Font Size:
Among these plants, the most valuable were dandelions and beggarticks, fetching five coins per pound.
In the original owner’s memory, there were plenty of valuable medicinal herbs in these mountains, and she recognized some of them. But why couldn’t the System detect them?
As if reading her thoughts, the System piped up in an ingratiating tone:
“Master’s level is too low~ Just a little Level Zero newbie… The System can only detect Red Rank Creatures for now.”
“A little friendly reminder~ Upgrade to Level One to detect Orange Rank Creatures and unlock the Level One Mall. To upgrade, you’ll need three taels of silver and to recycle over a hundred types of flora and fauna.
Heaven rewards the diligent! Master, work hard and level up soon!
Well, Red Rank had its advantages—these plants were everywhere, covering the mountains and fields. No need to venture deep into the wilderness; just swing the shovel until it smokes.
The System was incredibly efficient. The wild greens and herbs it detected were of superb quality—most were plump little sprouts freshly emerged from the soil, looking utterly delicious.
Bracken Fern, wild onions, shepherd’s purse—these were all collected by certain families in the village who had connections. They supplied local restaurants or wealthy households, where the rich enjoyed them as a fresh delicacy to cut through greasy meals, allowing the common folk to earn a few extra coins.
Song Anning immediately decided: the cheaper, less tasty medicinal herbs would be recycled by the System. As for the wild greens, the best would be sold, and the rest kept for the family.
The money earned had to be legitimate, enough to shut the gossips’ mouths.
Ignoring the ache in her legs, Song Anning worked with renewed vigor, hunched over with her little shovel, digging and digging until her clothes were soaked with sweat. A light breeze blew—ah, chilling to the bone.
“The breeze is a bit chilly, hmm hmm hmm, carrying tales of lingering affection…”
Between the mountain ridges, a spring trickled down from the heights, its gentle tinkling like the sound of coins bursting forth after the System recycled the herbs:
“Ding! System recycles three pounds of Plantain. Six coins credited.”
“Ding! System recycles one pound of Atractylodes. Four coins credited.”
“Ding! System recycles five pounds of Artemisia capillaris (White Mugwort). Twenty coins credited…”
Down the mountain, the laughter of children faded into the distance, and cooking smoke rose from the roofs of a few households. Rubbing her sore shoulders, Song Anning slung her basket over her back and ambled downhill.
“Elder Sister, Second Brother told me to wait for you here.”
Song Anyue trotted over and immediately snatched the shovel and sickle from Song Anning’s hands. She knew how exhausting mountain foraging could be—even if Elder Sister had only dug up a basket of weeds for the chickens, it was still hard work.
“Anyue is so thoughtful. The sickle is sharp—Elder Sister will hold onto it.”
Taking Song Anyue’s small, grubby hand—claw-like from malnutrition—the ache in her legs lessened a little. It felt nice to have someone waiting for her.
Passing by their house, she didn’t go in, only leaving the tools by the gate.
“Come, Elder Sister will take you to Grandpa Lin’s to sell these wild greens. With the coins, I’ll buy you something tasty.”
Hearing this, Song Anyue didn’t look happy at all. Tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to spill over.
What to do! Elder Sister has gone mad like Mother—how could wild weeds be exchanged for coins? The collectors only take the very best greens!
Small as she was, she didn’t know what was actually in Song Anning’s basket, assuming it was just plain old plantain.
No, she had to go home and fetch Second Brother. He was stronger—he’d drag Elder Sister back. Grandpa Lin and Grandma Lin were good people; she couldn’t let Elder Sister cause trouble there.
Halfway there, Song Anyue suddenly turned and bolted home. Song Anning called after her twice, but the girl only ran faster.
With dusk approaching and dinner to prepare, Song Anning didn’t have time to dwell on it. She quickened her pace toward Lin Dafu’s house, where wild greens were bought.
The Lin household stood at the village center, marked by a large banyan tree at its gate—the village’s gossip hub. The women there would chatter about anything and everything; even a passing dog wouldn’t escape their commentary.
Spotting Song Anning entering the village, the women pursed their lips, exchanged glances, and immediately started talking.
“Lin family girl, heard you went up the mountain to dig up plantain?”
“Hahaha, are you trying to sell plantain? The nobles in town won’t touch that stuff…”
“You’d better take it home and…”
As Song Anning drew closer, everyone under the banyan tree suddenly fell silent, staring fixedly at the basket of fresh, tender greens on her back.
“Th-this is what you picked? Where? I was up the mountain this morning and didn’t see any!”
“Heavens! All fresh little sprouts, and so many!”
“That’s got to be five or six pounds…”
“Just picked them randomly on the back mountain.”
Song Anning answered casually and continued toward the Lin house. The Lins were kind and paid fair prices for mountain goods. Most importantly, the original host had never stolen from them, so there was no awkwardness.
Lin Dafu and his wife were in the yard, sorting the day’s haul of wild greens. The old man’s face was clouded with worry—for three days straight, they hadn’t gotten anything good.
If this kept up, the town restaurants would surely turn to other suppliers, and their business for the year would be ruined.
The old couple sighed repeatedly until Song Anning stepped into the yard. Lin Dafu’s wife rubbed her eyes with her sleeve and stood up in disbelief.
“Song family girl, what’s this?”
She’d heard about Song Anning issuing Loan Slips to villagers earlier that day. Coming to their house at this hour, the girl must be starving.
“Hungry, aren’t you? Grandma will give you two steamed buns to share with the little ones at home…”
She turned to head inside, thinking to herself, *What’s this silly girl doing, bringing a whole basket to beg? Who’s going to give her a basket of food…*
Warmth flooded Song Anning’s heart. She hurried forward to stop her. “Grandma, I’m here to sell wild greens. But thank you for offering food.”
Quickly, she lifted the basket off her back, revealing a load of plump, fresh greens before the elderly couple.
“……”
After a long pause, Lin Dafu reached out with trembling hands and gently sifted through the basket.
“Good… good… good…”
Wild greens were hardly rare in the village—they grew everywhere, free for the picking. But greens of such premium quality were a rarity. He was certain that if these were taken to town, every restaurant would be clamoring for them.
“Anning, did you pick all these yourself?”
Song Anning nodded, silently thanking the System again in her heart, though her expression remained neutral. “Grandpa, will you take these? Just came down from the mountain—haven’t even sorted them yet.”
“Take them? I’ll take every last one! Three coins per pound—how’s that?”
In the original host’s memory, three coins per pound for common wild greens was an exceptionally high price, especially since they were unsorted. She agreed immediately.
Lin Dafu finally cracked a smile and hurried to weigh them, while the onlooking villagers erupted in chatter:
“Three coins per pound? Since when does this girl get such luck?”
“Exactly! Three coins per pound! I sold two pounds at noon and only got three coins total! Really…”
“A blind cat stumbling on a dead mouse—no way she’ll keep this up. Probably stole them anyway…”
Villagers loved a spectacle. Many abandoned their dinner preparations, bringing their families to crowd around the Lin household’s gate, watching the “good-for-nothing” Song Anning make money. It left a sour taste in their mouths.
They’d always said the Song family girl was the most useless. But if Song Anning was useless, then what did that make them?