Courtyard House: Rebirth of a Shopkeeper in 1937

Time flew by, and three days passed in a flash. Of the children under six, besides Xingbao and Guixiang, only Xiwu and five-year-old Liu Guangxing remained. During this time, Second Uncle came to discuss his shop-opening plans with Father. The timber was ready, and the bricks were being prepared; construction could begin once Uncle Daquan had cut the stone slabs. He also sent Tianding to learn alongside him, taking with him the wheelbarrow used to push the stone slabs last time.

Since the children started practicing calligraphy, the once quiet village has suddenly become lively. The village's open spaces and walls are covered with the children's childish handwriting. These handwritings are crooked and some are not even in the shape of characters, but they are full of childlike fun and vitality.

At first, the adults didn't pay much attention to the children practicing calligraphy, simply watching with amusement, thinking it was a form of entertainment for the children. However, things changed when Fugui also filled the flat ground used for drying grain with writing.

Fugui said smugly, "This ground is as flat as paper. Writing on it feels just like writing on paper!" His words resonated with the other children, and they all followed suit, leaving even more writing on the ground.

This infuriated Uncle Youcai. He was furious to see the children had made such a mess of the threshing ground he had painstakingly prepared. Without saying a word, Uncle Youcai grabbed a bamboo broom and was about to teach Fugui a lesson, preparing to give him a good beating.

Just at this critical moment, Aunt Bai appeared in time and stopped Uncle Youcai. Aunt Bai persuaded Uncle Youcai not to be angry, after all, the children were still young and didn't understand, and practicing calligraphy was a good thing. After Aunt Bai's persuasion, Uncle Youcai's anger gradually subsided, and Fugui escaped a disaster.

Meanwhile, all the sweet potato vines in the space had been cut down and were being propagated by cuttings. Because the workload was greater than before and consumed more mental energy, Xingbao almost fainted. This time, he also understood that using the space required mental energy. Although the land for propagation was less than one-tenth of an acre, it was divided into several portions, each irrigated with a different proportion of spiritual spring water to test the properties of the space and the spiritual spring.

Everything seemed to be going perfectly smoothly, without any unusual occurrences. However, as night fell, the howling of wolves grew more frequent and closer, like muffled thunder rumbling from the depths of the valley, rolling through the air and instilling fear and unease in everyone.

That evening, as the sun had just set and darkness began to fall, several elderly villagers with white hair and beards, along with Chief Wang and a few respected and influential elders, arrived at the tea shop. In the center of the main room of the tea shop stood an eight-immortal table, on which were neatly arranged several rough porcelain teacups. The tea in the cups was steaming, and the steam filled the air, forming a thin layer of mist.

In the quiet atmosphere, Uncle broke the silence first. He picked up the teacup in front of him, blew on the steam, took a sip, and slowly said, "Dawei, the howling of the wolves has been getting closer and closer these past few nights. Do you think they might be coming into the village to take revenge on us?" His voice was a little hoarse, tinged with worry, and his withered fingers unconsciously rubbed the rim of the teacup, as if trying to ease his unease. After speaking, his gaze slowly swept over everyone present, observing their reactions.

"Uncles and brothers, let's not panic! We need to stay calm! This is a test by the wolves, a trap, and a sign of their fear. We only managed to hurt them badly last time, otherwise they would have already stormed into the village! If we rush into the mountains now, we'll be surrounded if we're outnumbered, and if we're too many, we won't be able to find the wolves." Father looked at the strong men beside him. "It's rare that everyone's here today. In my opinion, we should wait a few more days until they emerge from the mountains and are about to attack the village, then gather all the able-bodied men in the village and wipe them out in one fell swoop. However, we'll need to have people keep watch at night for the next few days, in case they lose patience and suddenly charge into the village. Elders, you're all experienced and knowledgeable; do you think this plan is feasible?"

Before the words had even finished, the main room erupted in a frenzy, like water being boiled. People swarmed in from all directions like a disturbed swarm of bees, instantly turning the once spacious room into an incredibly crowded space.

As time went by, more and more villagers arrived after hearing the news, and the main room became increasingly crowded. A cacophony of voices rose and fell, seemingly threatening to burst through the roof. Initially, these voices contained concern and fear for the wolves, but gradually, their tone began to change.

