Mei Yin was the first to know that Jiang Zhuozhuo had returned, bringing back two seagulls, said to be a mother and her child.
“Mistress.”
Mei Yin came out personally to greet Jiang Zhuozhuo, with the other maids following closely behind her. Even though Jiang Zhuozhuo usually didn’t care for formalities and insisted on “disguised visits” when going out, in front of outsiders, Mei Yin made sure to put on a full display of status for Jiang Zhuozhuo, ensuring no one would look down on their lord.
Sure enough, this posture intimidated the two seagulls, who were already dazed, into not daring to follow any further down in flight.
Jiang Zhuozhuo, like a little cannonball, flew straight toward Mei Yin and landed on her shoulder, chirping rapidly about Moji’s talent in cultivation.
She believed that people with perseverance who worked hard in a certain field were worth recruiting!
This was Jiang Zhuozhuo’s first time proposing to recruit talent, so Mei Yin naturally didn’t neglect the matter.
She smiled and instructed someone to invite Moji and her child down.
Soon, the two seagulls landed nervously and transformed into a very reserved mother and child.
Mei Yin smiled at Moji and her child, while sending someone to draft a contract according to Jiang Zhuozhuo’s wishes, and invited them inside to talk.
The castle had a special reception room. Even though it wasn’t Jiang Zhuozhuo’s living quarters, it was still decorated elegantly and richly.
Moji and her child looked at the floor, which shone like a mirror, worried they might dirty it by stepping on it, wishing they could immediately turn back into seagulls and fly away.
This was typical of the Bird Tribe; whenever they got nervous, they couldn’t help but want to transform back into birds.
Perhaps maintaining their bird form gave them a feeling of being closer to the Mother Goddess, which brought them comfort.
Every time sailors returned to their hometown docks, most of them would also transform into seagulls and land.
It was like a child rushing into their mother’s arms.
Mei Yin smiled and said, “Since you are going to work for the Mistress, it’s only right to introduce you properly.” She glanced at the little round bird pecking at her fruit platter. “The one employing you is our Ninth Mistress, the current Lord of Woye Province.”
Moji and her child looked at Jiang Zhuozhuo in disbelief.
The little round bird politely spat out melon seeds onto the edge of the plate, unlike those rude birdlings who spat everywhere.
She sensed all the gazes fixed on her and looked back with wide, curious eyes: What’s wrong? Why is everyone looking at me like that?
Moji immediately understood why the new lord hadn’t raised their taxes, and why the lord had set the price of salted beans so low.
So this little round bird was their new lord!
She looked young, probably not even of age. For a bird that age, it was likely she had neither ambition nor greed. In the future…
Moji quickly stopped herself from thinking too pessimistically.
No matter what, for now, they were greatly benefiting from the lord’s kindness.
At least before this return journey, he never imagined he could soar over the snowy plains with his mother in such a cold winter.
Moji and her mother stood up together, placed their hands on their chests, and gave Jiang Zhuozhuo a very formal bow.
This was something the captain had specifically trained them to do, saying that when meeting someone of status and rank outside, they must show such respect.
Seeing their sincerity, Jiang Zhuozhuo transformed into human form to meet them.
She was one of the few on the continent with black hair and black eyes; more precisely, her eyes had a hint of amber, exactly like her original appearance.
Jiang Zhuozhuo smiled brightly and invited, “It’s almost mealtime. You should all eat something with us, then after finishing, bring your things over. By the way, if you know anyone with special talents, you can recommend them to me.”
Moji’s mother nervously asked, “What do you mean by special talents?”
Jiang Zhuozhuo said, “Talents like Moji’s—someone who can cultivate and raise crops.” She said excitedly, “For example, someone who can identify which mushrooms are edible and figure out how to cultivate them in large quantities!”
Although it was still winter and mushrooms probably hadn’t grown yet, as the saying goes, one must plan ahead!
If you don’t prepare now, how can you enjoy the best mushrooms in the prime season? Wild mushrooms are too risky to eat, so developing artificial cultivation techniques for edible fungi is the way to go.
She wasn’t simply after mushrooms for eating but wanted to research any potential benefits mushrooms might have!
Slurp!
Moji hesitantly asked, “Are the mushrooms you mean the kind that can make you convulse, go mad, or even die from poisoning?”
Jiang Zhuozhuo: .
No, how could it be that way in another world? Mushrooms that kill you are out of the question.
Even the symptoms are exactly the same!
No wonder she was such a plant enthusiast determined to become a botanist in the East Continent, knowing so much about poisonous mushrooms.
Jiang Zhuozhuo caught Mei Yin’s glance and suddenly felt like turning back into a bird and flying away.
Mei Yin forced a smile and gently asked Jiang Zhuozhuo, “Mistress, are you planning to test the poison on yourself?”
Danger!
The last time Mei Yin gave that terrifying smile was the last time!
Jiang Zhuozhuo scrambled to explain, “No, no! I want edible mushrooms, all artificially cultivated, definitely not those unknown poisonous kinds!”
Seeing her guilty look, Mei Yin silently added one more thing to today’s schedule: remind Helena not to cook any mysterious mushrooms for the Mistress.
As for whether edible mushrooms really existed as Jiang Zhuozhuo described, that remained to be seen.
The Imperial Botanical Compendium didn’t mention mushrooms at all!
Sour fruits like the Wind Chime Fruit were well-known—eating a little was beneficial, too much was harmful but not lethal.
