The sky lit up with the glow of the morning sun.

The millet porridge bubbled and frothed, spilling from the crack in the old pot, spreading its rich aroma through the air.

Drool dripped from Zhao Sidan’s mouth.

He slurped and swallowed, but soon, more drool followed.

Cheng Wanwan wanted to find something to wipe the little guy’s mouth, but after searching, she realized there wasn’t a single clean towel in the house.

Using her own clothes?

Too dirty. Wiping it with her hands?

That was too much of a sacrifice…

Forget it, she decided to just pretend she didn’t see it.

Soon, six bowls of millet porridge were ready, and the pot still had more than half left—enough for seconds.

The family slurped down their porridge, then leaned back in their chairs with satisfied sighs.

If this was a dream, they wished it would never end.

They’d rather stay asleep forever.

“Alright, now that we’re full, it’s time to get to work,” Cheng Wanwan announced. “Dashan, go check on the fields. Ergou, fetch water—bring two extra buckets today. It’s hot; we should take a bath. Sanniu, go chop firewood.”

Zhao Sidan let out a burp. “Mom, what about me? What do I do?”

“You and Huiniang are coming with me up the mountain,” Cheng Wanwan stood up. “We can’t just eat porridge; we need to find something to go with it.”

Wu Huiniang was a little surprised.

Ever since she married into this family, her mother-in-law had never worked again.

Foraging in the mountains had always been her and Sidan’s responsibility.

She opened her mouth as if to say something but swallowed the words back.

What if her mother-in-law was just going to supervise her? If she refused, it would look like she was trying to slack off.

The six members of the family set out, splitting into different directions.

By now, the sun had fully risen, and the village was bustling with activity.

Cheng Wanwan saw many experienced farmers standing on the field ridges, sighing at their crops. Some were even kneeling on the ground, praying for rain.

She had studied geography and could tell at a glance—there was no way it would rain anytime soon. The crops in the fields were doomed.

On the way to the mountains, the wild greens near the roadside had already been picked clean. Many women, bringing their children along, were forced to go deeper into the woods.

[Ding! Discovered naturally grown, pollution-free bitter lettuce!]

Bitter lettuce was the most common wild vegetable in the area. It grew strong and was found all over the forest.

[Ding! Discovered naturally grown wild chestnut mushrooms!]
[Ding! Discovered naturally grown wild black boletus!]

Cheng Wanwan glanced at the virtual panel in front of her and immediately locked onto the locations of the mushrooms.

She pushed aside some weeds and found a cluster of white chestnut mushrooms hidden beneath a pile of leaves, along with three or four dark-colored black boletes.

She picked them and placed them into her basket. A notification popped up:

[Ding! 1 jin (500g) of wild chestnut mushrooms, valued at 30 copper coins. Sell?]
[Yes!]

[Ding! 4 liang (200g) of wild black boletus, valued at 18 copper coins. Sell?]
[Yes!]

Cheng Wanwan felt her purse grow heavier.

Wild mushrooms were far more valuable than greens. Just a small handful had earned her 48 copper coins. Her winter quilt was practically secured.

“Mom, what did you find?”

Zhao Sidan peered over, but he didn’t see anything.

Cheng Wanwan calmly replied, “There are lots of leaves here, so it’s shady. Mushrooms tend to grow in places like this. Try looking around.”

The forest had plenty of mushrooms, but most were poisonous.

Decades ago, a family in the village had eaten some red-capped, white-stemmed mushrooms and all died.

Since then, villagers avoided mushrooms entirely—except for the few they recognized as safe.

But with the system’s guidance, Cheng Wanwan wasn’t afraid of picking the wrong ones.

The three of them ventured deeper into the woods.

Suddenly, Zhao Sidan shouted excitedly, “Mom, look! So many mushrooms!”

Cheng Wanwan glanced at the panel. These were common chicken fungus mushrooms, a safe variety the villagers knew. The system valued them at 12 copper coins per jin.

She smiled. “Sidan, you’re amazing!”

Zhao Sidan’s eyes widened—this was the first time his mother had ever praised him!

“Alright, Sidan, you stay here and pick mushrooms. We’ll check out that side.” Cheng Wanwan patted his head. “Just don’t wander off.”

Zhao Sidan nodded enthusiastically.

His mother had touched his head for the first time!

Since last night’s dinner, he had felt that his mother seemed… different. And he liked this version of her!

Zhao Sidan squatted down and focused on picking mushrooms. He wanted his mother to praise him again.

Meanwhile, Cheng Wanwan discreetly wiped her hands.

Who knew how long it had been since this kid had washed his hair? One touch, and her hands were greasy… But then again, she hadn’t washed her own hair or bathed in a long time either.

Ignoring that disturbing thought, Cheng Wanwan and Wu Huiniang continued exploring.

They soon found a patch of wild bracken ferns.

This season, ferns were growing wildly. Some were a bit old, but if dried, they could be stir-fried and would taste quite good.

Wu Huiniang immediately squatted down to collect them.

Cheng Wanwan kept searching.

[Ding! Discovered naturally grown wild black boletus!]

More black boletus! A large cluster of dark-colored mushrooms was growing beneath a tree.

Their appearance scared off most villagers, but to Cheng Wanwan, they were a treasure.

So far, these were the most valuable mushrooms she had seen—the system priced them at 45 copper coins per jin.

She took out a small trowel and quickly dug them up.

[Ding! 3 jin 5 liang (1.75 kg) of wild black boletus, valued at 158 copper coins. Sell?]
[Yes!]

Coins clinked into her purse.

She did a quick count—with the leftover money from before, she now had 211 copper coins.

That was enough to buy 100 jin (50 kg) of rice from the system’s shop—enough to feed her family for nearly two months.

Just then, a loud cry echoed through the forest.

“Waaah! That’s mine!”

Cheng Wanwan instinctively ignored it but soon realized the voice sounded familiar.

Carrying her now-empty basket, she walked over.

She hadn’t gone far when she saw a group of teenage boys surrounding Zhao Sidan.

Zhao Sidan was crying so hard he could barely breathe. “I saw it first! It’s my rabbit! Give it back! Waaah!”

One of the boys sneered. “Shut up, brat. We caught this rabbit.”

“There’s no name on it! How do you prove it’s yours?”

“It’s in our hands now, so it’s ours. Let’s go!”

The boys grabbed the struggling rabbit and turned to leave.

“Stop right there!”

Cheng Wanwan stepped forward, her eyes locked onto the rabbit.

She wasn’t just seeing a rabbit—she was seeing braised rabbit, spicy rabbit head, and steamed rabbit meat…

The teenage boys stiffened.

They all knew Zhao Sidan’s mother was infamous in the village—a woman who even dared to curse out her own mother-in-law.

Was she about to beat them up?

They hesitated, wanting to run but afraid to be the first to move.

Cheng Wanwan softened her tone. “Tell me, what’s the story behind this rabbit?”

The leader, Zhang Dagang, the 12-year-old son of the village rogue, puffed up his chest. “We caught it fair and square! Zhao Sidan just wants to steal it!”

“That’s not true! Waaah!” Zhao Sidan sobbed harder. “Mom, I caught it first, but they stole it from me…”