Courtyard House: Rebirth of a Shopkeeper in 1937

But this yearning was quickly dampened by reality, which gave Xingbao a harsh lesson. This entire set of textbooks covered six grades, with over thirty books in mathematics, physics, and chemistry. What troubled him even more was that this period was when modern education was just beginning and still developing; the content of the textbooks differed greatly from later generations. Some theories already widely accepted in later textbooks were still only being discussed by scholars, without any definitive conclusions. Xingbao spent most of the night just sorting through and comparing the textbooks' outlines based on his memories from his previous life. He forced himself to persevere and quickly flipped through the mathematics books—including arithmetic, trigonometry, geometry, and algebra—until he put them down. By then, the sky outside was already turning a pale white, and it was fully light. If he hadn't secretly drunk a few sips of spiritual spring water at night to replenish his energy, he probably would have collapsed at the table long ago. Even with the spiritual spring water's blessing, Xingbao's mind was still filled with dense numbers and formulas. He was drowsy, lightheaded, and could barely keep his eyes open.

Looking at the eldest and second eldest brothers, their progress was pitifully slow. The eldest brother spent the entire night copying, barely managing to finish one Chinese textbook. This was only because many passages in the book were excerpts from the Four Books and Five Classics, which he had already thoroughly studied. He didn't need to ponder every word and sentence; he only roughly remembered the title of the text and the core paragraphs before hastily copying them down. The second brother used the same method, forcing himself to stay up until dawn, barely managing to finish one book. However, his handwriting was crooked and illegible, making even himself frown. It was hard to say whether his handwriting would be legible later. As for Guixiang, she had long since succumbed to sleepiness and fallen asleep by the table. Later, her father quietly came over, carried her back to her bed in the inner room, and she slept soundly.

The three brothers forced themselves to stay awake, rubbed their sore eyes, and, supporting their drowsy bodies, carefully arranged the borrowed textbooks one by one, restoring them to their original condition, not daring to damage them in the slightest. The second brother couldn't help but yawn, rubbing his red eyes and muttering, "Finally, it's over. My eyelids are practically glued together." Afterward, the three of them had a simple breakfast with the teachers and students of Sanmin Middle School, and escorted the guests to the village entrance. Watching the four carriages slowly drive away and disappear at the end of the mountain road, they finally let out a long sigh of relief. All the exhaustion instantly overwhelmed them, and they barely had the strength to lift their hands.

Back at the kitchen, the three hurriedly ate a few mouthfuls of warm food, barely managing to fill their stomachs. The eldest brother then picked up the cabbage distribution list that had already been prepared and went to the inner room to wake Gui Xiang, who was still fast asleep. When Gui Xiang was woken up, she was still a little groggy, rubbing her sleepy eyes and muttering that she didn't want to get up. It wasn't until the eldest brother said that they were going to the breeding base to collect cabbages that she instantly perked up, immediately got up, dressed, and skipped after the three of them, heading towards the breeding base together.

The four siblings arrived a little late. Xingbao felt a slight urgency, and his groggy mind cleared a bit—ultimately, staying up late had delayed the harvest time, and he secretly regretted it. When they arrived at the breeding base, the field was already bustling with activity—the children who had helped tend the cabbage patch, with the help of their parents, had already harvested all the cabbages they had been allocated. Each plump, emerald-green cabbage was neatly packed into their respective baskets and winnowing trays, piled up at the edge of the field, just waiting for their eldest brother to come and count and verify them before they could happily carry them home. Meanwhile, the adults were leading the children, busy harvesting the remaining cabbages—the half allocated to Xingbao's family, the village, and the neighborhood. Everyone had a clear division of labor: some bent down to pull the cabbages, some bent down to tie them, and some carried and piled them up, working enthusiastically without a trace of winter lethargy.

As the four siblings approached from afar, the activity in the field immediately changed. The younger children promptly put down their small baskets and shovels, swarming around them, their rosy cheeks looking up with eager eyes. They were usually a little afraid of their steady older brother and didn't dare to approach him directly, instead chattering excitedly around Xingbao and Guixiang, their voices full of anticipation: "Xingbao, Xingbao, when are we going to start counting? Our cabbages are all sorted and packed!" "Guixiang, Guixiang, let Big Brother count them quickly, I want to carry the cabbages home as soon as possible!" Their chattering voices added a touch of liveliness to the bustling vegetable field.

On the other side, the adults and older children who were busy harvesting cabbages unconsciously slowed down their movements. They didn't crowd around like the little kids, but they would occasionally stop what they were doing and look up at the four siblings, their eyes filled with anticipation and attention—hoping to finish harvesting the remaining cabbages as soon as possible, and also wanting to check the progress of the count to make sure their children could take their share of cabbages home safely, a scene full of everyday life.

The eldest brother didn't keep everyone waiting long. He strode to the edge of the field, first inspecting the cabbages piled up by each family. He then specifically checked the thirty large cabbages that everyone had chosen as rewards. Seeing that each one was plump and robust, indeed the biggest and best in the field, he cleared his throat and said, "Everyone, quiet down. We'll start counting now. One person from each family, come over. When I call your name, bring your cabbages to check the quantity." As soon as he finished speaking, the adults responded and stepped forward to wait. The counting process went smoothly. One family, with five children, received more than forty cabbages according to the distribution plan, piled up like a small mountain, which made the surrounding children look on with envy.

After everyone had finished counting and verifying their cabbages, the remaining cabbages belonging to Xingbao's family, the village, and the baoli were harvested by the adults and children working together. Just then, Wang Jiazhang hurried over, clutching a draft of the land deed he had written earlier. He had clearly come specifically to check on the harvest progress and confirm the subsequent paperwork. Seeing this, the eldest brother quickly went up to greet him and then said to everyone, "Everyone, take your cabbages home first. You've worked hard all winter, so make sure they're settled quickly. We'll come back and select the cabbages for the awards after everyone's finished."

Everyone agreed in unison, and they all picked up their baskets and winnowing trays, chatting and laughing as they hurried home, instantly bringing the fields to life. With the help of several enthusiastic villagers, the cabbages from Xingbao's family, the village, and the baoli were transported in batches to designated locations: the village's cabbages were temporarily placed on the drying ground, the baoli's were piled up separately, and Xingbao's cabbages were transported back to the main room of the kitchen, where they were all neatly arranged. Everyone was busy and sweating profusely, but their faces were all beaming with the joy of a bountiful harvest.