"If it weren't for you, an outsider, provoking the wolves, we wouldn't be in this mess!" someone shouted indignantly.

"That's right, why should our whole village have to take the risk for you?" another person chimed in.

These accusations rained down on his father like hailstones, catching him completely off guard. Even worse, some made no attempt to conceal their demands that he single-handedly deal with the wolves, as if it were all his responsibility.

Suddenly, the wind shifted, and the original worries and fears were replaced by accusations and complaints. The air was thick with a pungent smell of gunpowder, making people feel suffocated.

The four siblings stood trembling behind their father, not daring to utter a sound. They stared nervously at him, only to see that his normally dark face was now ashen, as if shrouded in an invisible rage.

Suddenly, as if propelled by a powerful force, Father abruptly stood up. His coarse cloth jacket was stretched taut, and the muscles beneath it were taut like a bow, revealing an uncontrollable rage.

Father looked around at everyone, his voice deep and powerful, echoing in the silent air: "I, Song Dawei, have been running this food stall for almost ten years now! I won't go into how you all treated me when I first opened the stall. In these past few years, whenever anyone has asked me for help, if I, Song Dawei, could do it, have I ever refused even half a word? Have I ever taken a single extra penny from you? Have I ever done anything to wrong you all?"

Father's words came out like a machine gun, one after another, leaving everyone present breathless. He paused briefly, then continued, "Today I want to ask, if we hadn't hunted the wolves that day, and they had tasted human blood and stormed into the village, would it have been solely my family's fault? Everyone, ask yourselves honestly, was I wrong? If any of you have grievances about us running a shop here, you can simply say so; there's no need to use the wolf scare as an excuse!"

Father's last words resounded like thunder in everyone's ears. His eyes widened, staring intently at the village elders and uncles in charge, his anger seemingly about to burst forth. His knuckles were white from clenching his fists so tightly, revealing the extreme rage within him.

"Father!" With this call, the eldest brother Yanbang and the second brother Yanguo stepped forward and stood shoulder to shoulder with their father. They stood tall and straight, their expressions solemn. Mother also hugged Xingbao and Guixiang tightly and quickly walked to their father's side. Her originally slender figure now exuded a resolute aura, as if no matter how great the difficulties, she could firmly protect this family.

The clamor in the main room suddenly froze, as if an unseen hand had gripped its throat. Only the flame of the oil lamp trembled slightly in the silence, as if it too sensed the tense atmosphere.

At this moment, my great-uncle slowly stood up. His movements were somewhat slow, but every gesture exuded authority. His cloudy eyes swept over the crowd, and he said in a low, powerful voice, "I'm not even in my grave yet, how dare you gossip like this! Dawei is our Liu family's son-in-law, how can he be considered an outsider? He's run a successful business; that's his real skill. It's not like no one in our village has run a business before, but what happened? They all failed within six months, closing down. Don't you all understand the ins and outs of this?"

His gaze was piercing, sweeping across everyone's faces in turn, causing those who had been whispering to lower their heads. The great-uncle continued, "Everyone knows perfectly well what Dawei has done over the years. We all know how he's treated the Liu family and the village."

After saying that, the great-uncle turned to the village elders beside him, cupped his hands in greeting, and said sincerely, "Brothers, please give us a straight answer regarding Dawei's family's future."

Another suffocating silence fell, as if time had frozen. The village elders looked at each other, exchanging glances, seemingly engaged in a silent exchange. Finally, as if reaching some kind of consensus, they all nodded in unison.

Finally, the oldest of them, Grandpa Zhao, slowly stood up. He gripped his cane tightly, which seemed to be the support of his life, allowing him to stand during this difficult time. His dry, twig-like fingers held the cane tightly, his knuckles white from the excessive force, and he trembled slightly.

Grandpa Zhao took a deep breath and then said in his slightly hoarse voice, "Now that the truth has been revealed, I won't hold back anymore. I have a few words to say." He coughed lightly twice to clear his throat and then said, "Some people feel that Dawei has taken away their livelihood and are resentful. This is actually only human nature."

