Courtyard House: Rebirth of a Shopkeeper in 1937

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone's eyes were drawn to his father. Even Xingbao couldn't help but clench his fists, sweating for his father. Father's face darkened slightly. He remained silent for a moment, seemingly organizing his thoughts or carefully choosing his words, before slowly speaking: "Father-in-law, Mother-in-law, actually, ever since troops passed through our area recruiting soldiers, we've had a vague suspicion that Youming's unit might be heading to Shanghai, since their previous base was in the Jiangsu area. Last time, when Guixiang and her fellow students went to the front lines to offer their condolences, I specifically asked them to help find Youming and to bring him a letter, some cured meat and fried rice from home, so he could taste the flavors of home while he was away. When they came back this time, they told me that they had found him. Youming and his comrades are artillerymen, stationed a little further back, and everyone is safe and sound." Xingbao and his brothers looked at their father strangely. He was clearly lying through his teeth, taking advantage of the villagers' lack of knowledge—once artillerymen fire, their positions are heavily targeted by the enemy; how could being "a little further back" guarantee safety? This was just a lie Father told to comfort Grandma and Mother.

"It's good that everyone's alright! It's good that everyone's alright!" Hearing the words "all safe and sound," Grandma's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, instantly settled. Her tense shoulders slumped, and she couldn't help but wipe away another tear. Even Mom's expression softened considerably, and the oppressive atmosphere in the main room finally eased a bit. Grandma anxiously pressed, "What about the letter? Did Youming bring any back? I want to see his handwriting; I'll be relieved to know he's safe and sound."

Father's body stiffened abruptly, a flicker of panic crossing his eyes. He quickly composed himself and forced himself to continue his fabrication: "At the time, the situation on the front lines was urgent, with gunfire day and night. He was busy preparing for battle and had no time to write letters. He only asked Guixiang's senior brother to deliver a verbal message, saying that he was doing well and that the family should not worry. Later, when the fighting subsided and his senior brother wanted to find him to send a message again, the troops had changed their garrison positions, and he couldn't find him for a while, so he couldn't bring back a reply."

Grandma believed Dad completely, a relieved smile appearing on her face, and she asked with a hint of expectation, "It's good that he's alright, it's good that he's alright. Dawei, your shop has a lot of people coming and going, from all over the country. See if you can find any more reliable people to bring some things for Youming? We still have some cured meat and fried rice at home, take more for him. Fighting outside is tough, he can't afford to neglect his health."

This time, Dad didn't hesitate at all and shook his head, saying, "Mother-in-law, it might be a bit difficult now. The front lines have suffered a major defeat, and I heard that troops are fleeing to the rear. There's chaos everywhere, and people are panicking. Not to mention that we can't find Youming's troops at all, there are very few people even heading towards the front lines. We can prepare our things in advance, pack them up, and put them in a clean box. That way, if we encounter reliable people who need to go there later, we won't have to scramble to prepare at the last minute."

Upon hearing this, Grandma's expectant expression faded. She nodded gently and said nothing more, though a hint of disappointment lingered in her eyes. The conversation then turned to the events of the four families in the village that day. Second Brother returned from outside, his face grave. He shared the information he'd gathered from Brother Qianjin: "Dad, Grandpa, I heard from Brother Qianjin that each family of the fallen soldiers will receive a pension of 120 yuan in legal tender. There are special people overseeing the distribution to prevent anyone from skimming off a penny. Since no one in our village uses legal tender, usually silver dollars and copper coins, the village head specially helped us exchange them for silver dollars—120 yuan in total, not daring to shortchange a single coin."

He paused, took a sip of water to moisten his throat, and added, "And the security team from our township—not a single one survived this time. Each of them received a hundred yuan in legal tender as compensation. Brother Qianjin said that our county's security team was lucky; they were all transferred to the Central Army, which is why they received this real compensation. The other miscellaneous troops—not only would their compensation be deducted at each level, leaving them with hardly any money in the end, but many soldiers didn't even receive a formal death certificate after their deaths. Their families didn't even get a definite answer and could only wait in vain back home, hoping for a slim chance!"

These words silenced the room once more. A look of sorrow crossed everyone's faces as they sighed. In chaotic times, human life was cheap; receiving a full pension and a death certificate was considered a rare stroke of "luck," a thought that brought a pang of sadness.

Upon hearing the words "legal tender," Xingbao suddenly realized something. He had been reborn for some time now, and had seen many travelers from all over the country, but he had never seen legal tender once. He had even secretly rejoiced that he, like a little butterfly, might have fluttered away all legal tender. It turned out that legal tender hadn't disappeared; rather, people in the countryside rarely earned much money, and the daily currency was either copper coins or silver dollars. No one had any use for legal tender! He suddenly remembered that in his previous life, legal tender had begun to depreciate drastically this year. Before long, a pile of legal tender wouldn't even be enough to buy a bag of rice, or even a piece of paper. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but look up and ask, "Father, do we have any legal tender at home?"

"Yes, a few days ago when we were collecting debts, a traveler didn't have any silver dollars on him, so he gave us a few one-yuan notes as payment. Why are you suddenly asking about this?" Father looked at Xingbao with a puzzled expression, and everyone else in the main room turned to look at him with curiosity, wondering why the child was suddenly asking about the notes.

Xingbao felt a little nervous under everyone's gaze, his palms sweating. He dared not casually mention that the legal tender was about to depreciate significantly; if questioned, he wouldn't be able to explain how he knew. He could only offer the safest excuse, whispering, "I just feel that the legal tender, though it looks like a thin piece of paper, isn't as substantial as silver dollars. They feel heavy and reassuring. It's safer to keep them as silver dollars; they're less likely to be damaged and can be passed down to future generations."

After hearing Xingbao's words, his grandmother, mother, and uncle didn't take them seriously, dismissing them as childish ramblings and letting them go. Only his father and master wore thoughtful expressions, their fingertips unconsciously tapping the table, clearly taking his words to heart and pondering their meaning. Xingbao had originally wanted to show his master the Yunnan Baiyao prescription he had privately prepared, asking for his master's help in perfecting it—after all, in his previous life, he remembered an incomplete prescription written on a medicine bottle, not the complete version of Yunnan Baiyao. But then he thought, if his master questioned the origin of the prescription, he wouldn't be able to explain it; he couldn't very well say he was reborn. After much deliberation, he decided it would be more appropriate to wait until he collected more medical books or learned more about pharmacology, trying to make the prescription more reasonable before showing it to his master. So he suppressed that thought.