Food Supplements - Chapter 12

Qin Cheng had originally assumed her mother would stay for a week or two at most. She truly did not want her to remain any longer, but that had nothing to do with being filial. It was simply that when two people lived together day and night, many things became difficult to hide.

Still, the landlady’s generous offer was undeniably tempting. Besides, Qin Cheng knew that money was not the only reason her mother was willing to stay for several months.

No one knew a daughter better than her mother, and the reverse was equally true. Qin Cheng knew how softhearted her mother was. Her sympathy for the landlady’s daughter, along with her worry over Qin Cheng’s excessive weight loss, had both influenced her decision to remain.

What happened afterward unfolded exactly as Qin Cheng expected.

Although her mother accepted the landlady’s offer and began preparing special meals for the autistic girl every day, she insisted that the five-thousand-yuan payment already covered all expenses. She absolutely refused to accept additional grocery money.

“After all, my daughter and I eat the food I cook too. How could I charge all of it to you? If you keep trying to give me more money, Younger Sister, then I won’t do it anymore.”

Those were her exact words.

The landlady might normally have been shrewd and fond of small bargains, but she was not a miser who cared only about money and ignored affection. On the contrary, she was the kind of person who repaid kindness several times over.

With one gesture followed by another, the two families naturally became increasingly close.

The only person troubled by this arrangement was Qin Cheng.

In her judgment, it was not so much her mother’s cooking that suited the girl’s appetite as it was the special crops grown beside the lake.

Since they had accepted payment, they had to deliver results. Qin Cheng now had to make a deliberate effort every day to work produce from the lake realm into the menu so no one would be disappointed.

Fortunately, the results over the next few days did not betray her efforts.

Any dish containing spring onions or garlic shoots, whether meat or vegetable, was well received by the autistic girl. Qin Cheng herself was the same. No matter how poor her appetite, she could eat dishes made with either ingredient, and afterward she never experienced abdominal pain, vomiting, or anything similar.

But no matter how easy they were to pair with other foods, they could not possibly serve spring onions and garlic at every meal.

Aside from those two, the lake realm contained only one apple tree. It grew quickly, transforming from a seedling into a young tree within four or five days, but it was still immature, and there was no telling when it would bear fruit.

Fortunately, other things were growing just as quickly.

The garlic, for example.

Garlic could be eaten differently at each stage of growth. Once the tender leaves had been harvested, there were garlic scapes. When the plants finally matured into full bulbs, Qin Cheng dug them up, saved some cloves for replanting, and handed the rest to her mother to use as seasoning.

Soon, the kitchen was bustling with dishes such as sliced pork with garlic sauce, garlic ribs, and butterflied shrimp with minced garlic and glass noodles.

That carried them through another few days.

These dishes did more than solve the question of what to eat. They also further confirmed the effect of the crops, because every one of them continued attracting the autistic girl.

The same effect applied to Qin Cheng.

Given that, adding more varieties had become increasingly urgent. No matter how creatively they used them, spring onions and garlic were simply too limited. Continuing like this for long was clearly impossible.

In theory, solving the problem was not difficult, and Qin Cheng had already decided what to do.

She simply had not acted yet because she was waiting for her online purchases to arrive.

That was right.

Since she intended to treat this seriously, she had ordered seeds and several small gardening tools online. She had no intention of continuing to dig holes with a metal spoon meant for eating.

Speaking of adding more crops, something else had surprised Qin Cheng.

Without her noticing, another small life-form had appeared inside her strange little realm—completely uninvited.

She discovered it entirely by accident.

A few days earlier, while secretly replanting garlic beside the lake, she noticed that something seemed to have sprouted in one of the plots in the neighboring landscaping section.

Small objects were crowded densely together in the dark soil, resembling clusters of tiny green lumps.

That was strange.

From beginning to end, Qin Cheng had worked only in the nearest plot. She had never touched any other area, much less the neighboring section.

Could these plots somehow grow things on their own?

Surprised and curious, she immediately went over for a closer look.

Only then did she discover that they were not green lumps at all, but clusters of tiny cacti.

They were so young, tender, round, and tightly packed that even their many little spines seemed harmless. Instead, they possessed the peculiar cuteness of succulents.

But cacti?

Why would cacti grow here?

They did not seem to suit the mysterious atmosphere of a Taiji Bagua lake at all.

So perhaps the reason lay with her.

Qin Cheng stared thoughtfully at the cute little succulents for a long time before finally wondering whether they might somehow be connected to the dragon fruit.

Come to think of it, where did dragon fruit grow?

On trees?

On vines?

No one could blame Qin Cheng for not knowing. Everyone had gaps in their knowledge.

