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

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Ye Chen was awakened by the sound of firecrackers.

People in the southern part of the city like to set off firecrackers during the Spring Festival. The firecrackers start going off on New Year's Eve and continue intermittently until dawn.

When Ye Chen opened his eyes, Jiang Ruoxi was no longer in bed.

He put on a coat and went outside, and saw that the yard was covered with red paper scraps, like a red velvet carpet.

Shen Bo'an was standing at the door with a broom in his hand, but he hesitated to sweep, saying, "I'll leave it for the festive season and sweep it after the fifth day of the new year."

Shen Jingqiu laughed from the side, saying that Grandpa says the same thing every year, but every year he can't help but sweep first.

Breakfast was glutinous rice balls made by Shen Jingqiu, filled with sesame, sweet and hot.

Ye Chen ate two bowls, but Jiang Ruoxi stopped him, saying, "Don't you know how many you secretly ate when you were making dumplings yesterday?"

Ye Chen awkwardly put down the bowl and turned to tease Ayiguli.

Aygul was squatting in the corner of the yard looking at the clump of grass. When she saw Ye Chen coming over, she said without looking up, "Spring is here, it's time to cultivate the seedlings of moonflowers."

Ye Chen squatted down to take a look. The clump of grass, though still green after a winter, looked thinner than in autumn.

He said, "I won't wait until spring to start cultivating them when I get back. There are greenhouses in Baizhi Valley, which are warmer than here."

Aygul nodded, stood up, and patted the mud off her hands.

She said, "Then I'll go back to Jiangcheng with you."

Ye Chen said, "We were going to go back together anyway."

Just then, a lively sound of gongs and drums suddenly came from the alley entrance.

Shen Jingqiu ran out to take a look and came back to say, "It's the town's lion dance troupe. They come to Yaopu Lane every Lunar New Year's Day to visit each household and offer New Year's greetings."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a group of lion dancers entered the alley.

Two lions, one gold and one red, leaped and tumbled in the alley, followed by several people banging gongs and drums, and a group of children watching the spectacle.

When the leader saw people standing at the entrance of Anhetang, he led the lion over and had it perform a set of "picking the green" tricks in front of the door.

Shen Bo'an took a red envelope from inside the house and stuffed it into the lion's mouth. The lion dancer bowed in thanks and went to the next house.

Ye Chen stood at the door for a while and felt that the festive atmosphere in the south was stronger than in the south.

There are more high-rise buildings in Wuhan, but fewer firecrackers. The Spring Festival is now just about having a meal and watching the Spring Festival Gala.

But in this old alley, things remain the same.

There were lion dances, firecrackers, red paper scattered all over the ground, and laughter echoing throughout the alley.

Ye Chen turned to Jiang Ruoxi and said, "Let's come to Nancheng for the New Year every year from now on."

Jiang Ruoxi said, "Then you don't want the home in Jiangcheng anymore?"

Ye Chen said, "Let's take turns. One year in Nancheng, one year in Jiangcheng. Once the courtyard is built in Baizhi Valley, then it'll be Baizhi Valley's turn."

Jiang Ruoxi thought for a moment and said, "Okay, but we have to bring Dahuang along."

Ye Chen said, "Of course."

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, Shen Bo'an broke his usual rule and opened half of the door.

He said the clinic would not be open during the Lunar New Year, but some of his regular customers who hadn't had a chance to see him before the New Year came over while visiting relatives.

Shen Jingqiu lent a hand from the side, and Ye Chen also went to help.

I saw seven or eight patients this morning, most of whom had minor ailments and were treated with a few doses of medicine.

An old lady came with half a basket of eggs, saying they were for Shen Bo'an.

Shen Bo'an tried to refuse for a long time but couldn't, so he finally accepted it and then asked Shen Jingqiu to pack a packet of herbal tea for the old lady to take back.

The old lady was so happy that she kept wiping away tears, saying, "Anhetang is still the best."

Watching from the side, Ye Chen thought that this was how Shen Bo'an lived by running a pharmacy.

I'm not after money; I just want to make things convenient for the people in this alley.

He suddenly remembered what Su Qinghan had said: "Making things convenient for others is the greatest gain."

This statement applies equally to Anhetang, Baizhi Valley, and Yaowang Valley.

By the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, the sound of firecrackers in the alley finally subsided.

Shen Jingqiu got up early and swept the yard, piling the scraps of red paper in the corner, saying she would keep them to "press down the ground".

Shen Bo'an sat in his clinic, flipped through the new medicine book, and took the pulses of two old neighbors who came to pay their respects for the New Year, thus officially starting the new year.

Aygul squatted in the corner, loosened the soil around the clump of grass with a small shovel, and then poured a ladle of water on it.

