As time passed, more messages started trickling in on Jiang Heng’s phone:
【Boss Ge: Boss, save all the open-cap Torch Termitomyces for me!】
【Boss Zhang from the Fruit Store: Do you have any more mulberries? I’d really like mulberries. As for mushrooms, give me two jin of Chashu Mushroom to make soup. I want twenty jin of mulberries, just deliver them to the fruit store. Boss, can we discuss a long-term mulberry supply?】
【Boundless Sky: Boss, save me five jin of Boletus, and… If I buy a lot, can I get a discount?】
【……】
Jiang Heng did some quick calculations, then hurriedly sorted the mushrooms and discovered—
Goodness!
She still didn’t have enough!
She had picked an extra sack of mushrooms today compared to before, yet it still wasn’t enough to satisfy her customers’ orders!
Today she harvested eleven jin of Torch Termitomyces—six jin were open-cap, five jin unopened; about twelve jin of Wuzhong Mushroom; nearly twenty jin of Pine Mushroom; eight jin of Chashu Mushroom; ten jin of Forest Mushroom; and seven jin of Boletus.
Of course, this excluded the damaged mushrooms.
She packed a total of three sacks today, more than usual, and there were more subpar mushrooms as well—altogether, the damaged ones added up to seven jin.
Once Jiang Heng finished sorting everything, she started asking each person in order of their message, confirming their exact quantities.
She especially sent the price list to Ye Sui.
She reminded her that fresh mushrooms couldn’t be sent by courier and had to be dried first.
Usually, eight jin of fresh mushrooms dried down to just one jin, so the price of dried and fresh mushrooms was different, but the calculation was based on this conversion.
Some people would get a slight discount, but Jiang Heng didn’t intend to lower her prices.
At most, she’d cover shipping.
After all, drying them meant extra work for her.
Because of this, the price for dried mushrooms was directly eight times higher, and the shipping time was uncertain.
Most importantly, buying too much might mean you couldn’t finish it all—it was best to buy an appropriate amount.
Yet Ye Sui was still refreshingly straightforward, replying right away:
【Ye Sui: Deal. Give me a jin of each kind of mushroom, dried. Don’t worry, I have a big family, we’ll finish them.】
Then she transferred six thousand yuan.
Jiang Heng:
【Ye Sui: I just rounded it up. For the extra, toss in a little something special from your place.】
【Jiang Heng: You’re so generous! Guaranteed satisfaction!】
After sending that, Jiang Heng couldn’t help but chuckle.
She never used to chat with Ye Sui like this.
Back then, her sense of inferiority came from the difference in their social status.
She had spent hundreds of years in the Cultivation World, and her temperament hadn’t changed much, but some things were different. For example, her Sect valued living naturally, unlike those described in novels as strict and unyielding; they actually encouraged disciples to satisfy their desires.
As long as they didn’t get into trouble, that is.
For those who loved to eat, they could indulge in every kind of delicious food; there was no need for fasting.
Both inside and outside the Sect, there were dedicated dining halls.
Many of the cooks were even Inner Sect Elders who loved to cook and would set aside time just to do it.
Seeing others enjoy their food, their cultivation realm would rise a bit as well.
Some Elders loved pranks—deliberately cooking things that benefited cultivation but tasted awful.
Watching the Junior Disciples hesitate, wanting to eat but dreading the taste, seeing their pained faces every time—they would laugh themselves to tears in the kitchen.
Jiang Heng just happened to love food and enjoyed growing vegetables and spiritual plants, supplying the dining hall directly with her harvests.
She had good relationships with many Elders and got to enjoy lots of unique Cultivation World dishes.
For a rare delicacy, everyone would gather for a stakeout in the deep mountains for a month or two—Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators, even Soul Formation Stage Cultivators, all waiting with her, a newly minted Golden Core Stage Disciple, just for a certain seasonal fish.
While satisfying herself, her temperament grew increasingly steady.
Plus, her own cultivation advanced unusually fast for someone with three spiritual roots, and the boost in strength brought not just security but confidence.
At the very least, now, even though she was still broke with less than twenty thousand yuan left, back in this world and facing others, she no longer felt the need to weigh every word out of inferiority.
And like this, the person on the other side seemed pretty happy, too.
