Chapter 236: Chapter 236

Gong Ruini noticed her parents had been incredibly busy lately. Although they used to be quite busy, she could still see them every morning, noon, and evening.

Now, every day when she wakes up, she finds that her parents have already left. She only catches a glimpse of them at lunchtime before they disappear again.

In the evening, she doesn’t see them until it’s time for dinner. This made Gong Ruini very curious. If she couldn’t see them at all, she would have thought they had found a place to work and earn money.

It’s known that the spring plowing has ended long ago, so there’s not much work to do in the fields. We’re not quite at the point of pretending to work, but it shouldn’t be so busy. Why are her parents getting busier, which doesn’t seem logical at all?

Gong Ruini asked a few times, but Cai Meina and the others always changed the topic, and besides, Gong Ruini was also quite busy herself.

Her schedule was tightly packed: running for exercise in the morning, picking herbs on the mountain, processing them upon returning home, attending classes, taking a two-hour nap in the afternoon, and then continuing to study. She really didn’t have much time for other thoughts.

Plus, she had some time to play around with the head honcho and little two, so she didn’t put much thought into this matter. After all, if her parents were busy, they were probably busy making money.

Gong Ruini had thought about reminding the old man about the black fungus, but last time she brought it up, he seemed to brush it off, so she dropped it.

So, when Gong Tao took her and the others to a certain spot on the back mountain, they were stunned, even though Zhao Gang had mysteriously promised them a surprise.

"Wow, so many black fungus." Zhao Guangran dumbfoundedly looked at the sections of dead branches, which were covered with densely packed black fungus.

For those with trypophobia, this scene could really make them faint.

Oh no, it was at that moment Gong Ruini realized that the conversation she didn’t finish with the old man last time wasn’t because he ignored it, but because he was secretly carrying it out behind her back.

Gong Ruini was quite curious as to why her old man had to keep it a secret from her, but the outcome was pretty good.

"So much black fungus. Shouldn’t they be dried?" Given the scale, Gong Ruini thought they had to be dried and sold as black fungus, otherwise why grow so many? Even with a big family, they wouldn’t consume that much.

Particularly, Gong Ruini hadn’t expected Gong Tao and the others to set up the black fungus farm by a stream.

If large-scale cultivation was involved, watering the black fungus was labor-intensive. By having a stream, watering would no longer be such a tedious task every day.

"Yes, your Uncle Zhao has already found buyers," Cai Meina was quite pleased with herself.

The children had randomly dabbled into something that turned out successful and provided a decent income. This was also stable revenue for the following term. Cai Meina got excited whenever she thought about the money in her little savings stash.

If building a house wouldn’t draw attention right now, Cai Meina would’ve wanted to immediately ask the village head for a plot to build on. Although living with Zhao Gang was nice, having her own house provided a sense of security.

The route for sales was even set up. You had to hand it to Uncle Zhao; when he does something, he never leaves any loose ends.

"They’re all old customers. I just casually asked. This stuff is a specialty of the Northeast; it’s good to present it to higher-ups," Zhao Gang added.

"Actually, they even ask if there are mushrooms, the kind that can be dried and sold too." Zhao Gang never thought you could actually cultivate these.

Thinking of all the money missed over the years made Zhao Gang’s heart ache, "But Ni Zi is really smart to have thought of this."

Come on, her old man was too biased, only praising Gong Ruini, "Dad, I knew too," Zhao Guangran protested.

This kid even wanted to snatch this bit of credit, if Zhao Guangran hadn’t blurted out, Zhao Gang wouldn’t have been so upset, yet this kid just had to step out.

Zhao Gang lightly tapped Zhao Guangran on the head, of course gently.

Zhao Guangran was dumbfounded. Gong Ruini received praise, and he, not only got none but also got hit. It was too much, more biased than the big brother, "Dad, why did you hit me?"

"I didn’t hit you by mistake. You claimed you thought of it early on, yet why didn’t you mention it? You waited for Ni Zi to point it out for you to approve," Zhao Gang huffed, "Don’t you realize missing this cost us lots of opportunities to earn money?"

Oh no, it’s all his fault? Zhao Guangran felt even more wronged, "Dad, you too picked black fungus. Why didn’t you think of it, and why only blame me?"

If he was at fault, wouldn’t his parents be too? Zhao Guangran thought it was too much to bear, way too much pressure.

Hahaha, Gong Ruini was dying of laughter, feeling that Zhao Guangran was unusually pitiful, trying to take credit only to be scolded by Uncle Zhao. The lesson is never to steal the spotlight unnecessarily.

Zhao Xuran had entirely given up on educating his foolish brother. Fortunately, the kid was good-hearted. Though a bit excessive, he could be reined in a bit. So letting Dad discipline him was acceptable.

Seeing Gong Ruini’s sneaky laugh, "Is it funny?"

Oh no, she forgot the old fox was beside her. Gong Ruini wanted to cry, "Don’t you find it funny?"

Actually, if it was really sympathizing with Zhao Guangran, she wouldn’t be smiling so warmly, "So, some credits aren’t yours to claim."

"Well, since the credit is yours, Ni Zi, shouldn’t you show some appreciation?" Zhao Xuran was surprised, too. Though he had some ideas before, he didn’t think it’d be this simple.

If it were that easy to handle black fungus, the villagers would’ve done so long ago. No need to wait for rain to harvest on the mountains, yet such a simple method had been overlooked for years.

And yes, it included them. They didn’t realize it either. Zhao Xuran with self-deprecation, even though labeled smart, missed such an easy catch. Even if his parents credited him as a discoverer, would he think of it without Gong Ruini?

What, now she had to show appreciation? Gong Ruini was taken aback. All she got before was verbal praise from Zhao Gang, with no material reward.

Zhao Xuran might know it, but how could he be so sly to say she should show appreciation, meaning she should fork out her stash of secret savings?

Gong Ruini wanted to cry; she might be the unluckiest recipient of rewards.

No way, she’d have to ask Zhao Gang about tangible rewards. Thɪs chapter is updated by novęlfire.net

"Uncle Zhao, since Ni Zi found such great stuff, are there any rewards?" Uh, even though Gong Ruini had a bit of nerve, she couldn’t outright ask for money—it felt too vulgar.

But everyone’s smart here, so Gong Ruini hoped they’d understand a bit, unless they pretended ignorance with their eyes wide open.

Except they were all grown-ups, were they really going to act this way with a child? Grown-ups were supposed to have some decorum.