The timeline system has gone awry; they insist that steamed buns are a magic pill.

"So many mushrooms!"

Upon arriving at the educated youth settlement, Li Qingqiu opened the male educated youth's bedroom, and the group of people who saw Xue Gu for the first time were all shocked by the scene before them.

The trellis was covered with mushrooms, rows and rows of snow-white mushrooms, it was breathtaking.

"How much is there?"

"It weighs a little over 300 jin (150 kg)."

Li Qingqiu roughly estimated that it was less than 400 jin (200 kg), sold some, and had about 300 jin (150 kg) left.

"More than 300 jin (150 kg), mushrooms aren't cheap these days."

"I just went to the county to sell some today, they sold for 50 cents a pound and were easy to sell."

"Five cents a pound?"

Li Qinghua did the math in his head. Over 300 jin (150 kg) was worth 150 or 160 yuan. Good heavens, that was more than the family earned in a year. After deducting food rations, his family barely had any cash this year.

"This is really not cheap."

Lin Xiu muttered to herself and quietly tugged at Li Qinghua's sleeve.

"Qinghua..."

"Let's talk about it when we get home."

Li Qingqiu understood what Lin Xiu meant, but this was not the time to say such things.

"Second brother, don't just stand there, help pick some mushrooms, we'll stir-fry a bowl for everyone to try tonight."

Seeing everyone stunned, Li Qingqiu smiled and asked his second brother, who was closest to him, to help pick mushrooms.

Don't overdo it.

Shi Lan Hua hurriedly gave instructions.

"Okay, Mom."

"Five cents a pound, so this much can sell for over a hundred dollars."

Wang Yun smacked his lips, thinking, "This third brother's got some skills. First winter bamboo shoots, then wild boar, and now mushrooms. His abilities are getting better and better." He continued, "The third brother is willing to take Xianjing with him, but I wonder if he'd be willing to take Xian'an as well."

Wang Yun pondered this in his heart and decided to discuss it with Li Qingchun later. Lin Xiu was also thinking about it. His son Xianle was getting old, and he was afraid that if he learned his third uncle's skills, he would have a hard time finding a wife.

He might even become an agricultural technician, just like his uncle.

Li Qingqiu was unaware of his two sisters-in-law's little schemes. He quickly picked half a basket of mushrooms and was about to continue when Shi Lanhua stopped him. "Five cents a pound, you might as well eat meat. This is enough."

"Yes, third brother, this is at least two or three pounds, and it costs more than a dollar. That's enough to buy meat."

Li Qinghua picked them very carefully, afraid of damaging them, unlike Li Qingqiu who didn't care. Just thinking about how they cost five cents a pound made him afraid to touch them.

"Alright."

Li Qingqiu thought to himself that he had brought some fried meatballs, and he would make a bowl of them later. It wouldn't matter if there were fewer mushrooms. "Okay, let's go back then."

"Are we just going to leave these mushrooms like this?"

"yes."

"This is worth over a hundred yuan, aren't you afraid of losing it?"

Li Qinghua's question made Li Qingqiu chuckle. "Second Brother, nobody knows about mushrooms, it's alright, don't worry about it."

"Alright."

Li Qinghua thought about it and agreed. However, he was still a little worried about Shi Lanhua and gave Guo Zhaonan some instructions.

"Mom, is it really necessary to make such a fuss over a few mushrooms?"

"What do you know? It's over a hundred yuan. It could even kill someone."

Hearing this, Li Qingqiu became genuinely nervous. Losing the mushrooms was fine, but he couldn't let Guo Zhaonan and Yin Yi get hurt. "How about this, we'll pick the mushrooms later and send them to the food station or sell them in the county. That'll do."

"How about we go to the county tomorrow?"

"We should ask your fourth brother and brother-in-law about this later, just in case something happens when we go to the city," Shi Lanhua said, somewhat worried.

"That's true, I'll ask the fourth brother first thing tomorrow morning."

When there are important matters in the family, they still ask for Li Qingshi's opinion, after all, he is a commune cadre and the only cadre in the family.

"Doing less won't be a big problem."

Li Qinghua said, "The free market will open in a few days. I'll dig up some winter bamboo shoots and mushrooms to sell later."

"It's better to play it safe."

"Third brother, what do you say?"

"Mom is right, it's better to be safe than sorry."

Li Qingqiu was also thinking about how to get the mushrooms. He had already been to the county, and going again might easily attract the attention of some people with ulterior motives. It would be better to be on the safe side.

