CHAPTER 200: CHAPTER 200 ORIGINAL SIN 9

Early the next morning, Shuangshuang went into the mountains with her little basket on her back. Because she already knew what Shuangshuang was going to do, this time Shuangshuang went into the mountains openly with her basket on her back.

Standing on the mountain, taking a deep breath, various scents mixed with the information of nature came rushing in. Following the direction the scent came from, Shuangshuang easily found another large clump of valuable mushrooms.

The price of these mushrooms is more expensive than all the mushrooms from last time because they are rarer, about more than ten yuan a pound. In this time when money is particularly valuable, mushrooms costing more than ten yuan a pound are already luxurious beyond what an ordinary family can afford to eat, but because there are so few, there’s no worry about selling them.

Using the old method of using weeds to separate all the mushrooms, she carefully put them away. Then, Shuangshuang found three other fairly expensive types of mushrooms, picked the ones with the best appearance, and buried the roots.

The ones found today were relatively large. After collecting only four types of mushrooms, her little basket was already filled, and Shuangshuang, not being greedy, went straight down the mountain, luckily finding a wild egg on the way.

When she got home, there was still no one there. Shuangshuang hurriedly cooked the wild egg with boiling water for Feng Jinyan, buried the eggshells, and started weaving grass baskets with wild grasses.

Putting the mushrooms in the grass basket not only prevents them from being easily squashed, but also, most importantly, makes them look attractive and easy to sell. Although the precious mushrooms don’t have trouble selling, the reason Shuangshuang sold them so quickly last time, besides their good appearance and affordability, was also because she dressed them up nicely.

Small baskets don’t need to be too big, just enough to hold more than a pound of mushrooms. If there are more, the basket made of wild grass couldn’t hold it. Shuangshuang quickly weaved ten baskets with her fingers faster than yesterday, and after packing the mushrooms, she busied herself preparing lunch.

It was only then that Shuangshuang remembered she had forgotten to make lunch yesterday. No wonder Yun Zheng and Wang Guixiang were so angry when they came back to see what she was doing.

Before the meal was ready, her elder aunt Liu Mei returned with a basket full of wild vegetables, seemingly planning to feed the pigs. Seeing Shuangshuang at home, Liu Mei didn’t say anything, directly took over Shuangshuang’s work and began cooking.

Towards this elder aunt, Shuangshuang neither liked nor disliked her. The Yun Family was not a family that knew how to treat daughters-in-law or wives well. Don’t be fooled by how Wang Guixiang acts very powerful in front of the juniors; she was also beaten by Yun Zheng when she was young. Even now, Yun Zheng hits her less, but if one day Wang Guixiang annoys Yun Zheng, she will still get beaten.

Yun Zheng’s two sons Yun Ling and Yun He fully inherited their father’s fine tradition, as men who often beat and scold their wives. According to people in the village, when Feng Jinyan first came, although she was manic, she wouldn’t hurt others by going crazy.

At that time, Feng Jinyan was quiet, only looking a bit dazed and abnormal. But Yun He often beat Feng Jinyan, causing her to become increasingly crazy. Later, she would go crazy and attack others as soon as someone raised a hand against her. You could say Yun He deserves much credit for Feng Jinyan’s madness!

Later, because Feng Jinyan became increasingly insane, the Yun Family couldn’t stand it and hit Feng Jinyan even more, and the more they hit her, the crazier she became until she was locked up.

After being locked up, Feng Jinyan wasn’t beaten anymore, but lived even more miserably, not having enough to eat or warm clothes to wear, having a life worse than those criminals committing major crimes in prison. Each time thinking about it, a sense of hostility towards the Yun Family rose in Shuangshuang’s heart.

What Shuangshuang hated the most was that Wang Guixiang, a woman who also got beaten, truly liked hitting Feng Jinyan and even encouraged Yun He to beat Feng Jinyan. Only Liu Mei, a woman who also got beaten, neither hit Feng Jinyan nor helped her, never offering even a cup of water or a piece of steamed bread when Feng Jinyan was dying of hunger and thirst.

So, Shuangshuang didn’t hate Liu Mei because she never harmed her mother, but she didn’t like Liu Mei either because she was too cold!

Shuangshuang never expected Liu Mei to help Feng Jinyan much. She just hoped that Liu Mei, who had given birth to a son and wasn’t monitored by Wang Guixiang on how much she ate, could give her mother some food and water when nobody was around, just that much!

When the Yun Family returned in the evening and saw the high-priced mushrooms Shuangshuang gathered again, each of them was quite excited. The exhaustion from a day spent toiling in the fields seemed to vanish. Yun Chen even muttered about wanting to eat meat, and Wang Guixiang hurriedly brought out the meat left from yesterday, letting Yun Chen eat to his heart’s content.

Because seeing Shuangshuang picking the same mushrooms again, Wang Guixiang, rarely being generous, took out all the meat she planned to keep for Yun Chen, putting some pieces in everyone’s bowls. Though not as much as yesterday, it still excited the Yun Family greatly.

Thinking for a moment, Shuangshuang decided to eat the meat. Today she had already fed Feng Jinyan a wild egg, thus having already supplemented nutrition. Her body is thin and small, climbing mountains and walking long distances daily, so it could affect her future growth and health if she doesn’t eat something nutritious. She must take care of her mother and cannot do without a healthy body.

Early the next morning, Shuangshuang directly asked Wang Guixiang for four yuan for the round-trip fare and stall fee. Despite Wang Guixiang’s heartache, she still gave Shuangshuang the money. This time, Wang Guixiang took a look at how many mushrooms Shuangshuang had with her. Shuangshuang had already secretly hidden away three baskets of the most expensive mushrooms.

Wang Guixiang estimated a rough selling price, then gave Shuangshuang two cornbread cakes and let her leave. Don’t think it was out of the goodness of Wang Guixiang’s heart to give Shuangshuang cornbread. She was afraid Shuangshuang would spend money to buy lunch outside.

Shuangshuang ignored Wang Guixiang. After leaving the house, she fed the cornbread to the neighbor’s horse tied outside, getting a close and friendly reaction in return.

Today, Shuangshuang did not sell things with the villagers, fearing they would find out how much money she earned. She found a spot several steps away from the villagers and began selling mushrooms. Just like yesterday, Shuangshuang’s mushrooms were the first to sell out.

This time, Shuangshuang bought two meat buns as her lunch. At this time, the meat buns were large and stuffed with meat, very substantial, and two were enough to fill Shuangshuang up.

Shuangshuang wanted to bring some buns for her mother but thought Wang Guixiang would definitely be waiting at home. The bun’s aroma could not be hidden and would definitely be taken away for Yun Chen, so she gave up the idea and bought two large sesame flatbreads to hide in her bosom along with ten kilos of bone-in meat.

Riding Hao Laosan’s tractor back home, seeing Shuangshuang buying bones again, Wang Guixiang, although still a bit pained, saw Shuangshuang hand over more money than yesterday. She just muttered a bit before smiling and busily working on preparing the bones.

Taking advantage of when no one was paying attention, Shuangshuang quietly slipped the flatbreads to her mom through the crack in the door. After continuously selling mushrooms for four days, once the Yun Family confirmed they could earn money long-term by foraging mushrooms, she planned to reveal everything to the Yun Family!