Before Wang Qingchen could figure out a way to earn money, several days of continuous rain kept him indoors. As soon as the skies cleared, his elder cousin, Wang Qingtong, brought a few friends to call Wang Qingchen up the mountain to play. Since he had promised Caiyun he would take her along, and she was on the verge of tears if denied, Wang Qingchen discussed it with his friends and they agreed to bring Caiyun. Madam Yang was worried, but couldn't resist Caiyun's whining and clinging, so she reluctantly consented, sending Wang Qinghua along with them for protection. The group of friends was quite happy with Wang Qinghua’s inclusion, as younger children always enjoy playing with older ones.

The happy group set off, but hadn't gone far before they ran into Hongying and her two companions, Qiangzi and Dongmei. After a session of pleading and being pleaded with, the departing company grew by three more five- or six-year-olds. The happiest of all was Caiyun, as the four little ones ran along, chattering non-stop.

“Qingtong, has your second brother started discussing betrothal yet?” Zhang Xueming, who was tagging along with Wang Qingtong, inquired.

“Who told you that? Nothing of the sort has happened,” Wang Qingtong countered.

“Oh, stop lying to me. I secretly overheard my mother saying that your second brother is set to be matched with the Luo family from Matián Village, but my mother also said their bride price is outrageously high!”

“It's really not true. If it were, how could I not know?”

“Come on, don’t keep secrets from us. Everyone in the village knows…”

Wang Qingchen, upon hearing about the discussion of marriage, glanced cautiously at Wang Qinghua beside him. Fortunately, Wang Qinghua showed no particular reaction. In truth, Wang Qinghua was also of marriageable age, but the family simply couldn't afford the necessary funds. Alas, without money, so many things couldn't be accomplished—even the red ribbons Caiyun wanted. It was a pity that Wang Qingchen still hadn't thought of a way to earn money without drawing undue attention.

The group soon arrived at the mountain. Generally, village children playing on the mountain wouldn't venture too deep, fearing wild beasts. Only the village hunters typically proceeded further inland. Thus, the children stayed near the periphery, not venturing into the dense woods.

Upon reaching the mountain, Caiyun immediately started clamoring to pick wild fruit. At this time of year, mulberries and wild strawberries were ripe. However, picking mulberries required climbing trees, and the older children were uncomfortable letting the younger ones go up alone. They decided the older children would climb to pick mulberries, while the younger ones would search for wild strawberries on the ground. But fearing the little ones might wander off, they designated Wang Qinghua to stay below and watch them.

Wang Qingchen also felt the itch to climb. After all, having lived over twenty years in his previous life, he had only climbed trees a few times as a child. This was a rare opportunity, one he had to seize. After considerable effort, Wang Qingchen clambered up the tree somewhat awkwardly. He settled onto a thick branch, picking mulberries while dangling his feet. He hadn't felt this relaxed in ages. But after eating a few, Wang Qingchen noticed his hands were stained purple. Looking up at his companions, he saw that not only their hands but, unsurprisingly, their teeth were also purple. Will this wash off? he mused internally.

A little while later, just as the climbers were deciding who would descend to deliver the mulberries to the others, they heard Hongying call out from ahead, “There are grass mushrooms here!”

“Grass mushrooms? Where?” The children both in the trees and on the ground became instantly alert. The ones in the trees quickly scrambled down and rushed forward.

“Grass mushroom” was the local term for a specific type of fungus found on the mountain. There were several edible varieties in the woods, but most were out of season. Only two or three kinds were available now. Hongying and the others were so excited because the mushrooms they collected could be sold for money. These particular grass mushrooms, being available for many seasons, only fetched three or four wen per jin at the local taverns. But one shouldn't belittle three or four wen; farming families, adults and children alike, held every single wen dear. At that time, one wen could buy a steamed bun made of white flour, and two wen could purchase a steamed bun filled with meat. Farming households, accustomed to frugality, rarely afforded such delicacies; at most, they bought coarse flour to make steamed buns. Thus, every wen seemed incredibly precious in the eyes of the children.

However, many families chose to dry the collected grass mushrooms. It took about five or six jin of fresh grass mushrooms to dry into one jin of dried ones. Selling these to the merchant houses in town could fetch around twenty-eight wen per jin of dried mushrooms. But drying grass mushrooms required care; one slip-up could lead to mold. Therefore, most villagers preferred selling the fresh ones to the taverns.

Thinking of this, Wang Qingchen followed along. Yet, Hongying had only found a few grass mushrooms. Still, this was enough to excite everyone, as it indicated that more could be found elsewhere. The group split into three small teams to search the surroundings. Wang Qingchen, Wang Qinghua, and Caiyun formed one team.

After searching for a while, they indeed found grass mushrooms. Though not many, everyone’s spirits were high. Wang Qingchen was also keenly interested; now, anything that offered a chance to earn money piqued his fascination. As he searched, Wang Qingchen suddenly slapped his forehead. How did I wander into a dead end? He had been so focused on the extraordinary quality of items emerging from his spatial dimension, and when planning to earn money, he had completely bypassed the space. But he didn't have to cultivate rare medicinal herbs like in his previous life; there were many other options! He could grow commonplace things. He had become like a jumpy bird. Still, Wang Qingchen remembered he needed to be cautious, extremely cautious. After all, no matter what, producing too much of anything would draw unwanted attention. It seemed he still needed to plan things out properly.

