Courtyard House: Rebirth of a Shopkeeper in 1937

At lunchtime, when school ended, all the students rushed to the livestock pen. The jokes that Snowball and Black Charcoal had made outside the classroom during class had long been a topic of conversation, and everyone was still thinking about coming to see the two "little troublemakers."

Before they even reached the livestock pen, they heard Snowball's whimpering. Everyone crowded around to see what was happening and found Snowball crouching by the gate, its front paws gripping the threshold, its short legs straining against the ground, trying to climb out but always falling just short. Its round body was covered in dust, and its pitiful whimpers grew more and more heartbreaking with each passing moment. Meanwhile, Blackie, seeing people approaching, immediately wagged its tail and ran to the gate, barking and whimpering at the group with obvious anticipation. It seemed both little guys were starving.

Gui Xiang was the first to rush over, bending down to scoop Snowball into her arms. She wiped the dust from its face with her sleeve and said tenderly, "Snowball, are you hungry? I'll find you something to eat." She turned to look and saw that Black Charcoal's food bowl was mostly full of untouched greens. So, holding Snowball in one arm, she grabbed a handful of fresh greens from the bowl and held them to Black Charcoal's mouth: "Black Charcoal, eat up! These greens are so fresh!"

Blackie just turned its head away, dodging the vegetable leaves, but its eyes remained fixed on Xingbao, who had just walked over. It kept making "uh-huh" noises and wagging its tail even more enthusiastically. The other children nearby were amused. One kid laughed and said, "Xingbao, does Blackie recognize you? It only calls out to you!"

Xingbao scratched his head helplessly—how could he not know that this black donkey was a picky eater! Ever since he'd fed it sweet potato vines from his spiritual spring space the past two days, the donkey had refused to eat ordinary vegetable leaves and was now waiting for "good stuff." But with a dozen or so other donkeys around, he couldn't very well take out the things from his space in public. So he could only walk over, reach out and pat the black donkey's ear, and coax it softly, "Be good, eat some vegetable leaves first, and I'll give you something better later."

Blackie seemed to understand, but still wouldn't listen, nuzzling its head against Xingbao's hand, its cries becoming even more aggrieved. Xingbao had no choice but to say to everyone, "Let's all go back and eat first. This afternoon, we'll take Blackie to the back mountain to find some tender grass, and I promise we'll make sure it's full!" Hearing this, the friends played with Snowball for a while longer before dispersing in twos and threes.

Once the crowd had gone some distance, Xingbao pulled Guixiang aside to hide on the side of the livestock pen and whispered, "Sister, can you keep an eye on people for me? I'm going to get some good stuff for Heitan." Guixiang's eyes lit up, and she immediately nodded, looking around warily.

Xingbao quickly went into the kitchen, found some scissors, and took out a handful of tender sweet potato vines from his spiritual spring space. He cut them into small pieces and put them in the food bowl. Heitan smelled the aroma of the sweet potato vines and immediately perked up his ears. His previous grievances vanished, and he went to the food bowl and began to eat heartily, making satisfying crunching sounds, without even glancing at the green vegetable leaves beside him. Xueqiu, nestled in Guixiang's arms, also smelled the aroma and struggled to get some, prompting Guixiang to laugh and say, "You little glutton, this is Heitan's food. Yours is in the kitchen!"

Xingbao watched Heitan wolf down his food and smiled helplessly, "This donkey is really spoiled; it won't even eat ordinary vegetable leaves anymore." Guixiang came over carrying Xueqiu and poked Heitan's ear, "It's all your fault for always feeding it the best stuff! But these sweet potato vines smell quite fragrant, much better than ordinary vines and leaves." Xingbao had an idea; he thought he could take more sweet potato vines from his space in the future, which would not only help Heitan grow stronger but also add another dish to the family—a win-win situation.

After Heitan finished eating the sweet potato vines, Xingbao emptied the vegetable leaves from the feeding bowl into the yard for the chickens, cleaned the bowl, and put it back in the livestock pen. Then he turned to Guixiang, who was holding Xueqiu, and said, "Let's go, sister. Mom must have finished cooking. If we don't go soon, the food will get cold." Guixiang nodded and followed Xingbao into the main room with Xueqiu in her arms.

