Looking at its markings, it was the very one she’d saved yesterday.
When it saw her, the Yellow-throated Marten squeaked with joy, jumping around the mushroom pile.
Jiang Heng was shocked, “Did you really pull all these up?”
“Squeak squeak squeak~” The Yellow-throated Marten chirped, not clear if it was responding or just making noise.
Jiang Heng moved closer, and the Yellow-throated Marten instinctively backed away—it was still wary of humans—but after a couple of steps, it stopped, eyes blinking at her, tense but not aggressive.
Jiang Heng didn’t try to get closer—best not to let wild animals get too comfortable with people, or they might trust the wrong humans and get into trouble.
She kept her demeanor calm and gentle, and, under the martens’s watchful gaze, began putting the Termitomyces into her bag.
The Yellow-throated Marten chirped again, a high-pitched note of delight.
It seemed to say: She accepted the gift!
Jiang Heng’s eyes curved in a smile, but her hands didn’t slow.
The more she worked, the happier the Yellow-throated Marten became—rolling around on the ground, showing its soft belly, clearly less wary now, sometimes even watching her with sparkling eyes.
Jiang Heng paused.
No!
This is dangerous, she was starting to want to pet it!
She’d always wanted to raise two dogs, not just for security, but because dogs were so enthusiastic. Who knew a wild animal could be this affectionate, too?
She forcibly redirected her attention and kept packing mushrooms. Halfway through, she found some other things mixed in.
Huh???
Loquats were normal—they grew in this season, and she remembered Yellow-throated Martens sometimes ate fruit. But why were there chestnuts, walnuts, peanuts, pine nuts? Even dried strawberries, corn kernels, soybeans?
Each kind was just a little, but the variety was impressive.
Jiang Heng looked at it in confusion.
The Yellow-throated Marten, noticing her gaze, sat up, tilted its head, eyes blinking, looking adorable.
Jiang Heng pointed at the pile, “Did you steal a squirrel’s stash?”
The Yellow-throated Marten followed her finger, licked its nose guiltily, then whined, not making a sound.
Jiang Heng looked around but saw no sign of any owner, so she kept packing.
It was already gathered, after all.
And she’d heard squirrels often stored food in different tree hollows—probably wouldn’t even notice a little missing. Anyway, it was just a bit—shouldn’t matter.
She shot another glance at the little culprit.
The Yellow-throated Marten seemed to sense something was off and quietly retreated, but was still quite happy, sometimes playing with its tail, but mostly watching her.
Until she picked up the last Termitomyces.
Jiang Heng picked up a stray strawberry… no, too heavy; tried a soybean, too hard. Finally, she chose a corn kernel and tossed it at the Yellow-throated Marten.
Her aim was spot on—it bounced off its forehead.
Startled, the little creature jumped up, bristling, and looked around alertly.
Not finding its attacker, it relaxed, but was less at ease.
Its agility, soft fur, and adorable face almost made Jiang Heng laugh out loud. She held it in and tossed another corn kernel.
This time, the Yellow-throated Marten saw it coming, eyes wide in disbelief.
Jiang Heng, catching its gaze, lobbed another—this one landed on its leg.
It didn’t hurt, but the intent was clear.
“Squeak!” The Yellow-throated Marten cried in protest.
Jiang Heng said nothing and kept throwing.
The Yellow-throated Marten dodged, retreating further away.
Jiang Heng continued until it was twenty meters away—only then did she stop.
The little creature stood there, staring at her, as if in disbelief.
Jiang Heng, feeling guilty, turned away, leaving with the “gifts.” Yellow-throated Martens weren’t easy to tame, and their numbers were dwindling. She didn’t want these animals thinking humans could be trusted, so she had to be firm.
She left without hesitation, but still felt the animal’s gaze on her back.
She quickened her pace.
Otherwise, she might have softened.
That little thing really was too cute!
A morning of mushroom and Mulberry Fruit picking ended, and Jiang Heng’s “daily tasks” were complete.
Next, she’d handle the rest.
