He Yuyang: The tough eldest brother of the courtyard house

Winter came early and suddenly in 1974. The first snowfall was half a foot deep, and the barbed wire fence at the military training ground was covered with a layer of ice. He Yuyang, wearing a military overcoat, stood on a high platform, watching the soldiers conduct bayonet training in the snow. His breath condensed into frost flowers at the tip of his nose. He held a tin box in his hand, containing frostbite ointment he had just taken from his spatial storage. The ointment was pale green and had a refreshing scent of mint and herbs.

"Deputy Commander, is this ointment really that miraculous?" Communications officer Xiao Wang rubbed his hands, which were red from the cold and his knuckles were swollen like little radishes. "I had frostbite last winter, and I still have scars from it." As he spoke, he breathed on his hands, but the warmth was immediately swept away by the cold wind.

He Yuyang opened the tin box, used a clean bamboo stick to pick out some ointment, and applied it to Xiao Wang's hand: "Try it and you'll see. This is made from more than ten kinds of medicinal herbs, with some special oil added. It can prevent frostbite and repair wounds." He didn't mention that the medicinal herbs were carefully cultivated in the space, the oil was beeswax soaked in spiritual spring water, and it was kept in the temperature-controlled room of the small villa in the space for seven days and seven nights when it was made. Its medicinal effect is ten times stronger than ordinary frostbite ointment.

At first, Xiao Wang grimaced, saying it felt a bit cold, but after a moment his eyes widened suddenly: "Hey? It doesn't hurt anymore! It's even warm!" He looked at the back of his hand from side to side; the originally purplish skin gradually regained some color. "This is much more effective than the Vaseline the medical team gave us!"

He Yuyang handed the tin box to the medic behind him: "Make another fifty boxes according to this prescription, and give them to the soldiers on guard posts and patrols." He looked at the soldiers training in the snow. Many of them were wearing gloves with their fingers showing, and their ears and cheeks were red from the cold. He felt a pang in his heart—last winter, a new recruit had lost half a finger while lying in ambush in the snow and was still recovering in the medical team.

This story begins in the autumn. He Jianguo sent a letter from the border, saying that eight or nine out of ten soldiers at the outpost had developed frostbite, some so severe they couldn't even hold their guns. Xu Xiuli read the letter and burst into tears, insisting on sending the ointment she had stored at home. He Yuyang, however, had an idea. She took out the angelica, safflower, and ginger from her spatial storage, added some snow lotus juice soaked in spiritual spring water, and repeatedly mixed the ingredients more than twenty times before finally brewing this incredibly effective frostbite ointment.

"Deputy Commander, Chief of Staff Li wants to see you in his office." The bodyguard, Xiao Li, ran over, his military boots crunching on the snow. "He said the border defense company called, praising the ointment we sent and asking us to get more."

He Yuyang walked towards the office, snowflakes creeping into his collar, sending a shiver down his spine. Li Jianguo was frowning at a document when he saw him come in, and quickly pushed it towards him: "Take a look yourself. All the border defense companies are asking for this frostbite ointment, but the medical team says that with the current formula, the medicine isn't enough." He pointed to the numbers on the document, "One regiment alone reported a usage of 300 people, and the medicine in the warehouse is only enough for 200 boxes at most."

He Yuyang picked up the document and tapped the words "medicinal herb shortage" with his fingertips: "I have a way." He took out a small notebook from his pocket, which recorded the inventory of medicinal herbs in the space. "I know an old traditional Chinese medicine doctor who has a batch of stock. I'll coordinate with him and guarantee that the supply will be sufficient." The "old traditional Chinese medicine doctor" he mentioned was actually the medicine cabinet in the small villa in the space, which contained enough medicinal herbs to open a small pharmacy.

Li Jianguo stared at him for a long time, then suddenly laughed: "You little rascal, you always have a way." He took out a report from the drawer. "I've already reported to the head of the logistics department that we've developed a special antifreeze ointment with remarkable effects. The head of the department has ordered it to be included in the official supply and has also asked that the name of the developer be signed."

"Don't put my name on it." He Yuyang waved his hand, his tone resolute. "Just say it's the result of a collective study by the sanitation team and the logistics group. I was just running errands." He knew that once his name was on it, someone would trace the source of the medicinal materials, and the secret of the space must not be exposed.

Li Jianguo sighed, but didn't press the matter: "Okay, I'll do as you say. But this ointment needs a proper name; we can't keep calling it 'that stuff,' can we?"

"Let's call it 'Special Antifreeze Ointment,' it's simple and easy to remember." He Yuyang picked up the report and filled in "Joint Logistics Group of Military Medical Team" in the "Research and Development Unit" column. His handwriting was strong and powerful. "Approve it quickly, it's cold, the soldiers can't wait."

Three days later, the first batch of tin boxes labeled "Special Anti-Frost Ointment" was delivered to each company. The soldiers on guard duty applied the ointment and stood in the cold wind for three hours, and their ears were still warm. The patrol team walked in the snow all day without getting any frostbite on the soles of their feet. Even the new recruit who lost a finger to frostbite last year came to thank He Yuyang, saying that the ointment made his old injury painless even on cloudy days.