【Ye Sui: Hahaha, you’ve become a lot more cheerful since you came home—nice, nice.】
【Jiang Heng: That’s right, the mountains and water here are beautiful, my mood’s great. I just became cheerful without realizing it.】
【Ye Sui: That’s great.】
After typing these two words, Ye Sui, who was slacking off in her Beijing office, muttered to herself, “It’s just a pity—too far away.”
She had always liked Jiang Heng’s looks.
Back when they worked at the same company, she’d be half asleep in the mornings, but Jiang Heng’s looks hit her like a ton of bricks in the elevator.
Honestly, Jiang Heng didn’t even dress up—she looked just like a student: always a high ponytail, always simple clothes, even a bit too thin, which lessened her appeal a bit, but Ye Sui’s taste was exactly that.
So, during a team-building event, she added Jiang Heng on WeChat right away, hoping to be friends, get close, and enjoy her looks every day.
Best case, she could invite her out to eat, fatten her up, dress her up beautifully!
But every time she invited her, she was almost always turned down.
Except for eating together in the company cafeteria.
Normally, Jiang Heng was quiet, answering only when asked.
Gradually, Ye Sui felt embarrassed to keep pushing.
Later, she heard Jiang Heng had nearly collapsed from overwork, was sent to the hospital, and before she could visit, Jiang Heng was discharged and then quit.
Everything happened so fast, Ye Sui couldn’t keep up. Remembering Jiang Heng’s previous resistance, she just pretended nothing had happened.
Until just now, while slacking off, she happened to see Jiang Heng’s Circle of Friends.
After all these years of being WeChat contacts, this was the first time Jiang Heng had posted!
Seeing what she posted, Ye Sui guessed she must be having some financial troubles and was selling things through her Circle of Friends. Since she didn’t lack money, she decided to help.
As for the quality of the mushrooms, she didn’t care.
On Jiang Heng’s end, she had received the money, but Ye Sui’s order was a bit large—one jin of each kind of dried mushroom, meaning at least eight jin of each fresh, which she couldn’t fill all at once. So, she decided today’s pickings would supply the locals first.
She went to discuss with Boss Ge and the others.
Boss Ge was generous, probably worried there wouldn’t be more Torch Termitomyces next time, so he bought all six jin of the open-cap, and two jin each of Chashu Mushroom, Pine Mushroom, Forest Mushroom, and Wuzhong Mushroom—altogether, 1800 yuan!
Jiang Heng weighed and photographed his share, packed it up after confirmation, and then accepted payment.
Considering how much the Bosses were buying, Jiang Heng took the initiative to give a ten percent discount—so 1620 yuan.
Next was the fruit store boss, who wanted mainly mulberries—twenty jin for 600 yuan, plus Chashu Mushroom for 140 yuan, totaling 740 yuan; with the discount, 666 yuan. Such a lucky number.
Then the third, the fourth…
Excluding Ye Sui, there were six customers with reservations.
It happened to be just enough to sell all the mushrooms she picked today.
Song Ming bought up all the rest of the subpar ones, saying that once dried, they’d keep a long time and could be sold slowly.
Then there was Gao Xiuling, who asked if Jiang Heng could bring her two Wild Crucian Carp when delivering. Jiang Heng agreed.
She’d also catch two Cyprinid for Song Ming.
By the time she finished all this, it was nearly eleven o’clock.
Jiang Heng hurried home, took out the extra mulberries—the fruit store boss only wanted twenty jin, so there were about ten jin left.
When she picked these mulberries, she’d used the Dust Removal Art, so there were no bugs—they were very clean. She put them in a blender to extract thick, dark purple juice, then filtered it through a clean, fine cloth.
This produced pure mulberry juice.
It was a bit too thick, and she worried about too much sugar, so Jiang Heng added some cool boiled water, then used an Ice-Type Spell to lower the temperature.
It was nice and cool, but not too cold, and she poured it into a big thermos and grabbed disposable cups before heading out with a large jug of mulberry juice.
The temperature had been rising lately—today it was over thirty-two degrees, and the midday sun was even stronger.
Without the Ice-Type Spell, the moment she stepped out, she’d feel the heat on her head, and her now glossy black hair absorbed heat like crazy.
Jiang Heng quickly cooled her head, then jogged toward the fields.
Now, only a third of the area remained unplanted.
Just as Jiang Peng straightened up to wipe her sweat, she spotted Jiang Heng running over, waved, and called out loudly, “Xiao Heng, what are you doing here? All done with your errands?”
