And so, little Chen An got half an hour of sunlight at the Cheng family’s place every day. Ye Xiaomei unwrapped all the toys she had bought earlier and placed them in the courtyard, letting little Chen An enjoy them ahead of schedule.

Little Chen An happily lived two months of carefree life. When he could lift his head a little while lying in his grandmother’s arms, he encountered the first hurdle of his life.

Wang Limei had no more milk! Whether grandmother stewed pig’s feet or boiled crucian carp soup, whether they hired a massage therapist or prayed to the Bodhisattva, Wang Limei’s breasts became a pair of shriveled pouches that couldn’t squeeze out a single drop of milk.

Wang Limei urgently purchased two cans of formula. After coaxing him for a long time, little Chen An finally learned to use a bottle. But after contentedly finishing one feeding, he had diarrhea. The next day, his whole body broke out in tiny rashes, densely packed and quite frightening to look at.

The doctor said the child was allergic to protein and needed to drink protein-free formula. However, this type of formula could only be bought in the provincial capital. As soon as Chen Tao left the hospital, he boarded a bus to the provincial capital and specifically hauled back two boxes of special formula.

That formula was really expensive. Two boxes cost as much as Chen Tao’s two months’ salary, but there was no choice—little Chen An was crying so hard from hunger that his voice was nearly hoarse, and he had broken the hearts of the whole family.

However, after buying such expensive formula home, little Chen An refused to give them any face. No matter how Wang Limei and Chen Tao tried different ways to coax him, he absolutely refused to drink it.

Wang Limei tasted it herself and discovered that this protein-free formula had no flavor at all and even carried a bit of a foul smell. She didn’t know if it had spoiled or if that was just how it tasted. Little Chen An was someone who had tasted fragrant and sweet breast milk and regular formula—going from luxury to frugality was difficult. He simply couldn’t stomach this milk. He wanted to be a baby with refined taste.

Grandmother Chen was beside herself with worry. At this point, she didn’t want to waste words with her son and daughter-in-law. She picked up two bottles and ran with the wind at her feet to the passenger transport center, boarding a minibus to the County People’s Hospital.

Upon reaching the maternity ward, she only looked at those women with exposed breasts nursing their babies, her eyes greedily gleaming. She approached each person saying: “Kind mother, please spare some milk for my grandson.” “You’ll accumulate great virtue in this lifetime, and this blessing will surely protect your child’s health and wellbeing!”…

And wouldn’t you know it, although Grandmother Chen’s methods were crude, they were quite effective. Within two hours, she actually managed to fill both bottles.

To save on bus fare, she washed out about ten bottles, carried an insulated box that she used to use when selling popsicles door-to-door in the past, leaving early and returning late, working tirelessly day and night to secure her grandson’s sustenance.

This sallowness quickly transferred from little Chen An’s face to Wang Limei’s face. She was nearly sick with worry.

Little Chen An couldn’t eat solid food until he was six months old. Were they supposed to let him drink milk from a hundred families for two months, making the old woman shamefully run around like this? This wasn’t a sustainable solution. But she couldn’t think of any other options either.