Courtyard House: Rebirth of a Shopkeeper in 1937

As soon as Guixiang saw her mother, she forgot all her earlier worries and rushed across the small bridge barefoot, shouting as she ran, "Mom, Mom! Some bad boys from the neighboring village wouldn't let us use the water and they bullied Brother Dashan, but we chased them all away! Mom, I was really good, I even kicked them twice!"

Xingbao stood by the bridge, helplessly rubbing his forehead—well, there's no need to hide it anymore, just wait to get scolded when we get back! The other companions also hung their heads, one by one, following behind their eldest brother, slowly crossing the bridge and walking towards the bamboo house, their faces full of apprehension.

But things turned out differently than anyone expected. Mother and several aunts rushed over, their first words not of blame, but with concerned expressions, "You're back! Are you alright? Gui Xiang was shouting that you won, but why are you all hanging your heads like wilted eggplants?"

Upon hearing this, the second brother suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with surprise and disbelief, and asked, "Mother, we fought, aren't you angry with us?"

"It's no big deal!" Before Mother could speak, Aunt Deng chimed in with a smile, her tone full of praise. "In this drought, the adults in the village argue and fight every day over this little bit of water. You boys and girls are really brave. You won and got the water back. We're too busy praising you to blame you!" Mother nodded in agreement, wiping the mud off Gui Xiang's face. Her tone was gentle: "That's right. It's not shameful to lose a fight over water. Just admit defeat when you can. Don't push yourself and get hurt. Next time you encounter something like this, call an adult first. Don't try to fight it on your own."

Hearing their mother and Aunt Deng's words, everyone's hearts instantly settled. They raised their heads, their faces regaining their usual radiance, and began to chatter excitedly with their mother and aunts about the fight they had just witnessed, their tone full of pride. Xingbao, watching the scene before him, also breathed a sigh of relief, a smile involuntarily spreading across his lips. This dispute, which had started because of water, had finally come to a satisfactory conclusion.

Over the next few days, Xingbao and his friends got into several more fights with the boys from the neighboring village. Each side won and lost, but these fights weren't about the water issue; they were purely due to youthful resentment and fighting for the sake of fighting. Actually, the two villages had already reached an agreement regarding the water source: the upper village couldn't arbitrarily block the breach in the dam, and the lower village couldn't privately drain the water stored in the dam. A few days ago, because the fields were being dried, the village temporarily didn't need water, so the upper village blocked the breach to store water. Now, both rice paddies were almost completely dried and urgently needed irrigation, but the little water flowing naturally from the ditches was far from enough to meet the needs of both villages' rice paddies, and the drought remained a cause for concern.

Early that morning, the village head led his men to notify every household, arranging for strong laborers to bring out all the village's dragon-bone waterwheels (which the villagers called "dragons") and place them in fixed positions along the riverbank. Each household was required to assign someone to take turns pumping water day and night, just to barely ensure the rice seedlings' growth. In the past, the Song family had no land and never had to participate in this kind of farm work, but this year was different. The Song family had signed a cooperative planting contract with the villagers, so they couldn't stand aside. Fortunately, they didn't have to be on duty every day; they only needed to take turns every few days. The Song family's shift was after the maternal grandfather's, set for the Shenshi (3-5 PM) period, requiring them to pump water for only one hour, which wasn't too strenuous.

Although it wasn't the hottest time of day, the sun was still scorching, making the ground scorching hot. Shortly after noon, Xingbao and his three siblings, wearing straw hats and carrying water jugs filled with cooled boiled water, arrived early at their assigned waterwheel location, ready to relieve Sister Shanshan and Brother Dashan who were on duty. Although arriving early meant a longer shift, being able to take turns pedaling with Sister Shanshan and Brother Dashan made things easier for everyone.

From afar, you could see Sister Shanshan and Brother Dashan hunched over the waterwheel's frame, drenched in sweat, beads of perspiration streaming down their faces and soaking their clothes. Yet, they gritted their teeth, relentlessly pedaling the waterwheel's crank, turning the scraper blades to scoop water from the riverbank into the ditches and then direct it to the rice paddies. Seeing this, the eldest and second eldest brothers quickly stepped forward, put down their water jugs, and took over without a word. This wasn't their first time operating a waterwheel; they had often helped Sister Shanshan and Brother Dashan before. The transition was smooth, their pedaling rhythm steady, and the waterwheel quickly started running again, the rushing water sounding exceptionally clear.

This waterwheel requires strength and skill. Xingbao and Guixiang were too young and short to reach the crank, so they couldn't help much. But Guixiang was persistent, tugging at her older brother's clothes and insisting on trying. Her brother couldn't resist her, so he smiled helplessly, bent down, and picked her up, letting her hold the crank and feel the waterwheel turn under her touch. Only then did Guixiang give up, satisfied, and obediently get off her brother.

Xingbao, wearing a straw hat, stood on the edge of the field, watching his older brothers toiling under the scorching sun, pedaling the waterwheel, and felt incredibly bored. He listlessly looked around, his gaze inadvertently landing on the rotating scraper of the waterwheel. Watching the scraper circulate and scoop water forward, a sudden inspiration struck him—wasn't this the core principle of a threshing machine? By adding a foot pedal and a cover to shield the grains, a simple threshing machine could be designed! With a threshing machine, much manpower could be saved during the autumn harvest, and efficiency would be greatly improved.

Thinking of this, Xingbao became excited and couldn't resist plucking a foxtail grass from the edge of the field. He squatted down beside the waterwheel, gently touching the rotating scraper with the grass stalk, and started playing on the waterwheel. Seeing him so engrossed in playing, Guixiang joined in for a while, but soon lost interest. She pouted and ran to a small puddle by the field, squatting down to catch tadpoles. Her little body was crouched low, and she watched intently.

Seeing this, Xingbao went over to her and said, "These tadpoles will grow into frogs. Frogs can help catch pests in the field and protect the seedlings. You can't just catch them." Guixiang's interest vanished instantly. She stood up with a pout, feeling extremely bored. She squatted down and pulled at the grass without saying a word.

The two older brothers, watching from the waterwheel, saw that Xingbao and Guixiang had lost their playful mood and, fearing they might suffer heatstroke from prolonged exposure to the sun, said, "Xingbao, Guixiang, you two go back first. Help look after Weibao. We'll manage here. We'll head back when it's time." Guixiang perked up immediately, nodding repeatedly. She quickly walked to Xingbao's side, took his hand, and started walking towards the village, muttering about going back to see Weibao, her steps unusually light. Xingbao smiled and shook his head, letting her pull him along. He turned and walked towards the bamboo house, still pondering the design details of the threshing machine, thinking he would draw up the blueprints when he got back.