Ye Chen walked over and glanced at it, saying, "You're still thinking about this clump of grass?"

Aygul said, "I'm worried. If this thing can survive in Nancheng, it can survive in Baizhi Valley. I'll plant more when I get back."

Ye Chen said, "Okay, I'll reserve a plot of land for you in the greenhouse."

Aygul nodded and didn't say anything more, but she loosened the soil with her shovel more quickly.

On the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, Ye Chen and Jiang Ruoxi went to town to have their car serviced.

When passing by the post office, Ye Chen paused for a moment, went in, and mailed a letter to Central Asia.

The letter was short, just a few lines: The seeds have been planted. There's that kind of grass in the south of the city too. It's growing in the yard and it's alive. Spring has arrived where you are, right?

Aygul asked me to tell you that she's going again this year.

Jiang Ruoxi stood at the post office entrance waiting for him. Seeing him drop the letter into the mailbox, she asked, "What did you write to her?"

Ye Chen said, "I didn't write anything, just told her that planting has started on both sides."

Ye Chen said, "I don't know if she's happy or not, but I know she'll definitely send more dried apricots."

Jiang Ruoxi smiled.

On the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, Ayiguli packed her luggage.

She was going back to Jiangcheng, saying that the moonflower seedlings in the greenhouse needed to be cultivated and couldn't be delayed.

Ye Chen and Jiang Ruoxi originally wanted to stay a few more days, but Jiang Ruoxi had to go back to her company to handle some matters.

Su Qinghan said she wasn't in a hurry to leave and would stay with Shen Bo'an for a few more days.

The ghost servant wanted to go back with Ayiguli, saying that Jiangcheng couldn't be left unattended.

So the four of them split into two groups: Su Qinghan stayed in Nancheng, while the rest returned to Jiangcheng.

On the day he left, Shen Bo'an saw him off at the alley entrance.

He took Ye Chen's hand and said, "This autumn, I'll hand over the pharmacy to Jingqiu. I'll go to Jiangcheng for a while then. I'll visit Baizhi Valley and Yaowang Valley."

Ye Chen said, "Then come early, the medicinal herb fields are busiest when they're harvested in autumn."

Shen Bo'an nodded, then looked at Jiang Ruoxi and said, "Girl, don't bring anything next time, just come."

Jiang Ruoxi smiled and agreed, thinking to herself that she would bring them again next time.

Shen Jingqiu stood behind her grandfather, holding the pot of angelica in her hands, and waved to them.

Aygul stood by the car, carrying a bag on her back and holding a bag of seeds in her hand.

Ye Chen walked over, took the seed bag from her hand, and said, "Get in the car, we still need to cultivate the seedlings when we get back."

Aygul hummed in agreement and climbed into the back seat.

As the car drove off, Ye Chen saw Shen Bo'an standing at the alley entrance in the rearview mirror, just like last year, in the same spot and in the same posture.

This year he didn't use crutches, and he stood straighter than last year.

Shen Jingqiu joined them, holding a pot of angelica in her hands.

The red lanterns at the alley entrance were still swaying gently in the wind, as if saying to them, "Come again next year."

Aygul sat in the back row, holding the packet of moonflower seeds in her arms, and didn't say a word the whole way.

Jiang Ruoxi sat in the passenger seat, took the red ribbon out of her pocket, looked at it, and then put it back.

Ye Chen asked her, "What are you thinking about?" Jiang Ruoxi replied, "Where will we be this time next year?"

Ye Chen said, "No matter where we are, we're all in the same place."

Jiang Ruoxi hummed in agreement and rolled down the car window a crack.

The wind blew in, carrying the unique damp scent of grass and trees of the southern city.

In the distant fields, early-blooming rapeseed flowers are already in bloom, a bright yellow, stretching as far as the eye can see.

Spring is coming soon.

It was already evening when I returned to Jiangcheng.

He Jianping was waiting at the villa entrance early in the morning. Da Huang circled around his feet, and when it saw the car, it rushed over and barked around the wheels.

Ye Chen got out of the car, and Da Huang pounced on him, almost knocking him over.

He Jianping said, "You're finally back. This dog has been waiting at the door every day, and it's been eating half its usual amount of food."

Ye Chen stroked Da Huang's head and said, "Did you miss me?"

Dahuang licked his hand with its tongue as a form of response.

The ghost servant stood at the door, holding the old broom, sweeping fallen leaves in the yard.

Aygul went straight to the backyard, put the seed bag into the seedling tray in the greenhouse, and squatted there for a while.

Jiang Ruoxi stood at the living room door, watching Ye Chen and Da Huang fooling around, and the corners of her mouth slowly curved up.