Jiang Heng scooped out the Wild Crucian Carp that the middle-aged woman wanted, put it in a bag, and weighed it.
It was just a bit over one jin, not quite sixty yuan.
Altogether, it was over two hundred yuan.
After the woman paid, Jiang Heng handed over all the bags. “Hope to see you again next time.”
The middle-aged woman grumbled, clearly pained, “If it’s not tasty, I’m really coming back for a refund!”
Jiang Heng couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Still, even with all that fuss, the woman was willing to buy—just goes to show how popular her mushrooms were.
As for those who might try to get a refund just to take advantage, well, there probably would be some.
After all, there are all kinds of people. She couldn’t possibly weed them all out ahead of time.
But the most important thing was to sell the fish first.
At least, even if someone came for a refund, she still wouldn’t lose more than she’d already earned.
And if someone really did come to return something, Jiang Heng certainly wouldn’t do business with them again.
If they couldn’t eat her food, it was their loss, not hers.
That’s how it is in business—you have to be ready for all sorts of customers.
Right now, things were going very smoothly for her.
After seeing the middle-aged woman off, Jiang Heng greeted the next customer.
She completed three transactions in a row, and finally, someone wanted the Torch Termitomyces!
A woman with gold rings on her fingers pointed at the pile in front of her, picking one by one, “This one, give me a jin! And this one, and these two as well…”
That bold attitude startled Jiang Heng.
She gently reminded her, “This is Torch Termitomyces—umbrella-opened ones are two hundred yuan per jin, this is Wuzhong Mushroom, one hundred yuan per jin, and this…”
“Yes, I know. It’s fine, just pack them up,” the woman said decisively.
Jiang Heng glanced at her again, a bit surprised. She looked familiar.
While her hands kept working, her mind was busy thinking where she’d seen her before.
She weighed all the mushrooms the woman wanted, and after adding it all up, the total was 533 yuan.
Jiang Heng rounded off the price and handed the bag over.
Suddenly, she remembered.
Isn’t this the Boss of the noodle shop across from their stall?
She’d seen her several times when she had some free time at her stall—often at the entrance of the noodle shop, greeting customers.
But it didn’t matter who she was—a customer is a customer.
Jiang Heng didn’t dwell on it, but the woman’s generous purchase caught the attention of the people in line behind her, who all turned to look.
Then someone realized something was off.
“Hey?! Boss Ge?! Someone who knew her recognized her.
“Boss Ge? Who’s that?”
“She’s the Noodle Shop Boss, over there,” the customer who recognized her pointed to the breakfast noodle shop just a few meters away, as if it was obvious.
“Oh, right, I know her too. I go there for breakfast every morning.”
“So her surname is Ge?”
Boss Ge Dongfang, who had wanted to keep a low profile: “…Yeah, that’s me.”
“Boss Ge, why are you buying so much today?”
“Are you introducing a new flavor at your shop with all these mushrooms?”
Seeing she’d been found out, Ge Dongfang quickly glanced at the stall owner’s expression, and out of the corner of her eye, checked the Sushi Vendor’s side—seeing the Sushi Vendor was busy with customers, she let out a sigh of relief, though she still felt a bit sour inside.
Then, without any hesitation, she pointed to her shop and announced to the people still in line, “That’s right, I’m planning to make Chicken Oil Mushroom with the Termitomyces, and the other mushrooms will be used for different noodle toppings. Everyone knows how delicious mushrooms are in dishes. Tomorrow morning, you can come try them at my noodle shop—I guarantee you won’t regret it!”
The crowd, who had just been watching for fun: ?
How did this turn into an advertisement?
Ge Dongfang hadn’t planned on this at first.
As everyone knew, noodle shops mainly did business in the morning.
There weren’t many customers at lunch or dinner, but to make a living, she basically stayed there all day.
When there were no customers, she’d stroll around, and that’s when she noticed something unusual at the Sushi Stall across from hers.
