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

I had a few rare days of peace and quiet.

That day, the sun was shining brightly in the courtyard, warming one's back.

Gu Qiangying sat by the millstone, tapping her palm intermittently with a thin, long pointer in her hand—which was actually just a peeled willow twig.

"Angelica sinensis nourishes blood, and astragalus membranaceus tonifies qi. What's it called when these two are put together?"

Lin Qingqing was squatting on the ground sorting herbs. When she heard the question, she didn't even look up. She deftly picked out a weed mixed in with the licorice and threw it away.

"Angelica Blood-Nourishing Decoction"

"You're wrong." Gu Qiangying gently tapped the back of her hand with the willow twig in her hand. "That's called 'dual replenishment of qi and blood,' it's the effect of the prescription, not the name of the medicine. Now, tell me, in this pile, which one is Fangfeng (Saposhnikovia divaricata) and which one is Jingjie (Schizonepeta tenuifolia)?"

Lin Qingqing straightened up, held up the two very similar-looking herbs, and waved them in the sunlight.

"The square-stemmed ones are catnip, and the round ones are saposhnikovia. Third brother, these are all questions testing basic skills; could you change to something more challenging?"

She's become much bolder now.

At first, when she was learning about medicines from Gu Qiangying, she didn't dare to breathe too loudly, afraid that the smiling tiger would set a trap for her.

Now that I understand this person's temperament, as long as I go along with him and occasionally say a few words back, he will be even happier.

Gu Qiangying pushed up her glasses, and her phoenix eyes behind the lenses narrowed.

"Well done, you've really gotten some skills."

He reached out and grasped Lin Qingqing's wrist, the one that had been holding the herbs, his fingertips tracing the smooth skin of her wrist. "Since you don't want to attend the theory class, how about we make up for the 'practical class' we didn't finish the other day? Like, human acupoints?"

Lin Qingqing blushed and tried to pull her hand back.

"Who wants to discuss this with you!"

Gu Qiangying didn't try to stop her, and let go of her hand. Looking at her bright red ears, he felt very happy.

This little white rabbit has now learned to show its claws, although those claws are soft and squishy, ​​and scratching them only makes it feel itchy.

"Stop fooling around," Gu Qiangying said seriously. "Turn the dried tangerine peel in this winnowing basket over. The sun has been strong these past few days; it needs to be thoroughly dried before it can be used in medicine."

Just as Lin Qingqing was about to pick up the winnowing basket, a piercing screech of brakes suddenly came from the gate of the courtyard, followed by two extremely arrogant honking horns.

"Beep—beep—"

Lin Qingqing was startled and almost dropped the winnowing basket in her hand.

Every time Li Dongye returned, he would honk the horn loudly, as if afraid that someone in the village wouldn't know he was back.

The door was kicked open—or rather, pushed open with a knee.

Li Dongye carried a huge cardboard box in his arms and slid in sideways like a crab.

"Second brother! Fifth brother! Where have you been? Come out and greet us!"

Li Dongye shouted until his face turned red and his neck bulged. The box looked heavy, and it made him bend over.

Xiao Yong was swinging a sledgehammer in the blacksmith's shed when he heard the commotion. He rushed out, still clutching the red-hot tongs. Seeing Li Dongye's posture, he dipped the tongs into a bucket of water, creating a puff of white smoke, and strode over.

"What's this heavy thing?" Xiao Yong took the box with one hand, weighed it in his hand, and said, "A lump of iron?"

"Gently! Gently!"

Li Dongye frantically circled around Xiao Yong, saying, "My ancestor, this is my lifeline! If you even sell yourself, you couldn't afford to pay for it if I chipped a corner."

Jiang He peeked out from the backyard, looking around curiously: "Fourth Brother, you brought the supply and marketing cooperative back?"

Qin Lie walked out of the main room, his gaze sweeping over the box, his eyebrows slightly raised.

"television?"

Li Dongye snapped his fingers. "It has to be the eldest brother, he has a sharp eye."

He patted the cardboard box with a smug look on his face. "Fourteen inches, black and white, Shanghai Venus brand. To get this thing, I used up all the fuel I'd earned from driving my car for the past few months, and even spent two packs of good cigarettes to get the ticket."

In those days, owning a television set was a status symbol even more prestigious than owning a Ferrari in later generations.

Lin Qingqing also curiously leaned over.

She had seen television before, but only from afar in a department store window.

"Can it really be viewed?" Lin Qingqing's eyes sparkled as she reached out and touched the cardboard box.

"It has to be watchable." Seeing her greedy look, Li Dongye was overjoyed. He leaned over to ask for credit, "Qingqing, what do you want to watch tonight? We can choose ourselves."

"Don't blow it yet." Qin Lie walked over. "Where's the antenna?"

Li Dongye was prepared. He pulled out an aluminum pipe frame wrapped in newspaper from the pile of junk behind him. "Here it is. Second brother, go cut a long bamboo pole, the longer the better. Fifth brother, go and bring the ladder. Eldest brother, let's go up to the roof."

This whole ordeal made the Qin family even more lively than during the Lunar New Year.

Xiao Yong was strong; he carried a bamboo pole as thick as a bowl back with him.

Qin Lie and Li Dongye climbed onto the roof and set up the antenna there.

The commotion was so loud that Wang Dazui from next door heard it long ago.

She was really looking forward to the next few days because she hadn't had any gossip from the Qin family.

Upon seeing the tall bamboo pole erected on the roof of the Qin family's house, with a strangely shaped aluminum frame tied to it, he immediately grabbed a ladder and climbed over the wall.

"Hey, what's that Qin family brother doing? Is it a lightning rod?" Wang Dazui said, cracking sunflower seeds and rolling his eyes.

