Returning to the mountain village, starting with mushroom picking to get rich

Yang Lin had already washed the vegetables and was just waiting for the rice cooker to switch to the keep-warm setting before starting to heat the oil in the pan.

"Come on, come on, Old Wang's family has slaughtered the old hen, and a lot of people who come to hunt in the mountains are here, they're just missing you."

"Since you're not going out to work and want to make money selling mountain products, you should learn from the older generation in the village..."

Wang Lu held Yang Lin's arm, still enthusiastically trying to persuade him.

Thinking that others had already come to invite him, he couldn't refuse their kind invitation.

If I want to contract the mountain forest or start a business in the future, I will need the help of the villagers.

Yang Lin quickly agreed.

"Don't be in such a hurry, Uncle Wang Lu."

"It's not that I don't want to go, it's just that there's something good behind my house. If I take this thing, the chicken soup made from the old hen will taste better."

"I'd like to see what's behind you."

Following Yang Lin through the room and out the back door, Wang Lu quickly arrived at the place Yang Lin had mentioned.

"Look, there it is."

Yang Lin held up his flashlight, pointed, and under the beam of light, three mushrooms the size of bowls appeared before Wang Lu's eyes.

"My God, the mushrooms have grown all the way behind your house!" Wang Lu exclaimed in surprise.

He searched tirelessly on the mountain for several days, and only managed to find a termite mushroom once by sheer luck.

Yang Lin's luck—sitting at home and having mushrooms grow right up to the back of his house—is simply unbelievable.

Faced with Wang Lu's surprise, Yang Lin chuckled and remained noncommittal.

If it weren't for the fact that the soil nutrients were somewhat insufficient after producing only a dozen or so kilograms of mushrooms, not many mushrooms would be growing now.

He can only produce more mushrooms now.

"Let's take it and make soup."

After picking three large mushrooms the size of bowls, Yang Lin quickly followed Wang Lu to Wang Youcai's house.

The Wang family home was unusually lively today.

A group of people gathered in the main room, crammed onto long benches, chatting away.

On the kitchen stove, a large pot was burning.

Yang Lin handed the mushrooms to the kitchen as an extra dish, then went to the main room and squeezed in with the other people.

"Come on, let's drink... let's drink."

The moment the food was served, the initially mild conversation quickly turned into a drinking session.

Yang Lin doesn't like drinking, and several people have been trying to persuade him to drink, trying to find ways to pour wine into his bowl. But Yang Lin has already added rice to his bowl beforehand.

After several unsuccessful attempts to persuade them to drink, the crowd shook their heads, made a few noises, and then stopped trying.

"Kobayashi, I've noticed you're a bit of a loner."

Amidst the boisterous atmosphere of shouting and chatting, someone suddenly shouted this.

The crowd's attention immediately shifted to Yang Lin.

"I also feel that he says he wants to stay at the edge of the village, but I don't see him going around the village with anyone."

"When we went to the mountains to look for mushrooms, sometimes even when we clearly saw someone, he would turn and go to another place, as if he was afraid that we would compete with him for the mushrooms, and he didn't want us to travel with him..."

"These past few days I've often seen him carrying a basket on his back, sneaking off on his motorcycle, and sneaking back just as quietly. I have no idea what he's up to..."

Everyone chimed in with their own opinions, their words filled with questions and doubts about Yang Lin's unusual behavior over this period.

"Well... I used to work outside and didn't interact much with the villagers. If there's anything I've done wrong, please feel free to tell me, uncles and elders."

Yang Lin nodded in agreement with the others, but inwardly he was secretly on guard.

"It seems that my ability to create fungi has not been discovered, but... my presumptuous secrecy over this period has still aroused suspicion from others," Yang Lin thought to himself.

If this continues, the villagers' suspicions of him will only grow stronger.

He used this face when he sold mushrooms in various towns and villages, and it's only a matter of time before he was discovered.

Wang Youcai had only picked three catties of matsutake mushrooms when everyone clamored for him to treat them to a meal.

If one day the villagers discover that Yang Linguang is selling mushrooms in batches of 10 or 20 jin (5-10 kg), sending them out in large quantities.

Who knows what kind of reaction they might have to take?

"Perhaps... it's time to release the news that termite mushrooms can be artificially cultivated," Yang Lin thought to himself.

……

"Learn more from your Uncle Wang. Old Wang, I dare not say that, but when it comes to mountain climbing, he's the best in our village (thumbs up)."

"Your kid ran all over the mountain today and only picked twenty mushrooms. Is that enough for a pound?"

The conversation didn't just revolve around Yang Lin, and the topic at the dinner table wasn't limited to Yang Lin alone; it soon shifted to Wang Youcai.

Amidst the laughter and chatter of the room, Yang Lin sat on a long bench, awkwardly fidgeting with the chopsticks in his hand.

In the end, reason prevailed over impulse.

Yang Lin did not reveal to others that he had picked more than 20 kilograms of termite mushrooms and sold them for 5,000 yuan, instead of just more than 20 mixed mushrooms.

He had already begun planning to gradually reveal the production of termite mushrooms to the villagers in order to attract them to help him with the work.

He hasn't figured out how to reveal it yet, but it certainly won't be something he puts on display at the dinner table.

Amidst the clinking of glasses, the group changed topics one after another.

After several rounds of drinks and five courses of food,

The topics of discussion have shifted from talking about others to boasting about themselves.

This person said that he did business with foreigners twenty years ago.

The one who claimed to have a close relationship with a certain big brother in the county.

"Xiao Lin, I heard from the village chief that you don't want to apply for poverty alleviation status and want to contract the mountain forest in our village. Is that true?" A villager with poverty alleviation files suddenly turned his attention to Yang Lin.

There are only a dozen or so impoverished households in Qingshan Village, which is not a large number.

The family situation is complicated and there are some difficulties.

Many people wanted to apply for and receive government subsidies, but they were unsuccessful.

He couldn't help but be curious when he learned that Yang Lin had the opportunity to apply for poverty alleviation status but didn't.

"That is true." Yang Lin nodded.

"I do have some ideas about contracting the mountain forests."

Although impoverished households receive government subsidies, it's ultimately not a good reputation. Yang Lin was afraid of touching on sensitive topics, so he didn't answer questions related to impoverished households. Instead, he took this opportunity to explain his initial thoughts to everyone.

"Everyone says that 'green mountains and clear waters are invaluable assets.' Our village is close to the mountains and forests, and it has abundant wild mushroom resources that can be developed and utilized. So I want to set up a forest farm and cultivate mushrooms under the trees..."

"If we can get it done, I'll pay everyone!"

"At that time, the brothers, sisters, uncles, and elders in the village will no longer need to go far away to work or leave the province; they can make a living right at their doorstep..."

"By then, the children in our village will no longer be left-behind children, and the elderly will no longer be left to care for their homes alone..."

Yang Lin, brimming with confidence, launched into a long and detailed account of Qingshan Village's grand vision.

The crowd listened in silence, their expressions varied.

Some ignored the warnings and continued drinking, some watched coldly, some looked disdainful, and some were filled with sorrow.