With Ye Zhou around this year, the courtyard has become even more lively.

Ye Zhou went into the kitchen, where An Youhe was making dumplings.

A small bowl of wrapped filling, which is chive and egg filling.

Ye Zhou went inside and picked up a rolling pin. "I'll roll out the dough."

An Youhe raised her dimples and watched the person next to her skillfully operate the equipment.

"You can even roll out dough!"

Ye Zhou rolled out a perfect dough sheet in a few seconds and smiled as he moved closer to the girl.

"Are you eager to marry me? You can't find someone as talented as me anywhere in the world."

The girl pouted, "Ye Zhouzhou, why have you become so narcissistic lately?"

"This isn't narcissism, it's the truth."

"Good, good, good, Ye Zhou is the best man in the world."

"You are the best girl in the world."

The girl blushed and quickly wrapped the dumplings in her hands.

"It's hard to finish all these dumplings." Ye Zhou looked at An Youhe and the plate of dumplings next to her, which numbered about a hundred.

“Grandma likes to eat it, so make more and put it in the refrigerator. Besides, you're here too, so we can finish it together.”

"Okay, I like chive and egg dumplings the most."

The two worked together very quickly and soon wrapped two whole plates of dumplings.

They ate more than half a plate of dumplings in one meal.

The dumplings were cooked until soft and tender, and even though Grandma has bad teeth, she ate them happily.

The old lady's radio kept breaking down, but she didn't want to replace it with a new one, so Ye Zhou had to bring her tools and parts to fix it.

An Youhe busied herself frying some fried dough sticks and crispy pork, as well as melon seeds, peanuts, and candy, and placed them all on the table.

The girl would always rest one hand on the table, watching intently as Ye Zhou repaired the stereo or television, marveling at how capable Ye Zhou was of everything.

Ye Zhou would take time to come to the courtyard almost every day to see if there was anything he could help with, or to feed the chickens, ducks and geese, or sit with An Youhe and the old lady under the porch in the courtyard, basking in the warm winter sun.

One day, when Ye Zhou drove over as usual, a small yellow dog covered in mud appeared in the rearview mirror.

When Ye Zhou got out of the car, the little yellow dog lay on the ground, wagging its tail vigorously. The dog looked only a few months old; it seemed to have been abandoned and wasn't afraid of people yet.

...

Anyou put the puppy in the yard, and in surprise, she stepped over the threshold and squatted down to look at the poor little guy.

It was supposed to be the Lunar New Year, a time for family reunions, but this little dog was filthy and looked like it had been abandoned.

The girl blinked her bright black eyes at Ye Zhou, "Where did you pick this up from?"

"It's right by the roadside, I don't know how long it's been. It's not easy to keep going like this in the dead of winter."

Grandma, who was standing nearby, saw it all and said, "This puppy is so dirty that you can't even tell its original fur color anymore. Go and wash it with hot water."

An Youhe quickly replied, "Okay."

After washing the puppy clean and drying it with a towel, the old lady was overjoyed. She reached out and snatched the puppy from An Youhe's hands, holding it in her arms.

The old man rubbed the puppy's warm body with his fingers, which were as smooth as tree bark.

The puppy looked at the old lady with its innocent big eyes, then looked around, as if it was full of curiosity about the world.

"This puppy looks quite good after it's been washed."

"Grandma, can we adopt this puppy?"

"Keep it. This puppy was abandoned by someone, it's so pitiful, let's keep it and raise it."

An Youhe smiled and agreed. Before, her family didn't have any pets. All the neighbors in the neighborhood had dogs and cats, but her grandmother wouldn't allow her to keep them. Now that her grandmother had agreed to let her keep pets, An Youhe was quite happy.

Grandma stroked the puppy's fluffy golden hair. "The puppy doesn't have a name yet, so let's call him Wangcai."

An Youhe immediately said, "Grandma, Aunt Wang's dog is also named Wangcai."

The old lady seemed to be thinking, "I forgot, then let's call this one 'Wangfu'."

The puppy seemed to understand and barked happily twice.

An Youhe also went over to stroke the puppy's fur, "Wangfu is great, from now on it will be Wangfu, and it will be a member of our family."

Under the warm sunshine, Ye Zhou put his arm around the girl's shoulder, and the two of them looked at the puppy nestled in the old man's arms.

The old lady sat in the yard, watching the two young people get busy again.

Bright red Spring Festival couplets and New Year pictures were pasted on the outside of the door. An Youhe also cut out a "Fu" character by hand and pasted it upside down on the window.

Ye Zhou also cut out a "福" (Fu, meaning good fortune) character, but he was clearly not good at it, and it was rather ugly, making it impossible to tell what the character meant.

"Ye Zhou, is this the character '福' (fortune)? I can't even tell what it is." An Youhe covered her mouth and laughed.

Grandma An laughed too, "What kind of haircut did this kid get?"

Ye Zhou was not discouraged at all, saying, "Practice makes perfect."

He cut it again, this time to make the character "美" (beauty).

Grandma An has a lot of life experience. She was very hardworking when she was young and had many skills. She cut out a paper-cut of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl for a long time with scissors. The paper-cut was more exquisite than those sold in the market.

Ye Zhou was initially quite satisfied with the "beauty" character he had cut out, but now he could only smile awkwardly and say, "Grandma, yours is still the best."

“Of course, Grandma can do everything!” An Youhe smiled as she got up, took the paper-cut window decoration from her grandmother’s hand, and pasted it on the most conspicuous window.

Ye Zhou held up his "beauty" sign and said to An Youhe, "I've put this sign in your room, you don't mind, right?"

The old lady grinned, revealing her teeth. "I'll stick it in her room. She's always dreaming and having fantasies."

An Youhe pouted, unconvinced, "Grandma!"

Ye Zhou laughed, "Grandma, you're wrong. Your granddaughter is not only beautiful, but also has a beautiful heart. She's beautiful in every way."

The old lady was so embarrassed that she waved her hand and said, "You're just blinded by love. Alright, alright, go ahead and stick it on her."

The two of them busied themselves with preparing things, and finally lay down on the bed together.

An Youhe turned to look at Ye Zhou, "Today is Lunar New Year's Eve. You should go home for the New Year's Eve dinner. Also, please say Happy New Year to your uncle and aunt."

Grandma An's health condition has deteriorated to the point where she needs constant care. Even taking care of her bodily needs requires assistance, and she also needs to be moved around every day to prevent bedsores.

"Okay, I understand. I'll definitely deliver it for you." Ye Zhou said, turning his body slightly to the side and gazing gently at the girl's beautiful face.

An Youhe's eyes are like a lake, always bright and full of hope. It's hard to find the timid little girl from high school in her eyes anymore.

The boy reached out and touched the girl's cheek, but there was not a trace of eroticism in his touch.

The girl smiled slightly, her eyebrows curving into a beautiful arc. She was the kind of girl who would amaze you at first glance. As Ye Zhou spent more time with her, he discovered that she was a precious gem.