Chapter Bonanza (10/10)

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Their luck on this trip into the mountains had likely been used up by the Dragon-Scale Mushroom; for the next two days, they found no trace of wild ginseng.

After Huo Feng and Lin Changshui descended the mountain, each carrying several dozen jin of freshly harvested mountain produce, Huo Ling and his two disciples continued their usual routine of searching for mushrooms, picking wild mushrooms, and digging for club mushrooms in the mountains.

This year, the ginseng roots seemed to be deliberately avoiding them; they were hidden far too deeply, and in the end, they still came up empty-handed.

Knowing they would return to the mountains soon, they left behind one hundred jin of raw pine nuts—which were simply too heavy to carry—and, before leaving, gathered thirty jin of mole crickets to take with them.

Their first meal after descending the mountain was mole crickets with tofu.

By the time the adults had finished eating, the children were hungry again. Yan Qi poured the goat’s milk, which had been gently simmering on the stove, into a milk jug, and Huo Ling, without asking anyone for help, fed them himself.

“How is it that after just ten days apart, he already seems to have grown so much?”

Huo Ling’s gaze softened as Xiaoqi lay in his arms, his little mouth sucking on the nipple of the milk bottle, gulping down the milk with a “gulp, gulp” sound, his two little hands clenched into fists as if his whole body were straining.

“I see him every day, but I hadn’t really noticed.”

Yan Qi sat nearby, watching with a smile. Huo Ling’s way of holding the baby was by no means clumsy; it was just that, because he was so tall with long arms, the contrast with the tiny infant made the whole scene seem a bit comical.

“He’s so soft, like he has no bones. I’m afraid to even move.”

After holding the same position for too long, he felt stiff all over when he let go.

The baby couldn’t drink much milk and soon turned its head away, refusing to drink any more.

There was just a little bit of goat’s milk left in the jug—it would be a waste to throw it away—so Yan Qi poured it into the jar with the rest and drank it himself.

Huo Ling didn’t like milk, saying it had a fishy aftertaste. Yan Qi couldn’t say he particularly liked it, but he didn’t dislike it either. Besides, everyone said goat’s milk was nourishing, and in many households, both adults and children drank it, so he went along and had a sip.

Besides, the family had bought an ewe for Xiaoqi, and the amount of milk produced each day was simply too much—they couldn’t drink it all themselves, so they had to sell the surplus.

After feeding him, Huo Ling still couldn’t bear to let go. He looked at the little one before him—full and content, on the verge of falling asleep—and gently tapped his little cheek with his finger.

“Just look how fast he’s growing. Neither of us has dimples, yet he was born with a pair.”

At first, the two of them found it strange, but after asking the older generation, they learned that dimples can be passed down across generations.

“Has he been restless at night these past few days?”

“I have to get up a few times, but it’s not too bad. When he sleeps during the day, I catch up on some sleep too.”

Yan Qi glanced at the sky and said, “Let’s get some sleep early. Tomorrow we’ll go into town to sell our goods, and then we’ll have to head out to the fields to harvest the corn.”

The family’s one mu of rapeseed and two mu of sorghum had already been harvested and stored.

It was their first year growing rapeseed; they’d been feeling their way through the process from start to finish. One mu of rapeseed yielded 200 jin of seeds—a full two shi. It wasn’t a huge amount, but it certainly wasn’t small either. If sold to an oil mill, one shi would fetch eight hundred wen, equivalent to a little over one tael and a half of silver.

After speaking with Huo Ling, Huo Feng decided to sell the entire batch of rapeseed for money, to split the proceeds evenly between the two brothers. Their family raised pigs, and Huo Ling occasionally went hunting in the mountains, so they had plenty of animal fat to eat. Throughout the year, unless they were hosting banquets, they didn’t use much rapeseed oil. Rather than lugging the seeds to the oil mill to press oil—as they did with hemp seeds—it made more sense to simply buy ready-made oil.

If they waited a year and didn’t use it all, it would go rancid, and the oil pressed from it wouldn’t smell good—it would be a waste. But if they sold it all at once to round out a round number, it would be easier to negotiate a price.

