Chapter 17

Cha Chengye and his wife stood at the front gate, watching the two figures disappear into the distance.

Smiling, he turned to his wife and said,

“I don’t know where Tiantian gets all this energy. She was busy all day yesterday, and yet today, she’s still full of life.”

Zuo Mingyan smiled in understanding.

“She’s a young girl experiencing the countryside for the first time. Everything is new and exciting to her. Let her go and explore.”

“When I first came back here with you, wasn’t I also amazed by everything around me?”

The couple exchanged a nostalgic smile, remembering the past, before turning to head back inside.

Just as Cha Jizu opened the door, he saw his eldest grandson and Tiantian walking away in the distance. Curious, he asked,

“Where are those two going so early in the morning?”

Zuo Mingyan chuckled. “Tiantian insisted on going up the mountain with the fifth brother’s wife to pick matsutake mushrooms.”

Hearing this, Cha Jizu laughed.

“That girl is really blending in well with the local life. She’s adapting quickly.”

Zuo Mingyan nodded. “That’s right. The moment she heard about picking matsutake, her eyes lit up. She even said she’d bring some back so we can have a feast.”

Cha Jizu burst into hearty laughter.

“That’s great! Chengye, go catch a chicken later. When Tiantian comes back, we’ll make a delicious matsutake chicken soup.”

“Alright, sounds good.” Cha Chengye agreed with a smile.

—-

At the foot of the mountain, Jiang Tiantian saw Aunt Wu and the others waiting at the roadside from a distance. Excitedly, she waved and ran over.

“I’m here~”

Seeing Cha Jiuzhang following behind, Aunt Wu teased,

“Oh? Jiuzhang, are you worried about letting your little wife go up the mountain alone? Is that why you’re tagging along?”

Cha Jiuzhang chuckled.

“Not at all. I just don’t want her slowing you all down and affecting your harvest.”

Jiang Tiantian was momentarily stunned. She had been so excited that she hadn’t even considered that possibility. Quickly, she reassured them,

“Once we’re on the mountain, you all just focus on finding matsutake. You don’t have to worry about me. I’ll take care of myself.”

Second Aunt playfully smacked Aunt Wu.

“Jiuzhang’s wife, don’t listen to her. She just likes to joke around.”

“Finding matsutake is mostly about luck anyway.”

“But the forest is dense, and it’s easy to get separated.”

“You’re unfamiliar with the mountain, so with Jiuzhang here, we’ll feel more at ease.”

Laughing and chatting, the group entered the forest.

As soon as Jiang Tiantian stepped onto the mountain, she discreetly put on her filming equipment.

Every once in a while, they would shout loudly into the forest,

“Yohoho~”

Sometimes, a distant voice would respond with the same call, “Yohoho~”

Jiang Tiantian found it fascinating and joined in the shouting.

Sanya explained that this was a way to scare off animals in advance to avoid encounters. It was also a way for people in the forest to communicate. If something happened, they could know where to seek help.

Jiang Tiantian found this traditional form of human-to-human and human-to-nature communication particularly endearing.

Everything in the forest intrigued her. She found everything fresh and exciting.

Whenever she spotted a newly sprouted mushroom, she would exclaim excitedly,

“Wow, a mushroom!”

But the others barely gave them a glance and continued hiking up the mountain.

Curious, Jiang Tiantian asked, “Aren’t these mushrooms worth picking?”

San Ya, walking beside her, laughed.

“Those are poisonous mushrooms. You can’t eat them.”

She then responsibly explained the common edible mushrooms and their growing conditions along the way.

Jiang Tiantian soon noticed that some of the mushrooms they passed matched Sanya’s description of edible ones. Yet, they still didn’t stop to pick them.

Curious again, she asked,

“San Ya, weren’t those yellowish-brown one’s milk-cap mushrooms? And over there, wasn’t that a green-headed mushroom? Why didn’t we take them?”

Sanya glanced back and dismissed them with a wave,

“Oh, those are just common mushrooms. They’re not worth much right now. Our main goal today is matsutake. Matsutake sells for several times the price of those.”

“We need to hurry and reach the pine forest on the mountainside to find the matsutake.”

“There’s no point wasting time picking cheap mushrooms along the way.”

Jiang Tiantian’s enthusiasm was immediately crushed by such a practical and undeniable reason.

She turned back to look at the mushrooms longingly. They looked so delicious.

And besides matsutake, she had never actually eaten any of the other wild mushrooms San Ya mentioned.

Licking her lips, she reluctantly bid farewell to the cute little mushrooms.

She looked up at the vast forest ahead and shouted to boost her spirits.

Alright.

Today, she was going all in for matsutake.

If she didn’t pick at least ten pounds, she wouldn’t be able to justify skipping all those adorable mushrooms along the way.

The others were startled by her sudden outburst.

They watched as Jiang Tiantian, as if injected with adrenaline, charged ahead of the group.

The women turned to look at Cha Jiuzhang, who was leisurely trailing at the back.

“What’s wrong with your wife?”

Cha Jiuzhang, having observed Jiang Tiantian the whole time, roughly understood her thinking. Holding back his laughter, he shrugged.

“She’s probably just too excited about her first time foraging.”

Sister Guifang chuckled and pointed at Jiang Tiantian, who was sprinting ahead.

“That silly girl, she doesn’t know to pace herself. We’re not even halfway up yet. She’s going to burn out later.”

And Sister Guifang was right.

Over two hours later, Jiang Tiantian started to struggle.

It wasn’t just heavy breathing from exertion; she was feeling short of breath, her chest tight, and discomfort creeping in.

She mentally asked Xiao Qi,

“Xiao Qi, can you check our current altitude?”

Xiao Qi responded,

“You are currently at an altitude of 3,110 meters.”

Jiang Tiantian suddenly understood—no wonder she was feeling short of breath. They had climbed pretty high.

With her body enhanced by strengthening potions, she shouldn’t be feeling this way just from hiking.

It seemed that staying in low-altitude areas for too long had made her unaccustomed to the thinner air up here.

Cha Jiuzhang noticed her pale face, dry lips, and exhausted expression.

He quickly stepped forward, helping her sit on a fallen tree trunk.

He set down his backpack, took out a water flask, unscrewed the cap, and gently supported the back of her head to help her drink.

“Drink some Rhodiola tea. It’ll help.”

After several gulps of warm tea, Jiang Tiantian felt better.

“Thank you.”

“How much further do we have to climb?”

Cha Jiuzhang glanced around. “Another hundred meters or so.”

Pointing to an area where the trees were thinning, he said,

“See that? That’s the pine forest where matsutake mainly grows.”

Just then, Sanya called from ahead,

“Brother! Sister-in-law! Are you two alright? Do you want us to wait?”

Cha Jiuzhang replied,

“No need, go ahead. We’ll catch up soon.”