Courtyard House: Rebirth of a Shopkeeper in 1937

Xingbao, carrying the bowl, slowly followed Guixiang into the main room. As soon as they entered, they saw his mother, aunt, Aunt Deng, and Aunt Long sitting around the table chatting warmly, their laughter occasionally breaking the silence. Guixiang immediately stepped forward, holding her bowl high, and said excitedly, "Mom, Aunt, Aunts, we've served you some glutinous rice! Please try some!"

The mother put down her needlework, a half-broken thread still clinging to her fingertips. She gently smoothed the stray hairs from her forehead, smiled, and waved her hand tenderly, saying, "Guixiang, you and Xingbao eat by yourselves. We won't eat."

Mother is now heavily pregnant, her belly growing heavier each day. She's constantly worried about the village midwife's words, fearing the baby might be too large for delivery, so she insists on a bland diet. Most of her meals consist of sweet potato porridge with cabbage, avoiding even a little meat. The family's meals have become even simpler. Guixiang, at her age, is still growing, and aside from occasionally sneaking a few wild fruits from Xingbao's spatial storage to satisfy her cravings, she hardly gets any oil or fat. The Winter Solstice is traditionally considered a "minor New Year," and in this impoverished mountain village, a bowl of soft, sweet glutinous rice is far more precious than the rare meat. No wonder Guixiang is so eager to get her share; today, for her, it's like celebrating the New Year with both meat and glutinous rice.

Before they knew it, dusk was falling. The second brother had just reached the bamboo house entrance and lit the lantern hanging under the eaves when he heard the faint clatter of hooves coming from the direction of the mountain road to the east. The sound grew clearer as it approached. He listened intently, then caught a glimpse of figures in the distance and immediately recognized them as students from Sanmin Middle School. His heart tightened, and without hesitation, he turned and hurriedly ran to the shop to report. Afterward, he followed his eldest brother, grabbed the lantern, took down the small flag hanging at the door, and quickly walked to the roadside, carefully guiding the group towards the main house. Seeing this, Xingbao and Guixiang also rushed out, splitting up to ask the neighbors to come and help at the shop, fearing they wouldn't have enough manpower to manage everything.

As the group of guests approached, everyone noticed their obvious listlessness. They were all pale and exhausted, with signs of frostbite on their ears and hands. Many were wrapped tightly in their clothes, coughing occasionally, clearly having caught a cold. Even more worrying was that three people were so weak they had to be carried off the carriage by their companions, their steps unsteady, unable to even stand. Seeing this, Father quickly stepped forward, his face full of concern, and asked the guide, "Sir, these children are quite ill. Should I go and fetch a doctor right now?"

The man leading the group waved his hand, his tone weary but still gentle: "Thank you for your kindness, shopkeeper. We already consulted a doctor yesterday and brought the medicine. Could you please help us brew the medicine for the three of them so they can take it and rest as soon as possible?" After he finished speaking, a young man stepped out from beside him, carrying three packets of medicine with their names written on them, and carefully handed them to the father.

Dad took the medicine packet and, without asking any questions, handed it to his second brother beside him, whispering, "Quick, go to the neighbors and borrow a few medicine pots to brew the medicine there. We don't have enough stoves and medicine pots at home, and look, there are still several people waiting to take their medicine." The second brother quickly took the medicine packet, responded, and ran out, afraid of delaying the children's medicine.

Seeing the guests' low spirits, heads bowed and silent, with occasional suppressed sobs and soft words of comfort, Gui Xiang and Xing Bao quickly brought hot tea and roasted soybeans, gently placing them on the table beside them. They stood obediently a short distance away, not daring to approach them, for fear of disturbing those immersed in grief. Xing Bao looked at these people, remembering how they were mostly pampered young masters and ladies by their families in the past, but now they looked haggard and filled with sorrow. He was overwhelmed with mixed feelings, both sympathy and helplessness in the face of the vicissitudes of life.

It wasn't until the guests gradually calmed down and occasionally chatted in hushed tones that Xingbao learned of their ordeal. On the day they left the city, the Japanese were already approaching Nanjing. The journey was fraught with fear and uncertainty; after only one day, they were nearly robbed of their belongings by fleeing civilians. Two of their companions had become separated and were never heard from again, their fate unknown. A few days earlier, while staying in Changsha, they unexpectedly learned of the devastating news of Nanjing's fall. Those students with families left behind in Nanjing broke down in tears on the spot. They searched everywhere in Changsha, searching for news for an entire day, but couldn't find a single word from their families. Overwhelmed by worry and grief, they had also caught a cold these past two days. This morning, seeing the sun shining brightly, they thought their condition would improve, but a sudden strong wind arose in the afternoon, the biting cold overwhelming their already weakened bodies, worsening their illness and leaving them in this wretched state.

After a careful count, they discovered that the three seriously ill students were two girls and one boy, their faces frighteningly pale, and they didn't even have the strength to speak. Seeing this, Father quickly settled them in Xingbao and his eldest brother's room, where it was quieter, and let them each have a familiar classmate to take care of them. This meant that Xingbao and his eldest brother would have to stay with their second brother in the bamboo house tonight, while Guixiang was actually happy to be able to sleep with her parents. The other teachers and students who had caught a cold and were less seriously ill had to squeeze into the guest rooms of the kitchen—Father knew that sending the sick to the villagers' homes was inconvenient for care and risked infecting the villagers, so it was ultimately inappropriate.

Once all the teachers and students were settled and all the miscellaneous tasks were completed, Father finally breathed a sigh of relief. He walked over to the guide and inquired about the 36th Division's situation in Nanjing with a grave tone. When he learned that the 36th Division had already moved to Wuhan with Commander Tang and was no longer trapped in Nanjing, Father and his four siblings finally relaxed, letting out a long sigh of relief. Guixiang even went to inform Mother. But when the guide mentioned that behind them was the last group of teachers and students from Sanmin Middle School, numbering at least fifty, who had left the city on the day the Japanese army besieged it, Father's heart jumped again. His brows furrowed tightly, and his eyes were filled with worry, constantly agonizing over the fate of those teachers and students.

As night deepened, the three brothers, carrying blankets and a few planks, prepared to set up makeshift beds in the bamboo house to rest. Just as they stepped out of the shop, they discovered that it had begun to snow heavily. Fluffy snowflakes swirled and fell densely, quickly covering the ground and rooftops with a thin layer of white. The cold wind, carrying snowflakes, stung their faces, making them instinctively shrink back.