Chapter 173: Nearly a Ten-Thousand-Yuan Earner
At 5:30 a.m., Ning Xiyue was woken up by System, whose voice was as excited as a Lazy Sheep receiving ten grass cakes.
[Ah, great Host! Get up quickly! Right now is the best time to harvest; the medicinal efficacy is at its peak!]
“Coming.”
Ning Xiyue rubbed her head and sleepy eyes, closed her eyes, and let her consciousness enter her space, then into the Lingzhi greenhouse.
As she looked around, a field of just-matured purple Lingzhi mushrooms appeared in her vision, each topped with a thin layer of spore powder.
[Great Host, hurry and harvest! If we wait too long, they’ll start to lignify. Once lignification begins, the medicinal efficacy will gradually decrease, and they’ll lose their value.]
“Alright, I’ll start now.”
Ning Xiyue nodded, and her consciousness controlled the entire greenhouse to begin harvesting.
Unlike ginseng, which grows better the longer it matures in the soil, Lingzhi is best harvested immediately at maturity. The longer it is left unharvested, the more its active ingredients decompose.
It’s just like mushrooms that aren’t picked in time — they rot or are eaten by insects. The longer Lingzhi grows, the more lignified it becomes, eventually turning into nothing but an empty shell with no medicinal value.
Ning Xiyue had read the illustrations and learned that Lingzhi is generally a one-year medicinal herb. Multi-year Lingzhi is rare. Forget about claims of hundred- or thousand-year Lingzhi; most of those are false advertisements by modern herbal merchants to inflate prices.
Ginseng, however, is different — the older, the better.
So Ning Xiyue decided that when she needed money, she would grow a batch of Lingzhi to sell, while dedicating 100 square meters specifically for ginseng cultivation to increase its value.
Harvesting with her consciousness was fast. With a single thought, the entire 100-square-meter greenhouse started to be harvested. In less than a minute, all the Lingzhi was collected.
Every mushroom was carefully placed in large boxes provided by System, specially designed to preserve their medicinal efficacy.
System hovered around the boxes several times before finally stopping, eyes gleaming with satisfaction.
Ning Xiyue carried a small stool over and sat down. “Alright, let’s start the transaction.”
She took out ten small boxes, placed ten Lingzhi mushrooms into each, and stored them in her system backpack.
Time stood still in the system backpack, so Ning Xiyue didn’t worry about the efficacy being affected.
After setting aside her personal Lingzhi, she looked at the large box in front of her — 1,100 jin of mushrooms. Waving her hand: “Everything else is yours to collect.”
[You’re so generous, Host!] the little turtle exclaimed, jumping onto the box, its small paws brushing the edges in excitement.
Ning Xiyue didn’t mind its excitement, focusing instead on calculating the profits.
“Let’s see. On this 100-square-meter plot, with 3,000 mushroom bags, we harvested over 1,200 jin of Lingzhi. I’m taking ten mushrooms, leaving exactly 1,200 jin. At ten yuan per jin in this world, that’s 12,000 yuan.”
By the time she said this last number, Ning Xiyue’s lips couldn’t hide her smile, though she tried to suppress it and continued:
“If we agree to double the price, that’s 24,000 yuan — 240,000 system points.”
Two ten-thousand-yuan deals — Ning Xiyue’s smile was unstoppable.
She opened her hands toward the little turtle. “System, transfer the money.”
[Ding! 1,200 jin of Lingzhi collected. System points of 240,000 have been issued. Please check promptly, Host.]
The moment the points appeared, Ning Xiyue excitedly opened the system panel. The previously zeroed number now displayed six digits.
“I’m a ten-thousand-yuan earner now!”
She laughed heartily, looking at the empty box and the 3,000 mushroom bags on the 100-square-meter plot, her grin widening.
She looked at the little turtle with her hands on her hips, eyes squinting from joy. “System, my 100-square-meter mushroom bags can grow another batch of Lingzhi. Should we go all in?”
System, who had already enjoyed plenty of benefits from the first batch through other dimensions, didn’t hesitate. With a grand sweep of its claws: “Go for it! Harvest as much as you can.”
