Chapter 35: Chapter 35: Teaching Children, Schisandra Berries, and Studying

Gu Qinghuan walked along with her two children, giving them a little lesson as they went.

“When we’re out and about, if someone asks what our family eats and drinks, how should you answer?”

Beibei, shaking her mushroom-shaped haircut, eagerly blurted out, “We eat rice, white steamed buns, and dumplings and noodles!”

Dabao quickly tried to cover her mouth.

“You can’t say that.”

“Why not? We’ve eaten all those things,” Beibei looked at her brother, puzzled.

Gu Qinghuan was amused and asked, “Dabao, why not?”

“Dad says, ‘A greedy heart is never satisfied, and wealth should not be flaunted.’ If we say we eat so well, people who aren’t as well-off as us will get jealous and resentful. That’ll only bring trouble,” Dabao explained seriously.

Gu Qinghuan hadn’t realized Xu Huai’an had taught the children this, and she felt a surge of pride.

“Dabao is absolutely right. ‘Wealth should not be flaunted, and success comes from keeping things secret.’

‘Wealth should not be flaunted’ teaches us not to show off what we have. If we’re too flashy, it can make others jealous or unhappy.

It’s like wearing a thick, warm coat in the freezing winter—while we’re cozy, those shivering in the cold might resent us.

Showing off only makes others feel worse, and might even provoke their ill will.

It’s the same with food. If we’re eating fragrant white rice while others are choking down coarse grains, they’ll envy us and it could bring unnecessary trouble.

‘Success comes from keeping things secret’ teaches us to guard our own secrets.

There are always things we don’t want others to know. If only we know, we can seize opportunities and avoid interference or obstacles.

Behind every success, there’s always a lot of unseen planning and effort.

If a secret leaks out, all our hard work could be for nothing, or even bring disaster.”

The two children listened intently.

“So, from now on, if anyone asks about what we eat or wear at home, remember to play it down. We’ll get rich quietly,” Gu Qinghuan concluded.

“Yeah! Get rich quietly!” the two kids chimed in.

The three of them chatted and laughed as they walked into the mountains.

Gu Qinghuan didn’t dare take the children too deep, so she picked a small path she’d never taken before and wandered along it.

Whenever they came across wild mushrooms, they’d pick some.

It was a leisurely, pleasant outing.

When they reached a patch of woods, Gu Qinghuan spotted a dense cluster of small red berries.

If she wasn’t mistaken… these were schisandra berries.

To be sure, she went closer to study them, and confirmed they were indeed schisandra.

Schisandra has many medicinal properties: it can suppress coughs, clear phlegm, calm the nerves, protect the liver, dilate blood vessels, regulate cardiac metabolism, boost immunity, fight ulcers, and slow aging.

Maybe the villagers didn’t know much about medicinal herbs and had no idea about schisandra’s value, so no one picked them.

A money-making idea immediately popped into Gu Qinghuan’s mind.

Wild schisandra—if sold fresh, it should fetch at least fifty cents a pound, right?

This whole patch, if she picked it all, would be three or four hundred pounds at least.

That’s a hundred or two hundred yuan.

It would be hard work, but every little bit counts.

“Dabao, Beibei, come look! These red berries are called schisandra. They’re a medicinal herb. If we pick them and sell them, they’re worth more than wild vegetables.”

Both kids’ eyes lit up. They never imagined the red berries they saw all the time could make money.

“Mama, these berries are worth more than wild veggies? Then let’s pick a lot! I know a few more places with these berries,” Dabao exclaimed happily.

“Shh, keep your voice down. If others hear, we won’t be able to make any money.”

Schisandra wasn’t worth much these days, and others wouldn’t know what to do with it anyway.

But if she put it in her vending machine and sold it to people in the future, it would be valuable.

Still, it was best to be cautious.

Beibei looked at Gu Qinghuan with admiration. “Mama, you’re amazing! You know everything.”

She, her brother, and the other villagers had no idea these berries were medicinal or could be sold.

