Unparalleled medical and martial arts skills, saving the CEO's fiancée at the start.

After winter set in, Wuhan was actually warmer than in previous years.

Ye Chen walked around the building every day in his security guard uniform, and he didn't feel cold at all.

No one mentions Blackwater anymore.

Everyone in the company was busy wrapping up the year-end, and even He Jianping was walking with a jog.

Jiang Ruoxi was extremely busy, but no matter how late she got home, there was always a light left on for her at the dining table.

Ye Chen no longer goes out to fight and kill; he spends his days studying recipes, stewing soups and making porridge, which has made Jiang Ruoxi's face a little plumper.

Jiang Ruoxi once looked in the mirror and said, "Ye Chen, my waist has gotten thicker."

Ye Chen said, "That's for the best. You used to be as skinny as a bamboo pole, which wasn't good-looking."

Jiang Ruoxi glared at him: "You're the one who's skinny."

Ye Chen laughed, "Alright, alright, I'm a stick-like guy. How about Mr. Jiang does me the honor of having another bowl of pork rib soup tonight?"

Jiang Ruoxi snorted, but still drank the soup.

Construction at the Yaowang Valley planting base has not stopped.

Since seedlings cannot be planted in winter, walls, greenhouses, and irrigation ditches have all been built.

Ye Chen would drive there every few days, take a stroll around the construction site, and chat with the veterans introduced by Song Tiezhu.

Those veterans were efficient and honest, and when they saw Ye Chen, they called him Minister Ye with respect in their tone.

Ye Chen waved his hand and said that there was no distinction between ministers and non-ministers here; everyone was a contributor to the Medicine King Valley.

Someone offered Ye Chen a cigarette, but he didn't smoke it and instead took a bowl of hot tea.

The mountain wind was chilly, but after drinking hot tea, I felt warm all over.

Su Qinghan would come down the mountain every few days to check on things, but she didn't say much; she would just stand on the slope and look around.

Once, when Ye Chen was with her, she suddenly said, "Your father used to say that once the war was over, he would take me down the mountain to cultivate a medicinal herb field. He said that since I was skilled in both medicine and martial arts, I couldn't always hide in the mountains. People had to see me. The gate to Medicine King Valley opens outwards."

Ye Chen listened without saying anything, but simply draped his coat over Su Qinghan's shoulders.

Su Qinghan turned to look at him and said, "You did it for him."

Ye Chen smiled, feeling a mix of sadness and warmth in his heart.

As December arrived, the festive atmosphere in Wuhan grew stronger day by day.

The streets are decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, and cheerful songs play on repeat all day long in the shopping malls.

Ye Chen wiped the memorial tablets of his parents and his martial uncle again, and then went to Longyin Mountain to burn paper money for Ye Changfeng.

Jiang Ruoxi went with him.

She knelt before Ye Changfeng's memorial tablet, offered three cups of wine, and called out "Dad".

Ye Chen's tears suddenly fell.

He turned his face away, then, feeling embarrassed, hastily wiped it with his sleeve.

Jiang Ruoxi reached out and wiped his hands clean.

The two of them sat in that old ferry temple for an entire afternoon, listening to the river wind blowing past the temple gate, as if Ye Changfeng was also slowly walking by outside.

Ye Chen chattered on and on to his father, talking about the new fields in Medicine King Valley, Jiang Ruoxi's project, and how well he was doing now.

The wind swirls the ashes of the paper, making them fly to the river surface, then slowly fall back down, as if nodding.

Before the end of the year, Ye Chen discussed with Jiang Ruoxi the idea of ​​bringing Mei Changjin to Jiangcheng for the New Year.

Jiang Ruoxi was overjoyed and immediately had the sunny room downstairs redecorated.

The curtains have been replaced with new ones, the bedding is soft and fluffy from the sun, and even two potted plants have been placed in the corner.

Mei Changjin refused to come, saying that the magnolias in Meixi needed someone to take care of them, and he wouldn't go anywhere during the New Year.

Ye Chen said, "Then let's bring him over for a few days. I'll accompany you back to Meixi after the New Year." Mei Changjin finally agreed.

Ye Chen personally drove to pick him up.

The old man sat in the back seat, watching the ever-changing street scene outside the window, and kept sighing, "It's changed, everything has changed. These places used to be rice paddies and dirt roads, now they're all high-rise buildings."

Ye Chen looked at him in the rearview mirror and said with a smile, "I'll accompany you along the old road in the spring. I wonder if those field ridges are still there."

Mei Changjin sighed, "It's impossible now. You young people filled it up long ago."