The reason she suspected the dragon fruit was that when she distributed the red-fleshed fruit for everyone to try that evening, one seemed to be missing. Later, she had also found sticky traces of pulp on the sole of her shoe.

The fruit had rolled everywhere when her illness flared, and she had been dizzy with pain at the time. Although she had tried to avoid them, stepping on one by accident would have been understandable.

So Qin Cheng had not thought much of it.

She had only been confused later when she returned to the lake realm and found no crushed fruit or pulp anywhere. Unable to explain the cleanliness, she eventually classified it as yet another mysterious phenomenon.

Looking back now, she seemed to have moved near this area to avoid the scattered fruit.

If one had rolled into the soil and she had accidentally stepped on it, that would make sense.

At least it made more sense than self-cleaning ground or crops sprouting by themselves.

No matter how much she guessed, learning the facts was the only reliable approach.

As soon as she returned home that day, Qin Cheng searched online for information about dragon fruit.

To her surprise, it really was the fruit of a cactus-family plant.

With her theory confirmed and another gap in her knowledge filled, handling the matter became much easier.

Apparently, dragon fruit plants were not especially delicate to begin with. And since these seedlings were growing inside such a strange, supernatural realm, Qin Cheng boldly separated the crowded cactus clusters and transplanted them.

The soil in the neighboring section soon held six neat, lively groups of round little cactus plants.

After finishing, she stood and wiped the sweat from her face.

She looked at the increasingly sturdy apple tree on one side, then at the flourishing cactus team on the other, and had to admit that expensive fruit was much more exciting to anticipate.

If she followed that line of thought further, she could save a considerable amount of money on fruit.

Growing things herself did not necessarily mean growing only vegetables.

Even though her thinking had broadened, Qin Cheng did not act recklessly.

She had already prepared a plan for what to do next, so she would simply follow it.

No one became fat from a single meal, and that was especially true for a patient with extremely limited energy and stamina.

Thus, during the days while she waited for her order to arrive, aside from tending and harvesting the existing crops and occasionally helping her mother in the kitchen, she did only two things.

The first was something that had remained lodged in her heart: her doubt and worry over the unexpected encounter at the hospital.

Because she was concerned, Qin Cheng later found excuses to go out alone and waited in front of the office building several more times.

She hoped that, with enough luck, she might see Chu Qinyi again and carefully observe her complexion and condition, if only to reassure herself.

Unfortunately, relying on chance was never reliable.

Every one of her attempts ended in failure. She did not even get the opportunity to glimpse Chu Qinyi from afar.

For a while, she considered calling the man surnamed Tang again.

But then she remembered that he was neither attentive nor kindhearted and was also extremely busy. Asking him would probably be pointless.

She could only set the idea aside for now and bury the lingering worry in her heart.

The second matter was somewhat connected to the first.

When Qin Cheng returned to the hospital to obtain more medicine, she also tried asking around, hoping to find some kind of clue.

Naturally, the attempt failed.

She did not even know the young doctor’s name, much less which department he worked in or what role he had played.

The hospital was enormous. Even after being a long-term patient for several years, Qin Cheng knew only a handful of relevant staff members, such as her attending physician, Elder Huang.

In fact, Elder Huang looked slightly surprised when he saw her this time.

Perhaps he felt that, for a patient whose life had already entered its final countdown, she looked far better than expected.

While writing her prescriptions, he even gave her a simple examination.

After thinking for a moment, he seriously suggested that she undergo further testing.

“Your complexion is much better than when you were discharged. I’m wondering whether your jaundice levels may have dropped a little. If they have, that would be a very good sign.”

The old doctor analyzed her condition with a warm smile, his expression carrying both relief and puzzlement.

Qin Cheng found an excuse and rejected the suggestion.

She had come for medicine, not for testing.

At present, new test results held neither meaning nor benefit for her.

If the results showed improvement, her medical data would become unusually conspicuous. Many doctors, like Elder Huang, would become confused and might even try to investigate the cause further.

But if the tests showed no pathological change, or even that her condition continued worsening, then the optimism and hope she had painstakingly built over the past several days would undoubtedly suffer a severe blow.

Call it avoiding medical treatment if one wished.

Either way, she preferred to avoid a situation where both possible outcomes harmed her.

Modern medicine could no longer help her. At this stage, maintaining hope and a positive state of mind was more important.

So she quickly said goodbye to Elder Huang, collected her prescription, left the hospital, and decided that from now on, she would avoid returning whenever possible.

It was fortunate she had not agreed to remain for testing.

The moment Qin Cheng returned home, the delivery she had been waiting for arrived.

Because the package contained gardening tools, the cardboard box was inevitably rather large.

