Chapter 10: Mushroom Picking
Back Mountain. Reservoir!
When Li Yi arrived, he saw from a distance five or six half-grown boys fiddling with something by the reservoir.
Upon seeing Li Yi, two boys wearing only shorts immediately ran over.
“Brother Yi, why are you here?”
Li Yi smiled and said, “I’ve called everyone together; I have something to discuss with you all.”
“Alright!”
Soon, all the boys in the water by the shore gathered before Li Yi.
Looking at these childhood companions, Li Yi felt a complex mix of emotions.
Dongzi, Shitou, Qiangzi, Gangzi, Big Head, and Puppy—most of these friends had lived mediocre lives in their past lives. Even the best off among them only ran a small grain and oil shop in the county town. None had amassed a fortune over a million.
Yet despite this, they were all very loyal.
During the years when Li Yi had to leave the village to seek his fortune because he couldn’t make it at home, these boys often came over to help his family.
Especially after his father passed away from sorrow and left his elderly mother alone, it was these friends who supported her through those hardest times.
Though Li Yi had repaid them in some ways after his success—both openly and behind the scenes—he felt that no material help could match the bond of brotherhood they shared.
In this life, he not only aimed to rewrite Tang Xue’s fate but also to lift these little brothers to great heights together!
“Brother Yi, didn’t we agree to come here this afternoon to catch fish? Why didn’t you show up?”
“Brother Yi, I heard you... did something with Sister Xiao Xue, is it true?”
“Brother Yi, are you going to marry Sister Xiao Xue? Weren’t you interested in Wang Erniu’s sister?”
Li Yi smiled and said, “Stop right there. You ask so many questions at once, how am I supposed to answer?”
After a brief hesitation, Dongzi asked, “Uh... Brother Yi, did you really... with Sister Xiao Xue?”
Li Yi did not hide it and nodded, “Yes.”
“Brother Yi, what you did isn’t very honorable!” Dongzi said.
Li Yi didn’t get angry. He knew Tang Xue had done a great favor to Dongzi’s family.
Last year, Dongzi’s ten-year-old sister was playing by the river when the upstream reservoir suddenly released water. The little girl didn’t have time to get out and was swept away by the current. Tang Xue happened to pass by, and with her strong sense of justice, she risked her life to jump into the river and save the girl.
Since then, Dongzi’s family regarded Tang Xue as a living saint.
Dongzi’s words reflected his gratitude toward Tang Xue.
Besides, Li Yi knew he was partly responsible too; “not honorable” was not an unfair criticism.
“I will take responsibility, but I need your help!” Li Yi said.
Dongzi immediately asked, “Brother Yi, what do you want to do? How can we help?”
Li Yi said, “I plan to marry Tang Xue, and I want the wedding to be grand and splendid. That will require a lot of money!”
Dongzi thought for a moment and asked, “How much is a lot?”
“If you include the bride price and other expenses, at least a thousand yuan!” Li Yi said, counting the money needed for building a house and marrying a wife. If it were only the wedding, it wouldn’t cost so much.
“A... a thousand yuan?”
Everyone was stunned by Li Yi’s words. A thousand yuan was no small sum. Many families worked hard for a whole year and only managed to save a little over a hundred yuan. A thousand yuan equaled the total income of many families over ten years!
“Brother Yi, I only have twenty cents!”
“Brother Yi, I’ve got forty cents!”
“Brother Yi, I’ll go talk to my dad and see if he can give some money to help you and Sister Xiao Xue with the wedding...”
Li Yi shook his head, “No need. I’ve already found a way to make money, but I need your help. And I won’t let you work for free—I’ll pay you!”
“No need to pay us for helping Brother Yi. Just say what you need, brothers can do anything!” said Qiangzi. At 17, he was the eldest among these boys besides Li Yi and was the grandson of the village head, Feng.
“You all know there are mushrooms on the back mountain, right?”
“Of course, there are plenty of them there!”
Li Yi’s eyes lit up. “What I want you to do is pick mushrooms!”
“Pick mushrooms?”
“Yes, pine mushrooms and trumpet mushrooms—both!”
“Brother Yi, what do you want those for? It’s not a famine year,” Qiangzi frowned.
“You don’t need to ask now. I’ll tell you later!”
“Brother Yi, when do you need them?”
“The sooner, the better!”
Qiangzi said at once, “Then let’s forget about fishing. Let’s go pick mushrooms in the forest now. We should be able to collect quite a lot by dusk!”
“I agree. There are about two hours left until dark. We can easily gather tens of kilograms!”
“Brother Yi, why don’t you go get a snake-skin bag or a big basket? We’ll start picking first.”
Li Yi nodded, “Okay, you guys start. I’ll go get the baskets.”
“All right!”
...
The back mountain was three miles from Nianzi Mountain Village. When Li Yi returned there, it was already past seven in the evening and the sun was leaning west.
In the woods, Li Yi saw Dongzi, Qiangzi, and others had already picked a good amount of mushrooms, piled into several heaps.
He carefully placed them one by one into the baskets. Before long, the two large baskets he brought were both full.
Seeing the time was late, Li Yi told the boys they should head back to the village; it was dangerous to stay in the mountain after dark.
Though there were no fierce beasts like wolves or tigers, wild boars roamed there, and their fighting power was no less than wolves’.
So, carrying two large baskets of mushrooms and their fishing gear, the group marched back to the village.
By the time they arrived, night had fully fallen, and many households had lit kerosene lamps.
Though Nianzi Mountain Village was electrified, only a few dared to use electric lights. Most villagers still preferred kerosene lamps to save money.
Back home, his parents had returned. His father was watering the mule, while his mother was busy at the stove preparing dinner.
Seeing Li Yi and the group carrying two large baskets, Li Shankui was surprised and asked, “What’s in the baskets?”
“Mushrooms.”
“Why pick those? We’re not short of food at home,” Li Shankui asked, puzzled.
“It’s useful. Don’t ask now!” Li Yi replied.
He then had Qiangzi and the others help carry the mushrooms inside and told them to continue picking the next day. He would come find them in the afternoon.
After sending them off, Zhang Yuehong stoked the fire and asked, “Xiao Yi, I see your tea tray is pretty clean. How’s the cold skin (liangpi) business?”
Li Yi smiled, “Not bad. Sold everything.”
“Did you make money?”
“Yes, about ten yuan today.”
“Ten... ten yuan?”
At that moment, Li Shankui walked in and asked, “What ten yuan?”
Zhang Yuehong stammered, “Old man, Xiao Yi said he made ten yuan selling cold skin today.”
Li Shankui frowned, “Don’t talk nonsense. Making money isn’t that easy!”
Li Yi knew words alone wouldn’t convince them. He lifted the quilt off the kang bed and pulled out a pouch. He emptied all the money onto the bed.
As coins and small bills scattered across the kang, Li Shankui and his wife’s eyes widened in shock and astonishment.