Li Qingmu's eyes lit up at the words, and he smiled joyfully, "My dear wife, since you're thinking this way, it seems you want to live happily with your husband!"
"Humph!"
"Knock, knock, Third Sister-in-law."
Outside came the voice of his younger brother, Qing Qiu, with a hint of urgency.
Long Yue stood up to open the door, a small head popped in, then pulled her outside.
"Little guy, what are you up to?"
"Third Sister-in-law..."
The little guy playfully stuck out his tongue, somewhat shy.
Long Yue laughed and patted his head, "Tell me, what do you need from your Third Sister-in-law?"
"Third Sister-in-law, can you go with me to the mountain?"
"Why?"
"Third Sister-in-law, I want to collect mushrooms, but I'm worried I'll get bullied by Pang Hu's gang again. You don't know, those mushrooms are huge, like... this big!"
He gestured about the size of a human palm, Long Yue thought he was exaggerating and laughed, "Just avoid them."
"But I always have to pass by their house on my way, they'll definitely see me..."
As he spoke, Qing Qiu lowered his head, pouting, looking aggrieved.
Long Yue rubbed her forehead, this kid is cowardly.
"Alright, I'll go with you, maybe we can catch some wild game too."
"Wow, that's great, you're so kind, Third Sister-in-law!"
Kind?
Long Yue laughed enigmatically, this word sounded so distant, in her past life she was called a shrew, who would call her kind?
Long Yue informed Li Qingmu and went out, at the door she met Second Sister-in-law, Mrs. Zhang, who was busy washing clothes. Seeing them leave, she couldn't help but say sourly, "That new wife hasn't been here long, and she's already thinking of running outside, shameless."
"I don't know about being shameless, but some people are certainly treacherous."
Long Yue said her piece and ignored the scowling Mrs. Zhang behind her, heading up the mountain with her younger brother-in-law.
The two climbed along a winding path, taking almost half an hour to reach the place Qing Qiu mentioned for picking mushrooms.
"Third Sister-in-law, look quickly, it's over there, wow, so many big mushrooms!"
Long Yue followed Qing Qiu's pointing finger and sure enough, in front was a patch of interlacing red-brown, reddish-purple, dark purple "mushrooms."
Long Yue's eyes instantly lit up at the sight of the "mushrooms," and she joyfully smacked his head, "Kid, we're rich!"
Long Yue was ecstatic, she almost cheered in front of the little guy.
This circle around those short trees wasn't mushrooms at all, it was clearly Lingzhi!
Lingzhi, a precious herbal medicine, with warm, mild flavor, can provide nourishment, strengthen the body, enhance brain function, reduce inflammation, promote urination, and strengthen the kidneys, among others.
In her past life, after separating from Li Qingmu, Long Yue worked in a medicine hall, copying prescriptions and dispensing medicine, she had seen quite a few herbal materials and knew roughly their value.
This patch of Lingzhi was worth at least several taels of silver!
"Third Sister-in-law, why are you zoning out?"
Qing Qiu ran over intending to pick mushrooms, but seeing Long Yue unmoved, hurried back to pull her, snapping her out of her daze, lightly flicking his forehead, "Silly kid, it's you zoning out, this isn't mushrooms, it's Lingzhi, this stuff is valuable, it can be sold to the pharmacy for quite a bit of silver!"
"What? Lingzhi?" Qing Qiu's eyes widened. Though he didn't recognize it, he had heard of its preciousness. Adding this to many medicines would greatly enhance their effect, but it was unaffordable.
"Yes, Lingzhi!"
Long Yue nodded earnestly, her eyes gleaming.
"Pick all those the size of a palm!"
The two quickly gathered all the Lingzhi in that circle, filling up a third of the basket.
"This won't do!"
Long Yue glanced at the basket, her brows knit. These were treasures, carrying them down the mountain could be troublesome if seen by others, since the saying goes "An innocent man gets into trouble because of the prized possession he carries."