Looking at the grass mushrooms in his hand, this type was very common, available across many seasons in the mountain, and frequently collected by villagers. Wang Qingchen decided to start with these grass mushrooms. He secretly slipped two into his spatial dimension while no one was watching, intending to sneak into the space after everyone was asleep to plant them, just to test if the space could cultivate grass mushrooms. After all, mushrooms weren't like typical rooted plants. Having secured them, Wang Qingchen continued searching for grass mushrooms as if nothing had happened.

Suddenly, Wang Qingchen noticed a creamy white, slightly yellowish, spherical object ahead. Approaching for a closer look, he saw it was covered in soft, fuzzy spines. What is this?

“Big Brother, come quickly and see what this is! It looks quite interesting.” Wang Qingchen called toward the back.

Wang Qinghua hurried over. “Let me see… Oh my, Qingchen, this is a Lion’s Mane mushroom! This can sell for a lot of money! These are rarely found on the ground; you usually only spot them on trees. You have such good luck! But this one doesn't weigh a jin yet. Last year, Hongying’s family found one weighing over two jin, and they sold it at the town tavern for more than two hundred wen!”

Lion’s Mane mushroom? Could this be the Hóu tóu gū that his mother often bought in his past life? He recalled they often made soup with it, but this one looked different from what he remembered. Perhaps it was because this was a fresh Lion's Mane, while the ones he knew were dried?

“But it’s strange, why are there Lion’s Mane mushrooms out already? Is it because of the heavy rain these past few days?” Wang Qinghua wondered aloud.

“Uh… Big Brother, do people often collect these Lion’s Mane mushrooms?” Wang Qingchen asked.

“Not really. Lion’s Mane mushrooms are scarce in the outer perimeter of the mountain. When the season is right for harvesting, villagers usually travel in groups deep into the mountains. But even there, they are few. To avoid making the trip for nothing, people collect other types of mushrooms while keeping an eye out for the Lion’s Mane. So, finding one is truly rare. You are very lucky today!” Wang Qinghua replied.

“Then, Big Brother, have our family ever found a Lion’s Mane mushroom before?” Wang Qingchen asked after a moment’s thought.

“No, we never have.” Wang Qinghua, thinking Wang Qingchen doubted his identification skills, quickly added, “However, when Hongying’s family found that over two jin one last year, Qingyun and I went to see it. We wouldn't mistake it.”

“Big Brother, Second Brother, what are you talking about, this Lion’s Mane mushroom? I want to see too!” Caiyun tugged on Wang Qinghua’s arm eagerly after hearing their conversation.

“It’s this one, the fuzzy one,” Wang Qingchen placed the mushroom in front of Caiyun.

“This is a Lion’s Mane mushroom? It looks so fun! Big Brother, is this the one Hongying’s family sold for a lot of money? How much will Second Brother’s sell for?” Caiyun asked again.

“Yes, but Big Brother doesn’t know exactly how much it will sell for; it should be quite a bit!” Wang Qinghua said sheepishly.

“Brother Qinghua, Brother Qingchen, Caiyun, have you finished? We need to head back!” Wang Qingtong called from a distance.

Hearing the voice, the three walked toward the others. Thanks to Caiyun’s little-trumpet-like boasting, soon all the children knew that Wang Qingchen had found a Lion’s Mane mushroom. Naturally, the mushroom circulated among the group under the expectant gazes of the others. On the way back, everyone looked at the Lion’s Mane mushroom tucked into Wang Qingchen’s pocket with envy.

Upon returning home, Wang Youfu and Madam Yang were very pleased to see the mushrooms the three children had collected, especially the Lion's Mane—it was income, after all. They figured the grass mushrooms amounted to a little over two, almost three jin. Madam Yang planned to dry them first, as dried grass mushrooms wouldn't spoil easily. Later, they could collect more, dry them, and sell them all together to the town merchant house. As for the Lion’s Mane, Madam Yang decided Wang Youfu should take it to the town tavern to sell the next day.

That night, when everyone was asleep, Wang Qingchen quietly got out of bed and crept behind the house to enter his spatial dimension. Wang Qingchen used his hand to shield his eyes, as the sudden transition from pitch darkness to daylight was jarring. He looked around his space. It had been a while since he last visited. Many ginseng roots, lingzhi mushrooms, and other expensive medicinal herbs were still stored inside. Nearby were several jade pieces he had tossed in during his previous life; their quality had significantly improved. However, Wang Qingchen wasn't planning on touching those treasures this time. He wanted to see if mushrooms could be cultivated here. Although he knew mushrooms weren't typically "planted," the uniqueness of his space made him unable to resist trying.

Wang Qingchen found the two grass mushrooms he had brought in during the day and planted them in the damp soil. He had also considered bringing in the Lion’s Mane mushroom to test, but after thinking it over, the Lion’s Mane was too rare. Even if cultivation succeeded, he wouldn't dare reveal it. Now, he could only hope this space was so miraculous that it could even grow grass mushrooms.

Exiting the space and returning to the room, he heard Wang Qinghua ask, “Where did you go?”

“Big Brother, I just went to the latrine.”

“Oh, hurry up and sleep.” With that, Wang Qinghua rolled over and drifted back to sleep.

Lying on the kang, Wang Qingchen contemplated what kinds of items could be cultivated in the space—things that were inconspicuous, ideally. Lost in thought, he soon fell asleep.