The Abandoned Daughter's Second Chance

Mo Xiaoman was dumbfounded with joy when she discovered she could actually bring the lotus leaves out. ’This means Grandma will be able to see again soon! The Spirit Lord said that drinking water boiled with lotus leaves from Little Spring Lake would cure her after about ten times! If she has it every day, Grandma will be able to see within half a month!’

Xiao Man almost lost control and wanted to scream. Standing on the sunning-ground, she took a deep breath. Only then did she feel the exhaustion and soreness in her body. Her bones and muscles ached all over, and her head was spinning... ’Right. Entering the space consumes too much spiritual power. I don’t even know how many days it’ll be until I can go in again. I was too hasty!’

She walked into the kitchen step by step. While starting the fire and boiling water, she sat down to rest. She put the lotus leaves into the boiling water, and would give it to Grandma to drink once it had cooled.

Surprisingly, Grandma recognized the scent of lotus leaves. She asked Xiao Man if she had snuck out to pick them from someone else’s pond.

Picking a few lotus leaves wasn’t a big deal. Grandma was just worried that if Xiao Man went out, she would get beaten up by Mo Xiaoqiang and his gang.

"You child, you’re not listening again. What if you get hit by a rock and get hurt? School is about to start, you can’t miss it! Your Grandpa isn’t home, so don’t go anywhere. When school starts, your Grandpa won’t be going to the reservoir anymore. He’ll be able to take you to and from school. Only then can you go out!"

As Grandma nagged, Xiao Man took the empty bowl from her hand and said with a smile, "Grandma, I just ran out for a little while before dawn. Everyone was still asleep then. What’s he going to do, beat me up in his dreams?"

"You can’t be careless! Liu Fengying is cruel-hearted, and the son she raised is no pushover either. Guo Qiang was quite obedient when he was a child, but that Mo Xiaoqiang is nothing like his father. When I used to live in that courtyard, I heard him making a ruckus all the time. He has a terrible temper!"

"Grandma, it’s fine! I’m two years older than Mo Xiaoqiang, after all. If we really got into a fight, I wouldn’t be afraid!"

"Don’t you dare actually fight him. Boys are naturally stronger than girls. Being two years older won’t make a difference."

"I could definitely beat him! I’ve been putting up with him these past few days only because I’m afraid of an accident, like getting a bloody head or something, which would just make things difficult for Grandpa again! What happened with Mo Xiaofeng wasn’t my fault to begin with, but Grandpa still took on a public debt for her. If I actually hurt Mo Xiaoqiang, we wouldn’t have any money for medical bills!"

"Your Grandpa... SIGH!" Grandma sighed, a little sad. "Don’t be fooled by how your Grandpa acts. He says he doesn’t mind that I didn’t give him a son, but he still cares a lot about carrying on the family line! He’s always thought of Guo Qiang and Mo Er as the ones to continue this branch of the Mo family, so he gives them his all... After all these years, it should be enough. They’ve already started their own families and careers. But we’re old now. How much more can we do for them?"

Xiao Man fell silent for a moment. She felt it was best not to continue this topic. Her eyes darted about, and she said, "Grandma, that sour goji berry soup you’ve been drinking these past few days? Grandpa told me to make it for you. He said drinking that kind of soup regularly is good for your eyes! He was never home much before, so he didn’t have time to make these things. Besides, he didn’t often find goji berries. They’re hard to pick and it takes a lot of time... But this time he found some in a deep valley and had me boil them for you. And the faintly sweet loofah flower soup, the fragrant wild chrysanthemum tea, and this morning’s lotus leaf soup—I saw other people having them and asked Grandpa, and he said they were okay for you to drink. Sometimes I boil them separately, and sometimes I mix a few ingredients together. Grandma, which one do you think tastes better?"

Granny Mo smiled. "They’re all very good. Any soup my Xiao Man makes tastes wonderful! Even if you didn’t put anything in it, just plain boiled water would be delicious! But your Grandpa... goji berries on the mountain are hard to pick, and he’s not one to waste time. For him, picking a handful of goji berries isn’t as profitable as pulling up a few stalks of black-leaf grass from the weeds!"

"Grandpa says that for herbs, the direction they grow in and the terrain matter a lot. The same herb growing in different places will have a different medicinal effect! Take these goji berries, for example. There are tons of them on the mountain, and Grandpa usually doesn’t even bother picking them when he sees them. But this time, the few goji trees he came across were growing in a very special place, so he picked them! It took him half a day just to pick four or five pounds, and after they’re dried, there’s even less! But these goji berries are amazing—their medicinal effect is more than ten times that of ordinary ones!"

Grandma couldn’t help but laugh. "You child. For so many years, no one in this big family has ever been interested in your Grandpa’s herbs, but you’ve actually taken a liking to them!"

"These last few days, I’ve been helping Grandpa organize the herb room and dry the herbs. Grandpa has taught me to identify a lot of them. I think it’s great! If I have the chance in the future, I’d like to study medicine too. Then if Grandpa and Grandma feel unwell, I can treat you myself, and we won’t have to spend money at the hospital!"

"Good, good! Xiao Man has ambition. Grandpa and Grandma both support you!"

Since she wasn’t allowed to go out, after finishing her chores, Xiao Man lay down on the stone platform under the pear tree. She flipped through the textbook she had borrowed from Mo Shuixia and, after a while, she actually fell asleep.

Grandma was afraid she would run off if she were awake, so she didn’t disturb her, letting her sleep for two hours. When Xiao Man woke up on her own, she drank some spiritual spring water and felt her body loosen up, no longer so tired.

At Noon, Xiao Man cooked congee and made two dishes: pan-fried eggplant and sour bamboo shoots with shredded chili and stir-fried sweet potato shoots. Grandma loved the eggplant, and Grandpa loved the sweet potato shoots. Xiao Man ate everything. They only had one or two dishes per meal, but the portions were large, and they always finished every last bite.

Fortunately, they had a vegetable garden. Xiao Man mixed spiritual spring water into the watering can. The mustard greens, water spinach, sweet potato shoots, eggplants, tomatoes, peppers, ginger, green onions, and celery, which someone had planted long ago, had been on the verge of dying. Now, they were growing lush and full of life, enough to feed the family of three until the autumn vegetables were ready.

Just as she placed the dishes on the table, she heard Grandpa’s call. Xiao Man ran out of the kitchen and saw Grandma, using a bamboo pole to feel her way, had already reached the middle of the courtyard. ’Just let her be,’ she thought. ’Truthfully, Grandma really wants to do something for Grandpa.’

She turned back to the kitchen, ladled out three bowls of congee, and set them on the table. Once Grandpa and Grandma washed their hands and came inside, they could eat.

But a clamor of shouting suddenly erupted from the courtyard, each voice louder than the last. Xiao Man went out to look and saw Liu Fengying and Second Aunt Mo. They had brought their respective children into the yard and were standing on the sunning-ground with hands on their hips, cursing at each other!

’These annoying troublemakers are here again! They actually barged in just as Grandma was opening the gate for Grandpa!’

Grandpa, carrying a full basket on his back, helped Grandma back into the house, having no time to deal with them. While the two women cursed at each other, Mo Xiaoqiang and the other boys started butting heads and fighting. Mo Xiaosu was against Mo Xiao Zhi. Mo Xiaohua ran to pick a rose, but its thorns pricked her hand. Furious, Mo Xiaohua turned, grabbed a piece of firewood, and started beating the flower-laden trellis with all her might!

’That’s enough!’

Xiao Man climbed onto the stone platform and shouted down from above, "What do you think you’re doing? If you want to fight, go back to your own homes and fight! Don’t cause a scene at my house!"