Chapter 78

[Haha, Xiao Mo, is it possible that Grandpa Niu was saying mugwort is for foot baths?]

[It's one thing for Xiao Mo to be young and forgetful, but why is President Ha getting involved?]

It's alright. Mugwort can be used to boil eggs or for foot baths; the effects are the same—dispelling wind and dampness.

Xiaoruo and Qi'an busied themselves in the kitchen, quickly turning the ingredients Xiaomo brought back into delicious food.

Xiao Mo went into the kitchen several times and saw her mother crack the shells of the boiled eggs and then soak them in a pot of dark green mugwort juice. Xiao Mo always felt that this scene looked very strange, like Snow White's stepmother making poisoned apple juice.

She stared at it with wide eyes for a long time, then a flash of inspiration struck her and she remembered.

Grandpa Niu seemed to be saying that if you soak your feet in mugwort water until they're warm and cozy, you won't get sick.

Xiao Mo looked at the eggs rolling in the green liquid, raised his hand and slapped his forehead. Oh no, how am I going to clean this up now?

The courtyard gate creaked open as it was pushed open from the outside; it was Fan Lei and his family returning from gathering ingredients.

In Fan Lei's small basket lay a few wild vegetables, which the couple had managed to find only after asking villagers along the way and being told that they were edible.

The aroma of braised pork wafted from the kitchen. Guanguan sniffed, and in a childish voice, said to Tang Tang...

"Mommy, meat."

Tang Tang had been walking around outside for a while and was now hungry. She swallowed hard when she smelled the aroma of meat. But considering how difficult it was to find ingredients here, she was too embarrassed to ask for help.

Wearing an apron, Du Xiaoruo carried a large pot of braised pork out and placed it on the small square table in the yard. Glancing out of the corner of her eye at the pitiful vegetable basket in Fan Lei's hand, she generously greeted him.

"Tang Tang, Fan Lei, come eat with us tonight. We've made so many dishes, our family can't possibly finish them all."

The small square table was quickly filled with dishes: braised pork, stir-fried vegetables, fried rice with eggs, and a large pot of boiled eggs with mugwort. It looked quite a feast.

Seeing so many dishes, Fan Lei's family didn't stand on ceremony and everyone sat down around the small square table to eat.

Xiao Mo ate all the dishes, but refused to touch the eggs boiled with mugwort. Du Xiaoruo tried to persuade her for a long time, but Xiao Mo kept her lips tightly pursed and shook her head frantically.

The viewers in the live stream also noticed something was amiss at this point.

Is it possible that Xiao Mo has already remembered that mugwort is used for foot baths?

Judging from her worried little eyes, she probably really remembered.

After everyone else had eaten the greenish mugwort egg, Xiao Mo's worries reached their peak: Could this cause poisoning?

She started to regret it. She should have been willing to be laughed at and told the truth. If the whole family had been poisoned, things would have gotten much worse.

After dinner, Xiao Mo was preoccupied and sat on a small stool in the corridor, carefully observing the condition of others, fearing that someone might collapse from poisoning after eating the poisoned eggs.

Although everyone seems to be doing normally now, Xiao Mo is feeling increasingly pressured, feeling that the time for her to die from the poison is approaching.

She clenched her little fists, jumped up, and thought, "No, I have to go find Grandpa Niu to get the antidote."

Xiao Mo frowned, her face serious, and walked outside.

"Xiao Mo, where are you going?" Du Xiaoruo called out to her.

Xiao Mo stopped and replied to her mother with a serious expression, "I have something to do and need to go out for a while. I can't tell you the specific reason."

Du Xiaoruo nodded knowingly and gave some instructions.

"Then don't get separated from the cameraman, and take care of yourself."

"good."

Little Mo walked out of the yard with her short legs and disappeared from everyone's sight.

The conversation between the mother and daughter left Fan Lei and his family speechless. Fan Lei asked in surprise, "Xiao Mo is three years old, right? Is she already able to make so many decisions on her own?"

"It's alright." Du Xiaoruo gave Fan Lei a reassuring smile. "Xiao Mo often goes out by herself, so she'll be fine as long as someone is with her."

Fan Lei looked at his son, Guan Guan, who was still biting his fingernails. His son was only a year younger than Xiao Mo, so Xiao Mo seemed much more mature than Guan Guan.

In the live stream room,

Xiaoruo's parenting style is truly unique; even at thirty, my mom still thinks I'm a child.

I think Xiaoruo's parenting style is quite good. With a driver and a nanny at home, she can give her child enough space while ensuring safety.

[But Xiao Mo is only three years old. Isn't this kind of laissez-faire parenting too early? Aren't you afraid that the child will go astray?]

[It's not that bad. Xiaoruo and Mr. Ha aren't completely neglecting their child; they just respect Xiaomo's ideas more. Lele also said before that his parents respect him a lot, and they even chose his name themselves. You can tell by how outstanding Lele is.]

Xiao Mo had long since learned to remember routes. Relying on his memory of riding in a tricycle, he navigated the village paths and successfully found Grandpa Niu's courtyard.

The courtyard gate wasn't closed. Little Mo lifted her chubby little legs and stepped over the threshold, calling out crisply into the house.

"Grandpa Niu, it's me, Xiao Mo, I'm here."

There was no sound from inside. Xiao Mo exclaimed, "Isn't Grandpa Niu home?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Xiao Mo's two little eyebrows furrowed even more nervously; she had heard some strange noises.

