Ruined Mushrooms

By the time Lily Evans came back to her senses, Lucky had already pinned her down and covered her face with slobbery kisses.

This silly husband of hers seemed to only know how to kiss—he nearly made her lips swell up.

Lily pushed him away, her cheeks burning red, and sat up. Lucky hugged her from behind, pressing against her waist and panting heavily. "Wife, see? I told you, kisses make everything better!"

"Dummy!" Lily poked his forehead hard, thinking back on Lucky's actions just moments ago.

Her silly husband had clearly reacted just now, but he didn't even try to take off her clothes. All he did was hold her face and clumsily kiss her over and over. Could it be that Lucky had never been with a woman before, so he didn't understand these things?

Thinking about how Lucky had never had another woman before, Lily suddenly felt a rush of joy—her affectionate, silly husband was hers alone!

"Wife, can you make the clothes tomorrow? Let's just sleep now!" Lucky clung to Lily, refusing to let go, looking so pitiful that if she said no, he'd probably burst into tears on the spot.

Lily melted in his arms; she couldn't bear to leave him either. She soothed him gently, "Alright, alright, it's too late now and candlelight hurts the eyes. Let's sleep early. Tomorrow morning, we'll go up the mountain to pick mushrooms. I need to deliver goods to Savory House."

Lily figured that now she'd truly hooked Savory House's interest—it was about time to pay them a visit and talk business.

"Okay, wife, sleep time!" Lucky cheered, hugging Lily tightly and drifting off to sleep, completely content.

Just as they lay down, Lucky called out toward the courtyard, "Mom, is that you?"

From the yard, Margaret Evans's voice replied, "Ha, Mom just came out to use the latrine."

Lucky responded with an 'Oh,' then continued hugging Lily as they slept.

Outside, Helen Parker clutched her chest, not daring to make a sound. She thought to herself how sharp Lucky's ears were—he almost caught her. Luckily, Margaret Evans happened to come out to the latrine, or else Helen would have been exposed.

Helen didn't dare stay any longer. She tiptoed away, thankful that Lily's house only had a low picket fence—she was able to climb over without alerting Lucky.

Helen walked a long way before stopping, plopping down on a wooden stump by the roadside.

Susan Evans tricked the Evans elders, saying Lily had no money, but Helen didn't believe it. She'd seen Lily sell mushrooms to Savory House with her own eyes. Helen was bitter—Lily had money but wouldn't give her any, and even Susan had been bought off by Lily. Why was the whole family against her?

Unable to swallow her anger, Helen decided to sneak over to Lily's house at night, hoping to steal something if she got the chance.

She'd just arrived when she overheard through the window that Lily planned to pick mushrooms. Helen gritted her teeth viciously, "Bah! That wretched girl Lily is going to get rich picking mushrooms again! No way, I won't let her have her way! They say doing business with a big restaurant depends on credibility—if Lily can't deliver mushrooms tomorrow, the manager at Savory House will definitely be angry and never do business with her again! If I can't make money, Lily shouldn't get rich either! I'll ruin her livelihood!"

The next morning, before dawn, Lily and Lucky got ready to head up the mountain to pick mushrooms.

"Mom, we're going to pick mushrooms. We'll go straight to the city to sell them, so don't worry about saving us any food!" Lily told Margaret Evans before heading up the mountain with Lucky. But when they arrived, they found that every mushroom along the way—edible or poisonous—had been smashed and destroyed!

"Wife, all the mushrooms are ruined. We can't make any money now." Lucky looked at the mess, heart aching for their lost earnings.

"It's fine. If they're gone, they're gone," Lily said, completely unfazed. Wild mushrooms were just a way to earn a bit of pocket money—she never expected to get rich from them. What Savory House was really waiting for was her secret recipes; they didn't care whether she brought mushrooms or not.

In the distance, Helen Parker hid in the bushes, smugly muttering under her breath, "Serves you right for not giving me money! Let's see how you explain this to Savory House. If I can't have a good life, neither can you!"