On the day that little Youbao turned three, he received a gift from his grandfather.

A palm-sized bluestone mill trough with smooth edges was specially made by Su Huaishan from an old stonemason.

"From now on, you will be an official assistant at Jishengtang."

Su Huaishan carried her to the high stool behind the counter and taught her how to hold the grinding wheel step by step, "Turn gently and grind slowly."

Youbao, wearing a small apron with a licorice pattern, held the grinding wheel in his hands and pressed it down hard. "Grandpa, what are you grinding?"

"Grind some hawthorn today."

Su Huaishan scooped out a few hawthorns from the medicine cabinet and put them into the small grinding trough. "Doesn't Youbao always say it tastes sour and sweet? Grind it into powder and make some water for you to drink."

Youbao's eyes lit up, and he used his arms to turn the grinding wheel vigorously. The hawthorns rolled back and forth in the trough, making a rustling sound.

She was still muttering to herself, "Hawthorn, hawthorn, change, change, become pink and sweet!"

As soon as Shi Heng and Su Niannian walked into the pharmacy, they were amused by the scene.

Shi Heng leaned against the counter and took out his phone to record a video. "Our Youbao is now a tool-rich person."

"Look, Daddy!" Youbao raised his little hand that was stained with hawthorn crumbs, "It's almost done!"

Su Huaishan smiled and helped her straighten the mill wheel. "Go slowly, don't grind the hawthorns out. Look at the grain, you have to follow the groove, just like the little rabbit in the story walking along the path."

Youbao seemed to understand but not quite, but he learned it very well.

After grinding the hawthorn into a fine red powder, she ran to Su Niannian holding the small grinding trough and said, "Mommy, try it!"

Su Niannian put some in her mouth and squinted her eyes deliberately, "Hmm, sour and sweet, better than the hawthorn slices bought from the supermarket!"

"Youbao milled it!" The little guy puffed out his chest and went to find Shi Heng with the mill trough, "Dad, write a story!"

Shi Heng was currently writing the "Plant and Tree Workshop" series of fairy tales, and he immediately nodded when he heard this.

"Okay, let's write 'The Little Helper's Hawthorn Powder'. It's about a little apron-wearing pharmacist who grinds hawthorns into powder and gives it to a little bear in the forest who doesn't like to eat."

Youbao clapped his hands when he heard this, "And Grandpa! Grandpa taught me how to grind hawthorns!"

"Add more! You must add more!" Shi Heng scratched her little nose, "Grandpa is the most powerful master."

From that day on, Jishengtang had a permanent feature.

Every morning, Xiao Youbao would move her small grinding trough and sit behind the counter.

When grandpa was grinding medicine, she would follow him and count the herbs in her mouth, "This is Poria cocos, white; that is Artemisia argyi, a little fragrant; Grandpa, what is this black thing?"

"This is cooked rehmannia," Su Huaishan showed her, holding up a piece. "It's made from raw rehmannia soaked in wine and steamed. It replenishes qi and blood. Look how soft it is. Doesn't it resemble the black glutinous rice cake you love?"

Youbao leaned in to smell it and shook his head, "It doesn't smell like glutinous rice cake."

This made all the old neighbors who were getting medicine in the pharmacy laugh.

One day, Shi Heng came to pick up Youbao and saw her standing on tiptoe to hand a medicine bag to an old lady.

The old lady was holding a prescription for treating cough, which contained Fritillaria cirrhosa.

"Grandma, this requires steamed pears."

Youbao's baby voice was serious, "Daddy told me in a story that if a baby Fritillaria hides in a pear, it can get rid of a cough."

The old lady smiled until her eyes narrowed into slits. "This little kid is more effective than medicine. After listening to you, my throat feels much better."

Su Huaishan added, "This kid has a good memory. A few days ago, he heard me telling someone about the recipe for stewed pears with Fritillaria cirrhosa, and he remembered it today."

