Courtyard House: My max-level medical skills specialize in treating beasts.

"Misunderstanding? Do you think everyone else is blind to your filthy thoughts?" The middle-aged woman pointed at Yi Zhonghai's nose, her voice instantly shattering the tranquility of the courtyard. "You shameless old scoundrel, have you no shame at all?"

The two started arguing right there in the courtyard, spittle flying everywhere. Many neighbors were watching the spectacle; everyone knew exactly what had happened in the cellar that day—besides the two elderly people, only Qin Huairu and Sha Zhu knew the true "situation." Sha Zhu had long since seen through Yi Zhonghai's hypocritical facade. If he wanted to spend the New Year with Qin Huairu, he should have just said so; why drag him into it as a shield? He was really trying to get his way.

At this moment, He Yudong rode his bicycle, with Yu Haitang on the back, two large fish and several pounds of fine pork belly hanging from the handlebars, and came to a steady stop in front of the Yu family's house. Although his relationship with Yu Haitang wasn't as close as his relationship with Ding Qiunan, they were still good friends who could get along well.

"Brother Yudong, come inside quickly." Yu Haitang jumped out of the car and greeted him with a big smile.

"Oh, Haitang, we have a guest?" Mother Yu was wondering when she saw her daughter bring back a spirited young man, and her eyes lit up immediately.

"Hello, Auntie, I'm He Yudong, Haitang's friend. It's almost Chinese New Year, so I brought some things for Haitang. She couldn't carry them all by herself, so I brought them over for her." He Yudong smiled and handed over the things.

"Oh dear, young man, just showing up is enough, why did you bring so much stuff!" Mrs. Yu said politely, but her hands honestly took the bag. Lifting it, two large, fat fish were still jumping around, and underneath them were several pounds of distinctly layered pork belly. These days, if you wanted to buy this much meat for the New Year, even with a ration coupon, you'd have to queue up in the middle of the night. This young man was certainly generous.

"Mom, look at your quick temper! Hurry up and let Brother Yudong into the house," Yu Haitang scolded.

"Yes, yes, come in and sit down, it's cold outside." The way Yu's mother looked at He Yudong was like a mother-in-law looking at her son-in-law, the more she looked at him, the more pleasing he became.

He Yudong was both amused and exasperated by her enthusiasm. As soon as he sat down, his mother launched a barrage of questions, like "How old are you this year, young man? Where do you work? Who else is in your family?"

Compared to Yang Weimin, who seemed unreliable in the same hospital, this young man in front of her was upright, handsome, and had an impeccable demeanor. He Yudong gave a few simple words of response, and when his mother heard this, she exclaimed, "Wow, so young and already the head of the infirmary, and a doctor at that! This is the most secure job imaginable; my daughter has an amazing eye for talent!"

Mother Yu insisted that He Yudong stay for dinner, acting as if she wanted to tie him to the table. Unable to resist her excessive enthusiasm, He Yudong could only politely decline and flee in disarray.

As they exited the courtyard house, Yu Haitang followed them out, feeling embarrassed. "Brother Yudong, don't mind her. That's just how my mom is; she's very kind-hearted."

"No way, Auntie is just like you, an honest person." He Yudong smiled. "Alright, it's getting late, I have to go back."

"Well... Brother Yudong, are you free tomorrow?" Yu Haitang blushed, drawing circles on the ground with her toes. "The day after tomorrow is New Year's Eve, and I'd like to ask you to go to the movies tomorrow."

He Yudong thought for a moment and nodded, "Okay, I should be free tomorrow night."

"Great! I'll come find you after I finish eating!" Yu Haitang turned and ran off happily.

He Yudong smiled and shook his head, pondering whether he should also add Yu Haitang to his "harem," but he still had to see if the system's lottery would be helpful.

As soon as Yu Haitang entered the house, her mother eagerly came up to her: "Haitang, this Xiao He is really good! He has a much better eye than your mother."

"Mom, it's not even close to happening yet, don't make such a fuss." Yu Haitang blushed with embarrassment.

"Mom thinks you two are a good match! This young He is a director at such a young age, upright and good-looking. If you don't hurry, someone else will snatch him away. Look at your sister dating that Yan Jiecheng, he's so stingy, how can he compare to young He?" The mother was furious at the mention of Yan Jiecheng.

"Mom, I understand."

"Good to know. Ah, this meat and fish are really authentic. This pork belly must weigh over ten pounds, right? In any case, I've decided on Xiao He as my son-in-law. That Yang Weimin isn't even worthy of carrying Xiao He's shoes!" Mother Yu said, getting more and more excited.

"Then you have to talk to Dad. I find Yang Weimin annoying, and I won't date him."

"Don't worry, Mom knows what she's doing. Yang Weimin has no chance of ever coming into our family!"

……

When He Yudong returned to the entrance of the courtyard, he bumped into Xiaodang and Huaihua, two girls huddled in a corner, watching other children set off firecrackers with longing eyes.

