Xu Milu, female, 22 years old, a senior college graduate, is currently the temporary owner of a breakfast stall on the verge of bankruptcy in Northwest China.

And her golden touch, which was 22 years overdue, suddenly arrived.

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Upon learning that her mother, Liu Hongmei, was ill and hospitalized, Xu Milu immediately packed her bags and boarded a plane home from school.

"Yes, Auntie. How's my mom?... She's fine. I've already talked to my advisor. I'll come back after my graduation defense. I'm about to board the plane. We'll talk more when I get back."

After being kindly reminded by the flight attendant, Xu Milu reluctantly turned off her phone.

She sighed, hugged the blanket, closed her eyes to rest, but her mind was a jumbled mess.

Since Xu's father's accident, Liu Hongmei has been raising Xu Milu and her younger brother Xu Minian all by herself, running a breakfast shop.

Liu Hongmei paid for the tuition of both children with just a steamed bun and a mantou (a type of steamed bread). Her illness is probably related to her years of tireless work.

Xu Milu didn't know how her mother was doing, but those two short hours were incredibly agonizing for her.

She suddenly felt someone tugging at her sleeve, and opened her eyes in surprise, turning her head to look behind her.

It was a little boy, about five or six years old, sitting in the back seat, peeking at her through the gap in the seat with his big, dark eyes.

Xu Milu followed the other person's gaze and saw a Lego miniature lying on the ground. She bent down, picked it up, and handed it to the little boy.

The little boy scratched his head sheepishly, but when he opened his mouth, it revealed gaps where two of his front teeth were missing.

"Thank you, sister."

Xu Milu burst out laughing, and the shadow that had been lingering in her heart faded a little.

When she woke up again, the plane had already begun its descent, and the flight attendant was making gentle announcements. The little boy in the back row was nestled in his mother's arms, rubbing his eyes and muttering something.

While collecting her luggage, Xu Milu encountered the mother and son again.

The boy seemed to be half asleep, completely lacking the politeness and well-behaved behavior he displayed on the plane. He sobbed and wanted his mother to hold him, but the mother was carrying luggage and couldn't carry him. She could only half-pull the boy and walk forward with difficulty.

The boy shook his hand, and the small Lego minifigure was thrown to the ground with a "thud".

Xu Milu picked up the Lego minifigure and was about to return it to the little boy when she looked up and the mother and son had disappeared. She then went directly to the hospital where Liu Hongmei was hospitalized.

...

It was mealtime, and everyone in the ward had gone to eat, except for Liu Hongmei, who was lying in bed scrolling through Douyin (TikTok). Xu Milu's eyes were slightly red.

"mom."

"Dami, why are you back? Didn't you say you were going to look for a job in Sichuan or Chongqing?"

Liu Hongmei was on an IV drip, but she seemed to be in good spirits.

"I knew your aunt tipped you off. You know your Uncle Sun, he's such an exaggerator. It's just an arm ache, and he insists I go to the hospital..."

As Liu Hongmei was speaking, she stopped because of her daughter's gloomy expression, and said with an awkward smile:

"Are you hungry? Your Uncle Sun went to get food. I'll call him and get you some too."

Xu Milu shook her head: "I ate on the plane, I'm not hungry. Are you planning to keep it from me that your aunt hasn't called me?"

Liu Hongmei is good in every way, except that she is too strong-willed. For so many years, she has gritted her teeth and swallowed her pride rather than show weakness.

When Xu Milu was in high school, Liu Hongmei fell off a ladder and pretended to be oblivious for a month before telling Xu Milu the truth. She probably intends to keep it from her this time too.

Just then, Sun Zhi came running in, panting, carrying a lunchbox: "Hongmei, I bought you dumplings, pork and chive dumplings..."

Sun Zhi looked up and saw Xu Milu, showing a surprised expression: "Milu, when did you get back? Come and eat dumplings, they're still warm."

As he spoke, he moved a table for Liu Hongmei and invited Xu Milu to eat with him.

Liu Hongmei met Sun Zhi after her divorce. In her words, Sun Zhi was honest, and it would be good for the two of them to live together.

Xu Milu saw that there were two pairs of chopsticks and knew that Sun Zhi hadn't eaten either.

"Uncle Sun, I've already eaten. You and Mom can eat first."

After saying that, she stuffed her luggage under the bed and secretly took Liu Hongmei's medical records to the doctor.

Liu Hongmei complained to Sun Zhi that the dumplings didn't have chili peppers, and Sun Zhi apologized politely through the door.

On the bench outside the ward, Xu Milu's knuckles were white from gripping the X-ray film too tightly.

The doctor's words were still ringing in my ears:

"Your mother's rheumatism is already very severe. She had artificial elbow joint surgery two years ago, and now the artificial joint is worn out. We can only wait until your mother has recovered before she can have a new artificial joint surgery. However, during her recovery, we suggest that she not lift anything too heavy."

I recommend using better replacement materials for this replacement surgery, combined with acupuncture treatment to alleviate pain. Of course, this will also be very expensive.

I've already spoken to your mother about this, but she's not interested. So, you could try talking to her about using cheaper materials instead.

Liu Hongmei has severe rheumatism, so severe that she needs painkillers to fall asleep on rainy days. However, painkillers on the market are expensive, so Liu Hongmei naturally takes the cheapest one, Indomethacin.

Xu Milu knew that, given Liu Hongmei's personality, she wouldn't even consider acupuncture, let alone have her artificial joint replaced again.

When Liu Hongmei divorced Xu Wenshan, she was burdened with a huge amount of debt, and she still owes 70,000 to 80,000 yuan to this day.

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