The Yellow-throated Marten’s gifts were about three jin, almost stripping the patch clean. Within the area covered by her Spiritual Rain, she’d only found about one jin herself.
But these three jin couldn’t be sold.
There were bite and claw marks, after all.
So, Jiang Heng used a Dust Removal Art to clean all three jin and set them aside, planning to make Chicken Fungus Oil for her own breakfast fried rice.
The rest she scrubbed with a soft brush, sorted by type, and set in different baskets.
While she was busy, she heard approaching footsteps and soft whimpering. She wondered what was making such a cute sound. Soon, Chen Aying appeared, bringing the “culprits.”
Two fat little brown puppies!
They were in a basket, looking like two freshly made glutinous rice balls, with only their heads sticking out over the edge.
When they wriggled, Da Boiniang pushed them back down. The glutinous rice balls grumbled, then flopped over each other.
The one on the bottom tried to crawl out, belly up.
Hadn’t she just wished for puppies, and now here they were!
Mama!
She took back what she’d said—puppies were even cuter than wild animals!
Jiang Heng’s eyes lit up.
Chen Aying laughed, “Didn’t you say you wanted two dogs? I told your sister. She saw someone selling puppies at the market this morning. Only these two left. She tried to call you, but you didn’t answer, so she bought them. I was delivering fried fish and mushroom sauce, so I brought them. If you don’t want them, I’ll raise them myself.”
Jiang Heng got up and took the two puppies.
They were at peak cuteness—their coloring was ordinary, but the dogs must’ve been well cared for, because they were soft and plump. She was extra careful, worried she’d crush them.
The puppies, scared by this stranger, pawed at her hands, trying to escape, whimpering more loudly: “Awoo! Woo woo~ Awooo~”
Both had black faces and muzzles, pink tongues, and when they tipped their little heads back and howled, it was simply adorable!
Jiang Heng smiled unconsciously, “Yes! I want them both! Two are perfect companions. Da Boiniang, if you want dogs, get yourself two more.”
She held both in one arm and checked her phone with the other to thank her sister.
Sure enough, there were two missed calls. Her phone had been on silent, and she’d walked far, so no signal. She quickly called Jiang Peng to thank her.
Chen Aying waved it off, “Forget it. I was worried you wouldn’t like mutts, but at least they’re alive.”
Jiang Heng looked at the fluffy pair, but worried, “I don’t have anything for a dog bed yet.”
She’d asked Da Boiniang about puppies in the village, but hadn’t expected to get two so quickly.
Chen Aying said, “That’s true. Puppies this small can’t sleep on the floor. Do you have a box and some old clothes? Let them use those for a couple days.”
Jiang Heng shook her head, “No.”
She was a fan of decluttering—aside from essentials and a few keepsakes, she’d thrown out all her old clothes as soon as she’d come back.
Chen Aying hurried home, grabbed a box and one of Jiang Peng’s old padded jackets, and muttered as she set it up, “Your sister loves buying clothes she never wears. She bought a ton after she started working, but just wears the same two, and the rest go to waste. Wonder if she’s gotten any better these years.”
Jiang Heng laughed as she pinned the wriggling puppies.
With the box tilted, the puppies could climb in and out. The jacket was folded inside, and when she put the puppies in, she closed the box so they could get used to it and know where to sleep at night.
Jiang Heng asked curiously, “Da Boiniang, did you ever raise dogs?”
Chen Aying paused, scowling, “Yes, two big Black Dogs. One before I got married, spoiled by my dad. Another was Black Girl, after I got married. Both were so smart—could shake hands, chase off birds…”
She listed their merits with pride, even after all these years.
But then she cursed, “Dog traffickers are the worst! If you want to sell dogs, raise them yourself! Why steal other people’s? Both Black Dog and her daughter were stolen!”
Jiang Heng’s face changed. That was infuriating!
Chen Aying still seethed at the memory, “Take care of your dogs. Our area’s alright, but in the city, I’ve heard there are lots of dog thieves. One mistake, and they might end up at a dog meat shop.”
Jiang Heng nodded frantically, “Yeah, yeah!”
