Tu Youyou and the Sweet Wormwood
Tu Youyou and the Sweet Wormwood — a biography. 10 illustrated pages, narrated, on the kids shelf, free to read on Wonder People.
Page 1
The terrace steps rose stone by stone above Maona village, each one taller than a kitchen pot, and Tu Youyou leaned her whole small body into the rope of a crate as she hauled it up behind Master Bai. His long bent back strained forward, bare feet gripping the wet stone, the huge round basket on his shoulders swaying with every step. Halfway up, a crate lid jolted loose and a tight bundle of mosquito nets slipped free, tumbling down the terraces and unrolling itself into a long white ribbon, flapping over the flooded rice water below. Ah Lan, barefoot and quick, dropped the bucket she was carrying and sprinted down the stone steps three at a time, her red ribbons bouncing wildly. She flung herself forward at the last terrace edge and grabbed the trailing end of the net just as it brushed the water, hauling it back with both skinny arms before it could sink. Tu Youyou scrambled down after her, breathless, while Master Bai called out encouragement from above, setting his crate down carefully on the stone.
Page 2
Ah Lan kicked off her sandals before she even reached the bank and splashed straight through the shallows, water flying up past her knees, past the lazy buffalo that barely lifted their heads. 'Here! Here! Look at this ugly one!' she shouted, pointing down at a scruffy feathery weed growing crooked between the washing-stones. Tu Youyou scrambled down after her, skirting the wet rocks, while Master Bai stooped low, setting his huge basket down with a soft thud. He pressed his knotted hands into the mud, working his fingers deep around the roots, and hauled upward with a steady grunt until the whole plant came free in one wet, black clump. He shook it hard over the basket, clods of earth scattering, and the bitter green smell rose sharp enough to make Ah Lan wrinkle her nose and clamp a hand over it. Tu Youyou crouched close, steadying a trailing root with her own fingers so it wouldn't tear, nodding slowly as she studied the ragged leaves against the river light.
Page 3
The gangplank creaked, bowing under the weight of the crate as Master Bai hauled it onto his shoulder, waist-high and heavier than it looked. One strap gave way and the whole crate tipped, slamming against the rail and bursting open, showering grey-green wormwood leaves across the wet deck boards. Tu Youyou dropped to her knees at once, scrambling to scoop the precious leaves back by the armful before the sea spray could ruin them. Master Bai grabbed the broken crate and held it steady against his chest, catching leaves as they slid, his long arms sweeping wide arcs across the planks. On the pier behind, left standing beyond the rising gangplank, Ah Lan could not climb aboard to help, so she pressed the bamboo flute to her lips and blew a bright, wobbling tune, as if the music itself might keep the leaves from blowing into the water. The steamer's funnel coughed black smoke overhead, and sailors shouted for the plank to be pulled in.
Page 4
The handcart lurches over a frozen rut and the left wheel snaps clean off its axle with a crack like a dry branch. Two thousand recipe cards, stacked waist-high, burst over the bricks in a grey-white tide, sliding under the rows of forty black bicycles leaning near the bare persimmon tree. Zhou Kang drops his abacus against his hip and dives to grab the broken axle before the whole cart tips sideways, heaving it onto his round shoulder with a grunt, his cardigan sleeves sliding up his thick arms. Lin Wei unwinds his long maroon scarf in one sweep and drags it low across the bricks like a net, herding scattered cards into a heap, his ink-stained fingers pinching the wool tight. Tu Youyou scrambles on her knees gathering fistfuls before the wind catches them, tucking loose ones into her jacket. Master Bai, bending his tall stooped frame nearly double, scoops whole armfuls up against his straw cape and carries them over to stack steady in her waiting arms, his basket swaying on his back the whole time.
Page 5
The library shelves rose three times higher than a grown man, wooden ladders on brass rails leaning against them like ships' masts. Tu Youyou climbed, rung after rung, past shelf after shelf of grey cloth-bound volumes, until she reached the fourth-century handbook wedged near the top. She tugged it free, but her sleeve caught a whole row of brittle books beside it, and they slid loose, tumbling down in a cascade of dust and crumbling paper. Lin Wei lunged beneath the ladder, his long arms spreading wide, and caught the falling stack against his chest before a single page hit the floor. Zhou Kang hurried over clicking his abacus in alarm, steadying the ladder's base, while Master Bai braced the bottom shelf with his shoulder so nothing else would fall. Tu Youyou climbed down carefully, blew the dust from the ancient cover, and opened it right there in the aisle, reading aloud by lamplight the old physician's instruction: soak it in cold water, wring out the juice.
