Courtyard House: Rebirth of a Shopkeeper in 1937

The next morning, when it was time to go to class, Gui Xiang hid behind the door with Snowball in her arms. Just as Xing Bao finished packing his books and was about to leave, she suddenly popped out and whispered, "Xing Bao, can I take Snowball to class? It'll be lonely at home!" Xing Bao quickly waved his hands, "No way! Big Brother is very particular about quiet in class. If you take Snowball, it'll definitely cause trouble, and Big Brother will be angry!" But Gui Xiang wouldn't listen. She grabbed Snowball and ran towards the classroom. Xing Bao had no choice but to follow behind—he knew his sister's personality all too well. She only behaved when she wanted to eat the oranges and grapes from her space. Now that she was determined to take Snowball, nothing he said mattered.

In the backyard classroom, a dozen or so children were already seated, reading the Thousand Character Classic with Brother Dashan. As soon as Guixiang entered, the snowball in her arms immediately attracted everyone's attention: the children crowded around, some wanting to touch the snowball's fluffy fur, others whispering to the puppy, and the classroom instantly became lively. Xingbao sighed helplessly, and just as he was about to take the snowball away, his older brother walked in with his textbook, so he quickly returned to his seat.

After the teacher and students exchanged greetings, the older brother began his lesson. However, not long after, Snowball couldn't contain itself and jumped down from Guixiang's arms, running around the classroom: sometimes rubbing against a student's trouser leg, sometimes carrying someone's stick in its mouth, causing the children to occasionally glance down and some even burst out laughing. As the older brother continued his lesson, he noticed everyone looking around. Following their gaze, he saw Snowball running towards Guixiang with a stick in its mouth. His face darkened with anger. He glared at Guixiang, strode over, grabbed Snowball, opened the door, and slammed it outside. Turning back to Guixiang, he said sternly, "Bringing a puppy to class and disrupting classroom discipline. If you do this again, you'll be punished by copying from the book!" Guixiang was terrified and remained silent in her seat, afraid her brother would really hit her hand. Her eyes were even a little red.

Snowball whimpered a few times outside the door, and seeing that no one paid attention to it, it wagged its tail and ran away. Only when its older brother announced a break did Guixiang dare to run out to look for Snowball. Xingbao and several classmates also helped search, and finally they found it in the livestock pen—Snowball was lying next to Black Charcoal, its head buried in Black Charcoal's soft fur, fast asleep. Black Charcoal, meanwhile, had its head lowered obediently, as if protecting it. Seeing people arrive, both of them rolled over and got up. Guixiang instantly forgot her earlier fear and happily led Black Charcoal out as well, pulling it along the reins and driving it around the yard, muttering, "Black Charcoal, grow up quickly! When you grow up, you must carry me everywhere, to Yongfeng City, to the district, and to see the temples along the Meishui River!"

Seeing this, the students gathered around. Some teased Snowball, lifting it up and spinning it around; others stroked Black Charcoal's ears and talked to it; Guixiang was busy demonstrating to everyone that Black Charcoal could "nod"—actually, she gently pulled the reins, and Black Charcoal obediently lowered its head. When their older brother called everyone to class, the children hurriedly ran back to the classroom, forgetting to lead Snowball and Black Charcoal back to the livestock pen, leaving the two little guys in the yard.

Before the eldest brother had even finished half of his lesson, a sudden commotion erupted from the yard—first, a hen clucked in alarm, then a dog barked and chased after her, interspersed with the donkey's growls and groans, creating utter chaos. The children in the classroom instantly became restless, turning to look out the window, some even standing on tiptoe. Even Sister Shan Shan couldn't help but smile, her gaze drifting towards the window.

The eldest brother reluctantly put down his textbook and pressed his fingertips to his temples—he hadn't had a peaceful class today; first, Snowball was running around the classroom, and now Blackie had joined the fray. He stood up and walked outside, with Xingbao and a few classmates following curiously behind, while Guixiang shrank her neck and lingered at the back, her eyes full of guilt.

