Courtyard House: Rebirth of a Shopkeeper in 1937

After lunch, Dad put down his chopsticks and looked at Xingbao, who was still restless. He sighed softly and slowly wiped the rice grains and oil stains from the corners of his mouth. Then, Dad looked up and glanced at his eldest brother, second brother, and Ding brother sitting at the table. Seeing that they had almost finished eating, he said softly, "Come on, let's go dig up the stone embankments on both sides of the ditch facing the gate. We'll build the wooden bridge frame today." The three of them quickly finished their meal, put down their chopsticks, picked up the hoes from the corner of the wall, and followed their father to the ditch outside the house.

Seeing this, Captain Li and his five teammates stepped forward and said, "Coach Song, let us help!" Before they finished speaking, they grabbed hoes and prepared to dig at the stone embankment. However, judging from their movements—the hoes were raised quite high, but when they fell, the force was weak, leaving only a shallow mark on the stone embankment. Clearly, they were all city men who had never done farm work before, and after struggling for a long time, they hadn't managed to dig much out of the stone embankment.

Seeing this, the father smiled and waved his hand, "You all should rest for now. This kind of farm work is best done by those who are used to working year-round." Just then, the eldest uncle, Uncle Deng, and several other villagers who were close to Xingbao's family passed by. Seeing the situation, they stepped forward and said, "We'll help. We're good at digging stone embankments!" They then took the hoes. With each stroke of the hoe, stone chips fell away, and in no time, the stone embankments on both sides of the ditch were dug to the appropriate height.

After the stone embankment was excavated, Father had the sturdy wooden planks, prepared beforehand, brought to the site. He first placed two planks on the foundation stones on either side of the ditch—these two planks would serve as the main beams of the bridge. Next, he took out a makeshift inverted T-shaped frame from his tool bag. A thin hemp rope hung from the top of the frame, with a small pebble hanging from the bottom—this was a makeshift level. Father placed the level on the planks and slowly moved it back and forth, his eyes fixed on the suspended pebble. He occasionally gestured to his two older brothers to adjust the height of the base until the pebble was perfectly vertical and both ends of the planks were level. Only then did he stop. This single step of adjusting the base took almost the time it takes to eat a meal. Those watching couldn't help but exclaim, "Dawei is so meticulous! This bridge will definitely be sturdy!"

After the base was adjusted, the subsequent assembly of the bridge arch became much faster. My father and eldest uncle, following the previously drawn mortise and tenon structure drawings, pieced together the prefabricated wooden arch components one by one. Working in perfect harmony, they completed the arch assembly in just over ten minutes. To ensure the arch's stability, my father had my second brother and Ding brother climb onto the top and gently step on it to compact it. Then, eight smoothly polished colonnades were firmly erected on both sides of the bridge. Next, thick bridge planks were laid, and simple wooden railings were installed. The entire framework of the wooden bridge was quickly completed, with only the most intricate part—the colonnade roof—remaining to be constructed.

At this moment, the villagers who had gathered around also stepped forward to help: some went home to fetch ladders, others found stools and stacked them together to form a raised platform. More than ten people stood in a circle around the wooden bridge beforehand, holding the ladders and stools firmly, fearing any accidents. My father and eldest uncle stood carefully on the raised platform, holding pieces of wood, and gradually connected the wooden frame of the corridor to the eaves of the shop. This was undoubtedly a delicate task, requiring precise alignment of angles and ensuring structural stability. The two held their breath and concentrated throughout the process until the last piece of wood was nailed in and perfectly connected to the eaves, at which point they finally breathed a long sigh of relief.

In the subsequent stages of laying straw and securing the roof, the villagers' enthusiasm grew even stronger, with some handing out straw and others assisting in the securing process, creating a bustling scene. From excavating the stone embankment to completing the roof construction, the entire process took more than four hours. Because tung oil for preservative treatment of the wood could not be purchased at the moment, and the soil and stones on both sides of the ditch had not yet been backfilled, the bridge would still sway slightly if shaken vigorously, but it was perfectly safe for pedestrians to cross.

Xingbao stood to the side, gazing at the brand-new wooden bridge, his inner turmoil lessening considerably—with so many kind-hearted villagers lending a helping hand, his family's life was sure to improve. As for the secret of the space, he could always find a safe way to hide it. Guixiang, on the other hand, was even more excited. She grabbed Xingbao's hand and ran back and forth across the bridge twice, repeatedly shouting, "No more detours! No more detours!"

Amidst the father's words of gratitude, the crowd gradually dispersed, leaving only Xingbao, Guixiang, and a few friends to walk back and forth on the newly built wooden bridge, happily enjoying the convenience it brought. The second brother stayed aside, continuing to level the land beside the bridge; the eldest brother returned home, took out paper and pen, and began refining the detailed blueprints for the wooden bridge—he meticulously recorded all the dimensions and structures during construction, saying that it would provide a reference if the village were to build another bridge in the future.

