Courtyard House: Rebirth of a Shopkeeper in 1937

"Xingbao, let's go back and settle things." He turned around.

"Guixiang, come here, Auntie will give you some candy." That was the landlord's wife, everyone called her "White Fox." Xingbao didn't know if it was her surname Bai or her fair complexion; he figured it was her fair skin. The surname Bai was rare, and there weren't any around here. She was a local, with an oval face, a bit alluring, and her movements were all trained. She must have been trained to be a concubine for a high-ranking official, but Li Youcai somehow managed to bring her back, like the "Jade-Faced Fox Spirit" in "Journey to the West." Anyway, she wasn't as pretty as my mother. My mother was dignified and elegant, and when she glared, she had a powerful aura that made it impossible to argue. Just as he was thinking...

Upon hearing that she could have candy, Gui Xiang shook off Xing Bao's hand and ran over, circling around Granny Bai. She tilted her head and asked, "Aunt Bai, where's the candy?"

"The sugar is on the kitchen table."

Gui Xiang was about to run to the kitchen when Aunt Bai grabbed her. "Don't rush, I'll get it for you in a bit. I have something to tell you."

Gui Xiang twisted and turned a few times but couldn't break free, so she had to stop. "Auntie, please tell me quickly."

"Is your older brother preparing to teach?"

"My mother said that the old gentleman might let my brother take his place as the teacher in the village."

"Then go back and talk to your mother about whether you can teach in the village. I'll provide the house, and I'll reduce the grain yield for my child's education."

"Okay, I'll go back and tell my mother, Aunt, can I eat candy now?" Gui Xiang looked up at Aunt Bai with her big eyes full of hope, and Xing Bao had already walked over.

"Okay, okay, Auntie will get it for you right away." After saying that, she turned and went into the kitchen. The two siblings quickly followed. What they saw was a red lacquered wooden table covered with a gauze. Aunt Bai lifted the gauze to reveal a large piece of dark red sweet potato candy. They saw Aunt Bai pick up a small hammer used for making shoes in her right hand and a small iron piece shaped like a hook in her left hand and tap it on the candy. Tap, tap, tap, in just a few taps, she knocked off two small pieces of candy. Gui Xiang was about to reach for it when Xing Bao quickly stopped her. "Your hands are dirty, wash your hands." Then she turned to Aunt Bai and said, "Auntie, I need to wash my hands."

"Xingbao knows to wash his hands. Wait a minute, Auntie will get you some water." After saying that, she patted Xingbao's head and turned to fetch water.

Their house was a typical southern-style three-courtyard siheyuan (traditional courtyard house), also constructed of earthen bricks and black tiles. The courtyard was flat in the middle, used for drying grain, and surrounded by small ditches. The furniture was all painted red and polished to a shine, looking brand new. A half-loft had been built above the main room, where one could see large bamboo mats, sieves, winnowing baskets of various sizes, and a waterwheel. The rooms opposite contained various farm tools.

"Come and wash your hands!" Aunt Bai placed a wooden basin on the ground.

Gui Xiang ran over, rummaged around in the wooden basin with her fingers, and water droplets dripped from between her fingers onto the bluestone slab. Before she could dry them, she splashed them onto the red lacquered table. Xing Bao, however, obediently followed Aunt Bai's instructions, standing by the basin and carefully rubbing his little hands, even rubbing away the dirt between his fingers—having managed workshop hygiene in an electronics factory in his previous life, the word "wash hands" was ingrained in his bones.

When Aunt Bai brought over the candy, she saw Xingbao tiptoeing and wiping his wet hands under the hem of his coarse cloth clothes. She couldn't help but laugh, "This child is even more well-mannered than Guixiang." As she spoke, she handed over two amber-colored sweet potato candies. The candies were still covered with fine sugar frosting, and you could smell the sweet potato aroma when you brought them close.

Gui Xiang snatched her piece, stuffed it into her mouth, and took a big bite. She didn't care that the sugar strands were stuck to the corners of her mouth, and mumbled, "Sweet! Much sweeter than the sweet potato chips Mom makes!" After chewing for a few seconds, the sugar stuck to her back teeth. She puffed out her cheeks and tried to push it out with her tongue, looking just like a little squirrel stealing food.

Xingbao held the candy in his hand, slowly turning it over to examine it—this candy was much more substantial than the malt candy his family rarely saw during the New Year; the landlord's life was indeed different. He glanced at the corner of the kitchen, where half a bag of white rice was piled up, and a piece of glistening cured meat hung on the earthenware jar. Thinking of the mixed grains he ate at his own kitchen, he sighed softly.

"Guixiang," Aunt Bai leaned against the stove, wiping her hands with a handkerchief, "remember to tell your mother what I asked you to do when you get back!"

Just then, a boy's voice came from outside the door: "Mom! I want candy! Why can they have it but I can't?" A boy in a blue cotton jacket rushed in, about seven or eight years old, with a round face. It was Aunt Bai's son, Li Fugui. He picked up a small hammer and chipped off a large piece of iron, grabbed it, waved it in front of Xingbao and his sister, and even licked it with his tongue. "Xingbao, does your brother hit your hands when he teaches?"

"Even though Big Brother taught Second Brother and Brother Ze, they couldn't beat them," Xingbao said seriously.

"Mom, then I want Bang-ge to teach me."

"Okay, okay, okay. I must have owed you from my past life." After saying that, Aunt Bai tapped Fugui's forehead with her index finger.

Gui Xiang, with a candy in her mouth, secretly laughed, drool dripping from her mouth. She knew that her older brother was punished by having his hands slapped when he substituted for the teacher.

Afraid of being exposed, Xingbao quickly pulled Guixiang home, saying, "Auntie, let's go home first."