"Hello, Uncle Yudong!" The two girls' eyes lit up as soon as they saw him, and they greeted him cheerfully. In their hearts, Uncle Yudong was like a god—whenever they were hungry, they would go to him and there would always be something delicious to eat.

"Xiao Dang, Huaihua, why aren't you home in this cold weather?"

"Uncle Yudong, Huaihua wants to play with firecrackers..." Little Huaihua sniffled and mumbled softly. Xiao Dang, being sensible, pulled his sister and shook his head.

He Yudong chuckled, took out his keys, and opened the door: "Firecrackers are dangerous; they can easily burn your hands. How about this, Uncle will give you some candy, and you won't play with firecrackers anymore, okay?"

"Yes, thank you, Uncle Yudong!"

"Go inside, it's cold outside."

The two girls followed him into the house, all excited. He Yudong pulled out a big bag of White Rabbit milk candies and stuffed the two girls' pockets until they were bulging like bombs.

"Here you go, don't lose them." He Yudong patted the two girls' heads.

"Uncle Yudong, can my brother have some candy?" Huaihua asked, tilting her little face up.

"Of course, Huaihua is so sensible, she knows to share good things with her brother." He Yudong agreed with a smile. Although he didn't like Banggeng, he couldn't let little Huaihua's innocent heart be corrupted.

"Uncle Yudong, Xiaodang is a good kid too!" Xiaodang quickly asked for praise.

"You're all good kids, hurry home, don't get cold outside."

"Thank you, Uncle Yudong! Uncle Yudong is so kind!"

The two girls went out happily.

"Sister, this candy is so sweet! I've never tasted such delicious candy before!" Huaihua said indistinctly while chewing. "Let's save some for brother."

"Okay, let's go."

As soon as he entered the house, Banggeng, who was bored out of his mind, saw his two younger sisters with their mouths bulging and immediately came over: "Little locust flowers, what are you eating?"

"Brother, here's some candy, it's really sweet!" Huaihua took out a few milk candies and handed them over.

Banggeng's eyes widened at the sight of it—White Rabbit candy! These days, White Rabbit candy is considered the "aristocrat" of candy; you rarely even see it.

"Where did this come from?" Banggeng peeled one open and popped it into his mouth, the rich milky aroma instantly exploding in his mouth.

"Uncle Yudong gave it to me. He said locust flowers are good children."

"Given by Shazhu's brother?" Banggeng's face instantly fell, as if he'd swallowed a fly. "Locust flowers,"

Didn't I tell you? You're not allowed to go to Sha Zhu's brother's place! Why won't you listen!

He blamed He Yudong for breaking his leg—if He Yudong hadn't locked the door, would he have fallen off the roof?

Huaihua was startled by her brother's fierce appearance and burst into tears, hiding behind Xiaodang.

"Bang Geng, what's going on?" Jia Zhangshi heard the commotion and walked in with small steps.

"Grandma, little brother Shazhu gave little Huaihua a lot of candy. He's so bad, he must have had bad intentions!" Banggeng accused the villain first.

"What candy? Let me see it!" Upon hearing this, Jia Zhangshi's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. She snatched the candy wrapper from Banggeng's hand and nearly drooled.

She turned to her two granddaughters huddled in the corner, her face hardening: "Xiaodang, Huaihua, bring out all the candy! That brat He Yudong is full of bad intentions; he must have poisoned the candy! Grandma will taste it for you to see if it's poisoned, otherwise you'll both be rendered mute!"

"Grandma, Uncle Yudong is a good person..." Xiao Dang shrank back, protecting his pocket.

"Give it to me! Did you hear me!" Madam Jia didn't care about anything else. She strode over and roughly reached into the two maids' pockets, snatching and ripping out all the candy, leaving them not even a crumb.

"Wah..." Huaihua cried even harder, and Xiaodang's eyes also welled up with tears of grievance.

Madam Jia completely ignored her granddaughter's cries. In her eyes, the two girls were a waste of money and would belong to someone else's family sooner or later. Such expensive candy should naturally be given to her eldest grandson, and she could also have a taste of the rest.

The two girls left the room crying. Madam Jia locked the candy in the cupboard, then grabbed a handful and gave it to Banggeng.

An old man and a young boy sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), eating with great relish.

"Waaaaah—"

He Yudong heard the children crying outside, so he peeked out and saw Xiao Dang and Huaihua standing at the door, clutching the hem of their clothes, their faces covered in tears.

"What's going on here? Xiao Dang, Huaihua?" he asked, squatting down.

"Uncle Yudong..." Xiao Huaihua sobbed, "Grandma and Banggeng took the candy away! Grandma said you're a bad person, that the candy is poisoned, but I saw her secretly eat it and she was fine..."

Xiao Dang, wiping away her tears, added insult to injury: "She also said Uncle Yudong's things were dirty and wouldn't let anyone touch them..."

He Yudong was furious—this old hag even steals candy from children, she's heartless! He pulled the two girls into the house, took out some warm milk he'd just collected from the Little World Ranch—he hadn't even had a chance to drink any himself. He poured two glasses, added a spoonful of sugar to each, stirred it, and pushed them towards the children: "Drink up. If you want anything to eat in the future, just come to Uncle Yudong, and I'll make you something even better."