Ning Xiyue’s eyes gleamed. She ran over, holding the little turtle’s claws and hugging its legs: “System Daddy, I’ll stick with you from now on.”
The second batch would make her fabulously wealthy.
Thanks to her second brother’s Lingzhi, he deserved half the credit. She would make a note in his account.
“Alright, alright.” System happily patted Ning Xiyue’s hands with its claws.
“Good. System, let me know when the second batch matures.” Ning Xiyue glanced at the small immature mushrooms in front of her. It would still take some time for them to mature, and she entrusted them to System during that half-day.
Ning Xiyue exited her space, got dressed, and got out of bed. Chen YeChu also got up, and they both went to their respective kitchens to cook.
To harvest the second batch, Ning Xiyue stayed in the Youth Workstation after breakfast, knitting scarves instead of running around to play with the aunts.
It was still snowing outside, and all the female comrades in the Youth Workstation gathered in one room to work on their tasks.
Chen YeChu noticed Ning Xiyue knitting a scarf and brought out some yarn to knit as well, though she was making a sweater.
Wu Guifang was making a cotton-padded coat. She had some cotton and was preparing a large coat for the New Year.
Wang Mengmeng and Liu Yao didn’t know how to do anything and just watched.
Liu Yao propped her chin up, enviously watching the three busy hands. “How are your hands all so skillful? I can’t do anything.”
“You’re not alone. I can’t either,” Wang Mengmeng said, sipping a cup of hot water.
“If you want to learn, you can. Now’s a perfect opportunity,” Wu Guifang said, measuring fabric with a ruler.
“Guifang’s right. Actions speak louder than thoughts. My scarf is the easiest to knit,” Ning Xiyue said, showing the black scarf she was making for her older brother.
Chen YeChu smiled: “I can teach you to knit sweaters. It’s easy.”
Liu Yao immediately nodded excitedly: “Great, thank you, YeChu!”
Wang Mengmeng thanked her as well.
Chen YeChu had just taken out the yarn for knitting sweaters, making it convenient to teach them.
Ning Xiyue only knew how to knit scarves but wanted to learn sweater knitting. She continued knitting her scarf while watching and listening carefully to Chen YeChu.
By the end of the morning, Ning Xiyue had finished a scarf and learned how to knit a sweater in theory, ready to practice on the remaining scarves.
Perhaps they were all naturally gifted at knitting, as Wang Mengmeng and Liu Yao picked it up quickly.
Chen YeChu was pleased: “Looks like you’ve all learned enough. I have extra yarn. If you need it, I can share, though it’s enough for only one scarf per person.”
The two eagerly agreed and privately exchanged money for the yarn with Chen YeChu.
By noon, they planned to continue working after lunch.
Ning Xiyue quickly returned to the kitchen to cook, eager to collect — oh no, harvest — the Lingzhi.
The second batch matured while she was washing dishes.
System was ecstatic, dancing around. With the first batch’s benefits as a base, it was even more excited, constantly urging her in her mind.
“Don’t worry, I’m coming.”
Ning Xiyue set down the dishes, closed the kitchen door, and immediately entered her space to harvest the second and final batch of Lingzhi.
This batch was lighter than the first: 3,000 mushroom bags produced 900 jin of Lingzhi.
At double the price, that’s 18,000 yuan — 180,000 system points.
“Daddy System, transfer the money.”
Ning Xiyue smiled at the little turtle.
[Ding! 900 jin of Lingzhi collected. System points issued. Please check promptly, Host.]
She opened the system panel and confirmed the points were credited.
Now she had 420,000 system points — equivalent to 42,000 yuan.
Ning Xiyue touched the number, satisfied. She was now officially a ten-thousand-yuan earner.
These points were her startup fund for future ventures.
[Ding! To prevent inflation in this world, the Host cannot exchange all system points at once. The monthly limit is 10,000 points.]
“Alright,” Ning Xiyue said cheerfully.
10,000 points equals 1,000 yuan. Withdrawing 1,000 yuan a month was plenty. She wasn’t in a rush to use the money; she could slowly withdraw it, and the points would remain safe in her account.
No matter what, it didn’t change the fact: Ning Xiyue was now officially a near-ten-thousand-yuan earner.
