Being carried on Ji Nuo’s back, Zhenzhen could only see the back of the pretty uncle’s head. Naturally, her gaze shifted to the pretty big brother.
She noticed Lu Aotian grimacing and rubbing his knee, tilting her head with innocent confusion. “Brother Ao’ao, you look like you’re in pain.”
Because the area around the matsutake mushroom was crowded with everyone chattering about how huge the one Ji Nuo dug up was, Zhenzhen’s voice wasn’t loud. Hearing it, Lu Aotian immediately made a “shush” gesture and said calmly, “I was just dusting myself off.”
Zhenzhen nodded. Hearing the exclamations from the front, she twisted her head back to look at the giant mushroom.
Lu Aotian breathed a silent sigh of relief and casually squeezed in to look at the giant matsutake he had discovered.
Under Old Aunt’s guidance, Ji Nuo dug very carefully, preserving the entire stem. The whole matsutake, thick and robust, was even a bit longer than Ji Nuo’s palm. The Old Aunt marveled repeatedly at it.
“It’s been years since I’ve seen such a beautiful, top-tier matsutake.” She gave a thumbs-up. “This is undoubtedly the finest quality.”
The Old Aunt immediately plucked a few large leaves from nearby and taught Ji Nuo how to tie a little jacket for the matsutake using grass stems, preventing damage from jostling on the way back.
Kang Feier, shadowing them, couldn’t help but ask, “Auntie, how much is a matsutake of this quality worth?”
The Old Aunt held up three fingers, her expression dramatic. “When the market is good, it can fetch ten times the price of an ordinary one.”
Even when the market was poor, selling it to a middleman mushroom buyer could still bring in two thousand yuan per jin. After saying this, the Old Aunt turned to Ji Nuo. “If you want to sell, I can connect you. My nephew is in this business. Rest assured about the price; he won’t cheat you.”
Ji Nuo, of course, wouldn’t sell. Money held little significance for him now. Such an exquisite ingredient was naturally for his own enjoyment.
After politely declining the Old Aunt’s offer, Ji Nuo looked at the little boy beside him who was eyeing the matsutake and smacking his lips. He smiled, rubbing the back of the child’s head. Just before Lu Aotian got annoyed, he preempted him: “Tonight, Uncle will make you chicken stew with matsutake.”
Lu Aotian’s lips twitched, wanting to curve upward but stopping. His Adam’s apple slid constantly. Ji Nuo thought this Cub was just too adorable. Unable to resist, he scoop up the child and gave him a mid-air swing. “Our Ao’ao is truly a Little Koi Fish. First, you found Thelephora ganbajun, and now a matsutake! How are you so amazing!”
Meeting the young man’s warm, smiling eyes, Lu Aotian couldn’t hold back his pride. His tail was practically wagging, and the dimples at the corners of his mouth flashed. He pursed his lips and said with utmost restraint, “I’m just this awesome.”
Everyone immediately laughed. The Old Aunt also adored the child, reaching out to hold him. Lu Aotian instantly scrambled onto his little brother’s shoulder, his small dark hands clutching Ji Nuo’s shirt tightly.
The Old Aunt had to settle for hugging the equally adorable little dumpling, Zhenzhen. The little dumpling was craning her neck to watch the beautiful father-son embrace when the Old Aunt suddenly hugged her and showered her with praise. She smiled shyly, her eyes curving into crescent moons, and bashfully said her thanks.
Although expectations were infinitely inflated after finding the giant matsutake, making subsequent mushrooms feel less exciting, Ji Nuo, Kang Feier, and even the local Old Aunt still filled their large net bags.
Picking mushrooms was tiring, but the full harvest gave the two adults and two children, all first-timers, a great sense of accomplishment. Especially the sudden discovery of a small cluster of mushrooms, or picking a large, well-shaped one—that surprise lasted a long time.
By the time they prepared to descend the mountain and go home, everyone’s faces were brimming with joy.
After the exercise, Ji Nuo was covered in sweat, a thin sheen of moisture at his forehead and temples. A healthy flush colored his cheeks, adding a touch of vitality compared to his previously sickly appearance.
Lu Aotian, after training for most of the day, felt his control over this body had significantly improved. It was akin to the process of a soul merging with a new body. In the past, the bodies he transferred into in mission worlds were always extraordinarily powerful. This was the first time he’d encountered such a difficult transitional phase—one that even involved… wetting the bed…
Sitting in the back basket, Lu Aotian was still making plans. He’d rest on the way back, then devour his meal ferociously, and then continue training relentlessly. Not only did his body mastery need improvement, but this weak little body of his was almost four years old, yet he looked about the same size as that silly three-year-old little girl. This was unacceptable.
