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

"Uncle Yudong, these dumplings are so delicious, even better than the ones my mom makes!" Little Huaihua ate until her cheeks were bulging and her eyes curved into crescents.

He Yudong smiled and ruffled her hair: "Eat more if you like it, then go home when you're full."

"Yes! Thank you, Uncle Yudong. Uncle Yudong is so kind, and Aunt Yushui is so kind too!" Little Locust Flower said crisply.

Zhou Xiaobai, who was standing next to her, took a bite of the dumpling and couldn't help but give it a thumbs up—the taste was absolutely amazing, much better than what her housekeeper made.

After finishing their meal, He Yudong didn't rush to teach anything new. He first tested Zhou Xiaobai's knowledge of "The Rhyme of Decoctions." Seeing that she answered fluently, he nodded in satisfaction and then took out a book from the house and handed it to her: "Xiaobai, this is my 'Basic Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine.' Go back and memorize it."

Zhou Xiaobai was a little confused—she thought she could learn some "real skills," but it turned out to be just memorizing texts again? She pouted, "Ah... okay, Brother He."

"Don't underestimate this booklet," He Yudong said seriously. "Only by understanding the intricacies within it can you be considered to have truly entered the realm of traditional Chinese medicine. What you need to do now is to memorize it thoroughly."

"I understand, Brother He. I'll head back now." Zhou Xiaobai nodded obediently.

"Wait a minute." He Yudong turned and went inside, then came out carrying a bag. "There's some meat in here; take it back as a thank you gift, and two bottles of wine for your dad."

"Okay, Brother He." Zhou Xiaobai took the things, then suddenly remembered something, "Oh right, a man in the courtyard asked me about you, saying he wanted to become your apprentice."

"Oh? You want to study medicine too?" He Yudong raised an eyebrow.

"No, he said he wants to learn kung fu from you," Zhou Xiaobai said helplessly. "Last time I saw you teach those people a lesson, he said you were a peerless master and he's been blocking my doorstep all day, insisting that I introduce him to you."

He Yudong chuckled: "What's this guy's name?"

"Zhang Haiyang is the son of my dad's colleague. He said he wants to learn kung fu and join the army to protect his country."

"Zhang Haiyang?" He Yudong smiled, recalling the character in "Blood Romance" who served in the army with Zhong Yuemin and later became a policeman. "Okay, let's find a chance to meet him."

"That's great! By the way, Brother He, there's a ballet performance tomorrow. Would you like to come with us? I'm going with Luo Yun, but there are too many people, so I'd like to find someone to go with us."

"Okay, I'm free tomorrow anyway, let's go check it out." He Yudong's heart stirred - according to the plot, something seems to happen at that performance, and I haven't accumulated any merit points recently, so I'll go see if I can do something good.

"That's great! See you at the theater entrance tomorrow!" Zhou Xiaobai's eyes lit up.

After seeing Zhou Xiaobai off, He Yudong took two bottles of wine and some snacks to Grandpa Guan's place. Just as he knocked, a little girl, as delicate as a porcelain doll, opened the door, blinking her big eyes and asking, "Big brother, who are you looking for?"

"Little sister, I'm looking for Grandpa Guan. Is he home?"

"Are you looking for Grandpa? He's here, come in!" The little girl skipped and hopped into the house. "Grandpa, someone's looking for you, a very handsome big brother!"

Grandpa Guan came out of the inner room and laughed when he saw He Yudong: "You rascal, you finally remembered this old man! Come in, come in!" His eyes lit up when he glanced at the wine in He Yudong's hand—he had been saving the monkey wine last time, and it was all gone in a few days, and he was really craving it.

"Uncle Guan, I know you've got a craving for this, so I brought some meat with me." He Yudong handed the food over.

"Hey, you've got a conscience, kid!" Grandpa Guan took the meat and weighed it in his hand. Good heavens, several pounds of top-quality pork belly! These days, even with meat coupons, it was hard to buy meat, and it was even scarcer during the New Year. He then picked up the wine bottle and took a deep sniff—this was the taste!

"Lazy cat, bring Grandpa's old rattan cup!"

"Okay, Grandpa!" The little girl quickly took the cup off the shelf.

"Is this your granddaughter?" He Yudong asked with a smile, already guessing that it was Guan Xiaoguan.

"Yes, it's my granddaughter, Guan Xiaoguan. Her parents wanted to take her with them when they went abroad, but I stopped them." Grandpa Guan said, then stared at the things He Yudong had brought. "By the way, you said you found something at the flea market last time, did you bring it?"

"I brought it, please take a look." He Yudong took out the Chenghua chicken cup and handed it over.

Grandpa Guan took it and examined it closely. His eyes widened in surprise. He scrutinized it for a long time, a look of confusion on his face: "You found this at the flea market? How much did you pay for it?"

