Li Yu slowly walked over, guessing in his heart that Li Yuan must have found a lot of mushrooms.
And sure enough, as Li Yu approached, he saw a cluster of mushrooms growing where Li Yuan had been digging.
These small mushrooms, ash-white and rinsed with rainwater, looked very clean and smooth, and it was quite delightful to see.
"Big Brother, these mushrooms should be edible, right?" Li Yuan asked with hopeful eyes, looking towards Li Yu.
Li Yu crouched down and picked a mushroom to examine it closely. He nodded with a smile and said, "Yes, they are edible."
Hearing this, Li Yuan's lips spread into a happy smile. She crouched down and began to pick the adorable little mushrooms one by one into the basket.
While everyone was busy picking mushrooms, they all had their finds checked by Li Yu. At first, some people would pick the wrong ones, but as Li Yu explained, everyone started paying more attention as they picked.
Gradually, almost all of the mushrooms everyone showed to Li Yu were edible.
In the rain, some wild fruits also grew very well, such as ground cherries, and those small wild fruits that are like strawberries but even smaller. There were a lot of them.
Everyone had grown experienced and could distinguish which ones they should pick. There was one kind that looked very similar, known as snake fruit, which was inedible.
Originally, cutting grass was estimated to take about half an hour, but now everyone was so enthusiastic about mushroom picking that, after the torrential rain, there really were too many mushrooms.
Mushrooms have a short life cycle and grow quickly, with high nutritional value. Seeing so many mushrooms, Li Yu went back to the residential area and also brought out some of the younger children.
Recently, there had been cousins and the children of workers from before who had all been cooped up indoors due to the rain, except for the slightly older daughter of his fourth uncle, who was monitoring the surveillance room.
The others could only stay indoors.
When they heard they could pick mushrooms, the children were excited. Picking mushrooms on the mountain!
With Li Yu and others looking after them, it wasn't a big problem. Moreover, the entire base was surrounded by a wall.
In this way, everyone picked mushrooms for about an hour, and the harvest was tremendous.
Two huge snake skin bags were filled to the brim from everyone's continuous efforts.
The people carried the forage back and, as it was still damp with raindrops, Li Yu directly put some of the grass into the cattle and sheep pens. The rest of the forage was hung between several large horizontal beams, with the gravity causing it to hang down to the ground, and the water dripped down drop by drop.
Because it was still raining, it was difficult for the grass to dry. If it didn't dry, it wouldn't keep for long.
So, they could only hang the grass up, so at least it wouldn't be rained on, and sometimes a bit of wind could help dry it out. It might not get as dry as under the sun, but once the drops dried off, it could be stored for a while.
Then, they moved the mushrooms back.
At the base, Grandma and others were preparing dinner. They knew Li Yu and the others had gone to cut grass and also knew they had taken some children to pick mushrooms.
But they hadn't expected there to be so many mushrooms, an excess amount that could not be used all at once for cooking. If the rest weren't processed, they would easily spoil and rot.
This prompted quite a bit of worry for Grandma, but in the end they washed the mushrooms clean, tore them in half, and then dried them next to the stove.
At the base, there were many kinds of energy resources. There was solar power, hydroelectric power, several small wind turbines, and electricity was used directly for cooking and other uses.
There was also some coal, but not much. A biogas digester had been built and was occasionally used.
However, they also frequently used dried branches and fallen leaves from the forests, directly burning them for fire. That's why they built a traditional wood-burning stove, which was quite large. Every time they steamed rice, they could use a huge five-layer wooden steaming basket.
Li Yu and the others helped to process the mushrooms, placing them beside the stove, and then drank a bowl of ginger soup that had been prepared earlier.
These past few days, everyone had been drinking ginger soup. With frequent rain and heavy humidity, coupled with getting drenched, it was easy to catch a cold.
Just as Li Yu was about to head to his room, he was suddenly stopped by the haphazard Luo.
He turned around, curious, to look at the disheveled Luo, who, after taking off her raincoat, had her body slightly damp, revealing her graceful curves.
"I... that, that," Luo, usually quite cheerful and bold, now seemed at a loss for words. She wanted to chat with Li Yu but couldn't find a proper excuse.
It was just... very uncomfortable.
"Thanks for your gloves," Luo said gently, her cheeks blushing.
Li Yu smiled and casually replied, "It's nothing."
Li Yu had never been in a relationship and didn't have much feeling for romantic matters.
However, there were times when seeing a pretty girl would put him in a good mood.
Luo was pretty, had a nice figure, and their personalities clicked. Li Yu enjoyed spending time with her.
His innate sensitivity was high, and he could pick up on others' emotions. At this moment, he could sense that Luo was somewhat nervous.
So he gently advised, "Go back to your room and take a warm bath early, don't catch a cold after getting caught in the rain."
Luo nodded and agreed, her body relaxing, seeming a bit deflated.
Seeing this, Li Yu said, "Come to the gaming room later, let's play a battle game."
Luo's face immediately brightened, nodding like a pecking chicken.
Li Yu smiled and walked to his room, and Luo also went back to hers.
The underground gaming room was specially built in the villa where Li Yu lived, and some people at the base didn't even know about this place.
Later, Li Yuan brought Luo here once, and that's when she discovered it.
In the gaming room, the two of them were playing games; they had previously downloaded many single-player games, including some story-based ones.
This time, they revisited classics, starting with games like Contra and King of Fighters.
Luo played happily, her nervousness completely gone, even laughing unrestrainedly after defeating Li Yu.
Watching Luo laugh, Li Yu's face also showed a smile. He was easy-going with those he was familiar with and considered to have a good relationship with.
Inherently unreserved, he didn't often engage in arguments or conflicts in life. What he appreciated most about Luo was her cheerful and bold personality, seemingly unaffected by sadness, sometimes gentle as water, sometimes confused and adorable, but most of the time, direct and open.
Earlier on, Luo didn't really have any friends and only had her grandparents at home, and later on, she was left alone.
Li Yu was also a laid-back person. Sometimes, his grandparents at home would treat Luo as their own granddaughter, and Li Yu was also very kind to Luo.
"Another round!" said Li Yu.
"Sure." Luo replied with a smile, her eyes squinting into crescents, two little dimples appearing, as cute as a little squirrel.