Courtyard House: Rebirth of a Shopkeeper in 1937

Afternoon arrived in the blink of an eye. The winter sun was obscured by clouds, and the sky gradually turned cold and gloomy. A charcoal fire burned warmly in the shop, and Dad sat at the table doing accounts, occasionally glancing up to greet the few customers in the shop. Suddenly, slow footsteps came from the doorway, accompanied by the gurgling sound of a water pipe. Wang Jiazhang, carrying his beloved water pipe, strode in with a somewhat troubled expression. As soon as he entered, he asked loudly, "Dawei, my grandson told me that Yanbang is planning to harvest the cabbages from the breeding base tomorrow?"

Upon hearing this, Father immediately put down the account book in his hand, hurriedly got up to greet him, and put on a gentle smile: "Old Wang, you've finally arrived. Please sit down and warm yourself by the charcoal fire. Yanbang did tell me about this. He and Yanguo are busy at the bamboo house in front right now. I'll have Xingbao go and call him over."

Xingbao was reading at a table in the corner of the shop when he heard his father and Wang Jiazhang's conversation. He quickly closed his book, "Principles of Mechanics," carefully put it into his cloth bag, tightened the strap, and ran out of the shop before his father could give any more instructions. He ran towards the bamboo house in front of the shop. He knew that harvesting cabbages was a big deal, and Wang Jiazhang's personal visit must mean he had something important to say.

Before long, Xingbao led his elder brother Song Yanbang back in a hurry. As soon as the elder brother entered, he saw Wang Jiazhang sitting by the charcoal fire and quickly cupped his hands in greeting, his tone respectful and sincere: "Old Wang, you must have called me about the cabbage harvest tomorrow, right?"

Wang Jiazhang waved his hand, gesturing for his elder brother to sit down on the stool beside him. He then picked up his water pipe, slowly filled it with tobacco, lit it, and puffed twice until he exhaled wisps of smoke. Only then did he slowly put down the pipe and speak with a serious expression: "Dawei, Yanbang, to be honest, I didn't handle this well. I agreed in front of everyone that the village would take 10% of the harvest from this breeding base, your family would take 40%, and the remaining 50% would be distributed among the children who helped manage the breeding fields. I keep my word."

Upon hearing this, the elder brother's heart skipped a beat. He quickly moved forward and asked with some urgency, "Old Wang, has something gone wrong? Please tell me, and we'll figure something out together."

Wang Jiazhang nodded slightly, a hint of shame on his face. He sighed and said, "The problem is that I was careless and didn't sign the land deed. As you know, newly acquired land is tax-free for the first three years. I thought I'd check your planting results first before signing the deed. Unexpectedly, recently, Wang Baozhang passed by and saw your cabbages. Seeing how well they were growing, and knowing we hadn't signed the deed, he came to me, saying the village also wanted a 10% share. However, he also offered a condition: if we agreed to give him a 10%, the land would be designated as public land, and we wouldn't have to pay taxes thereafter. I have no choice. You're harvesting your cabbages tomorrow, and if we don't make a decision soon, the village head will forcibly requisition the land. In that case, none of us will benefit. What do you think we should do?"

Upon hearing this, Father nodded almost without hesitation, saying, "Old Wang, this is not difficult. Allocating one-tenth of my family's land to the village head is no problem. However, there is one thing: the land deed and the village head's promise of 'designating it as public land and exempting it from taxes year-round' must be processed as soon as possible to avoid any unforeseen complications." My eldest brother also nodded quickly, looking earnestly at Wang Jiazhang, echoing Father's words.

Seeing that his father and elder brother readily agreed, Wang Jiazhang's face instantly showed a relieved expression. He let out a long sigh of relief and said with a smile, "Dawei, that's great! It's good that you agree! I've already written the land deed in advance. As long as you nod, I'll go find the village head to stamp and confirm it. As for the matter of designating it as public land, it does need to be approved by the township according to the rules. However, it's just a small matter of a few acres of land. I don't think it will be difficult for Village Head Wang. He will definitely have a way to handle it."

Just then, Xingbao couldn't help but interject, "Old Wang, there are two things you need to pay close attention to. First, please make sure the village head clearly writes 'Qingshan Bao Jinxian Village Breeding Base' in the documents, and don't omit the words 'Jinxian Village'; second, please ask the village head not to publicize this matter. Think about it, if we don't include Jinxian Village, people from other villages will know that we have high-yield cabbages here, and they will definitely come looking for us. In that case, not only will our village be in turmoil, but we won't have enough seeds to distribute, which will only cause trouble. Also, the profit-sharing arrangement must be written down in writing, clearly stating the proportion that each party will receive, to avoid disputes in the future."

Upon hearing Xingbao's words, Wang Jiazhang's expression changed drastically. He immediately stood up in a panic, beads of sweat forming on his forehead—clearly, he had instantly imagined the chaotic scene of people from various villages crowding around him, demanding cabbages and seeds. He hurriedly said, "Xingbao, you're so thoughtful! You reminded me! I'll go find the village head to revise the document right away. We can't forget the words 'Jinxian Village.' If the township stamps it, it'll be impossible to change it!" With that, he didn't even bother to sit for a while longer or warm himself by the charcoal fire. He grabbed his water pipe and rushed out of the shop, his steps several times faster than when he arrived.

The eldest brother stared dumbfounded at Wang Jiachang's hurried departure until the figure disappeared into the distance. Only then did he slowly come to his senses and say with a puzzled look, "Father, so Old Wang's embarrassed and ashamed appearance just now was all an act?"

Father couldn't help but laugh, patting his eldest brother's shoulder, his tone gentle yet insightful: "He's not really in a difficult position; he clearly chose the day before the harvest to bring it up. First, to feign urgency and difficulty, so as not to give us much time to consider; second, because he's certain we'll agree—after all, compared to losing the whole land, a tenth of the harvest is nothing. His little tricks can only fool an innocent and naive child like you. If Xingbao hadn't hit his weak spot with his words just now, making him genuinely anxious and revealing his true colors, you would have really been fooled."

The eldest brother was still a bit confused, scratching his head as he asked, "Dad, since he knew we would agree, couldn't he have just told us beforehand? Why beat around the bush like this?"

Father sighed and said slowly, "Should he have said it in advance? Would he have let the whole village know that he didn't keep his word and was going to give the village head a 10% share? Or would he have encouraged everyone to cause trouble for the village head and make a big scene? By doing this, he saved face, gave the village head the benefits, and was able to smoothly designate the land as public land, meaning we wouldn't have to pay taxes for the next three years. Our family, the village, and the children who helped out would all get cabbages. Everyone would benefit. Although our family lost 10% of the harvest in the first three years, in the long run, not having to pay taxes and being able to manage this breeding land for a long time is also a benefit. Everyone is better off. That's the wisdom of dealing with people."