Chapter 2

Because I had administered medicine and secretly wiped Amy down with warm water, her fever finally broke in the second half of the night.

By the next morning, Amy had already recovered enough to be able to sit up in bed, eating oatmeal.

Mindy looked at her energetic granddaughter with great pride and loudly boasted in the living room, "See? I told you my methods work!

"When a child has a fever, you have to make them sweat it out. If it weren't for me wrapping her up in blankets yesterday, would she have recovered so quickly today?

"Young people these days are just too delicate, always rushing to the hospital for medicine. Too much of it and the kid's brain will turn to mush!"

Sam scrolled on his phone from his seat on the sofa, nodding in acknowledgment. "Yes, you know best, Mom.

"The wisdom of the older generation is definitely better than that of those exploitative hospitals!"

In the kitchen, I was steaming an egg pudding for Amy. Listening to the nauseating conversation outside, I let out a cold scoff without saying anything.

Amy had just recovered, and her stomach was still very weak.

A few days later, Mindy somehow heard yet another absurd folk remedy from one of her old friends.

That afternoon, I'd only just brought out my healthy, simple dishes from the kitchen when Mindy walked out of the kitchen carrying a small aluminum pot.

The moment she lifted the lid, a strong, pungent smell of urine filled the entire dining room.

My stomach churned violently, the scent almost making me throw up.

"What in the world is that? Why does it smell so bad?" I frowned, looking at the pot.

Mindy, looking pleased with herself, took out two peeled eggs from the pot that had already been tainted an ominous shade of yellow and placed them in front of Amy.

"This is good stuff, it's eggs boiled in a child's urine!

"I went next door to collect the urine of a baby boy that had just turned one month old, you know?

"Amy's only just recovered, and her body is weak. Eating this will drive out all the lingering sickness, and she won't even catch a cold for an entire year, I swear!"

Looking at the eggs reeking of urine, I pulled Amy behind me protectively, my expression darkening.

"Amy's stomach is already weak! How could you feed her something like this? What if she gets a bacterial infection? Throw it away!"

When she heard this, Mindy shrieked like a scorned witch, striking her wooden spatula against the table heavily. "What in the world do you know? A child's urine is filled with enough energy to purge evil spirits and strengthen the body!

"I got up before dawn to collect it, and now you want me to throw it away just like that? What kind of intentions do you have?"

The argument caused Sam, who'd been playing games in his room, to come out and check.

He frowned visibly when he smelled the scent of urine, but once he saw me opposing his mother, he immediately yelled at me without asking what had happened.

"What are you making a fuss about again? Mom kindly prepared that remedy for Amy, so what right do you have to stop her from eating it?"

"Can't you smell it, Sam? It's urine! Amy is only three years old. What if she gets sick? Who's going to take responsibility?" I asked, my eyes reddening from tears.

"I am!" He shoved me hard, and I fell back into a chair.

Pointing at me, he shouted, "Mom worked hard to prepare this remedy, and it's something other people can only beg for!

"I think you just don't like it when things go right for our family! If anything happens to her after she eats the eggs, I'll take her to get healed, so I don't need you here acting like you're some sort of martyr!"

Watching Sam's righteous expression, filled with blind obedience, my heart felt as cold as ice.

"Fine, I won't stop you…" I covered my face, sobbing softly. "Mindy was just trying to help, and I was just causing a scene…

"B-But… Amy is still small and can't eat it herself, so I'll mash it up so that she can eat it. That should be fine, right?"

Seeing me finally compromise, Sam let out a cold snort. "See, was that really so hard? Stop making Mom mad all day, geez."

Mindy raised her chin gleefully. "Go on, feed it to her. If it goes cold, it's going to lose its properties."

I carried the bowl of urine-boiled eggs into the kitchen. With my back to them, my expression turned ice-cold.

Without hesitation, I dumped the two disgusting eggs straight into the trash.

Then I took out two normal boiled eggs I had prepared earlier, mashed them up, placed them in Amy's little bowl, and drizzled a bit of salt and pepper.

Then, Amy obediently finished the eggs in the kitchen.

As I washed the dishes, I listened to laughter from the living room, where Sam and Mindy were chatting happily. My grip tightened around the plate I was holding.

'Since you trust your mother's folk remedies so much, since you insist you'll take responsibility…

'Then next time, I'll make sure these remedies are used completely on you!'