Chapter 19: Too Wicked
"Bad Dad, why are you asking? Are you trying to hurt Uncle?"
Shanshan didn’t beat around the bush. Her little face grew serious, and her eyes widened as she questioned him directly.
"Since you want to know, I’ll just tell you."
"What medicine?"
Cao Daqiang paused for a moment, his brow furrowing slightly.
’Looks like there’s some truth to the saying, "Blood is thicker than water." A man’s own daughter is different from an outsider, after all. Even if she’s usually mischievous and always stirring up trouble, she’ll show her true feelings when it counts.’
"It’s the herb I picked for Uncle. This is it."
Her tone was light, and her face was filled with an innocent smile.
As she spoke, she skipped out from behind a tree and pulled out a small, wilted weed.
The stalk was thin and weak. Its leaves were already yellowed and curled, the edges showing dry, cracked lines.
"You little brat, you dare to mess with me!"
Cao Daqiang’s expression instantly darkened.
He charged forward in a few steps, his feet kicking up a cloud of dust.
His hand rose high, about to strike Shanshan’s small, still-smiling face.
But why would Shanshan just stand there and take a beating?
She was a clever child who had grown up running wild in the woods.
With a push from her short legs and a tap of her toes, she deftly shuffled back a couple of steps.
As she dodged, she lifted her face, her big, dark eyes wide, and shouted, "You’re not allowed to bully Shanshan! Shanshan is a child, you can’t hit me!"
With a little flick of the hand hidden behind her back, Cao Daqiang’s feet slipped from under him, and he instantly lost his balance.
His pupils contracted. He instinctively flailed his arms in the air but found nothing to grab onto, able only to watch helplessly as he pitched forward.
The winter ground was frozen as hard as an iron plate, covered in a thick layer of frost.
A dull thud echoed through the woods as his body hit the ground hard.
The forest floor was uneven, riddled with tree roots and clumps of earth.
To make matters worse, he once again landed face-first on a protruding clod of dirt.
His nose took the brunt of the impact, hitting it head-on.
He had just injured it a few days ago, and the bridge of his nose was still aching. Now, a new injury was piled on top of the old one.
A sharp pain shot straight to his head, and his vision momentarily went black.
The worst of it was his mouth. The hard edge of the dirt clod slammed into his lips and teeth.
He had instinctively turned his head to protect himself, avoiding a direct hit and saving his teeth from being knocked out completely.
But two of his upper right incisors were now loose and wobbly, sending a piercing pain through him with the slightest movement.
Warm, thick blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
"Hee hee hee, you’re so dumb!"
Shanshan was doubled over with laughter, clutching her stomach as her shoulders shook.
’Hmph, I bet you remember throwing me on the ground before, don’t you? This time, I’ve paid you back. Now we’re even!’
Cao Daqiang’s face flushed crimson with humiliation, and even the tips of his ears felt like they were on fire.
He scrambled up wretchedly and turned to leave, his steps staggering, yet he stubbornly straightened his back.
’That girl is uncanny, a complete jinx. Every time I get near her, even if I just glance at her, something bad is bound to happen. I have to get her away from here as soon as possible, the farther the better. Otherwise, something terrible will happen sooner or later!’
By the time he got home, his body was stiff from the cold, and streaks of undried blood still marked his face.
Liu Yingzi was sitting in the main room mending clothes. When she looked up and saw the state he was in, she leaped up in fright, her needle and thread scattering all over the floor.
"Oh my god! You’re bleeding again?! Did you get into a fight? Who hit you? Sit down! Don’t just stand there, what if you faint!"
Liu Yingzi’s words were full of disdain, things like "always causing trouble" and "only know how to make a mess."
But her actions didn’t slow down one bit.
She rushed into the inner room, rummaged through their belongings to find the old red first-aid box, and took out iodine and cotton swabs. Muttering, "It’s my bitter fate to be stuck with a man like you," she carefully began to clean his wounds.
"It’s nothing. It was just too cold, and I accidentally bumped into the threshold on my way out. The wound from yesterday hadn’t healed properly, so it probably split open with just a light touch."
Cao Daqiang kept his head down, calmly making up an excuse to brush it off.
「Meanwhile, on a mountain path elsewhere.」
Shanshan was happily skipping her way home, her feet making a CRUNCH CRUNCH sound in the snow.
She carried a small cloth bag, washed until it was faded and now bulging with its contents.
"Auntie! I’m back!"
Zhang Yunhua had just finished her chores and was sitting inside, eagerly waiting for her.
A kettle on the stove was steaming, and a meal was already being kept warm in the pot.
As soon as she heard that familiar voice, she shot up from her chair.
She rushed towards the door, but before she even reached it, Shanshan burst into the room.
"Auntie, look! I got the herbs Uncle needs, and there’s so much! It wasn’t easy, I had to climb several hills. Good thing I remembered what they all look like, just like you said. I didn’t get a single one wrong!"
She upended the cloth bag onto the table, and the herbs tumbled out, covering its surface.
There was wild codonopsis, bupleurum, honeysuckle, and even a few stalks of pinellia root that weren’t quite dry, all giving off a faint, fresh, earthy scent.
Zhang Yunhua looked at the little girl’s small hands, red, swollen, and caked with mud. Her fingernails were packed with dirt, and the backs of her hands were covered in fine scratches. A pang of sorrow went through her heart.
"Silly child, are the herbs more important than your hands? Look at them, all frozen purple and bruised... I already have hot water ready for you. Come wash your hands, then have something hot to eat and warm up."
"Okay! I was starving the moment I walked in! My tummy is growling!"
The little girl giggled, kicked off her shoes, and hopped over to the washbasin. As she scrubbed her hands, she looked up at Zhang Yunhua.
After dinner, the two of them squatted in the warm kitchen, watching over the medicine pot.
The stove fire crackled, and the medicinal brew in the clay pot bubbled away.
Outside, the sky had grown dark, and a cold wind rattled the paper-paned windows.
"Auntie, after Uncle drinks a few more doses of this medicine, he’ll be all better."
Shanshan held a bowl of freshly made sweet egg soup with brown sugar, puffing on it to cool it down.
Seeing Zhang Yunhua’s brow still furrowed with worry, she broke into a wide grin, revealing two cute little canines.
"Really?"
"Of course! Shanshan never lies! If I’m lying, I’m a puppy!"
The words had barely left her mouth when a sudden gust of cold wind blew the kitchen door open.
The door slammed against the wall with a BANG, and a frigid draft poured in, extinguishing the oil lamp on the table.
Both of them shivered at the same time.
Yang Dapeng hurried in, pushed the door shut, and made sure to secure it with the wooden bolt.
He stomped the snow off his feet and looked up to see his wife and Shanshan huddled together, talking and laughing. A warmth spread through his chest, and the corners of his mouth turned up unconsciously.
Shanshan immediately scooted over, making a little space and patting the spot beside her.
"Uncle, come sit over here! It’s warmest right here! The fire keeps your back from getting cold!"
"Aww, our Shanshan is so thoughtful. So well-behaved and sweet."
Yang Dapeng grinned from ear to ear, the wrinkles on his face smoothing out.
Zhang Yunhua, sitting beside them, was also beaming, her eyes crinkling into happy crescents.