Courtyard House: After disbanding the Elderly Care Gang, I went to the countryside to cultivate immo

It was around four o'clock in the afternoon when we finally arrived at Heisonggou Village.

Grandpa Hu drove the oxcart directly to the brigade headquarters.

Although it was called the brigade headquarters office, it was actually just a three-bay adobe house facing south.

Upon arriving at the brigade headquarters, Grandpa Hu asked everyone to unload their luggage while he settled Old Niu in. Hu Dongliang then led everyone to lift the curtain at the brigade headquarters.

Behind the desk facing east and near the window sat a man who looked to be in his forties or fifties, his dark face serious.

Hu Dongliang called out to the man, "Uncle."

Hearing the voice, the man looked up at the group, stood up, straightened his patched clothes, and said, "You educated youth comrades have all arrived. You must be tired from your journey. I am Hu Guangming, the brigade leader of our village. Welcome to our village."

As he spoke, he extended his hand and shook hands with the group. Lin Shengli immediately sensed that this captain was no ordinary man; he must have been a soldier and was knowledgeable.

Captain Hu continued, "This is the first time educated youth have come to our village. Our educated youth settlement hasn't been built yet, so for now, everyone can only stay with the villagers for a while."

He then picked up a piece of paper from the table and read it aloud: "Lin Shengli, Grandma Hu Liu's house, Li Kuiyong, Wang Laosan's house..."

After reading it, Hu Dongliang led everyone to settle down at a fellow villager's home.

On the way, Hu Dongliang told the group that the families of the villagers who had been arranged for them were mostly poor families in the village. He thought that since the educated youth were adults, they could help take care of them when they went to these families.

Lin Shengli learned that the family of Grandma Hu Liu, whom he was to stay at, consisted of only three people. Grandma Hu Liu was an elderly woman in her fifties who was struggling to make ends meet with her seven-year-old grandson and four-year-old granddaughter. Her son and daughter-in-law had both passed away three years ago.

Hu Dongliang led Lin Shengli across the dirt road in the village to a lonely little courtyard at the far eastern end of the village.

The courtyard was small, surrounded by a half-person-high wooden fence. Two low mud-brick houses stood close together, their roofs covered with thick thatch, and thin, almost invisible white smoke billowing from their chimneys.

Pushing open the creaking gate, Hu Dongliang called out, "Sixth Grandma, your new educated youth has arrived!"

The curtain to the east room was lifted, and an old woman with gray hair and a face full of wrinkles, wearing a patched old cotton-padded jacket, leaned out and squinted at them.

Behind her followed two little ones timidly—a thin boy and an even smaller girl, both wearing obviously ill-fitting cotton coats covered in patches. Their little hands clung tightly to the hem of their grandmother's clothes, their large, clear eyes filled with curiosity and a hint of nervousness.

"Sixth Grandma, this is Comrade Lin Shengli, an educated youth from Beijing. He'll be staying with you for a while, and will move over once the educated youth settlement in our village is completed," Hu Dongliang introduced.

Grandma Hu's face remained expressionless; she simply nodded, her voice slightly hoarse: "Come in."

Lin Shengli followed him into the east room. The room was dark, with the only light coming from a small window covered with old newspapers.

The interior space is cramped. Upon entering, you'll find an earthen stove connected to a heated brick bed, which takes up almost half the area of ​​the room.

The kang (a heated brick bed) was covered with a worn-out mat and two thin, dark-colored cotton quilts. In the corner, there were some odds and ends and a few old burlap sacks. The air was filled with a faint smell of firewood smoke and damp earth.

The conditions were worse than Lin Shengli had imagined, but he remained calm and showed no sign of disgust.

He carefully placed the large bundle on his back beside the kang (a heated brick bed), and bowed slightly to Grandma Hu Liu: "Grandma Hu, I'm sorry to bother you. My name is Lin Shengli. I hope I'll be of no use to you in the future."

Grandma Hu looked at him, seemingly surprised by his polite attitude, and the wrinkles on her face relaxed a little: "What trouble or not, we are all kids responding to the call... It's just that our family is poor, our place is small, and the kang (heated brick bed) is hard, so we've wronged you city kids."