As soon as he stepped outside, the scene before him made his older brother both angry and amused: the vegetable patch in the yard, used to feed the chickens, was trampled into a mess, with lush green leaves scattered all over the ground. Black Charcoal was looking down, a chewed vegetable leaf still hanging from its beak. When it saw his older brother come out, it immediately stopped what it was doing, looking at him innocently, its ears drooping slightly, like a child caught doing something wrong, not even wagging its tail. On the other side, Snowball was circling the woodpile, and the hen on the woodpile was flapping its wings, losing several feathers, and clucking sharply, as if it were tattling on someone.

Before the eldest brother could speak, the rooster suddenly came rushing over angrily from afar—its neck feathers stood on end, and its red comb turned bright red, clearly indicating that it had seen the hen being bullied and was coming to "protect its wife." It charged straight at Snowball, its sharp beak pouncing on Snowball's hind leg, looking fierce. Seeing that Snowball was about to be pecked, Xingbao, standing behind the crowd, reacted quickly, rushing forward, stomping his foot hard on the ground, and shouting loudly, "Go!" The crisp, loud shout startled the rooster, causing it to flap its wings and jump back several steps, watching Xingbao warily, not daring to go any further, but still unwilling to give up, it crowed "Cock-a-doodle-doo" twice.

Snowball, having narrowly escaped death, trembled with fear. Its tail was tucked tightly between its legs, and it hurriedly ran to Xingbao's feet. Its two front paws were firmly placed on Xingbao's calves, and its head kept rubbing against Xingbao's trouser leg. It made soft "woof woof" sounds in its throat, and its wet, round eyes were full of dependence, as if it was telling Xingbao about the fear it had just experienced.

Xingbao bent down and squatted down, gently stroking Xueqiu's head with his palm, his fingertips tracing its downy feathers to soothe it. He whispered, "Don't be afraid, it's alright now, it won't dare come again." But in his heart, he secretly began to plan: it seemed he would have to bring up the matter of eating chicken with his mother again. This rooster had long been his and Guixiang's enemy—it had pecked the back of his hand when he fed the chickens before; it had chased after Guixiang and pecked at an egg; it crowed "cock-a-doodle-doo" every day before dawn, disturbing their sleep. And recently, after drinking the spiritual spring water, it had grown even stronger, becoming the "tyrant" of the backyard, even pecking at the village children several times.

He and Guixiang had mentioned to their mother several times that they wanted to kill the rooster for meat, but their mother always protected it, saying, "A rooster can guard the house and tell travelers the time, so we can't kill it." Now that's settled, the rooster even dares to peck at snowballs, so today is a good day to "give it a hard time," and they can tell their mother later that it hurt the pet, and maybe their mother will give in.

The surrounding classmates were stunned by what they saw. After a few seconds, they reacted. Some clapped and cheered, "Xingbao is so clever!" Others made faces at the rooster, making everyone laugh. The older brother also breathed a sigh of relief, walked over and patted Xingbao on the shoulder, "You reacted quickly, you didn't hurt Xueqiu." Then, he looked at Guixiang, who was huddled in the back, and his tone softened, "Don't bring Xueqiu near the classroom again next time. Look at the mess, it not only affected the class but also almost hurt Xueqiu." Guixiang nodded quickly, ran over and hugged Xueqiu, whispering, "Snowqiu, I'm sorry, I won't bring you out like that next time."

The eldest brother shook his head helplessly and told everyone to rest for a while. He then led Heitan, while Guixiang carried Xueqiu, and together they took the two "little troublemakers" back to the livestock pen. He even found a rope to tie Heitan securely, picked up the scattered vegetable leaves and put them in Heitan's food bowl, and reminded Guixiang to leave Xueqiu with her mother during class. When they returned to the classroom, the eldest brother tapped on the table, and after everyone quieted down, he smiled and said, "Consider today's little incident a break for everyone, but next time you can't bring small animals near the classroom again. We need to concentrate in class, understand?" The children answered in unison, "Understood," and the atmosphere in the classroom became even more lively than before.