Chapter 3: Ways to Make Money

Upon hearing a sound, Wang Jinhe turned her head to see her family standing at the door. “Mom, Dad, you’re back. Wash your hands so we can eat,” she said.

While the family washed their hands in a daze, Wang Jinhe had already placed the dishes on the table.

Looking at the porridge with added sweet potatoes, the family couldn’t help but feel uneasy. “Jinhe, you don’t have to be frugal with our food. Dad will find a way,” he reassured her.

Wang Jinhe was taken aback for a moment as she noticed everyone looking at the sweet potato porridge. She cleared her throat and said, “Grandma, Grandpa, try it out. This porridge tastes great with sweet potatoes. I just had a little bit myself.”

“Really? Let me try it too,” Grandma Wang thought that Wang Jinhe was trying to comfort them and took a bite from her bowl.

The taste of sweet potato porridge surprised Grandma Wang. “Oh, this sweet potato porridge tastes pretty good. You all should try it too.”

“By the way, where is Xiao Bao?” Grandma Wang looked around, thinking that he was probably up to some mischief again.

“Xiao Bao is still sleeping. You all go ahead and eat, I’ll go check on him,” Wang Jinhe went to her room to check on Xiao Bao.

As soon as she entered the room, Wang Jinhe saw Xiao Bao dressing himself. She felt a bit bittersweet seeing her three-year-old child dress himself so well albeit with some difficulty.

In modern times, children his age would usually be treated as the family’s little treasures and wouldn’t dress themselves.

“Are you awake, Xiao Bao? Do you want Mother to help you dress up?”

“I don’t need help, Mother. I can dress myself,” Xiao Bao said, quickly finishing up and reaching out to Wang Jinhe.

Wang Jinhe lifted him up and noticed a red mark on his neck. She opened his shirt to take a closer look.

Feeling the collar of his shirt, she realized that the fabric was too rough and had caused the redness on his neck.

It was clear that she needed to earn money as soon as possible.

Wang Jinhe shook her head, realizing that her idea of using the rapid growth of vegetables wasn’t going to work. She looked at the lush mountains in the distance and decided to go there the next day.

“Mother, are you okay?” Xiao Bao asked innocently.

Wang Jinhe smiled and changed the subject, “Nothing’s wrong. Mother made some delicious food. Shall we go eat?”

Xiao Bao blinked his eyes and asked, “Can the food that you made be eaten Mother?”

Angry, Wang Jinhe reached out and gave Xiao Bao a tap. “You little rascal, the food your mother made is delicious. You better not eat too much later, or you might end up with a tummy ache.”

As she spoke, she playfully scratched Xiao Bao’s tummy, causing him to squirm with laughter.

Carrying Xiao Bao, they arrived at the dining table where nobody had started eating yet as they were waiting for the mother and son. “Why didn’t you start eating without us?” asked Wang Jinghe.

“We aren’t that hungry, we can wait for you,” replied Gu Shi.

Once they were all seated, they started eating together.

Wang Jingyu ate the cabbage and drank the porridge while continuously praising, “Sister, this cabbage is cooked so well, it’s sweet and delicious.”

“If you like it, have some more,” replied Wang Jinghe.

“I want to eat too, Mother,” protested Xiao Bao with his spoon in hand.

Wang Jinghe picked out the tender heart of the cabbage and gave it to Xiao Bao. After eating, Xiao Bao gave a thumbs up and exclaimed, “Mother’s cooking is the best and most delicious.”

“After lunch, I plan to go for a walk in the bamboo forest this afternoon and see if there are any bamboo shoots growing. I also want to check if there are any mushrooms in the mountains,” said Wang Jinhe to Gu Shi.

Gu Shi nodded her head and replied, “Okay, just be careful and don’t stay out too late.”

Wang Jingyu, who was sitting next to them, also chimed in, “I’ll go with you. It’s been a while since we went for a walk in the mountains together.”

Wang Jinhe smiled and agreed, “Sure, it’ll be nice to have some company.”

