Courtyard Check-in: Starting with a Small World of Cultivation

October 24th, Frost's Descent.

"Frost kills all plants." Overnight, the roses in the yard were completely ruined, their petals falling all over the ground, covered in a silvery-white frost. The radishes and cabbages in the vegetable garden, however, were thriving, their leaves a dark green, their stems plump, and they were ready to be harvested.

Nian'an woke up early, pushed open the door, and saw the ground covered in white. She exclaimed in surprise, "Dad, it's snowing!"

Chen Yu came out, looked at it, and laughed, "It's not snow, it's frost."

"What is frost?"

"Water vapor in the sky condenses on the ground when it gets cold, and that is frost."

Nian'an squatted down and touched the frost on the ground with his fingers. It was cool and melted as soon as he touched it. He licked his fingers: "It has no taste."

"Frost has no taste, and snow has no taste either," Chen Yu said.

Nian'an stood up, exhaled a puff of air, and white smoke drifted in front of her eyes: "Dad, Nian'an can make smoke too!"

"That's your breath; you can see it even when it's cold."

Nian'an found it amazing, took a few more puffs, and had a great time.

Qin Huairu came out of the house, carrying several thick clothes in her hands: "Nian'an, come and put on another layer of clothing, don't get cold."

"I'm not cold!" Nian'an shook her head, but her nose was already red.

Qin Huairu pulled him over, put a small wool vest on him, and then put a hat on his head. Nian'an touched the pom-pom on the hat and nodded in satisfaction.

Ding Qiunan came out of the east wing, carrying a medicine box. She was going to the branch store today; Lin Zhiyuan had already gone ahead.

"Qiu Nan, eat before you leave," Qin Huairu said.

"It's too late, I'll eat over there." Ding Qiunan hurriedly left the house.

Lin Demao was sweeping fallen leaves in the yard, piling them into a pile, scooping them up in a dustpan, and emptying them into the trash can. Nian'an ran over to help, grabbing fallen leaves with her little hands and stuffing them into the dustpan.

"Uncle Lin, why do we need to sweep the leaves?"

"If you don't sweep, the whole yard will be covered in mess, and it won't look good."

"Nian'an likes leaves, especially yellow ones, they're pretty."

Lin Demao laughed: "Then I'll save a few for you."

Nian'an picked out a few of the yellowest leaves, held them in her hand, and ran to show them to Qin Huairu: "Mom, are they pretty?"

"It's pretty, like a small fan."

Nian'an tucked the leaf into the book, saying she wanted to keep it.

In the morning, Chen Yu took Nian'an to the market to buy groceries. Nian'an held his hand and skipped along, humming an unknown tune.

"Dad, what are we having for dinner today?"

What would you like to eat?

I want to eat braised pork ribs.

"Okay, I'll buy pork ribs."

At the meat stall, Chen Yu bought two pounds of pork ribs, along with some radishes, cabbage, and tofu. Nian An saw someone selling persimmons nearby; they were bright red and piled up in a basket.

"Daddy, persimmons!"

"Want some?"

Nian'an nodded. Chen Yu bought several, and Nian'an hugged them, beaming with joy.

Back home, Qin Huairu took the ribs and started cooking. Nian'an placed the persimmons on the table, arranging them one by one, and counted them—five.

"Mom, one persimmon for each of you."

"Okay, one for each of you."

Nian'an counted on her fingers: "Dad, Mom, Aunt, Brother Zhiyuan, Uncle Lin, Nian'an... six, one short."

"Then there'll be one less, you can eat two."

"No, one for each of us." Nian'an thought for a moment, "Then Nian'an won't eat it, she'll give it to Auntie."

Qin Huairu smiled: "You eat it, I'll save mine."

Nian'an was finally satisfied.

At noon, Ding Qiunan and Lin Zhiyuan returned from the branch store. The branch store had been open for more than half a month and business was good. Lin Zhiyuan could now independently treat most common illnesses, which made Ding Qiunan feel much more relaxed.

"Zhiyuan, how many did you watch today?" Chen Yu asked.

"Seven or eight," Lin Zhiyuan said. "One of them had a stomachache, so I prescribed Xiangsha Liujunzi Decoction, and my master said it was fine."

"Good, you've made rapid progress."

Lin Zhiyuan smiled sheepishly.

Nian'an ran over and grabbed Lin Zhiyuan's hand: "Brother Zhiyuan, Nian'an saved some persimmons for you!"

