As the sun sets, a wisp of afterglow falls from the sky, stretching the small figure to an extremely long length.
Hu Xiaocao was almost crushed by the basket behind him. In addition to pigweed, there was also firewood.
She walked hobblingly on the mountain road, holding a randomly picked dead branch in her left hand as a crutch, and occasionally pushing aside vines or plants that were blocking the road in front of her.
She looked around carefully, holding a drawing in her right hand, using the faint moonlight to compare it carefully from time to time, as if she was looking for something.
There is a plant drawn on the drawing, which looks a bit like an epiphyllum.
"Grandpa Wu, who was treating my mother, said that we need to find this kind of herb that blooms at night. I searched for a long time but didn't see it..."
Hu Xiaocao said to himself that the mountain road was difficult to travel, and it was night again, and the light was dim and unclear, making him stumbling all the way.
Even the hands and feet had countless small scars, all scratched by those sharp and thorny plants.
Hu Xiaocao seemed not to notice the pain, his eyes were focused, and he didn't notice that his clothes accidentally caught the branch next to him.
"Stab-"
In the silent night, the sound of tearing cloth was particularly obvious.
Seeing that the sleeve had a huge gash cut by the branch next to it, Hu Xiaocao couldn't help showing a distressed expression, "I have to mend my clothes again when I go back."
Hu Xiaocao couldn't help but sigh, a little discouraged.
"I don't know where the herbs that bloom at night that Grandpa Wu mentioned are..."
The mountains and forests at night are completely different from those during the day, as if they have changed. Everything has its yin and yang sides, without exception.
It was lush and green during the day, but at night, everything was soaked in the thick ink of the night, and the outlines of those tall trees gradually became blurred.
Like a strange shadow dormant in the dark, waiting for an opportunity to move, it stared at Hu Xiaocao below.
No matter how precocious he is, he is still only a half-grown child.
A chill came over Hu Xiaocao's back, and she suddenly thought of the stories about various mountain spirits and monsters that the old man in the village had told her before.
If you don't obey, the spirits in the mountain will take you away! They like to catch crying children the most...
Words like this are actually meant to scare children into being quiet and obedient.
However, due to the environment and location at this time, Hu Xiaocao was already wearing thin clothes, and the mountain breeze at night felt like someone was blowing air conditioner on the back of her neck.
The surrounding tree shadows swayed and whirled, as if they were clapping again, and there were many ghosts.
Hu Xiaocao couldn't help but shudder and retreated, "Forget it, otherwise I'd better go back."
As soon as this thought came to mind, Hu Xiaocao remembered the scene of her mother lingering on the sick bed, and she suddenly felt infinite courage in her heart.
She clenched her fists subconsciously, her eyes full of determination.
"No! I want to find herbs that bloom at night and bring them back to treat my mother's illness. This way, my mother can get better quickly and no longer have to drink those unpleasant medicines."
Hu Xiaocao looked at the bright moon above his head, put his hands together and bowed.
"Xiaocao is so good and obedient. Grandpa Mountain God, you will definitely bless me, right? Grandpa Mountain God, if you don't speak, Xiaocao means you acquiesce!"
Under the shining silver light, Hu Xiaocao took firm steps, but his small body carried the entire burden of life.
…
On the other side, in the southeast corner of Longyuan Village, there is a dilapidated thatched hut.
The exterior of the house is dilapidated. It can be said that there is no ventilation from all sides. Even the windows are covered with paper, as if they will fall down if the wind blows.
The large candlelight in the room barely illuminated the surrounding environment. In addition to a broken bed, there were chairs that were swaying with a few missing legs, and several broken bowls piled on the ground.
There are no other superfluous things, it can be said that the house is bare.
The room was filled with a strong smell of medicine. There was a brown earthen pot simmering next to it, and the smell of medicine came from inside.
The pale woman struggled to get up from the bed, leaning on the threshold and looking around, her expression full of worry.
"Xiaocao didn't say he went to cut pigweed. Why haven't he come back yet? Something must have happened."
"Ahem! No, I have to go take a look..."
The woman held a cane and just went out when she met Wu Yuan.
Wu Yuan looked at the woman and frowned, "Sister, why are you out here? Didn't I tell you that you should lie on the bed and have a good rest?"
Wu Yuan once learned some medical skills from a barefoot doctor in his early years. He was a somewhat capable doctor. If anyone in the village had a headache or fever, he would come to him.
"Uncle Wu——"
"Ahem!"
As soon as the woman opened her mouth, she didn't know if she had been swallowed by the cold wind, but a violent coughing sound burst out from her throat, as if her internal organs were about to be coughed out.
Wu Yuan quickly helped the person into the house, and poured the woman a bowl of medicine from the earthen jar. The brown juice was thick and had a strange smell.
The woman drank it without changing her expression, obviously she was used to it.
"I told you, your condition can't be cured. If it gets worse, there's nothing I can do."
After the woman drank it, her coughing was not so severe, but her face still looked bad.
She grabbed Wu Yuan's hand, her eyes full of panic, and she was so skinny, like a layer of bones wrapped in flesh, with the veins on it popping out.
"Uncle Wu, Xiaocao is missing. She went out today and said she was cutting pigweed, but she hasn't come back yet. Is she going to be okay?"
Wu Yuan didn't know what he thought of, and his expression suddenly changed, "Oops! Xiaocao won't go up the mountain."
"She pestered me a few days ago and insisted on drawing my medicinal materials. I just thought it was a child's curiosity and didn't think much about it, so I drew it for her..."
The name of the medicinal material in Chinese medicine is "evening primrose". It is a plant of the genus Evening Primrose in the family Onapaceae. It blooms at dusk or evening, hence the name. Both the petals and rhizomes can be used as medicine.
This kind of primer is missing in women's medicine, but evening primrose is relatively rare here, and Wu Yuan doesn't have it in stock, so he can only use other ingredients instead.
When the woman heard this, her eyes darkened and she almost fainted, "You mean, Xiaocao went up the mountain to collect medicine for me?!"
Amid the ups and downs of her mood, the woman's chest rose and fell violently, and her eyes were about to turn white.
When Wu Yuan saw that something was wrong, he quickly pinched the woman and gave her another sip of medicine. The woman felt much better.
The woman's eyes were red and she was sobbing, "What, what can I do? The mountains are so dangerous. I only have a daughter, Xiaocao. If something happens to her, I won't be able to survive..."
Wu Yuan comforted her: "Don't worry, sister, I will take people to find Xiaocao now. That girl is smart and clever. Ji Ren has his own destiny, and nothing will happen to her."
"Then I'm sorry to trouble you, Uncle Wu, we've caused you trouble again."
Wu Yuan waved his hand nonchalantly, "What you said is completely exaggerated. We are all fellow villagers."
The woman nodded with tears in her eyes, silently praying for Xiaocao in her heart.
