Chapter 297: 297 Picking mushrooms 1
In the early morning in the mountains, the thin mist had not yet dissipated, with faint white fog lingering around the mid-hillside. The crystal-clear dewdrops hung on the branches, and the birds chirped crisply, the air fresh and delightful without a hint of pollution.
If it were not for the need to make a living, she would have liked to appreciate the beauty of the mountain forest better.
On the way, she encountered two people who had also gotten up early to work in the fields.
They both gave her a slight nod and passed her by.
At the mid-hillside, she met Qian Zhang’s wife, who had also risen early. Seeing Su Qingyue carrying two empty baskets, she asked suspiciously, ‘Wife of the Xiao Family, where are you going?”
“I’m going up the mountain to find something to eat.”
Qian Zhang’s wife was quite shrewd and quickly inquired, “You’re carrying two empty baskets, have you found something good?”
“Not really,” she said casually. “I’m just going into the mountains to find something.”
Qian Zhang’s wife didn’t believe her, “You wouldn’t go into the mountains with a back basket, and your carrying pole looks like you’re hiding something valuable.”
“My family doesn’t have a back basket.” This was true, and Qingyue continued to make things up, “If I can’t find anything to eat, I’ll just pick two baskets of pigweed, maybe I can sell them for one or two copper coins.”
“Two baskets of pigweed for one or two copper coins, it may be cheap, but picking two baskets of pigweed takes half a day…”
“Well, I have no other choice,” she replied, already having walked far away.
Qian Zhang’s wife immediately followed her, still not quite believing she was really going to pick pigweed. If she found something good with Su Qingyue, she could also get half of it.
Having dealt with Qian Zhang’s wife several times, Su Qingyue knew exactly what she was thinking.
She quickened her pace, turned a corner, and when Qian Zhang’s wife caught up, she had disappeared.
Qian Zhang’s wife hurriedly chased ahead, not knowing that Su Qingyue was holding onto the carrying pole tightly under her arm, grabbing the ropes of the two baskets in one hand, pulling the ropes with one hand, and holding onto a tree trunk under the weeds by the side of the road with the other.
Only when Qian Zhang’s wife had walked away did Su Qingyue use one hand to hold onto the tree trunk, jumping and stepping along the uneven terrain and weeds to get back onto the road.
For ordinary people, it would be a little dangerous, but for her, a killer with years of special training, it was a piece of cake.
Not far away, she turned a corner and entered an uninhabited mountain forest on the left.
She had already thoroughly surveyed this mountain last time, and this time her goal was to collect mushrooms directly. Many mushrooms had already rotted, but there were also new ones that had sprouted.
She worked efficiently, picking two full baskets in just an hour, then took twenty minutes to return home, pouring all the mushrooms into the two big pots on the kitchen table and stove, piled up to the brim.
She then went back up the mountain for another hour and a half, picking almost all the remaining mushrooms in that mountain and getting another two large baskets.
She started working at five o’clock, and when she returned with the second basket, it was probably around eight o’clock in the morning.
The diligent people in the village got up early, and many went to work in the fields rather than sunbathing in the morning.
On the narrow road close to her home, she ran into many villagers.
Wushan Village was a big village, and although everyone knew Su Qingyue, the previous “her” was always so submissive and unwilling to speak, so there were only a few who greeted her occasionally.
It was Qian Zhang’s wife who met her again, staring in astonishment at Su Qingyue’s two full baskets, and said with a mix of envy and jealousy, “Wife of the Xiao Family, didn’t you go into the mountains to pick pigweed? How come you found so many mushrooms in just a short while?”