Chen Aying and the others heard and looked over, taking the chance for a break.
Jiang Heng called back, “Just finished! I brought you all something to drink. It’s eleven o’clock—drink up, then go rest. Come back at three this afternoon, okay?”
“Alright, let me finish this bit first.”
Jiang Peng nodded immediately. Her tired body suddenly got a burst of energy, and she hurried to finish up.
Chen Aying looked up at the sky. “Still early, isn’t it? Why not work a bit longer? There’s still half a mu of wheat to plant this afternoon!”
“Yes, yes, let’s work a bit more. Cooking lunch is easy,” added Shen Li.
Everyone figured, with so many people, they could finish planting the rice and wheat today.
Jiang Heng came over, saying, “There’s no rush—most of it’s done already. Wheat’s easier than this, so it’ll go even faster. Better to drink some juice now. I made this from mulberries.”
Just then, Jiang Guoxia, who had just finished planting seedlings, was the first to come over.
Jiang Heng handed him a full cup of mulberry juice.
Jiang Guoxia gulped it down.
The cool, refreshing liquid instantly soothed his sunburned skin and seemed to wash away his fatigue.
Even his aching, bent back straightened up, and he sighed, “That’s just right! Perfect temperature!”
Any colder and his teeth wouldn’t handle it.
Jiang Heng beamed. “I timed it just right. Want another cup?”
Jiang Guoxia glanced at the jug. “Is there enough left?”
“There is!” Jiang Heng nodded.
Jiang Guoxia immediately handed his cup over, grinning. “It’s really tasty—sweet and just a little tart.” Then he turned to call everyone else: “Come on, time for a break! Xiao Heng brought juice, it’s cool but not too cold. If you don’t hurry, it’ll get warm!”
“We’re coming, we’re coming!”
The others quickly finished what they were doing and waded through the mud.
Jiang Heng poured mulberry juice for everyone. Each person was pleasantly surprised—the drink was cool, sweet, and just a little tart, perfectly refreshing and not cold enough to hurt their teeth. Everyone couldn’t help but go back for a second cup.
Just over two cups per person.
Jiang Peng licked her lips, satisfied. “Xiao Heng, your mulberries taste great!”
“Take some home when you leave!” Jiang Heng said at once. “I’ll wash them for you, just eat them straight, I promise there are no bugs.”
“No problem!” Jiang Peng replied right away, totally unwilling to be polite.
Chen Aying couldn’t help but grumble at her daughter, “You’re useless at everything but eating!”
Jiang Peng protested, “Look how neat my planting is!”
Chen Aying retorted, “Look at the others, they’re fast and neat! You’re only neat.”
Jiang Peng: … She couldn’t compare with people who’d been farming all their lives!
After drinking mulberry juice, everyone’s fatigue seemed to melt away.
Some wanted to keep working, but Jiang Heng insisted it was too hot and forbade it—if it couldn’t be finished in one day, they could take two.
There was no rush, and she didn’t want these older folks getting heatstroke or sick, so she pulled everyone back home.
They had no choice but to leave.
At Jiang Heng’s doorstep, they heard the courtyard gate being scratched, as if something inside sensed its owner nearby. Two puppies let out pitiful “whimper whimper” sounds.
“You’ve got dogs now?” Jiang Guoxia asked, surprised.
Jiang Heng opened the door and was pounced on by two fluffy puppies, smiling as she nodded. “Yeah.”
The two little pups had sharp ears—they recognized her right away.
Shen Li praised, “They look good! Proper village dogs, good choice.”
Jiang Peng boasted, “I bought them for Xiao Heng. If she didn’t want them, Mom and I would’ve each kept one. When we took them away, Xiaoxiao was so reluctant!”
Jiang Heng laughed too. “Next time she visits, she can play with the puppies.”
Jiang Peng: “We’ll bring her for sure! She’s always talking about missing Grandma’s Little Chicken Stewed with Mushroom, and—hahaha—I just found out she’s really into looks. The other night, she secretly asked me why her pretty aunt doesn’t live at home but in the village. Oh man, she even asked why her dad hasn’t left yet. When I told her dad about it, he was so jealous…”
Everyone burst out laughing.
Her dad stayed extra long on his last visit, too…
After closing the door, Jiang Heng first used the Dust Removal Art on both puppies.
The yard wasn’t paved, and the pups had just been rolling around—grass clippings stuck to their fur.