When the news reached the family compound, Aunt Zhang was the first to run to Xu Xiuli: "Xiuli, your husband is really something! My husband Shitou's father is at the outpost and said this ointment is more effective than cotton shoes, so he asked me to bring you two pairs of newly made cotton insoles!" In the cloth bag in her hand, the insoles were thickly stitched and embroidered with the words "Peace" on them.

Xu Xiuli smiled and accepted the medicine, then slipped two boxes of ointment into Aunt Zhang's hand: "Put some on the children too, so their hands won't get cold when playing in the snow this winter." She was currently teaching the women in the sewing group how to knit gloves using wool yarn from her spatial storage, planning to send them to the border defense along with the ointment. "Look at this yarn, it's so soft, the gloves it makes will definitely be warm."

Aunt Zhang touched the yarn, her eyes shining brightly: "This yarn is really good, much better than what's sold at the supply and marketing cooperative! My son Shitou said he wants a pair of red gloves to wear for the New Year."

"Then we'll knit red ones," Xu Xiuli said, helping her organize the yarn. "Once they're finished, I'll edge the gloves with fabric soaked in spiritual spring water to make them even stronger." She now spoke of the things in her space as naturally as she spoke of the peach tree in the courtyard—He Yuyang had said that as long as one's heart is pure, one shouldn't be afraid of others knowing; at worst, one could simply say it was "a rare item obtained through connections."

In the evening, Xiaoxuan came home from kindergarten, her red cotton-padded jacket covered in snow, making her look like a round little lantern. "Dad! Mom! I can sing 'The East Is Red' now!" She stood on the snow in the yard, tilted her little face up and started singing. Her voice was childish, but she sang clearly and distinctly, and her breath swirled in the air as she sang.

He Yuyang had just returned from the army, his overcoat covered in snow. He stopped in his tracks when he heard the singing. Looking at his daughter's red nose, he suddenly remembered the year he had traveled back in time. It was a winter like this, and he had marched through the snow with his gun on his back, thinking only of bringing peace and stability to the people and allowing children to sing freely like this.

"You sang so well!" Xu Xiuli ran over and wrapped her daughter in her arms. "Are you freezing? Come inside and warm up."

Xiaoxuan broke free from her embrace and pulled He Shouye and He Yuanchao, who had just finished school, saying, "Brother, let's sing together! The teacher said that singing this song will warm our hearts!"

He Shouye picked up a twig and drew a large five-pointed star in the snow, singing along as he did so. He Yuanchao, standing beside him, wrote "Go China!" with his finger; although the character for "oil" was written crookedly, each stroke was deliberate. The snow reflected the three children's smiling faces, like three small plum blossoms blooming in the wind and snow.

He Yuyang stood under the eaves, watching this scene. The snow on his military overcoat melted into water, dripping down the hem and spreading into small, damp patches on the ground. Xu Xiuli walked over and draped a dry towel over him: "What are you looking at? Are you freezing?"

"I'm not stupid," he said, holding her hand. Her hand was a little cold from knitting gloves, but warm from the yarn. "I just feel that life is really good."

At night, He Yuyang sat under the lamp, looking at the medicinal herb field in his space. Angelica, safflower, and ginger grew lush and green, and the spiritual spring water flowed between the field ridges, emitting steaming vapors. He used his mind to pluck a few angelica leaves and put them into the medicine pot next to him—he needed to brew some more frostbite ointment tomorrow to send to the children in the kindergarten. Xiaoxuan said that one of the children's hands were cracked from the frostbite and she was crying from the pain.

Xu Xiuli brought in a cup of hot ginger soup and placed it beside him: "Chief of Staff Li just called and said that the soldiers of the border defense company have all written letters of thanks, and he even said he would recommend you for commendation."

"What credit are you asking for?" He Yuyang took a sip of ginger soup, the warmth flowing down his throat. "If you want to thank someone, thank the medicinal herbs, thank this peaceful life." He put down his cup, looked at the snow outside the window, the snow reflecting off the snow and making the room bright. "When spring comes, I'll have Shouye and the others learn to identify medicinal herbs. This skill will come in handy anytime."

Xu Xiuli nodded, her gaze falling on the certificates of merit on the wall. He Jianguo's third-class merit and second-class merit certificates hung side by side, next to He Yuanchao's "Little Labor Expert" certificate. Although they were different sizes, they were all wiped clean. On the radiator in the corner, Xiaoxuan's red cotton-padded jacket was drying, with a small paper red flower pinned to it, a prize from her kindergarten teacher.

The snow was still falling, pattering softly on the windowsill. He Yuyang recalled the soldiers' warm smiles after applying the ointment during the day, and the children singing in the snow. Suddenly, she felt that neither the medicinal herbs nor the spiritual spring water in this space were as precious as the warmth of this human world. This warmth was the soldiers' hands gripping their rifles tightly, the women's sewing machines spinning rapidly, the children's frostbitten, smiling faces, and the little bit of hope in every ordinary person's heart, burning brightly like a hearth in the cold winter, illuminating the road ahead.