“That’s because I’ve read a lot of books and met a lot of people and seen a lot of things.

This is all very simple. As long as you study hard, you’ll know all sorts of things too,” Gu Qinghuan took the opportunity to plant a seed of love for learning in their hearts.

Dabao looked at her in surprise. “Mama, we can study too?”

Gu Qinghuan hadn’t expected him to be so surprised, but then she realized why.

In Xujiatun, very few children went to school. Most had to help out at home, and even half-grown kids were as useful as adults.

Only families with a bit of savings could afford to send their kids to school in town.

For example, all the Xu family kids had gone to school, even Xu Meiling had finished junior high, which made her feel educated and look down on the village men—she set her sights on the cultured and well-off Chen Jianghe.

But clearly, he didn’t think much of her—he only tolerated her out of respect for the Party Secretary.

The two kids obviously never thought Gu Qinghuan would spend money to send them to school, so they were a little surprised and delighted.

“Of course you can study! But this semester is already halfway through, so let’s wait.

Winter’s coming soon, so your grandma and I will teach you at home for now. After the New Year, we’ll send you to school in town,” Gu Qinghuan had already planned this out.

Zhong Zijun was a university professor, and she herself had graduated from a top university. Teaching two little kids the basics would be no problem at all.

If it weren’t for the fact that kids learn more systematically at school, she could easily teach them at home.

Dabao felt a warm glow in his heart. “Mama, we’ll study really hard.”

Beibei didn’t really understand the benefits of studying, but seeing her brother so happy, she was happy too.

With the schooling settled, the three of them rolled up their sleeves, ready to work hard and earn lots of money.

The two kids were short, so they picked the berries from the lower branches, while Gu Qinghuan picked from higher up.

She broke off a stick to pull down the vines that were out of reach.

Before long, they’d filled a big burlap sack.

Gu Qinghuan also secretly stashed quite a bit in her space, so she wouldn’t have to carry it back.

Once the sack was full, she decided to take it home first and let the kids keep picking. This spot wasn’t far from home and wasn’t deep in the mountains, so it was safe.

“Dabao, Beibei, you two keep picking and put the berries in the basket. I’ll take this sack home and come right back. Be good and don’t wander off. If anything happens, climb up this tree and be careful.”

“Okay, Mama, we know. There’s no danger here. Go ahead.”

Dabao often took his sister up the mountain, and they knew this area at the foot of the mountain well. He’d never gone into the deep mountains, though.

Gu Qinghuan hefted the sack of schisandra berries and headed down the mountain.

She dropped off the berries at home, quickly drank a pot of spring water, and hurried back up.

As she reached the edge of the mountain, she ran into a beautiful woman coming the other way.

It was none other than the educated youth Lin Xiaomeng—her nominal sister-in-law, and the female lead of the novel."

"Chapter 36: Don’t Eat What Belongs to Others, The Unlucky Qian Caihua

Gu Qinghuan stared intently at Lin Xiaomeng, making her a little uncomfortable before Gu Qinghuan finally looked away.

Lin Xiaomeng was the female lead in the novel, so of course she was beautiful—she and Gu Qinghuan each had their own unique charm.

If Gu Qinghuan was like an elegant, gentle white magnolia, then Lin Xiaomeng was a lively, captivating peach blossom.

But Gu Qinghuan wasn’t looking at Lin Xiaomeng’s face.

She suddenly realized she could see a progress bar behind Lin Xiaomeng. The red bar showed that Lin Xiaomeng’s fortune value had already reached thirty percent.

She didn’t know what it meant that she could see this, but it definitely wasn’t a good thing. It was another reminder to keep her distance.

Lin Xiaomeng had come to the countryside early, married Xu Huaizhi for several years, and their child was already five. So even though they were both educated youth, they weren’t actually close.

But now that they were sisters-in-law, it was only polite to greet each other.

“Qinghuan, how’s your mother’s injury? We’re both educated youth, both from Beijing, and now we’re sisters-in-law too—what a coincidence! We should keep in touch more often!” Lin Xiaomeng said, looking genuinely concerned.

