Chapter 64: Selling Black mushrooms

Fang Mingxi’s heart skipped a beat.

Who is this person? Why was she calling her Xixi the moment she opened her mouth? Xiao Yu? Did this middle-aged woman actually know He Yu?

But Fang Mingxi had no memory of her at all. She hadn’t seen this woman before, not even the last time she’d gone to eat at the Brigade Leader’s house.

Before Fang Mingxi could say anything, He Qiu anxiously reached out and grabbed her arm.

“Xixi, who is this person with you? Were you tricked into coming here? Come over to me right now, I’ll call your Brigade Leader immediately!”

Fang Mingxi: !!!

She shot a desperate look at Tong Xueyan.

Cousin, hurry up, do something! If that call goes through, we’re dead.

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Msdt Dwluyd poyvvle Tl Ckw’p byde yoyu. “Ebs yal usw, ywdvkl? Mbkp kp xu uswdtla pkpvla. Ebyv lmynvzu yal usw vaukdt vs es?”

“Ebyv es usw xlyd uswa pkpvla? Fkdnl obld eslp Dkmk byhl yd szela pkpvla?” Tl Ckw pdyrrle, zkqvkdt bla blye ydtakzu, alyeu vs rskdv yv Msdt Dwluyd yde pnsze bla qsa clkdt pbyxlzlpp.

Jwv vbl xsxldv pbl tsv y nzlya zssj yv Msdt Dwluyd’p qynl, pbl qasgl.

“Zsw’al pyukdt… usw’al Dkmk’p szela pkpvla?”

“Zlp. Psd’v ol zssj yzkjl?” Msdt Dwluyd zywtble zktbvzu yde pbsv cynj.

Tl Ckw pvwekle vblx nyalqwzzu. Mbl xsal pbl zssjle, vbl xsal pkxkzyakvklp pbl dsvknle, lprlnkyzzu vblka lulp. Ekvb nzspla kdprlnvksd, kv oyp schkswp vblu alyzzu olal pkpvlap.

Xdzu vbld eke pbl qkdyzzu alzym. “Zsw pnyale xl byzq vs elyvb, Dkmk. R vbswtbv usw’e clld jkedyrrle cu bwxyd vayqqknjlap.”

Wydt Ykdtmk qkdyzzu prsjl. “Ebs yal usw? R esd’v vbkdj R jdso usw.”

He Qiu wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. “Of course you don’t. I’m He Yu’s grandaunt. I saw Xiao Yu go up the mountain with you before to pick mushrooms.”

That explanation made everything click for Fang Mingxi. Right, He Yu had mentioned before that her grandaunt worked in the county town.

The clothes the Brigade Leader had delivered a few days earlier even had tags from the Tongluo County Garment Factory. At the time, Fang Mingxi had thought the Brigade Leader had impressive connections to get factory-defect clothing like that. It turned out there was family involved.

But if he had such a relative, how had the Brigade Leader still ended up in that situation?

Fang Mingxi fell into deep thought.

Now that He Qiu understood Fang Mingxi and Tong Xueyan’s real relationship, she guessed Fang Mingxi must have slipped out secretly; otherwise, her elder brother would’ve already called.

She patted around herself, but finding no snacks, she only pulled out a tin of Snowflake Cream she’d bought at the supply and marketing cooperative earlier that day.

Snowflake Cream wasn’t suitable for children, but Xixi’s grandma could probably use it.

He Qiu stuffed the cream into Fang Mingxi’s pocket. “Grandaunt didn’t bring anything nice today. You’re not leaving today, are you? How about coming to Grandma’s place for dinner tonight?”

Fang Mingxi: “……”

Why did everyone in the He family like stuffing things into her pockets?

She looked at Tong Xueyan, unsure whether she should accept the Snowflake Cream.

Tong Xueyan squeezed the back of her hand, then took out money and ration coupons from her bag and handed them to He Qiu.

“Auntie, I happened to miss buying Snowflake Cream at the counter, so since you already have it, this saves me trouble. As for dinner, there’s no need, we’ve already made plans for tonight. I still need to take my sister to find someone.”