Page 6
The north wind came without warning, slamming across the rooftop and catching the drying trays like sails. Grey-green leaves burst upward in a spinning cloud, scattering over the tiles between the chimney pots. Tu Youyou dropped her notebook and lunged for the nearest tray before it skidded off the roof edge. Lin Wei's long scarf whipped loose behind him as he scrambled over a ridge of tiles, broom raised, swatting leaves back down. Zhou Kang waddled fast, abacus clicking wildly against his hip, scooping fallen leaves into his cardigan folds with both arms. Master Bai planted his bare feet wide and hauled a loose tray flat against the tiles, pinning its corners with bricks one by one. 'Weight them down before they fly to the Drum Tower!' he shouted. Tu Youyou laughed, chasing a last drifting leaf across the roof and trapping it under her palm. When the wind finally dropped, all four stood catching their breath among the brick-weighted trays. Master Bai swung his empty basket onto his back, bowed to each of them in turn, and set off down the ladder toward the long road home to Hainan.
Page 7
Extraction number one hundred ninety-one sat waiting in cold ether instead of the usual boiling kettle, and the cramped basement room held its breath along with the three of them. Lin Wei hauled the heavy glass flask off the rubber tubing, cradling it against his chest as he turned toward the counter. His ink-stained fingers slipped on the wet glass. The flask tipped, struck the tiled floor, and cracked clean across the neck. Dark syrup splattered outward in a spreading pool, and Zhou Kang jumped back, grabbing his abacus before it swung into the mess. Tu Youyou dropped to her knees instantly, scrambling through the puddle, her eyes darting past the ruined bulk of spilled liquid toward the broken neck still upright on the tiles. There, trapped in that thin jagged collar of glass, a shallow layer sat pale, clear, and untouched by heat. She snatched it up with both hands before it could spill. Lin Wei pressed a rag hard against the spreading dark pool, stopping it from reaching the vats, while Zhou Kang snatched his chalk pencil, already scribbling numbers onto his sleeve to remember the batch.
Page 8
The glassed-in balcony was cold, but Tu Youyou's hands were steady as she tipped the small capsules into her palm and swallowed them with a gulp of boiled water. Lin Wei lunged forward from the stove, kettle swinging, and refilled her enamel cup before she'd even set it down. 'Drink it all,' he said, 'slowly, no rushing.' Zhou Kang hurried across the tiled floor, his abacus clicking and banging against his hip, and climbed onto a low wooden stool to reach the big black board nailed above the iron beds. He chalked the morning temperature, then the noon one, his round shoulders hunching with each falling number. Down, down, down the line crept. Tu Youyou sat on the edge of an iron bed, waist-high, and pressed two fingers to her own wrist, counting silently, while Lin Wei knelt and tucked a blanket over her knees without being asked. Outside the frosted panes, the Western Hills stood pale blue and watching.
Page 9
The terraces above the gorge were green with cut wormwood, piled higher than a grown man's waist in armful after armful. Farmers swung the fragrant bundles up over the truck's wooden rail, and Zhou Kang hurried along the side, hauling rope through his short arms and knotting it tight across the swaying load, his abacus clicking wildly against his hip with every tug. Lin Wei waded in to help stack the branches, and somehow his long maroon scarf got caught up and knotted right into the bundle, trailing out from the greenery like a flag. He tugged at it, laughing, unable to free it without unpicking the whole knot. Tu Youyou scrambled up the stacked load, boots finding footholds between the stems, until she stood balanced on top, the whole fragrant mountain of harvest beneath her. She grabbed a branch to steady herself, grinning down at the gorge, and waved both arms wide as the truck's engine coughed to life for the long switchback journey down the mountain toward the mist-wrapped river below.
Page 10
The stone steps up to the City Hall were slicked white with snow, each step rising to nearly knee height, and Tu Youyou climbed them carefully, one small gloved hand gripping the icy railing. Lanterns bobbed all around in the crowd below, their light glinting off the black water of the quay. Halfway up, her foot skidded on a frozen patch and she pitched sideways with a gasp, catching the railing hard. The feathery dried sprig tucked behind her ear broke loose and spun down into the drifted snow at the base of the steps. Lin Wei, climbing just behind her, dropped instantly to one knee, his long maroon scarf trailing into the snow as he scooped the sprig up in his mittened hand before it could be trampled. Zhou Kang hurried up from below, puffing, his abacus clicking against his hip, and steadied Tu Youyou's elbow so she wouldn't slip again. Lin Wei held the sprig out flat on his palm, and Tu Youyou took it and tucked it carefully back behind her left ear, steadying herself against Zhou Kang's arm as the lantern-carrying crowd pressed past them up toward the glowing brick tower.
About this story
- Audience: kids (ages 6–12)
- Format: 10 illustrated pages, narrated, on the kids shelf, free to read on Wonder People
Read Wonder People on your phone
Wonder People is available on Android. Get Wonder People on Google Play.