Siheyuan: A master brewer starts with a jar of bone-strengthening wine!

The snow hasn't stopped; it's been falling since morning until I got off work, and it's getting heavier and heavier.

Liu Dong locked the iron door of the clinic and looked up: the sky looked like a dumpling of flour, and the sky was as dark as if a pot had been covered.

He frowned. "Hey, how are you getting home?"

The snow on the ground was almost ankle-deep, a solid 20 centimeters thick.

As for himself? It doesn't matter. He has strong legs and can still pedal like a rocket.

Tian Xiuhua couldn't do it—she couldn't ride!

Besides, we don't live very close by.

Although Liu Dong had never been to her house, he had heard her mention it a few times, so it was probably quite far from here.

"I usually take the bus," Tian Xiuhua said with a wry smile, waving her hand. "With this snow today, the roads are probably already jammed. Even if there are buses, you probably won't be able to squeeze through the doors."

"I'll give you a ride." Liu Dong patted the back seat. "The car is still parked inside."

Tian Xiuhua immediately laughed: "Okay! But you don't need to take me too far, just drop me off at the Xizhimen bus stop!"

"Alright!"

He supported her arm with one hand, and the two plunged into the wind and snow, quickly reaching the bus stop.

One actually came.

But as soon as the car came to a stop, a group of people rushed over as if they were fighting for a life-saving meal.

Tian Xiuhua glanced at it and immediately pulled back: "Forget it, I don't want to be squeezed into a can."

After waiting another half hour, the bus stop was empty, with not a single car in sight.

"It's over." She sighed, rubbing her hands together. "The last train is probably already gone."

Liu Dong took a deep breath: "Get on, I'll carry you back."

"But my home...it's really far." She smiled, her voice low, "Aren't you scared?"

"Coward?" He raised an eyebrow. "How far? Where?"

"Over at the Summer Palace," she said softly.

……

"ha?!"

Liu Dong almost choked.

"The Summer Palace? Are you kidding me?"

"Isn't that where the Empress Dowager used to stroll? It's a royal forbidden area, brother!"

Tian Xiuhua laughed out loud: "It's the area west of the Summer Palace, along the wall, not inside the garden."

Liu Dong paused, his eyes flashing slightly:

That piece of land...

That's interesting. But considering their official rank, living there isn't really a bad situation for them.

"Walk--"

Liu Dong pushed off with his foot, and the wheel shot off with a "whoosh".

The wind carried the snow, and the snow swirled with the wind, turning the world into a vast expanse of white, blurring even the cardinal directions.

Liu Dong carried Tian Xiuhua on his back and plunged into the heavy snow, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

"Brother...are your arms and legs made of lead?"

Tian Xiuhua chuckled and exclaimed.

Liu Dong blinked, then grinned mischievously and continued, "Not only are your arms and legs strong, but you're even more useful elsewhere..."

"Giggle giggle—"

Tian Xiuhua laughed so hard she swayed. She looked like a young girl who had just graduated, but she was actually well past thirty. Why would she blush when she heard this? She simply tightened her waist, wrapped her arms tightly around Liu Dong's waist, turned her head, and pressed her cheek against the thick military overcoat on his back.

She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and whispered, "I wish this road would always be covered in snow, and never end..."

Unfortunately, no matter how warm a dream is, it can't stop reality from knocking on the door.

With Liu Dong pedaling with all his might, just over forty minutes later, the wheels rolled onto the slope of Quanshan Mountain on the west side of the Summer Palace.

"Almost there! Ahead! Just ahead!"

"Yes! Just turn left!"

But before the words had even finished—

Liu Dong slammed on the brakes, and the car screeched to a halt.

"Brother? Why did you stop?" Tian Xiuhua shook the snow off her hair.

Liu Dong lowered his voice and said, "It seems like something happened to your family."

"Don't move... something's wrong."