Five pieces.

"You've really struck gold, kid!" Old Guan exclaimed, his hands trembling with excitement. "If I'm not mistaken, this chicken cup is undoubtedly genuine! Both its condition and the doucai (enamel overglaze) technique are characteristic of the Chenghua period—no doubt about it—even the Qing dynasty couldn't replicate this level! Grandson, trade this bowl with me, and you can pick any of the treasures in my house you want!"

"Hehe, Uncle Guan, don't worry about it," He Yudong laughed. "I'm just giving you my opinion; I like this stuff myself."

"Hey, you little rascal!" Grandpa Guan glared at him helplessly. "Alright, but you'd better keep this safe. It's a treasure left by our ancestors; don't break it."

"Don't worry, it's safer here than anywhere else." He Yudong smiled and put the chicken cup back into his pocket.

He Yudong's lips twitched slightly as he looked at the stall owner's confident expression, secretly amused. This stall owner was quite the character; Cixi's luminous pearl, Kangxi's pipe, Qianlong's toothpick—he'd recounted every detail of the Qing Dynasty in one go. Those toothpicks were so blackened, and he claimed Qianlong used them? What emperor would polish toothpicks to a patina before passing them down?

He ignored the stall owner's sales pitch and focused his attention on the square "lump of clay." It felt heavy in his hand and had a warm, smooth texture, clearly not made from ordinary clay.

"Boss, you have a really good eye. If Emperor Qianlong knew that you buried his imperial seal among these treasures, he would probably crawl out of his mausoleum to thank you." He Yudong teased with a half-smile, his finger lightly touching the bottom of the seal, feeling a strange sensation on his fingertip.

The stall owner, an honest man (meaning thick-skinned), didn't pick up on the sarcasm at all, and instead became even more enthusiastic: "Of course! Young man, you know your stuff. This is a genuine heirloom; I don't usually show it to just anyone. Look at the quality, the patina..."

He Yudong ignored his boasting and, using the dim light beside him, carefully examined the bottom of the seal. He saw several seal characters engraved on it, and although they were somewhat worn, the words "...treasure" could still be vaguely discerned.

His heart skipped a beat. Examining the material more closely, although the surface was covered in mud and grime, giving it a dull gray appearance, he could sense a spiritual energy emanating from within. This was no ordinary mud; it was clearly top-grade Tianhuang stone!

There's a saying that "an ounce of Tianhuang stone is worth an ounce of gold," and in later generations, it was even priced by the gram. This seal is quite heavy; if genuine, its value would be immeasurable. Moreover, judging from its shape and carving...

Although the stall owner was talking nonsense, this thing might actually have some merit.

"Boss, how much is this piece of junk?" He Yudong asked casually, fiddling with the so-called luminous pearl and pipe as if he were doing nothing.

The stall owner's eyes darted around, clearly seeing He Yudong holding on and assuming he was an unsuspecting sucker, he held up three fingers: "Since you're so serious about it, thirty yuan! This is Emperor Qianlong..."

"Three yuan." He Yudong cut the price down to a fraction of the original amount. "Look, this is all mud on it. I don't know which mud pit it was dug out of. It's just a toy. Three yuan, I'll take it home and carve words for my child to play with."

The stall owner looked like he'd swallowed a fly: "Oh dear young man, you chopped too hard with that knife! This is an old item..."

"Is this okay? If not, I'll go look around further ahead. I saw they sell seals over there too." He Yudong made a gesture as if to put it down.

"Alright, alright! Three yuan it is! Consider it my bad luck today, but I'll make a sale for good luck!" The stall owner pressed down on the stamp, as if afraid that He Yudong would change his mind.

He Yudong smiled slightly, took out three yuan from his pocket and handed it over, then casually stuffed the seal into his pocket. This was a sure thing, no loss.

The little lazy cat next to him was munching on a candied hawthorn, its cheeks bulging, and asked indistinctly, "Big brother, is that mud really fun? It looks dirty."

He Yudong patted the little girl's head and smiled, "I don't know if it's fun or not, but if you take it back and wash it clean, maybe I can get you a better cotton candy."

"Really?" The little lazy cat's eyes lit up.

"When has your big brother ever lied to you?" He Yudong took the little lazy cat's hand. "Come on, let's walk around a bit further and see if there's any other 'junk' we can pick up."

"Little miracle doctor, your medical skills are truly divine! Just now I felt like the sky was about to fall, but in the blink of an eye, my cough has stopped. How can I possibly thank you enough!" The boss was so excited that he was incoherent, his eyes were red, and he held He Yudong's hand tightly and refused to let go.

He Yudong smiled gently and patted the old man's hand: "Uncle, don't be in such a hurry to thank me. Auntie's illness is due to a weak constitution. Although her symptoms have eased now, she still needs to rely on traditional Chinese medicine to slowly regulate her body. Go find some paper and pen, and I'll write down the prescription right away."