The Sushi Vendor used to sell about a hundred boxes of sushi a day. Sometimes, when Ge Dongfang didn’t feel like cooking, she’d buy a box. It tasted good, but that was it.
But a few days ago, a Mushroom Stall appeared, and somehow the Sushi Stall’s business boomed.
Everyone was struggling to make ends meet, so how did that stall suddenly take off? Of course, Ge Dongfang felt a bit sour, but at least Song Ming didn’t keep any secrets—anyone paying attention could figure it out.
Ge Dongfang was tempted.
She was too embarrassed to go herself, afraid the Sushi Vendor would mock her for copying.
So she had her husband buy some mushrooms to try at home.
And then she realized—these mushrooms were something special!
No wonder the Sushi Stall’s business suddenly got so good.
After tasting the mushrooms, Ge Dongfang’s hesitation vanished.
She decided to buy some mushrooms and add new flavors to her noodle dishes.
But just as she made up her mind, it started raining. The first day, she didn’t come, but neither did the Sushi Stall.
The second day, she still didn’t come, but the Sushi Vendor did.
And business was even better!
Ge Dongfang was so envious that even her own noodles tasted sour.
If only she’d bought mushrooms a couple of days earlier, she’d have more customers by now!
So today, as soon as the stall opened, she joined the line.
When she saw the Termitomyces, the words “Chicken Oil Mushroom” popped into her head.
She’d planned to buy them quietly and surprise everyone with the aroma tomorrow, letting it attract customers without saying much.
She’d been running her noodle shop for years, and the regulars all knew her.
When she said this, they all chimed in support, “Alright, I’ll come by tomorrow morning. Boss, you better not forget to make it.”
“I won’t!” Ge Dongfang replied cheerfully. “I guarantee you’ll love it tomorrow morning!”
With that, she didn’t linger and hurried back to make Chicken Oil Mushroom.
Once she left, the show was over.
Jiang Heng reluctantly looked away and turned to the customer in front of her, smiling. “Hello, what would you like to buy?”
The customer skillfully picked and bagged mushrooms, tasted two Mulberry Fruits, and said with satisfaction, “Just these mushrooms, and a jin of Mulberry Fruit…”
As Jiang Heng weighed them and calculated the total, she realized today’s sale wasn’t cheap.
This was an old customer, coming by every day to spend thirty or forty yuan, and each day buying more.
Last time, they’d already bought over seventy yuan worth of mushrooms.
But today, it was at least two hundred, and still going!
The next customer happened to know him and teased, “Hey, Grandpa Xiaopang is getting rich!”
“Rich, my foot!” the customer—Grandpa Xiaopang—snapped. “The kid’s too old to fool now. Said if he doesn’t get fried mushrooms today, he won’t go to school tomorrow! How could I not buy more?”
The woman laughed heartily. “Loving mushrooms is great! I’ll buy some too.
If my son liked them this much, I’d cook mushrooms for him every day—fried, boiled, stir-fried, whatever.”
The old man shook his head in disbelief. So expensive, and every day?
He’d steeled himself just to buy this much.
Just thinking about the total made his heart ache, but… Actually, it wasn’t just the eldest grandson.
Even the two of them—these past days, every meal had been so flavorful, and now suddenly everything tasted bland. They really missed it.
As for the Mulberry Fruit, since everyone was buying it, he tried some himself—it tasted great.
He bought some to coax his grandson.
Jiang Heng quickly weighed everything and did the math. “That’s 346 yuan. You can just give me 345!”
His heart ached even more. Why couldn’t it have been 349 yuan, so the Boss would have rounded down to 345 anyway?
Even so, he paid up without hesitation.
Next was the woman worried about her child’s meals.
She’d been recommended by Grandma Xiaopang in the Neighbor Group.
Since it was her first time, she restrained herself, planning to buy just a little of each to try.
But when she saw the Mulberry Fruit, she couldn’t resist and bagged over a jin. In the end, her first purchase came to over two hundred yuan.
Only after paying did she realize how expensive it was, smacking her lips.
