Chapter 205: Chapter 204: Growing Further Apart

[Local residents are ecstatic: Finally, we have something unique to us]

[Two hundred thousand cash?? Is this mushroom plated with gold?]

[Chef: What’s dignity for the sake of gourmet food]

The staff at the tourism office saw the bullet comments on the live broadcast and immediately smelled a business opportunity.

Although it’s impossible to transport Chinese delicious mushrooms to other provinces, such a distinctive item can be added to travel programs!

Listening to Xu Ying talking about the mushrooms like treasures, everyone’s mouth watered.

“So, our lunch…” Ye Jie asked cautiously.

“Depends on everyone’s harvest.” Xu Ying flashed a devilish grin, pulling out five woven baskets from below the stage, “Tools are all ready.”

Everyone saw the mushroom picking tools and almost fainted on the spot.

Ming Xueying couldn’t help but say, “We’ve been craving for so long, our stomachs are already growling. How can we find mushrooms now?”

“This is when your points come into play.”

Xu Ying dragged a bag of snacks, sponsored by a certain snack brand: “One point can be exchanged for a small cookie! Five points can exchange for a small chicken leg!”

As soon as Xu Ying finished speaking, Jia Yao shouted angrily, “Shady merchant!”

Xu Ying resisted the urge to roll her eyes, “Your points are negative, why are you so agitated?”

Ming Xueying’s mind worked quickly, “Wait! If points are accumulated, can they be useful in the later stages?”

At this remark, everyone hesitated.

Xu Ying looked at the hesitant crowd and began to lure them with her trump card.

“Teacher Yao, you have 10 points.” She shook the cookies in her hand.

“You can exchange for ten cookies, or…” she deliberately ripped open a vacuum-packed braised chicken leg slowly, “two small chicken legs~”

Yao Yingzhe’s Adam’s apple rolled fiercely as hesitation flashed across his face.

The first to make a purchase was Ye Jie, who had fifteen points. She generously exchanged them for three chicken legs, not thinking much. If you’re hungry, filling your belly is the priority; otherwise, if you faint in the desert again, being labeled as a fragile white lotus across the internet wouldn’t be good.

Ye Jie saw the photographer filming her eating the chicken leg, also drooling. She hesitated for a moment, then broke off a big chunk of chicken meat with her gloved hands and shared it with the cameraman. The cameraman was quite surprised and thanked her repeatedly.

The bullet comments were very surprised by Ye Jie’s action.

[Clearly not enough for herself, yet she shares with the cameraman. Throughout this long program, Ye Jie feels less like a green tea and more like a naive sweetheart, often unjustly criticized.]

[Honestly, I’ve wanted to say for a while, some of the dirt on Ye Jie seems really far-fetched, like over-interpretation.]

[Or maybe she’s acting? A piece of chicken for a good reputation, quite a bargain.]

Just then, a fluffy ear fox cub wandered over slowly, carrying a custom-made small chicken leg from the program.

Jia Yao: “…”

Fox Si Bao tilted its head, its eyes as pure as black grapes, looking at him innocently, and then—

“Munch, munch, munch…”

It deliberately made loud chewing noises in front of Jia Yao, meat juices dripping from its mouth, its little paws clutching the chicken leg protectively, as if saying, “Mine, not for you.”

Jia Yao: Does Xu Ying raise foxes just to annoy people?

After using points to exchange for snacks to replenish their energy, everyone took a ride to the reed zone near the desert oasis.

The midday sun baked the sand scorching hot. Xu Ying squatted near a dead reed, gently poking the surface sand with a small shovel.

She was demonstrating to everyone how to find Chinese delicious mushrooms.

“Look, a slightly bulging little mound like this, underneath it might just be our special from Xizhou Province.”

Xu Ying’s actions were as gentle as an archaeologist excavating relics.

Sand sifted down, revealing a creamy white mushroom stalk, “Be gentle with your movements!”

In the close-up shot, a large and white Chinese delicious mushroom, as big as a dinner plate, looked plump and soft, enticing appetite.

“Here’s the key point.” Xu Ying suddenly turned the mushroom upside down and lightly patted the bottom of the stalk twice, “The mycelium falls back into the soil, next year…

A sudden gust of wind interrupted her explanation.

Ming Xueying’s Gucci silk scarf used as decoration soared into the air, tracing a magnificent arc before landing precisely into the freshly dug mushroom pit.

Bullet comments floated by:

[Mycelium: Received a luxury endorsement]

[Mushroom: This scarf matches my level.]

Xu Ying, speechless, pinched the scarf, she didn’t immediately put the mushroom into the basket; instead, she turned it upside down and gently patted it.

“After you dig up the mushroom, always pay attention to the principle of sustainable development.”

“Don’t immediately put the mushroom away, pat it first, to let the mycelium fall into the soil so that next year you can harvest new Chinese delicious mushrooms.”

After Xu Ying explained how to find Chinese delicious mushrooms, everyone started taking action.

Ye Jie knelt on the sand, cautiously digging up a small mound.

However, the mound grew deeper and deeper, and she couldn’t find the delicious mushroom no matter how she dug.

She persistently dug and dug, eventually her shovel hit something hard.

Ye Jie froze for a moment, “What’s this? It’s hard, is it possible I hit a land mine?”

Her words instantly put everyone on high alert.

Xu Ying shook her head, “Don’t worry, it can’t be a land mine.”

The Xizhou desert has military areas, and the demining work is very thorough.

Xu Ying took over the small shovel and dug up a piece of pottery.

She squinted, “This thing looks a bit like a relic fragment?”

Immediately, some staff hurried over, and the relic fragment was excavated and presented in front of the camera.

[Could it be a piece of Han Dynasty pottery?]

[Wow, Ye Jie’s luck is amazing, she should go into archaeology!]

The bullet comments in the live stream exploded.

Jiang Mo was busy alone at the edge of the oasis.

In his woven basket, seven or eight perfect mushrooms were neatly arranged, each mushroom stalk bottom carrying fresh soil.

When Xu Ying quietly approached, she found his hands spread out on a copy of the “Chinese Mushroom Atlas,” filled with densely written notes.

The bullet comments from Jiang Mo’s fans were shocked once again by their idol’s diligence:

[Mr. Jiang must be here for an academic seminar]

[You deserve your fame, you’re so serious in everything you do!]

“Look what I’ve found! Such a big mound!”

Yao Yingzhe’s booming voice echoed across the oasis. The old man gripped the shovel with both hands, like a treasure-hunting pirate, “This time it’s definitely… ”

Underneath the mound revealed by the shovel lay a few dried horse manure balls sparkling in the sunlight.

The entire scene was silent for three seconds.

“Is this show really having a breakup with ’bad luck’?!”

Yao Yingzhe’s roar startled the desert crows from the trees.

Not far away, Jia Yao was waving a dead tree branch, like wielding a sword, poking the sand dramatically.

Jia Yao looked around at the surrounding guests, “Not mingling with them anymore, I’m going to explore a new area, maybe the mushrooms in this section have been dug up.”

Jia Yao gradually moved away with the following cameraman.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep