After becoming a widow, I became the apple of a rough man's eye.

The backyard was steaming with the smell of medicine.

The herbs that hadn't finished drying were still spread out on the ground, bamboo sieves side by side, their leaves curled up from the sun. The row of wooden shelves against the wall had collapsed at one end, leaning against the base of the wall, the cracked crossbars revealing splinters, clearly showing that the strong winds of the previous night had broken them.

Li Dongye glanced at it twice, said nothing, squatted down and started working.

First, straighten the loose tenon, and then strike it with the hammer. The wood will make a dull thud as it hits the ground. Next, remove the cracked crossbar and replace it with a new strip of wood.

His hands moved quickly, yet with a steady rhythm, as if he were used to this kind of work. The nails sank into the wood, sending up a layer of fine wood dust, and before long, the collapsed half had regained its shape.

Lin Qingqing squatted down beside him, holding a handful of nails in her hand. Seeing him reach out, she handed them to him, saying, "Fourth Brother, are these long enough?"

"That's enough, give me two." Li Dongye took the nails, glanced at her sideways, and said, "Don't squat for too long, your legs will go numb. Go stand in the shade."

"I'm not made of paper," Lin Qingqing retorted, but her actions betrayed her words. She shifted to the side, moving into the shadow of the wall. As she stood up, her calves ached, and she quietly stomped her feet twice.

Gu Qiangying leaned against the back door, crossed her arms, and looked around for a long time before speaking calmly: "The crossbeam is two fingers to the left."

Li Dongye didn't even look up, still searching for the right angle with his hands: "I know that drainage systems should have a slope to prevent water accumulation on rainy days. Your yard faces west, and the wind is strong in the afternoon. If you nail it too tightly, it's more likely to break."

Gu Qiangying paused for two seconds, then gave a soft hum in her nose: "Fine, you know quite a bit."

"I drive a sports car, I don't just know how to step on the gas." After hammering in the last nail, Li Dongye wobbled the wooden frame to make sure it was stable before standing up and clapping his hands. "Come on, Dr. Gu, let's inspect it."

Gu Qiangying walked over, raised his hand and pushed the wooden frame twice, but it didn't budge. He didn't praise it, but simply withdrew his hand and said, "It's alright."

Li Dongye laughed: "If I can hear the word 'make do' from your mouth, then my trip today wasn't in vain."

Lin Qingqing looked at this one, then at that one, and couldn't help but smile, saying, "You two are actually quite alike."

"Who looks like him?" The two asked almost simultaneously, their tones exactly the same.

As soon as the words were spoken, all three of them paused for a moment.

Lin Qingqing couldn't hold back and burst out laughing. Gu Qiangying's face stiffened, and she turned to wash her hands by the hand pump. The water gushed out, as if trying to hide something.

Li Dongye raised an eyebrow and mouthed "See?" to her.

……

Lunch was set out in the courtyard under the eaves.

The small wooden table wasn't big; it was just right for three people to sit around.

Gu Qiangying brought out a large bowl of dumpling soup from the kitchen. The soup was topped with scallions and egg, and steam rose up in bursts.

Two more side dishes were laid out: a plate of cucumber salad and a plate of stewed tofu. Li Dongye unwrapped the braised chicken leg he had brought from the car, and as soon as he lifted the oil paper, the aroma of the braising sauce immediately wafted out, overpowering the medicinal smell in the yard.

"Come on, Qingqing, sit in the middle." Li Dongye pulled out a chair first.

Gu Qiangying came out carrying a bowl of soup, and looked up when she heard this: "Sit over here, the sun won't be so strong."

Lin Qingqing glanced around, then moved her chair closer to the center, smiling as she tried to smooth things over: "I'll sit here, so no one will be biased."

Li Dongye clicked his tongue: "You heartless little thing."

Gu Qiangying said calmly, "She's more sensible than you."

The fan whirred slowly to the side. Once the meal started, Li Dongye couldn't stop talking, recounting the events in the motorcade with vivid detail.

"The night before last, we were hauling timber. Old Zhao said he was sleepy and asked the passenger to sing him a song to wake him up. But the passenger was tone-deaf and sang 'Little White Poplar' like a funeral song. Old Zhao almost drove the truck into the ditch."

Lin Qingqing laughed so hard she could barely hold her chopsticks: "And then?"

"Later, Lao Zhao kicked him off the bus and told him to go to the back of the truck to chat with Mu Tou."

Li Dongye got more and more excited as he spoke, "Another time when we were passing through a checkpoint, Lao Zhou secretly brought two live geese. As a result, the geese started fighting in the truck and pecked through the ropes binding the cargo. The whole truck chased the geese for half an hour, and their faces turned red from running."

Lin Qingqing laughed so hard her shoulders shook, and her eyes curved into crescent moons.

Gu Qiangying, who had been serving soup with a stern face, couldn't help but smile slightly upon hearing this: "If your team relied on telling jokes to make a living, you would have been rich long ago."

"No way, you can't use a joke as fuel for cooking." Li Dongye laughed and put a chicken leg into Lin Qingqing's bowl. "But this chicken leg can be used today, eat this first."

