: Was it really you who saved that girl?

"Ugh..." Jia Dongxu clutched his chest, nearly fainting on the spot. "Him again?!"

"Why is he everywhere?!"

"That's absolutely impossible!!!"

Madam Jia Zhang sneered, "Liu Dong? Does he ever give someone acupuncture without causing bleeding? Does he ever write a prescription without making typos? He treats illnesses? He's just fooling people!"

By this time, a crowd had already gathered at the entrance of the courtyard.

Xu Damao leaned against the wall, cracking sunflower seeds. Liu Haizhong strolled over, a pipe dangling from his lips. Yan Bugui, brushing dust off his cotton-padded coat, slowly chimed in, "That's right! He said I had lung cancer, so I went to get it checked—my lungs were cleaner than my face!"

"He even said I had late-stage liver cancer, so I went home and cooked three bowls of pork liver soup to nourish myself, and nothing happened!"

Matchmaker Wang chuckled and didn't argue: "I don't care what she says, anyway, Tian Xiuhua is lively and energetic now, she can even ride a bicycle for ten miles without getting out of breath—she said it herself, Liu Dong cured her all by himself."

"Alright, alright!" She patted Jia Zhangshi's arm. "Don't get upset. I'm keeping an eye out for you. I'll try to set you up with someone suitable!"

After saying that, he turned and left.

Jia Zhangshi turned around and chased after her. When no one was paying attention, she forced five cents into Wang the matchmaker's hand—not a single penny could be spared for her son's marriage!

Boom—!

Just then, a military green jeep screeched to a halt at the gate!

The car door slammed open, and three or four burly men in military uniforms jumped out.

The man leading the group, with a pen pinned to his chest and a Shanghai watch on his wrist, was none other than Secretary Wang, the personal secretary of the Tian family's top leader!

He waved his hand, and the two soldiers behind him immediately picked up two large cardboard boxes and walked into the yard.

"Hey bro, got a cigarette?" Secretary Wang casually pulled out a "Peony" cigarette with a filter and handed it to Yan Bugui with a smile. "Excuse me, is Professor Liu Dong home?"

Yan Bugui flicked his cigarette and pointed to the backyard: "He's here, sunbathing under the porch!"

"Alright!" Secretary Wang led the group and strode towards the backyard.

slam-la-

Men, women, and children all rushed over, even the old lady who had just washed her feet shuffled along in her slippers to catch up.

Liu Dong originally wanted to go to the Intermediate People's Court to watch the excitement, but when he heard that it was Jia Dongxu going on a blind date, he immediately turned around and went back home—whoever wants to go on a blind date can go, it's none of his business!

Right now, he's lazily nestled under the covered walkway, basking in the warm winter sun with his eyes half-closed, and there's half a cup of hot water next to him.

"Secretary Wang?" He looked up, somewhat surprised.

"Hello, Dr. Liu!" Secretary Wang stood at attention, bowed, and spoke with the utmost respect, as if addressing a high-ranking official. "Thanks to your miraculous healing skills, Comrade Xiuhua was saved! This is a gift specially sent by the leader—two boxes of fruit! Supplies are tight right now; even the bananas and pineapples are specially approved. They say eating some in winter helps soothe the throat and prevents night blindness!" (Back then, many people couldn't see their hands in front of their faces at night; it was truly due to a vitamin A deficiency!)

"Thanks." Liu Dong didn't refuse at all, and bent down to take the box into the yard.

No need to open the box—just by looking at the red words "Guangxi Provincial Foreign Trade Warehouse" and "Special Supply to Guangdong State Farms Bureau" printed on the box, you can tell the weight.

One box contained golden bananas, and the other box contained bright yellow pineapples.

Decades later, these are just two of the most common items in supermarket freezers;

Nowadays? Many adults and children live to be thirty and have never even peeled a banana!

"You're busy, we'll leave now!" Secretary Wang saluted and led the team away.

The crowd fell silent for half a second.

The next second, the entire courtyard erupted in chaos!

"Liu Dong...really, it was you who rescued that girl?!"

