The two of them walked along, their minds split between thoughts of rice and thoughts of medicine, with no attention left to spare for their surroundings.
They rushed to the pharmacy in a flurry, but then stood at the entrance, hesitant to go in.
It was too clean, too bright!
Lin Xiaohe looked down at her cloth shoes—they were the ones her mom had made for her last year, and her only pair without holes.
But compared to the people around her, they still looked too worn and shabby.
She ran around the mountains and fields every day, so her shoes were covered in dust and looked dirty.
She felt like stepping onto that pristine floor would leave big muddy footprints behind.
“Kids, are you looking to buy something?” The shopkeeper had been watching these two children for a while—they’d been standing at the door without coming in, but they hadn’t left either.
“Sir, we want to buy fever medicine. It’s called bu—”
For a moment, Lin Xiaohe couldn’t remember the name of the medicine. She only recalled the “bu” part.
“It’s ibuprofen, right? Come take a look and see which kind you want.”
Lin Xiaohe pinched the hem of her clothes and spoke softly, “Our shoes are dirty.”
Sun Qian paused for a moment, then immediately broke into a smile. “It’s fine, it’s fine. Come on in.”
Hearing the shopkeeper say that, the two sisters finally stepped inside.
Their eyes darted around, and the more they looked, the more shocked they became—shelves and shelves packed densely with medicine!!
How could there be so much medicine?
At the brigade clinic, there were only a few boxes. If Western medicine wasn’t absolutely necessary, they used the herbal medicine that Grandpa Barefoot Doctor gathered from the mountains.
“For ibuprofen, we have these tablets. This one is 15 yuan per box, 10 tablets per box. This other one is a bit cheaper—25 yuan per box, with 22 tablets inside.
For adults, take one tablet at a time, twice a day.”
The two children exchanged a glance. Lin Xiaohe made the decision to go with the 25-yuan box.
You could never have too much fever medicine—that stuff was precious. There were still three kids at home, and it would come in handy eventually.
Relatively speaking, the 25-yuan box was the better deal.
While Lin Xiaohe was waiting for the shopkeeper to give her change, Xiaogu crouched alone at the entrance.
Suddenly, she felt something hit her on the head.
And there was a delicious meaty smell!!
She looked over curiously and saw a chicken leg lying not far in front of her!
A young woman was standing next to her, holding an empty bag—it seemed like she’d dropped it.
“I didn’t bump into you! I didn’t bump into you!” Xiaogu’s first reaction was fear—afraid that she’d be blamed and have to pay compensation.
Flustered and scared, she quickly stammered out an explanation. She really hadn’t bumped into anyone—she’d been crouching there the whole time without moving.
“Nobody said you bumped into me. I just didn’t hold it steady.” Sun Xiao waved her hand and called inside, “Mom, I brought you lunch!”
She was only regretting that she hadn’t gotten a single bite of that chicken leg before it fell. She hadn’t expected the little one to imagine so much.
“Alright, just leave it at the door,” Sun Qian replied.
Sun Xiao used the original bag from the roasted chicken leg to pick it up and casually tossed it into the trash bin.
What a shame! That fragrant, delicious roasted chicken leg!
She’d specifically snatched the job of bringing her mom lunch from her grandma so she could buy a roasted chicken leg nearby—and then she ended up dropping it.
She’d been just about to take a big, savage bite when the chicken leg flew right out of the paper bag and hit someone. How embarrassing.
Xiaogu’s eyes went wide as saucers. She’d been crouching there for a while and already knew that the green bin was for things people threw away!
She asked in disbelief, her voice shooting up an octave. “Big sister, are you really not going to eat that chicken leg?”
“It fell on the ground, so of course I’m not eating it!” Sun Xiao waved her hand, adjusted the schoolbag on her shoulder, and ran off toward the middle school not far away.
Sigh, they wouldn’t even let food vendors set up near the school gate anymore—what a shame! She had pocket money but nowhere to spend it. Who else was as unlucky as her?
Xiaogu immediately leaned over the trash bin and started rummaging. That was such a big chicken leg! They hadn’t even taken a bite and they were throwing it away?! If she brought it home, everyone could have a bite.
“What are you doing?” Lin Xiaohe came out of the pharmacy with her bag and saw her little sister hunched over the bin, searching for something.
“A big sister just now dropped her chicken leg on the ground, and she didn’t want it anymore. What a waste! Let’s take it home and eat it.
Mom and Dad are injured—they need something good to help them recover.”
The big sister had wrapped the chicken leg in a bag before tossing it in, so it hadn’t gotten dirty at all—just a little dust from hitting the ground. That was nothing!
She could wash it at home and eat it—she couldn’t even imagine how delicious it would be!
Lin Xiaohe was excited too. “Let’s go buy some rice first. Then we can shred the chicken meat and cook it into porridge with the rice.
It’ll be super nutritious, and Mom and Dad will get better faster.”
“Okay, then let’s hurry! Little Sister is home alone—I’m worried about her.”
“Then let’s go.”
In front of the familiar grain and oil shop—
Lin Xiaohe took out the 25 yuan in change she’d gotten from the pharmacy.
She put the separate 5-yuan bill back in her pocket and used the 20 yuan to buy rice.
She’d keep that 5 yuan for emergencies.
“Little girl, it’s you again. What are you looking to buy?”
Chen Fang rode out on an electric scooter from inside.
“Auntie, I want to buy this rice.” Lin Xiaohe pointed at the rice displayed at the shop entrance.
“Alright, Old Chen, come out and weigh some rice for the little girl. I’m going to pick up the kid from school!”
With that, she rode off on her electric scooter.
Xiaogu watched with envy. “Sis, that vehicle is so nice! It looks even more impressive than a bicycle!”
“Don’t even think about it—we can’t afford that.” Lin Xiaohe patted her sister’s head. “Let’s just buy some rice and have plain white rice porridge tonight.”
“Little girl, how much do you want?” Chen Dayong came out carrying a bag.
“20 yuan worth.” Xiaohe handed the money over.
“Alright.” He went back inside and grabbed another bag. 20 catties of rice—this kid probably couldn’t carry it all.
He split it into two bags, making it easier for her.
Holding the heavy rice and the light little box of medicine, the two children felt like they were walking on air!
All of this had been traded for wild vegetables?!
It was truly unbelievable!
Xiaogu’s voice sounded dazed. “Sis, did we really get all this from the wild vegetables we picked over there?
Why does it feel so unreal? It feels like my feet are floating and I can’t touch solid ground.
Why don’t you pinch me so I can see if it hurts!”
“Of course we did—do we have anything else to trade? Your little silver bangle is still on your wrist. Come on, let’s hurry back. Mom and Dad are waiting for the medicine.”
“Then… let’s go pick more wild vegetables tomorrow. Wild greens can be traded for white rice—who would ever believe that if we told them?
We have to pick as many as we can, trade them for as much rice as possible, and stuff our cellar to the brim. Then we’ll never have to worry about food again.”
The little girl’s face was full of hope and anticipation. Maybe they really wouldn’t go hungry anymore!
“For sure!”
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