Chapter 60: Climbing the Spring Mountain, So Many Bamboo Shoots (1)  

On the island, there were no steep peaks; the terrain was relatively gentle.  

There were also no dense forests with towering pines—most of the vegetation consisted of low-growing shrubs.  

To the south of the hill was land belonging to the village’s production team. It was being cleared and converted into farmland for growing grain.  

The northern side, however, due to differences in sunlight and water sources, was unsuitable for planting grain. As a result, it had not yet been developed and remained a stretch of barren wilderness.  

At first glance, this wilderness appeared overgrown with weeds, a chaotic mess.  

Little did they know—  

Many of these so-called “weeds” were actually edible wild vegetables.  

The first thing Jiang Rou spotted was a patch of Chinese toon trees.  

These trees did not grow very tall, reaching about 1.5 to 2 meters—just the right height for someone to reach up on tiptoe and pluck the leaves.  

Lin Yulan had come to pick Chinese toon once before, but nearly a week had passed since then.  

In that time, with the nourishment of sunlight and rain, fresh purplish-red sprouts had emerged on the branches—tender and at their peak freshness.  

It was time to pick them again.  

Jiang Rou gazed at the Chinese toon trees, and the light in her eyes seemed to form just two words:  

Make money! Make money! Make money!  

Premium wild Chinese toon could sell for 200 yuan per jin on Tao Duoduo Mall, making it one of the most expensive wild vegetables!  

As soon as the sisters-in-law reached the hillside, they all scattered in different directions.  

Each person found an area, set down the bamboo baskets on their backs, and bent down to start digging for wild vegetables.  

Zhao Guifen, however, did not rush to dig. She had an important task to complete.  

“Sister Rou, the one you’re looking at is called Chinese toon, right? You recognize it? There are plenty of other wild vegetables on this mountain too. Let me introduce them to you. Look, this one is called shepherd’s pu—”  

“This one is called shepherd’s purse.”

Jiang Rou smiled warmly and picked up where Zhao Guifen had left off.  

She glanced around, pointing at different wild vegetables as she continued speaking.  

“This one is dandelion; it can be stir-fried. That one is mian tiao cai (wild wheat sprouts), purslane… Over there… that’s lamb’s quarters… And that one on the tree, those are elm samaras…”  

In one breath, Jiang Rou named about five or six different types of wild vegetables.  

And she got every single one right.  

Zhao Guifen was completely stunned.  

In her mind, while Jiang Rou’s background wasn’t an issue, she was still a city-raised child. How could she possibly recognize such uncommon wild vegetables?  

That was why Lin Yulan had specifically reminded Zhao Guifen to help her out as much as possible.  

Zhao Guifen, still surprised, asked: “Sister Rou, how do you know all these wild vegetables?”  

Jiang Rou’s mind worked quickly, and she came up with a pleasing explanation.  

“Back when I was in school, we often had fieldwork trips to the countryside. After going so many times, I naturally learned to recognize them. Besides, I really like village life—the beautiful mountains, clear waters, and fresh air. The wild vegetables taste great too.”  

Zhao Guifen immediately nodded in agreement.  

“That’s true. The countryside is actually really nice. I love being here—so much freedom and happiness. Since you already know these wild vegetables, I won’t show off. Let’s split up and pick the ones we like to eat. This whole mountain is yours to dig from.”  

“Alright, Sister Guifen.”  

And just like that, Zhao Guifen left at ease.  

Jiang Rou, on the other hand, began executing her grand money-making plan.  

She first dug up a variety of wild vegetables, making sure to gather some of each kind she had mentioned earlier—shepherd’s purse, dandelion, mian tiao cai, purslane, lamb’s quarters, and elm samaras.  

Then, she touched the jade ring on her chest.  

In an instant, some of the wild vegetables disappeared without a trace, silently transferred into Tao Duoduo Mall.  

Jiang Rou wasn’t planning to sell them immediately—she was checking the market prices for each type of wild vegetable.  

All of them had been classified as “premium wild grade.”  

However, the overall prices were not very high.

Most of the wild vegetables were priced between thirty to forty yuan per jin, with some even as low as twenty yuan per jin.  

The prices were quite cheap.  

For wild vegetables that sold at such low prices, Jiang Rou decided to pick them only for personal consumption rather than selling them.  

Her focus remained on the golden, gleaming Chinese toon.  

She set down her bamboo basket, took out the sun hat she had made the day before, and put it on. She also placed a smaller one on Xiaohua.  

“Alright, now you won’t get sunburned. Go play.”  

Jiang Rou entrusted Zhou Xiaohua to Zhou Xiaochuan, then headed toward the patch of Chinese toon trees.  

At first—  

Zhou Xiaochuan and Zhou Xiaohua followed closely behind her, trailing her every step.  

After all, children instinctively followed adults, and for these two well-behaved kids, suddenly being allowed to run freely on a hillside felt a bit unnatural.  

But then—  

As time passed, Jiang Rou became fully engrossed in picking wild vegetables, not even glancing back at them.  

Zhou Xiaochuan and Zhou Xiaohua exchanged looks—big eyes staring at small eyes.  

Then, their eyes lit up.  

Playtime!  

This entire hillside was a playground, full of exciting things to explore. They had already been itching to run around.  

Zhou Xiaohua became fascinated by the fluttering white butterflies.  

She grabbed Zhou Xiaochuan’s hand and hurriedly chased after them, stretching out her hands in an attempt to catch one.  

Jiang Rou, with her back turned to the children, heard their excited footsteps and smiled silently.  

At the same time, her hands never stopped moving.  

Her slender fingers moved with agility and precision, as if they were made for picking wild vegetables.  

In no time at all—  

Jiang Rou had completely filled her bamboo basket. Then, she once again accessed Tao Duoduo Mall, opening “Jiang Xiao’er General Store”…

【Ding! The product has been successfully uploaded.】  

【Product Name: Spring Limited Rare Wild Vegetable – Chinese Toon.】  

【Product Weight: 1000g】  

【Suggested Retail Price: 400 yuan】  

A few minutes later.  

【Dear Shop Owner, the product you listed: “Spring Limited Rare Wild Vegetable – Chinese Toon.” has been sold.】  

【Ding-dong, 400 yuan has been credited to your account today.】  

In just half an hour, she had actually earned 400 yuan!  

Jiang Rou’s eyes sparkled with joy.  

She immediately felt a surge of motivation.  

She continued picking Chinese toon nonstop, nearly stripping the entire grove bare.  

During this time, she uploaded a total of five jin of Chinese toon, and each time, it was instantly sold out, as if someone had been waiting to snatch it up.  

Because of this, Jiang Rou earned 1,000 yuan.  

With this 1,000 yuan, not to mention buying some daily necessities, even purchasing a big-ticket item would be more than enough.  

After making some money, Jiang Rou relaxed and carefully enjoyed this spring outing of foraging wild vegetables.  

After all, such beautiful mountains, waters, and scenery were truly rare in her past life.  

Jiang Rou walked out of the Chinese toon grove and moved to another slope, where she spotted more wild vegetables.  

It was bracken.

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