The little star from the Gobi Desert, handed over to the state, is hailed as a national treasure.

To her left was a tall sand dune shaped like a camel's hump, several stories high, like a silent mountain. Yet, her sweet gaze could penetrate the thick sand to see the scene on the other side of the dune—densely packed, full of life, like clusters of flames burning in the yellow sand.

Sweetie's eyes lit up.

She clearly remembered that Grandpa Liu and Grandpa Sun had said that if there were no fruits to eat, the elders in the base would get sick, and if they got sick, they would fall asleep forever, just like her mother.

Sweetie doesn't want them to get sick! Sweetie wants to help them find lots and lots of fruit!

She wiped the sweat from her forehead, her small body seemingly filled with boundless strength. Without hesitation, she turned around and strode towards the "big camel hump."

The surface of the desert appears calm and tranquil, but dangers lurk beneath. Beneath the flat sand layers lie quicksand traps capable of swallowing people whole; a single misstep could have dire consequences.

But Sweetie is different from the others. She seems to have an innate and intimate connection with this land, able to accurately sense the movement of the sand beneath her feet. No matter how well the quicksand is hidden, it cannot harm her in the slightest.

Half an hour later, Tian Tian finally arrived at the foot of the camel's hump.

"Wow, that's so high..."

She tilted her little face up, gazing at the towering sand dunes. Her already small body now looked like an insignificant little ant.

But for her dad, no matter how high or dangerous it is, Sweetie is determined to climb up!

Climbing sand dunes is much harder than walking on flat ground. The sand is soft and slippery; for every step you take up, you slide down half a step, your little cloth shoes sink into the sand, hurting your soles and toes.

The little girl had to stop after climbing a few steps and sit on the sand to empty the sand out of her shoes. Eventually, she simply took off her two little cloth shoes, put them in her pocket, and climbed up barefoot, using both her hands and feet.

The wind blew across the sand dunes, covering Tian Tian's face with sand. The setting sun baked her back, making it hot and burning, like carrying a small stove.

Her toes were rubbed raw, and her little hands were sore from gripping, but that sand dune seemed like she could never reach the top. Sweetie's stomach was rumbling from climbing, and she was so tired that she barely had the strength to lift her hand to wipe the sweat from her brow.

A little voice inside her was advising her, "Sweetie, take a break, rest a bit before you climb again."

But another, louder voice immediately retorted: "No! Daddy's still waiting for Sweetie!"

Sweetie brushed aside the sweat-dampened stray hairs from her forehead, revealing her sweat-covered face, and stubbornly raised her head: "Go for it! Sweetie can't lose!"

Both her parents told her to be persistent and brave in doing things. That's why Tian Tian was able to find her father even after her mother "fell asleep".

"Sweetie isn't afraid of difficulties!" she shouted into the vast Gobi Desert, "Sweetie will save Daddy!"

The child's tender voice, like a swallow flapping its wings, traveled far and wide through the wind and sand.

But what she didn't know was that the sound startled someone, who turned around and a fierce glint flashed in his hawk-like eyes.

As she climbed, the top of the dune got closer and closer to Tian Tian. Several times, Tian Tian almost slipped off the sand, but thankfully her little hands stuck firmly into the sand.

The sun stretched her shadow longer behind her. The little girl, not bothering to wipe the sweat from her eyes, used her last bit of strength to finally touch the high sand ridge with her fingertips.

Beneath her feet was slippery sand, and above her head was a gradually darkening sky. But where Tian Tian's gaze fell, a row of towering, dilapidated walls made of rammed earth and old bricks was clearly exposed behind the sand dunes.

It was severely eroded by the wind, and most of it was buried in the sand, with only its riddled outline showing, silently resisting its fate of being eventually flattened by the wind and sand.

But right behind that earthen wall, a striking splash of bright red caught Tian Tian's eye.

"Oh, Sweetie saw it! She saw it!"

Little Sweetie stood on the sand pile, her little chest heaving with breath, but her voice was full of triumphant joy.

But new problems arose one after another: the sandy slope underfoot was too high, and Tian Tian no longer had the strength to climb down.

Suddenly, her eyes lit up as she remembered the small courtyard at home, where her father had once made a simple slide for her out of wooden planks, and her mother had stayed by her side, watching over her and playing with her for quite a while.

Isn't this slippery sand dune a natural giant slide?

Sweetie sniffed, plopped down on the sand dune, clenched her little fists, and shouted, "Charge!"

Before she could finish speaking, her small body slid down the sand dune with a whoosh.

Sandboarding was so much fun that Tian Tian instantly forgot her fatigue. She was amused and laughed heartily. Her clear, childlike voice was like a string of leaping notes, breaking the deathly silence of the Gobi Desert.

In the blink of an eye, Tian Tian slid down the sand dune to the bottom, her little bottom getting all warm from the rub.

"It's so much fun! Sweetie hasn't had enough!" She patted the sand off her body and muttered to herself, though it was a little rough on her bottom.

She rested for half a minute, then, barefoot, ran around the broken walls and ruins towards the red spot. The next second, her small body froze on the spot, her eyes wide, her mouth slightly open, letting out a gasp of surprise—

Before my eyes, clumps of sea buckthorn trees grow densely together, their strong branches laden with bright red berries, like sparkling agate.

"Red berries...so many beautiful red berries," Sweetie murmured to herself.

She had seen it in a "Common Flora and Fauna Illustrated Guide"—sea buckthorn berries are among the most nutritious fruits in the desert, and one of the natural foods with the highest vitamin C content, far exceeding that of common citrus fruits and kiwis. Moreover, it contains a wealth of various trace elements, which could solve the problem of insufficient fruit intake for everyone at the base.

Although Tian Tian didn't understand any of this, she knew that as long as she gave these fruits to her father, he would definitely forgive her for her mistake.

She looked up at the sea buckthorn tree above her, scratched her head with her little hand, and sighed, "Oh, little tree, Sweetie can't reach your branches. I wish you were shorter."

Strangely enough, as soon as this thought arose, the sea buckthorn tree seemed to understand and actually bent its branches downwards.

Sweetie clapped her hands happily: "Little tree, little tree, can you bend down a little more? Sweetie is still too small, I still can't reach it."

Sure enough, the branches bent down even further, and the red berries on the tips were just a step away from her little hand.

Sweetie reached out and gently touched the red berries, overjoyed. But she was too weak; even if she could reach the branch, she couldn't break it and take the berries with her.

"Little tree, little tree," Sweetie looked up, her voice soft, "Sweetie wants to give the fruit to Daddy, and to all the uncles and aunties at the base, but Sweetie isn't strong enough to break the branches."

Before he finished speaking, the clump of sea buckthorn trees began to sway gently, its branches and leaves rustling. Then, the swaying became more and more intense, as if a pair of invisible hands were shaking the branches.

A soft "click" sounded.

A sea buckthorn branch actually broke in half and fell right in front of her.

The branches were laden with red berries, not a single one had fallen; they hung firmly on the branches.

"Great!" Sweetie jumped up with joy.

But just as she got excited, a wave of drowsiness suddenly washed over her. The physical strength and concentrated mental power she had previously used up made it impossible for Tian Tian to hold on any longer. Her little body swayed, and Tian Tian collapsed against the tree roots, closed her big eyes, and fell into a deep sleep.