Courtyard House: After disbanding the Elderly Care Gang, I went to the countryside to cultivate immo

When Lin Shengli slowly returned to Heisonggou Village in Hu Dongliang's oxcart, the brigade leader Hu Guangming was already rubbing his hands together, his face beaming with joy, and came out to greet him.

"Victory! You're finally back!" Hu Guangming slapped Lin Shengli's shoulder hard, making him stagger. "How's it going? Did you get the certificate?"

Lin Shengli smiled, took the certificate out of his pocket, and handed it over with both hands.

Hu Guangming treated it as if it were a precious treasure, carefully wiping his hands on his clothes before taking it. He examined it from all angles, his wrinkles beaming as he smiled like a blooming chrysanthemum.

"Great! Great!" Hu Guangming's voice trembled with excitement. "Before, everyone called you 'Dr. Lin,' which was because the villagers trusted you. But ultimately, you didn't have a formal title. You still had to work in the fields and earn work points. Now it's different!"

He waved the certificate in his hand. "With this, from now on, you're a proper barefoot doctor in our Heisonggou village! Your work points will be calculated based on the highest standard for able-bodied men in our team! Most importantly," he lowered his voice, his eyes gleaming, "the township health center will also provide affordable medication every month! This will save our village so much money and ease the burden on our fellow villagers! Before, if a child had a fever or an adult had an upset stomach, going to the health center for medicine was a hassle, not to mention the cost was painful. With you here and these affordable medicines, it's truly wonderful!"

Hu Guangming's joy was heartfelt. He immediately pulled Lin Shengli into the team headquarters and praised him to the accountant and several team committee members who had rushed over upon hearing the news, as if Lin Shengli had not just gone to take a certificate exam, but had made some great contribution.

Finally, he insisted on taking Lin Shengli to his home, and without saying a word, he scooped out a large bowl of freshly frozen pork skin jelly from the New Year's goods he had prepared, stuffed in half a bag of fried dough sticks, and took a few frozen sticky rice cakes, wrapped them in old newspapers, and insisted that Lin Shengli take them back.

"It's the eve of the Lunar New Year today. You just got back, and there's probably nothing to eat in the house. Here's some food to tide you over!" Hu Guangming said warmly, leaving no room for refusal.

Lin Shengli couldn't refuse, so he thanked them repeatedly, and carrying the medical kit and the bag of food, he returned to his small courtyard, which he hadn't seen for nearly three months.

A thin layer of snow had fallen in the yard. He pushed open the door and was greeted by a musty smell that hadn't been lived in for a long time, mixed with the smell of dust. The furniture was covered with a thick layer of dust.

He put down his things, turned around, closed the courtyard gate, and bolted it shut.

Walking to the center of the room, looking at the dust covering it, Lin Shengli's lips curled slightly. He raised his right hand and made an extremely simple hand seal—a cleaning spell. This was one of the most basic minor spells in the Qi Refining stage, requiring almost no spiritual power.

With a barely perceptible flash of light at his fingertips, a gentle, invisible breeze seemed to rise out of nowhere in the room.

The wind swept precisely through every corner, stirring up dust, yet it did not disturb the papers on the table or the bedding on the kang (heated brick bed).

Visibly, dust from all places—tables, mats, windowsills, the floor—was instantly swept up and thrown outside, and even the stale smell in the air was cleared away, becoming fresh.

In just a few breaths, the entire room was sparkling clean and brand new. Lin Shengli took a satisfied breath of the clean air. This ease of movement made him truly appreciate the benefits of cultivating immortality once again.

He had just put the food Hu Guangming had given him into the kitchen when Li Kuiyong's signature loud voice rang out from outside the courtyard gate: "Victory! Victory! I heard you're back? Open the door!"

Lin Shengli opened the door with a smile. Not only were Li Kuiyong standing outside, but Jiang Yuanchao and Wei Jun were also there, all three of them with the excitement of a long-awaited reunion on their faces.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, Li Kuiyong eagerly looked around: "Wow, Shengli, you're quick! The house is so clean! We were just about to help you tidy up!"

"I just wiped it down quickly," Lin Shengli said vaguely, leading them into the house.

