That old man was the traditional Chinese medicine doctor. She didn't know his surname; she just called him Uncle Liu.
Back then, Uncle Liu was severely oppressed. The person who used to deliver his meals almost never gave him any good food; it was all spoiled food.
After Chen Sisi arrived, she brought him good food every day and would occasionally add an egg to his plate. The old man loved her very much.
Whenever she saw Uncle Liu, who was disheveled, with his beard and hair all matted together and smelling terrible, yet spouting all sorts of knowledge and philosophy about traditional Chinese culture, she would think of her own father.
Although my father didn't live in the cowshed, the dirty water those people threw at him was more painful than if he had lived in the cowshed.
Her kindness towards Uncle Liu was also a way of indirectly treating him as a father, in order to make up for the debt and pain in her heart.
But Uncle Liu was also the kind of person who would repay even the smallest kindness with the greatest gratitude.
At that time, Uncle Liu knew that he was about to die, so he wrote down the prescription in advance and secretly slipped it to Shen Sisi.
"The future of Chinese medicine and its benefits to the people rests entirely on your shoulders... I'm no good anymore, I'm done for in this life!"
"With these formulas, you can live a life of comfort and security, but remember one thing: never cheat or harm anyone. That's the bottom line. Remember that, remember that..."
Shen Sisi told him not to talk nonsense, that he was in such good health, how could he be dying? She wanted to continue bringing him food.
The day after receiving the prescription, when she went to deliver breakfast, she couldn't wake up Uncle Liu no matter what she did. She mustered up her courage, opened the door, and reached out to touch him. Uncle Liu's body was already cold and stiff.
It seems that Uncle Liu left in the middle of the night.
He passed away peacefully, as if he were asleep, with a faint smile on his lips.
Later, the villagers pooled their money to arrange his funeral, and they bought a thin coffin and buried him on the hill behind the village.
Gu Chengfeng held Niu Niu in his arms and walked quietly beside her, listening to her talk about those years and the pain of separation and death. A distinct pain welled up in his heart.
How did such a delicate girl like Shen Sisi survive in such a harsh and difficult environment?
Thinking about this, he wished he could go back and beat himself up. If only he had mustered up the courage to see her sooner.
Shen Sisi led the way, completely unaware of how grim Gu Chengfeng's expression was. Having experienced so much, returning to this land brought Shen Sisi a completely different state of mind.
There's a feeling of having weathered countless storms and been reborn from the ashes; everything here is so familiar, yet so distant.
The scenery and the villagers are the same, but Chen Sisi is different now.
She led Gu Chengfeng to the small, dilapidated house where she and Xiao Chunyu had lived together.
The house has been uninhabited for over a month, but it is still relatively clean, and there are no weeds or fallen leaves in the yard, so someone must have come to clean it.
After a moment of contemplation, Niu Niu unlocked the door and went inside. A musty smell hit her, making her cough a few times.
The house is built halfway up the mountain, with a dense bamboo forest behind it. On weekdays, all the moisture from the mountain gathers around it and cannot escape, making the place particularly dark and damp.
Gu Chengfeng immediately stepped back, handed Niu Niu to Chen Sisi, and went inside alone to open all the doors and windows. After they had freshened up, he led them into the house.
The house was very simple, with drafty windows, light leaking from the ceiling, damp water stains and mold on the walls, and even a small mushroom growing at the base of the wall.
Gu Chengfeng's tone instantly turned serious: "You lived in a place like this for several years before?"
Chen Sisi nodded and said, "We tried to repair it before, but it was no use. The humidity here is too high. The walls and window paper easily get damp and fall apart. The wind often blows the straw off the roof. It's really unbearable."
"Didn't you ever think about moving to another place? What's the village chief good for?!"
Chen Sisi said, “I applied, but the other mud houses in the village are not as good as this one. At least this is a brick house with a roof over our heads. We’ll just make do with it. At that time, nobody knew how long it would take to go back to the city. What if we were suddenly able to leave?”
The more Gu Chengfeng listened, the more frustrated he felt. He felt he couldn't stand staying in this place for even a day.
The blankets were all damp; covering myself with them felt like being covered in a layer of cold water.
No wonder Niu Niu's illness didn't get better in the village. It's a miracle that people don't get sick in this kind of environment.
Thankfully, Sisi and her mother no longer have to live in such a damp house.
“This place doesn’t look like a habitable place. There’s no guesthouse in the village either. Let’s hurry up and pack up. Tell me what you need to pack, and I’ll get to work.”
She glanced around the room. Actually, she didn't have many things, just some clothes and Xiao Chunyu's belongings.
An unsigned love letter, judging from the strong and vigorous handwriting, was probably written to her by a man.
There is also a white silk cheongsam that Xiao Chunyu likes the most.
The other thing was a jade pendant, which she said was a family heirloom that she had secretly kept with great difficulty, waiting for Niu Niu to grow up and understand things before giving it to her.
In addition, there were those few notes she had wrapped in plastic and hidden in a crack in the wall.
That was the treasure trove left to her by her sixth uncle.
It contains not only skin whitening formulas, but also formulas for scar removal, skin diseases, diaper rash in children... and many other medicated oils and ointments.
Just as Uncle Liu said, she was destined to live a life of comfort and ease with this prescription.
However, she will also strictly abide by Uncle Liu's instructions and will never use inferior goods or shortchange people.
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