A young boy from the 1970s, separated from his family, fled famine and led his younger brother into

No one noticed when winter left.

One morning, a tiny green bud, as small as a grain of rice, appeared on the withered branches of the cosmos flowers at the base of the courtyard wall. It was hidden under the brown old stem and could not be noticed unless you looked closely.

It was discovered by Pinellia ternata.

She squatted down beside the flowerbed, digging for earthworms. Her shovel hit a dead branch, and as the branch wobbled, a green bud appeared.

"Mom! You've got it!"

Su Nianci peeked out from the study and took a look.

The tender buds have indeed sprouted, but the leaves haven't unfolded yet, curled up like a small fist, with a drop of last night's dew on them.

"Don't touch it, let it grow on its own."

Banxia's hand was suspended in mid-air, her fingers almost poking the leaves. Upon hearing this, she pulled her hand back forcefully and squatted down, staring at the bud for a full five minutes.

Hoshino came out of the house with a notebook and pen in her hand. She walked to the flower bed, squatted down, and measured the height of the bud tips.

"Two centimeters."

He made a note in his notebook.

"Measure again tomorrow."

mid March.

Su Nianci picked up the last proofread copy from the table, put it in a brown paper bag, and tied it with cotton thread.

A piece of white paper was pasted on the cover of the kraft paper bag, with five words printed on it.

Collection of Su's Effective Prescriptions

She turned the paper bag over and looked at the back.

There was a square, vermilion stamp on the lower right corner of the back.

"Su Family Hall".

Zhang Chengzhi's preface is three pages long, with meticulous wording and numerous quotations, but the tone of the last paragraph suddenly softens, as if he has transformed from a scholar back into a veteran as he writes.

"Wei Guo has been gone for so many years, but his prescriptions have never stopped being used because someone else has walked the rest of the way for him. Every prescription in this book carries the warmth of several generations. May it reach where it belongs."

Lu Zhenhua's inscription consists of only four characters, written at the top right of the cover.

"To save the world and bring peace to the people."

The pen strokes were so heavy they almost pierced the paper; each stroke carried the force of his signing combat orders in the command post.

Lin Wenjun's Niancitang took over the publication and distribution.

The first batch of 5,000 copies was printed, with no price and not sold in bookstores.

Completely free, and sent to 123 township health clinics across the country.

One prescription corresponds to one clinic.

On the afternoon Su Nianci sealed the last box of books, Su An stood at the gate of the courtyard.

He was wearing a faded old military uniform, his backpack bulging, and the strap on his left shoulder was loose; he hadn't adjusted it.

"Leaving again?"

Su Nianci leaned against the door frame and looked at him.

Su An nodded.

"When are you coming back?"

"uncertain."

Su Nianci frowned for a moment, then relaxed.

She reached out and patted his shoulder twice, not very hard.

"Call everyone out."

Su An was taken aback.

"what?"

"You tell me yourself."

When Su An stood still in the middle of the courtyard, everyone came out.

Lu Xingzhou leaned against the jujube tree, his hands in his pockets.

Zhang Chengzhi stood beside the stone table, leaning on his cane, with a cup of goji berry tea in his hand.

Lu Zhenhua sat in the armchair, not standing up, but his back was ramrod straight.

Hoshino stood beside the flowerbed, clutching a notebook and pen in her hand.

Banxia squatted on the ground, holding an earthworm in her palm, ready to show it to Xingye.

Su An stood in the middle and looked around.

He walked up to Lu Zhenhua, bent down, and gave him a hug.

Lu Zhenhua patted him hard on the back twice.

"You brat, don't get hurt."

Su An straightened up and walked over to Zhang Chengzhi.

Zhang Chengzhi switched the crutch to the other hand, freeing up one arm.

The two hugged.

Zhang Chengzhi's voice was very low.

"Bring me two pounds of good tea when you come back."

Su An chuckled.

"OK."

He walked up to Lu Xingzhou.

The two looked at each other for two seconds without saying a word.

Lu Xingzhou pulled a hand out of his pocket and patted him on the shoulder.

Su An patted him on the shoulder.

They said nothing, yet they said everything.

He squatted down.

Hoshino walked over and stood in front of him.

Su An stretched out his arms.

Hoshino took a step forward and was embraced by him.

The two hugged for three seconds.

Hoshino pulled a paper airplane out of his pocket. The wings were decorated with red and blue stripes in crayon, and the nose was pointed with deep creases.

He stuffed the plane into Su An's pocket, said nothing, and took a step back.

Banxia threw away the earthworm, kicked her short legs, and hung directly on Su An's neck.

"Uncle! When are you coming back!"

"Soon."

"You always say it'll be soon!"

"This time it's really fast."

"You're lying!"

Banxia's arms were wrapped tightly around his neck, refusing to let go, and her two short legs swung back and forth in mid-air. Su An's face turned red from being squeezed so tightly.

Lu Xingzhou walked over, took Banxia off Su An's neck, and carried her back under his arm.

Banxia struggled twice under his arm, still shouting.

"Uncle, you have to bring me a present!"

Su An walked up to Su Nianci.

The siblings stood at the gate of the courtyard, less than a step apart.

Su Nianci looked at him but didn't reach out.

Su An didn't reach out either.

