Courtyard House: Rebirth of a Shopkeeper in 1937

A moment later, Gui Xiang's voice came: "Mom, Ding Ge, come quick! Blackie's eating sweet potato vines!" Xing Bao looked up and saw his mother and Ding Ge following behind Gui Xiang into the livestock shed. Gui Xiang was still holding Xueqiu in her arms, pointing at Blackie while excitedly recounting her experiences in Yongfeng City: "Mom, the candied hawthorns in Yongfeng City are so sweet! I ate one and wanted to buy more, but Dad said to save the money for Blackie's fodder, so I didn't..."

When the topic of "candied hawthorns" came up, Guixiang suddenly met her mother's gaze—her mother was looking at her with a half-smile, her eyes carrying a hint of "you little glutton, you're greedy again." Guixiang panicked and quickly covered her mouth, afraid her mother would nag her for "wasting money." Her hand loosened, and she almost dropped the snowball she was holding. Luckily, Brother Ding reacted quickly and caught it, preventing the snowball from falling.

"What's the rush, child!" Mother patted Guixiang's arm with a smile. "I know it's your first time in the city and you've seen all sorts of new things. Next time you go, I'll have your father buy you a couple more skewers." Guixiang's eyes lit up immediately. She took her hand away from her mouth and said with a smile, "Mom, you're so kind!" As she spoke, she lowered her head to tease Xueqiu in her arms, while Heitan stood to the side, chewing on a sweet potato vine and occasionally wagging its tail.

At this moment, Mother frowned and said, "This clown of a man hasn't been born for very long, has he?"

Father sighed helplessly, "The price of adult donkeys and mules in Yongfeng City has gone up, and there's still a shortage. There's practically nothing to sell. I was lucky to find this one. I met a family who was going back to Hengyang. He said the foal was too small and difficult to take on the road, so he was willing to sell it. I saw that its coat was shiny and its eyes were bright. I figured we didn't need it to do heavy work for the time being, so I decided to keep it and use it when it grew up. I gritted my teeth and spent two silver dollars to buy it."

Mother's gaze shifted from Heitan, who was chewing on sweet potato vines, and she suddenly remembered that her eldest brother had gone to Shuangfeng Academy for the exam. She quickly turned to Father, her voice filled with urgency: "Honey, you've been so busy looking at Heitan that you've forgotten about the important matter! How did the eldest brother's exam go today? Did it go well? Were the questions difficult?"

Father's smile deepened. Seeing Mother's anxious expression, he deliberately kept her in suspense, raising his hand to pat the back of her hand: "Third Aunt, let's not talk about this now, let's eat first. The children have been busy all day, they're starving. Let Yanbang tell you himself later, his firsthand experience will definitely be more detailed than mine."

Mother slapped her forehead, laughing with annoyance, "Look at my memory! How could I forget to eat! You three have been running back and forth for dozens of miles, you must be starving after a long day. Xingbao, Guixiang, stop circling around Heitan and Xueqiu, go eat in the main room first, you can come back to see them after you've finished eating."

Gui Xiang, still gently stroking Xueqiu's white fur, held it in her arms. Hearing this, she reluctantly nuzzled the puppy's head before following Xing Bao into the main room. Sister Shan Shan had already quickly set the table: steaming sweet potato porridge in a rough porcelain bowl, vibrant green stir-fried vegetables, neatly chopped pickled radishes, and most eye-catching of all, two white steamed buns on a plate—specially brought back by Dad from Yongfeng City to improve the family's meals. However, one seat remained empty at the table; eldest brother Yan Bang was still inside his room.

"I'll go call Big Brother!" Xingbao volunteered, turning to walk towards his older brother's room. When he opened the door, he saw his older brother sitting at the table, his expression exceptionally focused: he held a slightly worn thread-bound book in his hands, his fingertips gently smoothing the wrinkles on the edges of the pages, his movements as tender as if he were handling a rare treasure; then he took out a small blue stone paperweight from the drawer, placing it steadily on both ends of the book, as if afraid the night wind would ruffle the pages.

"Big brother, dinner's ready. Parents and everyone are waiting in the main room." Xingbao lowered his voice and walked very slowly, afraid of disturbing his older brother.

The eldest brother, already tense from preparing for his exams, was completely absorbed in organizing his books. Hearing the sudden sound, he jolted, the paperweight in his hand nearly slipping off the table with a soft "thud." He quickly steadied it, turned to see Xingbao, and breathed a sigh of relief. He rubbed his temples and said with a smile, "It's Xingbao! You scared me. I'm coming right now. You go outside and wait for me a moment while I put the books away so we don't miss dinner."

Xingbao nodded and quietly retreated outside the door. A moment later, his older brother came out, having packed his books, carefully carrying the old book in his hands. He walked to the wooden chest by the bed, gently placed it inside, and carefully closed the lid. When the two entered the main room together, their father had already served everyone sweet potato porridge. Seeing them come in, he quickly smiled and waved, "Yanbang, come and sit down. Your mother specially saved you a white flour steamed bun; eat it while it's hot."

