Children of Loulan

As she spoke, Hanguli took out a cloth bag and placed it on the square table. She gently opened it and a reddish-brown Ganoderma lucidum appeared before her eyes. Rena opened her mouth in shock and almost cried out. Her heart jumped with excitement. She quickly covered her mouth, stared with her eyes, and asked in a low voice:

"Guli, this, this, did you pick this? Where did you pick it?"

After asking these two questions, Rena realized that she had become nervous. Because this kind of red ganoderma was obviously wild, and this kind of wild red ganoderma could only be found in the deep mountains around the village. But there were ferocious beasts in the deep mountains, and even the strongest laborers in the village did not dare to go there. How could her daughter dare to go there? Thinking of this, her heart was suddenly in a knot. She looked her daughter up and down and asked anxiously:

"Guli, are you injured anywhere?"

Hanguli saw her mother's sudden change and knew that she had misunderstood that she had gone to the mountains, so she smiled and comforted her:

"Mom, don't worry, I'm fine. I didn't go to the deep mountains. I found it under an old dead tree near the deep mountains."

Jenna checked and confirmed that her daughter was not injured. She felt relieved, but at the same time she was a little scared. She asked:

"Guli, you really didn't go to the mountains?"

Hanguli said, "Really? I know it's very dangerous inside. Don't worry, Mom. I won't go there. If something happens to me, what will happen to you, my brother, and my dad?"

Hearing her daughter say this, Jenna still had some lingering fear and took her daughter's hand and said:

"Guli, you must not go. Mother cannot live without you."

When Hanguli heard this, her heart suddenly moved. She hugged her mother tightly and said:

"Mom, don't worry, I won't go. I can't bear to leave my parents and brother."

Hanguli comforted her mother for a while, and when she saw that her mother was no longer worried, she slowly spoke:

"Mom, where is Mamtim?"

Jenna: "He fell asleep. He went out for a walk this morning and is a little tired."

Hanguli nodded: "Well, I'll go see him."

As she said that, she wrapped the red ganoderma again, took it into the side room, and put it in the closet. She walked to the bedside and looked at the sleeping boy. The boy had thick black hair, a pair of deep eyes, a high nose bridge, thin cheeks, and dark skin, which made his facial features more three-dimensional, but also more sickly. Because of premature birth, he has been weak and sickly. In the past few years, he relied on medicine. Later, he heard from the pharmacy shopkeeper that he could exercise properly to strengthen his physical strength, so that he could slowly stop relying on medicine.

So in the past few years, whenever Hanguli had time, she would take her brother out for a walk, and occasionally let him carry some stones. Since taking her brother out, his health has indeed improved a lot. In the past, her brother had to be accompanied by her before he would go out, and she had to carry him on her back when he was tired. Now her brother can go out for a walk by himself! Hanguli touched her brother's thin cheek and turned to the kitchen to cook.

After a while, she prepared lunch and shouted while holding the hot naan:

"Mom, it's time to eat!"

Jenna smiled and replied:

"Okay, I'll go call your brother."

Loulan was located in an oasis in the desert, and there was not much land for cultivation, so they did not have rice, and the only food they had was naan and cheese, which was similar to modern Xinjiang naan. Meat was unaffordable for ordinary people like them. If there was a good year, they could have a meal during the New Year or other festivals, but if there was a bad year, they might not even be able to have meat during the New Year or other festivals.

After dinner, Hanguli cleaned up the house as usual and took her brother to the medicine shop. The medicine shop belonged to Kuturuk, a wealthy family in the village, and the best doctor was also in this medicine shop. When her mother had a difficult delivery, it was thanks to the doctor in the medicine shop who tried his best to rescue her, and Kuturuk took out the most precious ginseng in the medicine shop.

Because of this, my mother and brother were able to survive. The ginseng was originally very valuable. In addition, my mother and brother had to take medicine in the following years, and all the medicine was from the pharmacy. As a result, their family owed the pharmacy a lot of money.

However, the owner of the medicine shop not only did not ask for payment, but occasionally gave them some herbs with poor appearance and weaker medicinal properties, saying that these herbs were too bad and it would be a waste to throw them away, so it would be better to give them to them. Hanguli was very grateful for this.

So, she basically went to check on the medicinal herbs she grew in the morning, and in the afternoon she took her brother to the medicine shop to help dry and grind the herbs.

At first, the shopkeeper didn't let her do these things, but she insisted on repaying his kindness. Later, she begged Kuturuk, saying that he saved her mother and brother and she had no way to repay him, so she just wanted to do something small within her ability.

