Substitute Alpha Gets Confessed to by Her Ex’s Aunt on a Survival Variety Show – Chapter 110
by Little PandaMushrooms, Mushrooms, Simmered into a Bowl of Soup
The rain fell continuously for three or four days.
Liu Yinxi and Nan Huaixu repaired the shelter at their campsite, only for the heavy rain to tear open another gap midway through. But after more patching and mending, it was as good as new again.
Their new fish cages and ground net traps had been woven long ago, but to prevent them from being ruined by the torrential weather, they waited until a completely clear day, confirming the relentless rain had finally ended, before heading out to set the traps.
Having not gone out to forage for several days, watching their food reserves deplete day by day made Nan Huaixu’s heart ache. In her city life, she used to cut back on carbohydrates to maintain her figure, always leaving behind plenty of grains. Now, she wished every grain she had ever abandoned would fly right back to her mouth.
At least they had rice, coarse grains, and mixed beans to satisfy their basic carbohydrate needs. She had no idea how the contestants without grains were surviving. Did they live off gnawing on rough banana cores every day? Or boil cassava, risking poisoning if they made even a slight mistake in processing it?
Just thinking about it gave her a headache.
They said wealth was found in danger. If they had not encountered that crocodile, the production team would never have compensated them. Without that compensation, they would have had no rice and mixed beans, nor would they have been able to trade for other grains.
Nan Huaixu understood that a peaceful life was a beautiful wish, but truly smooth sailing throughout one’s life was a rare blessing that could be hoped for but not forced.
Yet, encountering danger only to turn it into a blessing—was that not another kind of peace?
She was beginning to understand the root of Liu Yinxi’s “blind optimism.”
Everything had two sides. One had to see the negative and learn from it, but more importantly, one had to see the positive and actively embrace that brighter side. Do not fixate on the past or what was lost; look more at what was gained, what was currently at hand, and adapt to the circumstances to turn them to one’s advantage.
Just like this violent storm—it had damaged their shelter and trapped them inside, but it had also allowed Nan Huaixu to embrace the warmth she so deeply craved.
“Teacher Nan, the sun is wonderful today. Let’s try not to eat any rice and forage as many resources as we can.” Liu Yinxi spoke as she shielded her eyes with both hands, looking up at the clear sky. The golden sunlight filtered through the jade-like leaves, scattering over her face, looking beautiful.
Nan Huaixu felt that the sunlight and Liu Yinxi suited each other so well.
They hung their washed clothes on tree branches to dry, put on their leaf hats, picked up their trekking poles, and headed upstream along the river.
“Fish bite better on sunny days. They’re more active, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then after we set the fish cages today, should we try spearing some fish in the shallows?”
“Sure! Now that the rain has stopped, the water levels will gradually recede. If we’re lucky, maybe we can find something good?”
“It’s nowhere near as good as ganhai. At most, we’ll just find some little snacks.”
Nan Huaixu used her trekking pole to test the path ahead. “Even though the rain is annoying, the rainforest is even more beautiful after a storm. The only downside is that it hasn’t cooled down much. It feels more like a steamer basket now—even the air is hot.”
Liu Yinxi looked toward the clear river water nearby. “Should we walk closer to the riverbank?”
“No, it’s a bit too sunny over there. Hey, Liu Yinxi, do watermelons not grow here?”
“Yeah. Watermelons originally come from the region spanning Africa to Western Asia. Although fruit farmers on Jinzhou Island cultivate them on a large scale, there shouldn’t be any native wild species in this rainforest. Unless there was some biological invasion—like an animal leaving its seeds behind here.”
“It’s such a pity we can’t chill a watermelon in this cool river water to eat,” Nan Huaixu remarked regretfully.
Liu Yinxi laughed. “We might not have watermelons, but we can chill mangoes or mangosteens—it just depends on what fruits we find. Teacher Nan, where did you ever eat a watermelon chilled in a river? I always imagined you eating ultra-expensive, cold-chain fresh specialty melons from high-end supermarkets, beautifully sliced and served with gorgeous, elegant tableware.”
“Pfft, you caught me. That’s usually how it goes. But do you know what kind of flavor is the most expensive? The kind that is priceless and can’t be bought for any amount of money.”
