The sky was just beginning to lighten. After loading all the gunny sacks onto the cart, the sound of a baby's cry came from inside the room. The two of them turned to look, and Song Qiming hurried inside to heat up some goat's milk.
These past few days, Song Shixue had been taking care of the child alone at home. Finally able to relax, she had slept exceptionally soundly the night before.
Dragging a cartload of mushrooms out the door, early-rising villagers looked over at her with curiosity.
The grain harvest hadn't come in yet, so what was in those sacks?
It had been nearly a month since the deaths of the third Song couple. They hadn't expected Song Jinzhao to actually hold on for a whole month.
The children seemed to be doing well, not only not losing weight but even looking a bit fuller. Every time they were seen, they appeared spirited and energetic.
After entering the city, Song Jinzhao headed straight for the Shi You Ji restaurant. The familiar waiter spotted her and promptly went to fetch the manager.
With so many goods, it must be the dried mushrooms the manager wanted.
"Manager, Miss Song is here to sell mushrooms." The door was knocked loudly, but there was no response from inside.
Manager Li cautiously raised his head to look ahead, his eyes filled with respect and humility.
Li Zien's willow-leaf-shaped eyebrows arched as he glanced toward the door. "Is that the Miss Song you mentioned?"
Manager Li smiled slightly, bowed, and nodded. "By my calculation, today is indeed the day she delivers the mushrooms."
Li Zien stepped down from the couch, picked up the folding fan on the table, and opened it. "I'd like to see for myself what kind of young woman she is."
The pelt of that leopard was now displayed on a couch in the Li residence. He simply couldn't believe that the one who hunted it was a fourteen-year-old girl.
Song Jinzhao pulled the cart into the backyard to unload.
A waiter who had been instructing the chef to inspect the goods came to an abrupt stop, quickly lowered his head, and said softly, "Young Master."
Song Jinzhao looked up.
The newcomer was about five feet three inches tall, with a green jade hair crown atop his head. He wore a white kesi brocade robe, the collar embroidered with gold thread.
His fair, full face held a pair of calm, nonchalant eyes that carried a shrewd appraisal, giving a sense of crisis, as if one might be outwitted by him at any moment.
Manager Li, who had followed him out, stopped and immediately introduced, "Miss Song, this is our young master. He just arrived from Anyang Prefecture yesterday."
Song Jinzhao's eyelashes fluttered upward in slight surprise; she hadn't expected the owner of Shi You Ji to be from the prefectural city.
She calmly nodded to him, her attitude exactly the same as when facing Manager Li—composed and without a trace of subservience.
Li Zien slowly fanned himself with the folding fan, interest gleaming in his eyes.
Ordinary people would bow and scrape upon meeting him, instinctively trying to please. This girl was different.
The chef walked over and bowed. "Young Master, these mushrooms have been inspected. There are no issues."
Li Zien's gaze swept over the twelve opened gunny sacks on the ground. Different types of mushrooms were packed separately. Although dried, their high quality was still evident.
"Gathering mushrooms is no easy task. You've worked hard, Miss Song."
Song Jinzhao replied, "Your restaurant offers a high price. The hardship is worth it."
The corner of Li Zien's mouth lifted. This girl spoke with the tone of one who had seen the wider world, unlike an ordinary family.
Could a farming household raise such a daughter?
"In a few days, the mushrooms from outside the pass will become increasingly scarce. Xining City's winter comes early and is long. I would like to invite you, Miss Song, to lead a team to Dianyun to gather mushrooms. My Li family will cover all travel expenses."
Song Jinzhao looked at him in astonishment. The mushroom harvesting season in the mountains behind Song Village would end after the eighth month. Once the season passed, any unpicked mushrooms in the nearby mountains would age and rot, making them unpleasant to eat.
Dianyun was located in the southwest, with over a hundred varieties of edible wild mushrooms. The prime harvesting season there could last until the tenth month.
