Liu Shiyuan's ho is located in a slum far from the urban area of South City.
This place is more like a suburban area, adjacent to a county town below. Whether in terms of infrastructure, road construction, or social etiquette, it thoroughly exhibits the characteristics of an old city, vastly different from the relatively prosperous South City. There's barely a decent car on the roads, just motorcycles 250 spewing choking exhaust, crisscrossing the streets.
"Girl, where are you headed? I can take you," a young man with sun-darkened skin offered, riding a dilapidated 250, as Liu Shiyuan got off the bus, asking honestly and sincerely.
Liu Shiyuan knew this was a motorcycle taxi, a unique symbol of this area, where not even the nationally popular shared bikes were available.
Liu Shiyuan agreed on the fare and address, and after a few minutes' ride, she was dropped off ho.
Standing in front of the dilapidated yard, Liu Shiyuan felt a sense of ti travel as she pushed open the virtually symbolic gate and walked into the courtyard.
Soone inside heard the noise, pushed open the door, and looked out in confusion. Upon seeing the graceful Liu Shiyuan, they were startled: "Daughter, why are you back?"
This woman was Liu Shiyuan's mother, Wang Xiui. Despite her mature elegance, it's evident she must have been a beauty in her youth, although the ravages of ti and life's hardships had aged her beyond her years. Her face was lined with crow's feet; she wore the most simple clothes and held a dicine bowl filled with a faint-colored liquid, seemingly just done preparing dicine for her husband.
"Mom!" Liu Shiyuan called out cheerily, feigning a light-hearted smile, "I have fewer classes today, so I ca back to see you and dad, and I brought finely ground shell powder for dad. I'll mix it up for him later!"
"Silly child, still believing in those folk redies, co in quickly!" Wang Xiui said lovingly, hastily welcoming her daughter inside.
The room was filled with a heavy dicinal sll, which Liu Shiyuan had long beco accustod to. As she handed the bag of shell powder to Wang Xiui, she asked, "Where's dad?"
"Your dad is lying inside!" replied Wang Xiui.
Liu Shiyuan went into the inner room and imdiately saw her father, Liu Yunping, lying weakly on the bed.
Like Wang Xiui, Liu Yunping must have been quite handso in his youth, but after being tornted by illness for too long, his complexion had turned sallow, and his eyes had sunk deep, losing their original appearance. His body, once robust, appeared thin since being bedridden, his lower limbs slightly swollen and devoid of energy.
Seeing his daughter return, the original look of pain and helplessness on Liu Yunping's face was replaced with a feigned relaxed deanor, forcing a smile, "My precious daughter is back!"
"Dad!" Liu Shiyuan approached the bedside, her eyes reddened, heart aching as she squatted down, "How are you feeling? Why do you look so bad?"
"Sweet girl, it's nothing. Dad is much better now; don't cry, I'm really better!" Lin Yunping struggled to sit up but, after much effort, couldn't manage it and had to give up, trying to calm her down.
Though he was smiling, tears were glistening in his eyes. He knew his own condition well; he might never see his daughter marry.
"Dad, don't be sad. I found so shells by the sea, ground and dried them. I'll get mom to mix it for you to drink. See if it helps," Liu Manyao said, her eyes red.
"Okay, okay, my thoughtful girl." Liu Yunping knew that kind of folk redy was unlikely to work, but to ease Liu Shiyuan's mind, he gently ruffled her hair, smiling.
Next, to cover his sadness, Liu Yunping asked his daughter about her university life, such as whether the school was good, how she was getting along with classmates, whether the studies were tiring, and so on.
The tone carried the weight of a final farewell...
Liu Shiyuan, holding back tears, answered one by one, biting her lip firmly, "Dad, I'm doing great. I get along well with my classmates, and I've made a few good friends. Don't worry, I'll take care of myself. You must also take care!"
Seeing this, Wang Xiui quietly wiped a tear before pretending nothing had happened and said, "Old Liu, it's ti to take your dicine."
"Mom, why is the dicinal broth so light in color, and the color is faint? Are we out of dicine again?" Liu Shiyuan had long noticed sothing was off and got up to ask.
Wang Xiui knew she couldn't hide it, nodding with a bitter smile, "Yes, this is the last bowl..."
"Is there no money at ho?" Liu Shiyuan asked anxiously.
After Liu Yunping fell seriously ill, the family couldn't do without soone at ho, forcing Wang Xiui to quit her previous job to take care of her husband full ti. The family, apart from governnt relief funds, had no other inco and was struggling greatly.
Before Liu Shiyuan went to college, she could still do so part-ti work to help support the household. But now, her college expenses further strained the already tight family budget.
"We have so; the governnt's relief funds just arrived. Don't worry, focus on your studies, and leave things at ho to !" Wang Xiui said, not wanting her daughter to feel guilty.
"Then why is there no dicine?" Liu Shiyuan asked, puzzled.
"Because..." Wang Xiui sat weakly by her husband's bedside with a worried face: "Doctor Ma at the clinic suddenly refuses to sell us any more dicine, whatever the reason. When I asked him why, he stamred, saying not to make it difficult for him. I went to other clinics in the street, and it's as if those doctors knew our family's situation, reaching a consensus not to give us dicine, even if we offered more money..."
"Is there really such a thing?" Upon hearing this, Liu Shiyuan was stunned, then angry!
She knew the shell powder she brought back was only a temporary redy to alleviate her father's pain; to rely on it to heal a terminal illness was a fantasy. Her father's life-saving drug was a special dicine called Pan's Compound α-Ketone Acid Capsule, which had kept him going all these years. The clinic in the slum area sold it, and it was always Doctor Ma who prescribed it, at an affordable price.
But now, why won't they sell it anymore?
Moreover, refusing only to sell to our family, isn't this clearly letting my father die? Just watching him die?
Liu Shiyuan couldn't take it and said, "I'll go find Doctor Ma!"
"Daughter, don't go, it's no use! I've begged many tis, but Doctor Ma just won't sell it. It's pointless for you to go too..." Wang Xiui advised bitterly.
Ignoring her mother's protests, Liu Shiyuan rushed out the door, heading straight for Doctor Ma's clinic with a fiery determination.
Despite her simple nature, she realized there was a conspiracy, but what kind of conspiracy is it, and why is it specifically targeting her family? Her parents, like her, were honest people. Who did they offend to have their life-saving dicine cut off?
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