Courtyard House: Rebirth of a Shopkeeper in 1937

The path down the mountain was quiet and sparsely populated, and there were no more pleasantries or delays along the way. The three of them walked briskly and arrived at Grandma's house in no time. Xingbao carefully picked up Weibao and told him to stay here and eat well and not to run around. Then he took Guixiang and quickly turned back to their own shop.

It was lunchtime, the busiest time for the restaurant, with a constant stream of customers and no time to waste. The two hurried home and found their father and elder brother already waiting in the front hall, calmly greeting guests, serving dishes, and managing everything in an orderly manner.

The father glanced at the two siblings entering the room, his expression calm, and casually instructed, "Wash your hands as soon as you get back, and come help serve the dishes."

"Yes, Father," the two replied obediently in unison.

The siblings first led the charcoal to the livestock pen in the backyard and tied it up, then went into the tofu shop to wash and clean themselves. Looking down, they discovered that their father and elder brother had already taken advantage of the morning's leisure time to chop up all the harvested camphor tree branches and leaves, dividing them equally into two large wooden basins, neatly arranged. One basin contained long, round, and plump leaves, all of which were of excellent medicinal value; the other basin contained thin, finely chopped leaves, with slightly weaker medicinal properties. The difference was clear and obvious.

Seeing that the medicinal herbs had been pre-processed and could be directly steamed in the afternoon without further trouble of sorting and cutting, Xingbao felt completely at ease. He dared not delay, quickly washed and dried his hands, and followed Guixiang to the front hall to help serve customers and deliver dishes, throwing himself wholeheartedly into the busy business of the shop.

The busy work continued until the afternoon, when the customers in the restaurant gradually dispersed. The family finally saw off the last table of guests and could finally stop working to catch their breath and prepare for lunch. The days of dealing with the aftermath of the disaster, coupled with the busy Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations, left everyone physically and mentally exhausted. The main room was less noisy than usual, with only the soft clinking of bowls and chopsticks.

After everyone was seated and a simple home-cooked meal was laid out on the table, Father picked up his chopsticks and casually asked, his gentle gaze falling on Guixiang: "Guixiang, you three siblings stayed at Old Master Yang's place for quite a while today, only returning around noon. Did something happen?"

Gui Xiang frowned slightly upon hearing this, and truthfully recounted the whole story: "Father, you don't know. Our second senior brother is back. He made a special trip back to the village because of the recent bombing by the Japanese. The senior brothers were worried about the safety of the mountains and about Master and Mistress. Today, they even asked two elders from the Yang family to persuade Master and Mistress to move to the county town. They also wanted to take Xingbao and me with them, saying that there are many doctors in the county town and we have more experience there, which would greatly benefit us in our studies and gaining more experience. After much persuasion and negotiation, we were delayed until midday and came back late."

Mother and eldest brother were both taken aback upon hearing this, simultaneously putting down their chopsticks, their eyes filled with surprise. Father also slowly put down his rough porcelain rice bowl, his expression suddenly becoming serious, and he looked up to ask, "So what does Old Yang think? Is he willing to move to the county town?"

Gui Xiang lowered her eyes and pondered for a moment, trying hard to recall the conversation in the courtyard just now, and slowly replied, "Master said a lot of things at the time, some of them were too profound for me to understand completely. The general idea was that he was worried about the villagers and was unwilling to leave his hometown easily. Master said that he would consider moving to the county town after Xing Bao and I had mastered our medical skills and were able to support the village's medical practice on our own. He doesn't want to leave right now."

As soon as she finished speaking, she immediately turned to look at Xingbao, who was eating quietly and was the most organized, and softly called out, "Xingbao, come and talk to your father. You must have understood what Master was thinking."

Upon hearing this, Father sighed softly, his eyes filled with understanding and emotion, and slowly nodded: "Yes, nothing is harder than leaving one's homeland. Your master will be seventy years old next year. In this life, what matters is returning to one's roots. He should be staying in his homeland and enjoying his old age, but now he has to leave his hometown in his old age. Right now, with the war raging and the battle seemingly far off, it's not something that can be easily abandoned."

He paused slightly, as if suddenly remembering something important, and quickly looked up to ask, "By the way, Old Master Yang is turning seventy this year, a very important birthday. Did your senior brother mention anything about preparing a birthday feast when he came back today?"

Xingbao lowered his eyes and carefully recalled the entire conversation in the courtyard today. After a moment's thought, he calmly replied, "Today, my senior brothers and the clan elders spent the whole time persuading Master to move to the county town, without mentioning the birthday banquet. I guess they were probably too busy to attend to it, since the county was at a crucial time for autumn tax calculations, and the new regulations for land tax collection had just been implemented. It was a busy period of implementation and verification at every level. My senior brothers are all clerical workers in the county, and they are too busy with official duties to come back and prepare for the birthday banquet."

Upon hearing this, Father nodded slowly, understanding, and said in a deep voice, "In that case, they must be tied up with official duties and have no choice but to do so. It's no wonder they haven't had time to attend to this. To be honest, as Elder Yang's disciples, you two are qualified to organize the birthday banquet for our master. However, you are still young and have not yet completed your apprenticeship. This matter absolutely cannot be decided on your own. You must discuss it thoroughly with your senior brothers and obtain their consent. If two juniors who have not yet completed their apprenticeships are allowed to organize the birthday banquet for our master on their own, outsiders who do not know the inside story will gossip that your senior brothers are unfilial and do not know etiquette, causing them to be criticized and gossiped about. It will also make Elder Yang look bad."

"Okay, then when we see our senior brother off tomorrow morning, we'll mention it to him in person." Xingbao solemnly agreed, silently keeping the birthday banquet in mind.

Upon hearing that her second senior brother was returning the next day, Mother quickly chimed in, her tone warm: "Then after I finish eating, I'll go and pack a few jars of chili sauce and fermented black beans, so your senior brother can take one jar of each to Yan Guo on his way to the county."

Father quickly dissuaded her, "Third Sister, don't trouble your senior brother with the things for Yan Kingdom. He's very busy with official duties, and it's not appropriate to bother him too much. We can find a familiar driver who's passing by to help us deliver them."

"Alright then." Upon hearing this, Mother nodded slightly, a hint of disappointment flashing in her eyes, and finally gave up on any further thoughts.

After settling the trivial matters of the birthday banquet and delivering gifts, Xingbao changed the subject and brought up the important business for the afternoon. He looked at his father and elder brother seriously and said, "Father, elder brother, the number of leaves from our camphor mother tree is limited. Even if we pick them all, we won't be able to make much borneol. I think you should also pick some of the plump and round leaves from that ordinary camphor tree next to us. Although the borneol extracted from these leaves is slightly weaker and less pure than that from the mother tree, in these chaotic times, medicinal materials are scarce. Having some is better than having none, and it might even save a life in a critical moment. However, please don't pick from the tree above the stone embankment. The terrain is steep and too dangerous. It's not worth the risk."

Upon hearing this, Father and Elder Brother immediately agreed, "Alright, we'll do it your way!"