I was a stepmother in ancient times, and I led my whole family to wealth.

Chapter 51 Liu Xi

Dongfang Jin sighed inwardly, "How did I become your benefactor?" She hadn't done anything: "You don't need to call me your benefactor. My name is Dongfang Jin, and everyone calls me Xiao Jin or Sister Jin."

You're older than me, so you should be my elder brother. I also come from a farming family, so please don't be shy. Have you had breakfast?

Liu Xi chuckled sheepishly and scratched his head: "No...no, I'll go back to eat. Then I'll call you, Sister Jin, and see if this is what you wanted."

We went back yesterday and went to the mountains, picking everything you asked for.

I knew before that this stuff was plentiful and nobody wanted it, but then yesterday I started paying attention to it, and wow, it seems like the whole hillside is covered in it.

As he spoke, he opened the three bags and also opened the basket containing the mushrooms to show her.

Dongfang Jin walked over and saw the cloth bag he had opened. Inside were two large bags of materials, which were of excellent quality and could be described as top-grade.

The other bag contained Sichuan peppercorns, which were also large and flavorful, and were of the highest quality.

This is truly a gift from nature, something completely unpolluted.

The basket contained some dried mushrooms and some fresh ones, all wrapped in a thin layer of moss.

Hmm, this person is quite clever. She thought Liu Xi would wrap it with cloth or leaves, but she didn't expect him to choose moss.

"Do you have a lot of this where you live?" Dongfang Jin asked, holding up a fresh, ripe mushroom.

Holding the mushroom, Dongfang Jin thought of the following: Lactarius deliciosus, scientifically known as Lactarius deliciosus, also called "Yellow Valley Fungus", "Yellow Valley Ripe", or "Early Valley Fungus", is a wild and delicious edible fungus belonging to the Lactarius genus of the Russula family.

It grows in pine forests, winter melon trees and other broad-leaved forests, especially in early autumn when rice ripens, hence the name "Ripe Rice Fungus".

There are many ways to cook wild mushrooms, including braising, stir-frying, stewing, steaming, distilling, mixing, braising, and making soup.

It is sweet and delicious when eaten, with a rich aroma and mellow flavor that fills the mouth, making it unique.

When served with ingredients such as turtle, black-boned chicken, free-range chicken, and other meats, the soup becomes even more delicious and nutritious…

Liu Xi couldn't figure out what she meant, so he rubbed his hands together and said, "Well, there are plenty of these in the mountains, they're all in clumps, especially in the pine forest. Some of them are even bigger than this one, but I... I think this one is old, not as tender as the smaller ones."

Liu Xi spoke the last sentence in a low voice.

Dongfang Jin smiled when she heard his words, and really wanted to say that the bigger ones taste better.

After reading it once, she recognized two types, but the descriptions of the green-headed mushroom and the white onion mushroom came to mind...

Looking at the description inside, it seemed that all of them were edible, and there were no other types of fungi that couldn't be eaten. This piqued her curiosity, so she asked about it.

Liu Xi said that those brightly colored ones made him uncomfortable. First, they were too beautiful, and second, they gave people a dangerous feeling. His intuition told him to stay away, so he did not go forward to pick them.

After hearing his words, she felt that Liu Xi seemed to have some special abilities; he had a very strong intuition.

This reminded her of a profession—a detective.

Dongfang Jin told him to take all these things to the back kitchen, where there were scales.

When they arrived at the kitchen, Zhao Cai saw them and brought out the scales that he had prepared beforehand.

Dongfang Jin looked at Zhao Cai and asked, "Where's Xiao Sun?"

Zhao Cai scratched his head and smiled sheepishly, "I went to the market with Cuihuan to buy sesame seeds."

Dongfang Jin asked in bewilderment, "Does this mean you want more?"

Zhao Cai became even more embarrassed by her question: "Hehe, it's mainly because that stuff is so delicious. Aunt Sun said it can be stored even when the weather gets cold. The county magistrate said he wants some to give away, so he asked us to make more."

When Dongfang Jin heard that Lu Yunqing was giving away sesame paste, he nodded and said, "Hmm, that's fine. If you buy a lot of sesame seeds, we can also extract some sesame oil."