Back home, Wang Yun and Lin Xiu busied themselves cooking.

"Third brother, how do you cook these white mushrooms?"

"Sister-in-law, it tastes delicious when stir-fried."

Li Qingqiu said with a smile, "As long as it's cooked through."

"Alright."

Soon the stir-fried snow mushrooms were ready, and a fragrant aroma filled the air. Wang Yun and Lin Xiu exchanged a glance. "These mushrooms smell so good! The third brother is really skilled; he can grow such good mushrooms."

"Dinner's ready."

A bowl of stir-fried snow mushrooms was served, and the kids immediately set their sights on it; it smelled so good.

"Try them all."

Li Qingqiu greeted them with a smile and took a bite for himself. "Oh right, I forgot, I went to the county town today and bought some fried meatballs. I'll go get a bowl."

"And meatballs too."

Goodness! Li Xianshu and the other kids swallowed hard. Their third uncle was so kind; he would bring them meatballs from the county town and even grow delicious mushrooms.

"You."

Shi Lanhua sighed; this third brother's habit of being a chatterbox was something he couldn't shake.

Meatballs and stir-fried snow mushrooms—this guy fed the little ones as happily as piglets.

"These mushrooms are really fresh."

"It tastes just as good as meat."

That's the highest praise you could give us these days. These days, there's nothing that tastes just as good as meat, and the flavor is absolutely top-notch.

"No wonder it can sell for 50 cents a pound."

Li Qingqiu chuckled upon hearing this. Fresh mushrooms were scarce that day, and the price wasn't cheap; the good taste was just a bonus.

After dinner, the younger children were taken out to play. The family sat around a small table, the atmosphere somewhat serious. Li Qingqiu glanced around, smiled, and used a fire poker to stir the brazier and warm his hands.

Why is everyone so quiet?

Li Qingqiu put down the fire poker and laughed. "It's just a snow mushroom, no big deal."

"Mom, don't you think so?"

"go."

Shi Lan Hua patted Li Qing Qiu on the shoulder. This kid always likes to joke around.

"Third brother, as you all know, he's very easygoing."

Shi Lan Hua said, "But craftsmanship is still craftsmanship; we need to make that clear beforehand."

"Mom, we're family, why are you talking like family? Eldest brother, second brother, I'm happy to teach. What do you say? If Xian'an and the others are willing to learn, I have no objections. I'm willing to teach them everything I can. It's just a strain of mushrooms; I haven't even figured it out myself yet, so it would be difficult to teach them now," Li Qingqiu said. "How about this, I'll teach you the technique for cultivating snow mushrooms first. It's not that difficult."

"Third brother, are you really willing to teach?"

"Of course it's true, Second Brother, do you want to learn? Let's learn together."

Li Qingqiu said with a smile, "Teaching one person is teaching, and teaching a group is also teaching."

Seeing that Li Qingqiu wasn't joking, the brothers Li Qingchun and Li Qinghua exchanged glances with their wives. "Then we'll have to trouble you, Third Brother. Xian'an and the others are in your care. If they misbehave, don't hold back. Give them a beating or a scolding if necessary."

"Big brother, second brother, don't worry, I will definitely teach you with all my heart."

Li Qingqiu said with a smile, "You'll get the hang of it quickly."

Cultivating snow fungus is not difficult, but obtaining the strain is not easy. At least for now, Li Qingqiu is not capable of cultivating snow fungus, and even the country cannot cultivate it now.

"Xian'an, did you guys hear that?"

"Dad, I heard you. I'll do whatever Uncle says."

Xian'an and Xianle, who were older, had not passed the junior high school entrance exam after finishing primary school. Xian'an had even worked in the production team for three years and knew everything. He knew that learning a skill was not easy and that ordinary people would not teach it easily.

This is my own third uncle; otherwise, who would agree to teach me skills without any demands?

"Me too, Third Uncle. Whatever you need me to do, I'll do it."

Xianle has been clever since he was a child, so he didn't need his father to say anything and quickly clung to his third uncle's coattails.

"Alright, then you'll all be with me tomorrow."

"Learn from your third uncle properly."

Shi Lanhua also gave a heads-up, telling the children that while they were learning skills from their third uncle, they mustn't pick up bad habits like being glib and spending money recklessly.

I'll have to talk to the eldest and second eldest sons about this separately later.