Having been reborn, the biggest variable she’d encountered was this woman, who by all rights should have been dead. So she felt a bit wary of Gu Qinghuan.

Especially since Gu Qinghuan had suddenly gotten clever before, using Xu Huaizhi to ask the old lady for grain. That made Lin Xiaomeng uneasy, afraid her own rebirth might be exposed.

But she didn’t dare make any rash moves to test her, so she just put on a front for now.

“No need to trouble yourself, sister-in-law. We’re not the same kind of people. It’s better if we keep our distance,” Gu Qinghuan said coldly, imitating her original self.

She had no intention of getting involved with the female lead—misfortune would only follow.

Lin Xiaomeng was momentarily speechless, not expecting her warmth to be met with such coldness.

But this was just like Gu Qinghuan—she’d always been a loner, not talkative, and had no friends.

It seemed she’d been overthinking things before. Gu Qinghuan was still the same as ever—she’d just been lucky enough to survive a disaster.

Lin Xiaomeng finally felt relieved.

Now, even though they were sisters-in-law in name, she was the wife of the eldest son, favored by her in-laws, and had given birth to the family’s first grandson.

Gu Qinghuan, on the other hand, was just the wife of a madman and a cast-off, naturally beneath her. They’d have nothing to do with each other.

If anything, it would be Gu Qinghuan coming to beg her for help. There was really no need to keep in contact.

All these thoughts flashed through her mind in an instant.

Lin Xiaomeng’s face turned cold as she snapped, “Kindness wasted on the ungrateful. Forget what I just said—let’s hope you can keep up that backbone of yours.”

With that, she slung her empty basket over her back and headed straight down the mountain.

Gu Qinghuan glanced at her meaningfully.

According to the book’s plot, by now Lin Xiaomeng should have discovered her fortune space and successfully absorbed the fortune of a local troublemaker. Then she’d come up the mountain and find a hundred-year-old wild ginseng.

That woman’s fortune space was truly strange. It was best to keep a clear line between them. She probably wouldn’t come looking for her again.

As for the Xu family, she’d use them if she could, and stay far away if she couldn’t. After all, they’d already been cast out to fend for themselves.

Oh, and she had to remind the two kids to be wary of Lin Xiaomeng and her son, Xu Jincheng.

When she got back to where they were picking schisandra berries, the two kids had already picked all the low-hanging ones and were sitting on the ground resting.

“Mom, you’re back! We finished picking all the ones we could reach. Only the high-up ones are left.”

“Good job. Here, have some water,” she said, handing over the canteen.

The two kids gulped down the water, feeling much better afterward.

Gu Qinghuan took a few White Rabbit candies from her pocket, clenched them in her fist, and teased, “Guess what treat I brought you?”

Little rascal Beibei immediately shouted, “It’s White Rabbit candy!”

If it fit in Mom’s hand, it had to be candy.

Gu Qinghuan opened her palm, revealing the candies.

“That’s right! You get a reward.”

The two little ones happily took the candies, splitting them up between themselves.

Gu Qinghuan took the opportunity to give them a lesson.

“In the future, if you want something—whether it’s food or anything else—as long as it’s reasonable, Mom will get it for you.

But there’s one thing I want you to remember,” she said, looking at them seriously.

The two kids immediately forgot about the candy, listening nervously.

“That is: don’t ever take things from others. No matter what it is, even a bowl of water, don’t accept it—especially from the people at the old house. Be extra careful.

Of course, if I’m there and I say it’s okay, then you can. But if I’m not, you must never eat or drink anything from others.

Remember: never let your guard down. If someone’s being overly nice for no reason, they’re up to no good. Better safe than sorry.”

Dabao nodded earnestly to show he understood.

Beibei didn’t really get why Mom wouldn’t let her take things from others, but she obediently nodded along anyway.

Dabao had been through a lot and knew there was no such thing as a free lunch, so Gu Qinghuan wasn’t worried about him.

