Auntie Pang's face turned deathly pale. Her arms, holding Shanshan, trembled uncontrollably.
But Shanshan acted like she hadn't heard a thing, persistently shoving the Dragon Beard Grass she was holding into Auntie Pang's hands.
"Auntie, hurry and wash it! The roots need to be cleaned, but leave the leaves on. When you brew it, use a low flame and let it simmer slowly until all the essence is out!"
"Auntie, please believe me! It really works! Look, I even tried it myself. The grass juice stopped my cuts from getting infected! It will definitely work for Uncle! Only bad daddies deserve bad luck!"
Auntie Pang looked down at the little girl in her arms, covered from head to toe in mud, and her heart ached with a warm, bittersweet feeling.
She gritted her teeth, a sharp sting in her nose, and suddenly pulled the child into a tight embrace.
'Who cares if it works or not?'
'This heartfelt gesture is too precious. I, Zhang Yunhua, can't let her down today, no matter what!'
'Even if we really have to pack up and leave tomorrow, I have to see this through first!'
"Alright! Auntie will trust you this time!"
She sniffled, wiped a tear from the corner of her eye, and nodded forcefully.
She gritted her teeth, took the clump of grass, and turned to walk toward her kitchen.
Arriving at the stove, she meticulously scrubbed the mud off the grass, stalk by stalk.
Then, she followed the method Shanshan had stammeringly described earlier.
The roots, along with the small clump of black mud attached to them, were all tossed into the pot.
She added fresh water, lit the stove, and sat on a small stool, letting it simmer slowly.
Flames licked the bottom of the pot as tiny bubbles gradually began to form in the water.
A faint, grassy aroma drifted up with the steam.
Before long, Yang Dapeng returned.
He wore a slightly worn military uniform, his shoulders were a bit stooped, and his complexion was somewhat sallow.
When he pushed the door open, he immediately saw the bowl of steaming medicinal broth on the table and froze.
"What... is this?"
He frowned, staring at the bowl's contents.
Auntie Pang quickly explained the whole story behind the medicine from beginning to end.
From Shanshan gathering the grass on the back mountain, to her bursting into their home covered in mud, to her insistence that he drink this bowl of medicine.
Her voice grew more emotional as she spoke, and her eyes reddened slightly.
After hearing the full story from his wife, Yang Dapeng couldn't help but give a bitter laugh and shake his head.
"Yun Hua, you're actually listening to a three-year-old? Even the doctors at the city hospital couldn't do anything about my condition... It's nerve damage. I can't recover much from it. This grass...
"Isn't this just some old wives' tale for tricking kids?"
He used to be the best in his unit, always coming in first in physical fitness tests, and his aim was so precise it was like his bullets had eyes.
His teammates all said it was only a matter of time before he was promoted to an officer position.
But ever since he was severely injured on that mission, the nerves in his lumbar spine had been damaged by the impact.
Although he had survived, his body could never return to its former state.
Now, forget about running five kilometers with a rifle; even carrying a twenty-pound bag of rice was a struggle.
He was no longer assigned to any important missions, and someone else had even quietly taken over his guard duty shifts.
Now, he could only handle some clerical work, spending his days in the office copying documents.
The couple had actually already discussed it in private.
Once the paperwork was processed, he would be discharged from the military and they would return to their hometown.
They would build a pigpen next to the old family house, grow some vegetables, raise a few chickens, and live a quiet, stable life.
"Let's treat it as a last-ditch effort!"
Auntie Pang forcefully pushed the bowl forward.
"Are you just going to throw away the child's kind gesture like that? Besides... it smells quite fresh. It definitely won't hurt your stomach."
Yang Dapeng looked at the light in his wife's eyes, and a lump formed in his throat. In the end, he couldn't bring himself to say another word of refusal.
He took the bowl and gently blew on the steam to cool it.
Then he closed his eyes, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one go.
As the liquid slid into his mouth, the bitterness he expected never came.
