Courtyard House: Rebirth of a Shopkeeper in 1937

Not only did Xingbao's physical internal energy steadily improve, but his spiritual power also made great strides under the assistance of the space, achieving a qualitative breakthrough. Now, his spiritual power has broken free from the shackles of his physical body, able to penetrate the constraints of the body and explore outwards. However, this spiritual power is still immature and weak, easily dissipating and dissipating after leaving the body, making it difficult to maintain stability for long. He slowly discovered a pattern: if he relied on a physical object for support, the rate of dissipation of his spiritual power would slow down significantly, and its duration would be longer.

Limited by his own cultivation level, his spiritual detection range was extremely limited, only about one foot. Although the coverage was small, it was exceptionally precise and sensitive, allowing him to clearly perceive the subtle states of the human body's texture, bone misalignment, and blood and qi stagnation. This intangible ability perfectly complemented his medical skills, playing a significant supporting role in his daily massage, bone setting, and physiotherapy. In the past, massage and bone setting relied solely on tactile experience to locate misaligned bones and blocked acupoints. Now, with his subtle spiritual detection, he could accurately pinpoint the location of the lesion, discern the details of bone misalignment, and identify blood and qi blockages. His movements were precise and steady, with controlled force, resulting in quick and accurate bone repositioning, greatly reducing the patient's pain. Even his master praised Xingbao's excellent touch and exceptional talent in this area.

Aside from the Five Animal Frolics, a medical skill learned from their master, the siblings also diligently practiced the martial arts foundation passed down in their family. Bajiquan, the Carrying Pole Kung Fu, and the precise and deadly throwing knife techniques were all family skills meticulously taught by their father. Xingbao and Guixiang followed their father's footsteps daily, practicing repeatedly, from stance training and basic moves to power generation techniques and precise movements, improving step by step. They cultivated both their literary and martial arts skills, internally and externally, and over time, their foundation became increasingly solid and stable. Their training was always arduous and rigorous; they had to get up at the third crow of the rooster every day for morning practice, rain or shine, without fail. From then on, the two completely lost any leisurely sleep-in. At first, Gui Xiang was still sleepy and only persisted for two days before she became lazy and unwilling to get up early. However, seeing Xing Bao persisting every day and never slacking off, she, as the older sister, became competitive and unwilling to be outdone by her younger brother. So she gritted her teeth and persevered, developing the habit of practicing martial arts in the morning day after day.

Today, Xingbao's theoretical knowledge is already on par with that of seasoned doctors, but he lacks solid clinical experience. Pulse diagnosis is ever-changing, and symptoms are unpredictable. Books and classic texts can only record the general principles, but they cannot encompass all the complex and difficult cases in human life. This clinical feel and diagnostic insight cannot be rushed or sought after. It can only be accumulated and honed slowly through daily consultations, acupuncture, and treating patients, gradually developing true skills over time.

Because he had already thoroughly mastered the theories of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Xingbao no longer needed to spend too much time memorizing classic texts. He was finally able to free up his hands to devote himself to a brand new endeavor—concocting a Chinese herbal formula that could stimulate the potential of seeds. Earlier, the village had sent people to conduct on-site investigations of their new generation of rice varieties and were well aware of their yield-increasing advantages. If they were to promote large-scale planting in the future, they would naturally exaggerate the results and report them to higher authorities. This would essentially be a legitimate endorsement of the development of a high-yield new variety. However, Xingbao still wanted to try to fill this gap. He wanted to use his expertise in pharmacology to try using Chinese herbal formulas to soak, nourish, and stimulate the seeds. He wanted to use the gentle power of herbal medicine to stimulate the innate potential of the seeds, awaken their vitality, and enhance their resistance. Even if he could only make the seeds unleash a sliver of potential in the end, it would still be a success, thus perfectly concealing the traces of the spiritual spring.

To facilitate his pharmacological breeding experiments, Xingbao has collected and preserved a large number of commonly used folk herbal seeds over the past two years, with a wide variety and complete reserves. However, his spiritual spring space has limited capacity, which is insufficient for large-scale cultivation of medicinal fields. Therefore, apart from rare medicinal materials that are scarce and have precious medicinal properties, which he will focus on cultivating, he only plants two or three plants of each type of common herb. He will also rotate the planting according to the needs of his experiments, not seeking mass production, but only enough to support his daily medicine preparation, seed soaking, and experimental research, so as to avoid occupying too much space resources.

It is precisely because the medicinal herbs cultivated in this space are pure in medicinal properties and of excellent quality that their value far surpasses that of ordinary medicinal herbs on the market, even without being watered with spiritual spring water. Last year, my father took five top-quality Panax notoginseng plants to the capital of medicine to sell. These five plants alone weighed half a jin (250 grams) and were exchanged for three small yellow croakers, yielding an astonishing profit. Everyone knows that Panax notoginseng is renowned for its ability to stop bleeding, its remarkable effects in stopping bleeding, removing blood stasis, healing wounds, and strengthening the body. In times of war, it was even more scarce and crucial. After the outbreak of war, it was listed as a strictly controlled strategic resource, and it had long since disappeared from the public market, with prices but no market. And this was only the regular purchase price of medicine merchants. If it were a necessity during wartime, its value would be immeasurable.

Such a generous reward would tempt anyone, and Xingbao was no exception. However, he remained clear-headed and restrained. Even with superior seed sources and cultivation techniques at his disposal, he never dared to cultivate or sell large quantities easily, nor did he have the slightest thought of expanding the scale of his medicinal herb cultivation. He knew the principle that wealth should not be flaunted in chaotic times, and that possessing a treasure is a crime. He feared that his momentary greed and impulsiveness would lead him to excessively display his extraordinary abilities, ultimately bringing unwarranted disaster upon himself and his family.

Furthermore, his spatial vegetable garden was already planned and perfectly adequate, and could not be reduced in the slightest. Besides supplying the family's daily meals and providing supplementary fare, the garden's produce also fed the ten free-range chickens in the space, and occasionally a portion was used to feed Heitan, giving them a treat. The surplus was already quite tight. In addition, the grapes, oranges, and blood peaches grown in the space were the siblings' favorite fresh fruits, indispensable every year; red dates could be used medicinally for nourishment and calming the mind, while tea could invigorate and soothe the spirit—a favorite of his parents. All of these were essential household items, and none could be reduced in scale.

In the dedicated experimental fields, only three staple crops—rice, sweet potatoes, and potatoes—are currently cultivated stably. The purpose is simple: to ensure their own basic food supply and reserve surplus grain. After several years of refinement, the second-generation high-yield rice variety has been successfully developed and its traits are stable. The breeding of the third-generation rice variety is also nearing completion and will soon be ready. In the future, only a small number of high-quality seeds need to be retained each year for continuous breeding and steady mass production, without requiring any additional space resources.

The current situation is becoming increasingly tense, with a large number of troops stationed around the provincial capital. The concentration of troops and the huge consumption of food supplies have led to soaring grain prices and a shortage of grain in various places. In Yongfeng area, local officials and quartermasters are going door-to-door to buy grain, making it difficult for ordinary people to buy enough. Fortunately, the mountain villages have less farmland and the control is relatively loose. Most of the rice grown has been exchanged for silver dollars to pay taxes. Fortunately, they can still buy sweet potatoes, potatoes and other grains in small quantities, which is enough to meet daily needs and entertain guests, and barely maintain a stable situation. Seeing the current situation of food shortage, Xingbao thought it over carefully and felt that the time was ripe. He planned to officially release the first generation of high-yield rice seeds with completely stable characteristics this year, in order to benefit the villagers and of course, make it easier for his own family to buy grain.