After the room became completely quiet, even the viewers in the live stream could hear heavy breathing, and everyone couldn't help but feel nervous.

The sun had already set outside, and the room was dimly lit. The cameraman found the light switch on the wall and pressed it, instantly bathing the room in warm yellow light.

The room was simply furnished, and you could almost see right through the small room. A person was lying at the narrow stairwell of the second-floor attic.

Upon seeing the unconscious figure on the ground, Xiao Mo was initially startled and hid behind the cameraman. When she recognized the person lying on the ground as Grandpa Niu, she rushed anxiously to his side.

The cameraman reminded Xiao Mo,

"Grandpa Niu may have fallen down the stairs and broken a bone. You can't move him to avoid causing further injury."

Hearing what the cameraman said, Xiao Mo withdrew his outstretched hand, knelt down next to Grandpa Niu, and stared intently at the cameraman making a phone call to notify someone.

Before long, the village chief arrived at Grandpa Niu's house with a group of people. Among them was a man in a white coat, whom Xiao Mo immediately recognized as a doctor. As long as the doctor arrived, Grandpa Niu would be saved.

She stepped back from the crowd and watched as everyone frantically tried to save Grandpa Niu, eventually lifting him onto a stretcher and putting him into the van parked at the door.

Xiao Mo quickly caught up, grabbed the village chief's sleeve, and looked up at him with her big, watery eyes, her little face full of worry.

"Grandpa, will Grandpa Niu die?"

The village chief bent down and patted her head, comforting her, "Little girl, Grandpa Niu won't die. He just fainted from the pain. You were the first to find Grandpa Niu injured today, right? Thank you."

Xiao Mo nodded, "Then I'll visit Grandpa Niu again when I have time."

After listening to the village chief's words, Xiao Mo felt relieved and stood obediently to the side. Only after the car left did she go home with the cameraman.

[Oh my god, it's so dangerous for elderly people living alone. If Xiao Mo hadn't discovered Grandpa Niu's fall, the consequences would have been much worse.]

[Good deeds are rewarded; Grandpa Niu's kindness in giving Xiao Mo ingredients unexpectedly saved his life.]

Why is Xiao Mo coming to Grandpa Niu's house so late?

It was already dark. Xiao Mo walked alone on the mountain path, using the flashlight provided by the camera crew. As she walked, she suddenly felt something was wrong. She slapped her forehead and muttered to herself,

"Oh no, Grandpa Niu has fallen and hurt himself! Where am I going to find the antidote?"

The cameraman asked curiously, "What antidote, Xiao Mo?"

Xiao Mo frowned and explained logically, "If people eat eggs boiled with the herbs used for foot baths, they will be poisoned. The herbs were given by Grandpa Niu, and he has the antidote."

The cameraman was amused by her; the child's logic was so cute. She had made a special trip just to find the antidote, but she had no idea that mugwort could be eaten.

"You've been out for so long, your parents must have been poisoned by now," the cameraman teased her on purpose.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Mo's face turned pale, and he sprinted home on his short legs.

In the small courtyard where the guests were temporarily staying, a warm yellow light shone under the corridor, and everyone was sitting in a row soaking their feet.

There was a lot of mugwort water left over from boiling eggs. Xiaoruo felt it was a waste to throw it away, so she added some more mugwort and boiled a big pot of water with a grassy aroma. Everyone brought a small stool and sat in a row to soak their feet.

Xiao Mo ran home breathlessly, only to be stunned by the scene before her that resembled a foot massage parlor.

Du Xiaoruo waved to her, "Momo, why have you been gone for so long? Come and soak your feet."

Following her mother's finger, Xiao Mo saw a small bucket of familiar dark green liquid. Qi An reached out to test the water temperature and urged,

"The water is still hot. Quickly take off your shoes and socks and soak in it. It feels so good."

Xiao Mo walked to the small stool and sat down, took off her shoes and socks, and put her tender white feet into the warm water that smelled of grass. She squinted her eyes in comfort, tilting her big, watery blue eyes up.

"Mom, is this mugwort water used to boil eggs?"

Du Xiaoruo pinched Xiaoruo's rosy cheeks, her eyes full of doting affection, "That's right, mugwort can be used to boil eggs or to make a foot bath. Doesn't it feel warm now?"

Xiao Mo let out a heavy sigh of relief. So it wasn't poisonous after all? That scared me to death!

[Haha, little Mo Bai was worried, wasn't he? He even made a special trip to find the antidote. Haha, kids' thought processes are so strange.]

Thankfully, Xiao Mo made the trip, otherwise Grandpa Niu would have been in danger.

A kitten appeared in the yard at some point, squatting on the ground and tilting its head to watch them soak their feet, occasionally meowing curiously.

Little Mo imitated the kitten's meows, seemingly in a good mood, chattering away.

"The kitten is so cute, meow meow meow."

The courtyard gate was pushed open again, and Mu Hua walked in. He stood in the courtyard, opened the mission card in his hand, and...

"Distinguished guests, congratulations on enjoying a sumptuous dinner. Tomorrow, your task is to climb the mountain to watch the sunrise. Please get some rest tonight and meet in the courtyard at 4 a.m. tomorrow."

When Xiao Mo heard that she had to get up at 4 o'clock, her smiling face visibly fell.

The kitten, unaware of what was happening, continued to meow and interact with Xiao Mo.

Xiao Mo glared at him with wide eyes, looking fierce, "What meow? Go back to your house and sleep? Don't you know we have to get up at 4 a.m. tomorrow?"