Enemies Are All Nourishment for My Fungi..

Yu Qing finally remembered that her eldest daughter slept in the living room and looked around at the messy living room that no longer resembled its former tidy self, finding herself at a loss for words.

Ye Nai listened to the hurried breathing through the phone, not urging her mother to speak, letting her take her time to think. She knew her mom wasn’t stupid, just accustomed to turning a blind eye and pretending not to see. Why have four kids if she loved ignoring them so much? Was it just for the subsidies?

"That’s it then, I’ll transfer eight hundred yuan for the festival, I’m not coming back on New Year’s Day."

"Ah, come back and take a look, I’ll introduce a nice young man to you."

"What kind of decent young man can your connections possibly find? Do you even have access to those who really are in good condition?"

"Anyone would be better than you, they have a stable salary every month, and you have the audacity to criticize others while you pick trash every day?"

"How did he find his stable job and earn a salary then? Did he make it entirely on his own without any help from his family?"

"Of course he made it on his own, you have no idea how many people vie for it. If it wasn’t for the introducer being close to me, I wouldn’t have got such a good catch. And you still have the nerve to criticize others? Is this what I taught you?"

"What did you ever teach me? If I had any skills, would I be out picking trash? You really have the nerve to say that."

Yu Qing was once again speechless from her daughter’s retort.

"Well, come back for a visit."

"Visit for what? I’m over forty years old, and you think I still have the brain of a child? Can’t you see that the matchmaker is playing you?"

"What do you mean playing me? The matchmaker is a long-time friend of mine."

"A man who made it on his own clearly isn’t young, has experience, knows what he wants, and once he’s climbed up, do you think he’d be willing to drop down again?"

"Such men have high standards for a partner; they at least want a match of equals. Why would the matchmaker push him onto you? What’s the motive? Aren’t they afraid of the man’s complaints?"

Ye Nai didn’t ask for the man’s name, age, or other basic information... she knew without asking that this matchmaking had no chance of success. Who knew what the matchmaker was thinking, but it didn’t hinder her from planting doubts in her mom’s mind.

"Ah, this..."

Yu Qing was completely confused, though she said aloud that the matchmaker wouldn’t trick her, in her heart she felt her daughter might have some valid points. A man who made it on his own—what kind of women hadn’t he met? What was he expecting from dating an eighteen-year-old? Someone young and healthy enough to bear children, or someone young and naive enough to control easily? A mature man wanting to elevate his little family would indeed prefer a partner of comparable capability.

"Mom, get your head together. The kind of partner such a man would be interested in would either be a capable woman herself or come from a strong family. Which condition does our family meet? The matchmaker has such good resources to expand their own connections, why would they offer them to you? What benefit can you provide? You think everyone is as clueless as you?"

"Well, well, let’s forget it then, I’ll look around some more. You’re really not coming back for New Year’s?"

"Why should I go back? To travel a whole day by car just for a meal, then travel another day by car back? Spending seven or eight hours in a car trip, you think that’s comfortable, right? Who’s the sick one? You or me?"

"Alright, alright, if you’re not coming, fine. I’ll have one less meal to cook, but don’t forget the eight hundred yuan."

"Okay, I’ll send it to you right now."

Ye Nai decisively hung up the phone and sent eight hundred yuan to her mother.

She tossed down her phone, scoffing coldly.

Blind date? What a joke.

Her mom received the money and didn’t call again.

Ye Nai rested at home for two days and braised frog legs and bird meat. The meat was firm and elastic, incredibly delicious, and packed with energy. Which grade it belonged to among Ordinary, Good, High Grade, top quality, and top-grade was hard to say; the authorities didn’t specify when they distributed it. As long as it tasted good, that was all that mattered.

The frog and bird meat Ye Nai personally caught in her Space didn’t need their grades to be considered, since her energy source didn’t rely on eating meat at all.

Two days later, she resumed her usual training rhythm.

Over the past few months, she had been busy with missions and her training had been sporadic. She desperately needed to catch up and accumulate points to level up.

On New Year’s Day, the team leaders invited everyone to a gathering, including Ye Nai. A few people from each small team came, forming a large group altogether. They drove over ten cars and, dressed in plainclothes, headed to Town 1.

"You know, this place has all sorts of people, Awakeners and ordinary people, men and women alike. As long as they have money in their pockets, they’re happy to spend it. The food and entertainment industry here is particularly well-developed."

"If you’re bored at home and want to pass the time, just come here and hang out. You have a motorcycle now, so it’s easy for you to make a trip."

"Hey, that’s perfect. After we eat, we can go find a cobbler to make shoe lasts."

"Right."

Both team leaders’ teams had obtained a piece of giant toad skin and needed to have new shoes custom-made. They wanted to find a local craftsman who was skilled at making shoe lasts.

With the shoe lasts, it would be easier to find cobblers online who specialized in making shoes with Mutant Beast Skin, without needing to travel out of town to have custom shoe lasts made, which would be too troublesome.

When they arrived in Town 1, it was packed with people. The streets were so crowded that cars couldn’t even move. Ye Nai stored everyone’s cars with a snap, and they all walked to a bathhouse, where they could eat, sing, bathe, scrub, and relax all in one go.

They had purchased collective tickets online in advance. After changing shoes, the men and women split up to enjoy different activities. Ye Nai was first dragged off by the older sisters for a milk bath; when she emerged, her skin was so shiny that flies would slip off it.

After the bath, it was time to eat. With everyone’s bellies full, the leisure activities varied—some went to sing, some played cards and online games, and some just zoned out in the lobby.

Ye Nai explored the venue like an adventurer, full of interest. She went up and downstairs, enjoyed a half-hour sweat session, ate several plates of fruit, and then sat in a small hall listening to people sing.

The singing area had private rooms as well as these open halls, like small stages. Those who dared to sing here were confident in their vocal skills. Ye Nai thought they sounded great, all on tune. If it were her, she would be off-key as soon as she hit a note.

The bath center was open around the clock. With a ticket, one could stay for 24 hours and even extend the time if desired. Guests could even use the bath center as a very cost-effective hostel, as hotels that offered similar services weren’t cheap.

After having a blast and a good sleep, Ye Nai thought the bath center was a fantastic invention.

While she was purely relaxing, others had already contacted the town’s cobblers. They left the bath center and visited each one to check their homemade public shoe lasts and inquire about prices.

Though only two teams had acquired the giant frog skin, getting the same type of skin wasn’t difficult for the other teams. Since everyone was there, they might as well take a look at the shoe lasts together.