"I'm not upset, they're fine." Lin Shengli smiled and looked at the two children. "Are these your grandchildren?"

"Yes, the older one is called Shuanzi, he's seven years old. The younger one is called Yadan, he's four years old." Grandma Hu pulled the two children over. "Quickly, call him Uncle Lin."

"Uncle Lin..." Shuanzi called out softly, while Yadan shyly hid behind her grandmother, only peeking out with her big eyes.

Hu Dongliang helped settle the luggage and then gave a brief explanation: "Comrade Shengli, Grandma Liu's family is struggling, she's raising two children alone, but she's a kind person. For now, the village will arrange for you to work with everyone, and the team leader will assign you specific tasks. Your rations will be advanced from the team and deducted from your work points at the end of the year. If you need anything, you can go to the brigade headquarters to find Team Leader Hu, or you can come to me."

"Thank you, Dongliang," Lin Shengli said.

Hu Dongliang waved his hand, said to Grandma Hu Liu, "Grandma Hu Liu, I'll go back now," and then turned and left.

Only Lin Shengli and his two grandchildren remained in the room, and it was quiet for a moment.

Grandma Hu Liu seemed to be not good with words. She simply scooped some hot water from the earthenware pot on the stove into a rough porcelain bowl and handed it to Lin Shengli: "Drink some hot water to warm yourself up."

"Thank you, Grandma." Lin Shengli took the water. The temperature was just right. He took a sip, his gaze sweeping across the room. He already had a plan in mind.

"Grandma, where do I live?" Lin Shengli asked.

Grandma Hu pointed to the kang (heated brick bed) inside: "You can squeeze into this kang with Shuanzi and Yadan for now. I'll sleep in the room next door. In a couple of days, I'll ask Shuanzi's uncle to come and help tidy up the room next door and build a small kang for you."

"No need to trouble yourself, I'll sleep with the children," Lin Shengli said hurriedly, feeling a pang of sadness as he looked at the two children's thin and small appearance.

"No way, you're a guest..." Grandma Hu insisted.

"It's really nothing, Grandma. I'm young, I can handle anything." Lin Shengli changed the subject, opening his large package. "Oh, by the way, I brought some things from home, just a little something for you."

He first took out an oil paper package from the parcel, which contained brown sugar he had bought in Beijing, which he had already wrapped pound by pound.

He took out another cloth bag containing half a pound of fruit candy and a thick, dark blue cotton cloth.

Finally, he took out a small bag of flour weighing about five pounds and a small packet of salt.

Of these items, only the sugar and cloth were purchased; the flour and salt were secretly taken from his cave space, which was considered "reasonable" in terms of what he could take out.

"This...this is unacceptable!" When Grandma Hu saw these things, her eyes widened, and she waved her hands repeatedly, her thin hands trembling slightly.

Brown sugar, fruit candy, cotton cloth, wheat flour... each of these is extremely precious in this remote village, especially wheat flour, which is so rare that people might not even get to eat much of it during the New Year.

"Grandma, please accept this." Lin Shengli pushed the things into Grandma Hu Liu's hands. "I live here, and I'll be troubling you a lot in the future, so consider this my payment for food. This candy is for Shuanzi and Yadan to sweeten their mouths, and you can see if the cloth can be used to make clothes for the children or mend their old clothes. We can treat ourselves to some white flour occasionally." His tone was gentle but firm, leaving no room for refusal.

Grandma Hu looked into his sincere eyes, then at her grandchildren whose eyes were practically glued to the fruit candies, and her eyes welled up with tears.

She's lived to such an old age, experienced so much hardship, and witnessed the coldness and warmth of human relationships. This young educated youth, clearly from the city and knowledgeable, had no airs at all and was so generous and considerate.

"Well... well, this old woman will shamelessly accept it." Her voice choked up as she carefully put the things away, especially the bag of flour, which she held as if it were a precious treasure.

"Shengli, from now on you're part of our family, don't be shy. This old woman isn't very capable, but I can always make sure you have a hot meal."