Fortunately, the two older women had once again found a way to send Qin Cheng out that day, so she was able to accept the delivery calmly, carry the box into her room, and carefully lock the door.

When she reappeared beside the lake, Qin Cheng was carrying not only the delivery box but also two small items she had prepared herself: pieces of ginger and potato that had already been soaked until they sprouted.

These crops were equally ordinary and inconspicuous.

Precisely because of that, they could be paired with countless meat and vegetable dishes.

When it came to cooking, pursuing expensive ingredients was less practical than planting more supporting ingredients like these.

Of course, Qin Cheng had prepared more than that.

After opening the package, she found three carefully selected seed packets beside the gardening tools.

Cilantro.

Tomatoes.

And cherry tomatoes.

Her reason for planting cilantro was the same as for the ginger and potatoes. The more supporting ingredients she had, the wider the variety of dishes they could prepare.

As for the other two…

All right.

Qin Cheng naturally knew tomatoes and cherry tomatoes were similar, but she had bought both out of personal preference.

They could be eaten as vegetables or fruit, and she had always liked them.

She had begun considering her own tastes because Qin Cheng was now almost certain that eating more food grown in this small realm improved the body to some degree, especially for people who were ill.

Over the past several days, both she and the autistic girl had not only shown a strong preference for these crops but also clearly looked better after eating them.

For Qin Cheng, the improvement appeared in the reduced frequency of pain attacks and better sleep.

As for the other girl…

Perhaps becoming willing to speak a little counted as improvement too.

What was the mechanism?

She had no idea, and there was no need to waste energy figuring it out yet.

The important point was that, judging from Qin Cheng’s recent attacks, the crops’ effects seemed temporary.

Like certain medicines that had to be taken two or three times a day to maintain their effect, these crops probably also needed to be eaten regularly—preferably continuously.

If they ate them over a long period, would the effects accumulate?

How much improvement might ultimately be possible?

The answer was unknown, but it was impossible not to hope.

After discovering the difference in the passage of time, this was the second truly exciting finding.

Even if she should not hope for too much or look too far ahead, at the very least, maintaining her current condition while her mother remained with her would be enough.

That was also why Qin Cheng had started planting foods she personally liked.

If she had to eat them often, she saw no reason to deprive herself.

Once she decided, she acted.

With proper gardening tools, the work was clearly much easier.

Qin Cheng quickly poured out the cilantro seeds. Without any further treatment, she planted them in batches in the remaining soil beside the spring onions, following the spacing instructions on the packet.

After planting the cilantro, the first rectangular plot was finally fully utilized.

From left to right, it now contained garlic, spring onions, cilantro, and an apple tree that occupied a third of the ground yet still showed no sign of progressing further.

Come to think of it, had it already been a week since she planted the apple seed?

Growing into a tree within a week would have been an unbelievable miracle outside.

But inside this realm, the apple tree was painfully slow compared with the spring onions, which had been harvested repeatedly and remained lush, or the garlic, which regrew quickly after replanting.

Even the little succulents that had taken root after it—

No, the dragon fruit seedlings—

had already become tall, thick cactus trees.

Of course, trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants naturally had very different growth cycles.

Even so, looking at the sturdy but completely inactive tree, Qin Cheng could not help feeling uncertain.

“Hey, if you don’t bear fruit, perhaps there’s a pollination problem… but at least bloom once so I can see it.”

After planting the cilantro, the woman leaned against the tree to rest and looked up at its dense green leaves, unable to stop herself from muttering.

Naturally, it was only a meaningless complaint.

Once she finished, Qin Cheng patted the trunk as though comforting it, then obediently moved to the neighboring rectangular plot and began preparing the soil.

She divided it into four sections of different sizes and planted, in order, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, and pieces of sprouted ginger and potato.

Once everything was planted, the potatoes occupied the largest area, while the full-sized tomatoes occupied the smallest.

Overall, however, the second plot had also been used efficiently.

Previously, she had filled only a little more than half a plot.

Now, two entire plots were occupied.

Although planting here required far less effort than ordinary farming, the work was still enough to exhaust someone in poor health.

So Qin Cheng did not return again that day.

After leaving, she showered, changed clothes, and lay in bed with her eyes closed to recover.

Even when her mother returned, she could not be persuaded to move.

The next day, when Qin Cheng found an opportunity to enter the small realm again, filled with anticipation, she truly smelled flowers and saw blossoms.

Her complaint from the day before seemed to have worked.

But it had affected the wrong plant.

The large, flawless white flowers hanging gracefully from the thick green stems belonged to the dragon fruit plants.

As for the apple tree she had complained to, it seemed almost offended and determined to oppose her.

There were still no flowers on it today.

Instead, its branches were already densely covered with clusters of heavy, ripe fruit.