Alright, she took it back.
If her son really liked it, she’d buy some every few days.
Buying every day was out of the question.
The line moved quickly, and soon it was Lin Yirui’s turn.
He’d bought plenty of mushrooms last time and hadn’t finished them yet.
Today, his parents had heard he bought mushrooms and wanted to make Mushroom Meat Sauce, so both of them came along.
They’d been working efficiently lately, even working extra hard in the afternoon to leave on time, just to buy some Mulberry Fruit for his parents.
They hadn’t planned on buying fish.
But after Jiang Heng’s earlier recommendation, he was curious about the fish.
When it was his turn, he immediately pointed at the bucket, where the fish were still energetically trying to escape. “Boss, help me scoop out a Wild Crucian Carp.”
Jiang Heng acted right away, reaching into the bucket.
Even after a day, the fish were still lively, their big tails thrashing.
Luckily, Jiang Heng was quick, stuffing it into a bag before it could splash water everywhere.
Once bagged, weighing was easy. This fish wasn’t very big, just over a jin. “That’s fifty-three yuan.”
Lin Yirui nodded. “And give me two jin of Mulberry Fruit, plus half a jin of the cheaper Termitomyces. But Boss, why is this Termitomyces cheaper than the unopened ones?”
“Sure.” Jiang Heng put on disposable gloves and started bagging the Mulberry Fruit while explaining, “The unopened ones are called Bud Termitomyces. At this time, Torch Termitomyces are at their most tender and delicious when unopened. Once they open, they’re a bit tougher.”
“I see,” Lin Yirui nodded. Still, the taste shouldn’t be that different—he just wanted to try something new.
The Mulberry Fruit was quickly weighed—exactly two jin. Then half a jin of Termitomyces, making it over two hundred yuan. After paying, he left with a spring in his step.
Lin Yirui hurried home with his purchases.
Mainly because his parents had already messaged him on WeChat, saying the mushrooms he’d bought were fantastic and the Mushroom Meat Sauce was so fragrant they’d eaten half a bowl already.
How could he bear it?
Greedy Lin Yirui couldn’t wait, almost wishing his electric scooter could fly as he sped through familiar streets, finally arriving at his building. He parked, went upstairs, and as soon as the elevator doors opened, he smelled the aroma.
It was different from the dishes he’d cooked before—an incredibly fresh, rich, and meaty fragrance.
The mushrooms seemed to bring out the best in all the other ingredients.
Just smelling it made Lin Yirui’s mouth water, and his stomach protested even louder. He wanted to eat—really wanted to eat.
He opened the door and immediately shouted, “Mom!!!”
His dad came out to greet him, but hearing this, he scolded, “All you ever do is call your mom. Haven’t seen your dad in almost a month, and you can’t show a little affection?”
Lin Yirui quickly changed his tune. “Dad, where’s Mom?”
Lin Yirui’s Father: “…She’s over there eating.”
He muttered sourly, then praised, “You know, ever since you’ve been living on your own, you’ve actually started buying groceries. These mushrooms are really fragrant! Even better than the ones we ate as kids!”
Back then, the hills were covered in all kinds of mushrooms.
Whenever it rained, the kids would go picking mushrooms with their parents—fresh ones could go straight into soup or stir-fry, and some mushrooms tasted just like meat.
Dried ones were perfect for winter stews—so fragrant!
But in recent years, wild mushrooms had become harder and harder to find, let alone these high-priced varieties.
Lin Yirui grinned proudly. “Of course! I don’t just buy them, I can cook too!” As he spoke, he went to the dining room and saw his mom eating Mushroom Meat Sauce, alternating with sips of water, thoroughly enjoying herself.
He immediately shouted, “Mom! I want to eat too!”
“Chopsticks are over there, get them yourself.” Lin Yirui’s Mother smacked her lips.
She’d used less salt, but after eating a lot, it still felt salty, so she kept drinking water. She was already half full, but couldn’t bear to stop eating.