Courtyard House: Rebirth of a Shopkeeper in 1937

Upon learning that the Song family had come to collect this year's grain quota, and that the price would remain at the previously agreed-upon four silver dollars per shi (a unit of dry measure), the Wang family immediately set to work, carrying the sacks of grain from the granary to the front gate, saving everyone the trouble of having to travel back and forth to the granary to move the grain. Everyone had a clear division of labor and performed their duties without any panic: Father took the lead and, together with Old Wang, carefully weighed the grains on a public scale, verifying the weight of each bag of grains precisely, without the slightest error; the eldest and second eldest brothers, being strong, were responsible for distributing the weighed sacks, some carrying them onto the wheelbarrow and stacking them securely, while others carefully placed them on Black Charcoal's back and tied them tightly to prevent them from falling; Xingbao stayed by Black Charcoal's side, holding the donkey rope with one hand to prevent it from moving around, and keeping an eye on the sacks on the cart with the other, afraid that they might slip off along the way; Guixiang also did not cause any trouble, staying by the side to watch over the sacks of grain, and occasionally coming to Father's side to help count the accounts and exchange account books, neatly and efficiently sharing the trivial matters.

The grain collection process for each household was carried out in an orderly manner: after all the sacks were weighed and counted one by one, Dad would check the total weight with the household head and settle the payment. The household heads would personally receive the silver dollars, their fingers clutching the real harvest, their faces beaming with satisfaction. At the end, each family only needed to keep the empty sacks for the Song family to reuse in subsequent grain collections. After collecting from one household, the group would push their wheelbarrows loaded with grain and lead their charcoal carts back to their own shops before hurrying to the next household. From Wang Lao's house to visiting several large households in the village, the entire journey was smooth and unimpeded, without the slightest delay. Every word and action reflected the trust and camaraderie among the villagers, and a warm, welcoming atmosphere filled the courtyards of each household.

With more than half the grain harvested, the adults from several large households gradually gathered together, their expressions a mixture of curiosity and anticipation. It turned out they had heard somewhere that their eldest brother had recently asked their maternal grandfather for a plot of low-grade land for a rice planting experiment. Taking advantage of Xingbao's family's visit to collect the grain today, they all wanted to find out more. Among them, Old Wang, relying on his age and seniority, stepped forward first, grabbed his eldest brother's arm, and asked urgently and earnestly, "Yanbang, tell us, what exactly is the procedure for that cooperative planting method you siblings are using? We want to join in the fun and share in your joy."

The uncles and elders from the surrounding families also gathered around, their eyes all fixed on the eldest brother, full of expectation. Seeing this, the eldest brother showed no fear. Instead, he straightened his back and said calmly and earnestly, "Old Wang, uncles and elders, thank you all for your trust. Our cooperation model is very simple: you provide the land and manpower for cultivation, and we provide the seeds and will send someone to guide the cultivation methods throughout the process. In the first year, we'll test the waters; we'll only take 70% of the yield exceeding the normal amount as a return. From the second year onwards, we'll only take 20% of the total yield, and the rest will belong to each family."

After a pause, the eldest brother added candidly, "However, as all the uncles and elders have seen, the rice we tried planting this year, while yielding a decent amount, had a drawback—it was prone to lodging, and the variety wasn't mature enough. To improve the rice variety, my siblings and I mobilized everyone in the village to search for suitable varieties. In the end, we found a suitable variety in Uncle Hunchback's field. Because of this, my siblings and I discussed not only searching for high-quality rice varieties but also utilizing the environment of the inferior fields to cultivate more drought-resistant and lodging-resistant varieties. That's why we asked Grandpa for that inferior field to conduct the experiment."

At this point, the eldest brother glanced at everyone's expressions and continued, "If any of you grandfathers or uncles are interested, you can cooperate with us. However, my siblings and I have limited abilities. Right now, we can only personally and carefully tend to my maternal grandfather's field. For the other families' fields, we can only provide high-quality rice seeds and cultivation guidance. We ask for your understanding."

After listening to the eldest brother's words, the uncles and aunts gathered together and discussed in hushed tones. These past few days, the potatoes, sweet potatoes, and cabbages planted by the siblings had all yielded a bumper harvest; although the rice had suffered from lodging, the yield still far exceeded that of conventional planting, which had already given the villagers enough confidence. After a brief discussion, each family made up their minds and expressed their willingness to contribute a piece of their inferior land to cooperate with Xingbao's family, including the cold, waterlogged field that had consistently yielded very low yields.

Including the lower-grade land belonging to my maternal grandfather, the total yield from several households was a little over one mu (approximately 0.16 acres). Everyone estimated that the average yield from this lower-grade land in previous years was less than 300 jin (approximately 150 kg) per mu, so they decided to use 300 jin as the standard for regular production. Seeing this, my father quickly took out paper and pen and drafted a contract on the spot, clearly defining the cooperation terms, the method of calculating yield, and the profit-sharing ratio. Each household head signed and affixed their fingerprints, and after confirming that everything was correct, they each kept a copy of the contract.

And so, the important task of expanding the rice experimental field was successfully resolved during the break between harvests. Looking at the contract in their hands, and thinking about how they could work hard next spring to cultivate high-quality rice varieties and lead the villagers to grow more grain, Xingbao and his three siblings all showed joyful smiles. Their father also nodded with satisfaction, his heart full of expectations for the future.

Because of the time spent discussing cooperation and drafting contracts, the group was delayed for quite some time, and it wasn't until noon that they finished collecting grain from the last household. After packing up, Dad, his eldest and second eldest brothers pushed the wheelbarrow loaded with grain at the front, Xingbao led the way with the black charcoal carrying the grain, and Guixiang followed closely behind, her eyes constantly scanning the sacks on the wheelbarrow and the donkey's back, carefully checking for any grain that might have fallen off. When they passed Old Wang's house, they stopped to respectfully return the borrowed scales, thanked them repeatedly, and then hurried home. Fortunately, Grandpa's family was there to help look after the shop, so they didn't have to worry about the shop's affairs and could finish collecting all the grain in peace; otherwise, the grain collection might have continued until the afternoon.

Back at the shop entrance, the group greeted their grandparents and aunt who had come to help look after the grain. After a few brief greetings, they immediately began unloading the grain, neatly stacking sacks of millet in the granary in the backyard. After Dad finished unloading the grain from Blackie, Xingbao led it to the livestock pen, carefully tied it up, and filled the trough with fresh sweet potato vines. Remembering Blackie's hard work carrying the grain that day, he had even rewarded it with a drop of spiritual spring water, gently comforting it for a few moments before turning and running to the bamboo house in front to help with the shop's chores.