Chapter 8: Accelerating Medicinal Herb Growth

“I thought no one in this world cared whether I lived or died anymore… Turns out Uncle Deng still does. Thank you.”

“At the time, the situation was really complicated. My sister and I went out to play and ran into bad people on the way. To survive, my sister abandoned me and ran off. I suffered so much to make it back here, enduring endless hardship and using up all my strength to escape quietly…”

Recalling that part of her past, even she couldn’t help but feel a pang of sorrow.

In that kind of environment, she had no choice but to submit to others to protect herself. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have ended up pregnant like this.

Thinking of this, Jiang Tangtang gently touched her still-flat belly.

Once her belly started to show, she didn’t know how much ridicule and scorn she would have to endure.

But even if she could do it all over again, she still wouldn’t regret having this child. This child was her only flesh and blood—her only remaining family.

“You’ve truly suffered, child…”

In just a few short months, their family had been reduced to this state. Uncle Deng, now at his age, could only lament the unpredictability of life.

“Uncle Deng, I want to ask you for a favor. If I take Lu Zhicai to court, can you testify as a witness?”

This was Jiang Tangtang’s only hope.

Testifying wouldn’t affect him directly, but he was afraid.

Lu Zhicai was a ruthless and calculating man. How could he allow her to go to court? If he used his connections, even the witness might be dragged into the mess.

Thinking of this, though Uncle Deng felt sorry, he quickly refused.

“That’s not possible! Tangtang, you have to understand, I have my own burdens. Besides, your brother was just a child at the time. He wouldn’t be sentenced. But with your father’s cruelty, neither you nor I would escape his grasp. If that happens and we end up losing two lives for nothing, what’s the point?”

“Look at my grandson. He’s still so sickly. If I die, who will take care of him…”

The truth was in his hands, but so were his and his grandson’s lives.

He couldn’t take that risk.

“If you’re willing to testify, he can be brought to justice. But if you don’t, he’ll roam free, possibly hurting even more people. Can you really bear that?”

A bad person doesn’t just commit evil once. People only grow more greedy, and to satisfy that greed, they’ll do even worse things…

Desire is a bottomless pit—Jiang Tangtang knew this all too well!

“If it were only me who would die, I really wouldn’t mind. After all, I’m just an old man with nothing left. Everyone close to me is already gone. Death might even be a release.”

“But think about it—I still have my grandson. He’s sick and he needs me. Tangtang, this is your family’s matter, after all.”

Yes. In the end, this was still a Jiang family matter, and had nothing to do with the Deng family. If he insisted on staying uninvolved, there was nothing Jiang Tangtang could do.

But she knew the only reason Uncle Deng didn’t dare take the risk was because of his sickly grandson. If he were alone, he might have already agreed.

Staring at the tightly shut door, Jiang Tangtang fell silent for a moment. Her long-prepared plan had finally come to the point of execution. She quickly stepped forward, holding the old man’s arm and looking at him sincerely.

“Uncle Deng, if you can help me, I’ll find a way to cure your grandson. Can you trust me?”

Looking into her eyes, the old man couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Silly child, even if your grandfather were still alive, he might not have been able to save him. Don’t say things just to comfort an old man.”

Her family had once served as imperial physicians in the palace, with generations of medical knowledge passed down. That was the reason Lu Zhicai had married into the Jiang family in the first place.

She and her sister had lived with their grandfather since childhood, learning medicine from him.

But saying Jiang Tangtang could cure his grandson? He just couldn’t believe it.

“I know it’s hard to trust someone my age, but I promise I can prove it to you. How about this: wake your grandson up, let me take his pulse, and I’ll prescribe some medicine. If he shows even a little improvement, will you believe me then?”

In her past life, she really might not have had a solution. Herbs were scarce. But in this life, it was different—she had already planted spiritual herbs in her space.

“…Alright.”
Uncle Deng rested his hands on his knees and lowered his head, deep in thought.

He had tried everything to heal his grandson, selling everything he could, visiting every doctor he could find—traditional Chinese and Western alike—but none could help.

Only after repeated disappointments had he accepted the cruel reality.

So it was understandable that he found it hard to believe Jiang Tangtang.

Seeing that he still showed no signs of giving in, Jiang Tangtang reassured him once more.

“Uncle Deng, I understand how you feel. Your grandson is your only remaining family, so I won’t force you. But if you’re willing to trust me, just let me examine him. I’ll prescribe one dose of medicine. If it works, then you can consider helping me. Is that fair?”

For Uncle Deng, this was a no-risk offer. Though he had hardened his heart earlier, her words finally made him hesitate.

“If you can really heal him, even this frail old life of mine would be yours… Alright then. I’ll take you to see him.”

After speaking, the old man picked up his cane, got up from the wicker chair, and led her to his grandson’s room.

As soon as they stepped inside, Jiang Tangtang smelled the strong scent of Chinese medicine. The room was dimly lit, with a single iron bed in the center.

The room was relatively clean—there wasn’t much furniture. On the blue-and-white checkered sheets lay a thin, pale boy with delicate features.

He had his eyes tightly shut, seemingly in a deep, uncomfortable sleep, his expression slightly pained.

With Uncle Deng’s permission, Jiang Tangtang approached the bed and gently pulled his hand out from under the blanket.

She first placed her warm hand on his forehead. Feeling the heat, she guessed he had a fever. Then she moved her fingers to his wrist and took his pulse.

After a careful examination, she found his vital energy severely depleted, especially his spleen and kidneys. His yangming and jueyin meridians were weak. The kidneys govern bones and marrow, while the spleen is the source of qi and blood. He had likely suffered a major emotional trauma that left lasting damage. The fever was merely a surface symptom.

She also examined his tongue and eyes and confirmed it was the same illness from her previous life, though this time the symptoms were slightly milder.

“Uncle Deng, did he become unresponsive after his mother passed away?”

“Yes. The shock was too great. He’s too young to bear it.”

Hearing this, Jiang Tangtang felt more certain.

“I know what to do. Wait for my news. I’ll go home now—if my father finds I’m not there, he’ll definitely grow suspicious.”

Standing up, she bid Uncle Deng farewell.

After so many failed attempts with doctors, Uncle Deng didn’t hold out much hope. He simply walked her to the door without saying much more.

Before returning home, Jiang Tangtang cautiously checked through the window and made sure no one was around before entering through the front door.

She went straight to her room, locked the door, and closed the curtains before touching her bracelet and entering the space.

This time, she didn’t go into the villa. Instead, she went straight to the farmland control panel.

Touching her chin, Jiang Tangtang finalized her treatment plan:

Support the righteous and dispel the evil, treating both symptoms and root causes.

Only then could the illness truly be cured.

Fortunately, she had been prepared. That morning, she had planted several medicinal herbs—one of them, Anemarrhena asphodeloides (Zhī Mǔ), was just what the boy needed.

This herb was notoriously delicate and couldn’t grow in normal environments. It required very specific conditions—typically found only in spiritually rich remote mountains. Even experienced herbalists might find only a few plants a year.

Thinking of this, Jiang Tangtang grew anxious and quickly checked on the herb’s growth. After one day, they still hadn’t grown much.

Though slightly disappointed, she remembered that the manual mentioned watering and fertilizer could accelerate growth.

She rushed to the control panel and pressed the watering and fertilizer buttons.

A large screen instantly appeared in the air:

“Notice: Fertilizer — 0.5 coins per unit. Each unit shortens growth time by 5 days.”
“Notice: Watering — 0.1 coin per use. Each use shortens growth time by 1 day.”