He ran to the table, grabbed a persimmon, and handed it to Lin Zhiyuan. Lin Zhiyuan took it, took a bite, and squinted his eyes at the sweetness: "So sweet."

"Nian'an, have some too." Nian'an took one for himself, took a bite, and juice dripped down the corner of his mouth. He wiped it with his sleeve, and Qin Huairu quickly took a handkerchief to wipe it clean for him.

"Nian'an, don't wipe it with your sleeve."

"understood."

In the afternoon, He Yuzhu came to visit, carrying a basket of sweet potatoes, which were red-skinned and of uniform size.

"Chen Yu, I brought you some sweet potatoes! They're from my hometown, and they're really sweet!"

"Brother Zhu, I've made you spend money again."

"It's no trouble at all, it's not like we bought them." He Yuzhu sat down and saw the persimmons on the table. "Oh, you bought persimmons too?"

"Nian'an wanted to eat them, so I bought a few."

He Yuzhu picked one up, took a bite, and nodded: "Sweet. Where did you buy it?"

"The wet market."

"I'll bring you some next time; there are plenty of them growing on the trees back home."

Nian'an ran over and grabbed He Yuzhu's hand: "Uncle, can we roast sweet potatoes?"

"Yes, it tastes best when grilled."

Nian'an wants to eat roasted sweet potatoes.

"Okay, Uncle will bake it for you."

He Yuzhu built a makeshift stove in the yard using a few bricks, lit some firewood, and put sweet potatoes inside to roast. Nian'an squatted beside him, watching the fire intently, and occasionally asked, "Is it ready yet?"

"Not yet, it needs to bake for a while."

Nian'an couldn't wait and ran in and out several times. Finally, the sweet potatoes were roasted. He Yuzhu used a twig to peel them out; the skin was charred black and steaming hot.

"Let it cool down a bit before you eat it, don't burn yourself."

Nian'an squatted down beside her, watching eagerly. After a while, she reached out and touched it, but it was still hot. She withdrew her hand and waited a little longer.

"It's ready." He Yuzhu broke the sweet potato open, revealing its golden flesh, which smelled delicious.

Nian'an took it, blew on it, took a bite, and squinted her eyes at the sweetness: "Delicious!"

"Eat more if you like it." He Yuzhu broke off another piece for him.

Nian'an ate about half of it, and his little mouth was all black, like he had grown a beard. Qin Huairu wiped it clean for him, and then he ran off to play again.

In the evening, after the family had dinner, they sat in the yard. It was getting chilly, and they shouldn't sit in the yard for too long, but Nian'an insisted on going out to look at the stars.

"Dad, there are so many stars."

"Yes, the stars are brightest in autumn."

What is that brightest star?

"That's Jupiter, a planet, much, much bigger than Earth."

Nian'an looked up for a long time, then suddenly said, "Dad, when Nian'an grows up, I want to go see the stars."

Chen Yu smiled: "Okay, when you grow up, Dad will go with you."

Nian An nodded in satisfaction, lay down on Chen Yu's lap, and fell asleep in no time.

Qin Huairu carried him into the house.

Chen Yu and Ding Qiunan were still sitting in the courtyard.

"Qiu Nan, how's everything going at the branch?" Chen Yu asked.

"It went smoothly," Ding Qiunan said. "Zhiyuan is capable of handling things on his own now. I plan to hand over everything to him in another month."

"Are you willing to part with it?"

"Even if you're reluctant, you have to let go; he has to grow up eventually," Ding Qiunan said. "Just like Nian'an, he'll have to grow up someday too."

Chen Yu nodded.

"Brother Chen," Ding Qiunan suddenly said, "Do you think our family will keep getting bigger and bigger in the future?"

Chen Yu laughed: "You've asked that several times already."

"I know," Ding Qiunan smiled as well. "I just feel that things are really good as they are now."

"Yes, that's great."

As night deepened, the two went back to their respective rooms.

In the east wing, Lin Zhiyuan was still reading under the lamp. Lin Demao was already asleep, snoring softly.

Lin Zhiyuan closed the book, blew out the lamp, and lay down.

He felt both excited and nervous as he thought about his master handing over the branch store to him.

"Father, your son will certainly live up to Master's trust," he said softly.

Outside the window, the moon was missing a small piece, but it was still very bright.

The courtyard was quiet.

The night of Frost's Descent is very cool.

But their hearts are warm.