Chapter 28.2 – Ignorance

During the National Day holiday, the village was bustling, and there was always a constant stream of people coming and going. It couldn’t be avoided.

Looking out the window, it turned out to be Aunt Zhang who had returned. She was carrying a bag of pickled vegetables and said, “Oh, Xiao Shen, these are homemade pickles. I saw on a TV show recently that you mentioned wanting to eat this dried radish. The ones you buy outside in the market don’t taste like the homemade ones. These were just pickled, and they go well with porridge.”

Shen Meina was pleasantly surprised, “Auntie, you’re too kind.”

“It’s nothing,” Aunt Zhang smiled and said, “In our village, who hasn’t been taken care of by your family? It’s only natural.”

Jian Mei’s father walked over and took the heavy pickled vegetables, “We’re all fellow villagers. I’ve grown up under your care since I was little. My father has been alone these years and has received a lot of help from everyone. We should be the ones saying thank you.”

Aunt Zhang smiled even more, “It’s just a small gesture.”

Sometimes, people in the village would gossip and feel a bit troubled, but most of them had simple and kind hearts. There wasn’t much complexity or hesitation; they were warm and generous.

Jian Mei’s father went back to continue making breakfast, while Jian Mei went to brush his teeth, wash his face, and wake up his older brother.

While Aunt Zhang was teaching Shen Meina the pickling method, she continued, “You’re also blessed. You have two sons who are so competitive and outstanding. Look at Jian Mei, my child at home only knows how to play games all day, while he knows how to help the old master with work. Tell me, which child doesn’t like to play? Grabbing medicine all day while being busy, who wouldn’t be tired? But I haven’t seen Jian Mei throw any tantrums.”

Shen Meina smiled and said, “He’s interested in these things.”

Finally, Aunt Zhang seized the opportunity to get to the main point, “Xiao Shen, it’s not just me saying this, but at Jian Mei’s age, he should prioritize his studies. Nowadays, most children have to study advanced math, and only those authoritative ones will do. Your Jian Mei is already falling behind, if he doesn’t work hard, what will happen in the future during the middle school entrance exam or the college entrance exam?”

Shen Meina paused her movements.

Aunt Zhang remembered being scolded by Jian Changjia and added, “The same goes for your Changjia. Both you and Shencheng are busy with work, but you can’t neglect the children’s education. Changjia always likes to play and seems to be interested in music. Neither of these two children seems to have the mindset for studying. Let me tell you, you have to take it seriously.”

With earnest advice ringing in her ears, Shen Meina looked up and glanced at Jian Mei, who was brushing his teeth by the well not far away with his brother.

Her facial features were well-defined, and she had a somewhat elegant appearance. But when she looked at her children, it seemed like she instantly softened, and she gently smiled. She lowered her head, carrying a sense of relief and tenderness, and said, “As long as my child is healthy and happy, that’s all I want.”

Her two children had endured many hardships since they were young.

When Jian Changjia was just starting to babble and walk, it happened to coincide with her and Shencheng’s efforts to build their careers. Those years were characterized by frequent separations, and they couldn’t spend much time with their child. Later, when they finally caught their breath, they found out she was pregnant with their second child.

Jian Mei’s arrival forced their attention to shift away from their eldest child and focus on the new life that had arrived.

Later, when their second child was a little older, they wanted to spend more time with their eldest and take care of Jian Changjia. But then, their younger son suddenly fell seriously ill. Throughout his entire childhood, while other children could freely run under the sun, her son could only spend his days confined and oppressed in the hospital room.

Aunt Zhang wanted to say something else, but Shen Meina whispered, “I appreciate your kindness, and rest assured, I will pay more attention.”

However…

If the child truly lacks talent in academics, forcing and pressuring them would be meaningless.

Despite their and Shencheng’s hard work, it didn’t bring much benefit or fortune to their children. If nothing else could compensate for it, she only hoped that within their capabilities, she could make her children’s lives a little better, and that would be enough.

…

Afternoon.

Jian Mei carried a small fruit platter to the study to bring fruit to his grandfather and father.

As he approached the door, he heard his grandfather discussing pharmacological knowledge with his father. Usually, he wouldn’t interrupt them at this time, so he waited by the doorway for a moment.

His grandfather’s voice came from inside, “For this type of toxin, many large hospitals, with Western medical instruments, are unable to completely control and clean it.”

Jian Mei’s father seemed to be researching something. “Hmm, and many doctors lack practical experience, so it might be difficult to handle.”

“I’ve consulted many books and finally found some clues,” the grandfather’s voice sounded tired. “Alchemy and medicine-making, I learned a bit from your great-grandfather back then, but that’s not the biggest problem.”

Jian Mei’s father took the yellowed pages of medical techniques and frowned deeply after just glancing at them. “Some herbs are hard to find nowadays.”