Tian Xiuhua peeked half her face out from his shoulder, squinting into the snowstorm: a dark mass of young men in military uniforms surrounded her doorway, and several green jeeps were parked across the snow, their lights off, looking cold and unapproachable.

Her father was being dragged out by three or four people, his heels leaving two gray-white tracks on the frozen snow.

call--

A gust of wind and snow slapped her face, making her feel both cold and painful.

She was stunned. She never dreamed that something like this would actually happen in her own home.

"Go to the farm for labor reform!"

"Xiuhua, hold on!" Liu Dong grabbed her wrist. "If you rush over now, you'll end up in the same car as your dad—assigned to different parts of the country, and you might never see each other again!"

"With your dad's position, he's definitely going to be sent to the most remote mountain valley. If an ordinary person makes a mistake, like Director Yang, they'll at most be stuck in the factory cleaning toilets and growing vegetables; but the higher the position, the more thorough the 'care' they'll take—they'll be moved far away, cut off completely, cut off all contact, and cut off all communication."

"So, the higher the rank of a leader, the further they go."

"Brother... ride forward!" Tian Xiuhua's voice trembled. "They don't recognize us. I just want to glance at them, say one sentence to my dad, just one sentence!"

The tears welled up, but the wind blew them into ice beads, which fell to the snow and shattered with a "thud".

"Okay." Liu Dong's Adam's apple bobbed, and he got back on the bike and continued forward.

"Stop right there! What are you doing?!"

"Stop the car! Stop the car immediately!!"

Instead of stepping on the brakes, he suddenly twisted his wrist and yanked the handlebars, causing the bicycle to flip over on the slope with a "bang." Taking advantage of the snow, it slid down the slope and headed straight for the center of the crowd.

At that moment, Tian Fu had just been shoved to the ground, half of his body still buried in the snow.

The father and daughter lay face to face, their eyes locked, separated by a layer of snow mist.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!" Liu Dong shouted, slapping the snow away. "Please forgive me, esteemed leaders! The road was too slippery, I couldn't stop!"

"Next time... I promise I'll go slower, and I won't let you fall again!"

"Alright, alright!" The lead soldier waved his hand, looking annoyed. "Get out of the way, don't get in the way!"

Liu Dong righted the car and picked up Tian Xiuhua, who was sprawled on the ground, saying, "Honey, did you hurt yourself? Does it hurt? Don't worry, from now on, I'm here. I'll be the first to object to anyone letting you get hurt!"

"Waaaaah—"

Tian Xiuhua cried so hard that she was shaking all over.

The old father lowered his head, his shoulders shrugging.

My nose tingled, and my eyes welled up, but I held back the tears.

Those who didn't even utter a sound when bullets grazed their scalps back then—their bones were made of iron, not water.

"Why are you crying like this?" Liu Dong raised his hand to wipe her cheek.

Tian Xiuhua sobbed, "It hurts! You made my butt go numb!"

"Wait a minute—" a soldier suddenly shouted from behind, "Didn't they say Commander Tian has a thirty-two-year-old daughter? This little girl doesn't seem like it!"

"What nonsense!" Liu Dong immediately straightened his face. "Open your eyes and look! My wife is eighteen this year, so tender you could squeeze water out of her, does she look thirty-two? Are you blind or frozen stupid?"

The man scanned Tian Xiuhua's face from head to toe, then nodded: "It certainly doesn't look like her... Get lost, get lost, stop causing trouble!"

"Hey!" Liu Dong grabbed Tian Xiuhua and turned to run away.

call……

The old father, sitting on the ground, let out a long sigh of white breath.

My heart finally settled back into my stomach.

He understood—Liu Dong's words, "I'll be here for you from now on," weren't meant for Tian Xiuhua, but for him.

My daughter is safe and sound; that's more important than anything else.

"Brother... my home is gone. Where do we go?"

Tian Xiuhua still had her arms around Liu Dong's waist, her face pressed against his back, her voice muffled, as if covered by snow.