Courtyard House: Rebirth of a Shopkeeper in 1937

With the rice harvest now complete, the next task in the fields is harvesting sweet potatoes. This year marks the first year that high-yield sweet potato varieties have been widely promoted throughout the village. Every household has carefully planted and meticulously managed them, and the entire mountainside and fields are covered with lush sweet potato vines. Everyone is well aware that the final yield of these sweet potatoes is crucial, directly affecting the village's winter food reserves and determining whether the villagers, young and old, can survive the famine and cold of the coming spring. There is no room for carelessness.

Just as the autumn harvest was in full swing, Xingbao and Guixiang also celebrated their fifth birthdays. In those turbulent times, life was simple and frugal; the family rarely held birthday banquets. However, their mother still remembered her two children's birthdays and carefully prepared a special ceremony well in advance. Early in the morning, she boiled a pot of bright red celebratory eggs. These eggs were all high-quality free-range eggs laid daily by the hens in Xingbao's space, with plump yolks, fragrant yolks, and abundant nutrition.

The simple, home-cooked breakfast in the morning was filled with the gentle warmth unique to the family. A pot of sweet potato porridge, slowly simmered until soft, sticky, and sweet, soothed the stomach upon entry. Served with two plates of refreshing and flavorful home-style side dishes, and accompanied by a jar of homemade spicy sauce, this simple, everyday meal was the most comforting and healing birthday treat in turbulent times. The family sat around the table, softly offering sincere birthday wishes, the room warm and cozy, the days peaceful. The brother and sister, their eyes crinkling with smiles, slowly cracked open red eggs, carefully peeled them, and savored the small joys of this ordinary day.

Holding the soft, chubby little Wei Bao in his arms, the little guy was growing stronger every day. Now he could eat small bites of steamed egg custard, fruit puree, and vegetable puree. His mother had carefully steamed a smooth and soft steamed egg custard for him early that morning. But at this moment, the little guy paid no attention to his special complementary food. His clear, bright round eyes sparkled, staring intently at the bright red lucky egg on the table. His pink lips were slightly pursed, and a thin drool slowly overflowed. His eyes were full of the pure curiosity and joy of a child. He stretched out his chubby little arms and babbled as he tried to grab the red egg from Gui Xiang's hand. Gui Xiang smiled and deliberately dodged the egg, playfully teasing the little one in her arms. The little guy didn't fuss when he missed, but continued to reach for it with great interest. His adorable appearance made the whole family laugh, and the whole little house was filled with warm and cozy feelings. In times of chaos and poverty, such small, heartwarming reunions of families sitting together and children playing are the most comforting and gentle scenes.

After a heartwarming birthday breakfast, Dad took his four children to Grandpa's house to help harvest the sweet potatoes in the fields. A gentle autumn breeze blew through the fields, the sweet potato vines carpeted the ground, and the scene was a vibrant picture of a bountiful harvest. Grandpa didn't have many farm tools; they relied on a hoe and a rake, working in shifts, but they had plenty of manpower.

Grandpa led his eldest brother, second brother, and Dashan brother to take turns digging sweet potatoes in the field. They divided the work and worked in shifts, occasionally cleaning the soil off the sweet potatoes. Xingbao and Guixiang stayed by the edge of the field, carefully sorting the dug-up sweet potatoes, gently brushing the soil from the crevices, neatly stacking them, and carefully placing them into bamboo baskets, making sure they were clean and tidy so that Dad and Uncle could carry them home later.

It's been a while since I've seen Brother Dashan digging. He's really improved a lot. He works steadily and meticulously, walking and digging with extra care. He's no longer as reckless as before, trampling on things carelessly. Very few sweet potatoes in the field have been damaged by him. He seems more stable and reliable now. On the other hand, my eldest and second eldest brothers are still the same as before. They can't control their movements when digging and occasionally accidentally break some sweet potatoes. We're already grateful if they don't ruin a few sweet potatoes! The siblings are used to it by now.

The high-yield varieties widely adopted this year have demonstrated their advantages to the fullest. The sweet potatoes dug up from the fields are plump, round, and uniform in size, two to three times larger than ordinary sweet potatoes from previous years, making them exceptionally pleasing to the eye. However, compared to the extremely high yield and enormous top-quality tubers from last year's experimental field, they still fall short. Only one or two exceptionally large tubers could be occasionally dug up from the entire field, barely comparable to last year's experimental tubers.

Xingbao knew in his heart that this was no longer a problem with the seed variety; the crux of the matter lay in insufficient fertilizer. With widespread planting throughout the village, it was difficult for every household to replicate the experimental field's conditions of ample composting and layered nutrient absorption. The soil fertility was limited, and the tubers naturally couldn't reach their full potential. Even so, this year's harvest far exceeded previous years, enough to make his grandfather beam with joy, constantly praising the superior seed and the proper planting methods, and yearning that no one in the village would go hungry anymore.

The brief peace in the mountain village was ultimately just a fleeting illusion before the coming storm. The peaceful autumn harvest was barely over when the external war situation collapsed unexpectedly. In just a few months, Guangzhou in the south fell, and Wuhan in the north perished. These two strategically important cities fell one after another, allowing the Japanese army to completely open up two fronts, forming a pincer movement to attack Hunan from both north and south. With Hunan's gateways wide open and its defenses lost, the flames of war were directly aimed at the land of Hunan. Everyone knew that before long, the smoke of war would spread to the mountains of western Hunan, reaching every village and every household; no one could escape unscathed.

What's even more chilling is that Shaoyang County is the largest county in Hunan Province, historically densely populated and rich in resources. It also boasts a long-standing reputation for military strength, with the saying "No army can be formed without Hunanese soldiers." Now, with the war intensifying and soldiers scarce, the county has naturally become a prime target for government surveillance. Whether it's conscripting troops or imposing taxes, the burden is inevitably escalated at every level, with officials taking the lead in exorbitant demands. In these chaotic times, this former glory has become an unbearable burden on the shoulders of the entire county's people, making the days ahead only increasingly difficult.

Currently, the government hasn't openly conscripted men or imposed military quotas, but this year's autumn tax has suddenly skyrocketed several times over, with each level of government imposing its burden on every household, leaving ordinary farmers struggling to breathe. The far-sighted elders and able-bodied men in the village see through this; it's not simply about collecting grain and taxes, but rather a way for the government to force people into military service. The heavy taxes are unbearable for ordinary people, leaving them with no choice but to pay taxes by having men conscripted—this is how the government manipulates the people in chaotic times. Fortunately, the breeding base established by the Song brothers is already showing initial results. High-yield sweet potatoes have been distributed throughout the village this year, providing every household with extra food income. By selling miscellaneous grains, they can somewhat offset the tax burden and barely manage to survive. What is worrying is that high-yield rice, potatoes and other core crops will not be fully promoted until next year. With the autumn harvest just around the corner, there is not enough confidence to increase production, and it is simply not enough to support long-term stability. It is truly urgent and cannot wait any longer.