The loss of traditional Chinese medicine is extremely detrimental. Few people pay attention to this field now, and the gatherers of medicinal herbs have also disappeared in large numbers, resulting in many precious herbs being either exorbitantly priced and scarce or completely unavailable in the market. It’s not that their family can’t afford it, but rather, the channels to obtain them are hard to find.

The grandfather nodded. “Even if we manage to find all the herbs, the success rate of refinement is very low.”

Jian Mei didn’t understand what they were talking about, but he instinctively felt nervous and followed along.

The grandfather noticed the movement and glanced toward the door, tentatively calling out, “Meimei?”

When Jian Mei heard his name being called, he quickly and quietly pushed open the door and walked in with the fruit platter. “Grandpa, Mom asked me to bring some food.”

The grandfather smiled and said, “Good, good. You’ve worked hard.”

Jian Mei smiled and asked casually, “Grandpa, what were you talking about just now?”

Normally, the grandfather wouldn’t avoid discussing things with him, but for some reason, his face showed a troubled expression. Finally, he shook his head and said, “It’s nothing important.”

Jian Mei pursed his lips, understandingly refrained from further questioning. But while placing the fruit platter, he caught a glimpse of a colored photo on the table. It was a picture he printed, a photo of his older brother Da Zhuang.

Back in his room, Jian Mei felt restless. He had always believed in his grandfather and father’s medical skills, although he was a bit conceited. But if even his grandfather found the problem difficult, then it must be a major issue. Even his father said it was challenging. Is Da Zhuang… in great danger?

Jian Mei felt suffocated in his heart. He remembered the herbs his grandfather mentioned and felt discouraged. “Why can’t I be of any help?”

But what could he do if even his grandfather and father couldn’t find those herbs?

Where could those herbs be purchased?

Restless on his bed, Jian Mei’s mind was in turmoil. So, he absentmindedly opened the app store on his phone. He didn’t usually play with his phone much, but now he realized he had accumulated over 1,000 points, which could be used to download many apps.

As he was browsing, he came across an app that caught his eye.

[All Kind Medicine]

Jian Mei felt curious and clicked on the app. Surprisingly, it turned out to be an online pharmacy app that listed numerous Chinese herbal medicines. However, many of them were unfamiliar to him. Moreover, these downloads required points. Compared to apps like QQ or the game “King of Glory,” which only required a few points, All Kind Medicine, being a functional app, demanded a whopping 500 points.

Jian Mei took a sharp breath, “So expensive.”

However…

There were so many herbs available on this platform, and some of them he hadn’t even heard of before according to their introduction. If he downloaded it, he could learn from it as well.

After hesitating for a moment, Jian Mei clicked on the confirm download button.

The system prompted him, “The ‘All Kind Medicine’ app requires access to file transfer and location sharing permissions.”

He couldn’t download the app without granting these permissions.

Jian Mei clicked on confirm, and his phone instructed him to place it near the charger and long-press the white button to enable the so-called file transfer permission. He vaguely remembered doing this before but couldn’t quite recall the purpose of file transfer. It couldn’t possibly be for teleportation; that would be too far-fetched.

Bringing the charger over and pressing the white button, he entered a long waiting time.

Jian Mei played with his teddy bear pillow on the bed. As he was about to doze off while waiting, he heard his mother’s voice from downstairs, “Meimei, come down and put away your clothes.”

“Okay.”

Jian Mei sat up, casually placing the teddy bear pillow on the charger, and left the room.

…

On the other side,

Evening.

General Zuo Qingshan arrived at Lu Xingwang’s account camp, feeling somewhat heavy as he was about to discuss the matter of his missing father.

The incident had happened too suddenly, and he still found it difficult to accept his father’s death. Lu Xingwang’s appearance was like a splash of cold water that awakened him to face everything. At times, he had to admit that he fell far short when compared to Lu Xingwang. Having spent some time together, he discovered that Lu Xingwang was a person with deep thoughts, and his powerful methods were also intimidating. Even in their recent encounters with the Crown Prince, he realized this fact and even felt somewhat fortunate that he and Lu Xingwang were not enemies.

He was not very willing to interact with someone as cunning as Lu Xingwang, but he had no choice but to come for the sake of his father.

This was also his first time meeting privately. In the past, he had only seen Lu Xingwang in public places. As General ZuoQingshan pushed aside the curtain, he couldn’t help but be curious. Was his highness, who usually appeared cold and ruthless, the same in private…?

The curtain was drawn open, revealing a simple setting inside. Lu Xingwang sat by the desk, holding a tangerine1-colored teddy bear pillow in his hands. Upon hearing the sound, he looked towards the door, and for a moment, their eyes met in the quiet surroundings.

Tangerine is a saturated, bold orange color(based on fruit color