Male Lead's Canon Fodder Wife - Chapter 1152

Chapter 1152: It’s Not Gossip!
Hearing her son’s plan, Mother Zhang reminded him, “Be careful and come back early.”

Zhang Ermu nodded and replied, “I will, Mother.”

Zhang Ermu grabbed a bamboo basket, a sickle, a bundle of rope, and several sacks. He packed the tools into the basket and carried it on his back.

Because of his house’s location, he used a hidden path behind the house—a shortcut to the mountains—instead of the villagers’ road. It took him less than thirty minutes to reach the foothills.

The foothills were usually covered in grass and wild vegetables, but mushrooms were found deeper in the forest. He told his family he was going to the foothills to avoid worrying them, even though he ventured farther into the mountains.

To his surprise, when he walked for a short distance, he saw that the outer forest was teeming with mushrooms. The mushrooms growing in this area were more abundant than he had anticipated. Looking at the varied large and plump mushrooms, a smile appeared on his face.

Excited by this discovery, Zhang Ermu set down his basket and began harvesting the nearest black wood ear mushrooms, filling one sack and starting a second. Next, he picked white beech mushrooms, filling three sacks in total.

He moved on to shiitake mushrooms, which is a variety with the highest value on the black market. He filled two and a half sacks with this mushroom. King oyster mushrooms filled another sack and a half, while oyster mushrooms filled the last sack.

For the bamboo basket, he collected snow fungus and filled the entire basket. When he was done, he covered the top with leaves to secure the mushrooms. With this, he has a total of eight sacks and a basket of mushrooms.

Satisfied with his haul, Zhang Ermu rested and ate the steamed buns before he tied the sacks with dried vines and tied them to a thick branch with his rope.

After he made sure that the sacks were tightly tied, he shouldered the sacks and carried the bamboo basket on his back before he walked back to his home. Although the harvest looked substantial, it wasn’t too heavy. So, it was not a problem for him at all.

By the time he reached his house, the sun was setting on the western horizon.

Walking into his house, Zhang Ermu saw his sister washing a basket of vegetables near the small pond in the yard.

Noticing her brother returned with so many things, Zhang Yulan quickly stopped what she was doing and walked over. Reaching out, she helped him carry the sacks down while asking, “Brother, did you go to the mountain again?”

“This time, I just went to the mountain foothills. Maybe because of the short rain a few days ago, the mushrooms are thriving. I foraged all of these mushrooms in the foothills,” Zhang Ermu explained with a smile.

Zhang Yulan was taken aback and asked in disbelief, “All of this came from the mountain foothills?”

Zhang Ermu nodded and replied, “There are still more, but I didn’t pick everything since some mushrooms are still small. I will go to the mountain again tomorrow and see if there are more in the forest.”

Seeing the amount of mushrooms, Zhang Yulan went to get a large wooden basin and filled it with mountain spring water. Opening the sacks, she poured the mushrooms into the basin and began washing them.

Zhang Ermu also came to help her after storing the sickle and ropes. The two of them spent more than an hour washing the mushrooms and placing them on bamboo trays to dry. To avoid people’s eyes, they dried the mushrooms in a woodshed.

Looking at the plump mushrooms, Zhang Yulan suddenly said, “Brother, I heard from Brother Ding Lei that they are buying fresh mushrooms. Since there are so many, how about we sell some to him?”

Hearing this, Zhang Ermu frowned and replied in a low voice, “That is too dangerous. People are always watching us. If they find out we are involved in a private transaction, our family will be ruined.”

Leaning closer to her brother, Zhang Yulan whispered, “Brother, we don’t have to go to the black market. I can ask Brother Ding Lei to come visit us instead.”

Before Zhang Ermu could refuse, she added, “Brother, we need the money to take Mother to town for a check-up. We can’t delay her treatment anymore, or her leg won’t have the chance to fully recover.”

Thinking about his mother’s leg injury, Zhang Ermu hesitated for a long time before finally agreeing, “Okay. But I will handle the transaction with him. You stay out of this.”

Although Zhang Yulan wanted to meet with Ding Lei, she understood that this was her brother’s limit. He didn’t want her to get involved for fear she might be in danger if they were caught.

Feeling warmth in her heart, she said, “Brother, you are so good to me!”

Patting his sister’s head, Zhang Ermu sighed and said, “I’m your brother. If I don’t treat you well, who else should I treat well?”

Hearing this, Zhang Yulan grinned and said, “Brother, you should treat Sister Ah Piao well.”

Surprised by his sister’s words, Zhang Ermu frowned and said, “Yulan, you shouldn’t say such things carelessly in front of others. It could ruin her reputation.”

Nodding at her words, Zhang Yulan replied, “Brother, I know what I should and shouldn’t do. I only say these things to you.”

After thinking for a moment, she asked, “Brother, when are you going to find Sister Ah Piao? I heard from my friend that Sister Liu Hua and Sister Wang Muxiao are helping her find a good man to marry. If you keep delaying, your wife will be snatched by someone else.”

This time, Zhang Ermu raised his hand and lightly knocked on his sister’s forehead while saying, “You should stop listening to gossip and stay home more.”

Rubbing her forehead, Zhang Yulan glared at him and said, “Brother, it’s not gossip! I heard it myself this morning when I went out. Sister Wang already spoke to Aunt Su and asked her to act as the matchmaker.”