“Big Brother, you really do have a knack for farming. You used to say that in the first year, it’d be good enough just to harvest about a hundred jin of rapeseed.”

Huo Ling leaned against the head of the kang and said, “We’ll just keep managing things this way, saving money year by year. Whenever someone puts their land up for sale, we’ll buy small plots here and there. Once our two families each have about ten mu of land, we really won’t have to worry about anything.”

Yan Qi nodded. Even though his family didn’t rely on farming for their livelihood, the grain grown in the fields could fill their bellies, and once purchased, the land could be passed down to future generations.

The Huo family had come this far—from Huo Pingyuan to the newly born Huo Ying, Huo Lin, and Huo Xiaoqi—spanning five generations. Before Old Man Huo’s time, they had all lived deep in the mountains, so their assets down in the valley were meager.

If they wanted to leave more for their children and grandchildren, it was up to their generation to put in even more effort.

After a busy day, they were both tired. Taking advantage of the two hours the children would sleep soundly after their meal, the couple quickly blew out the lamp and climbed into bed.

“It’s definitely not as cold this year as it was this time last year. I remember when we were in the mountains last year, we’d already be wearing cotton-padded jackets by now.”

Taking off his outer garment, Yan Qi slipped under the covers and immediately pressed himself against Huo Ling’s warm chest.

He stretched his legs contentedly, accidentally kicking Huo Ling. Just as he was about to pull them back, his calf was suddenly clamped between Huo Ling’s thighs.

As the temperature under the covers quickly rose, Huo Ling caught the floral scent wafting from the bath beans.

There was nothing to be shy about in front of his own husband, so Huo Ling unhesitatingly moved closer.

He was feeling hot, but the ger’s hands and feet were starting to grow cold. On one side, he was still wearing summer shorts that reached just above the groin; on the other, soft, form-fitting cotton with the cuffs rolled up. And so, in an atmosphere of mutual understanding, their skin pressed against each other.

“Did you bathe today?”

“Since I knew you were coming down the mountain today, I… took a quick shower.”

The weather had been fine that morning, so Yan Qi had made a point of boiling water early and drying his hair before the sun went down.

By now, the damp mist had long since dissipated, leaving only a faint, delicate fragrance.

Huo Ling’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly, and a faint chuckle escaped his lips.

They’d been married for over a year and already had a child, yet Yan Qi had always been shy. The fact that he’d said something like that meant there were things on more than just his mind.

That was exactly the kind of understanding he was looking for.

He leaned forward, his large hand slipping beneath the lifted hem of his robe. His lips enclosed his soft earlobe, and a fine, tingling sensation spread through him, causing Yan Qi to begin panting involuntarily.

You see, because he had been pregnant, the two of them had stuck to a vegetarian diet for most of the past year. He had only recently come out of his postpartum confinement, and out of concern that Yan Qi might not have fully recovered—combined with Huo Ling’s urgency to head into the mountains—they still hadn’t done anything.

Having held back until now, their passion ignited like thunder meeting fire; the moment they pressed against each other, the sash came undone.

In the blink of an eye, the few remaining scraps of fabric on their bodies were flung from under the covers. Huo Ling lowered his head and shared an intensely deep kiss with Yan Qi. In the moonlight streaming into the room, he caught a glimpse of the glistening moisture in the ger’s eyes and on his lips.

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When it was over, Yan Qi pressed the back of his hand against his flushed cheeks. After getting dressed, he went to check on his sleeping child.

“Let’s do what our older brother and sister-in-law do—hang a curtain down the middle of the kang.”

Until the child grew up, he would sleep with the adults—after all, every household had only one kang, so the adults had no choice but to sneak around if they wanted to do anything; it was a necessary evil.

The child was still young, and even though he knew he didn’t understand anything, Yan Qi still felt very embarrassed.

“Okay, I’ll set it up as soon as I get back tomorrow.”

Huo Ling agreed immediately; hanging a curtain was simple—just hammer a nail at one end and prop up a wooden frame at the other.

“Do we have any suitable fabric at home?”

“We have some old bedsheets.”

