Early in the morning, Song Jinzhao had been on the mountain for nearly an hour after catching a pheasant without spotting another trace of game.
Having hunted in the outer areas for several consecutive days, even the squirrels now fled at the sight of her, fearing for their lives.
She ventured deeper, crossing a small stream. The trees overhead grew shorter here.
Vines twisted around the trunks, the soil underfoot grew damper, the scent of moisture in the air thickened, and the surroundings turned gloomy.
Song Jinzhao lifted her foot, scraping the clinging mud off her sole against a tree trunk. On the dark bark, something seemed to be crawling.
Looking closer, she saw a dense cluster of termites. A wave of trypophobia-induced disgust washed over her.
She lowered her leg, carefully inspecting her shoes, worried the termites might crawl onto her.
The light here was poor. After rain, water seeped into the soil and couldn't evaporate, leaving the ground perpetually damp—a favorite haunt for insects and ants.
Song Jinzhao turned to retrace her steps when, out of the corner of her eye to her right, a mushroom caught her attention. Its cap was pointed like a conical hat, its surface smooth, its color a grayish-brown.
She walked over and bent down for a closer look. It was a fully opened termitomyces mushroom, its cap as large as half a palm.
Not far away, clusters of small, adorable termitomyces stood in the soil, like tiny soldiers holding up umbrellas.
Termitomyces mushrooms were tender and crisp, delicious whether stir-fried, deep-fried, or used in soup. In modern times, they could sell for four or five hundred yuan per jin.
She wondered if the taverns here would buy them, and for what price?
Song Jinzhao wandered around the area and discovered many mushrooms nearby.
The main varieties were termitomyces, boletes, russula viridirubrolimbata, and thelanphora species, with termitomyces being the most abundant.
She gathered some of each kind and descended the mountain with a bamboo basket full of mushrooms.
Manager Li looked at the mushrooms in the basket and asked Song Jinzhao to pour them out. He was surprised to find not a single poisonous one among them.
"Miss Song, can you tell which mushrooms are poisonous?"
Seeing his expression, Song Jinzhao knew he was interested. "I ate them often as a child, so I learned to recognize them."
Manager Li nodded, suppressing a smile at the corners of his mouth. "Our tavern will take all of these."
He pointed at the termitomyces and thelanphora. "These two types, twenty wen per jin. The rest, ten wen per jin. If they are sun-dried, the price doubles."
Song Jinzhao pressed further, "How many jin can your tavern take daily?"
Manager Li replied, "One full basket of fresh ones is enough. For dried ones, the more the better. But you must guarantee none of the mushrooms you pick are poisonous."
Seeing the mix of expectation (seven parts) and concern (three parts) in his eyes, Song Jinzhao understood he very much wanted to buy the mushrooms but was worried about poison.
"Don't worry, Manager. I won't pick any I haven't eaten or don't recognize."
A clerk watched Song Jinzhao's departing back, then turned to Manager Li with a puzzled look. "Manager, why are we buying dried mushrooms?"
Manager Li turned and walked inside. "Now that the canal is open, these dried mushrooms can be quickly shipped south by water."
"Officials tried hiring people to gather mushrooms before, but they either got bitten by poisonous insects and snakes or encountered wild beasts. Later, they only dared to buy small amounts from farmers to make dishes for the tavern. It never became a proper business."
"Miss Song's father was a hunter, spending all day in the mountains. This venture might just work out with her."
In the courtyard, Song Qiming squatted on the ground, using straw to clean the dirt from the mushroom stems.
"Elder Sister, I'll go up the mountain with you tomorrow to gather mushrooms and earn money."
Song Jinzhao shook her head. "I'm not comfortable leaving Shixue alone to care for Anhao."
Song Qiming glanced to his right.
Song Shixue blinked at him and then said, "Elder Sister, Second Brother is very well-behaved. I can take care of him by myself. Let Big Brother go with you. The more we gather, the more money we can make."
Song Qiming pleaded earnestly, "I'm a man now. I need to help Elder Sister support our younger siblings. Please let me go with you, Elder Sister."
Song Jinzhao looked at the two siblings.
At just ten years old, they already knew to share burdens and felt guilty if they weren't contributing. Truly, children from poor families grow up fast.
"Alright, you can come up the mountain with me tomorrow."
At dusk, Song Jinzhao ground mugwort, atractylodes, and calamus she had gathered from the mountain into powder, mixed in realgar powder, and made it into sachets, which she gave to Song Qiming.