~
The group went straight to Ji Nuo’s shabby little house after descending the mountain.
Already ravenous, Ji Nuo first set aside a portion of the rice he had cooked before leaving. He picked out the non-toxic, easy-to-handle delicious boletes, cleaned them simply, sliced them, and fried a giant pot of rice.
He drizzled some Thelephora ganbajun oil over it. The moment it was out of the wok, the entire kitchen filled with an overwhelmingly fragrant aroma. Kang Feier couldn’t care less about carbs at that moment. She grabbed a bowl, wolfed down several large spoonfuls, and only then noticed her daughter beside her, eyeing it wistfully and licking her lips.
Since Zhenzhen couldn’t comfortably use regular chopsticks, Kang Feier alternated: a large bite for herself, a small bite for her daughter. Eating and feeding simultaneously, her entire mind held only one thought: So this is what fresh wild mushrooms from Province A tastes like! It’s this incredibly delicious!
And this was just an ordinary, non-hallucinogenic variety! How delicious must the ones people risk poisoning for every year actually be?
She’d also eaten Thelephora ganbajun multiple times at Michelin-starred restaurants before. But this bowl, merely flavored with oil infused by the mushroom, was already unbelievably fragrant. To say nothing of the premium matsutake Ji Nuo had found…
Kang Feier was always strict with her diet to maintain her figure, and she wasn’t a gluttonous person. But right now, the more she thought about it, the more her mouth watered. She felt she’d undergone a transformation. She wasn’t just craving Ji Nuo’s face anymore; she was craving Ji Nuo’s mushroom cooking.
Beside them, the Old Aunt was also filled with emotions as she ate the fried rice. This morning, after eating Ji Nuo’s Thelephora ganbajun sauce, she’d already felt it was more aromatic than anything she’d tasted before. This bowl of bolete fried rice was the same.
This type of mushroom usually couldn’t fetch a high price locally and its flavor was considered second-rate. But passing through Ji Nuo’s hands, the taste was fragrant, smooth, and refreshingly delicious. The hardness and moisture of the rice grains were just perfect. The final addition of the Thelephora ganbajun oil was the masterstroke. It made her involuntarily look forward to the matsutake chicken soup that evening.
As for Lu Aotian, Ji Nuo knew his appetite and served him a small basin-sized portion. Lu Aotian’s small hands still struggled somewhat with holding chopsticks properly, so he simply clutched them in his fist like a rice-shoveling stick. Pressing his small mouth against the bowl’s edge, he started shoveling it in, cah cah cah, nearly burying his entire head inside.
After an epic food battle worthy of Rice Sweeper Sauce, the little dumplings’ energy inevitably waned. Zhenzhen started getting the food drowsies, and Kang Feier’s stamina was also giving out.
Ji Nuo’s opinion was that all the mushrooms Kang Feier picked belonged to her; she could sell them to pay off her debt. There were quite a few pricey varieties among them, worth over a hundred yuan per jin.
Holding her daughter, she discussed with Ji Nuo: “Leave all the mushrooms with you. I don’t even understand them. Consider it our payment for dinner. According to the market price of your matsutake, we’re probably getting the better end of the deal anyway.”
Ji Nuo got along comfortably with Kang Feier and didn’t mind calculating such things. He decided to stick to their initial plan: she worked, and he provided two meals.
The Old Aunt, seeing Ji Nuo had so many mushrooms it could form a committee, didn’t offer to leave her share. She took the two hundred yuan payment from the Production Team and gave it straight to Ji Nuo. “If you don’t accept this, I’ll be too embarrassed to come for dinner tonight, no matter what you say!”
Seeing this, Ji Nuo had no choice but to accept the money. But he was particularly grateful for the Old Aunt’s help. He planned to select some fresh termite mushrooms later to make a jar of Oil-Fried Termite Mushrooms for her.
After agreeing on a dinner time, Kang Feier carried her daughter, who was already drowsily asleep, back to the inn. Ji Nuo re-laid the sun-dried futon so his own Ao’ao Cub could take a nap.
He then moved two small stools into the yard, learning from the Old Aunt how to clean the mushrooms and listening to her explain which were the toxic, hallucination-prone ones. Those he set aside in a separate pile. Whether boiled or stir-fried, he’d need to cook them longer to ensure they were thoroughly done.