As soon as he sat down, Li Kuiyong's attention was immediately drawn to the brand-new medicine box on the headboard: "Is this what the barefoot doctor gave us? Open it and take a look!"

Lin Shengli opened the medicine box, and the three educated youths marveled at the neatly arranged medicines and equipment inside.

Jiang Yuanchao picked up the thermometer and held it up to the light, while Wei Jun curiously fiddled with the syringe.

What Li Kuiyong was most interested in was the certificate. He held it in his hands, turning it over and over, his envy evident in his eyes: "Stamped with a big red seal, that's awesome! Shengli, you're a 'licensed' person now! From now on, you won't have to work as hard as we did!"

After the laughter subsided, Lin Shengli got down to business: "What are your plans for the Lunar New Year this year? Are you going back to the city to visit relatives?"

The three looked at each other, and Li Kuiyong shook his head first: "We're not going back. It's not appropriate to go back after only half a year of farm work in the first year. Besides, the round-trip tickets are expensive, and the house is too crowded."

Jiang Yuanchao pushed up his glasses and said calmly, "I received a letter from home saying that everything is fine and that I should focus on training in the countryside and read more books during the Spring Festival." He was referring to the textbooks that Lin Shengli had given them before.

Wei Jun chimed in, "I'm not going back either. There are four of us from the educated youth group, plus Shengli, it'll be lively spending the New Year together!"

Li Kuiyong slapped his thigh: "That's right! We agreed that on New Year's Eve, everyone should come to our educated youth settlement! We'll make dumplings together and stay up all night!"

"Sure," Lin Shengli readily agreed, "I'll see if I can get some wild game and mountain produce to add to the dishes."

"Speaking of wild game and excitement," Wei Jun picked up the conversation, a look of reminiscence on his face, "Shengli, you wouldn't believe it, but in the two months you were gone, a lot of interesting things happened in our village, we were never idle!"

Jiang Yuanchao nodded in agreement, a smile on his face: "Indeed, especially going into the mountains with Uncle Laopao for winter hunting and participating in the village's winter fishing, it really broadened my horizons."

Li Kuiyong immediately interrupted, speaking animatedly and gesturing wildly: "Winter hunting was truly exhilarating! Uncle Laopao was a real pro! He led the militia, along with dozens of strong laborers who volunteered to go, bringing seven or eight old rifles, muskets, and a whole bunch of snares, traps, and other equipment, marching in a grand procession deep into the old forest. A few of us educated youths went along too, acting as 'outer support,' helping with shouting, driving the animals up the mountain, and carrying some dry rations and ammunition."

His eyes lit up, as if he were back then: "In that snowy forest, walking was a struggle, one step at a time. Uncle Laopao had a sharp eye; he could tell what kind of animal it was, how big it was, and how long ago it had been just by looking at the footprints, droppings, and gnawed bark in the snow. Setting traps and arranging ambushes was incredibly methodical. And guess what? We actually reaped a harvest! Rabbits and pheasants aside, we even caught two roe deer! It's a pity we didn't encounter a large herd of wild boars; we only caught three lone wild boars. When it came time to divide the meat, it was divided according to how much effort we put in. Our educated youth group also got a roe deer leg and a lot of meat, which we hung on the roof beam. We still have it now! We're just waiting to eat it for the New Year!"

Wei Jun added, "And there was winter fishing! The river at the east end of our village was frozen two feet thick. Captain Hu picked a day and organized all the men in the village, bringing ice picks, winches, and fishing nets, to chisel a big hole in the ice. When the net was cast, my goodness!" He exaggeratedly widened his eyes, "As soon as the net came out of the water, it was full of huge, shimmering silver fish! They were jumping and splashing on the ice. The biggest carp, I estimate, must have weighed over ten pounds! Our educated youth group was allocated two big carp, which we froze outside, waiting to eat them at the New Year's Eve dinner!"

The three of them chatted away, talking about whose son had married a capable girl from the neighboring village, and whose daughter had married someone from another village. They made quite a lively conversation about these trivial, ordinary things.

Lin Shengli leaned against the kang cabinet, holding a bowl of warm water in his hands, listening quietly.