Her biggest concern was Beibei, who seemed like she could be lured away with a single candy.

“Dabao, you must keep a close eye on your sister. She can’t eat anything from anyone else.”

“Mom, I’ll definitely look after her,” Dabao promised seriously.

Gu Qinghuan felt a bit more at ease.

“All right, you two enjoy your candy.”

Gu Qinghuan picked the schisandra berries from the higher branches, sneaking half of them into her space while the other half went into a big sack.

As she was tidying up, an unfriendly voice interrupted.

“Huai’an’s wife, is your family so poor you’re planning to cook these red berries as your main meal?”

Qian Caihua was passing by with a bundle of firewood on her back. Seeing the family packing up the berries, she stopped to watch the show.

Gu Qinghuan didn’t like gossiping busybodies and didn’t even spare her a glance, just kept working.

“Aunt Caihua, do you live by the sea? Why are you so nosy? You’d be better off worrying about yourself!”

Qian Caihua’s days were about to get rough. In the book, Lin Xiaomeng’s second target was Qian Caihua.

She was always running her mouth, spreading rumors everywhere, even saying Lin Xiaomeng was cheating on Xu Huaizhi.

Granted, in her previous life, Lin Xiaomeng really had abandoned her husband and child for a chance to return to Beijing, even hooking up with a male educated youth from the next village.

But this time, she didn’t want to!

So Qian Caihua became a thorn in her side, someone she couldn’t wait to get rid of.

She didn’t even spare Qian Caihua’s family.

After losing her fortune, Qian Caihua became so unlucky she’d choke on water, dragging her family down with her.

Her husband died young, her son got shot for profiteering, and her youngest daughter married a violent divorcé. Every time she came home crying, Qian Caihua couldn’t take the endless blows and eventually killed herself.

Everyone has their own way of living. No matter what, they didn’t deserve to die.

The funny thing was, from the book’s female lead’s perspective, she was just upholding justice.

Gu Qinghuan couldn’t understand it, nor could she agree. How was that any different from being an executioner?"

"Chapter 37: Good People and Bad People, Chicken Stew with Mushrooms

Qian Caihua didn’t take Gu Qinghuan’s warning to heart at all, but she wasn’t angry either.

“Huai’an’s wife, to be honest, if I’d known you were so filial, I really should’ve proposed a marriage between you and my Qiulin. Never mind a hundred yuan, I’d be willing to pay a hundred and one! It’s such a pity for you, so young—what will you do in the future?”

Gu Qinghuan almost burst out laughing. A hundred and one yuan—she actually said it out loud! She couldn’t be bothered to respond, just hoisted the sack onto her shoulder and got ready to head down the mountain with the two kids.

Seeing that she was really leaving, Qian Caihua quickly picked up her own bundle of firewood and chased after her, calling out, “If you eat too many of those red berries, you’ll get hiccups, acid reflux, stomach pain, and feel weak all over. Don’t treat them like a meal!”

People in the mountains know what’s edible and what’s not—otherwise, with so many berries around, why would no one pick them? Qian Caihua was just worried that this city-bred educated youth wouldn’t know any better and might get herself into trouble.

That’s just the kind of person Qian Caihua was. She could be mean, but never truly malicious. At worst, she had the typical faults of a rural woman—gossipy, sharp-tongued, a bit nosy—but she never meant real harm.

Seeing Qian Caihua chasing after her so anxiously, Gu Qinghuan had no choice but to stop and respond seriously.

“I got it, thank you. Slow down, don’t fall.” If she tripped, she’d probably try to blame it on her.

Only when she saw Gu Qinghuan take her words to heart did Qian Caihua slow her pace.

All the way back, Gu Qinghuan walked quickly.

Maybe because he noticed Gu Qinghuan seemed annoyed with Qian Caihua, Dabao whispered, “Mom, Grandma Qian isn’t a bad person. Once, when I was hungry for days, she secretly gave me a piece of black bread.”

That was one of the few acts of kindness Dabao had ever received.

In times like these, no family had extra food. Even a piece of black bread was a big favor.

Gu Qinghuan felt a mix of emotions—her mind was a mess.

Everyone has many sides. Qian Caihua could be annoying, gossipy, meddlesome, but her life shouldn’t be manipulated by Lin Xiaomeng.

Just for the fact that she’d chased after her to give that warning, Gu Qinghuan felt she owed her some help. But as for how to help, she hadn’t figured it out yet.

She couldn’t just rush over and tell Qian Caihua, “Don’t drink Lin Xiaomeng’s water, or you’ll lose your luck,” could she?

Sigh. She’d just have to take things one step at a time.

—

When they got home, Zhong Zijun had already steamed the rice.

The pot of chicken stew with mushrooms was giving off a rich aroma, making everyone’s mouth water.

Seeing her daughter struggling with the sack, Zhong Zijun’s heart ached. She hurried over to help, only to remember her own hand wasn’t up to it.

Gu Qinghuan dropped the sack onto the floor.

“Dabao, Beibei, go fetch some water and wash your hands—we’re having chicken stew with mushrooms today!”

Smiles lit up everyone’s faces.

As usual, lunch was eaten on the heated kang in the east room.

Zhong Zijun fairly divided the two drumsticks between the kids, gave the wings to her daughter and son-in-law, and gnawed on the chicken head herself, savoring every bite.

Who cared if people said you shouldn’t eat the chicken head? These days, anything with a bit of fat was a treat—even the chicken butt was considered a delicacy.

After plucking, the wild chicken weighed just over two jin (about a kilo). With the mushrooms, it made a big potful. The whole family even mixed the soup into their rice and polished off every last drop. Xu Huai’an’s eating speed was noticeably faster than usual.

Full and content, sitting on the kang, Gu Qinghuan was already thinking about when to take out the other wild chicken she had in her space. Wild mountain chicken, pure and flavorful—damn, it was delicious.

She’d have to find a way to get more wild game from the mountains using the spring water, stash it in her space, and enjoy it slowly. But she’d have to be careful with the bigger wild animals—she’d need a long-term plan.

Speaking of which, she remembered the seafood in the villa’s kitchen—if she didn’t eat it soon, it would go bad.

But with Zhong Zijun around, it wasn’t convenient. Besides, they were eating well every meal now, so it wouldn’t be right to cook something special just for herself.

She wondered if the spring water could be used to raise fish and shrimp from the sea. If so, she could keep them alive for now—maybe they’d even breed and multiply.

“Huanhuan, are you sure those schisandra berries can really be sold for money?”

Zhong Zijun had heard of schisandra as a medicinal herb before, but only ever saw the dried kind. This was her first time seeing them fresh.

“Don’t worry, it’ll work. I know someone who specializes in buying herbs.

I’ll go out again this afternoon and pick more. Tomorrow morning, I’ll take them to sell for cash.” Gu Qinghuan yawned as she spoke, feeling a little sleepy.

Seeing this, Zhong Zijun quickly got up to tidy up. “Go take a nap. I’ll clean up. I can’t help with your other work, so let me handle these chores.”

Gu Qinghuan wasn’t too sure about that, so she gave the two kids a look. They immediately understood and scampered over to help Zhong Zijun.

Gu Qinghuan went back to the west room and locked the door.

She didn’t go to sleep right away, but entered her space instead. Ever since Zhong Zijun arrived, she hadn’t had time to go in.

The first thing she did was harvest the persimmons and chestnuts she’d transplanted, and put them up for sale in the vending machine.

Inside the space, she could control everything with her mind, so harvesting was done in an instant.

From a dozen or so persimmon trees, she got a mountain-like pile of fruit.

There was also a small heap of chestnuts, already stripped of their spiky shells.

Gu Qinghuan tasted a “chicken heart” persimmon—thin-skinned, juicy, sweet, and seedless. Delicious. Maybe it was the spring water she’d used, but it had a special sweetness.

She kept enough for the family to eat through the winter and put the rest up for sale in the vending machine.

