly excited expression.

"Mother, it's the bird's nest that ladies of wealthy families eat. It's incredibly valuable. But how did you know that, Mother?"

"Hey, I fell and hit my head a while ago, and lately I've been having these kinds of flashbacks. This is one of them. Otherwise, how would I know?"