Chapter 6 Two Little Blessings
Upon hearing the system's words, Su He's expression instantly lit up with wild excitement.
She immediately picked up both kids and planted a kiss on each, saying, "Zai Zai and Niu Niu are amazing—Mommy's little bundles of luck."
The two adorable toddlers didn't understand why their mother was suddenly so happy, but seeing her happy made them happy too, so they broke into giggles too.
After setting them down, Su He said, "Why don't you help Mommy look if there are more mushrooms like this around?"
"Okay!" The two kids chimed in eagerly and immediately went to inspect under other trees.
Taking advantage of the moment, Su He carefully uprooted the mushroom and placed it into her space. Then, she mentally entered the space and asked the system assistant, "How many points can I exchange for this mushroom?"
The system assistant replied, "Fifty points, ma'am."
Su He was taken aback. She had expected it to be worth thousands of points, but it didn't even crack a hundred.
"Why so little?" she asked, not ready to give up.
"Although this mushroom is rare, it isn't on the verge of extinction. Moreover, it isn't particularly valuable for research. Fifty points per mushroom is already quite generous, dear," the assistant explained.
Su He could only sigh in resignation, but then she thought about how these were basically found money and felt it was still worthwhile.
Just as she was pondering, a voice suddenly piped up, prompting Su He to exit the space immediately.
"Mommy, Mommy, there's more here!" Zai Zai shouted excitedly.
Only now did he act his age of three, instead of his usual little-adult act.
Hearing him, Su He hurried over and knelt beside him, indeed spotting two more mushrooms identical to the previous one.
"Zai Zai is amazing!" Su He praised, ruffling his hair affectionately.
As if embarrassed, Zai Zai went stiff as a board, making Su He want to laugh even more.
Then, Niu Niu's voice rang out.
"Mommy, I found some here too!" Su He dashed over to Niu Niu.
Seeing Su He leave his side so quickly, Zai Zai's little face fell with disappointment where she couldn't see.
"Wow, both of you are incredible! Let's check under more trees—we'll have a feast tonight," Su He said cheerfully to the kids.
In the end, Su He was plenty satisfied. At fifty points each, eleven mushrooms amounted to five hundred and fifty points. After deducting the hundred points she owed, she still had four hundred and fifty points to use.
This space wasn't useless at all—it was incredibly valuable!
By the time they were ready to descend the mountain, the sun was already setting.
But Su He still had four bundles of firewood left on the mountain. By the time she finished carrying them all down, it would be completely dark.
The two kids walked down with her on the first trip, carrying the small bundles of firewood she had tied for them. Though they were panting from the effort, both were well-behaved and insisted on walking down by themselves.
At the foot of the mountain, Su He spotted a middle-aged man. A thought struck her, and she quickly called out to him.
"Uncle, I still have several bundles of firewood up in the mountains. It's dangerous to go up alone with it getting dark. Could you call a couple of people to help me carry them down for your help? I can pay you half a pound of meat."
The uncle initially didn't want to deal with Su He when he saw her. Everyone within dozens of miles had heard of Su He—how the village beauty had ended up with someone seen as worthless as cow dung.
But when he heard she was willing to offer meat as payment, he perked right up.
In this era, rural folks hardly ever got meat, so even half a pound was a real treat.
"You really have meat to give?" the uncle asked skeptically.
Everyone in the village knew Su He had even pawned basic groceries like oil, salt, and rice to cover gambling debts. How could she possibly have meat?
"Yes, really. If I can't deliver the meat, you can just take the firewood instead. There are four more bundles left on the mountain, each as big as the one I'm carrying now," Su He said.
"I'll go with you myself. Those small bundles? I'll carry them all down for you," the uncle replied.
Su He felt relieved. "Then please wait here for a moment. I'll take the kids home and come right back."
People in this era were down-to-earth and kind. Seeing Su He sweating buckets and her two children staring at him curiously, the uncle added, "I'll help carry the firewood to your home."
"Oh, I couldn't ask that of you. You can just help me carry it down from the mountain later," Su He said with a smile before leading the children home.
As the uncle watched the three of them walk away, he thought to himself: He'd never interacted with Su He before, only seen her from afar a few times. But now, she didn't seem anything like the rumors. Guess you really can't trust gossip.
Meanwhile, once home, Su He immediately entered her secret stash and retrieved the meat she had bought. She cut roughly half a pound and set it aside to give to the uncle later.
She then pulled out four little bread rolls from her pocket, handing two to each child. "Mom needs to go back up the mountain to get the rest of the firewood. Stay home and wait for me, okay? Eat these first to hold you until dinner. I'll cook when I get back."
"Okay, Mom," the children replied obediently.
Su He kissed each of them on the head, thinking, *Tonight, I'll definitely give them both a good scrub-down.* Then she headed out.
Going up the mountain with the uncle was much faster than with the kids. The man was clearly familiar with the terrain, moving like he owned the place.
After Su He tied up the remaining firewood, the uncle found a sturdy vine and bundled three loads together.
Worried, Su He asked, "Uncle, isn't that too heavy?"
"Don't worry. I've carried bigger loads than this. It's fine," he said with a laugh.
By now, his impression of Su He had genuinely improved.
The descent was quick—the uncle moved swiftly, leaving Su He panting as she struggled to keep up.
Once they reached her home, Su He immediately handed over the prepared meat.
"This much?" the uncle chuckled, his face crinkling into a smile.
"Half a pound, as promised. Thank you for helping me with the firewood," Su He said with a smile.
"Ah, just a small portion would've been enough. Cut this in half and keep the rest for yourselves," the uncle said, glancing at the two children watching them. "These little ones are still growing. They need good food to grow on."
"It's fine, we've got plenty. Uncle, you know the kids and I only recently came back to the village. We're still getting settled in. I hope you'll look out for us in the future," Su He said, pushed the meat into his hands.