These persimmons were so tasty, she couldn’t sell them too cheap—thirty cents a jin would do.

After weighing, the vending machine showed a total of 1,450 jin of persimmons. Including the ones she set aside, she’d harvested about 2,000 jin altogether.

That meant each tree produced over a hundred jin of fruit—wild, unmanaged, and still such a yield. Not bad at all.

There weren’t nearly as many chestnuts—just about a hundred jin in total.

Gu Qinghuan decided not to sell those, but to keep them for the family.

With 1,450 jin of persimmons on the shelf, she could expect to make over four hundred yuan—no surprise there. Gu Qinghuan was in a good mood.

After dealing with the fruit trees, she went to the kitchen in her space and found that the fish, shrimp, and crabs in the sink were still alive.

Without delay, she picked a suitable spot in her space, dug a big pit, and filled it with spring water to start her own fish farm.

But spring water alone wouldn’t be enough. Gu Qinghuan planned to collect some river water that afternoon and bring it into her space.

While she was at it, she’d collect as many other fish as she could find.

Then, whenever she wanted to eat something, she could just scoop it out with a net—just thinking about it made her happy.

She’d also have to plant some grains and vegetables, so she wouldn’t have to spend money on them in the future.

She was still daydreaming when Zhong Zijun knocked on the door.

“Huanhuan, are you asleep?

Honestly, why do you have to lock the door just for a nap?”

Gu Qinghuan scrambled out of her space to open the door.

Oh, Mom, your timing is just perfect."

"Chapter 38: Planning the Space, Heart-Shaped Persimmons Go Viral

After a short nap of about half an hour, Gu Qinghuan felt refreshed. She slung her water bottle over her shoulder, grabbed a burlap sack, and headed out.

The two kids were still asleep, so she decided not to bring them along this afternoon.

This worked out well—Zhong Zijun could give them some basic lessons, teach them a few simple things, and they could help out with some chores.

As for the schisandra berries, she could go look for those herself.

Her first stop was the riverside.

It was midday, so there wasn’t a soul by the river.

She squatted on a large stone where the village women often did their laundry.

Gu Qinghuan dipped her hand into the water, letting a trickle of spiritual spring water seep from her fingertips.

Spiritual spring water seemed to have a strong attraction for animals—something she’d discovered during previous experiments in the mountains.

She waited for about a minute.

Suddenly, the water in front of her began to churn. Dense shadows swirled beneath the surface, and several large fish even leapt out of the water, which was a little startling.

She knew it was about time.

She reached into the water again.

This time, the dark mass of fish that had been crowding the area vanished in an instant.

Even the water level by the riverbank dropped by two centimeters.

Gu Qinghuan smiled in satisfaction, washed her hands, and headed into the mountains.

There were quite a few people on the mountain that afternoon, most carrying baskets on their backs—it was harvest season.

Gu Qinghuan wasn’t one for small talk; aside from nodding to people she knew, she ignored everyone else.

People were used to her temperament by now. Some even felt a bit sorry for her—such a beautiful young woman, and her future was ruined.

Gu Qinghuan found a secluded spot and entered her space.

The fish pond she’d dug at noon was now filled with river water, and fish and shrimp were swimming happily inside. She even caught sight of a few large turtles.

She’d thought about dumping all the sea fish and lobsters from the kitchen in there too, but worried they’d end up fighting each other.

So she dug a smaller pond nearby, just for the seafood.

Perfect.

With the fish ponds sorted, it was time to focus on planting.

Although Gu Qinghuan wasn’t an expert in farming, after a year in the countryside, she’d picked up most of the basics—she was half a farmer by now.

So the simple planting tasks weren’t a problem for her.

First, she used the vending machine to buy a batch of high-quality seeds from the future.

Rice, wheat, corn, spiral peppers, cucumbers, snow peas, water spinach, lettuce stem, cilantro, chives, long eggplant, romaine, Chinese cabbage, scallions, garlic sprouts…

White radish, cherry radish, Shanghai greens, dwarf yellow cabbage, red amaranth, cherry tomatoes, Provence tomatoes, pumpkin, winter melon, yardlong beans, and so on—she bought them all, since they weren’t expensive anyway.

