Courtyard House: Rebirth of a Shopkeeper in 1937

The kitchen window of the kitchen now faces Uncle Long's backyard. The neighboring courtyards are very close together, and the sounds of cooking and cooking are all clearly visible to each other. In the current chaotic world, the food shortage is becoming increasingly severe. Every household in the surrounding villages is subsisting on coarse grains. Even when cooking a pot of thin porridge, they only add a few scattered grains to make do. Pure white rice porridge has long been a rare luxury. Because of this, if someone puts a few extra handfuls of rice in their kitchen when cooking porridge, the subtle aroma and thick color of the porridge will be noticed, easily attracting attention and gossip. The Song family originally had no land and should not have been able to afford enough white rice. The fact that they have this much food is entirely due to their father's frequent trips to Yongfeng and the deep friendships that their eldest brother had built with the surrounding farmers when he was studying at the academy. They were able to secretly bring back some grains from outside, and they even made sure to have it officially approved in the village. If it weren't for this secret method, in a chaotic world where everyone was short of food and every household was struggling, my family would never have dared to easily put white rice on the table. We would have had to eat coarse grains like everyone else and keep this unique abundance a secret.

This year's Lantern Festival was unusually quiet and somber. It was also the first time in my life that my eldest brother hadn't spent the festival at home, nor had he returned for his birthday. In previous years, on his birthday, Mother would always prepare red eggs well in advance, wishing him good luck and peace throughout the year, making it a lively and warm occasion. This year, my brother went to Shaoyang to study and didn't return, so the atmosphere at home was missing, and Mother didn't cook red eggs either. At breakfast, the table was bland and lacked the festive flavor of usual. Guixiang picked at her porridge, muttering a complaint: "Why isn't my brother back yet? Now I can't even have red eggs to eat this year."

Hearing this, the innocent yet clever Wei Bao quickly looked up and tried to appease Xiang Xiang, softly comforting her, "Sister Xiang Xiang, I know where to find eggs. I'll go get them for you later." The little guy had always been afraid of Gui Xiang. His parents and brothers doted on him, indulging his whims, but Gui Xiang was always strict and disciplined. She would never tolerate his misbehavior. Over time, Wei Bao figured it out. Knowing resistance was futile, he simply went along with it, following Gui Xiang around every day, becoming her most loyal little follower.

I don't know where the little guy heard this twisted logic, but he's convinced that as soon as a hen crows, there will definitely be newly laid eggs in the coop. Ever since he heard this, he's kept it in mind every day, treating it as a strict rule. Today, to please his older sister Guixiang, he decided not to go to his grandmother's house for some sweet roasted potatoes. Instead, he brought a small stool, sat steadily by the coop, hands tucked under his armpits, head tucked in, quietly squatting and waiting, eagerly anticipating the hen laying an egg so he could collect it and give it to Guixiang as soon as possible, fulfilling his promise. Fortunately, the weather is cool now, and the coop doesn't smell bad. If it were the sweltering heat of summer, the stench would be unbearable, and the little guy certainly wouldn't have been able to sit still for even a moment.

Now, Wei Bao is much more robust and sturdy than Xing Bao and Gui Xiang were when they were young, full of energy and spirit. Xue Qiu stays by his side, protecting him closely, and he shows no fear even when facing the boisterous roosters in the yard. The poor hens, however, are kept at bay by his guard, unable to approach the nest, only able to pace back and forth, circling and cawing anxiously. This endearing, comical, and lively appearance adds a touch of childlike charm to the otherwise quiet and ordinary Lantern Festival.

Gui Xiang, sheltered from the wind under the eaves, took in this amusing scene. She immediately beckoned to Xing Bao, who was beside her, and the two siblings leaned against a pillar to watch the fun. Gui Xiang couldn't help but laugh and tease, "Xing Bao, you were much worse than Wei Bao when you were little. You were so timid that you couldn't even beat an ordinary rooster in the yard and had to hide from it."

Upon hearing this, Xingbao immediately laughed and retorted softly, "Sis, how dare you say that to me? When you were a kid, you were scared by an old hen and cried your eyes out."

Gui Xiang's face immediately tensed, and she retorted defiantly, "No way! I wasn't scared into crying. It was that hen flying around and getting mud and feathers all over me. I cried because I thought it was dirty!"

The siblings chatted and teased each other, laughing heartily. Completely unaware that their mother had somehow appeared behind them, listened to their playful antics, and gently patted each of them on the head, her tone slightly reproachful: "Is this how you two act as older siblings? Watching Wei Bao stand outside in the wind and cold while you huddle under the eaves watching the fun?"

After saying that, she glared at the two of them with feigned sternness, then turned away and her seriousness vanished instantly, replaced by a gentle smile. She softly called to the little one by the chicken coop, "Wei Bao, Mommy made you some sweet honey water, come back and drink it. You and Xueqiu were guarding the chicken coop so tightly that the mother hen was too scared to come and lay her eggs."

Hearing his mother's call, Wei Bao remained firmly squatting in place, his little brows slightly furrowed. He turned back to look at his mother with a serious expression and said earnestly in his childish voice, "Mom, they say that when a hen crows, there are eggs to collect. They've been crowing for a long time, but the nest is still empty. They definitely won't lay any more eggs! Why don't we kill them and eat them?"

The little guy speaks very seriously, but when he mentions eating meat, he can't help but drool, looking incredibly adorable and making people laugh.

The mother, both amused and exasperated, quickly stepped forward, gently taking Wei Bao's little hands, red from the cold, into her arms. She scolded him playfully, "Silly child, the hen is clucking to shoo you away, afraid you'll peek at them laying eggs. She'll stop clucking once she lays them; it's not that she doesn't want to lay eggs. You little ungrateful thing! I make you all sorts of delicious food every day, and I've never seen you so eager to please me. Just because your sister said she wanted red eggs, you've been waiting here in this cold, smelly place for ages, without complaining at all."

As she spoke, she took his little hand and led him into the house, coaxing him gently, "Come on, let's go back and drink some warm honey water to warm your body."

Now that Xingbao and Guixiang are getting older, both turning eight this year, they're already little adults capable of helping with household chores. Whenever they're home, they handle all the household chores—sweeping, tidying, and watching over things—efficiently and neatly, requiring little parental worry. Gone are the days of their carefree, playful childhoods. Besides housework, the siblings have many other tasks to juggle. At night, they diligently work on breeding formulas, brewing medicine, and conducting pharmacological experiments. The next morning, they must go to their master's house to learn medicine. Today, with so many chores piling up at home, the two siblings have no free time. They can't even stop to watch Weibao play and joke around. After telling the little guy to play quietly, they each go about their own business.