“Hmm… When rarity makes things valuable, and demand outstrips supply.”
“Essentially, yes. But I think the most expensive is the taste of childhood—especially a taste of childhood that can never be replicated.”
Who didn’t long for the flavors of their childhood?
Liu Yinxi understood that, but what did she mean by “never be replicated”?
“When I was little, I lived in a mountain village,” Liu Yinxi said. “Some peddlers would ride their bicycles back and forth between several villages to sell goods. They had a megaphone and would shout advertisements wherever they went. Once, my mom stopped a lady selling buns and bought some meat buns and red bean buns. Her red bean buns were incredibly delicious. The red beans were sweet but not cloying, and you could actually taste the soft, glutinous, and refreshing red bean grains. I ate them all in one go. My mom promised that the next time the bun lady came, we’d buy more, but we never saw her again. Back then, there was no internet, and we didn’t even have mobile phones, so we couldn’t get her contact details. Unlike now, when you can follow people on WeChat and get deliveries shipped online—it’s so convenient.”
“Teacher Nan, is that the kind of ‘irreplicable’ you mean?” Liu Yinxi asked.
Nan Huaixu nodded. “Yes, that counts. Because you can no longer find the person who made that taste. What I wanted to share is quite similar. One summer during elementary school, I went to a classmate’s farm. Because her grades were excellent and her family had business dealings with my mom, my mommy allowed me to go play at her house. The farm was at the foot of a mountain, surrounded by fertile fields. The daughter of my classmate’s gardener took us out to the fields to catch butterflies and scoop up little fish from the river. She also taught us to chill large watermelons and grapes in the cool creek water. They tasted incredibly sweet. I’ve never eaten fruit that delicious since.”
Liu Yinxi asked with interest, “And then? What else did you play?”
Nan Huaixu’s expression darkened significantly, and she shrugged. “After that, our housekeeper took a photo of my classmate and me playing in the mud in the fields and sent it to our family group chat, and Mommy dragged me back home.”
“No wonder it can’t be replicated. Some parents really hate it when children play in the mud.”
“That was secondary…” Nan Huaixu lowered her gaze and sighed. “Later on, the girl who taught us to chill the watermelons passed away.”
Liu Yinxi stopped in her tracks. “Oh… that’s so sudden. I’m sorry.”
The true meaning of “impossible to replicate” was that the person who created that flavor was no longer in this world…
Nan Huaixu gazed into the distance, where endless green ridges rolled on forever. “My classmate told me about it. Once, the girl’s father took her to the city for a trip. Her dad got so captivated by a car show outside a shopping mall that he couldn’t tear himself away. By the time he snapped out of it, the child was gone. They couldn’t find her, so they called the police. In the end, she was found at the intersection of a large overpass. She had been hit by a car, and resuscitation efforts failed.”
“Oh…”
“Because although schools teach you to look at the traffic lights when crossing the street, the small town she lived in didn’t have such complex overpasses or so many fast-moving, hurried cars. She didn’t know that some people wouldn’t follow the traffic rules—even though her teacher had said in class that everyone had to obey them.”
“Sigh.” Affected by Nan Huaixu’s emotions, Liu Yinxi felt a wave of sadness wash over her. “Once angels grow wings, they can go anywhere in the world to watch the sunrise.”
She looked around, plucked two small, nameless wild flowers, walked over to the riverbank with her trekking pole, and bent down to place them in the river, letting them drift away with the current.
“Thank you for bringing Teacher Nan the best grapes and watermelons.”
Nan Huaixu also plucked a small flower and let it float down the river. “I never even knew her name. I only remembered the delicious things. Sometimes, I feel like I’m very cold-hearted.”
She pressed her hands together and closed her eyes. “I hope you are living a happy new life now, and that whenever you go out, your family holds your hand tightly.”
Liu Yinxi leaned against a tree, waiting for her. “Teacher Nan, that’s not being cold-hearted. No matter the reason, remembering someone is a form of care. Only when absolutely nothing is left in your heart does it count as coldness.”
Nan Huaixu looked up. Liu Yinxi stood in the bright sunlight, smiling at her.
That smile in the sunlight was so warm.
Nan Huaixu couldn’t help but curve her lips. “Yes.”