These vegetables would be hot commodities in winter. She could eat some herself without attracting attention, and the rest she could sell for cash—a win-win.

Since she could control the space with her mind and had spiritual spring water to boost growth, planting was a breeze.

After buying the seeds, Gu Qinghuan began planning out the space.

With the villa and the spring at the center, she decided to designate the farther eastern area—where she’d just dug two fish ponds—as the livestock zone. In the future, she could raise chickens, ducks, cows, and sheep there.

The space stretched as far as the eye could see—she could plant a vast prairie for them to graze on.

Her goal was to be self-sufficient in meat.

It wasn’t that she couldn’t afford to buy meat, but raising her own was more cost-effective.

After all, there was a big difference between future feedlot meat and the all-natural meat of today.

With the spiritual spring water’s boost, she couldn’t even imagine how delicious the meat would be.

She planned to use the northern area for crops, including the fruit trees she’d transplanted earlier.

With the general layout decided, Gu Qinghuan started planting using her mind.

First up was rice—the trickiest crop, since it needed to be grown in paddies and required seedling cultivation.

Gu Qinghuan diverted some water from the big fish pond and created several acres of rice paddies by hand.

Next was seedling cultivation, which was simple enough—the space had perfect temperature and sunlight. She scattered the seeds densely and let them grow freely. Once the seedlings were ready, she’d transplant them into the paddies.

Wheat was even easier—she just scattered the seeds evenly, sprayed them with spiritual spring water, and waited for harvest.

The rest of the seeds were planted in their designated plots, spaced out properly and watered with spiritual spring water.

The soil in the space was fertile and weed-free, so she didn’t even need to weed. The spring water was the best fertilizer—now it was just a matter of time.

It took Gu Qinghuan less than an hour to finish all the planting. She also planned out the orchard, so she could transplant any new fruit trees she found later.

Oh, and she needed to list the schisandra berries she’d picked that morning on the vending machine.

Huh—turns out the heart-shaped persimmons she’d listed at noon had already sold several portions. That was a surprise.

Actually, her price of thirty cents per jin was pretty high—converted to future prices, that would be twenty or thirty yuan per jin.

She thought the persimmons were worth it—the flavor was amazing after being enhanced by the spring water—but she didn’t expect others to agree, since you had to taste them to know.

So she hadn’t expected them to sell so quickly.

It reminded her of a meme about young people in the future: “What, mineral water for fifty bucks? Gotta try it at least once.”

Maybe the people who bought her persimmons were just like that!

Gu Qinghuan shook her head and smiled wryly. She listed the schisandra berries, clearly marked as wild, at fifty cents per jin, with a tenfold compensation for any fakes.

She’d smuggled in 183 jin of schisandra berries that morning—selling them would net her nearly a hundred yuan, and she still had over a hundred jin at home.

Like a hamster, she was slowly stockpiling money bit by bit. Gu Qinghuan really liked and enjoyed her current life.

After tidying up, she left the space, picked up her sack, and continued on—this afternoon, she planned to try her luck on another mountain to see if she could find anything new.

—

She was right.

Wang Tao, the office drone, was working overtime while browsing Taobao.

Suddenly, a product caught his eye.

What the heck—twenty-eight yuan for a jin of persimmons?

Even dried persimmons aren’t that expensive!

Skeptical, Wang Tao clicked into the product details and immediately burst out laughing.

“This seller is ridiculous. Wild heart-shaped persimmons, sweet and juicy—okay, those claims are barely acceptable.

But ‘relieves fatigue, leaves you feeling refreshed’—what is that? Are they selling this persimmon as some kind of elixir?

And they even dare to promise tenfold compensation for fakes—do they have a death wish?

No way, I have to teach them a lesson today. I want to see what a twenty-eight-yuan persimmon tastes like.”"

"Chapter 39: A Bountiful Harvest