During the meal, Xingbao had just taken a couple of bites of rice when he remembered how the rooster had bullied Xueqiu that morning. He nudged Guixiang next to him with his elbow and gave her a wink.

Gui Xiang immediately understood, put down her chopsticks, and tugged at her mother's sleeve, pleading, "Mom, the rooster bullied Xueqiu again today! It chased after Xueqiu and pecked at him. If Xingbao hadn't stopped it, Xueqiu's leg would have been pecked raw!" She gestured exaggeratedly as she spoke, "And it crows before dawn every day, keeping me awake all night. Last time I went to collect eggs, it even pecked my hand!"

The siblings exaggerated the story, badmouthing the rooster to their mother and even dragging their older brother into it as a witness, unanimously demanding that their mother kill it and eat it. But their parents just watched their "performance," unable to suppress their laughter, and refused to give in.

The siblings exchanged a glance and saw the "unwillingness" in each other's eyes. They could only wait for another opportunity to fight. If they kept talking, their mother would eventually agree. It was really hard to get chicken!

After lunch, the family rested for a while and then went back to their rooms for a nap. When Xingbao and Guixiang woke up, the sun was already setting. Xingbao and Guixiang took turns tending to the experimental field. Because it was a new field and small, and the weather was hot, the water evaporated too quickly. To ensure rapid growth during the jointing stage, they had to frequently drain the water to maintain the water level and remove weeds in a timely manner.

After finishing tending to the experimental field and making records, Xingbao patted the dirt off his hands and said, "Sister, I'm going home to study. If you want to find some friends to play with, remember not to go too far." The road construction site has been moved quite far away recently, so Xingbao no longer needs to go with everyone to deliver water. He can take this time to study the medical books his master gave him, as well as the new textbooks his older brother brought back from the academy.

These past two days, Gui Xiang has been preoccupied with the puppy, Snowball, and has become a bit lax in her studies. She went back to the shop, picked up Snowball, and then went to the livestock pen to fetch Black Charcoal. Smiling, she said to her mother, "Mom, I'm going to the bamboo shed. Lots of my friends are playing there!" Ever since the family built the bamboo shed by the roadside, it has become a new gathering place for their friends. They can enjoy the cool shade under the shed, and now they can also play with Snowball and watch Black Charcoal together. It's very lively there.

Hearing Guixiang's words from the kitchen, Mother knew the children were still excited about Snowball and Black Charcoal, so she didn't restrain them much. She was just worried that Guixiang was young and might cause trouble while taking care of the animals, so she called to her second brother, who had just returned from the old house, "Yanguo, go to the bamboo shed and keep an eye on your sister. Don't let her run around too wildly with her friends, and don't let Black Charcoal run around and hurt anyone." The second brother replied, "Yes, Mother," and followed Guixiang to the bamboo shed.

When customers entered the shop, the second brother brought Guixiang in, who was covered in mud. Guixiang's face still had a few mud stains, her hair was a bit messy, and Xueqiu in her arms had become a "little spotted dog".

As her mother was pouring cool tea for the guests, the clinking of porcelain cups caught her eye. Turning around, she caught sight of Guixiang's appearance, paused in her teapot, and said with a mix of amusement and exasperation, "You silly child, where have you been playing and gotten yourself all muddy? There's water in the backyard, why didn't you wash yourself clean before coming in? Don't let the guests laugh at you!" Then, she turned to Shanshan, who was washing vegetables by the stove, and softened her tone, "Shanshan, stop for a moment. Take Guixiang to the backyard to take a bath and change her clothes. I'll take care of things here."

Sister Shan wiped her hands and replied with a smile, "Okay, Auntie." She reached out to take Snowball from Guixiang's arms, but Guixiang hugged the puppy even tighter: "I'll wash Snowball myself, it's dirty too!" Sister Shan nodded helplessly and led Guixiang to the backyard. The little guy didn't forget to turn back and make a face at his second brother, completely unaware that his mother's face had darkened.