Courtyard House: Rebirth of a Shopkeeper in 1937

Xingbao slept soundly through the night, without even a single dream. When he finally woke up, the sun was already high in the sky, high in the morning.

Taking advantage of the fact that no one was around to disturb him, Xingbao quickly closed his eyes and let his consciousness sink into that mysterious space. As soon as he entered the space, he walked to the spiritual spring as usual, then gently scooped up a handful of spiritual spring water and put it into his mouth.

The moment the spiritual spring water entered his throat, a cool and sweet sensation spread throughout his body, as if every cell was cheering and greedily absorbing the nourishment from the spiritual spring. Xingbao felt the changes in his body after being nourished by the spiritual spring, and he felt that his spirit and physical strength had been greatly enhanced.

Then, Xingbao's gaze fell upon the sweet potato seedlings. In just over a day, these seedlings had already sprouted from the ground, and their growth was astonishing. Compared to ordinary sweet potato seedlings, their growth rate was at least ten times faster!

Xingbao was amazed by the magical effects of the spiritual spring, but at the same time he wondered in his heart whether the sweet potato seedlings were growing so fast because of the nourishment of the spiritual spring, or whether the space itself had some kind of growth-accelerating effect.

With this question in mind, Xingbao walked over to the tea tree again. He saw that the tea tree had grown considerably taller than yesterday. He nodded in satisfaction, then gently pinched off the top of the tea tree with his mind, which would encourage the plant to branch out and grow more branches and leaves.

Finally, Xingbao arrived at the orange tree. Its leaves were a vibrant, healthy green, though it was still impossible to tell whether it had successfully taken root. Nevertheless, Xingbao remained confident in the tree; its leaves were so lively, it seemed likely it would survive.

Standing in the empty space, Xingbao couldn't help but sigh: This place is still so vast! But he also understood that he was still young and didn't need to rush to find anything. So, he decided to start with the things around him and slowly fill the space.

He walked to the only three plants and carefully watered them with the spiritual spring water. This spiritual spring water was something he had collected with great difficulty, and it was extremely beneficial to the plants' growth. Seeing the plants looking even more vibrant under the nourishment of the spiritual spring water, Xingbao's mood improved slightly.

After watering the plants, Xingbao glanced at them with satisfaction and then turned to leave the space. However, when his gaze fell on the sleeping little girl beside him, he suddenly stopped.

The little girl was fast asleep, but several red welts from mosquito bites were clearly visible on her rosy cheeks. Xingbao's heart tightened; the girl must have been exhausted yesterday, not waking up despite being bitten so many mosquitoes. Normally, even a single mosquito in the mosquito net would keep her awake, and she wouldn't be satisfied until she had driven all the mosquitoes out of the net.

Xingbao shook his head helplessly, thinking: If this girl wakes up today and finds that she has been bitten by so many mosquitoes, she will probably cry and make a fuss! Looking at the two mosquitoes with swollen bellies in the corner of the mosquito net, Xingbao was even more amused and exasperated - it turned out that he had not escaped their "poisonous mouth" either!

However, Xingbao wasn't going to let those two mosquitoes off so easily. He decided to settle the score with the little girl properly after she woke up. Thinking of this, Xingbao's lips curled up slightly, revealing a sly smile.

He gently walked to the little girl's side and carefully dripped a drop of spiritual spring water into her mouth. This spiritual spring water could not only relieve the itching caused by mosquito bites, but also help the little girl sleep more soundly.

After doing all this, Xingbao tiptoed off the bed, afraid of waking the little girl.

As I rubbed my sleepy eyes and entered the kitchen, I saw my mother standing by the cupboard, wearing an apron and washing dishes. The porcelain bowls in the wooden basin clinked softly. Before my mother turned around, I quietly added a few drops of the sacred spring water to the water vat.

He turned and tiptoed to the square table, placing the teapot in the center. Just as he climbed onto the bench, the legs creaked, startling his mother. "Xingbao, get up!" His mother hurriedly dried her hands on her apron and turned around. "Would you like some tea? I'll pour you some."

Caught red-handed, Xingbao straightened his back and, taking advantage of his mother's approach, quickly reached his little hand to the spout of the teapot, where a few drops of spring water instantly disappeared. "Mom, I won't pour the tea, I'll just touch it."

"Sweetie, take your hand away." Mom took Xingbao's little hand off the teapot, picked him up, and placed him on the stool. "Mommy will pour it for you."

"Where's your sister? Didn't you wake her?" Mother lifted a bowl, poured half a bowl of water, and was about to hand it to Xingbao. "Oh dear, Xingbao, you slept so soundly last night! Look at all the bite marks on your face!"

