Courtyard House: Rebirth of a Shopkeeper in 1937

Upon hearing this, the eldest brother frowned and sighed softly, "How did everything come together like this!" He quickly composed himself and turned to the children leading the group, saying, "Dashan, Xiaohu, Xuewen, you three go back first and invite your parents over to help greet the guests and make arrangements." Then, he waved the sheet of paper with the distribution plan written on it and said to Fugui and the other children's leaders and group leaders, "This is the preliminary cabbage distribution plan that the four of us siblings have decided on. You all discuss it carefully with everyone and see if there's anything inappropriate or needs to be added. I'll go greet the guests first and come back when I'm done." With that, he gently handed the plan to Fugui.

Fu Gui quickly accepted the plan with both hands, smiled and nodded, "Okay, sir, you go and greet the guests first. We'll take care of things here. We'll make sure everything is discussed properly and won't delay the harvesting of vegetables tomorrow." The children around him also excitedly echoed, gathering around the table to look at and discuss the distribution plan.

Seeing that everyone readily agreed, the eldest brother and the second brother turned around and went out to the village entrance to greet the teachers and students of Sanmin Middle School; Xingbao and Guixiang turned around and ran back to the kitchen, shouting as they ran, to inform their father in advance so that he could make preparations for the reception.

When the eldest and second eldest brothers led the guests into the shop, Father was already waiting at the door. There were four carriages carrying about thirty guests. Perhaps due to the slippery roads and biting wind from the snow a couple of days ago, most of the teachers and students looked tired and had caught a chill; coughs and sneezes were frequent. Four students were particularly ill, pale, cold, and barely able to stand. Seeing this, Father immediately busied himself. He instructed Mother to boil a large pot of ginger soup in the kitchen to warm everyone; he also sent Second Brother on the family's charcoal-burning horse to fetch Xingbao's master to prescribe some herbal medicine for the four students with severe symptoms. At the same time, Father remembered that the children discussing the allocation plan in the bamboo house hadn't left yet, so he asked the eldest brother to contact the villagers they had arranged to prepare clean beds for the teachers and students of Sanmin Middle School to stay overnight, so everyone could get a good rest.

The second brother hurriedly set off on his black charcoal horse to fetch Master Yang, while Mother busied herself in the kitchen brewing ginger soup, and Father kept the teachers from Sanmin Middle School company, settling the accompanying students. Not long after, the eldest brother returned, bringing with him the final decision the children in the bamboo house had discussed—everyone agreed to the distribution plan set by the four siblings, with only one small request: each group could only choose cabbages from the plot they were responsible for tending, and they had to choose in descending order of size. This was fair and would prevent disputes over choosing the best cabbages. The eldest brother pondered for a moment and agreed to this request, adding that the children who helped with the tending would choose first when harvesting the cabbages the next day. After everyone had finished, the remaining cabbages would be distributed to the village and the neighborhood committee, with each family keeping their share.

The second brother, leading the black charcoal-covered cart, arrived quickly with Master Yang. Xingbao and Guixiang were busy serving hot tea and ginger soup to the guests—except for the four students suffering from severe colds, whom they deliberately only served plain water, fearing the ginger soup might upset them. Seeing their master and his party enter, the siblings immediately put down their work to greet them. Xingbao deftly took the medical kit from his brother, while Guixiang affectionately took their master's hand and quickly went to the sick students, asking their master to diagnose them. Fortunately, although these students were weak, they had a solid constitution. After taking their pulses, their master said that with one dose of medicine and a good night's rest, they would be able to continue their journey the next day. However, they would need to recuperate for a few more days after arriving at school.

After prescribing the medicine for the patient and carefully instructing him on the timing and precautions for taking it, the master picked up the hot tea on the table, took a sip, and then pulled Xingbao and Guixiang aside to quietly inquire about their recent progress in studying medicine. Seeing that it was not yet completely dark outside, the master was unwilling to stay for dinner and insisted on going back. He said earnestly, "These days, people come to see me at night. If I stay here, I'm afraid I will delay the patients elsewhere." Seeing the master's resolute attitude, the father did not insist and had his second brother lead Heitan to take the master home.

After seeing their master off, Xingbao and Guixiang brought out several plates of fragrant, crispy fried soybeans and placed them in front of the guests to serve them. The guests were not reserved at all, each grabbing a handful and a few beans, eating with great relish. In no time, Xingbao and Guixiang had become familiar with the teachers and students of Sanmin Middle School. Guixiang deliberately toned down her usual mischievousness, and every move she made was exceptionally well-behaved and sensible. She took the initiative to hand out soybeans and refill hot water for the teachers, looking extremely endearing. Even so, the teachers and students still preferred Xingbao more—Xingbao was meticulous, spoke appropriately and thoughtfully, could understand the topics the teachers were discussing, and could also chime in at the right time. His occasional insightful remarks even earned the secret praise of several teachers. Looking at this subtle difference, Xingbao sighed inwardly and finally remembered that the preference for sons over daughters in this era was never just a slogan, but was hidden in the details of every word and deed and engraved in people's bones. Even these teachers and students who were supposed to be enlightened and dedicated to educating people could not completely escape this.

After dinner, Xingbao finally got his wish and borrowed a complete set of textbooks from junior high to senior high school from the teachers at Sanmin Middle School. Holding the thick stack of textbooks, the four siblings were extremely excited and immediately began their painful yet joyful task of copying the books. The eldest and second eldest brothers each chose a first-year high school Chinese textbook, picked up their quill pens, and began copying it carefully, stroke by stroke, with great solemnity. Gui Xiang, being too young to understand more profound books, chose a history textbook and sat quietly to the side, occasionally leaning over her eldest brother to ask about unfamiliar words. Xing Bao, relying on his memories from his previous life and his strong mental power, took the initiative to copy all the math, physics, and chemistry textbooks. For him, this knowledge was already etched in his mind. Even if he occasionally couldn't remember the specific formulas, as long as he understood the curriculum of this era and the current question format, he could accurately write down the relevant knowledge points based on his own deductions, making the copying much easier than for his eldest and second eldest brothers. Under the dim light of the oil lamp, the four siblings were busy with their own things. The rustling sound of pens scratching across paper, accompanied by the occasional sound of the cold wind coming from outside the window, created a particularly quiet atmosphere, which also concealed the siblings' thirst and anticipation for knowledge.