"The milk is so delicious!" Xiao Dang took a sip, her eyes shining like stars—she had long forgotten the taste of milk when she was a child, but this milk was sweet and even more fragrant than sugar!

"I've never tasted anything so good in all my life!" Little Huaihua held onto the cup tightly, her lips stained with milk.

He Yudong smiled: "Come often if you like." The two girls are as pure as blank sheets of paper, unlike Banggeng, who has been raised by Jia Zhangshi to be a little tyrant. He loves these two girls from the bottom of his heart.

Actually, this milk comes from cows that grew up drinking spring water on the ranch. Drinking it regularly can nourish the body, especially good for children—but he didn't say that, just treating it as ordinary milk to coax the child.

Banggeng, who was outside, saw his two younger sisters enter He Yudong's room and his face scrunched up like a bun—they must have gone to mooch off his treats again! He felt no remorse when he snatched the candy, since Grandma had taken most of it away and left him with just two; why was He Yudong so nice to his sisters but so cold to him? The more he thought about it, the more angry he became, and he clenched his fists and punched the wall.

"Hide these candies well. When you're done eating them, find Uncle Yu Dong. Don't let Grandma and your brother take them from you again." He Yu Dong took out another bag of fruit candies and stuffed them into the two girls' pockets.

"Yes, yes! We'll eat the locust flowers when no one's around!" Little Locust Flower nodded vigorously.

Just then, Qin Huairu came in carrying a large bag of meat, rubbing his back wearily. Jia Zhangshi's eyes lit up instantly, and she rushed over, rummaging through the bag: "Where did this meat come from? So much?"

"It was a gift from Deputy Factory Director Li," Qin Huai said, slumped in his chair. "He helped with the funeral arrangements for Bang Geng."

"Deputy Factory Director Li? The one with glasses?" Jia Zhangshi slapped her thigh and laughed, "I knew he was a good person! Kind-hearted!" — Sha Zhu had been helping their family for years, and she had never said a kind word to him; but when Deputy Factory Director Li gave them some meat, they became like a living bodhisattva.

Qin Huai cursed inwardly: "Good person? This guy's a lecher! How much has he taken advantage of me for a little meat? If I hadn't gotten an IUD this morning, he might have given me a whole basketball team's worth of babies!" But outwardly, she smiled ingratiatingly: "We'll have meat to eat this year! If we're careful, it can last three months, and we can even gnaw on bones for the New Year!"

The "three months" she mentioned didn't include Xiao Danghuahua at all—the meat was for herself, Banggeng, and the three of them.

Qin Huai glanced up and saw the window of Sha Zhu's house, her eyes blazing with anger—Sha Zhu used to help her during the New Year, but now that he's married to Lou Xiao'e, he doesn't even look at her! Why? She was not willing to accept it!

"Yudong, are you there?" came the voice of the third uncle from the courtyard gate.

He Yudong came out and saw the third uncle clutching several old couplets. He smiled and said, "Uncle, writing couplets?"

"Hehe, I usually write them myself, but today I've come to ask what kind you want—I've prepared red paper and ink, and I'll write them for you for free!" The third uncle rubbed his hands together. He had received a lot of favors from He Yudong, and he had to repay this kindness.

"No need, I can write it myself. Just give me a few sheets of red paper," He Yudong waved his hand.

"You can write calligraphy?" The old man's eyes widened.

"He's an intellectual, after all. Just you wait and see." He Yudong took the red paper, spread it on the table, grabbed a brush, and dipped it in ink—the brush tip moved across the paper like a dragon, the brushstrokes were powerful, and even the ink was clear and bright.

The third uncle leaned closer, his eyes widening: "This, this calligraphy... even Wang Xizhi himself couldn't have done better!" He was an expert; He Yudong's calligraphy was perfectly natural, and one could even see the artistic conception of mountains, rivers, clouds, and mist—the "strokes that move like dragons and snakes" described in books really had that flavor!

He Yudong didn't say anything, but kept writing, finishing four couplets in the blink of an eye.

"Uncle San, please put this one up at the entrance of the courtyard." He handed one over.

The old man touched the couplet, reluctant to put it down, then suddenly scratched his head: "Yudong, could you write a large calligraphy piece for me? I need it framed and hung at home, something grand and imposing!"

"Sure, it's nothing." He Yudong smiled.

"Hey! I'll go get the best Xuan paper right now!" The third uncle ran home happily, almost kicking his slippers off—if this calligraphy were hung in his house, who in the courtyard would dare say he wasn't as good as He Yudong?

Before long, the Xuan paper arrived, a large roll of it.

He Yudong spread out the Xuan paper and wrote a poem, "Qinyuanchun: Snow," by the great man, with free and easy strokes.

The northern landscape is a thousand miles of ice and ten thousand miles of snow.

Every single character was a masterpiece, and Grandpa San grew increasingly excited as he looked at it. Even the greatest calligraphers couldn't compare to this work. "Excellent, excellent, excellent!"