Chapter 188: Chapter 190: Administration of Medicine

That’s why she felt a growing pity for Tang Yuxin now.

Tang Yuxin also sensed Xu’s mother’s kindness, but she guessed that behind this kindness was perhaps just sympathy. She didn’t need sympathy, and it wasn’t her fault for not having a mother. The fault laid on that woman.

What good would such a mother do anyway?

She knew she would just end up like a wilting cabbage in a field. Therefore, she might as well stay by her father’s side and grow into a stout radish, strong enough to hit someone with each blow.

After the Xu and Chen families had left, Sisi hid at the door, her eyes watery.

Tang Yuxin reached out and tugged at Sisi’s braided hair. “Why are you so reluctant to leave? When your sister went to school, you were all smiles, practically telling her to get lost.”

Sisi covered her little face, feeling embarrassed as if she was being made fun of, and ran off to find her mother.

Tang Yuxin picked up her bamboo basket and prepared to climb the mountain next to Li Tang Village. This mountain, which other people might not find special, was a treasure trove to her.

In Tang Yuxin’s eyes, indeed, this was a treasure mountain. She wondered how long this mountain had been here and how many years, thousands or even tens of thousands, it had stood.

The fierce beasts in the mountain had grown rare over time, even the lions, tigers, and bears were almost nonexistent. However, the mountain was still home to countless herbs. For a long time, these herbs had been Chen Zhong’s primary source of livelihood which greatly helped Tang Yuxin as well.

This was indeed a treasure mountain in Tang Yuxin’s eyes.

Just as she was setting out, Sisi peeped out of the door.

“Bye-bye, sister,” she waved her little hand at Tang Yuxin. Tang Yuxin turned around to see an incredibly sweet smile on the little girl’s face; her eyes were filled with joy.

Where was the reluctance, the tears, the pleas for her not to go?

Ungrateful girl, she had wasted her affection.

Tang Yuxin quickened her pace. Today she had to gather more herbs, so she needed to move faster. Otherwise, by the time she came down the mountain, it could be dark.

What could be accomplished in one day should not be stretched to two, because life was too short. Before one could truly live, life slipped away.

She, who had lived to thirty-three in her previous life, cherished every day and every moment of this life, trying her best to make every second count.

She walked while collecting the herbs she needed. Just before dusk, she had managed to collect half a basket of herbs and took them home. Then she went into her small pharmacy to treat the herbs, some needed to be steamed, some needed to be placed in a cool and dry place, and others had to be sun-dried. In short, the ten types of herbs required ten different treatments.

Five days later, Xu Miaomiao and Chen Lidong visited. They couldn’t stay at home and wanted to learn more, preparing to push themselves harder next year to improve their performance.

The schedule Tang Yuxin arranged for them was to get up an hour earlier than usual to read. This was something she couldn’t supervise, nor could anyone else. It all came down to their self-discipline.

Progress required effort.

If one was reluctant to make an effort, then what gains could they expect?

Fortunately, these two were quite trustworthy and got up early as they had promised. When Tang Yuxin checked their progress, she found that they had memorized all the content she asked them to.

Chen Lidong lifted his chin, evidently proud of himself. “I get up a whole hour and a half earlier each morning to memorize because I know my memory isn’t very good. So, I need to put in more effort.”

Upon hearing this, Xu Miaomiao felt a sudden inspiration. Why hadn’t she thought of this? Tang Yuxin advised getting up an hour earlier, and that’s exactly what she had done, not willing to go an extra minute.

But Chen Lidong was clever enough to add an extra half hour to his studying schedule. She couldn’t allow him to surpass her. It would be embarrassing if someone who used to rank twelve places below her were to suddenly outperform her.

So she clenched her teeth firmly, deciding to get up an hour earlier starting from the next day, and even going to bed an hour later at night for reviewing.

Yes, that’s what she decided.

When they were about to leave, Chen Lidong and Sisi were once again reluctant to part. Were the two of them putting on a show? Watching them, Xu Miaomiao rolled her eyes. She had a feeling that Chen Lidong was quite keen on taking Sisi home and raising her. Didn’t he notice that Uncle Tang was glaring at him lately?

Be careful, or Uncle Tang will chase you away with a broom.

Who dares to so blatantly attempt to steal away someone else’s daughter?

At that moment, Tang Yuxin took something out from her room and handed it to Xu Sisi.

“What’s this?” Xu Sisi untied the small paper bag in her hand. When she opened to see what was inside, she found some brown pills, each the size of a wild grape and emitting a strong medicinal scent.

The smell was too much for Xu Sisi, quickly closing the bag to get some fresh air. She had never liked the taste of medicine. She required a large glass of water to swallow each small pill. If she had to take ten pills, she would drink so much water her stomach would be bloated.

So she was afraid of taking medication, and consequently, she was afraid of getting sick. When she was little and got sick, her parents would force her to take the medicine. Now, as she was older, she didn’t need her parents to supervise her medicine intake, but it was still as painful as ever.

People could see her compliance, but they could not understand the immense suffering she experienced deep down.

Just like now, not only did she not want to take the medicine, but she even felt nauseous just smelling it.

“I won’t eat it.”

She turned her face away and shoved the bag back at Tang Yuxin. She wouldn’t take the medication, not even if she died.

“It’s not for you. It’s for your mother,” Tang Yuxin shoved the bag into Xu Miaomiao’s hand. “Our village has a doctor who is a master of Chinese medicine. He is an expert at revitalizing the body. Give this to your mother; they are pills to regulate her menstruation. She should take one per day until her menstruation stops.”