It wasn't bitter at all; in fact, it was slightly sweet and refreshing.
It was pleasantly warm as it went down his throat.
That night, Yang Dapeng was surprised to find that his limbs weren't as stiff as they usually were.
He tried raising his arm, and the movement was actually a bit nimbler than it had been in days.
When he lay down, his mind didn't feel as foggy and muddled as before.
"Yun Hua..."
He propped himself up, his voice trembling.
"I think... the tightness in my chest is gone, and I can put some strength in my arms... Do you think I'm just imagining things?"
Auntie Pang, who had been sewing a shoe insole with her head down, suddenly froze, her needle and thread stopping mid-stitch.
Hearing this, she shot her head up, grabbed the kerosene lamp with her calloused hand, and held it close to her husband's face, her eyes wide as she examined him from side to side.
"Really? What's different? Tell me! Is the numbness in your leg better? Is your heartbeat steady? Is your breathing smooth?"
"I can't say exactly what it is, but... my body feels lighter. It's not heavy and sluggish all day like it used to be, where I'd get winded just from moving a little. Even my breathing is smoother now."
Yang Dapeng tried raising his arm again; the movement was much more flexible than before.
He slowly raised his hand above his head and then squeezed it into a tight fist.
His joints were no longer stiff, and even his chronically aching wrist felt much better.
Moreover, there was a faint warmth spreading from his lower abdomen.
The sensation was faint, but for Yang Dapeng, who had been plagued by illness for so long, it was a feeling he hadn't experienced in years!
The couple looked at each other, their eyes lighting up.
"Could it be... that grass actually works?"
Auntie Pang whipped her head around to look at Shanshan, who was happily munching on a fragrant, golden cornbread.
"Shanshan! My sweet baby! You're our family's lucky star!"
Auntie Pang rushed over in a few steps and threw her arms around the small, still-chewing figure, her eyes red with excitement.
"Your uncle said he feels so much better! His back doesn't hurt, he has strength in his legs, and he can even stand up and take a few steps on his own, did you know that!"
Shanshan was so stunned by the kisses that she almost dropped her cornbread.
Then, she puffed out her chubby little chest and lifted her chin, which was dotted with cornbread crumbs.
"I told you it would work! Uncle will definitely get better!"
'Hmph, this Dragon baby personally crossed mountains to find this Spirit Grass. Curing a mere mortal's minor illness is a piece of cake, isn't it?'
Yang Dapeng also broke into a heartfelt smile.
His gaze toward Shanshan was filled with gratitude.
"Yes, it's all thanks to our Shanshan."
he said in a low voice, which was slightly choked with emotion.
"This child is a little lucky charm! A treasure sent to us by heaven."
That evening, Auntie Pang specially made a bowl of steamed egg custard for Shanshan.
The two of them surrounded her, showering her with praise and laughter.
Outside the wall, a little girl was pouting and eavesdropping, her heart filled with jealousy.
She had come specifically to watch them make a fool of themselves.
But the scene before her was the complete opposite of what she had expected.
'In the end, not only did these stupid adults not kick her out, but they're treating her like a treasure?'
'They're really blind!'
The more Su Jiajia thought about it, the angrier she became, and she couldn't help but grind her back teeth.
Su Jiajia sneered and spat on the ground.
"A country bumpkin is a country bumpkin. Daring to put on airs with some useless weeds!"
To her, the so-called "Spirit Grass" was nothing more than a pile of weeds.
Yet, those adults actually believed it and were now fawning all over Shanshan!
「The next morning.」
Shanshan remembered dreaming last night about another patch of Dragon Beard Grass growing in a small pit, so she wanted to go dig some more.
She hadn't slept soundly. Deep in her mind, an image of a misty hillside kept appearing.
At the bottom of the slope was a small, collapsed pit where a few vibrant green, slender leaves poked out from between the cracks of a rock.
They were fragmented memories left over from her Dragon Clan bloodline, faintly calling to her.