Helen Parker Sells Mushrooms

Lily Evans carried several hundred taels of silver, her back straight and her mind filled with one thought: shop, shop, shop!

There were so many things the household needed! Rice, flour, oil, all sorts of spices, daily necessities—everything had to be bought. She also planned to buy some fabric to make new clothes for everyone.

Helen Parker, who had been hiding in the alley opposite Savory House, watched as Lily and Lucky walked out, beaming with joy. Her own large sack was now empty. Helen exclaimed in surprise, "Huh? Did that wretched girl really sell her mushrooms? If Lily can sell mushrooms, so can I! Oh, I'm going to strike it rich! My son Shimao's betrothal money is no longer a worry!"

But Helen was just a village woman. Seeing the glittering Savory House, she didn't have the guts to step inside, let alone try to sell goods there. So she headed to another small tavern on the street to try her luck.

"Is your manager here?" Helen, who had never set foot in a tavern before, clutched her sack tightly, forced a smile, and spoke with a trembling voice.

The waiter saw she was a timid village woman and frowned, snapping, "Our manager is busy. What do you want? Are you here to eat or stay?"

"I—I'm here to sell!" Helen revealed a corner of her sack of mushrooms, looking mysterious. "I've got good stuff and need to see your manager."

The waiter saw it was a sack of rare mushrooms and thought to himself that this woman must be a new mushroom gatherer, so he led Helen to the back room.

"Are you a mushroom gatherer?" the manager asked Helen.

Helen forced a dry laugh and didn't answer—she wasn't a mushroom gatherer at all. Hurriedly, she opened the sack and said, "Look at these mushrooms, so fresh! I just picked them this morning! Manager, why don't you take them all? The price, the price..."

Helen thought about it—this was pure profit, but asking too much made her nervous. She only knew mushrooms were expensive, but not the exact price per pound. So she rolled her eyes and said, "This whole sack must weigh at least ten pounds. Just give me... give me two taels of silver?"

The manager was taken aback. Two taels of silver?

The market price for mushrooms was ten taels of silver. Selling a whole sack for two taels? Something was fishy!

"Call the head chef to inspect the goods," the manager said cautiously. Mushrooms weren't ordinary ingredients—most wild mushrooms were poisonous. If they bought toxic ones and served them, not only would the tavern close, but they'd all end up in jail.

Helen, already lacking confidence, panicked when she heard 'inspection.' She waved her hand, "No need to inspect! My mushrooms are fine. Two taels isn't much, just pay me quickly. I've got things to do at home and need to get back to cook."

Seeing Helen's guilty look, the manager was even more convinced there was something wrong with the mushrooms. He had his staff detain her and waited for the head chef to inspect the goods.

When the head chef arrived and saw the sack, he frowned. "Manager, what is this? The whole bag is poisonous mushrooms—only seven or eight are edible. If we cooked these and served them to guests, we'd all lose our heads!"

Helen's scalp tingled at those words; she stiffened her neck and shouted, "Nonsense! Just because you say they're poisonous doesn't make it true! These are perfectly good mushrooms!"

The manager was so infuriated by Helen's outburst that he laughed. "Well, aren't you a piece of work! Trying to pass off poisonous mushrooms as good ones—are you trying to kill us all? How black is your heart, doing anything for a bit of silver!"

Helen's eyes darted as she started to make a scene. "My mushrooms are fine! Don't bully me just because I'm a woman. Listen, my son goes to Greenfield Academy and even knows the county magistrate! He'll be a top scholar one day. If you mess with me, you'll regret it!"