Despite saying that, the corners of his mouth remained turned up.

Aygul and Guipu both spent the New Year at the Jiang family's house.

Ghost Servant remained taciturn as always. Ye Chen bought him a new cotton-padded coat, and although he said he wouldn't wear it, he put it on neatly the next day and stood in front of the mirror for a while.

Aygul received a red scarf from Jiang Ruoxi, and when she put it on, she looked like she had just stepped out of the snow.

He Jianping led a few security guards who hadn't gone home to join him for the New Year's Eve dinner.

The room was packed with people, bustling with activity. Han Song and Song Tiezhu also came, bringing wine.

Qiao San sent several boxes of seafood and two jars of aged wine.

Zhou Wantong went even further, pulling out a trunk full of New Year's goods and saying, "Take it if you don't pay, I don't eat cold wine."

Grandpa Jiang and Mei Changjin sat in the main seats, watching the young people fooling around with smiles.

He said he hadn't had such a lively atmosphere in a long time.

Ye Chen was in charge of cooking the New Year's Eve dinner.

His cooking skills were all brought down from the mountains; he used large pots and stoves, with plenty of oil and salt, and the aroma could fill the entire street.

Jiang Ruoxi helped out from the side, complaining that he added too much salt while constantly stuffing freshly fried crispy pork into her mouth.

The ghost servant made an exception and drank two cups, and the coldness that had remained on his face for decades faded.

Aygul was dragged into a drinking game by He Jianping and lost several cups. Her face was still pale, but her ears turned red.

Song Tiezhu and Han Song had a drinking contest, and in the end, the two sat on the threshold with their arms around each other, talking about their days of struggling in the provincial capital.

Mei Changjin drank a small bowl of hot rice wine, squinting as he listened, as if listening to an extremely long old book.

Ye Chen sat next to Jiang Ruoxi and peeled shrimp for her. Halfway through peeling, she snatched his chopsticks from him, and the two of them gently kicked each other under the table.

On New Year's Eve, after everyone had left, Ye Chen and Jiang Ruoxi sat in the courtyard watching the fireworks.

The sky over Jiangcheng was lit up with fireworks of all colors, as if someone had blown up all the stars in the city.

Holding Jiang Ruoxi's hand, Ye Chen suddenly said, "Shouldn't we get married around this time next year?"

Jiang Ruoxi was taken aback and turned to look at him.

Ye Chen didn't laugh, and said very seriously: "I'm not urging you, I just feel that it's time to give you a proper title. My life has been tied to yours since the day I came down the mountain. I want everyone to know that Jiang Ruoxi is my wife."

Jiang Ruoxi looked at him for a long time, then softly hummed in agreement.

The sound was extremely faint, but Ye Chen heard it clearly.

He was so happy he almost threw away the sparkler in his hand. He stood up, walked around the yard twice, and then went to knock on the ghost servant's door.

The ghost servant opened the door, saw his foolish appearance, and simply said, "Don't go crazy during the New Year."

Jiang Ruoxi laughed so hard she bent over.

After the Spring Festival, the Yaowang Valley planting base officially began seedling cultivation.

Su Qinghan also went down the mountain and built a small temporary hut next to the construction site, where she taught the workers how to select seeds and mix soil every day.

Jiang Ruoxi had her company send a publicity team to compile the history of Yaowang Valley and the stories of its medicinal herbs into an article and post it online.

Before long, Baizhi Valley's reputation spread.

Medicine merchants from other places came to visit because of its reputation. Ye Chen then became the "chief guide," leading people to visit the medicinal fields and explaining the rules of Medicine King Valley.

Ye Chen said that the herbs in Medicine King Valley are grown without chemical fertilizers or growth promoters, following the methods of the mountains.

Some people thought it was slow, but after tasting a small jar of pear syrup made by Su Qinghan herself, they all fell silent.

The ointment was so moisturizing and fragrant, it felt like it had absorbed the essence of autumn from the entire mountain.

One night, Ye Chen and Jiang Ruoxi walked home from the company side by side.

The streetlights cast long shadows on them.

Ye Chen said, "I used to think of myself as a wild child, without roots. But it's different now. I have a home in Jiangcheng, a valley in the mountains, relatives in Meixi, and you."

Jiang Ruoxi put her hands into his pockets and said, "Me too. I used to think that I would have to carry the Jiang Group alone for the rest of my life. Then you came. Although you are talkative, like to show off, and always make people worry."

She paused, looked up at him, and said, "But you are also my biggest support."

Ye Chen smiled and leaned down to kiss the back of her hand.