Gu Qiangying was standing in the courtyard directing the direction when she heard this. She turned around and smiled at the wall.

"Aunt Wang, this is called a receiver. It's specially designed to receive signals from the gods in heaven. If someone has done something wrong, it can show up on this device."

Wang Dazui's hand trembled, scattering sunflower seed shells all over the floor. "Go away, Dr. Gu just makes fun of this old woman. What is this anyway?"

"A television," Jiang He added from the side, his pride practically overflowing. "The kind that can see people's shadows and even talk."

Wang Dazui gasped, "My goodness, how much does that cost? It's a good thing you five brothers didn't marry five wives, otherwise you wouldn't have the money to buy this!"

Nobody paid any attention to her.

With a shout from the rooftop, Li Dongye exclaimed, "Got it! Got it! It's appeared!"

A crackling sound of snowflakes came from inside the room.

It was getting dark.

There were no lights on in the main room; the 14-inch black-and-white television was the only source of light.

The static on the screen was still flickering from time to time, but the picture was basically clear.

Huo Yuanjia's righteous face appeared on the screen, followed by the exhilarating theme song.

"After a century of slumber, the Chinese people are gradually awakening..."

The stirring melody echoed in the narrow main room.

Lin Qingqing sat on a small stool in the middle, holding an enamel mug in her arms, which contained freshly roasted melon seeds.

"Sister, this person's braids are really ugly." Jiang He complained as he reached behind her and played with the ends of her hair.

Lin Qingqing was afraid of blocking the view of the people behind her, so she didn't dare to push him too much. She just tilted her head and said, "Stop messing around, I'm watching TV."

Xiao Yong sat to her right. He didn't talk much and didn't watch TV much. His bull-like eyes were mostly fixed on Lin Qingqing's profile.

He held a handful of peanuts in his hand, rubbed them together with his thumb, and the red skins fell off, revealing the plump white peanut kernels.

He gathered the shelled peanuts in his palm, and when he had collected a handful, he silently handed them to Lin Qingqing.

"eat."

Lin Qingqing was about to reach out to take it, but Xiao Yong didn't let go, his meaning was clear—he wanted to feed her.

In front of so many people, Lin Qingqing's face felt a little hot, but looking at Xiao Yong's honest and stubborn eyes, she could only lower her head slightly and eat the peanut from his hand.

Soft lips brushed against Xiao Yong's rough, calloused palm.

Xiao Yong froze, abruptly pulling his hand back and wiping it on his trouser leg. His dark red face appeared purplish-red under the television's glow.

Li Dongye sat cross-legged next to the TV. The signal kept flickering, so he had to reach out and pat the TV casing or turn the antenna connector.

"If this Master Huo were born in our village, he'd probably be shaken to death by this lousy road," Li Dongye grumbled, then turned and winked at Lin Qingqing. "Qingqing, is the picture clear enough? Should I adjust it a bit more?"

"I understand perfectly well," Lin Qingqing mumbled, chewing on peanuts.

On the screen, Huo Yuanjia was punched in the ribs and spat out a mouthful of blood.

"This strike hits the Zhangmen acupoint."

Gu Qiangying suddenly blurted out, "The Liver Meridian's Mu point, a heavy blow can cause the liver and spleen to rupture and bleed internally. This actor vomited blood too early; he should have turned pale and gone into shock first, and then vomited after a while."

Lin Qingqing frowned slightly. "Third Brother, don't speak."

"Third Brother!" Jiang He turned around, displeased. "Can you stop using medical techniques to watch TV? That's a martial arts master, don't you understand? Internal energy cultivation!"

"Internal energy cultivation is also a human function," Gu Qiangying said, adjusting his glasses. "It doesn't conform to physiological structure."

Lin Qingqing couldn't help but laugh out loud, turning to look at Gu Qiangying: "Third Brother, do you think your acupuncture could cure Huo Yuanjia if he were injured?"

Gu Qiangying looked away from the television and onto her smiling face: "If it's like this on TV, then yes."

Outside the courtyard wall, Wang Dazui and several women carried ladders and sat on the top of the wall, watching with great interest.

"Hey, good job! Kill that Yoko!" Wang Dazui shouted from the top of the wall.

Qin Lie glanced back and saw Wang Dazui's voice abruptly stop. He shrank his neck, but he couldn't bear to part with the exciting plot, so he could only lower his voice to a whisper.

Night had fallen, and the mountain breeze carried a chill.

The television set emitted a cold, white light, illuminating several young faces.

"Are you cold?" Qin Lie's deep voice sounded above him.

Lin Qingqing shook her head, shrank back, and buried herself even deeper into that safe and secure space.

"It's not cold," she said.

On the screen, Huo Yuanjia righteously and eloquently denounced the foreign powers.

Jiang He suddenly leaned closer, resting his chin on Lin Qingqing's shoulder and touching Qin Lie's hand.

"Sister," he called softly.

"Um?"

"I want to learn kung fu." Jiang He's eyes sparkled. "If I learn it, and anyone dares to bully you, I'll be like Huo Yuanjia, I'll send them flying with one punch."

Lin Qingqing laughed and flicked his forehead: "You should feed your pigs first. You can't even beat the pigs, yet you want to beat people."

Jiang He wasn't annoyed. He chuckled and held onto Lin Qingqing's finger tightly: "Then let the pigs run over them. I can command the pigs just the same thing."

A low chuckle came from inside the room.

Even Qin Lie, who is usually the most serious, had a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth.

The flickering light and shadow from the television cast long, intertwined shadows throughout the room, making it impossible to distinguish one from another.

It seems like that's just how they've always been.

It's as if that's how they're supposed to be.