Chapter 37: Wide Dissemination

Uncle Chen Jiu was a straightforward man. The next day, he gathered the villagers in front of his courtyard and told them about cultivating mushrooms.

In previous years, when the harvests were good, villagers often picked mushrooms in the mountains after rain, but they had never thought that mushrooms could be cultivated. They were curious and excited, though also a bit skeptical.

Uncle Chen Jiu had Zhao Hu bring out a small basket of freshly picked mushrooms and said cheerfully, “I knew you lot wouldn’t believe me without seeing it for yourselves. Take a look!”

The mushrooms were passed around the crowd and eventually returned to Zhao Hu. This time, it was like a drop of water falling into hot oil—everyone began clamoring for the method of mushroom cultivation.

Uncle Chen Jiu gestured for everyone to quiet down and smiled, saying, “I won’t let you freeze for nothing. But this method of growing mushrooms was figured out by Yingzi, not me. I don’t know how to do it, so she’ll teach you in a bit.

“Oh, by the way, who was it that said reading and writing were useless? If Yingzi hadn’t been literate, could she have thought of this?”

Speaking in front of so many people made Qin Ying a little nervous. She licked her lips, and when she began to speak, her voice trembled slightly.

Zhou Yu stepped slowly behind her and encouraged her, “Don’t worry, take your time.”

Uncle Chen Jiu also shouted, “Quiet down, everyone! Listen to Yingzi properly!”

Qin Ying cleared her throat and began seriously explaining how to grow mushrooms, focusing on the formula for the cultivation substrate and the burning process. Then she told everyone to prepare the necessary materials.

Granny Wang smiled and said, “Yingzi, Grandma’s getting old, and your Second Uncle Gou and Uncle Tiezhu are still up in the mountains. How about you and Huzi come over and give me a hand?”

Qin Ying readily agreed, and someone else asked Aunt Zhao to come help as well.

Zhou Yu took the initiative and said, “You all go ahead. I’ll look after An’an for you. If she gets fussy, I’ll bring her to find you.”

Seeing that her grandma, mother, and uncle were all watching her, An’an made an effort to raise her hand and pat her little head. “An, good!”

Everyone burst into laughter.

And just like that, the mushroom cultivation project in Tongshu Tun began with a bang.

Uncle Chen Jiu’s household was no exception. Xu Xia didn’t let him lift a finger and personally followed Qin Ying’s instructions to prepare the cultivation substrate. He spread it out in the courtyard to burn, and also went to nail wooden troughs.

By nightfall, the first batch of cultivation substrate was completed. Qin Ying told everyone to water it thoroughly and move it indoors to a warm place. She reminded them again and again, “Don’t be stingy with firewood. If it’s too cold, the mushrooms won’t grow well.”

Uncle Chen Jiu, leaning on a walking stick, wandered around the village, shouting as he went, “There are no lazy men or women in Tongshu Tun! The mountains are full of firewood—pick as much as you want! If I see a house without smoke coming from the chimney, I’ll come knocking with my cane!”

Since digging the canal didn’t require too many people at the moment, Zhou Yu sent some workers to help gather firewood. Combined with the villagers’ own efforts, soon every household had tall piles of firewood stacked in and outside their courtyards.

Some even started thinking about how to burn firewood more efficiently…

There weren’t enough mushroom spores for the whole village yet. Qin Ying first inspected which households had prepared the cultivation substrate correctly, and helped them plant the mushrooms. Then, every two or three days, she helped the next batch. Within ten days, the entire village was covered.

Worried that the first attempt might not have a high success rate, Qin Ying personally carried An’an and visited each household to check their progress, correcting any mistakes on the spot.

Sometimes Aunt Zhao accompanied her; other times, it was Zhao Hu.

In just two days, the first batch of planted mushrooms began to sprout. Those few households were so happy they cried. Eating more mushrooms meant saving more grain—if the famine lasted longer, they wouldn’t be as afraid anymore!

Soon after, mushrooms in other households also began to sprout. With Qin Ying teaching hands-on, their growth was quite good.

By mid-twelfth lunar month, the first crop of mushrooms was ready for harvest. That day, the whole village of Tongshu Tun was filled with the delicious aroma of boiling mushrooms.

An’an gained another 0.5 units of energy.

Zhou Yu personally visited the Zhao family.

He arrived just as the Zhao family was having a meal, and they quickly stood up to offer him a seat.

Zhou Yu noticed the green vegetable soup they were drinking and asked in surprise, “How do you still have green vegetables at this time of year?”

Aunt Zhao chuckled and said, “These are cabbages we grew ourselves. We planted them densely on purpose so we could pluck them when they got a little bigger.

“We grow them in wooden troughs. Not expecting them to grow very big—just harvest one batch and plant the next.”

As she spoke, she lifted the curtain and invited him to take a look at the wooden racks inside the house.

Since that was their bedroom, Zhou Yu didn’t enter. He stood at the door and saw tender, green scallions, garlic shoots, cilantro, and small cabbages. His eyes lit up in delight, and he praised them nonstop.

The Zhao family was a bit embarrassed by the compliments.

Aunt Zhao scooped a bowl of the vegetable soup for him. Having spent more time together and seeing that Zhou Yu was kind and easygoing, she was no longer as reserved and invited him to sit and drink with them.

Zhou Yu didn’t decline.

After the meal, Zhou Yu brought up the matter of ordering a batch of mushroom spores.

Qin Ying quickly said, “We’re already preparing them. The villagers still have some left, enough to help two more villages.”

Zhou Yu nodded gratefully. “We can’t let you all do this for nothing. Many people are benefiting from this—you’ve been a great help to the authorities.

“Soon, I’ll send over two bags of grain. Also, I bought two chicks. Would you like to raise them?”

“Yes, yes, yes!” Zhao Hu was the first to raise his hand. If they raised the chicks well, they’d lay eggs. More eggs meant they could hatch more chicks, and once those chicks grew up, they’d lay eggs too…

At this rate, An’an would have an endless supply of eggs and chicken meat!

Aunt Zhao and Qin Ying exchanged a glance. Though tempted, they still declined. “Lord Zhou, it’s not that we don’t appreciate your kindness, it’s just… it’s too cold to raise them right now.

“And if only we have them while no one else does, I don’t know much about big principles, but I do know that the nail that sticks out gets hammered.”

Qin Ying nodded silently beside her.

Zhou Yu was momentarily speechless. He hadn’t thought of that.

An’an blinked her big, dark eyes, looking at each adult in turn and muttered, “Chicken?”

Of course, she knew what a chicken was—she could still remember the taste of egg custard, chicken soup, and chicken meat.

She hadn’t cared much about food before, but ever since she took on a physical form, her appetite had only grown stronger.

Ah, she was no longer the emotionless AI that didn’t care about food!

All the adults’ eyes instantly landed on her.

An’an’s eyes suddenly widened. Whoa! Energy! +0.06!

She had only been craving a bite…

So maybe she should crave food every few days?

“Well then,” Zhou Yu thought of a compromise, “I’ll raise the chicks for now, and when I leave Tongshu Tun, I’ll give them to you. How about that?”

The Zhao family hesitated.

Seeing this, Zhou Yu added, “I’ll also try to find more chicks. If I can get enough, I’ll distribute some to the other villagers. That way, you won’t stand out.”

Since he had gone to such lengths, how could the Zhao family refuse? They thanked him repeatedly and agreed.