"Oh, thank you, Grandma." Lin Shengli smiled, peeled open two fruit candies, and handed them to Shuanzi and Yadan, who were watching eagerly. "Here, Shuanzi, Yadan, have some candy."

The two children looked at their grandmother, and only after receiving her tacit approval did they carefully take the food and quickly put it in their mouths.

The sweetness melted in their mouths, and the two children's eyes lit up instantly, their faces breaking into shy yet satisfied smiles. Ya Dan even quietly took two steps closer, curiously observing this new uncle who could conjure up sweet candies.

Lin Shengli gently patted their heads and said, "Just call me Brother Shengli from now on, don't call me Uncle."

He had learned along the way that Grandma Hu was considered to be of a relatively high seniority in the village, and that Hu Dongliang and the two children were of the same generation.

The two children, their faces flushed, said to Lin Shengli, "Thank you, Brother Shengli."

Shuanzi unwrapped another piece of candy, walked over to his grandmother, held it up, and said, "Grandma, have some!"

Grandma Hu, her eyes red, stroked Shuanzi's head and said, "You eat it. Grandma is old and doesn't like sweets."

Shuanzi wouldn't listen and kept holding up the candy for his grandma. Grandma Hu had no choice but to take the candy and put it in her mouth. Only then did Shuanzi take a piece of candy and put it in his own mouth, showing the same expression as Yadan.

In the small, dilapidated house, the atmosphere warmed up instantly because of this small amount of candy and that warm kindness.

In the evening, Grandma Hu used the wheat flour that Lin Shengli brought, mixed it with her own cornmeal, and made a pot of hot dumpling soup. She sprinkled a few bits of fried pork fat into it, which was the best hospitality this poor family could offer.

At the dinner table, Lin Shengli learned more about the situation.

Heisonggou Village is located on the edge of a deep mountain. Although the land is fertile, it is not very large. It mainly grows corn, potatoes and a small amount of soybeans.

The village has a small population, about a hundred households, most of whom are surnamed Hu or Wang, and life is generally hard.

Grandma Hu's son and daughter-in-law went up the mountain to collect firewood three years ago, but they encountered a bear and neither of them came back. Only the old woman and her two children were left to depend on each other for survival.

Although the team offered some assistance, life was still very difficult.

After dinner, Lin Shengli rushed to clear the dishes and helped Grandma Hu add some firewood to the stove. At night, he, Shuanzi, and Yadan squeezed onto the hard but warm earthen bed that Grandma Hu had heated.

The two children quickly fell asleep, their breathing even.

Lin Shengli didn't fall asleep immediately. He released his divine sense, silently enveloping the entire courtyard and even the surrounding area. After confirming it was safe, he entered the cave space with a thought.

The space remained at a constant, comfortable temperature and abundant spiritual energy. On the black soil, the vegetables and grains he had planted earlier were growing very well, lush and green. The water in the spiritual spring shimmered, the mansion stood quietly, and the storage cabinets were full of supplies.

Instead of cultivating, he pondered his next steps.

He didn't come here to suffer, but he can't be too high-profile right away either.

Make good use of your space and your abilities to gradually improve your life.

"Tomorrow I'll go check on the work situation and familiarize myself with the environment. We need to find opportunities to 'rationally' utilize the output from this space. There's a chance to gradually showcase my medical and martial arts skills, especially medical skills. They'll be very useful in this place where medicine is scarce, and will help me establish myself and help others better," Lin Shengli planned.

He drank some of the spiritual spring water, and picked a few freshly ripened tomatoes and cucumbers from the space, planning to have an "extra meal" tomorrow.

Looking at the vibrant scene inside the space, and comparing it with the poor but warm little mud house outside, Lin Shengli felt a sense of peace and contentment.

This will be his new starting point in this special era and in this integrated world. Far from the petty squabbles of the courtyard houses and away from the hustle and bustle of Beijing, he feels an unprecedented peace and freedom in this seemingly harsh northeastern mountain village.

Leaving the space, Lin Shengli lay on the earthen bed, listening to the soft snores of the two children beside him and the faint cough of Grandma Hu Liu next door, and slowly closed his eyes.