Mr. Wu nodded to me and said, "Yes, we have no signal here."
I was speechless and then said, "Then how do you get in touch with the outside world?"
"Telephone," he said.
"Whose house has a phone? Do you have one here?"
He shook his head and said: "There is it in the town, the same town where you came from."
I was speechless again. It was already outside several mountains. Would I still be able to use the phone there?
I suddenly felt a little irritated. I couldn't contact An Lan, so I didn't know his situation!
We agreed to have a video call every day, but how could we have a video call with her in a place where there was no signal?
Just when I was anxious, Mr. Wu said to me again: "Don't be anxious. Just treat yourself here with peace of mind. If you are so impatient, your illness will heal more slowly."
"So, I have been completely cut off from the outside world for more than a month?"
"That's accurate, but have you thought about it? If not, then stay here for one night and I will find someone to take you out of the mountain tomorrow."
I suddenly didn't know what to make. I could either stay here and be treated with peace of mind, or choose not to be treated.
If I just go back like this, An Lan will definitely blame me, and I also want to cure my disease.
After thinking about it like this, I felt that more than a month was not a long time. Those who were in jail had even less freedom than me, and it could last for several years.
It's only been a month and a half for me, and it's over as soon as I endure it.
After thinking about it clearly, I finally said to Mr. Wu: "Then I'd better treat him with peace of mind."
"That's right. You have to maintain a good attitude. Once the herbs are collected, I will start treating you."
"Haven't you collected everything yet?" I asked.
He looked at the herbs we collected this afternoon and said: "It's still early. Let's continue collecting tomorrow. There are some herbs that are absolutely indispensable."
I sighed, but I could only calm down. I knew there was no point in rushing now.
"By the way, Mr. Wu, doesn't your daughter know how to speak?"
"I can."
I was shocked: "Then...then why have I never heard her speak?"
Mr. Wu said with a smile: "She doesn't like talking to people. She has been like this since she was a child. Once you get to know her, she will naturally talk to you."
This is really hard to describe, I thought she was mute.
I asked again: "Then she can understand Chinese, right?"
"Yes, I have called her Hanyu since she was a child."
"That's good, I have another question, what's her name?"
"My little girl's name is Wu Nanxing."
I didn't expect the name to be quite nice. I thought the name for such a remote place would be very rustic, but I didn't expect the name to be really nice.
I repeated the sentence and said, "That's a nice name, Nanxing."
"Nanxing is a Chinese herbal medicine, a plant of the genus Pinellia."
It turns out that this is what it means, but I know that there are indeed many Chinese medicines with nice names, such as Indigo Naturalis, Zifu, Luokui, Cinnabar, Angelica Angelica and so on.
The ancients were really elegant in naming. These names make people feel poetic when they hear them.
After dinner, Mr. Wu's wife helped me tidy up a guest room and laid out a new bedding for me.
Mr. Wu told me that the temperature in the mountains will drop below zero at night. It is not quite winter yet. If it is the coldest month of winter, it is possible for temperatures to drop to more than ten degrees below zero.
I had already felt the cold, so An Lan left the down jacket to me before he left.
The village is quieter at night than during the day. It feels like you are in a place where you are alone. That kind of silence is really scary.
The night sky in the mountains is also very charming. It reminds me of the night sky in the countryside when I was a child. The stars in the sky make me feel like I can see the Milky Way.
Sitting in front of the window sill in the room, I looked at the stars in the night sky, and I was still thinking of An Lan.
I don’t know if she is sleeping now? I don’t know if the two children are sleeping?
That kind of longing comes like a flood.
This was my first night in the Miao village in the mountains. I didn’t sleep well, not because of the cold, but because of missing me.
Early the next morning, I was woken up by the crow of chickens in the village, and the sun had already penetrated through the window.
I'm still not used to it. The first time I open my eyes, I touch the phone on the bedside table.
After scratching my head, I realized that there was no bedside table, and my phone was no longer on the bedside table.
The mobile phone is of no use here at all. It can only be used to tell the time and listen to some songs downloaded to the mobile phone.
After putting on clothes and walking out of the room, I saw Mr. Wu and his wife doing some farm work in the yard, and Wu Nanxing was lighting a fire to cook.
It's all very plain, it looks like a very ordinary farmhouse.
But who would have thought that such an ordinary farmer could heal a dying person like me?
To be honest, I still don't believe it until now.
But believe it or not, I have to give it a try!
"Are you awake?" Mr. Wu greeted me when he saw me coming to the yard.
"Yeah." I stretched and replied.
"How was it? Did you sleep well last night?"
"not so good."
"Not used to it?"
"Um."
"It's okay, I'll get used to it gradually."
"It's time to eat." Wu Nanxing's voice suddenly came from the room.
This was the first time I heard her speak. I didn't expect her voice to be so beautiful and clear, as clear as her eyes.
I looked back at her, and she didn't seem to realize that I was there, so she immediately ran back to the room.
She is very shy, shy as I have never seen her before.
During the meal, Mr. Wu gave some instructions to his daughter and told her some Chinese herbal medicines, especially one of them. Mr. Wu said that she must have it and must find it.
So after eating, Wu Nanxing and I continued to set off to another mountain slightly farther away.
On the way, I asked Wu Nanxing: "You can speak? And your voice is so nice, so why don't you talk to me?"
She still didn't speak, just laughed, and she smiled very shyly.
I smiled again and said to her, "Don't be shy. I'm going to stay at your house for more than a month. If you're shy, I'll be even more embarrassed."
She still only responded to me with a smile, maybe she just doesn't like to talk.
I was quite helpless, even though she could understand what I said, but I just talked to myself, like a fool.
I stopped talking and just walked towards the mountain in the distance in silence.
In late autumn, the leaves of many trees in the mountains have fallen off, leaving only bare trunks and even some weeds withered and yellowed.
It was difficult to find herbs in this situation, so we searched the ground carefully without missing any place.
In one morning, we only collected half a basket of herbs, and most of them were repeated.
Mr. Wu Mingming mentioned several kinds of herbs at breakfast today, but it seemed that he couldn't find any of them.
We couldn't go back to eat at noon. There was a lot to eat in the mountains, and all kinds of wild fruits were enough to fill our stomachs.
It's just that I don't know what I can eat and what I can't eat. Fortunately, Wu Nanxing knows that you won't starve if you follow her.
She can move freely in the mountains, and her ability to climb trees is comparable to that of a monkey, which really doesn't match her delicate appearance.
After picking some wild fruits, we found a flat place to eat.
She still didn't speak, but she glanced at me from time to time. When she noticed that I was looking at her, she immediately turned her head away.
I have never seen such a shy girl like her. It feels as if she has never seen anyone else before.
Knowing her personality, I no longer deliberately go to talk to her.
Just as we were eating wild fruits, my cell phone suddenly rang.