Courtyard House: Rebirth of a Shopkeeper in 1937

Father paused, his rough hand gently stroking Xingbao's head, his fingertips calloused from hard work. His tone was gentle yet carried an undeniable seriousness: "If you really manage to make the threshing machine, it will be a tremendous boon to the villagers. They won't have to bend over and thresh rice under the scorching sun during the autumn harvest, saving them a lot of effort and increasing efficiency. But Xingbao, you have to think about our family, and think about yourself. This year, our family has already made a name for itself with the rice transplanter and high-yield rice seeds. I've heard a lot of gossip behind our backs in the village. Now, with war and chaos, and the Japanese invaders' iron hooves not far away, you can't judge a book by its cover. Nobody knows what those envious people might do."

Father's voice deepened, his eyes filled with worry: "A tall tree catches the wind; it's too conspicuous and easily attracts unnecessary trouble. If someone with ulterior motives targets you, not only you, but our whole family and even the villagers might suffer. Father doesn't have any great skills in this life. I don't expect you to create many novel things to bring glory to our ancestors. I only hope you grow up safely and that our family can live a peaceful life. How about we wait until you're a few years older, more mature, and the time is right before slowly figuring out and making this threshing machine? Anyway, the villagers have all endured this for so many years. We can afford to wait another three to five years."

Xingbao clutched the drawing paper tightly in his hand, his knuckles slightly white. Listening to his father's words, his heart felt heavy, filled with resentment and unwillingness. He lowered his eyes, his fingertips tracing the ink marks on the paper, pondering repeatedly—he knew his father genuinely cared for the family and for him. With war looming and the world in chaos, the evil of human nature would be amplified infinitely; even the smallest gain could lead to death. A threshing machine was different from a rice transplanter; it couldn't directly increase grain yield, but it could reduce the farmers' workload and liberate productivity. Though seemingly insignificant, if his family made two machines in a row, they would attract the attention of those with ulterior motives. Then their secret would be exposed, and in a few years, when the war reached Hunan, who would care about this anymore?

Father is right. A tall tree catches the wind. Right now, the most important thing isn't inventions, but stabilizing the situation and steadily releasing the high-quality seeds from the spiritual spring space to gradually improve the village's planting conditions. Once my elder brother graduates from the academy and has support, we can start promoting high-yield crops. Then, we can bring out the threshing machine; it will be both reasonable and avoid unnecessary risks. Thinking this, Xingbao's grievances gradually dissipated, leaving only a trace of helplessness—let the villagers work hard for a few more years. He raised his head, his eyes no longer stubborn, but more understanding, and said softly, "Father, I'll listen to you. I'll burn this drawing of the flower right now. I'll memorize the rest of the design ideas. When I'm older and the time is right, I'll make the threshing machine to lighten the burden on the villagers."

Seeing that he had figured it out, his father's tense expression finally relaxed, and a relieved smile appeared on his face. He patted his shoulder and his tone softened considerably: "Yes, it's good that you understand your father's good intentions. You're still young, the age when you should be playing. Take advantage of the free time you still have to go out and play with your friends, don't always stay cooped up in the house thinking about these things. Next year, you and Guixiang will be formally studying medicine with your master, and you won't have much time to play after that. Enjoy these last few days of leisure."

A few days later, the scorching heat of the past few days finally subsided, and dark clouds gradually gathered, obscuring the blazing sun. Soon after, large raindrops began to pelt down, starting as a few scattered drops and quickly turning into a torrential downpour, the sound of the rain drowning out all other sounds in the countryside. The rain continued for most of the day, gradually saturating the parched land, and causing the river level to rise sharply. The muddy water rushed down the riverbed, finally providing complete relief from the drought. The villagers stood under their eaves, watching the timely rain, their faces beaming with relief, their long-held anxieties finally lifted. After the rain stopped, the village's able-bodied men worked together to clean the waterwheels that had rendered such a great service, carefully carrying them back to the storeroom, ready to be used again next year when needed.

Previously, seeing that the drought had not eased and the water level of the tributary of the small river had dropped extremely low, making it the perfect time to catch crabs, the second brother had made a promise with Xingbao and Guixiang that he would take them to catch crabs in the tributary on the left side of the river in the next few days, and even said he would catch a few for Xiaoweibao to take home and play with. However, this sudden heavy rain caused the water level of the tributary to rise as well, and the current became too strong to approach, so the second brother's promise was naturally ruined. When Guixiang found out, she pouted and sulked for a long time. Seeing this, the second brother could only promise repeatedly that as soon as the water level dropped, he would immediately take her and Xingbao to catch crabs, and even guaranteed to catch the biggest and fattest ones, which finally appeased Guixiang.

Just as Gui Xiang was still talking about catching crabs, that morning, Qian Jin Ge suddenly shouted from the entrance of the bamboo house, "Yan Bang, Yang Guo, Xing Bao, Gui Xiang, I'm here!" Then came the sound of wheels rolling on the ground. Xing Bao and Gui Xiang were sitting at the entrance playing with Xiao Wei Bao when they heard the noise and quickly looked up. They saw Qian Jin Ge riding a brand-new bicycle slowly towards the bamboo house entrance. He was going a little fast, the road was a bit uneven, and his posture was slightly stiff. He gripped the handlebars tightly, his body swaying slightly. It was clear he wasn't very skilled yet, still somewhat inexperienced. When he jumped off the bike, he even ran forward a few steps before regaining his balance.

"It's a bicycle! Qianjin is riding a bicycle!" Guixiang's eyes lit up instantly, forgetting her regret about catching crabs. She stood up abruptly, pointing in Qianjin's direction and shouting excitedly. Xingbao also stood up, his gaze falling on the bicycle. It was black, with no bell on the handlebars, and the seat and pedals were made of wood. It looked simple yet sturdy, just like the bicycle that had been in the truck bed earlier.

Qianjin slowly pushed the bicycle, carefully stopping it in front of the bamboo house. After setting it up, he turned and greeted Xingbao and Guixiang with a smile, "Xingbao, Guixiang, look, this is the bicycle the district assigned to me. From now on, I won't have to walk to the countryside to deliver mail anymore!" As he spoke, he deliberately pedaled the bicycle, making the wheels spin twice, showing off his skills with a proud tone. Guixiang immediately came over, circling the bicycle several times, gently touching the handlebars and wheels with her eyes full of curiosity, and constantly asking Qianjin about his riding experience.