Shi Heng walked over and secretly gave his daughter a thumbs up.

As soon as Chen Fang entered the pharmacy, Youbao stopped her and said, "Grandma, look at my new skills!"

She brought over the small grinding trough and scooped a handful of malt into it. "This helps digestion, Grandpa said so!"

Chen Fang squatted across from her, watching her struggling to turn the mill wheel, and said, "Our Youbao is almost becoming a little pharmacist. When grandma has indigestion in the future, will she ask you to prescribe medicine?"

"Okay!" Youbao nodded immediately and handed her the ground malt powder in a small paper bag. "This is sweet. Grandma, drink it with water and you won't get sick."

When closing the store in the evening, Su Huaishan braided Youbao's hair.

She suddenly pointed to the atlas of medicinal herbs on the wall and said, "Grandpa, we haven't talked about that."

The picture shows Coptis chinensis, with green leaves and yellow roots.

Su Huaishan pointed to her and said, "This is Coptis chinensis. It's a bit bitter, but it can clear away heat and detoxify. It's like the somewhat fierce guardian beast in the story. Although it looks scary, it is protecting everyone."

Youbao blinked, "How about I grind the coptis root tomorrow?"

"That won't do. Coptis chinensis is too bitter. Youbao is still young. He can learn it when he grows up."

When they went to bed at night, Youbao lay in Shiheng's arms and whispered, "Dad, is Huanglian a guardian beast?"

"Yes." Shi Heng patted her back gently, "It doesn't look good, and it doesn't taste good, but it can help sick people get better."

Youbao thought about it and suddenly said, "Does the Coptis chinensis beast in the story also laugh? Just like my grandfather, who sometimes has a stern face but makes hawthorn powder for me."

Shi Heng's heart seemed to be hit by something, warm and soft.

He kissed the top of his daughter's head and said, "Tomorrow Dad will write 'The Smiling Coptis Beast', saying that although it is bitter, it secretly hides sweet thoughts in the medicinal soup."

Youbao smiled and got into the quilt, "Youbao should be added! Youbao will give the Huanglian beast hawthorn powder to make it sweet!"

"Okay, add it in."

Shi Heng looked at his daughter and suddenly felt that in the past two years, Youbao had not only learned about medicinal herbs, but also the gentleness hidden in these plants.

My grandfather’s patience when grinding the medicine, the trust of the neighbors when they took the medicine packages, and the laughter of the family when they sat together.

These, perhaps better than any other stories, can teach her what is sweet in life.

The next morning, Youbao moved her small grinding trough and sat in the pharmacy again.

Shi Heng took out an exquisite wooden box from his bag, "Youbao, this is a gift from Daddy."

Youbao couldn't wait to open the box, and inside was a set of mini medicine tools:

A small medicine scale, a small copper mortar, and a small medicine spoon are all made in scaled-down proportions.

"Wow!" she exclaimed in surprise, "It's the same one the little medicine boy used in Dad's story!"

Su Huaishan picked up the small copper mortar and took a look. "This is really finely crafted. Even the scale is engraved on it. From now on, Youbao can grind the medicine and weigh it at the same time."

Shi Heng squatted down and helped his daughter place the small medicine scale next to the grinding trough. "When Dad writes a new story, I'll tell the story of a little medicine boy using these tools to prepare medicine for the little animals in the forest."

Youbao happily poured the hawthorn powder onto the small medicine scale and imitated his grandfather, moving the weight. "Three grams! For the little rabbit!"

Su Niannian walked in and couldn't help laughing when she saw this scene, "You guys are going to train Youbao to be a little miracle doctor."

Youbao seemed to understand, and he held up the mill wheel and said loudly: "Youbao needs to learn a lot of medicine and write a lot of stories!"

When writing the story at night, Shi Heng deliberately added the daytime segment into "The New Home of the Fritillaria Baby".

The poem ends with the following line: "The best prescription is the earnestness of the young helper and the smile of the old lady."