However, the journey was long. Even by waterway, it would take half a month to reach. The owner of Shi You Ji's business actually extended all the way to Dianyun!
Seeing her silence, Li Zien assumed she found the payment insufficient and had reservations.
"Regardless of how many mushrooms the team gathers, you, Miss Song, will receive a thirty percent share. This is the highest price I can offer."
Song Jinzhao shook her head. "It's not that I think the money is too little."
"Dianyun is too far from Xining City. The round trip plus the time for gathering mushrooms would mean being away from home for two or three months. I'm not comfortable leaving my younger siblings for so long. Thank you for your kind offer, Young Master Li."
Li Zien frowned. He had finally found a reliable person, yet she was unwilling.
Song Jinzhao shifted her gaze to Manager Li. "Manager, please settle the account quickly. I have matters at home today and need to return soon."
Manager Li stole a glance at Li Zien and, seeing him nod, instructed the chef and waiters to start weighing.
The twelve sacks totaled five hundred and forty-two catties. As the mushroom prices varied, the separate calculations came to twenty-one taels and three hundred ninety wen.
After receiving the money, Song Jinzhao said to Li Zien and Manager Li, "I will deliver another batch in seven days. The quantity will certainly be less than this time, and it will likely be the final batch for this year."
Li Zien lost the mood to fan himself. "Miss Song, won't you truly reconsider? Such a good opportunity may not come again."
Song Jinzhao shook her head once more. "There are many people who can identify mushrooms. You could try to find someone else, Young Master. I really am not in a position to travel far."
Watching her departing figure, Li Zien's expression was inscrutable.
There were indeed many who knew mushrooms, but most mushrooms grew deep in the mountains.
Especially in Dianyun, with its multitude of poisonous creatures and fierce beasts in the mountains, there weren't many poor people who could hunt a leopard bare-handed and were willing to take risks for money.
If he were to find someone truly capable, the wages would be unknown.
"Send someone to follow her. Find out where she lives. She may be unwilling, but that doesn't mean her parents will be."
To make an underage girl go into the mountains to hunt, to have her drag so many heavy sacks alone without any help—she surely wasn't favored by her family.
He didn't believe her parents wouldn't be tempted by such a lucrative opportunity.
Manager Li nodded while feeling uneasy inside.
After all, Song Jinzhao was a young woman. It was already a hardship for her to show her face in public to make a living. It would be quite improper for her reputation to travel alone with a dozen men to distant Dianyun, thousands of miles away.
But seeing the deep, unyielding look in Li Zien's eyes, he didn't dare speak up for Song Jinzhao.
He was a servant of the Li family. If the young master became angry, his own future would be difficult.
After leaving, Song Jinzhao went straight to a pork stall. Having been busy gathering mushrooms these past few days, she hadn't hunted, and the traps were empty. For the evening's guests, she could only buy meat.
"Brother, give me three catties of pork belly and one pork leg bone."
Apart from the iron wok on the stove, the house lacked other cooking utensils. She needed to buy a few clay pots, and the seasonings had to be fully stocked.
Also rice; what she bought last time was almost finished.
Dragging the empty cart, she wandered around the city for a while. By the time she left the city gate, half the cart was filled to the brim.
Song Jinzhao was in high spirits, eager to return home quickly, completely unaware that a unfamiliar kitchen hand from the restaurant was following her cart.
Song Shixue, enjoying a day off from childcare, saw Song Jinzhao returning with so many purchases and rushed out excitedly to greet her, as if she had wind and fire wheels under her feet.
"Elder Sister, Elder Sister! Did you buy all these with the money from selling the mushrooms?"
Song Jinzhao's lips curved into a gentle smile as she took the money pouch from her bosom and handed it to Song Shixue. "Yes, and there's still plenty of money left."
Song Shixue untied the pouch. Seeing the pile of gleaming white silver inside, her mouth fell open in astonishment and delight.