Just then, the second brother came in carrying firewood. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the red marks on his younger brother's arm. He slammed down the firewood and rushed over. "Xingbao, why is there blood on your arm?" He brushed aside the dark red bloodstain with his fingertips, revealing a mosquito that had sucked its fill of blood. "This mosquito was so full it couldn't fly, and you crushed it when you rolled over!" He turned to Xingbao's side and gasped. "You probably got eaten by a mosquito, didn't you? There are so many red spots. Let me count them for you."

The second brother got excited, but Xingbao was completely stunned, letting his second brother do as he pleased. After counting, there were a total of twenty-three red dots, seventeen of which were densely packed on his face, and even two behind his ears.

"Xingbao, it's okay. As long as there are no bumps, it's fine. Is it itchy? Mom will put some menthol ointment on it for you later, and it will be better in a couple of days." The mother comforted Xingbao, who was in a daze, with a look of heartache.

"Mom, I'm fine, I'm not itchy." Xingbao stared at the smear of mosquito blood on his arm, his mind buzzing—was this mosquito trying to bite me to death while we slept in the same bed?! Was this also the effect of the spiritual spring water? I need to find a way to make some mosquito coils. His eyes were blank as he casually replied, "I saw a few bites on my sister's face. I also saw a few mosquitoes in the mosquito net."

These words were like a spark igniting a pile of firewood. Mother and second brother exchanged a glance, then immediately abandoned him and rushed into the room, crying, "Guixiang, my son!"

When he pushed open the door to enter the room, the little girl had just been awakened and was rubbing her sleepy eyes, her face still looking a bit bewildered. The second brother quietly slipped into the mosquito net, took off his shoes, and got into bed. He saw two mosquitoes still in the corner of the mosquito net and "smack! smack!" Two crisp sounds took care of them. He stretched out his hands and saw that half of his palms were stained with dark red blood!

The commotion alerted the backyard, and the eldest brother and father, hearing the noise, dropped what they were doing and rushed in. Only the mother was sitting on the edge of the bed, holding Guixiang in her arms, gently stroking her cheek with her palm.

"Third Sister, who is Guixiang?" Father frowned and leaned closer, his voice full of concern.

"Gui Xiang's face and head have been bitten by mosquitoes several times." As she spoke, her mother showed Gui Xiang's face, where the red and swollen mosquito bites were particularly noticeable on her delicate skin.

Gui Xiang finally came to her senses and whimpered in a tearful voice, "Mother, my face is so itchy..." She then reached out to scratch it.

"Don't pick at it. You've got several mosquito bites on your face and head. If you pick at them, you won't look pretty anymore. I'll put some mint ointment on it for you, and it won't itch anymore." The mother quickly grabbed Guixiang's little hand.

"Mom, it itches... I'll touch it, I won't scratch it..." Gui Xiang sobbed, switching her hand to touch the bump on her face. The moment her fingertips touched the raised lump, she burst into tears, "Mom's forehead is ugly! Waaah... it itches so much, waaah..."

The mother removed Guixiang's hand, gently stroked her face with her rough hand, and coaxed her softly.

"Eldest son, go and fetch some hot water." After giving the order, Father turned to get the ointment.

"Guixiang, look, your second brother is helping you get revenge." The second brother proudly held out his blood-stained hands, but Guixiang cried even harder upon seeing them. Her mother glared at him reproachfully and slapped his hands away, saying, "Go away, don't make things worse." She continued to coax her precious daughter.

The older brother brought over warm water, and the mother gently wiped her daughter's cheeks with a washcloth. The warm touch soothed the itchy mosquito bites, and the little girl's crying subsided. The father came in with some peppermint balm and applied it to her red, swollen bumps. The cool, refreshing scent calmed her down even more.

After squatting outside the mosquito net for a while, seeing that Gui Xiang had calmed down, I really wanted to join in the fun. My face, covered in red spots, had just peeked into the mosquito net, and before I could even make a face, Gui Xiang pointed at me and giggled, "Xing Bao, you've turned into a pockmarked face, just like Uncle Pockmarked Liu."

Xingbao stood frozen in place, his hand still raised in mid-air, utterly bewildered—he had come to amuse her, but now he'd become a laughingstock. Oh well, as long as this young lady was happy, what did it matter if he had a "pockmarked face"? He touched his face, which was covered in red bite marks, and thought to himself with a wry smile.

It was only then that Dad and his older brother noticed there was another child beside them who had been bitten even more badly! Looking at the little face covered in red spots, Dad paused, patted the back of his head, and said helplessly, "You child, how did you get bitten like this!" The older brother quickly soaked a cloth in warm water again, wiped Xingbao's face, and applied ointment. Xingbao felt bitter; they were both born of the same parents, so why was the treatment so different!