Courtyard House: Rebirth of a Shopkeeper in 1937

After dinner, Dad led his children, carrying pheasants and rabbits, to their uncle's house. The journey wasn't far; following a path beside the vegetable garden, they reached the foot of a rocky hill, where three large tiled houses came into view. At the entrance were stone tables, benches, stone lions, stone locks, stone tablets, and other stone objects. Several chickens were pecking at the ground. From behind the houses came the sound of hammering, "ding, ding, ding." The crisp sound of flying stone chips echoed through the valley.

"Daquan, Daquan, are you home?" Dad called into the house.

"Hey, who is it?" came the reply from behind the house, with the hoarse voice typical of a stonemason.

"I am Dawei," Dad replied.

"Dawei, Hege's back today." As he spoke, a burly man emerged from behind the house. His bronze skin was wrapped in an old jacket, his hands were calloused, and his fingers were studded with stone powder. He glanced at the children. "Yanbang, Yanguo, oh, Xingbao, Guixiang came too."

"Hello, Uncle." The brother and sister quickly greeted him in unison and handed him pheasants and rabbits.

"You guys are..."

"Daquan, I've come here today to ask for your help." Father pointed to his eldest brother. "Yanbang wants to start a private school, but he needs a stone slab for teaching, so he came to you for help."

"Teaching is great! I'll send my son there when he's a little older." The uncle accepted the chicken and rabbit without hesitation, then thought for a moment, "But I don't have a suitable stone slab. How about I make one for you? You can come over and choose the stone."

Father and eldest brother looked at each other. "Alright, then I'll go take a look." Father turned to second brother and said, "There are too many loose stones behind here. You need to hold Xingbao and Guixiang's hands and not let them run around."

The group went around to the back of the house, where a small cliff had been carved out, turning it into a small quarry. Stones of all sizes were scattered everywhere. Father, eldest brother, and uncle went into the quarry to search, while second brother, Xingbao, and Guixiang looked at their uncle's unfinished stone lion. After a while, they got a little bored. Xingbao looked around aimlessly and suddenly noticed a white line on the side of a stone used for a tombstone. He quickly pulled his second brother over to take a look. The three of them walked around the stone and saw that the white line divided the bluestone in two, one thick and one thin, the thinner one only three or four centimeters wide. "Father, uncle, eldest brother, come quick! There's a piece we can use!" Xingbao shouted.

As soon as he finished speaking, several people appeared beside him. "This stone was brought over by the Liu family. They wanted to make a stone tablet, but I haven't had a chance to see it yet." The second uncle circled the stone. "With this white line, if it's made into a stone tablet, it will crack in less than thirty years. That's unlucky. Cut it along this line. The thicker side is big enough to make a stone tablet, and the thinner side is just right to make a teaching board." After saying that, he went to get tools to cut the stone.

"Will the family have any objections? Should we ask them first?" Dad hesitated.

"It's alright. It's fine if the stone owners don't know. If they do, they'll either have to change the stone or cut it. Besides, both sides will be smooth as a mirror, no polishing needed." Uncle Er said, bringing over the toolbox next to the stone lion and calling to Dad and his eldest brother to get started. The group worked together, first using a crowbar to tilt the stone, supporting it with smaller stones, then Dad and Uncle Er used a flat chisel to cut it. The four siblings, bored out of their minds, went back to the front of the house and squatted down to look at the finished stone carvings. Xingbao noticed an orange tree in the vegetable garden, laden with unripe green oranges. Thinking of breaking off a branch and putting it in his spatial dimension to see if it would grow, he immediately said, "Big brother, there's an orange tree over there. I'll break off a branch and stick it in; maybe it will survive. That way, I'll have oranges to eat later!"

"Big brother, I want one too! I want to eat an orange, big brother!" Gui Xiang grabbed her brother's hand and shook it.

"The oranges aren't ripe yet, they're very sour," the older brother replied.

Suan Xingbao and Gui Xiang's mouths watered at the sound of it; they were too small to control themselves! The two little ones stared longingly at their older brother.

"Alright, alright, I'm scared of you guys!" The eldest brother walked into the vegetable garden, climbed up the orange tree, and the second brother handed him a machete. He selected two small branches and cut them down, one of which still had an orange attached. The second brother picked up the two branches and the machete that the eldest brother had thrown down and walked out of the vegetable garden. The two kids immediately surrounded him.

"Be careful, there are thorns on those branches, don't get pricked." The older brother raised his palm to look, then walked out of the vegetable garden.

"Brother, did you get your hands caught? Are they serious?" Xingbao asked as he saw his older brother looking at his hands.

"It's just a minor cut, bleeding a little." The older brother waved his hand, looking completely unconcerned.

Gui Xiang rushed to her older brother's side, took his hand and examined it carefully, "Where is it? Where is it?" When she saw the wound, which wasn't bleeding but was still red, she felt a pang of heartache and gently blew on it, "Brother, does it still hurt?"

"Gui Xiang is amazing, it doesn't hurt at all anymore." The older brother's face lit up with joy.

The second brother held up two tree branches and pointed out the thorns to Xingbao and Guixiang, saying, "Be careful not to get pricked." He then gave one branch to each of the two children.