"Hang this on your waist when we go up the mountain tomorrow. It will keep mosquitoes, insects, snakes, and ants away. Otherwise, you'll be covered in bites."
Song Qiming stared curiously at the sachet in his hand. "How did Elder Sister learn to make these?"
Song Jinzhao made an excuse. "When I was little and went to the city with Father and Mother, I saw a book about medicinal herbs in a bookshop. I learned it from there."
Song Qiming lowered his head dejectedly. "Elder Sister is so capable. Not like Shixue and me. Mother thought we were dull and never taught us to read."
Song Jinzhao was taken aback. The original host's mother had taught her to read, but gave up not long after.
Later, after Song Qiming and his sister were born, the family never even saw paper or brushes again.
"You and Shixue are not dull at all. It's because the family had no money, couldn't afford writing materials, so Mother didn't teach you."
"If you want to learn, Elder Sister will buy books from the city in a while and teach you."
Song Qiming's face was about to light up with a smile, but the next moment he shook his head in refusal. "Books cost too much money. I'd better not learn."
Song Jinzhao patted his round head. "Teaching you won't cost much, Elder Sister insists you must learn. Otherwise, you won't even be able to write your own name. What if someone cheats you in the future?"
Song Qiming's eyes curved into two little crescents, revealing his pointed canine teeth. "Then I'll gather lots of mushrooms tomorrow to earn back the money for the books."
With Song Qiming along, their pace up the mountain slowed considerably.
The sun was almost directly overhead by the time they reached the spot where she had found the termitomyces the previous day.
Song Jinzhao instructed him seriously, "Gather only nearby, don't wander off. It's easy to get lost with all these trees around."
Song Qiming nodded obediently. Seeing the mushrooms covering the ground, he eagerly bent down to start picking.
It was extremely quiet under the shade of the vines and branches. The occasional clear, pleasant birdcall was punctuated by the raspy, sharp chirps of insects, putting one on guard.
Young Song Qiming saw potential silver coins in every mushroom he spotted.
"Elder Sister, can you eat this one?"
"You can, but it doesn't taste good."
"Elder Sister, will the tavern buy this one?"
"No."
"Elder Sister, this mushroom is so pretty."
Song Jinzhao turned her head, her expression stern. "The prettier the mushroom, the more poisonous it tends to be. Throw it away, quickly!"
Song Qiming gave a regretful glance at the bright red mushroom in his hand, tossed it aside, and continued searching for termitomyces.
As he moved forward, he spotted a round, yellow shape peeking from the grass. Excited, he ran over and pushed the grass blades aside.
Close to the ground, a reddish-brown, striped form shot out like an arrow. The snake's gaping mouth revealed two long, sharp fangs.
Song Qiming's eyes widened. He fell backward, his mouth opening in a scream. "Elder Sister~"
The sachet at his waist traced an arc through the air. The short-tailed pit viper caught the scent of realgar. Its head hesitated mid-air for half a second before continuing its attack on Song Qiming.
Just as it was about to sink its fangs into his calf, a hatchet flew from behind and to the side. Moving so fast it left an afterimage, it severed the snake's head, which dropped to the ground.
The long snake body continued to writhe and thrash on the ground, a terrifying sight.
Song Qiming's face was deathly pale, his mouth agape but unable to speak.
"Did it bite you?" Song Jinzhao took several large strides, kicked the snake's head away, and began checking Song Qiming's trembling body up and down.
His eyes were vacant, as if his spirit had yet to return.
As his body was shaken by Song Jinzhao, his pupils refocused, and a drop of cold sweat fell from his forehead.
"It's nothing, elder sister, it didn't bite me."
Hearing him say he wasn't bitten, Song Jinzhao's anxious heart finally settled.
She stared at the sachet hanging from Song Qiming's waist, decided its scent wasn't strong enough, and simply untied her own sachet, sprinkling the powder over him.
The intense scent at his nose quickly calmed Song Qiming's nerves. "Elder sister, I was running too fast and didn't see the snake."
Song Jinzhao helped him to his feet, noticing his legs were weak and unsteady. "Are you scared? Do you want to go home?"
The scent from the sachets could only diffuse a limited distance. If he suddenly charged forward, the viper wouldn't have smelled it and wouldn't have moved aside.
Song Qiming shook his head. "I'm not afraid. I want to keep gathering."
Seeing the determination in his eyes, Song Jinzhao knew he truly didn't want to return home.
"Stay behind me. Don't wander more than three steps away."
Song Qiming nodded vigorously. After nearly being bitten, he didn't dare stray too far from Song Jinzhao's side now.