"Hey, just a lucky break, wasn't it?"

Everyone knows Liu Dong's background, yet he still managed to pull it off today! Liu Dong didn't say a word, just grinned, opened the wooden crate, and pulled out two bunches of bananas and two pineapples: "Come on, Zhu Zi, Da Mao—one pineapple each, and grab a bunch of bananas too, they're sweet!"

"Thanks, bro! Thanks a lot!"

"Brother Liu Dong is so generous!"

Xu Damao and He Yuzhu's eyes disappeared with laughter as they held the fruit and grinned from ear to ear.

Liu Dong casually carried the remaining fruit into his room and slammed the door shut.

The courtyard house erupted in chaos—

"Why should he get it but not me?"

"What makes me worse than Sha Zhu? Is it just because he can fight?"

Madam Jia's face darkened, and she jumped up in a flash: "Liu Dong! You heartless bastard! You've schemed against our Jia family time and time again! What have we ever done to offend you?!"

"If you don't explain yourself clearly today, I'm not letting this go!"

Before she could finish speaking, she plopped down on the ground, slapping her thigh as if about to wail.

Liu Dong looked up: "How did I trick you guys?"

"Last time you dragged me to the hospital for a checkup, and I wasted over four yuan! This time, you ruined everything I worked so hard to find a daughter-in-law, Dongxu, such a good young man!"

"Who told you to meddle in other people's business and get treatment? If you hadn't gotten treatment, would they have dumped my Dongxu?!"

Liu Dong was speechless on the spot.

The onlookers were all stunned – did a human really say that?

"Liu Dong—I'll curse your ancestors! You unlucky bastard! Why don't you just reincarnate?!"

Jia Zhangshi immediately broke down and started cursing.

Actually, she wasn't like this before. When Old Jia was alive, she could still keep a straight face. But after Old Jia passed away, her shrewishness was like a floodgate opening. Last time, just because Xu Damao called her a "bastard Xu," she cursed outside the Xu family's house for over two months, and the Xu family didn't even dare to leave their house; in the end, the Xu family had to pay her ten yuan to coax her away. Having tasted success, she really thought this tactic would work its magic—and today, she used it again.

Liu Dong's eyelids twitched: Fine, this old lady really wants to test my temper.

He was about to move forward, but before he could even take a step—"Holy shit!"

He Yuzhu suddenly sprang to his senses! He slammed the pineapple and bananas he was holding to the ground with a "thud," and charged forward like a cannonball, kicking Jia Zhangshi in the shoulder: "You old woman, open your dog eyes and see clearly who this is?!"

"Dare to insult me, Brother Liu Dong? I'll kick you to death!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Three muffled thuds.

Then came a series of loud slaps, "Slap! Slap! Slap!" which caused blood to trickle from the corner of Jia Zhangshi's mouth.

"Shazhu! You dare hit my mom? I'll fight you to the death!" Jia Dongxu lunged forward.

But who is Sha Zhu?

The toughest guy in the courtyard, with hard fists, a fiery temper, and quick strikes!

Jia Dongxu's small frame was like paper in front of him—in less than ten seconds, he was pinned to the ground and straddled, his mouth slapped so hard it was swollen.

"Hit me! If I can't beat you to death, I'll kill you!" Sha Zhu roared, his eyes red.

"Stop hitting the pillar! I was wrong! I won't make a scene anymore! Let go of my son!" Jia Zhangshi cried as she crawled over and grabbed his arm.

"Pah!" Sha Zhu spat in her face. "You think you can just stop like that? I'll do what God says today!"

Another series of slaps landed, making Jia Dongxu's nose crooked on one side.

Sha Zhu yelled as he hit him, "If you swear at my brother again—I'll knock all your son's teeth out!"

Madam Jia completely gave in: "Sir, spare my life! I really won't do it again!"

At this moment, Liu Dong slowly spoke from the steps: "Zhu Zi, stop."

"Hey!" Sha Zhu immediately let go and stood up, without even dusting himself off, and turned around to bow and scrape to Liu Dong.