Courtyard House: Rebirth of a Shopkeeper in 1937

During this period, the land in front of the shop was also planned – divided in two by the central path. One side was designated as experimental land, specifically for planting sweet potatoes, potatoes, and rice cultivated from the space. Considering the need for easy observation of growth and daily management during the initial trial planting, the planting quantity of each crop was controlled to a small amount, with only a few plots reserved for planting. At the same time, most of the soil excavated when clearing the ditch in front of the shop was also mixed into this experimental land, which not only improved soil fertility but also allowed the new soil to better integrate with the existing land.

When the father planned this plot of land, he specifically emphasized to his four children, "The crops planted on this experimental plot will be the foundation for our family's livelihood in the future, so you must take good care of them." Because of this, the four children dared not slack off in the slightest and would take time every day to tend to it—weeding, loosening the soil, watering, and doing every task meticulously. They would also take out paper and pen to record the growth of the crops (such as germination time, number of leaves, growth height, etc.) so that they could observe and compare them later and adjust their care methods in a timely manner.

On the other side of the path, various vegetables and seasonings were planted, such as eggplants, peppers, green beans, and scallions—all varieties used in the kitchen's daily cooking. The main purpose of this land was to supply the kitchen, ensuring that it could be self-sufficient in daily ingredients and reducing its reliance on external purchases.

At this point, the layout of the land in front of the gate was completed. All that remained was to quietly wait for the crops in the fields to flower and bear fruit. Whether it was the special crops in the experimental plot that held the family's hopes, or the daily vegetables supplied to the kitchen, they were all slowly beginning their growth cycle under the nourishment of sunshine and rain.

Thanks to the conditioning provided by the spiritual spring water in the small medicine bottle, the family members' physical condition has improved significantly. The fatigue they used to experience after work has been greatly reduced, and even the occasional back pain they used to suffer from has become rare. Everyone's face has become more energetic.

The eldest brother read through all the books that Qianjin had brought, not only mastering the basic content but also understanding the principle of "not memorizing by rote or applying knowledge mechanically." He knew that his application of knowledge was still somewhat rudimentary, but he was confident that once he entered the academy and received systematic guidance from teachers, he would be able to flexibly apply what he had learned to practice. Currently, he was thinking about how to integrate the practical knowledge from the books into his previous classroom teaching, such as combining simple arithmetic and common sense with field work and daily life, making it easier for the village children to understand and absorb.

Ever since my second brother finished building the corridor with our father, he couldn't suppress his passion for woodworking and always wanted to do some more woodwork. Unfortunately, the family's wood and savings had been almost entirely used up to build the corridor, and even the tung oil he had ordered from the carpenter's shop hadn't arrived yet. Without suitable materials and tools, he could only suppress his enthusiasm for the time being. He spent his days studying the mortise and tenon structure of the corridor, secretly planning to make tables, chairs, and farm tools when he had the materials in the future.

As for Gui Xiang, ever since she discovered that Xing Bao would often bring out fresh grapes for their mother, and that those grapes were exactly the same as the ones "given by someone else" last time, she has completely become Xing Bao's "little shadow." Whether Xing Bao goes to the vegetable garden to tend the crops or helps out at the shop, she follows him every step of the way, her big eyes constantly staring at what Xing Bao has in his pocket or hands, both curious and expectant. Occasionally, she would whisper and ask, "Xing Bao, when are you going to take out grapes again?" Xing Bao couldn't stand her pestering him, so he could only occasionally sneak a few grapes from his spatial storage to coax her, while repeatedly telling her not to tell anyone. Gui Xiang also nodded sensibly, becoming the "little guardian" of Xing Bao's spatial storage secret.

Currently, two types of rice, early-season and late-season, are being cultivated within the space. However, the quality of these varieties is generally mediocre, suitable only for practice purposes at this stage. Xingbao noticed their shortcomings as early as the first harvest and seed collection: despite the support of the spiritual spring and the spatial environment, the number of rice ears and the density of rice grains were considerable, but the rice stalks were tall and thin, and the root systems were short and thin due to a lack of natural environmental testing. Such varieties have poor lodging resistance and weak adaptability, clearly unsuitable for widespread promotion. Xingbao already has a plan: once the crops in the experimental fields outside have yielded results, he will gradually guide his father and brothers to find mutant varieties with short, thick stalks and long, thick root systems, using these as a basis for a new round of cultivation to gradually improve the quality of the rice varieties.

Besides the rice seeds, other crops within the space are also being transplanted out according to plan: a blood peach sapling has been moved out of the space and planted near the side gate of the backyard, standing on either side of the previously planted jujube sapling. Xingbao deliberately planned it this way so that when building trellises for the grapevines planted in the yard in the future, the branches of the peach and jujube trees can be used for support, saving materials and making the layout of the courtyard more orderly.

However, the banyan tree in the space was a bit of a worry for Xingbao—banyan trees grow quickly, and their canopies become enormous when mature, taking up a lot of space. He was considering having his father find a suitable place to transplant it as soon as possible, to prevent it from growing excessively in the space and affecting other crops. Since the banyan branch took root, Xingbao hadn't dared to water it with spiritual spring water, for fear that its growth would be too fast and difficult to control.

Currently, the orange and jujube trees in the space are about to bloom, and pollination has become a troublesome matter. Xingbao knows that the pollination effect of fruit trees directly affects the fruit-bearing rate, but there is no natural pollination medium in the space. He can only secretly hope that he can find bees outside as soon as possible. If he can introduce a few beehives, he can not only solve the fruit tree pollination problem, but also harvest honey in the future, which can be described as killing two birds with one stone.

What frustrated Xingbao even more was the watermelon in his space—the watermelon on the vine had grown quite large and was still growing bigger, showing no signs of ripening. He had tried adjusting the temperature and light in the space, but he could never simulate the day-night temperature difference and seasonal changes of the outside natural environment. After a series of fruitless attempts, Xingbao figured that the watermelon hadn't reached its limit yet, which was why it wasn't ripe. He would leave one to test it out when he had time. Right now was the time to eat the watermelon, and eating it as soon as possible was the priority. He had no choice but to stop watering the watermelon, secretly lamenting: even with a spiritual spring and a special space, it wasn't omnipotent.