Mushrooms, on the other hand, could kill instantly.
They couldn’t gamble with their lives.
Mei Yin smiled apologetically at Moji and her child and took Jiang Zhuozhuo away for a little “education.”
She wasn’t scolding Jiang Zhuozhuo just because of her young age but fulfilling her duty as the Lord’s Deputy to advise her.
Moji and her child exchanged glances, vaguely sensing a bit of Mei Yin’s… helplessness?
If someone around them were always thinking about eating mushrooms, they’d probably be very troubled too!
Because those things could kill!
Just as they hesitated whether to wait or not, an elderly man in a silver-gray coat walked in.
His silver hair was combed meticulously, and his wrinkled face sagged, giving off an air of sternness.
Moji and her child hurriedly bowed in unison.
The man was naturally Lao Lu. Since crashing a meal here, he no longer had servants bring him food separately.
Seeing two strangers suddenly here, Lao Lu originally intended to leave, but since they were already bowing to him, and as a gentleman who prided himself on manners, he couldn’t just walk away when shown respect.
He thought for a moment and invited them to sit, curiously asking, “Who are you? Why are you here alone?”
Moji truthfully explained their background and mentioned Jiang Zhuozhuo had been taken away by Deputy Mei Yin.
Lao Lu was different from the typical nobles; as an overseer of construction projects, he frequently interacted with commoners and wasn’t arrogant toward ordinary people. His attention shifted to the latter matter: “Are mushrooms really that delicious?”
Delicious enough that even a foodie like Jiang Zhuozhuo wanted to risk eating one!
Moji: “…”
Lao Lu’s logic was that if ordinary people died eating mushrooms, perhaps they were just weaker.
After all, many commoners couldn’t even brave going out in winter; it was normal they couldn’t tolerate mushroom toxins.
They were different; they had received blessings from the Mother Goddess. Someone like him, over 300 years old and blessed three times by the Mother Goddess, had a much stronger constitution!
Many common people wouldn’t live long enough to earn the Mother Goddess’s blessing.
Lao Lu had led numerous engineering teams and sent many old friends off. Sometimes, when recalling youthful times of laughter and drinking, he would wake up unable to remember their faces.
Perhaps that was the downside of living too long.
Yet many annoying folks never died, year after year enduring mutual disgust.
Getting off topic.
In short, Lao Lu believed ordinary people couldn’t eat mushrooms because they were weak, but he certainly could.
Moji: “…”
No wonder they said there was a special hospital in the Royal Capital to treat food poisoning. Apparently, many lords knowingly risked poisoning themselves trying mushrooms!
Moji said, “I haven’t eaten them myself, so I don’t know if they’re good.”
Moji’s mother said, “I… I might have.”
Lao Lu’s gaze immediately fixed on Moji’s mother.
She said, “That was when I was a child. My little sister had just hatched. For some reason, our mother was immersed in sadness every day, saying people like us were born only to suffer.”
“So one day, she made us a pot of very tasty soup. After drinking it, I had beautiful dreams all night.”
Her expression saddened, “The next morning, we woke up, but our mother didn’t.”
Moji said, “Mom, why have you never told me this?”
Her mother said, “According to the elders, such things shouldn’t be told. If people knew my mother wanted to take us with her to die, they would look down on father and us.”
Moji recalled an old, hunched man she saw a few times in her childhood—thin, aloof, often staring silently toward the forest.
Children didn’t understand and found him unapproachable. They didn’t like going with their mother to see that strange grandfather.
Her mother noticed and didn’t force them, instead inviting their aunt along.
Later, the grandfather died.
Moji felt sad; she had never known this part of their past.
After listening to the mother and child, Lao Lu wasn’t particularly moved.
He had witnessed too many deaths to be touched by such things anymore.
His gaze turned to a door not far away.
The door suddenly opened, and Jiang Zhuozhuo and Mei Yin came out.
Jiang Zhuozhuo looked clearly wilted after being scolded.
Lao Lu was about to ask, “What’s for dinner today?” when an elderly woman next to him gathered courage to speak first: “Mistress, what you mentioned might be something my sister could try.”
“She has never married and has lived alone in the forest for years. I discovered she secretly cultivates mushrooms.”
“At first, I didn’t understand her behavior.”
“But on the day our father was buried, we cried for a long time, and my sister confided her thoughts—”
“If this thing can keep the delicious taste that lets people dream beautifully, but won’t poison and kill, maybe after that day, our mother could have escaped her sadness and lived well.”
It was then Moji’s mother realized the nightmare they couldn’t escape wasn’t just their father’s death but also her sister’s burden.
Seizing such a good opportunity, she wanted to help her sister leave the forest—and the past’s shadows.
Moji’s mother said, “She should have already mastered how to cultivate edible mushrooms.”
Jiang Zhuozhuo’s eyes lit up, her entire bird form perked up again.
What?
She had just casually mentioned it, and there really was talent in this regard?
Could this family all carry some of the Divine Farmer’s bloodline?!
Her luck was truly amazing!
Mushroom freedom was within reach!
Seeing Jiang Zhuozhuo eager to get started again, Lao Lu immediately shared his theory of “if others can’t eat it, that’s their problem; we definitely won’t get sick,” and enthusiastically said he would join in when the time came.
Jiang Zhuozhuo nodded repeatedly.
Exactly!
Logical and convincing!
Mei Yin: “…”
Tired, just destroy me now 🙂