She decided she’d make dog tags for them, regularly infusing them with Spiritual Energy. If anything happened, she’d sense it.
After chatting a while, Chen Aying saw Jiang Heng still busy with mushrooms. There was only one brush, so she left to make lunch, hoping to finish early so she could go play cards.
Jiang Heng managed to finish processing the mushrooms by noon.
Today’s haul was about the same as usual. Not many open or unopened Termitomyces—too few to sell, really. So she decided to keep them and combine with the three jin from before to make Chicken Fungus Oil.
She took photos for Song Ming and messaged her, asking how many second-grade mushrooms she needed today.
No reply yet, but Jiang Heng wasn’t in a rush—she went to cook.
Today’s lunch: Fish Hotpot.
She still had a few fish in a basin in the backyard. They’d been eating Spirit-infused Vegetables and drinking Lingqi-infused Water, so they were thriving—she planned to keep them for her own meals.
It was getting late, so she kept it simple: plugged in the electric cooker, tossed in goji berries, salt, fresh mushrooms torn into strips, a bit of pepper, and added water.
Then she went to the backyard, picked the fattest Grass Carp, cleaned and gutted it—she didn’t like the innards, but now she had dogs, and these fish were in even better shape than yesterday’s batch. She decided to keep the offal.
She scaled it, removed the black membrane, and prepped the fish. She split the head in two for Chopped Chili Fish Head.
That part was the best—firm, tender, and mostly boneless.
She set the head to steam while she filleted the body.
She was good with a bow, but had practiced with knives as well. Slicing the fish was a breeze—each slice even, a bit of skin left on each, neatly stacked on a plate, leaving only the bones and a bit of meat on the belly.
She marinated the slices, and soon the fish head was done. Time to eat.
As she brought the big platter to the table, she noticed the two little furballs at the table legs.
The puppies looked almost identical, but one had a white patch on its belly, like a bib, while the other’s was just a bit lighter, with dark tips on its tail and ears.
Jiang Heng easily picked names.
One would be Pudding, the other Caramel.
Both were female—the leftovers, since males sold better.
Now, Caramel and Pudding were clinging to the table legs, whining, wanting to get up but unable, so they barked hungrily.
Jiang Heng laughed, put down the Chopped Chili Fish Head, and went to prepare the innards.
She boiled and chopped them, mixed in some rice. At two months, the pups had teeth and could eat solid food. She didn’t plan on buying dog food—how could it beat her own cooking?
But it was too hot, so she made herself sit at the table and started on the Fish Hotpot.
The broth, a homemade mushroom soup base, was delicious even on its own. Toss in the fish slices, swirl the ladle, and the meat instantly curled, turning white. The fish aroma blended with the mushroom broth, making it even more enticing.
The two puppies, already starving, began to scratch at the table leg, leaving white marks on the red paint.
Jiang Heng couldn’t help but laugh.
Finally, she caved—she cooked two chunks of fish belly, cooled them, removed the bones, and set them down for the puppies to try.
The moment the food was down, Caramel and Pudding pounced.
Awoo—a big bite of tender fish.
They made satisfied grunting noises.
Jiang Heng began her own meal.
The fish head meat was tender and flavorful, the chili spicy and rich—truly satisfying. The fish from the hotpot was lighter in taste, melting in her mouth, the umami leaving her wanting more.
Delicious!
Raising her own fish was the best!
Wait?!
Raising her own fish?
Jiang Heng paused.
She’d been meaning to raise all sorts of things, but hadn’t managed any yet.
But she couldn’t help herself—she wanted to raise fish.
Maybe she could rent a pond?
There was a pond near the mountain, not too small, but with few visitors, overgrown now since no one farmed anymore. Sometimes she saw wild ducks when passing by.
Only during the holidays did people come back to the village and fish for fun—so there were plenty of big fish, and it wasn’t far from her house.
Not bad!
She wondered how much it would cost to rent a pond—and she’d have to build a wall, to keep village kids from falling in.
That would cost money, too…
After counting, she realized she only had a bit over ten thousand yuan.
Jiang Heng: “………………Better stick to eating fish for now!”