Seeing this, Gu Qiangying turned her chopsticks and picked up another piece of stewed tofu for Lin Qingqing: "Eat it hot first, it won't taste good when it's cold."

"Okay." Lin Qingqing nodded obediently and buried her head in her food.

Li Dongye glanced at Gu Qiangying and teased him deliberately, "Third Brother, you're such a contradiction. You're fierce with your words, but you're quite good at taking care of people."

Gu Qiangying slowly took a sip of soup: "I'm taking care of my own family, is that any of your business?"

"Of course it's a hindrance, I want to take care of them too," Li Dongye laughed. "You keep taking my job, I can't do my job properly."

"What are you going to do? Use your sweet talk?"

"Sweet talk is also a skill."

The two argued back and forth, neither willing to give in. Lin Qingqing was getting a headache listening to them. She put down her chopsticks and said helplessly, "At home...why don't I ever see you two arguing this much?"

As soon as she finished speaking, the two of them fell silent for two seconds, as if someone had pressed pause.

After that, they actually became more restrained; one lowered his head to eat, and the other lowered his head to drink soup.

The courtyard quieted down, with only the soft clinking of bowls and chopsticks and the whirring of the fan remaining.

Towards the end of the meal, Li Dongye shifted the topic to his brothers:

"The second brother recently took on a job making iron pots at the east end of town, and he's been so busy he barely has time to breathe. The fifth brother is even more outrageous. Last night he insisted on going to the county to find odd jobs, but he came back halfway there, saying he wouldn't feel at ease without seeing you."

Lin Qingqing looked up: "Is Jiang He throwing a tantrum again?"

"Yeah, he's so stubborn. He said nobody cares about you, but he was pacing around the yard in the middle of the night." Li Dongye laughed. "I think he just needs to be taught a lesson."

Gu Qiangying interjected calmly, "He really needs to be taught a lesson lately; he's even thinking about joining the army."

"Yeah, but who in our family is the least troublesome?" Li Dongye shrugged. "If we're talking about the least troublesome, Qingqing is the least troublesome."

Lin Qingqing retorted, "I have a temper too."

"Yes, I know." Li Dongye glanced at her and smiled gently. "Even when you're angry, people like you."

Gu Qiangying paused, her chopsticks still in her hand, and looked up at her: "Can't you shut up while you're eating?"

"I can't stop it." Li Dongye wasn't intimidated at all. "I'm not like you, keeping your words bottled up inside and letting them fester."

"What's fermenting is the salty fish smell from your car."

"That's seafood, it's valuable."

"You're not even worth as much as a salted fish."

These words came so quickly that Lin Qingqing couldn't help but laugh, leaning over the table until her eyes were wet with tears.

Seeing her smile, Gu Qiangying relaxed a bit, took the empty bowl in front of her, and added half a bowl of soup: "Slow down, don't choke."

She had just answered when a sudden screech of brakes came from outside the gate. The bicycle tires screeched as they scraped the ground, followed by hurried footsteps.

A young man from the post office rushed in, covered in sweat and still out of breath: "Master Li! You're here? The trucking company called you, they want you back right away! They added an extra order this afternoon, steel needs to be delivered to the county overnight!"

Li Dongye put down his chopsticks: "Leaving now?"

"Yes, now. They've called twice already, saying if you don't go back soon, the captain will come and arrest you personally."

"Okay, I'll go right away."

The young man nodded, and without pausing for long, turned around and rode away on his bicycle.

The courtyard fell silent instantly. The once lively dining table seemed to have been suddenly emptied by a gust of wind.

Li Dongye wiped his face, got up to get his car keys: "I have to go back to the team, the order is urgent, it can't be delayed."

Lin Qingqing also stood up: "Then you haven't finished your meal yet."

"You can eat on the way." Li Dongye looked at her, his nonchalant attitude lessening somewhat. "You should study hard here and not argue with Third Brother. He may have a sharp tongue, but he's not a bad person."

Gu Qiangying looked at him coldly: "Is it your place to explain?"

"It's her turn, I'm her fourth brother." Li Dongye smiled, picked up his coat, and walked out.

He walked to the gate of the courtyard, then turned back, raised his hand and ruffled Lin Qingqing's hair. His palm was heavy but warm. "After I finish this trip, I'll bring the second and fifth brothers over together, so you won't keep worrying about them."

Lin Qingqing nodded: "Drive carefully."

"Don't worry," Li Dongye replied, then looked at Gu Qiangying, "I'm entrusting her to you. Don't bully her."

Gu Qiangying lifted her eyelids: "How I manage her is none of your business."

"Fine, you're right." Li Dongye smiled, turned around, got into the car, started the engine, and it roared to life. He leaned out of the window, raised his chin at Lin Qingqing, and said, "Let's go."

The truck drove out of the alley, its sound gradually fading into the distance, until only the creaking of the fan under the eaves remained.

Lin Qingqing stood at the door for a while, and just as she turned to go inside, a piercing cry suddenly erupted outside the clinic...

"Dr. Gu! Help!"