He picked out a portion that wouldn’t last at room temperature, cut off the soiled stem ends, and used pumpkin leaves from the Old Aunt’s house as natural brushes to clean them.
As for the remaining large pile of mushrooms, the Old Aunt suggested selling to mushroom buyers wouldn’t yield much profit. Better to sell them at the market tomorrow morning. Quite a few with good appearance could fetch at least two to three hundred. What didn’t sell, they could slowly eat themselves. If that wasn’t feasible, they could always dry them for storage.
Under the Old Aunt’s guidance, Ji Nuo also scraped the dirt-stained outer layer off the matsutake bit by bit with a small knife. Soaking it would ruin the original flavor. After scraping it clean, a quick rinse under a thin stream of water sufficed.
After cleaning, he weighed it in his hand. Using all of it for chicken stew seemed like too much. Perhaps he could make a charcoal brazier and grill half of it over charcoal.
After tidying up the mushrooms, the Old Aunt went home to rest. Ji Nuo headed to the town market and bought a free-range chicken, a small chunk of cured pork belly, a jin of eggs, and some spices and seasonings, spending a total of one hundred thirty yuan.
Returning home, seeing it was about time, he began chopping the chicken and blanching it. Since he only had one earthen stove, Ji Nuo first cooked the assorted mushrooms with the cured pork belly before starting to simmer the chicken over a gentle flame.
Just as the Live Stream audience thought Ji Nuo would finally stop, he fished out a chipped enamel basin from a corner and began transforming it into a fire basin.
After crafting the charcoal grill pan, Ji Nuo took out the short section of bamboo he had brought back from the mountain and began whittling skewers. Because the Live Broadcast Lens was aimed directly at him, Ji Nuo resisted humming a tune, but a faint smile lingered on his face the entire time.
Inside the dilapidated brick house, against a wall plastered with old newspapers, the environment was absolutely terrible. Yet, Ji Nuo seemed utterly content.
His refined profile was lowered, the beautiful young man’s features like a painting. His hands moved efficiently, his tasks orderly. Watching the discarded objects become useful in Ji Nuo’s hands, one evenly sized bamboo skewer after another taking shape, the whole scene was incredibly soothing and satisfying to watch.
Even though the Danmaku still had Haters insisting he was following a script, the public’s eyes were sharp. Even if a script existed, no other minor celebrity could possibly match Ji Nuo’s ease and efficiency.
The Livestream audience couldn’t help but exclaim:
[Damn, watching this makes me want to marry Ji Nuo. Or marry into his family, either way. As long as Ji Nuo agrees, I’m ready to join this family anytime!]
[The one in front, what pie-in-the-sky nonsense are you spouting? But seriously, doesn’t Ji Nuo ever get tired? Even the Old Aunt couldn’t outlast him.]
[He’s just faking it. Acting requires a full performance, otherwise how can he cultivate this hardworking, simple, down-to-earth persona?]
[You try acting it then! I could at most handle Zhenzhen’s level of activity, let alone all the subsequent chores and cooking…]
After finishing the bamboo skewers, Ji Nuo methodically threaded the mushrooms. Among them were five skewers of thinly sliced matsutake, exactly one skewer per person.
With nothing left to do, Ji Nuo prepared to return to the bedroom to hold his soft, fragrant Cub for a little while.
Unexpectedly, Kang Feier arrived half an hour early with her daughter in her arms, and a tall man in a sharp suit beside her.
Kang Feier first gave a brief introduction to both sides. The man was her CEO husband, Xu Chengyi.
The man was above average in looks, relatively rare for a wealthy second-generation heir—both rich and handsome. But the way he looked at Ji Nuo felt subtly… unpleasant.
Kang Feier smiled apologetically. “Actually, we came early because of something. I told Chengyi that the fried rice you made was even better than the foie gras and Thelephora ganbajun fried rice we ate before. So he wanted me to ask… would you be willing to sell that jar of Thelephora ganbajun sauce?”
“We’re willing to pay ten times the price to buy the remaining Thelephora ganbajun,” the man spoke with a faint smile, his gaze flicking over Ji Nuo’s Knock-off Tracksuit, washed so much its color had faded. A flicker of arrogance briefly crossed his eyes.
Inside the bedroom, Lu Aotian, still groggy from sleep, heard “Thelephora ganbajun,” “buy,” and “sell.” He bolted upright in bed, and before his brain was fully awake, he had already rushed to the scene, terrified his poor little brother would be blinded by easy money.
