Courtyard House: Rebirth of a Shopkeeper in 1937

Time flew by, and three days passed quietly. During these days, the kitchen remained bustling and orderly. Xingbao and his two older brothers took turns staying in Li Guangsheng's room, talking to him, discussing academic matters, and carefully looking after his daily needs. Guixiang was also busy, often carrying leftover medicine to the threshing ground or the village to wash the hands of her friends who had gotten frostbite from playing in the snow a few days prior, reminding them to take good care of themselves. Meanwhile, the four sick female students, under the meticulous care of Xingbao's family and with the help of their master's medicine, gradually improved. Especially the two seriously ill girls who had previously been bedridden; they were now able to walk on their own, their complexions had lost their paleness and gained a rosy glow, and their spirits were much better than before.

This morning, Master passed by the kitchen on his rounds and stopped in to give a follow-up check on a few of his students. He sat at the table in the main room, taking their pulses and examining their tongues one by one, gently inquiring about their health. He then wrote out a new prescription for mild tonics, handing it to the girl surnamed He, and said with a smile, "You are young and have good health, so don't worry too much. After taking these two doses of medicine and resting for two or three days, you'll be able to set off on your journey."

Upon hearing their master's words, the group's faces lit up with joy, their worries of the past few days vanishing instantly. Having been trapped there for days, they had longed to return to their unit, and now, knowing they would be setting off soon, their hearts were filled with anticipation. Li Guangsheng was relatively well-off; with Xingbao and his brothers keeping him company and discussing academic matters, he didn't feel lonely. However, the four female students, aside from necessary tasks like using the restroom, even ate in their room and rarely left Xingbao's room. They spent their days quietly resting and reading.

Over the past few days, Xingbao had gotten a general idea of ​​the girls' backgrounds: the girl who was always cold and quiet was surnamed Qian, while the girl who had been more talkative and had asked him to lend her books and look after Li Guangsheng was surnamed He. As for the other two girls who were always sick and didn't talk much, Xingbao hadn't had a chance to ask their names yet. Learning that the cold-faced girl was surnamed Qian didn't surprise Xingbao at all—in his previous life, he had read online that the Qian family was a thousand-year-old wealthy and prestigious clan in Zhejiang, and that the modern-day Qian Xuesen came from this family. Such a family had many rules and its members were often arrogant; it seemed that this Miss Qian had grown up accustomed to such a cold and aloof demeanor.

Gui Xiang, on the other hand, had been having a particularly lively time these past few days. She privately told Xing Bao that whenever she had free time, she would go to her room, sit quietly in a corner, and listen to the girls chat. They told her interesting stories about Nanjing, famous mountains and rivers from all over the country, and stories from books she had never heard before… Gui Xiang was simple-minded and had never left her small mountain village. Faced with these well-informed young ladies from wealthy families, she didn't even have the courage to interject, and was often ordered around to serve tea and water and tidy the room. But Gui Xiang didn't feel wronged at all; on the contrary, she felt it was only natural—her family ran a food shop, and entertaining guests was their duty. Besides, being able to hear so many new things from them was a great surprise for her, so she did it with great enthusiasm.

As they spent more time together, Guixiang gradually became familiar with the girls and learned that what they cared about most was news from Nanjing. So she offered to help them inquire with travelers passing by the inn. However, in those chaotic times of war, most travelers were displaced and had very little information. So far, they had only learned that two troops had broken out of Nanjing, but there was nothing about the specific situation in the city. Upon hearing this, the girls couldn't help but feel more worried.

Xingbao watched Guixiang happily flitting around the girls every day, hearing all sorts of interesting stories from the city, and he felt happy for her. He knew in his heart that their small mountain village was too isolated, with inconvenient transportation, making it difficult to transport the produce out of the fields to sell for a good price, and its development potential was extremely limited—even in his memories from his previous life, it was a very difficult thing for such a small mountain village to escape poverty and achieve some development.

Xingbao secretly planned in his heart: after a few years, when the war subsided and the villagers could live a peaceful life without worrying about food and drink, he wanted to move his family to the outskirts of the city. The area there had convenient transportation, readily available information, and much greater development potential than the small mountain village. He could then pursue his own interests and improve his family's life. Right now, the four siblings were taking advantage of the opportunity to look after some students to learn about the city and broaden their horizons, which was a good thing. At least it would give his eldest brother, second brother, and Guixiang more knowledge of the outside world, making it easier for him to persuade them to move later.

After examining several students, Master Guixiang was sitting at the table in the main room tidying up her medicine box when Guixiang's eyes suddenly lit up. She turned and quickly ran to the kitchen, carefully bringing out the earthenware jar containing frostbite medicine. The medicine had been heated and used several times, long since losing its potency, but Guixiang treasured it, unwilling to discard it. Holding the jar, she skipped and hopped to Master Guixiang, tilting her little face upturned, her round eyes wide, her tone full of pride and anticipation: "Master, Master, look! This is the frostbite medicine Xingbao and I made together, and it works so well! I only used it twice, and the frostbite on my hands was almost completely healed! But it didn't seem to have much effect on others. Master, could you give me some more herbs? I need to make more medicine so all the kids in the village know I didn't lie, I really can make medicine now!"

Seeing Gui Xiang's eagerness to prove herself, the master couldn't help but laugh. He gently patted her head and said in a gentle tone, "You little rascal, you're very thoughtful. The herbs I left for you were for identifying medicinal herbs. The quantities were already small, and this medicine has been used so many times that its medicinal properties have long since dissipated. So it won't have much effect on others, not because you didn't prepare it well." As he spoke, he opened the medicine box and took out several small paper packets with the names of the herbs clearly written on them—the very same ones used to make the frostbite medicine. Then he took out a small, delicate balance and placed them on the table, smiling as he tested her, "I prepared quite a lot of these herbs, and your master's wife has also taught you how to use this balance. Now, you two will each weigh out one portion according to the prescription in the medical book. When decocting the medicine, remember that the external medicine shouldn't be too concentrated; that way, it will be more effective."