His gaze slowly shifted to the family of six before him, his eyes revealing a hint of gentleness and understanding. Then, he said to Dawei, "Dawei, don't take it to heart. After what happened today, it's actually helped everyone to speak their minds more clearly, which is a good thing."

Suddenly, Grandpa Zhao slammed his cane heavily on the ground with a dull thud, as if his inner resolve had been released at that moment. He raised his voice and said firmly, "We old folks are making this clear today: Dawei's family is settling down in our village! From now on, anyone who brings up outsiders again is going against us old folks!" His words were resounding and echoed in the air, allowing everyone present to feel his determination and strength.

As the last word fell, the tense air seemed to relax instantly, like a bowstring suddenly released. The moment Grandpa Zhao was helped to sit down, Dad seemed to awaken from a long dream. He hurriedly pulled his wife and children forward, his rough hands rubbing his jacket several times, then led the whole family in a respectful bow to everyone, saying, "Thank you, uncles and elders, thank you, fellow villagers!"

"Alright, alright, no need for these formalities." Uncle smiled and waved his hand, interrupting Dad. "Now let's get down to business—what do you all think of Dawei's plan? Take turns, and feel free to share your thoughts. Don't whisper or gossip among yourselves."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Erzhu, standing impatiently at the foot of the southern mountain, stood up. He was still holding a half-eaten sweet potato in his hand, muttering, "Keeping watch isn't that difficult, but now that big banyan tree is gone, where should we keep watch?"

As soon as Erzhu finished speaking, a chorus of agreement immediately arose from the crowd. Seeing this, Wang Jiazhang also chimed in, "That's right! We're experts at farming and harvesting grain, but if you ask us to hunt wolves? Wouldn't that be like handing ourselves over to the wolves to eat?" His words drew a burst of laughter from the crowd, and even the little children who had hidden in the kitchen because they felt the atmosphere was a bit oppressive couldn't help but curiously peek out.

When the laughter subsided, Father spoke up: "What do you think of my house's eaves for the night watch? We can put up a few planks and make a small second floor." After a moment's thought, he added: "The eaves of the Lü family's house would also be suitable. Although they are narrower, their house is on higher ground and you can see straight to the foot of the mountain to the east—of course, this would have to be approved by Brother Lü."

"I agree to this!" Brother Lü's voice followed closely. "Dawei, our two families are located at the easternmost end of the village, one above the other. If the wolves want to enter the village, they can't get around them no matter what. My whole family won't sleep peacefully until this is resolved!"

"Good!" Dad praised loudly. "Then let's discuss the second problem. I'm thinking we can form a three-person team: the one in the middle holds a big pot lid as a shield, and the two on the sides hold hoes, pitchforks, and other household tools. As long as we can block the wolf's first wave of attack, then we can do what we're used to—treat it like dirt, treat it like grass to fork, and with a little training, we'll definitely succeed."

"Using wolves as pitchforks, this is brilliant!" Everyone burst into laughter again, their previous fear of the wolf pack largely dissipated, and they began discussing who they would team up with to "pitch the wolves."

At this moment, Wang Jia cleared his throat and said, "Dawei, you're a veteran who's followed the general for a while now, so I'm entrusting this training to you. With that three-barreled gun in the village and your rifle, that should be enough to keep the wolves at bay, right?"

Father looked troubled but couldn't refuse: "Chief Wang, you don't understand. The three-barreled gun and my rifle are only meant to be used when the wolves are about to escape. If we brandish our weapons at the beginning, the wolves will all be scared away, and we'll have wasted our time." Father pondered for a moment, "How about this: you go and talk to the village head and see if you can get some pitchforks or other handy tools, even if you have to borrow them. If we can get the support of the township, you and the village head will be proud after it's done. But we need to hurry, the wolves will probably be entering the village in the next few days."

After a moment's thought, Wang Jiachang nodded in agreement. He then discussed the selection of night watchmen with several village elders and finally agreed that the able-bodied men in the village should bring all their tools and gather at the original site of the old banyan tree the next morning.

After everyone left, the family breathed a long sigh of relief. The mother said, "This can be considered a blessing in disguise. Our family has finally truly put down roots in the village."