Yan Qi said, “I’ll lay it out during the day to see if it’s long enough. If not, I’ll patch it with another piece.”

After all, the curtains in the bedroom were only for their own eyes; it didn’t matter if they looked a little rough.

They’d planned to go to bed early, but it didn’t work out that way. Not long after they’d washed up and closed their eyes, Xiaoqi woke up. Huo Ling got up, wanting Yan Qi to keep sleeping, but Yan Qi said, “I can sleep in tomorrow, but you have to get up early.”

With that, he grabbed one of Huo Ling’s shirts lying nearby, threw it on, and changed the child’s diaper. He tossed the soiled one into the basin on the floor to wash tomorrow.

One of Huo Ling’s good qualities was that he could fall asleep quickly.

The drowsiness that had been briefly interrupted washed over him once more. In his half-asleep state, he sensed Yan Qi lying back down beside him. He rolled over and pulled the blanket up a bit to block the slight chill seeping in through the gap.

In late fall and early winter, whenever you’re outside, you can always smell that unique scent of cold weather.

It signaled that another year was drawing to a close.

Mixed in with this scent were the various aromas of everyday life.

The smoke from firewood burning in the village, pickled cabbage fermenting in earthenware jars, steaming tofu on a handcart…

Candied hawthorn on sticks stuck in hay bales on city streets, freshly steamed white buns, and mutton offal soup whose aroma wafts far and wide…

Huo Ling was crouched behind the stall eating a stuffed bun when someone passed by and stopped.

“Why aren’t you selling stuffed buns at your place anymore? I knew I’d found the right spot the moment I caught that scent.”

Huo Ling recognized the person—probably a regular at the bun stand—and set aside one of the pastries Yan Qi had baked and packed that morning.

“My husband just finished his postpartum recovery period not long ago. We’re taking a little more time off, but we’ll be back in business in a while.”

He handed the pastry to the man. “It’s filled with pickled cabbage. Give it a try—it’s just a little cold.”

“It’s free?” the man asked with a smile.

“No charge.”

Huo Ling said, “Thanks for remembering our business.”

He took the opportunity to point toward the distance. “We won’t be here when we set up our stall again, though. There’s a sauce shop over there—I’ve rented the shop next door, so we’ll be selling buns there from now on.”

“That’s great.”

The man took a bite of the pickled cabbage pie and gave a thumbs-up. “I’ve got a suggestion. While we’re waiting to set up shop, could you add this filling to your lineup too?”

“I’ll go back and discuss it with my husband.”

Huo Ling smiled.

After seeing the man off, he stretched his legs a bit where he stood.

He’d brought Old Man Zhao along into town today; right now, the two brothers were taking him to the clinic to have his bones examined. Worried they’d arrive too late and find the place crowded, Huo Ling was the only one manning the stall for the time being.

He didn’t start setting up his stall in earnest until after he’d finished his breakfast: a bag of pine nuts, two large bags of mushrooms, several bundles of kidney grass, and mushrooms of various sizes arranged by size, along with the leftover gastrodia and schisandra berries from previous sales…

Having spent so much time with Yan Qi, he’d picked up some of his habits—like arranging the mushrooms from largest to smallest, in neat rows.

He placed the most valuable Dragon Scale Mushroom closest to him, within arm’s reach, to prevent any inconsiderate person from picking it up to examine it and ruining its appearance.

He wasn’t worried that placing it farther away would mean people wouldn’t see it; as long as there was someone who knew its value, they would never miss it. As for those who didn’t recognize its worth, it didn’t matter if they didn’t see it.

After straightening this mushroom—which was half as expensive as the lamp-shaped ginseng—Huo Ling pulled out a handful of roasted pine nuts to crack open and pass the time. Before long, a pile of pine nut shells had accumulated at his feet.

After finishing the handful, he used his foot to gather the shells into a pile, so they’d be easy to sweep away when he packed up.

In just a short while, someone had already spotted this extraordinary and rare mushroom.

“Is this the Dragon Mushroom from the Dragon-Phoenix Mushroom?”

The newcomer crouched down, asked Huo Ling to hold it up, and examined it closely.