Seeing her insistence, Kutuluk agreed, and at the same time he told the shopkeeper to give her some inferior herbs as payment. Although the shopkeeper had doubts, he still did it.

Hanguli was like a free helper in the pharmacy. Although it was free, she felt that she was getting a great deal. Because when she was working as a helper here, the doctor told her that when her brother turned five, he could strengthen his physique through moderate exercise.

It was also because of working here for free that she got to know a lot of medicinal herbs and knew their medicinal properties well.

Although she couldn't take a pulse, she knew what medicine to prescribe for some minor illnesses as long as she told the symptoms. Because when she was doing it, she would also listen attentively to the conversation between the doctor, the patient and the medicine boy.

This was not because she deliberately learned by stealing, but because she had a good memory. She could remember the taste and medicinal properties of many medicinal herbs after smelling or hearing them once.

Later, when her brother's health gradually improved, she took him to the pharmacy to help with some small chores.

The shopkeeper saw that the brother and sister were so diligent and efficient in their work, so he usually took good care of them.

Maimaiti saw his sister coming out with a cloth bag and asked curiously, "Sister, what is this?"

Hanguli smiled and whispered in his ear: "It's a red Ganoderma lucidum. I found it a few days ago. It just matured today. Now I'm taking it to the medicine store to sell it."

After hearing what his sister said, Maimaiti was so shocked that his jaw almost dropped, and he stammered:

"Sister...sister, what...what did you say? What...what...is this? Red Ganoderma lucidum?"

Oh my God! Is he dreaming? Although for those rich people, this red ganoderma is not a rare thing, but for their family, it is simply a huge sum of money!

Hanguli smiled and touched his head, nodding gently. Only then did he come to his senses. This was real, it was really red Ganoderma lucidum!

Then he grinned and asked expectantly, "Sister, if you sell this, will we be able to pay off the money we owe to the pharmacy?"

Hanguli: "Not only that, there's still some money left. I'll go buy some meat tonight and make a delicious meal for Dad, and also to nourish you and Mom."

Mamtim: "Sister, I don't need to take care of it, you should take care of it. You have worked so hard to take care of me and mom!"

Hanguli was very happy and relieved. She said, "Silly brother, you are only eight years old and you are still growing. You need to eat more. I am thirteen years old this year and I am an adult!"

As she spoke, she put her arm around her brother's shoulders and ran straight to the pharmacy. Hanguli opened the cloth bag and showed it to the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper was also surprised when he saw it and asked:

"What are you doing?"

Hanguli replied with a smile: "I found it and sold it to the pharmacy!"

The shopkeeper picked up the red Ganoderma lucidum, turned it over and over to look at it carefully, then looked at Hanguli and said:

"This is in excellent condition. Not only can it pay off your previous debts, but it will also leave you with some extra money."

Then he said: "The master just came to the pharmacy, I will go and talk to him, you wait a moment"

Although the brother and sister already knew what was going on, they looked at each other with unconcealed joy when they heard the shopkeeper say this.

Maimaiti's eyes were red, because he always felt that the reason why the family was so poor was because of him. If it weren't for him, his mother's health wouldn't be so bad, his father wouldn't have to work so hard as a helper to earn money, and his sister wouldn't have to take on the responsibility of the family at such a young age.

However, seeing her brother like this, Hanguli touched his head with heartache and gave him silent comfort. She knew in her heart how much self-blame her brother had felt over the years.

Not long after, the shopkeeper came over and said, "The master is in there, please go in!"

Hanguli nodded and said yes, then took her brother into the accounting office which they never went into normally.

Inside the earthen-walled room, there was a desk with a pile of account books and an abacus on it. Behind the desk sat a slightly fat man in his forties with a mustache.

When the man saw the brother and sister coming in, he smiled and said, "Hey, you two are here, come, come and sit down!"

The brother and sister then sat on a bench, smiling at Kuturuk.

Kuturuk looked at the brother and sister and smiled, and asked Hanguli: "Did you find this?"

Hanguli smiled and nodded: "Yes"

Kuturuk: "Our Hanguli is really a beautiful flower. It is not easy to find such a good red Ganoderma lucidum. It must be very hard for her to take care of her brother and mother for so many years."

When Maimaiti heard this, he looked at his sister with a trace of guilt in his eyes.

Hanguli silently comforted her brother and responded:

"Thank you, Uncle Kuturuk. My hard work is nothing. We should thank Uncle Kuturuk for helping our family over the years. If you hadn't helped us back then, my mother and brother would probably be gone!"