He Qiu opened her mouth to argue, but in the end, she sighed and accepted the money. “Alright, then I’ll listen to you. But Xixi, if you come to the county town again, you must come find me at the garment factory. Grandaunt will treat you to a meal.”

Fang Mingxi nodded.

If there’s a next time… Who knew when she’d be back in the county town again?

Every member of the He family was overwhelmingly enthusiastic; she was honestly struggling to keep up.

And… was she really that likable?

He Qiu walked back toward Qin Caiyun, turning her head every few steps, while Tong Xueyan took Fang Mingxi’s hand and led her toward the exit.

Just then, Qin Caiyun happened to catch sight of the basket Tong Xueyan was carrying.

She raised her hand and quickly called out, “Comrade, wait a moment.”

Tong Xueyan and Fang Mingxi stopped again and turned to look at Qin Caiyun, who jogged over.

“Yes?” Tong Xueyan asked.

Qin Caiyun hesitated, then leaned in closer to inspect the basket. It looked very much like what she’d been searching for. She rapidly organized her thoughts.

Fang Mingxi gently tugged on Tong Xueyan’s sleeve and shook the basket slightly.

Tong Xueyan understood immediately. “These are wild mushrooms. They’re not commonly seen on the market, but they’re edible, definitely not poisonous.” She lifted the grass covering the basket, revealing the black mushrooms inside.

Qin Caiyun felt relieved. As long as they were edible, it was fine. She’d thought they looked like mushrooms, and sure enough, they were wild ones.

Fresh wild mushrooms were rare at the supply and marketing cooperative; most were dried goods. Every time she wanted fresh mushrooms, she couldn’t get any. She hadn’t expected such an unexpected find today.

Since this wasn’t a suitable place to trade, the three moved into the shed nearby.

He Qiu knew they were going to negotiate prices and was happy for Fang Mingxi to make some money, so she voluntarily stood guard outside to keep others away.

Fang Mingxi had no idea how much black mushrooms were worth and could only leave everything to Tong Xueyan.

Black mushrooms sold for exorbitant prices abroad, but very few people in China even knew about them. Tong Xueyan knew that morels sold for thirty yuan per jin, so she adjusted the price significantly downward from that benchmark.

“The scientific name is black truffle. It’s quite expensive, but this isn’t overseas, so the price obviously can’t compare.”

“This little one dug them up herself in the mountains. How about two yuan per piece? They’re absolutely fresh; eat them once and I guarantee you’ll want more.”

Tong Xueyan went on enthusiastically, even vividly describing how delicious they’d be once cooked.

Fang Mingxi quietly calculated on the side. One black truffle was roughly the same price as chicken mushrooms sold on the black market.

Only in the 1970s would they be this cheap. In later years, a purely wild black truffle could fetch a far higher price.

But since they weren’t mass-marketed domestically, only people who’d been abroad or true connoisseurs knew their value.

With her cousin helping negotiate, Fang Mingxi was basically getting lucky.

Two yuan per truffle was expensive. Qin Caiyun didn’t hesitate much before pulling out a ten-yuan bill.

“Alright. I’ve never seen a mushroom shaped like this before. If it tastes good, I’ll come to you again next time.”

Four black mushrooms, eight yuan total. She paid without batting an eye.

Tong Xueyan gave her two yuan in change, then casually handed over the basket as well. “Sure. If my sister finds black mushrooms again next time, I’ll save them for you.”

Qin Caiyun was delighted. “That’d be great. If there are other mushrooms too, like chicken mushrooms, I’ll take those as well.”

Fang Mingxi nodded rapidly. “No problem, no problem. I’ll definitely save them for you.”

With money and goods exchanged, Tong Xueyan finally led Fang Mingxi out of the garment factory.

Compared to Fang Mingxi’s calm, Tong Xueyan was genuinely amazed.

She’d already planned to find buyers for the mushrooms that evening, yet everything had gone so smoothly. Xixi’s luck really was extraordinary, almost as if even the heavens were favoring them. Was this what they called wishes coming true?

After the two left, Qin Caiyun happily lifted the basket, now covered with a scarf, and walked out of the shed.

Turning to He Qiu, she said, “Sister He, could you help me ask for two hours off? I need to head home at noon.”