Jiang Sheng led Zheng Ruqian to quickly pick, snatch, and pull up mushrooms. It didn't take long before the bamboo baskets were full.
"Let's go," Zheng Ruqian said fearfully, afraid that something might pop out.
Jiang Sheng didn't say anything. She poured the mushrooms from the bamboo baskets into old clothes, tied them tightly around her waist, and continued picking.
She kept picking until the sun set behind the western mountains. The bamboo baskets were full again. The two little ones were leaning against each other as they walked out of the big mountain.
Luckily they didn't encounter wild boars or get bitten by venomous snakes. It was really fortunate.
Jiang Sheng was extremely happy. Hugging the mushrooms in her arms, she lightly and briskly returned to the broken temple.
She picked out a small portion to cook and eat. She dried the rest on the ground like the villagers did. It was said that this could remove the moisture and make the mushrooms easier to preserve.
But what she didn't know was that if the mushrooms were dried too much, the weight would be reduced, and the money earned would naturally be less.
Jiang Sheng dried them for three full days.
The outer skin of the mushrooms was already dry, while the inside remained moist. She felt it was about right. Carrying the bamboo basket, she went to the market.
Zheng Ruqian accompanied her as usual.
Before leaving, Jiang Sheng patted her chest and said, "Brother Xu Mo, don't worry, I will definitely bring you the book."
Xu Mo smiled and nodded.
Jiang Sheng turned around and heaved a sigh of relief.
Bringing mushrooms to sell was not as simple as Zheng Ruqian and Xu Mo had thought.
Picking mushrooms was easy, drying mushrooms was easy, and selling mushrooms was also easy.
The difficult part was protecting the mushrooms and protecting the money earned from selling them.
As soon as Jiang Sheng entered the market, she looked left and right vigilantly to make sure the group of beggars were not around before finding a corner, putting down the bamboo basket, and shouting to sell loudly.
The goods from the mountains were scarce. The dried mushrooms sold quickly.
Zheng Ruqian's eyes shone greedily at the dozen or so copper coins. He almost jumped up in joy on the spot.
Ah, the feeling of making money, he liked it!
Jiang Sheng was very cautious. She divided the copper coins into two halves and put them away separately.
"Let's go, to pawn the book."
All the way until they left the market, nothing happened. Jiang Sheng was about to breathe a sigh of relief when several half-grown children blocked their way at the alley entrance, with indifferent expressions on their faces. "Hand it over."
"Hand what over?" Jiang Sheng pretended to be dumb, trying to get through.
She had lived in this town for seven years. From the time she could remember, she knew there was a group of domineering beggars in town. They often bullied the weak.
Those with men at home didn't dare provoke them. Those from large families didn't dare touch them. The rich and powerful avoided them.
Like little Jiang Sheng living alone at a young age and being a girl, she was simply a weakling made to measure.
Whenever she picked up some good stuff or stole some delicacies but failed to hide them securely, they would snatch away most of it.
In the past, Jiang Sheng just endured it. After all, Aunt Zhang had said the strong dragon does not suppress the snake.
But now, these dozen or so coins were for Xu Mo's medical treatment and the livelihoods of the three of them. Jiang Sheng would fight to the death and could not hand them over.
"Pretending to be dumb now?" The ten-year-old boy leading the beggars grinned and slapped Jiang Sheng to the ground.
Zheng Ruqian was scared silly. He threw himself over to shield Jiang Sheng with his body. "What are you doing? Don't hit people."
"Hand over the money and we won't hit you. If not, we'll beat you to death." The half-grown child glared, "Don't give it, just beat you to death."
He waved his hand. Some little followers were itching to move.
Zheng Ruqian was anxious and angry. He didn't want to hand over the money in his arms, but he was afraid Jiang Sheng would be beaten again. He didn't know what to do and could only vent his fear by bawling loudly.
Jiang Sheng sighed inwardly.
It looked like there was no escape today. Luckily, she had divided the money into two parts earlier. Now she could only take out her portion from her arms and reluctantly say, "Can you leave me a little?"
The half-grown child bared his teeth in a grin and snatched them all into his arms.
Jiang Sheng's pained expression turned white. She trembled and couldn't speak.
The half-grown child blew a satisfied whistle. As he turned around, he saw someone at the mouth of the alley.
To be exact, it was also a child. He looked a little younger, only eight or nine years old. He was holding a wooden stick and looking over majestically.
"Give her money back!" Although the child's voice was tender, his face was solemn and heavy, just like a little King Yama.
The half-grown child was stunned for a moment before laughing. "My luck is really good today. Nowadays, children are so gutsy that they even dare threaten Brother Pang."
"I won't give it back. If you have the ability, come and hit us. I'm not even afraid of you."
Before he finished speaking, the child had rushed over. Raising the wooden stick up high, he chopped it down directly at his forehead.
Pang Dashan was shocked and quickly dodged, but he didn't expect the wooden stick to follow him as if it had eyes. It chopped down on his head again.
With just that one blow, Pang Dashan, who had been arrogant just now, rolled his eyes and fell to the ground.
The little followers were terrified and immediately fled.
The alley regained its tranquility.
The child walked over with a solemn face, took out the coins from Pang Dashan's arms, and returned them to Jiang Sheng.
It was as simple and neat as that.
After returning the money, the child turned to leave.
Fortunately, Jiang Sheng was quick-witted and hurriedly grabbed his sleeve. She looked at him eagerly and asked, "Brother, I want to thank you."
The child was stunned. The icy mask on his face cracked a little. "No...need to thank me."
Father had taught that one should right wrongs and help those in need.
"Then brother, are you going home now?" Jiang Sheng persisted in asking.
The child was silent for a while. "I'm not going home."
Although she didn't know why, Jiang Sheng was especially happy. She said eagerly, "We're not going home either. We don't have parents. Brother, would you like to come with us?"
A brother who could knock Pang Dashan out with a stick, if he was with them, they wouldn't have to worry about being robbed when doing business in the future.
Even if they had to feed another mouth because of this, it would still be worth it.
Jiang Sheng's little abacus clattered away in her heart. She didn't notice the child's face darken for some reason.
After a long while, he uttered a word, "Okay."
After all, he had no parents left, and could no longer return to that place either.
By the time they left the alley, the three children had exchanged names.
Jiang Sheng learned that this brother was called Fang Heng. She learned that his parents had died and that he had just escaped from a bad family. She also learned that he had only wandered into town yesterday.
She further learned that he hadn't eaten his fill for several days now.
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