Courtyard House: Rebirth of a Shopkeeper in 1937

Life at home gradually returned to normal, and everyone had their own things to do. The eldest brother, besides managing the breeding base, buried himself in the books Xingbao had memorized, and in his spare time helped his parents with the shop's business—steady and reliable. The second brother, when he had free time, would squat in the workshop learning to make gears. Although his skills weren't yet refined, his willingness to study was commendable, and he was slowly making progress. Guixiang, besides reading, spent her time watching over little Weibao, taking meticulous care of him. However, Xingbao had already discovered her little secret. Once, he saw her come out of her mother's room with a drop of white milk still clinging to the corner of her mouth. It seemed that with the family's improved circumstances, her mother had plenty of milk, and little Weibao couldn't finish it all, so her mother had Guixiang help him. No wonder this girl had rarely gone out to play since Weibao's birth; it turned out she had this extra "perk."

My eldest brother told me that when my second brother was a child, our mother had very little breast milk, and he often had to eat rice gruel to fill his stomach. It seems my eldest brother's childhood wasn't much better. When Xingbao and Guixiang were born, the family was a little better off, but the two of them fought over milk. My eldest brother also said that our grandmother often had to take him to other people's houses to borrow milk to barely raise him. But these days, for some reason, several families in the village have come to our mother with their newborns to borrow milk. A lot of our mother's milk has been taken, and Guixiang's little bit of "benefits" is gone. The girl has been sullen these days, and she's even become quieter.

Before they knew it, the double harvest season was almost over, and the collection of summer taxes was on the agenda. Grain prices had been relatively stable during this period, neither rising nor falling. Taking advantage of some spare money, Dad took Xingbao to Yongfeng Town to buy another batch of grain to stock up. As for buying land, Dad abandoned the idea without even considering it—with grain prices rising every day, who would be willing to sell their land? It was better to stock up on more grain; who knew that if the war escalated, they might not be able to buy grain anymore.

Since delivering the rice transplanter, the village head hadn't mentioned the banquet for a long time. Xingbao knew that the headman probably felt there was no profit to be made from the banquet, and that he'd have to pay for it himself, so he simply didn't want to hold it anymore. Coincidentally, tomorrow was Qixi Festival, a day when families in the countryside traditionally enjoy the new harvest. Xingbao took the opportunity to have his father buy more red dates. These dates would be divided into small packages and given to each of the partners at the breeding base, two packages each, just in time for Qixi Festival. This would not only share the joy of their award but also reassure everyone, preventing them from being brainwashed by village gossip and ensuring they focused on managing the breeding base.

As they approached the village, Xingbao deliberately loaded two large bags of red dates onto his wheelbarrow. Besides the daily necessities his family urgently needed, he also added two bags of rice. With grain prices rising so rapidly, villagers were reluctant to sell their grain early, rendering the previously agreed-upon grain exchange agreement invalid. Xingbao intentionally added these two bags of rice to let the villagers know that his family had already purchased grain in Yongfeng Town, preventing others from questioning the Song family's situation due to rising grain prices.

Just as we turned the corner and reached the edge of the breeding base, we could see in the distance a group of villagers sitting by the washing well and on the threshing floor, enjoying the cool air, along with a group of children playing and laughing. A sharp-eyed child spotted his father and Xingbao pushing the wheelbarrow back and immediately turned and ran towards the shop to report the news. Several villagers greeted them with smiles, some offering to help push the cart, while others curiously examined the goods on it, wondering what the father and son had brought back from Yongfeng Town that day, and whether there was anything they needed.

Among them, Xi Wu was the one who came forward the most, his nose twitching involuntarily. Taking advantage of the opportunity to help push the cart, he reached out and touched the bulging burlap sack on the cart. His tone was full of curiosity and eagerness as he hurriedly asked, "Xing Bao, the things in this sack are round and quite big. They're not rice or beans, what are they? They even smell a little nice!"

Xingbao knew exactly what he was thinking. The boy, born in the Year of the Dog, had an incredibly keen nose and had already smelled the sweet aroma of the dates. Whenever his father returned from town with something delicious, he'd always be the first to smell it and ask about it. If it was convenient, his father would share some with him. This time was perfect. Xingbao was planning to find a strongman to go and fetch everyone from the base. They could pack the dates up that evening and have everyone take them home. Besides, having two sacks of dates right in front of them would be quite an impact on the children, better stabilizing their wavering hearts.

Thinking of this, Xingbao raised his head slightly, proudly tilted his chin, and said loudly, "These two bags are full of red dates, weighing several hundred pounds!"

"Red dates?!" Xi Wu's eyes widened instantly, his voice rising several decibels with surprise. He couldn't help but lean forward to smell them again, smacked his lips, and asked, "Xing Bao, did your family buy so many red dates to make pastries or to keep for yourselves? They smell so sweet, they must be delicious!" Several of his friends who had gathered around also looked curious and expectant, nodding in agreement.

Seeing several more partners from the base approach and gather around the wheelbarrow, Xingbao cleared his throat and explained with a smile, "A few days ago, our family made a rice transplanter and received a reward from the township. This is a great event for our breeding base! However, we don't have much grain at home, and our family is poor, so we really can't afford to treat everyone to a feast. Therefore, I discussed with my father about buying some red dates and giving each person at the base two jin (1 kg) to share the joy. Besides, tomorrow is Qixi Festival, and everyone will be tasting the new harvest and setting up offerings. The red dates will also come in handy."

"Xingbao, is this for real? Are you really going to give us red dates?" one of the friends asked incredulously, his eyes full of anticipation.

"Xingbao, when are we going to split the pieces?"

"Dawei, is your son serious? Is he really going to share red dates with these kids?" A villager sitting nearby couldn't help but ask, his tone full of surprise.

In no time, the villagers around, hearing that there were red dates to be distributed, all gathered around, asking questions incessantly, and the threshing ground instantly became lively.

Seeing that most of the villagers who had been enjoying the cool air had gathered around, Father smiled broadly and said loudly, "Xingbao and his siblings are also part of the breeding base. They deserve credit for the successful completion of the rice transplanter. Although we received some reward money, our Song family is poor and we really can't afford to host a feast for everyone. We had no choice but to resort to this measure, and we ask for your understanding!"

"Not at all! Dawei, you're too kind. It's the Song family that's so kind and considerate, always thinking of the children!"

"Exactly! Distributing red dates is great, and we can even enjoy them on Qixi Festival. It's so thoughtful!"

"When are these red dates going to be distributed? I'll go back and call my son over right now!" the villagers chimed in, their voices full of approval.