“Don’t worry, Mother. I’ll just take a stroll around the bamboo forest, and see if there are any bamboo shoots and mushrooms in the mountains,” said Wang Jinhe after they finished their meal.

“But your body hasn’t fully recovered yet, how can you go?” objected Gu Shi, worried that Wang Jinhe might get hurt.

“Mother, don’t worry, look at me, I’m fine now, aren’t I?”

“But…”

Grandma Wang interrupted Gu Shi: “If Xiao He wants to go, let her go. Just take a walk around the bamboo forest, and don’t go deep into the mountains, okay?”

Wang Jinhe’s eyes lit up. “Thank you, grandmother. I understand.”

“Then, mother, can I trouble you to take care of Xiao bao this afternoon?” Seeing that the old lady had agreed, Gu Shi did not object and asked instead.

Grandma Wang waved her hand. “Xiao Bao is a good child, easy to take care of.”

After finishing their meal and tidying up, Wang Jinhe went to the mountains with a backpack on their back.

 Upon entering the mountains, they immediately smelled the fresh air, which was not found in modern times.

Instead of going to the bamboo forest, Wang Jinhe went to another place she had accidentally discovered in her original body. There were plenty of mushrooms and wild vegetables there.

“Cluck cluck cluck.” As Wang Jinhe was nearing her destination, she suddenly heard the sound of wild chickens. Following the sound, she found a mother hen laying eggs under a large tree. She approached carefully and, when the hen wasn’t paying attention, pounced and caught the chicken.

Watching the wild chicken flapping around, Wang Jinhe tapped its head and said, “Why are you still struggling? Come with me obediently.”

After finding some sturdy vines, Wang Jinhe tied up the wild chicken’s legs and wings before going to collect the eggs in the nest.

As she was about to leave with the chicken, Wang Jinhe suddenly turned around and noticed some red fruits near the chicken coop.

She hurried over and examined them closely, then dug through the soil to take a closer look. “Oh my goodness, it’s ginseng!” she exclaimed.

Wang Jinhe wasn’t sure how old the ginseng was, so she thought for a moment and then poured some spiritual spring water on it.

To her amazement, the ginseng seemed to grow significantly larger.

Putting her backpack aside, Wang Jinhe carefully dug out the ginseng from the ground, trying her best not to damage its roots.

After successfully excavating the entire ginseng, Wang Jinhe broke out in a cold sweat, feeling very nervous.

As she looked at the ginseng that looked like a carrot, Wang Jinhe felt delighted. This ginseng was probably several decades old. If she sold it, it should be worth a lot of money.

She picked some leaves from the trees and placed them in the backpack. Wang Jinhe carefully put the ginseng in the backpack and covered it with another layer of leaves before placing the wild chicken eggs on top.

With the backpack on her back and the wild chicken in her hand, Wang Jinhe was about to head home when she saw a wild chicken flying towards her from a distance. She instinctively moved out of the way.

With a loud “dong” sound, even Wang Jinhe felt a little scared.

Turning his head, he saw a wild chicken that had passed out after hitting a tree. Wang Jinhe shrugged her shoulders.

This had nothing to do with her. It was the chicken that had hit the tree on its own.

Looking at the wild chicken that had already fainted, Wang Jinhe considered for a moment and thought that the chicken had come to her doorstep, so she might as well take it.

Carrying the chicken, Wang Jinhe headed back home.

When Grandma Wang saw Wang Jinhe carrying two wild chickens back, she was somewhat surprised: “Xiaohe, where did you get these from?”

“When this mother hen was laying eggs, I caught her. We can clip her wings and kept her at home, so we can eat eggs every day. This rooster didn’t fly properly and hit a tree, knocking itself out. I picked it up.” Wang Jinhe said shyly, “I also found wild chicken eggs.”

“Well, you’re really lucky.”

“I think so too.” Wang Jinhe looked down at the wild rooster in her hand. “This wild rooster looks pretty fat. Let’s kill it and eat it tonight.”

“Okay,” as soon as she said that they should kill it, the rooster started to screaming an incredibly mournful sound.