The Adopted Cannon Fodder Made a Comeback

Once they got to the city, Sun Jiaming found a spot, and the two of them poured out some of the mushrooms.

Gu’er didn’t start hawking her wares right away. Instead, she began cleaning the mushrooms. She hadn’t had time to do it after picking them, so she needed to trim the dirty ends of the stems and remove any bits of grass.

"Oh, are these mushrooms? Are they already growing at this time of year?"

Several people came over to ask when they saw the mushrooms.

In previous years, there had been people selling mushrooms, but not many. This was because villagers with relatives in the city would usually just give them some.

Besides, mushrooms didn’t usually appear this early; it was typically much later. Seeing them at this time of year was quite a novelty.

"Yes, this is the first harvest. The first harvest doesn’t yield many mushrooms, but they’re the best, much tastier than the second batch. Would you like to buy some, ma’am?"

When Gu’er saw people gathering, she put down the mushrooms she was cleaning and started attending to them. Sun Jiaming kept his head down and continued cleaning.

"They look pretty good. How much are you selling them for?"

The woman was interested, and a few other women crowded around, all asking the same thing.

’I was so focused on selling the mushrooms, but what should I charge per pound?’

Gu’er remembered the future, from around the time she had passed away. Back then, first-harvest fresh mushrooms sold for over ten yuan a pound. But she had never sold them in this era. ’What price should I set?’

"Fifty cents a pound. The first harvest is small, this is all we could gather in our entire village."

Gu’er felt this price was probably about right.

"Fifty cents is too expensive. The mushrooms are nice, but in half a month or a month, there will be plenty more. People are just buying them for the novelty. How about twenty cents? I’ll buy a pound for twenty cents."

Someone was haggling with Gu’er.

’Should I sell or not? That’s more than half the price chopped right off.’

"I can’t sell for twenty cents. We worked half the day just to pick this much. If I sell for too little, I won’t be able to answer for it back home. How about forty cents?"

Gu’er raised the price a bit. If she seemed like a pushover, she was afraid too many people would try to haggle.

The two of them haggled for a while before settling on a price of thirty-five cents. Then, Gu’er weighed out the mushrooms for the customer.

But many people wanted to buy, and she and Sun Jiaming had only cleaned about two pounds. Gu’er decided to stop cleaning them altogether and offered the uncleaned ones for sixty cents for two pounds.

The mushrooms sold surprisingly well. The city folk didn’t mind spending a few dozen cents. There weren’t any other mushrooms available yet, so they were happy to pay a little for something new and fresh.

By the time Gu’er’s sack was empty, there were still quite a few people who hadn’t been able to buy any.

"We’ll go look for more tomorrow. If we find any, we’ll come back. If you want to buy some, come check again tomorrow."

Gu’er told the people who hadn’t been able to buy any.

Although they hadn’t gotten any, the sellers were sold out, so there was nothing to be done. The disappointed customers could only leave, reminding Gu’er to come early the next day as they went.

On the way back, the corners of Gu’er’s mouth were turned up in a constant smile.

They had picked about thirty-four pounds of mushrooms and sold them for ten yuan.

Ten yuan. It might not sound like much, but it was a huge amount for the time. An average worker only made twenty or thirty yuan a month, with better-paid ones earning forty or fifty. She had earned ten yuan in a single day. ’Oh, and Sun Jiaming,’ she thought. ’That’s five yuan each. That’s a lot.’

"Brother Jia Ming, if we keep earning money like this, do you think I’ll be able to buy a house in the city?"

Gu’er asked Sun Jiaming, her voice light and cheerful.

"Definitely."

Sun Jiaming’s reply was firm, but his heart ached slightly. ’Gu’er feels so insecure. She doesn’t know if she was abandoned by her birth parents as a child. Then her adoptive mother took her along into a new marriage. After that, she had that falling out with Zhou Mazi and was left with nowhere to live. She must desperately want a place that’s truly hers. Even though I’ve promised her a home with me, deep down she’s still afraid.’

