Courtyard House: Rebirth of a Shopkeeper in 1937

Xingbao lay in bed, his thoughts churning. One moment he thought of the postman's disheveled appearance, the next he worried about the fierce battle his uncle's 36th Division was about to face. He tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. In his drowsy state, he was woken up by Guixiang.

"Xingbao, why did Second Brother climb onto our bed?" the little girl said, climbing up to her second brother's side and staring at him intently. "Second Brother is still sleeping in. Get up and help me make incense!" Before she finished speaking, she reached out to shake her second brother awake.

"Sister, let Second Brother sleep a little longer. We had guests last night, and he helped Mom and Dad for a long time, so he went to bed very late." Xingbao said, then closed his eyes again, wanting to catch up on some more sleep. But Guixiang wouldn't let him go, so he had no choice but to get up and follow behind her. Along the way, he secretly drank a few sips of spiritual spring water to relieve the fatigue from insomnia; he also checked the growth of the plants in his space, and seeing that they were all growing well, he casually watered them. After washing up, he circled around the water tank, tea barrel, and teapot. At this time, his eldest brother and the postman also got up and were washing up, while Guixiang squatted in front of them, staring at them, making the young postman a little embarrassed!

"Gui Xiang, you mustn't be so rude to your guest. This is Brother Wang Qianjin, who delivered the letter to Father last night. Have you forgotten him?" The elder brother then turned to the postman and said, "Brother Wang, my little sister is young and a bit mischievous. Please don't take it to heart." Clearly, the two had become familiar with each other after spending the night together.

"I'm sorry, Brother Wang Qianjin! I know it was your letter that made Dad, Mom, Grandma, and Grandpa happy. I just noticed the injury on your face and wondered if it still hurts." After being scolded, Gui Xiang seemed a little nervous and aggrieved, her eyes slightly red, and she looked like she was about to cry.

"Gui Xiang is such a good girl. Next time Brother Wang comes, he'll bring you something delicious." The postman quickly coaxed the little girl.

"Sister, let's make some incense! We need to send a lot to Grandma today," Xingbao quickly called to Guixiang, changing the subject. Not long after, Dad and his older brother finished their work and came over to help make incense. The little girl's mosquito coils this time were all oddly shaped, clearly treating incense making like playing with mud. In about the time it takes to eat a meal, they made nearly two hundred mosquito coils, but they had run out of mugwort. However, these mosquito coils were enough for both families for more than half a month; they could just go to the mountain to collect more mugwort when they had time.

After breakfast, the eldest brother was going to Yongfeng with his father to buy goods, and he would be able to go with Brother Wang.

With nothing to do, Mother took out her younger brother's letter and read it carefully again. When Xingbao inadvertently glanced at the postmark date on the envelope, he was instantly struck dumb—the date was May 25th, 1937. He suddenly remembered that at that time, most people used the lunar calendar, while only government departments used the Gregorian calendar. Yesterday, Brother Wang told him that this letter had been sent a month ago. The lunar calendar and the Gregorian calendar differ by about a month, so the latest Gregorian calendar date would be June 25th. It turned out that these peaceful and happy days were so short-lived!

In the few days since arriving in this time and space, Xingbao has been immersed in the joy and happiness of reliving his childhood, thanks to the loving care of his family and the company of his lively and innocent older sister. He's even completely lost in the magic spring space he relied on most when he first arrived. But now, war is imminent, and this peaceful little mountain village is not immune. Looking down at his small arms and legs, he feels utterly powerless—he can do nothing, accomplish nothing. Watching his mischievous older sister nestled beside their mother, Xingbao thinks to himself: Consider this a short break. Fortunately, starting tomorrow, he can officially begin learning to read with his older brother. In this time and space, literacy is the foundation for everything; only by mastering knowledge can one have a reasonable basis and confidence in everything they do.

At this moment, several village elders slowly walked in. Upon seeing them, the mother quickly got up to greet them, speaking respectfully: "Uncles, what brings you here today? Please come in and sit down."

Seeing this, the second brother immediately went forward to bring over a wooden stool; Gui Xiang and Xing Bao also hurriedly turned around and went to the kitchen to pour tea. After everyone was seated, the two handed the warm tea to the village elders one by one.

"Third Aunt, is Dawei home?" The one who spoke was the village elder surnamed Liu. According to seniority, the mother had to call him "Grand Uncle".

"Replying to your question, Uncle, Dawei went to Yongfeng to purchase goods this morning." Mother bowed slightly, her tone becoming increasingly cautious. "To trouble you, my respected uncles, to personally come to our door, must be about the wolf pack incident last night, right?"

The village elders exchanged glances upon hearing this, and finally, the eldest uncle spoke first: "Since Third Sister has already guessed, please tell us the details."

Mother nodded in agreement and began to recount the events from the moment the postman delivered the letter last night, explaining the whole story in detail and also mentioning Father's concerns about the wolf pack.

After listening to the mother's story, the village elders fell into a brief silence: "Third Aunt, let's go back and discuss countermeasures. Your family lives in the east of the village, so you'll be the first to be affected. Be extra careful at night. We'll also spread the word throughout the village as soon as possible so everyone can be prepared."

Xingbao, who was standing nearby, suddenly lit up and whispered, "It would be great if we could have a dog. It would be more alert at night." Guixiang also looked hopeful.

Grandpa looked at Xingbao with approval in his eyes: "Third Aunt, this must be Xingbao? He's so young yet has such a clever mind. Good, I'll remember this and keep an eye out for a suitable puppy for you later."

After seeing off the village elders, Guixiang took Xingbao's hand and excitedly "declared" the puppy's ownership.

As evening fell, Dad and his eldest brother returned from Yongfeng, pushing a wheelbarrow. Guixiang pulled Xingbao to join them. Dad smiled and pulled a small bag of red dates from the back of the cart, handing it to Guixiang. "Guixiang, give these red dates to your mother to keep." This finally dissuaded the two children who were always trying to "help" but were only making things worse, and he called his second brother to pack up the goods.

Gui Xiang and Xing Bao each received a red date from their mother, adding another crop to the space. Little by little, the space will eventually be filled with all sorts of plants.