As evening fell, Father returned to the kitchen after finishing his training and began greeting passing travelers. Xingbao was helping wash vegetables in the kitchen when he suddenly heard Guixiang muttering beside him, "Why is that person still drinking tea after all this time? Is he going to drink all our tea?"

Hearing this, Xingbao couldn't help but feel curious and quietly peeked into the hall. He saw the follower from the wolf-hunting team who had come with Township Chief Liu earlier taking a sip of tea from his bowl, savoring it for a moment, then picking up the water jug ​​beside him, pouring out some water, and drinking it, repeatedly making the comparison. Xingbao's heart tightened, and he quickly pulled back, inwardly regretting his actions: earlier that day, while building the wooden bridge, he had seen the villagers sweating profusely, so he had added an extra drop of spiritual spring water to the tea jug. Judging from the man's expression, he must have already noticed the tea was unusual, but today the spiritual spring water's effects were more pronounced, hence his repeated testing!

"I was too careless!" Xingbao thought to himself. It seemed that he could no longer add spiritual spring water to the tea barrel at will. He had to find a way to make amends and cover up the matter. His mind raced and he realized that the original tea tree in the space probably couldn't be saved. He could only take out the branches that had been cut from the tea tree and cultivate them again, using this as a "reasonable reason" for the special tea.

Having made up his mind, Xingbao quickly entered the spatial dimension, took out the prepared tea tree branches from the thatched hut, and carefully inserted them into the soil to cultivate them. After doing all this, he immediately left the spatial dimension to find his father.

Just as his father finished entertaining a guest, Xingbao gently tugged at his father's sleeve, pointed to the attendant still sipping tea at the table, and whispered, "Father, he's noticed!"

Following Xingbao's gaze, the father observed the man's movements and instantly confirmed Xingbao's suspicions. At that moment, the man was sipping tea with his back to the counter, unaware of the father and son's stares. The two quickly looked away, and Xingbao asked softly, "Dad, how much longer will the wolf-hunting training continue?"

"I originally planned to finish training in two more days," Dad replied.

"Father, let's prolong the training as much as possible," Xingbao said in a low voice after glancing around to make sure no one was near. "You can teach them some terrain reconnaissance and tactical skills, as well as how to deal with wolves in the wild. Captain Li is a good person, so I trust him with these practical skills. Let the other team members practice and solidify their skills on their own." He paused, lowering his voice even further. "Later, we'll plant the tea trees cultivated in the space in the vegetable garden to cover up the tea's abnormality. I still have some tea leaves I've collected recently; you can roast them when you have time and use them to entertain guests later, which will make things more natural."

After discussing their plan, the father and son pretended nothing was wrong and went about their own business. Xingbao quietly placed a hoe at the back door in advance to prepare for planting trees later. After the overnight guests returned to their rooms to rest, Ding Ge practiced accounting at the counter, and Guixiang went to bed early, the father got up and went to the back door.

"Honey, are you hiding something from me?" The mother's voice suddenly came from behind, carrying a hint of suspicion and concern.

Hearing this, the eldest and second eldest brothers, who were about to return to their rooms, stopped and turned their gazes to their father. Seeing the worry in his family's eyes, the father hesitated for a moment before saying, "Come on, let's all go make tofu."

The group headed towards the backyard, with Xingbao making sure to close the gate tightly. Once inside the tofu shop, Xingbao sat at the doorway to keep watch, while his father, looking at the family gathered around, spoke solemnly: "There are some things I can't tell you in detail, as that would bring you unknown dangers. I'll only say this once—the grapes, green beans, and loofah from today, the sweet potatoes from a few days ago, the small medicine bottles I gave you before, and anything Xingbao brings out later—don't be surprised, and don't inquire about their origin. Just keep them quietly for your own use."

Seeing the expressions of sudden realization on his family members' faces, and their nods indicating that they understood, the father continued, "Someone discovered the secret in the tea today. Xingbao and I are going to the vegetable garden to make some preparations. Third Aunt, the three of you go back to the shop and keep watch, making sure no one notices anything unusual. We'll talk about it in detail after this is over!" Watching his mother and two older brothers leave with their thoughts on their minds, the father and Xingbao walked towards the back door together.

Upon arriving at the vegetable garden, the father and son divided the work—they carefully removed the cultivated tea trees from their spatial dimension (ensuring the roots were completely free of any spatial soil) and meticulously planted them in the pre-dug pits. Xingbao then discreetly sprinkled a small amount of spiritual spring water to promote rapid root development; to avoid the new soil appearing out of place, they also buried a ring of manure around the tea trees, both concealing the new soil and providing nutrients. After a few more rains, the newly planted tea trees would blend seamlessly into their surroundings, everything appearing perfectly natural.

When the father and son returned to the shop, their mother and three older brothers were gathered around the counter doing accounts. Seeing their father enter the main room, they all looked up, their eyes full of concern. Seeing this, the father smiled with relief and said softly, "It's alright, go to sleep early!"