“What about the Phoenix Mushroom? Did you miss it?”

Huo Ling nodded. Everyone knew that the Phoenix Mushroom was prone to dying; there was no need to hide that fact.

“We arrived too late. This grew on a tree struck by lightning—it’s definitely the real thing.”

“Dragon-Scale Mushroom is indeed hard to counterfeit.”

A pair of eyes scrutinized the mushroom closely, and soon another person leaned in; the first man stepped aside slightly.

Similar conversations repeated themselves several times. By this hour, the crowd at the grand market was growing; all day long, aside from the two stalls that had unearthed the mallets, the scene in front of Huo Ling was the liveliest on the street.

He patiently explained to people what Dragon-Scale Mushroom was. Most of these onlookers were simply there to join the commotion; those who truly understood its value had long since begun exchanging glances, silently calculating how much they were willing to bid.

For items like this—which rarely appear on the market even once every few years—the price isn’t set at a fixed amount; instead, it’s determined by bidding, with the highest bidder winning. However, the seller must first announce a reserve price.

Seeing that the atmosphere was just right, Huo Ling held up a number.

“Twenty-five taels. Let’s follow the rules—minimum bid increments of five hundred wen each time.”

“Twenty-six taels!”

The first bid was barely out before a second, and then a third followed.

“Twenty-seven!”

“I’ll go twenty-nine!”

Before long, the price had broken the thirty-tael mark. Only two bidders remained in the fray, and they began raising the bid by five hundred wen at a time—though this didn’t last long.

Although dragon-scale mushroom is rare and has a grand-sounding name, it’s perfect for swindling wealthy people in the interior.

However, since it was a one-year-old specimen, it simply couldn’t compare to ginseng, which takes decades to grow a single root.

The bidding stopped at thirty-two taels and five hundred wen. Just as the bidders seemed determined to win, a voice suddenly cut in.

“I’ll offer thirty-five taels, Brother Huo. Sell it to me.”

Huo Ling turned at the sound and, upon recognizing the person, was both surprised and delighted.

“Mr. Liao?”

Though not much had changed in the year since they’d last met, Huo Ling keenly noticed a few more gray hairs in Liao Dehai’s hair.

With a regular customer in attendance offering such a high price, there was no point in continuing the bidding. Seeing that the spectacle had ended, most of the remaining people had left. However, the man who had just placed the highest bid didn’t want his efforts to go to waste, so he stayed behind and spent five taels and a half to buy up all the common red mushrooms and purple mushrooms, as well as six strings of gastrodia.

Once the crowd had mostly dispersed, Huo Ling brought over a rock and sat down with Liao Dehai to chat, learning the reason for his late arrival this year.

“My elderly mother fell ill, and I’ve been tending to her day and night for several months. We’ve managed to get through it, but the medicine and doctors’ fees cost a pretty penny. Since there was still time, I decided to leave the retreat after all—though I’m much later than I should have been.”

He added that Ge Yi hadn’t come—he’d headed west.

“He said he wanted to try a new approach and see if it would pay off.”

“It’s a real shame Boss Ge didn’t come—this year is a bumper year for mushrooms.”

Liao Dehai nodded smugly. “I’ll take this Dragon-Scale Mushroom back with me—I’ll make him regret it so much he’ll be green with envy!”

He was confident he could sell this item for a hundred taels once he brought it through the pass.

“I’ll take all these pine nuts as well—pine nut oil is selling well these days.”

Hearing from Huo Ling that there were still one hundred jin at home, he offered to buy the entire lot.

Business with acquaintances is always easier—especially when they’re honest and trustworthy.

So by the time the three members of the Zhao family returned, everything at the stall had already sold out.

Liao Dehai wanted to treat all four of them to a meal and invited them to join, but the three of them flatly refused. Huo Ling then asked them to send the ox cart back first, saying he could catch another ride home later.

At the dinner table, old friends reunited, clinking glasses and toasting one another. After a few sips of wine, Liao Dehai broke into a smile.

“I almost forgot to mention—I’ve brought the item your husband asked me to get last year. It’s at the inn. Once we’re done here, come with me to pick it up.”