Chapter 110: So You Can Talk

"I can't." Although Liu Mao was kneeling, his back was straight.

The more Sang Yu looked at him, the more strange it seemed to her. His temperament didn't seem like that of a gangster at all, so how could he have fallen into such a state?

"You said you wouldn't do it? How can I believe you?"

There was another long silence, and the only sound was the sound of rain falling on the roof tiles.

Liu Mao prepared himself for a long time before finally speaking: "Since my great-grandfather, my family has been soldiers for generations. I will never do anything ungrateful."

After he finished speaking, his originally straight back suddenly bent down, as if something he had always been proud of in his heart was completely shattered.

He thought that after he finished speaking, Sang Yu would immediately question the truthfulness of his words, but she did not ask any questions for a long time, and seemed to be still mumbling something.

Listening carefully, she was counting the words in his sentence on her fingers.

"Twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five, wow! You actually said twenty-five words in one sentence. It turns out you can speak." Sang Yu looked at him in surprise. He has always been taciturn, and she thought he couldn't speak long sentences.

"..." Liu Mao was speechless for a while. He just didn't like to talk, not that he couldn't speak.

The knife on his neck was suddenly pulled away, and Sang Yu stood aside holding the knife and looked at him with a smile.

The little face tucked under the bamboo hat seemed only the size of a palm, looking delicate and cute, with no sign that she had just held a kitchen knife to someone's neck.

"Are you going to let me go just like that?" Liu Mao was a little stunned. Are you going to let him go so easily?

"I believe what you say. You can't lie to people about what's in your bones. Don't do this job anymore. Don't let your family lose face."

Ever since he mentioned that his family had been in the military for generations, Sang Yu knew where the sense of familiarity about him came from.

That is the unique temperament of a soldier, with a firm gaze, an upright posture, and never backing down in the face of any difficulties.

"But I need money." Liu Mao pursed his lips and continued kneeling there without moving.

How could he not know what he was doing? Every New Year, his mother would ask him to worship his ancestors, but he only dared to put up some offerings and then run away from home.

He was afraid that his ancestors would find out how many immoral things he had done that went against the family tradition, and that his father would tell him in his dreams at night that he was an unfilial son.

But he still hung out with that group of ruffians because that was the way he could make more money faster.

"What's wrong with your mother?"

Sang Yu suddenly felt a little sympathy. He fell into his current situation simply because his mother was seriously ill and lacked money. Perhaps from a modern perspective, she could think of some other solutions.

Liu Mao spat out two words: "Xu Lao."

He consulted doctors everywhere, and the conclusion they all came to was that he was suffering from exhaustion.

Long-term excessive worry damaged his heart and spleen, causing deficiency of qi and blood. In addition, long-term physical labor consumed qi and blood. Finally, when he received the news that his father died in the southwest battlefield, he completely collapsed and fell ill.

This disease can cause people to have a persistent high fever and become delirious. Only precious medicinal herbs such as ginseng can cure it, but the required dosage is too large and he cannot afford it.

Consumption? Sang Yu's eyes lit up. She knew this disease.

She once went to the hospital to visit an elder who was hospitalized due to illness. It was not a serious illness. After the operation, the elder recovered well, but suffered from mild consumptive disease.

As a chef, she couldn't visit patients empty-handed, so she researched what consumptive disease was and whether there were any medicinal foods that could help with it.

Thinking of the herbs she used to make herbal remedies, Sang Yu guessed and asked, "What herbs will your mother use? Ginseng?"

Liu Mao nodded slightly. It's not just ginseng, there are many other expensive medicinal herbs, but ginseng is the most expensive and costly.

His mother's illness was like a bottomless pit. He couldn't earn enough money to pay for the medicine through legitimate means. He had no other choice but to join those people. At least they could make money quickly.

Even so, his mother's condition was not good. She could only be considered to be hanging on to life. If the medicine ran out one day, his mother would probably not live long.

"Haven't you tried any other method?" Sang Yu realized he had said something out of turn as soon as he asked the question.

That was his biological mother. After she fell ill, she must have tried every possible method. In the end, she had no choice but to use ginseng to keep her alive.

Liu Mao shook his head and said nothing more, still kneeling there.

The rainwater accumulated on the ground continued to flow up along his knees, and the clothes around his abdomen and thighs were already soaked.

"I know this disease, and there are some methods that I don't know if they can be considered as formulas. Do you want to listen to them?" Sang Yu felt that he should help if he could.

"I hope you can give me some advice." Liu Mao knelt down on the ground and lay down in the muddy water.

The paved roads in the alleys are not as smooth as the main roads. The gaps between the bricks and stones are full of yellow soil, which becomes muddy when washed by rainwater.

Sang Yu quickly helped him up: "I know some recipes for dietary supplements. After all, fatigue is just a physical weakness that requires more nutrition."

"When you go back, you can try to cook some food for your mother according to the recipe I taught you. As for whether it will work, I really can't say for sure."

She could see that Liu Mao was not a bad person, nor did he have any murderous aura, and that he had fallen into his current situation because of his mother's illness. For this reason, she was willing to do her best to help.

"Tell me what symptoms your mother has." Dietary supplements must be classified according to the disease type, otherwise it is easy to make mistakes.

When talking about his mother's illness, Liu Mao became a different person and started talking without hesitation: "My mother sweats a lot and looks pale. She can't sleep at night and has palpitations. She always complains of being cold even in the hottest summer."

Well, not only is Qi and blood deficient, but Yang is also deficient.

Sang Yu thought carefully for a moment and said, "I'll tell you a few medicinal names for you to remember: ginseng, white atractylodes, poria, licorice, rehmannia, angelica, chuanxiong, white peony root, eight herbs, add dried ginger, and cook with the chicken."

Liu Mao, who originally had the mentality of giving it a try, changed his expression when he heard her fluently recite the names of Chinese medicines, some of which overlapped with the herbs in the prescription the doctor wrote for his mother.

He asked solemnly, "Have you studied pharmacology?"

Sang Yu waved her hand. She didn't know anything about pharmacology. "I'm a cook, so I naturally know a little about nourishing medicinal food. If you're not sure about this recipe, take it to the pharmacy to have a look and then decide whether to use it or not."

After saying that, she was about to leave. She didn't know if her father was still waiting for her at the west city gate. After wasting so long, it was time to go back.

"Alright, you haven't done me any real harm, so go now. I should be going home too. My dad must be getting anxious after not seeing me for so long."

She turned decisively and walked into the alley, no longer caring whether Liu Mao came or went.