Xingbao didn't take it, telling his second brother to put it in the basket so that Guixiang could pick it up and plant it in their space when she got tired of playing with the orange. They were still too young, which was both a disadvantage and an advantage; for now, they needed help with everything. The eldest brother picked the orange, peeled it, and the siblings each took two segments. Xingbao, who had always disliked sour foods, didn't want to eat it, but it was forced into his hand. Guixiang immediately put it in her mouth, took a bite, and the sourness made her drool, her eyes almost closing, yet she stubbornly refused to spit it out. The two older brothers also ate some. Listening to each other swallow and watching their winks and grimaces, Xingbao felt his teeth were already aching even before tasting it.

After the three siblings finished eating, they all stared at Xingbao, their eyes clearly urging him to eat faster. Guixiang even shook her head and coaxed, "Xingbao, eat quickly, it's delicious." She even grabbed Xingbao's hand and tried to stuff an orange into his mouth.

Xingbao looked at his eldest brother, then at his second brother, and finally, seeing Guixiang's "deceiving" expression, he gritted his teeth, stuffed the food into his mouth, chewed it haphazardly a couple of times, and swallowed it. In that instant, his cheeks felt like they didn't belong to him anymore, and saliva and tears flowed uncontrollably, soaking his clothes.

"Xingbao is such a good boy." After saying that, Guixiang hit Xingbao twice with her hand. It was definitely a hit, not a slap. You can see that the little girl twisted her body ninety degrees when she was hit.

The siblings played for a while before going to look at the stone carvings. Xingbao, as he wished, secretly planted a tree branch in his spatial storage and watered it with spiritual spring water. It wasn't until the sun was setting that they saw their father and uncle carrying a stone slab over a meter long and sixty or seventy centimeters wide. It looked rather heavy, with one side smooth and the other rough, and a hole drilled on each side. Because they were in a hurry to get home, the edges and holes of the slab hadn't been polished yet; clearly, their father planned to take it home and work on it himself.

"Eldest brother, you take them and follow them to the old house first." Dad and Uncle walked straight towards the old house without stopping. "Daquan, you've been a great help today. We're in a bit of a rush, but I'll treat you to a drink next time."

"I only need to lift a finger, no need for such trouble. When my family's pillar goes to study under you, just have Yanbang keep a close eye on him." Uncle's face was full of smiles.

"That's Mr. Yanbang's responsibility. It's settled then. I'll treat you again next time I come back." As they spoke, they arrived at the old house.

Dad went inside to push the wheelbarrow. Uncle Er happened to be home and, knowing that the paving stones had been found, came over to help tie them to the wheelbarrow.

"Daheng, I also mentioned the hillside matter to Daquan. You two can continue chatting, we'll head back now, it looks like we'll be walking at night." After saying that, he picked up Xingbao and Guixiang and put them on the wheelbarrow, then pushed the cart away. The four siblings also said goodbye to their second uncle and cousin.

As soon as they reached the main road, the two little ones fell asleep. The older brothers helped push the stroller and looked after the two children, the three of them talking quietly.

By the time I got home, the moon was already up. It was the sixteenth of the month, and the moon was very full. From a distance, I could see my mother and grandmother standing at the door, each holding a palm-leaf fan. Two small bamboo chairs were beside them; they had clearly been waiting for a long time, only standing up when they heard the sound of the wheelbarrow. Seeing that it was my father and my two older brothers, my grandmother turned and went back inside.

Mother came to greet him and fanned Father with a fan. "You must be starving. Why are you back so late, sir? Are the two little ones behaving well?" At the door, Mother gently called out, "Xingbao, Guixiang, come inside. Wake up, eat, and then go back to sleep." He didn't wake up for a while.

"They look exhausted. Let me carry them back to bed." Dad put down the car and picked up Guixiang. She woke up, still a little dazed. She rubbed her eyes, and when she saw Dad and Mom, she instantly woke up and struggled to get off the bed.

"Mother, I brought you some mountain funnels, and I even found a pretty tile." The little girl turned to her second brother. "Second brother, quickly take it out."

Xingbao was also awakened by the commotion. "Dad, Mom." His father also carried him out of the cart and then pushed the cart towards the side door. The eldest brother ran to open the side door, and the second brother placed the basket that had just been put into the room in front of Guixiang.

Grandpa and Grandma brought out the warmed-up food and placed it on the table. My cousin, Dashan, came over with a basin of water. Guixiang instructed her second brother to first take out the mountain delicacies wrapped in leaves and share them with everyone to try. Then she laid down her basket, climbed in herself, and took out the roof tile to show her mother. They made a fuss for a while until Dad, Second Uncle, and Eldest Brother came over from the backyard.

"Dawei, you're back too. It's getting late. Shanshan is still alone in the house. I'll head back now." After saying that, Grandpa helped Grandma out, and Uncle and Dashan followed behind.

"Father, Mother, thank you for your trouble. Youchu and Dashan thank you!" The parents, along with their children, saw them off at the door.

"Alright, you all go back and eat. Don't let the children go hungry. It's just a short walk, no need to see them off," Grandma said, turning around. After watching Grandpa and the others return to their own house, Dad closed the door and told the laundry workers to eat. They were exhausted; the two little ones, having lost their initial excitement, were too tired to continue. They quickly finished their meal and went to sleep. Mom also sent the older brothers to bed. Dad and Mom, as usual, finished their chores before going to sleep themselves.