Zhao Cai, with his keen eye, helped Liu Xi weigh the star anise. The first bag weighed 96 jin, and the second bag weighed 93 jin.

The Sichuan peppercorns are relatively light, so there's only half a bag, which weighs forty-seven pounds.

Including the mushrooms, Dongfang Jin gave him a total of five taels of silver, telling him to pick more of the mushrooms he brought today for her tomorrow, and the extra money was considered advance payment for the mushrooms.

Upon seeing the silver, Liu Xi trembled with excitement, his whole body shaking slightly, and his mouth quivered so much that he couldn't speak.

Things that nobody wants on the mountain can really be sold for money, but five taels of silver, isn't that too much?

When the others weren't looking, Dongfang Jin took out a 100ml mineral water bottle filled with water from the large blue bowl and put it into Liu Xi's basket.

Liu Xi was puzzled, and then Dongfang Jin asked him about his wife's condition.

When Liu Xi saw her ask this question, he understood the reason and told her the truth.

Then Dongfang Jin gestured with his hand to indicate that he was drinking water, and Liu Xi nodded to show that he understood.

As soon as Liu Xi carried the basket out, almost stepping out with both hands and feet in sync, Zhao Cai was still speechless.

He stammered, "Jin-jie, you're going to give him five taels of silver for this little piece of junk?"

Dongfang Jin frowned, puzzled: "Did you give too much or too little?"

Zhao Cai felt like he'd punched a cotton ball when she asked him this: "Jin-jie, you've given too much! This pile of stuff is worth at most one tael of silver, no, not even one tael of silver."

He thought to himself, "These things can be found everywhere on the mountain, and you can't eat them. When I was a kid, I used to cut them up with my friends as a game."

Moreover, this stuff has an unpleasant smell, and the juice can't be washed off your hands for days.

And those tiny green beans, there are plenty on the mountain, but even the birds don't eat them.

You tell me, how come it can be sold for money now? And for so much money, five taels!

Dongfang Jin was amused by his pained expression: "Hehe, I have a use for this, so naturally I don't think it's expensive. You see it as useless, so of course you think it's expensive."

Ah Cai, do you have star anise where you live? If you do, have your family go up the mountain to pick some, and I'll give you an extra two coins.

The money I gave him was mainly for the mushrooms. And if you have any mushrooms where you live, I'll give you an extra two coins per pound.

When making chicken bouillon, mushrooms are essential.

Zhao Cai's eyes widened in disbelief: "Jin'er, you've already accepted such a huge pile of these things, and you still want more?"

"Hehe, this stuff needs to be air-dried in the shade. It has many uses. This little bit won't amount to much even after drying."

I'm thinking of the thirteen-spice powder, braised meat, and five-spice powder. I'll need them for stewing meat, cooking fish, and stir-frying vegetables from now on.

This is just the beginning; this is only the first step for her to become rich. These are valuable resources, and nothing can be missing.

The second step is to plant chili peppers.

Seeing that she wasn't joking, Zhao Cai said, "You know, there really is some in the mountains near my home. By the way, Sister Jin, there are families in our village who grow ginger by the river. Do you want some? I mean, fresh ginger."

“I want as much as you want. It sells for three coins a pound at the market. Go home and collect it, then bring it to me, and I'll give you five coins.” Dongfang Jin remembered that time she went to the market with Gu Chenglin and personally asked about the price of ginger, so she remembered it very clearly.

"Okay, tomorrow is my day off, I'll go home and get it done."

Zhao Cai was also quick-witted. As soon as she said that, he knew that Sister Jin wanted him to make some money out of it, and he was sure he could make that money.

Breakfast consisted of steamed buns, porridge, and pickles.

Dongfang Jin also boiled a pot of tea eggs. Aunt Sun watched her put tea leaves in the soup and felt as if she were tearing flesh out of her.

When the aroma wafted out, everyone fell silent.

Because Sister Jin said that each person should have two. These things are so precious, how can they eat them?

Dongfang Jin picked one up: "Give the first one to Aunt Sun, you've worked hard!"