Liu Yinxi suddenly stood straight and pointed to a bend up ahead. “That river bend would be a great place to set a fish cage. What do you think, Teacher Nan?”
Nan Huaixu followed her gaze. River silt had accumulated there, and the current ran slow and steady. “It looks excellent.”
Liu Yinxi immediately thanked the drifting flowers. “Thank you, beautiful and kind Watermelon Fairy, for guiding us to such a wonderful spot.”
They picked up their fish baskets and walked over.
Nan Huaixu poked Liu Yinxi’s arm. “Why are you giving her a nickname?”
Liu Yinxi sheepishly admitted, “I know it’s a bit impolite, but neither of us knows what to call her.”
“True…”
“Teacher Nan, rather than minding the nickname, wouldn’t she just be happy to be remembered?”
“I don’t know about others, but I would be,” Nan Huaixu said.
If the one who remembers me for a lifetime is you.
After setting the fish baskets, they laid traps in the surrounding woods. Having the ground net traps and fish cages close to each other would make checking them much easier.
Liu Yinxi covered the surface of a ground net trap with a layer of fallen leaves and brushed the dirt off her hands. “All done! Teacher Nan, let’s head further—”
Before she could finish her sentence, the sound of voices carrying from the riverside drifted through the foliage and reached their ears.
“Ugh! What on earth is this? It’s so disgusting!”
“I can’t take this. It’s all over my shoes. I have goosebumps all over! Yunshao, quick, help me get it off.”
“Aah! It smells so bad! Could it be poisonous? Yunshao, wash your hands right away. Don’t get poisoned!”
The voice belonged to Luo Ling.
Liu Yinxi and Nan Huaixu exchanged a look, silently crouching down together to listen from the tall grass.
“Lingling, don’t be scared. They’re just mushrooms. It’s been raining for days, so the humidity made these fungi sprout from the mud and rotten wood.”
“I can’t. Just looking at them triggers my trypophobia! Did you wash your hands thoroughly? No, there’s still a smell. Wash them some more… Yunshao, what are you doing? Why are you still touching them?!”
“I’m wondering if they’re edible.”
“Of course not! People end up in the hospital every year from eating poisonous mushrooms, so there’s no way we should eat wild ones from a primeval rainforest. Quick, stop thinking about it. I’ll pour some wood ash for you, so scrub your hands a bit more…”
Mushrooms.
Liu Yinxi caught the key word, and her eyes lit up.
A sunny day after heavy rain was the perfect time for a pot of fresh, delicious wild mushroom soup.
They waited until the two had walked away before making their way over. There, on a large patch of forest floor across the river, they found a variety of wild mushrooms sprouting.
Liu Yinxi’s hometown often ate wild mushrooms, so she taught Nan Huaixu how to identify them while they harvested. “Those cute little clusters over there are oyster mushrooms, the cup-shaped ones are pig stomach mushrooms, and that one with the net-like structure is…”
“Bamboo pith, right?” Nan Huaixu chimed in eagerly.
Liu Yinxi clapped for her. “Yes! You’re amazing!”
Nan Huaixu said proudly, “I’ve eaten it before.”
Nan Huaixu took out her portable mess kit and sea salt, while Liu Yinxi piled up firewood to start a fire. After washing the mushrooms, they placed them into the boiling water, letting the soup bubble and blub.
White steam billowed continuously from the mess kit, carrying the distinct, savory fragrance of the wild mushroom soup.
The two sat by the campfire and took a deep breath. “It smells so good.”
Liu Yinxi swallowed. “Teacher Nan, we can add the salt now.”
Nan Huaixu excitedly unscrewed the salt container. “Sure thing! Here comes the salt!”
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps came from the woods.
Liu Yinxi raised her eyes alertly, and Nan Huaixu looked over as well.
Luo Ling and Xue Yunshao pushed aside the branches and walked out.
Luo Ling sniffed the aroma of the mushroom soup in the air, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Nan Huaixu. “Aunt, you know how to identify mushrooms! This soup smells so good. Can we have a taste?”
Liu Yinxi said, “We can trade.”
At the same time, Nan Huaixu said, “Leave.”
Liu Yinxi stole a glance at Nan Huaixu: “…”
Liu Yinxi turned to Luo Ling. “Leave!”
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