Courtyard House: Rebirth of a Shopkeeper in 1937

Gui Xiang, anxious, tugged at her uncle's sleeve and looked up at him, asking urgently, "Uncle, Uncle, didn't Captain Li punish those bastards who stole the cabbages? They were so mean, trying to steal our cabbages!"

Seeing Gui Xiang's anxious and angry expression, her uncle couldn't help but laugh, reaching out to ruffle her hair: "Alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore. Back then, those two thugs from the security team collected our stall fee, then turned around and saw those two plump, tender cabbages. Without a word, they picked them up, stubbornly saying, 'I'll take these cabbages back and have a taste,' and turned to leave. Luckily, Da Shan had sharp eyes and spotted Captain Li from afar, quickly calling him over loudly. The two thugs, upon hearing someone call for Captain Li, were so frightened they immediately..." They put the cabbages down, not daring to run away, and stood obediently to the side, barely daring to breathe. When Captain Li came over, he didn't say much, just tossed out, "Go stand in front, I'll deal with you when we get back," and sent the two guys away. When he saw our two large cabbages, he was also surprised. Learning that you siblings had grown them with the village children and that they could sell for a high price of one cent each, he didn't say a word, took out two cents, hugged the cabbages, said, "Take these back and try them," and left without looking back.

Upon hearing this, Gui Xiang knew that the two people who had stolen the cabbages had been reprimanded. She immediately smiled broadly, her eyes crinkling, and then she grabbed her uncle's arm and shook it, saying earnestly, "Uncle, will you still go to sell cabbages tomorrow? If they dare to steal our cabbages again, you must tell Captain Li and have him punish them severely!" Her excited little appearance made anyone who didn't know the situation think that she was going to punish the people herself.

Uncle smiled and tapped Gui Xiang's forehead: "Go ahead, Uncle will go again tomorrow! We've planted so many cabbages at home, it would be such a waste to let the pigs eat them. Take two more cabbages with you tomorrow. After what happened with Captain Li today, I'm sure we can sell them smoothly! By the way, I stopped by your second uncle's shop on my way to Yaodu today. It's close to Yaodu, so there are a lot of people coming and going. They often have guests leaving their luggage and goods, and there are also places to stay. Business is pretty good, enough to support a family."

Hearing that their second uncle's shop was doing well, the family members smiled with relief. The unpleasantness of the day, caused by the villagers coming to plead for them and the resulting stalemate, vanished. They then gathered around their eldest uncle, asking about the latest happenings in the medicinal herb capital. After chatting for a while, their eldest uncle and Da Shan got up to leave. Just before leaving, he seemed to suddenly remember something, stopped, and turned back to say, "Oh, by the way, Da Wei, Da Heng asked me to tell you that his shop is almost out of liquor. He wants you to brew a vat for him when you have time, and also brew twenty jin of sweet wine for him while you're at it."

Upon hearing this, the smile on Father's face instantly faded. He frowned, his tone tinged with helplessness and reproach: "I told him that with the war going on, food is precious, and he should use the wine sparingly. Why didn't he listen? When we go back for the New Year, I'll have to give him a good talking to." Seeing Father's frowning and serious expression, Xingbao and his siblings were a little frightened—although Father was occasionally strict, he rarely got this angry. For a moment, they all stood obediently in place, not daring to utter a sound.

Time flies, and before we knew it, it was the winter solstice. At the crack of dawn, snowflakes began to fall, no longer the usual fine sleet, but fluffy, soft flakes, gently settling on the rooftops, walls, and vegetable garden by the gate, quickly covering the ground with a thin layer of white. The pond in front of Uncle Lü's house was also covered with a thin, glistening layer of ice, exuding the chill of winter. Fortunately, the snow didn't last long. Xingbao and Guixiang had just gotten up when their father carried in a piece of fresh pork, weighing about three pounds. The meat was bright red and still slightly warm.

Gui Xiang rushed to her father before she had even finished buttoning her clothes, her eyes sparkling as she stared at the pork, her voice full of joy: "Dad, we're having meat today! Let me help you carry it to Mom!"

Seeing his daughter's flustered appearance, the father couldn't help but shake his head with a smile. He reached out and gently straightened her clothes, handing her the meat he was holding: "You little rascal, slow down, button up your clothes quickly, or you'll catch a cold."

Gui Xiang quickly fastened the buttons that weren't properly fastened, then took the meat and ran towards the kitchen, shouting as she ran, "Mom, Mom, Dad bought meat! We can eat delicious meat today!" Her cheerful voice echoed throughout the shop.

Mother was busy in the kitchen when she heard this and hurried over. She took the piece of meat, which was mostly fat, and examined it. A smile appeared on her lips. "This meat looks pretty good, with a good balance of fat and lean. It'll smell delicious when cooked." As she spoke, she turned to Father, who had entered empty-handed, and asked, "Honey, did you not manage to buy any pork fat? We're running low on lard. It'll be troublesome if we run out of oil for cooking."

Father sighed, his tone tinged with helplessness: "Li Youcai's family wants to keep the pork fat for themselves and won't sell it. Rendering the fat from this piece of pork, along with the sesame oil we have left, will last us a few more days. Zhang Tuozi's family is slaughtering a pig tomorrow, and they'll definitely sell their fat. I'll go check again first thing tomorrow morning. There are still a few pigs to be slaughtered in the village these next few days; we should be able to buy some. If we're lucky, we might even get some meat to make cured pork to serve guests."

Mother nodded, placing the meat on the cutting board as she muttered, "If my father's pig hadn't been slaughtered so early, we wouldn't have to worry about this. There are only a few pigs in the village, and they've already been reserved and distributed by the villagers. If all else fails, we can just buy what the butcher has left; it doesn't matter if it's a bit more expensive."

Dad waved his hand: "We'll talk about it if we really can't buy any more. Just cut off a piece, cook it until it's soft, and offer it to our ancestors. It's the Winter Solstice today, and we can't neglect the proper etiquette."

Gui Xiang sat obediently on the small stool by the stove, her eyes fixed on the pork on the cutting board. Every now and then, she would peek out and add a handful of firewood to the stove, eagerly anticipating the meal. Her little face was full of excitement.

Today was also the last day of the small classroom for this semester. Xingbao knew that his eldest brother would be going to Shuangfeng Academy next year, and he didn't know when the small classroom would be open again, or even if it would be open again. He thought that he should finish what he started, and he must not miss today's class. So he put down his dictation and followed his eldest brother, second brother and Guixiang to the small classroom in the backyard.

The eldest brother used a cramming method to educate the students in this class. He only taught the children to read and write the "Three Character Classic," "Hundred Family Surnames," and "Thousand Character Classic," as well as the basic allusions contained within them, without forcing them to memorize them. He spent the rest of the time teaching the children new knowledge, hoping to expose them to more new things and give them more opportunities in the future.