Chapter 40: Greenhead Mushrooms

Chapter 40 Green Russula

Zhou Ye met her smiling, crescent-shaped eyes and, unlike before, did not shift his gaze away uncomfortably. Instead, he looked back at her, nodded, and said, "Alright."

"A-Jie," Lin Xiaopu suddenly interrupted the two, asking, "What is this green toxic mushroom called?"

Lin Shu followed where she was pointing and stopped short, quickly crouching down to part the grass for a closer look.

A pale green mushroom was hiding in the grass, hemispherical in shape with a mottled, cracked surface, truly beautiful. Because its color was so close to that of the grass, it was hard to spot if one didn’t look carefully.

Lin Shu was pleasantly surprised. "This is Green Russula! Though not quite as prized as Termitomyces, Green Russula is also very delicious, with a rich, earthy aroma."

This was indeed the season for Green Russula to grow. Like Termitomyces, it could be found in both summer and autumn.

With these two types of mushrooms to pick, there was no worry about protein—both were extremely rich in it.

Moreover, Green Russula could be prepared in many ways: not only in soups but also stir-fried, stewed, steamed, simmered, tossed in salads, or braised. If stewed with chicken, it tastes even better.

Lin Shu grew happier the more she thought about it. "Quick, check around here. Green Russula usually appears in pairs."

"A-Jie, over here!" Lin Xiaopu exclaimed, just as excited.

Another Green Russula was hidden in a clump of grass just a step away, even better concealed than the first.

"A-Jie, I never thought this green mushroom wouldn’t be toxic but edible!"

Lin Shu said, "There can’t be only these two Green Russula. If they grow on the back hill, there must be quite a few. They're abundant after rain."

Sure enough, as they continued on their way, they found patches of Green Russula in many places, just as Lin Shu had predicted.

By the end of their search, Zhou Ye’s backpack basket was almost full, with Green Russula making up the majority and Termitomyces the smaller portion.

Lin Shu wiped the sweat from her forehead and shot a look at the quiet man. "Brother A Ye, you just stand there watching without helping me and Xiao Pu out."

Lin Xiaopu nodded eagerly in agreement. "Exactly, exactly."

Although Brother A Ye was carrying a large basket of mushrooms and had even taken the small bamboo basket from her hands, always reaching out to take the mushrooms she and her sister dug up without waiting to be asked, he still wasn't very observant. Couldn’t he see that she and her sister were working up a sweat from digging?

Zhou Ye didn’t argue. Instead, he looked at Lin Shu and played along with her words. "Then I’ll dig for the mushrooms from now on, and you and Xiao Pu can just watch."

Lin Shu handed him a freshly dug Green Russula. "You’re so darn earnest that I almost feel bad giving you a hard time."

Zhou Ye reached out and took it, tucking it into the basket without responding.

Only when Lin Shu glared at him did he finally say, "I just don’t know what to say."

"I think it’s not that you don’t know what to say—you even ponder your words before speaking. If you have to worry about every little thing when talking to family, wouldn’t that be exhausting? Zhou Ye, you’re family, not an outsider." She said this last part very softly, so Lin Xiaopu wouldn’t hear.

Zhou Ye was taken aback.

After a moment, he explained, "I’m not good with words and too straightforward. Speaking more might just annoy people."

Lin Shu suddenly picked up a dirt clod from the ground and threw it at his face. Zhou Ye, still stunned, didn’t dodge in time, and the mud brushed past his cheek.

Lin Shu looked at the mud mark on his cheek and chuckled. "Are you angry that I threw mud at you?"

Zhou Ye thought that anyone should be angry if mud was thrown at them for no reason, but as he looked at the girl in front of him, he found he couldn’t muster any anger at all. Instead, watching her bright smile, that familiar tightness in his chest returned, though this time, it felt as though something else was slowly melting away inside.

He thought of his childhood, when he was very young, and his mother handed him a bowl of sugar water—so sweet and comforting.

"Brother A Ye, guess why I dared to throw mud at you? Because I knew you wouldn’t get angry? Definitely not. I didn’t know if you’d be angry, but I did it anyway because I feel we’re family. If I accidentally upset you, I’ll apologize, or at the very least, cook you a delicious meal to make it up to you. And even if you did get angry, you wouldn’t hang me up and beat me, right? I’m only so bold because we’re family.

Likewise, you can treat us the same way. If Mom, Dad, Xiao Pu, or I ever get upset because of something you said, just apologize and put in a little effort to make it up to us. Unless, of course, you don’t see us as family and can’t be bothered to spend any effort on us."

Lin Xiaopu, though unsure how the topic had shifted to this, also felt that Brother A Ye was usually too quiet and nodded in agreement. "A-Jie is right."

Zhou Ye lowered his gaze to look at her. Suddenly, the tightness in his chest vanished, but his heart started pounding like a drum, thumping loudly.

Lin Shu, seeing him standing there dumbfounded, just sighed and glared at him. "After all I’ve said, did any of it get through to you? Fine, let me give you something practical. I can’t control how others behave, but I can promise you this: from now on, you can say whatever you want in front of me, and I will never get angry over your words. Even if I do get angry, I won’t stay mad at you for more than fifteen minutes. How’s that? Pretty sincere, right?"

Hearing this, Lin Xiaopu quickly added, "And me too! I’ll never get angry with Brother A Ye."

Come to think of it, she had never been angry with Brother A Ye before. Though he looked tall and strong, he had the gentlest temperament—she had never seen him lose his temper with anyone in the village.

Zhou Ye nodded at Lin Shu, his expression surprisingly serious. "Okay."

Lin Shu: …

After all that, the man only replied with "okay"?

Never mind, she’d take it as him accepting her goodwill.

For a family to live together harmoniously, everyone had to work in the same direction to make life better. In her previous life, her incredible strength had been passed to Zhou Ye, but she hadn't seen him make good use of it. Lin Shu felt this couldn’t continue—Zhou Ye needed to learn to harness his own incredible strength. In the apocalypse, she had made a reputation for herself with her strength and built a better life. There was no reason Zhou Ye couldn’t do the same, especially since the world now was much better than the apocalypse.

"The basket is almost full. Let’s stop here with the Termitomyces and Green Russula and head to the bamboo forest to gather bamboo fungus. We’ll take as much as we can find."

With Lin Shu’s shout, Lin Xiaopu immediately responded, "Okay, okay! Let’s fill the rest of the basket with the mushroom queen!"

But they hadn’t gone far when they heard villagers talking up ahead.

Lin Shu immediately signaled to Lin Xiaopu and Zhou Ye with her eyes.

Lin Xiaopu didn’t understand, but Zhou Ye reacted quickly, quickly transferring the basket's contents of straw mushrooms into the larger basket and using his hands to cover up the Termitomyces and Green Russula inside, especially the pale green Green Russula.

After doing this, he instinctively glanced at Lin Shu and saw her wink at him. Though she said nothing, her eyes were full of praise.

Zhou Ye lowered his gaze, a faint smile flickering in his eyes.