Seeing that everything was alright, Li Qingqiu planned to go back to the educated youth settlement again to deliver some meatballs and also to dig for some treasure. "Mom, I need to go to the educated youth settlement for something."

"Go."

After Li Qingqiu left, Shi Lanhua, Wang Yun, and Lin Xiu exchanged a few words.

"Mom, don't worry, we'll make sure Xianle is taken care of."

"That's good."

The other stone orchids weren't mentioned, but the two sisters-in-law had a general idea. Lin Xiu went home. "Qinghua, when the third brother comes back later, go and take some dates with you, lots of them, he likes them."

"Understood."

"I never expected the third brother would grow mushrooms."

Lin Xiu sighed, "You can't judge a book by its cover."

"Who would have thought? It's only 50 cents a pound. Once Xianle learns how to make it, I'll go to the county town to sell mushrooms and buy you a floral headscarf to wear."

"They only say the nice things."

Lin Xiu couldn't help but laugh as she imagined her husband Xianle growing a house full of mushrooms.

The eldest brother, Li Qingchun, was doing similar things. Wang Yun took out some peanuts that she had brought from her family. "Take these to the third brother later. We can't let his skills go to waste."

"Why are you being so distant with me, my brother?"

"Hey, what's wrong between brothers? Just listen to me and send it over to the third brother to give him a kiss."

"Alright."

Li Qingqiu sneezed, muttered something, and quickly walked towards the educated youth settlement.

"Knock knock knock".

"Li Qingqiu, you've arrived."

Yin Yi hadn't had a chance to speak to Li Qingqiu just now, so she was especially happy to see him. "I made some barbecue and saved some for you."

"Really? I also brought you some fried meatballs."

Li Qingqiu said with a smile, "It's from the county-run restaurant. Yin Yi, Zhao Nan, Xiao Hua, you should try it, it's still hot."

"It smells so good, Third Uncle."

Zhao Nan thought to herself, "I was late for the fried meatballs at the county state-run restaurant today, and I even ate some delicious roast meat. Wasn't this guy supposed to be suffering in the countryside? How come he's eating meat and fried meatballs every day? His standard of living is even higher than that of the commune's revolutionary committee director."

"What's wrong, Zhao Nan? Eat up."

"Yes, thank you, Third Uncle."

"This child, why are you being so polite with me?"

Li Qingqiu chuckled and pinched Xiaohua's cheek. "Eat up, or Uncle will spank you."

"oh."

Xiaohua was still timid; the little girl was quite cowardly.

"Li Qingqiu, don't bully Xiaohua. Xiaohua might have to do something today. She'll help me wash the dishes, sweep the floor, and tidy up the mushroom trellis..."

"Mmm, Third Uncle, Xiaohua is really good. She even helped me walk Xiaobai, feed Xiaobai, and give Xiaobai a bath. She's amazing."

"Really?"

Li Qingqiu looked at Xiaohua, who was keeping her head down, and sighed, "Poor children learn to be independent early." "Did you apply the ointment?"

"...."

Why aren't you saying anything?

"No... I don't need it."

Xiao Hua whispered, and Li Qingqiu tapped her on the head with his chopsticks. "What's wrong? Not listening to your uncle? Wash your hands before you use it, and remember not to touch cold water with your hands and feet."

At such a young age, her hands and feet were bruised and purple from the cold, covered in chilblains, and quite swollen. This girl was quite hardworking, and she didn't complain at all. Especially since she had walked barefoot in the snow the day before yesterday to try to take her milk.

Poor child, his family also contributed to the country, fighting against the Japanese and the American empire.

"Say something."

"I understand."

"Eat meatballs."

Li Qingqiu placed two pieces of food in front of Xiaohua. Xiaohua didn't dare to disobey Li Qingqiu's words, so she carefully picked them up and ate them in small bites. Li Qingqiu didn't let her eat more. Children don't usually eat greasy food, so they can't eat too much at once, or they might get diarrhea and have other problems.

Li Qingqiu, estimating it was getting late, gave some instructions. "Remember to lock the door."

"Okay, Third Uncle, take your time going back too."

After leaving the educated youth settlement, Li Qingqiu followed the map provided by the system to a field. "What's here?"

After digging for a while with a shovel, we reached a small jar about half a meter deep. "Huh, is this a silver dollar?"

Who buried it?

I quickly stuffed it into the storage shelf, then filled the hole back with soil and covered it with snow. After looking it over, I couldn't see anything wrong with it, and then I headed home.