"Hey, hey! Yes, yes! We have paper and pen at home!" The shopkeeper turned around hurriedly and frantically rummaged through the drawer for a yellowed piece of scrap paper and a worn-out fountain pen. He handed them to He Yudong with both hands, his respectful manner as if the person standing in front of him was not the customer who had just bought the stone, but a living bodhisattva who had saved him from suffering.

He Yudong took the pen and quickly wrote a prescription.

"The herbs in this prescription are all inexpensive; they are common medicines that nourish the lungs, relieve coughs, and strengthen the body's resistance. When you go to the pharmacy to get the medicine, remember to ask the pharmacist to check carefully so they don't prescribe the wrong medicine. Take one dose every day for the first seven days, then one dose every other day. After three months, your aunt's health will be fully recovered."

He Yudong handed the prescription to the boss, then took out the Nine Dragon Needles from his bag and carefully put them away.

The shopkeeper took the prescription as if it were a treasure, carefully put it away, then turned around and took out a small box wrapped in red cloth from the cabinet, and walked solemnly to He Yudong.

"Little miracle doctor, the stone you just bought is just an object. But this one is my true family heirloom. I originally intended to keep it as a keepsake, but now that you've saved my life, that's an immense favor. This thing is just a stone in my hands, but you are a very capable person, and it's a good thing that it's been given a good life by being with you."

As he spoke, the boss slowly opened the red cloth bag.

Inside, there lay a rock the size of a fist.

The stone is orange-yellow in color, with a warm and delicate texture. Its surface is covered with a layer of translucent radish-like patterns, and under the dim light, it faintly emits a precious glow.

He Yudong's pupils contracted slightly.

The texture, the color...

If the two-kilogram Tianhuang stone we just saw was a rare treasure, then this one in front of us is simply the finest of Tianhuang stones – “Tianhuang Dong”!

This quality of Tianhuang frozen stone is priceless in later generations; one or two ounces could be exchanged for a luxury car. Such a large, complete piece of frozen stone is simply incalculable in value!

"Uncle, this is too valuable." He Yudong frowned slightly. He had already gotten a bargain by buying that piece of Tianhuang stone for two hundred yuan. Now, accepting something so valuable would be a huge favor, even if it cured his illness.

"It's not valuable, it's not valuable!" The shopkeeper waved his hands repeatedly, insisting on stuffing the box into He Yudong's arms. "You saved my wife's life, and I haven't even accepted any money. Without you, even if I were holding a gold brick, it would be useless! If you're disgusted by this, then you're looking down on this old man!"

The old woman beside her also sat up, weakly saying, "Young man, please accept it. This thing has been in our family for decades, and it hasn't brought us any good life. Today you've saved this old man's life, so it's made the most of it."

Seeing the elderly couple's firm attitude, He Yudong stopped refusing. He knew that for such simple and honest old people, if he didn't accept the gift, they would feel guilty and indebted to him.

"Alright, I'll take it then. Uncle, please keep this prescription safe and go get the medicine quickly. Auntie will be able to sleep soundly tonight after taking the medicine."

He Yudong took the box and carefully put it away.

"Okay, I'll go right now!" The shopkeeper happily grabbed the prescription and was about to run out when he stopped at the door. He turned back and said, "Little miracle doctor, take care! Come again anytime, and I'll have my wife cook you something delicious!"

He Yudong smiled and nodded, then led the little lazy cat out of the house.

Stepping out of the courtyard, the sunlight was just right.

The little lazy cat swung its short legs, still clutching the white jade kitten pendant tightly in its hand, tilted its head up to look at He Yudong, and asked in a childish voice, "Big brother, why did that grandpa give you the stone? That stone is so pretty, it looks like an egg yolk."

He Yudong rubbed the little girl's head and said with a smile, "Because big brother helped Grandma cure her illness, this is Grandpa's thank-you gift to big brother. Little lazy cat, remember that we should be grateful and repay kindness. If others help us, we should remember to thank them."

"Yes! Little Lazy Cat remembers!" The little girl nodded emphatically, then held up the jade pendant on her chest. "Just like Big Brother gave Little Lazy Cat a kitten, Little Lazy Cat will repay Big Brother!"

He Yudong laughed and took the little lazy cat's hand: "Okay, then big brother will wait. Come on, let's go take another look ahead and see if there are any fish that have escaped the net."

This trip not only resulted in finding two top-quality Tianhuang stones at a bargain price, but also helped cure a patient and received a top-quality Tianhuang jade as a thank-you gift. More importantly, the little lazy cat was also very happy.

The harvest was absolutely phenomenal.

He Yudong was in high spirits, and his steps were much lighter. Panjiayuan was indeed a place brimming with gold.

Good books and good stories accompany you every day.