The eldest brother sat down at the table, his eyes filled with warmth as he looked at the food laid out and the concerned gazes of his family. His mother, unable to contain herself any longer, asked before he could even pick up his chopsticks, "Yanbang, how did your exam at the academy go today? Was your teacher satisfied with your answer sheet? Were the questions difficult?"

The eldest brother picked up a steamed bun, took a bite, swallowed the food in his mouth, and then put it down, smiling as he replied, "Mom, the exam went quite well. Mr. Jiang from the academy first asked about my reading experience, and then gave me two questions, one on literature and one on arithmetic. The literature question was to write a short essay about 'agriculture and sericulture,' and the arithmetic question was several word problems; he also asked me to recite several excerpts from the Analects. I had previously studied related content with my brother Qianjin, and when I wrote the 'agriculture and sericulture' essay, I even included our family's experimental fields and improved planting methods. The teacher praised my writing skills, saying it was solid, substantial, and not empty."

He paused, then continued, "The teacher said that with my current foundation, staying in the upper primary class would be a waste of time, as I'm still lacking in the application of 'new learning.' He brought me the upper primary class textbooks and workbooks, telling me to study and practice at home first. If I have any questions, I can go to the academy to ask him for help anytime. Before the start of next school year, I'll go to the academy to take a test. If I pass, I can go directly to the middle school class; if I don't pass, I'll have to stay in the upper primary class and learn slowly."

As soon as her elder brother finished speaking, her mother's chopsticks slammed down on the rim of her bowl. Her eyes lit up instantly, her previous slight worry replaced by overwhelming joy. She gripped her father's hand, her voice trembling slightly, "Honey, did you hear that? Yanbang still has a chance to go to middle school! I was so worried he wouldn't be able to keep up with the new school, but I never expected the teacher to approve of him so much..." Her father smiled and patted the back of her hand, his eyes full of satisfaction, "I knew our son was promising, I wasn't wrong about him."

Seeing his mother's excited expression, the eldest brother's eyes also warmed. He suddenly turned to Xingbao, his tone tinged with amusement, "By the way, Xingbao, I bought you a new herbal medicine attire at a bookstore in Yongfeng City. It's more detailed than the one you read before, and it has many color illustrations. Even the root veins of the herbs are drawn clearly. I'll give it to you after dinner."

Xingbao's eyes lit up. He quickly put down his bowl of porridge, leaned forward, and thanked him with a smile, "Thank you, Big Brother!" His heart was filled with joy—his brother's opportunity to enter the middle school class was an unexpected surprise. Everyone had worried that he wouldn't be familiar with the new material and would be lucky to even get into upper elementary school. They hadn't expected such a turn of events; it was truly a case of overcoming many obstacles to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. He secretly thought that next time he saw Qianjin, he would definitely thank him properly. If it weren't for Qianjin's patient teaching of the new material, his brother wouldn't have achieved such good results.

The atmosphere at the dinner table grew increasingly lively, with smiles on everyone's faces. Gui Xiang, chewing on a steamed bun, suddenly remembered her exciting experiences in Yongfeng City. Putting down her bun, she chattered excitedly, "Mom, there's a really wide river next to Shuangfeng Academy called the Meishui River! There's an old temple on the other side, with red walls and black tiles, and a big copper bell hanging at the entrance! I heard from the students at the academy that the dam river in our village flows downstream and joins the Meishui River, becoming its tributary! Next time we go to Yongfeng City, can we take a boat across the Meishui River to see that temple?"

She spoke with great enthusiasm, her little hands gesturing in the air to show the width of the river and the shape of the temple, her earnest expression particularly endearing. Everyone who heard her couldn't help but laugh—her father put down his porridge bowl, shaking his head with a smile; her mother covered her mouth, her eyes full of laughter; even Sister Shanshan, who had been eating quietly, couldn't help but smile.

Gui Xiang was a little confused by the laughter. She blinked her round eyes and asked, puzzled, "What are you laughing at? I'm telling the truth! All the older boys at the academy are telling me the same thing!"

Seeing his sister's confused look, Xingbao put down his chopsticks and, suppressing a laugh, explained, "Sister, we're not laughing at you for telling the truth, we're laughing at you for not knowing the origin of the name 'Daba River'! Do you think Daba River is just a random name? It's because downstream from our village, there are many small dams built on the river. Some are for irrigating fields, and some are for pedestrians to cross the river, so it's called Daba River. Besides, the water in Daba River is very shallow; in some places it's not even ankle-deep, and you can't even row a small wooden boat. How can you ride a boat on the Meishui River then?"

As soon as the words were spoken, a soft "woof woof" came from under the table. It turned out that Snowball, seeing that no one was paying attention to it, had joined in the fun. Laughter in the main room, Guixiang's "oh" of sudden realization, along with the sweet aroma of the food and the dog's barking, filled the room with a warm and cozy atmosphere, making the slightly cool night feel cozy.