"Third Sister-in-law, why won't it do..."
Qing Qiu didn't understand Long Yue's concerns and was about to shout when she pulled him into another patch of undergrowth, "Picking these can get some money too."
"This is..."
"Plantain! Less talk, hurry!"
Long Yue said and got to work, Qing Qiu didn't hesitate, soon the two had picked another half-basket of Plantain. Still feeling it was insufficient, Long Yue gathered the nearby wild vegetables, filling the basket completely.
"Laosi, let's make a deal, when we get home, we'll turn in the wild vegetables. The Plantain and Lingzhi, tomorrow we'll sell them at the pharmacy in town, and we'll split the proceeds equally! You can do what you want with your share, I need to save mine for my husband's exams, you mustn't tell! If Dad, Mom, Brother, and Sister-in-law find out, I'll give you a beating!"
Long Yue threatened the young brother-in-law, who shrunk his neck in fear.
"I understand, Third Sister-in-law, if Dad and Mom ask, I'll just say this is all we picked."
Long Yue was satisfied, this kid was pretty smart.
June's weather was still quite hot. Long Yue didn't want to exhaust herself, so they left when done. Along the way, they picked some wild fruits, Long Yue even caught a big yellow chicken jumping around.
The little guy was overjoyed at the chicken, hugging it tightly.
Long Yue laughed and gently tapped his head, and as the two were about to leave, suddenly they heard a "rustling" sound behind them.
A python as thick as a thigh emerged from the dense vegetation, slithering toward them!
"Qing Qiu, watch out!"
"Oh my!"
The little guy screamed and almost dropped the chicken. Long Yue grabbed Qing Qiu and pushed him to the side while picking up the scythe from the basket and charged at the snake.
Her grandfather was a general guarding the borders in Xinan, the family had been military for generations, her mother was skilled in martial arts, but her grandfather disapproved of her mother's marriage to her poor scholar father, severed ties with her. Otherwise, that mother-daughter pair wouldn't have dared to mistreat them.
Long Yue, raised by her mother, how could her fighting skills be lacking?
"Whoosh!"
Suddenly, an arrow flew by, piercing the python's vital spot, causing it to make a piercing sound, frantically writhing on the ground.
"Miss, don't be afraid!"
A young man appeared, holding a piercing blade, stabbing the python hard, which died instantly, swift and clean.
"Miss, rest assured, it's over!" He turned and saw Long Yue collecting the scythe, shocked, "Miss, you're quite brave."
"Thanks for the praise."
Long Yue smiled, noticing a wound on his hand, thought for a moment, then took a piece of Lingzhi from the basket and handed it to him.
"Thank you for your help today, big brother. This is Lingzhi; it can replenish vitality."
This man looked honest, worth befriending, who knows the benefits later.
Chai Tieniu scratched his head, embarrassed, "Miss, no need, it was my duty..."
"Take it, we picked quite a bit."
"Well... alright, thank you, I'll bring you some snake meat later. Are you from the Li family?"
"Yes, I am the Li family's third daughter-in-law, and he is Li Laosi."
As these words fell, suddenly a sharp laugh rang out, filled with ridicule.
"Oh, isn't this the Li family's new daughter-in-law! And there's the Chai family's eldest son too, a lone man and woman hiding in the bushes, secretly exchanging things? Tsk, how shameless can you get?"
Long Yue's eyes turned cold, looking back, it happened to be Aunt Liu, who had also come up the mountain.
Beside her were two other women, each carrying a basket, probably picking wild vegetables too.
"Big sister from the Liu Family, you're slandering, there's nothing between me and Third Sister Li!"
Chai Tieniu, hearing those nasty words, blushed, his voice trembling.
"Oh, nothing you say, then why are you blushing?"
"I, I..."
Chai Tieniu was honest and simple, having never argued with such shrew women before, left speechless.