Chapter 10: Easing the Urgent Crisis

Sitting in the space was simply sitting, and it was dreadfully boring.

Tianbao cast her gaze into the distance, landing on the other side of the small stream. It was a vast expanse of fields. Just as when she had last entered, nothing had changed. The fertile black soil was covered in lush greenery; at first, she had thought it was a vegetable patch, but looking at it now, it didn't seem so. She didn't recognize a single one of the plants. Beyond the garden, the rolling blue mountains remained shrouded in mist, half-hidden and mysterious, exuding an air of danger.

This place was enormous—as large as a small village. Yet, there were no houses here, only land and mountains. Tianbao sighed softly, her little brow furrowing like an old soul, quite troubled. What was the use of such a large space? Aside from knowing that the pears nearby were edible, she had no idea what anything else was or what it could be used for. If bad people found out she possessed something so strange and magical, she would surely be taken away for study all over again.

How truly pointless.

She stood up, brushed off her bottom, and waded barefoot across the stream. Stepping onto the black soil of the opposite bank, she walked up to the garden for a closer look, shaking her head as she went. Odd-looking red mushrooms—she knew that colorful mushrooms were usually poisonous and inedible. Vines with purple flowers—they were just weeds; none of the vegetables she had ever eaten looked like that. White lotus flowers? Not for eating. Small red berries? They looked pretty enough, so she let them be.

After wandering around without finding a single edible green, Tianbao’s disappointment was plain to see. She wanted to help her family, but she had done her best. This space was just useless. As for climbing the mountains, she hadn't even considered it. They were too far and too high; she couldn't climb them.

Before leaving the space, Tianbao returned to the pear tree and gave the thick, old trunk a sympathetic hug. "Only you are truly useful. Thank you, old pear tree."

There was no wind in the space, yet the tree shadows shifted on their own. The leaves rustled, as if in response to the child.

***

The doctor had arrived. After examining Old Man Su’s injury and applying a simple bandage to his leg, he wrote out a prescription for the Su family to take to the pharmacy in town.

"It’s a fracture. You must take good care of it now. As the saying goes, it takes a hundred days for bones and tendons to heal. Do not move about during this time."

"My supply of herbs is incomplete, so you will need to buy some of these at the town pharmacy. Just follow the prescription."

The Su family listened intently, memorizing every word. "Doctor Shi, is there anything else we should be mindful of? Please tell us everything so we can keep it in mind!"

Doctor Shi smiled at this. "Don't be too nervous. Aside from the fracture, he fortunately hasn't sustained other injuries. As long as you change the dressing on time and ensure he stays in bed to avoid any movement that might affect the bone alignment, he will be fine."

The family breathed a small sigh of relief. Seeing the doctor pack his medicine chest to leave, the eldest son and the second son stepped forward, each pulling something from their robes. They spoke in unison: "Doctor Shi, our family is poor. Could you please accept these in lieu of the consultation fee?"

In their palms lay a pair of delicate silver earrings and a silver-inlaid hairpin. The brothers looked at each other. Old Mother Su, her hand still reaching for her coins, froze. She was their mother; how could she not recognize these items? They were the dowries her two daughters-in-law had brought with them when they married into the family. No matter how hard times had been, she had never touched their dowries. They must have known how tight money was and brought them out to help the family. They were such considerate children.

Doctor Shi was taken aback by the items, but he waved his hand with a smile. "We are all neighbors. I only wrote a prescription, so let’s forget about the consultation fee." Living in the same village, everyone knew each other's circumstances. Yet, a family as loving and harmonious as the Sus was rare to find. Forgoing a fee was simply an act of goodwill.

Clutching his medicine chest, Doctor Shi declined their attempts to pay and stepped out into the snowy night. Old Mother Su thought for a moment and decided not to chase after him. It wasn't that she wanted a handout; her husband’s leg required medicine, which would cost more money, and their household was already stretched thin. "When times are a bit easier, we will return this favor."

The sons nodded and pressed the items back into their mother's hand. "Mother, keep these for now. We must get through this time and make sure Father’s leg heals. We can talk about the rest later."

Old Mother Su fell silent for a moment before nodding. "From now on, I will cherish Yulan and Daxiang just like my own daughters."

The second son curled his lip. "Haven't you always? If you hadn't said that, I would have forgotten I was your biological son!"

Little Tianbao had sharp ears. She didn't need to listen intentionally to hear everything said in her grandparents' room. As soon as that sentence ended, her second uncle’s dramatic, playful wail followed. He had been swatted by Grandma again. Yet, the heavy, uncomfortable atmosphere in the air dissipated thanks to the second uncle’s antics.

***

Liu Yulan naturally heard the playful wailing her brother-in-law was putting on to cheer up her mother-in-law. She whispered to the baby in her arms with a smile, "Your father must have handed Grandma the broom."

Tianbao pricked up her ears and listened carefully, the corners of her soft, pink mouth curling upward. She understood now. Last night, when the pears fell, her second uncle had handed Grandma the stick. Today, her father had handed Grandma the broom. Her father was taking his revenge.

Seeing the pure, bright smile on her daughter’s face, Liu Yulan exclaimed in surprise, "Oh, my Tianbao is smiling!"

Tianbao froze. "???" She was smiling? Mother was talking nonsense; she hadn't smiled at all. To prove she wasn't smiling and to stop her mother from teasing her, Tianbao waved her little fist.

In the dim, cramped room, pears began to tumble and roll across the floor. Liu Yulan watched as more and more pears rolled out, her smile slowly stiffening. Satisfied, Tianbao stopped. There were so many pears on the floor that there was nowhere to step.

The two brothers brought over baskets and ended up filling two full ones. Old Mother Su looked at the overflowing baskets, her heart trembling—the blessings her Tianbao had brought! How much of her luck had this cost?

Except for Old Man Su, who was bedridden, the rest of the Su family stood around the baskets, staring at each other. With two such large baskets, even if they ate them for every meal, it would take them over ten days. Finally, Old Mother Su gritted her teeth and decided, "Take them to town. Sell these pears and get the medicine for your father first!"

There were priorities, and the family truly had no other choice. These two baskets of pears from her granddaughter had arrived just in time to solve their most urgent problem.

Having made her decision, Old Mother Su went into the room and gently gathered her sleeping granddaughter into her arms, filled with love and pity. "My precious, you remembered what your mother said yesterday."

The sleeping child made no sound, just smacked her little lips, dreaming sweetly. Yesterday, Liu Yulan had joked that if they took the pears to the market, they could trade them for silver to buy rice and flour. The adults had let the topic pass, but Tianbao had taken those words to heart.