Carrying the medicine, Ju Zi excitedly ran home. It was a small restaurant already covered in dust, and judging by its state, it had not opened for business in a long time.
After returning home, Ju Zi first went to see her mother and excitedly told her that she had met a wonderful person today who had paid for her medicine.
Ju Zi's mother lay in bed, her cheeks sunken, cheekbones prominent, her eyes clouded and lifeless, her body so thin it was barely recognizable.
After her husband had been conscripted and died in battle, life for the widow and her daughter had become exceptionally difficult.
Ju Zi's mother had struggled on for several years, and if not for her concern for Ju Zi, she likely would have been unable to hold on long ago.
Listening to Ju Zi's excited words, her mother raised a withered hand and stroked Ju Zi's thin cheek. Her weak voice was hoarse as she said, "Then you must thank them properly!"
Ju Zi nodded firmly. Thinking of Feng Tianyu, whose circumstances were similar to her own, and how he had helped her at her most desperate moment, her heart filled with gratitude and trust.
"Mom, I will!"
Afterward, Ju Zi went to brew medicine for her mother. She stayed beside the stove the entire time, until her fair cheeks had been blackened by smoke and fire. Only then was the pot of medicine finally ready.
Ju Zi poured the medicine into a bowl and fed it to her mother spoonful by spoonful. Sometimes, when her mother coughed even slightly, the medicine would spill back out of her mouth.
Biting her lip, Ju Zi's eyes brimmed with worry. She gently wiped away the spilled medicine with a handkerchief, then continued feeding the remaining medicine to