His mouth opened slightly, and his Adam's apple bobbed.

"sister."

"Um."

"I've read the book."

Which one?

"The one you wrote."

His voice dropped a notch.

"If Dad saw this, he'd be happier than anyone else."

Su Nianci's brow twitched.

She reached out and gave him a light shove in the chest, pushing him back half a step.

"Enough talk, let's go."

Su An chuckled, bent down to pick up the backpack at his feet, slung it over his shoulder, and turned to step out of the courtyard gate.

He took three steps, then turned back.

"Sister, everything is fine."

Su Nianci leaned against the door frame and waved to him.

Su An turned around and strode away. The sound of his military boots on the stone pavement in the alley grew fainter and fainter until he turned the corner and could no longer be heard.

The courtyard became lively again in the afternoon.

Lei Ming and Lin Wenjun brought their son to visit.

The chubby boy can already crawl all over the place, and he's incredibly fast. He slaps his chubby hands on the floor tiles as he heads straight for Banxia's feet.

Banxia stood still, looking down at the chubby boy who was gnawing on her shoelaces.

"Let go."

The chubby boy clutched the shoelaces in his hand, raised his face, half of which was smeared with saliva, and grinned at her.

Banxia's face scrunched up.

"Mom, he's drooling!"

Su Nianci squatted down and scooped the chubby boy up, wiping the drool from his chin with a handkerchief. The chubby boy wriggled a couple of times in her arms and then reached out his hand towards Banxia.

He likes you.

I don't like him.

Banxia picked up the shoelaces from the ground, shook off the drool on them, and took three steps back in disgust.

Under the jujube tree, Zhang Chengzhi and Lu Zhenhua sat on either side of a stone table. The chessboard was set up and the chess pieces were in their places.

Zhang Chengzhi placed the first piece, his fingers hovering on the board for two seconds before releasing them.

Lu Zhenhua stared at the chessboard for three seconds and then hummed in response.

"You made the same mistake as last time."

Zhang Chengzhi picked up the goji berry tea and took a sip.

"Take a look at your own game before commenting on others'."

Lu Zhenhua placed a bet.

Zhang Chengzhi looked down for two seconds, then frowned.

What are you doing here?

"I do."

"Your move is completely haphazard."

"The art of war is all about taking things by surprise."

"Playing chess is not fighting a war."

"Who said that?"

The two men's voices grew louder and louder; after only three moves on the chessboard, their shouts had reached a level that could be heard across the alley.

Banxia came running over from the flowerbed.

Before the two elderly people could react, she had already slapped her hand in the very center of the chessboard.

Snapped!

Black and white pieces clattered all over the ground, some rolling under the stone table, and one landing on Lu Zhenhua's shoe.

The courtyard was quiet for two seconds.

The two old men turned to look at Banxia at the same time.

Banxia stood by the table, her palm still on the chessboard, her expression self-righteous.

"You two are arguing again."

Lu Zhenhua's lips twitched.

Zhang Chengzhi's eyebrow twitched.

The two of them sighed at the same time.

They laughed at the same time.

Su Nianci stood at the gate of the courtyard, holding a bowl of pork rib soup in her hand, looking at the people in the courtyard.

Two old men were bending over to pick up chess pieces under the jujube tree. Banxia squatted under the stone table to help, and casually stuffed a black piece into her pocket.

Hoshino sat by the flowerbed and drew a picture. The notebook contained an aerial view of the yard, with the location of every flower and every brick marked.

Lei Ming chased his crawling son around three times, his knee slamming into the stone table leg, making him wince in pain.

Lin Wenjun leaned back in her chair and laughed at him, laughing until tears streamed down her face.

The new shoots of the Gesang flower have grown to the height of my calves, with tender green stems and leaves swaying gently in the wind.

Lu Xingzhou walked over and stood next to her.

"Nian Nian".

"Um."

"What are you thinking about?"

Su Nianci held the bowl, her gaze slowly sweeping over the people in the courtyard, finally settling on the tender buds of the newly sprouted Gesang flowers in the corner of the wall.

"I'm thinking about what my dad said."

Which sentence?

Su Nianci picked up the bowl and took a sip of the soup. It was hot and salty, with the bones stewed until very tender, and two goji berries floating on the surface of the soup.

She took the bowl away from her mouth, her gaze passing over the ivy climbing the courtyard wall, looking at the clean blue sky on the distant horizon.

May you live a peaceful life.

The corners of her mouth curved slightly.

"We did it."

The wind blew in from the alley entrance, causing the tender buds of the Gesang flowers to bend over briefly before straightening up again.

Banxia ran over from the flower bushes.

Her short legs moved swiftly, her skirt billowing in the wind, and she clutched a newly opened pink cosmos flower in one hand, holding it above her head, tilting her face back, and shouting loudly—

"Mom! This flower is the prettiest! It's for you!"

Su Nianci squatted down, placed the bowl at her feet, and reached out to take the flower.

The petals are thin, with pink edges that gleam in the light, and a drop of dew clings to the stamen.

She tucked the flower above her ear.

Right ear.

It was in the exact same spot as the other flower that Lu Xingzhou had given her in the sea of ​​flowers back then.

Her eyes welled up with tears.

It heated up for a bit, then it was over.

She smiled.