The crowd began to chatter amongst themselves, their gazes toward Yu Luo growing even more hostile.
…
Niu Niu ran home as fast as she could, clutching the wooden box in her arms.
My home was a dilapidated mud-brick house in the south of the city. As soon as I opened the door, a strong smell of Chinese medicine and mildew hit me.
"Niu Niu, where did you run off to?!" a shrill voice rang out.
A woman with thin lips, wearing a slightly worn blue cotton shirt, came out from the inner room. As soon as she saw the wooden box in Niu Niu's arms, her eyebrows shot up and she snatched it away. "What is this? Where did you get the money to buy this piece of junk?!"
"Auntie, this is what I bought to treat my mother's illness!" Niu Niu was so anxious she was almost crying, and she reached out to snatch it back.
"Cure illness? A broken wooden box can cure illness?" My aunt curled her lip, weighing the box in her hand with a mocking look. "I think you've lost your mind! We're almost starving, and you're wasting money! This thing is something you're showing off like a treasure?"
At this moment, a man of medium build with shifty eyes also came out.
He patted the woman's hand, then walked to the bedside and gave the woman, who was barely breathing, a concerned smile.
"Sister, look at you, you're so sick. Niu Niu is still young and doesn't understand." The uncle patted the woman's shoulder earnestly and said with certainty.
"Don't worry, just hand over all your assets to us. From now on, we will definitely treat Niu Niu like our own daughter and take good care of her!"
The mother, lying on the bed, felt her heart breaking as she looked at her younger brother's hypocritical face.
She knew that her younger brother had been eyeing her savings for a long time, and she knew exactly what kind of person he was towards Niu Niu.
But she was really dying; she didn't even have the strength to sit up.
Seeing her daughter's tearful and helpless face, her heart broke.
"Mom!" Taking advantage of her aunt's momentary lapse in attention, Niu Niu snatched back the wooden box, rushed to the bedside, and stuffed the box into her mother's arms.
"Mother, open it! That sister said that if you're destined, you can get the medicine! You'll definitely get better!"
"Nonsense!" The uncle's face darkened, and he coldly rebuked, "You dare let your mother touch a broken box of unknown origin?!"
Niu Niu ignored everything and struggled to pry open the box lid for her mother with her little hands.
With a soft click, the box opened.
There was no grain or cloth as expected, nor any valuable items.
In the very center of the box lay a pill the size of a longan.
The pill was entirely golden, with a shimmering light on its surface. An indescribable fragrance instantly filled the entire room, even suppressing the strong smell of traditional Chinese medicine.
Niu Niu's mother only took one sniff and felt a sense of lightness throughout her body; the pent-up frustration in her chest dissipated considerably.
"Mom, eat quickly!" Niu Niu carefully picked up the pill and held it to her mother's lips.
"I think you've all gone mad!" Uncle stood to the side, arms crossed, sneering. "You dare to eat this stuff of dubious origin? Sister, have you thought this through?"
He stared coldly at the pill and sneered, "Aren't you afraid of killing your mother by eating it!"
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