’No rush,’ he thought. ’I believe in myself. I believe that one day, Gu’er will trust me with her whole heart.’

It was already quite dark by the time they reached the Sun Family’s home. Aunt Zhao hadn’t left yet. Seeing them return, she told them to go wash up while she placed the still-warm dinner on the kang table.

When Grandma Sun and Aunt Zhao heard that their mushrooms had sold for ten yuan, they were both astonished.

"No way! You really sold them for ten yuan?"

Aunt Zhao was deeply shaken. ’What could you possibly do in the village to earn ten yuan? And in a single day!’

"Aunt, if Uncle and the others have time tomorrow, have them go look for mushrooms too. If they find any, they can bring them all to us, and we’ll sell them."

Gu’er said this after thinking for a moment, having seen the look on Aunt Zhao’s face.

Aunt Zhao’s mother had passed away many years ago, so she effectively had no family of her own to fall back on. On her husband’s side, the man she married also had the surname Zhao. He was an honest man and treated her well, but he was the second of three brothers and wasn’t favored like the eldest and youngest. As a result, their family was not very well-off.

Aunt Zhao had three children. The eldest was twenty, the second was thirteen, and the third was a daughter who was only five.

With three children and Uncle Zhao having no particular trade, the family could barely make ends meet. Because Aunt Zhao often came to take care of Grandma Sun, Sun Jiaming would frequently give her some food to take back home.

Gu’er had a good impression of Aunt Zhao, and Uncle Zhao was a down-to-earth person. She thought that since selling mushrooms was profitable right now, it would be good to include Aunt Zhao’s family. If they earned some money, it would ease their burden.

"Can you sell them all? We wouldn’t want you to be unable to sell your own mushrooms because of what we pick."

Aunt Zhao was very tempted. Her family wasn’t wealthy, and her twenty-year-old son still hadn’t married. There had been talk with two potential families, but neither prospect was good. She had inquired about the daughter from one family and heard she was greedy and lazy. The daughter from the other family had a problem with her leg. She didn’t want either of them as a daughter-in-law. Her standards weren’t high; she didn’t care about the girl’s family’s finances, as long as the girl was down-to-earth and could run a household. But even with such simple criteria, she couldn’t find anyone suitable. The whole situation was a constant source of worry for her.

"It’s fine, we can sell them. Just have my uncle go. But we’ll still need you to look after Grandma here."

Gu’er didn’t think it would be a problem.

"Alright, I’ll go back and tell your uncle. And don’t you worry about Grandma, I’ve got her covered. I’ll be heading off now."

Aunt Zhao nodded, a look of delight on her face.

After eating, Gu’er went back, heated some water to wash up, and went to bed. She was absolutely exhausted from the day. Exhaustion is the best sleeping aid, and that night she didn’t think about anything at all. Her head had barely hit the pillow before she drifted off to dreamland.

The next day, before the sun was up, Gu’er and Sun Jiaming went up the mountain again. They avoided the places they had already been and searched new areas.

Gu’er was glad to have Sun Jiaming with her. For one, she had company. For another, there were snakes in the mountains. You usually wouldn’t run into one, but there was always a chance. If they did encounter a snake, it was better to have someone else around.

By noon, Gu’er and Sun Jiaming had picked another large batch.

When they got back, Aunt Zhao had already prepared lunch. Uncle Zhao hadn’t arrived yet. Gu’er ate while she waited, and Sun Jiaming went out for a bit. When he returned, he was pushing a bicycle.

Gu’er’s eyes lit up. Not many families in the village owned a bicycle—only three in total—and they were all treated like treasures. She hadn’t expected Brother Jia Ming to actually borrow one.

It made sense, though. They had picked dozens of pounds of mushrooms, and if Uncle Zhao also picked dozens more, it would be exhausting for Sun Jiaming to carry all those mushrooms and her on his bike. With an extra bicycle, they could each ride one, making the trip much easier.

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