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Old Tan said with joy, “Wife, stop fussing with the pickled vegetables for now. Go collect the eggs from the yard and get ready to fry a few eggs!”
“Alright!” Wan Chunmei responded with a bright smile and turned toward the backyard.
The old hen in the backyard had been very obedient recently, no longer laying eggs like a mad chicken. It laid five or six eggs a day in a very regular pattern.
Additionally, the new hens had not yet started laying eggs, likely to begin when spring arrived.
Although the eggs in the yard weren’t as abundant as they had been before, they were still enough.
Wan Chunmei planned to raise some ducks after spring arrived. Once there were duck eggs, she would make salted duck eggs and century eggs, which would be good for selling later.
After collecting the eggs, she went inside to start preparing the meal.
Liu Shiye, who had agreed to stay for lunch, returned to the room and waited peacefully, occasionally glancing out of the window.
Old Tan still had to go work on the house, so he didn’t stay in the room to keep Liu Shiye company. After drinking a few sips of water, he went to the house next door.
Meanwhile, in the messy field, Tan Yiliang and Tan Erqian were busy working hard.
The radishes they had planted earlier were almost all harvested, so the vegetable garden only had a few cabbages left to gather.
Tan Xiaomei, carrying one child on her back and holding another in her arms, came over to bring water. “Yiliang, Erqian, it’s time for some water.”
Tan Yiliang and Tan Erqian looked up and responded, “Alright, Little Aunt!”
They stopped their work, walked over, and smiled. “Little Aunt, why did you bring Little Qiyue and Liujin here?”
Tan Xiaomei set the children down and sat on a stone bench under a tree. “These two kids were making a racket at home, always asking to go outside, so I brought them along.”
Tan Yiliang and Tan Erqian both smiled. “It’s good for kids to get some fresh air, but be careful not to let them catch a chill.”
Tan Xiaomei nodded. “Don’t worry, I always walk with the wind behind me.”
She then tugged on the children’s clothes.
Tan Yiliang looked at Little Qiyue, wiped his hands dry, and stood up. “Little Aunt, since you’re here, why don’t you come and see the Lingzhi we planted?”
“Lingzhi?” Tan Xiaomei asked in surprise. “You planted Lingzhi?”
Tan Yiliang nodded and smiled. “That’s right, we didn’t plant much, but they’ve all survived.”
Tan Erqian chimed in, “And they’re growing really well. I just went to check. If we take them to Master Bai’s herbal shop, they’ll definitely fetch a good price!”
“Really?” Tan Xiaomei became instantly curious.
Even Little Qiyue looked up at him with wide, expectant eyes.
Tan Erqian nodded. “Of course it’s true.”
He then wiped his hands, picked up Little Qiyue, and said, “Let’s go, Second Brother will take you to have a look.”
Tan Xiaomei picked up Tan Liujin and followed behind him.
The group arrived at the most remote part of the land behind the messy field. This area, backed by the mountains, was rather humid and warm, so Tan Yiliang had specifically chosen this spot to plant the Lingzhi.
Tan Xiaomei was stunned upon seeing a whole patch of large Lingzhi in front of her. “Why are these so big?”
Tan Yiliang, rubbing his head with a smile, replied, “When we found them on the mountain, they seemed big too. Maybe this variety of Lingzhi just grows like this.”
Tan Xiaomei walked up and reached out to touch the large caps of the Lingzhi. She asked, “How much can we sell these big Lingzhi for?”
Tan Erqian thought for a moment and said, “The Master Bai wanted to buy the one we got on the mountain before, but I didn’t sell. These past few days, I asked around in the county. A large Lingzhi can fetch at least twenty taels of silver, and that’s just the base price for herbalists. If we sell directly to the Master Bai, the price could be even higher, but I don’t know the exact amount yet.”
Tan Xiaomei beamed with joy. “With so many Lingzhi, we could make quite a bit of silver!”
Tan Erqian nodded, smiling. “That’s right. Little Aunt, we might just strike it rich.”
Tan Xiaomei nodded repeatedly. “Yes, yes!”
She then turned to Tan Yiliang and smiled. “Yiliang, are you sure you grew all this Lingzhi?”
Tan Yiliang scratched the back of his head and awkwardly nodded. “I did grow them, but the seeds and seedlings were brought back from the mountain by my second brother.”
Although the seeds and seedlings were brought from the mountain, Tan Yiliang had put a lot of effort into cultivating the Lingzhi. He had been up early and stayed up late every day to look after them. He had also visited several experienced farmers just to make sure the Lingzhi would thrive.
Fortunately, Heaven did not disappoint the hardworking. All the Lingzhi grew strong and healthy.
Tan Erqian gave Tan Yiliang a big hug and laughed. “This, of course, is all thanks to my great older brother! Vegetable General truly lives up to his name—everything he plants grows well!”
At that moment, Little Qiyue, who was in Tan Yiliang’s arms, also started laughing, waving her hands and shouting, “Big! Big! Big!”
Tan Erqian laughed and said, “Brother, did you see that? Little Qiyue is calling you! She’s calling you big brother!”
Tan Yiliang chuckled foolishly. “She’s not calling me. She’s talking about the Lingzhi—big! Big! Big!”
Tan Erqian rubbed Little Qiyue’s little head and smiled. “It seems our Little Qiyue is complimenting her big brother!”
However, Tan Xiaomei laughed and said, “I think Little Qiyue is saying that the Lingzhi could be even bigger, bigger~”
Tan Yiliang and Tan Erqian just thought their little aunt was joking.
Meanwhile, Little Qiyue, with her crescent-shaped eyes, giggled and clapped her hands several times in excitement.