Courtyard House: Rebirth of a Shopkeeper in 1937

Watching the two figures disappear through the back door, the second brother scratched his head and whispered, "Mother, we didn't go anywhere else. We just took Heitan to the river to eat grass—the grass there is tender, Heitan loves to eat it, and Guixiang also said she wanted to see the river."

"What did you say?!" Before her second brother could finish speaking, their mother immediately exploded, slamming the teapot on the table with a thud. She strode to the door, grabbed a bamboo broom leaning against the wall, and turned to whack her second brother. The broom handle whistled as it landed on his arm. "How old is Guixiang? You dared to take her to the riverbank! How slippery is that riverbank? What if she falls in? I told you to watch over her, and this is how you watch over her? Huh?"

The second brother didn't dare to dodge, but only took two steps back. His arm was red from the beating, but he didn't utter a sound. He lowered his head and whispered his apology: "Mother, I was wrong. I will never dare to take her to the river again. I will keep a close eye on her."

Seeing this, the customers in the shop quickly put down their teacups and advised, "Young lady, don't be angry. The child didn't do it on purpose; he just forgot his limits while playing." "Yes, yes, Yan Guo seems like a mature child; he probably didn't think that much. Just remind him a little more next time." Someone else laughed and said, "We used to play by the river all the time when we were kids. Boys are all mischievous; don't get angry with the child."

The broom in her hand stopped in mid-air. She caught her breath, looked at her second brother's guilty expression, and listened to the guests' advice. Her tone softened a little, but she still had a stern face: "If you dare to take her to a dangerous place again, I'll break your legs! Go and lead Blackie back to the livestock pen, then wash the mud off yourself and come help greet the guests!"

The sound of his mother scolding his second brother with a broom reached Xingbao's ears as he read in the inner room. Peeking through the crack in the door, he saw his brother's arm was red from the beating, and his heart skipped a beat. A chill ran down his spine—a while ago, he had secretly waded across the shallow riverbank with his brother Dashan to the rice paddies! If he had let it slip at any point and his mother found out, he would likely have received a severe beating like his brother, or even worse, since his mother valued their safety above all else.

Feeling guilty, Xingbao quickly closed his book, grabbed a small brush used for cleaning livestock from behind the door, and hurriedly followed his second brother to the washing well. He dared not approach his mother at this moment; working with his second brother would at least keep him out of the limelight.

There was no one at the well at the moment, so the second brother put down the bucket and bent down to draw water, while Xingbao stood aside with a small brush, helping to lead Blackie to the stone slab by the well. The two of them worked together to pour water on Blackie with a ladle. The cool well water made Blackie groan comfortably.

"Sigh, what a bad day." Second Brother sighed as he brushed the mud off Blackie's back. "Xingbao, don't you think our Blackie is weird? He only chewed a couple of mouthfuls of grass when we got to the river, and then wouldn't eat anything else we fed him. Snowball, on the other hand, ran off to the field to chase butterflies and ended up covered in mud, which got me a beating from Mom." Then, his tone shifted, his eyes brightening. "By the way, Xingbao, I saw today at the bend in the river to the east that the clearing that was washed away by the flood has been filled in with the soil and stones from the road construction. That place is huge. Do you think we could buy it and farm it?"

These words are filled with a longing for the land, an obsession etched into their very bones—their own family has no land, and every year when they buy grain from the village, they have to be mindful of others' attitudes. Even though they know the price is higher than in Yongfeng City, they still have no choice but to buy it, otherwise someone will cause trouble, and the shop will have to close down.

Xingbao paused in his work, shook his head, and said, "Second Brother, we can't get this land. The village head knows we don't have any land. If we ask to buy it, he'll definitely ask for an exorbitant price. Besides, that land is useless to us. It's full of rocks and can't retain water, so we can't grow rice. As for vegetables, our backyard and the experimental field in front of the door are enough. We don't lack land at all. At most, we can grow some sweet potatoes and potatoes! In addition, to prevent it from being washed away by water in the future, we'll have to build stone embankments around it, which will cost money and effort. It's not worth it at all."

While saying this, Xingbao had other plans in mind—he had asked his father to find a place to transplant the old banyan tree branches before, but so much time had passed and they still hadn't found one. Wasn't this the perfect place for the banyan tree to take root and settle down? The villagers still had a deep affection for the old banyan tree. If the banyan saplings were transplanted there, even the village head would have no reason to object, since the old banyan tree held a special place in the hearts of the villagers.

After the two men washed the mud off Black Charcoal, Black Charcoal excitedly shook its body, splashing water everywhere like a light rain, soaking both Second Brother and Xingbao. Second Brother quickly pulled on the reins and stroked Black Charcoal's head, saying, "Black Charcoal, stop fooling around." After Black Charcoal had had its fill, they carefully wiped it down with a cloth. Then, Xingbao led Black Charcoal back to the livestock pen through the side gate, adding some sweet potato vines from their space to Black Charcoal's feeding trough. Watching Black Charcoal eat heartily, Xingbao quietly took a small hoe and went to the field behind the house.

He found an inconspicuous open space in the corner, first dug a small hole with a small hoe, then took out the banyan sapling that had been cultivated to be taller than himself from his space, put it in the hole, filled it with soil, gently pressed it down, and watered it with some spiritual spring water from his space to ensure that the sapling could survive.

After finishing all this, Xingbao patted the dirt off his hands and thought to himself: After a few days, when the banyan sapling has adapted to the environment, he and his friends will transplant it to the open space by the river bend in a grand manner. They can then say that it was cultivated from a branch left over from an old banyan tree. Anyway, everyone has seen it. In this way, the banyan tree can have a new home, his wish can be fulfilled, and he won't have to worry about the village head causing trouble. It's a win-win situation.

A week passed, and the novelty of Snowball and Black Charcoal gradually wore off. Xingbao and Guixiang also returned to their usual routine: going to class together every morning, tending to the experimental field in front of their house in the afternoon, and watering the vegetables next to it; afterwards, they would either stay home to read the medical books given to them by their master, or learn calligraphy from their older brother. Only in their spare time would they play with Snowball for a while, or in the evening, they would lead Black Charcoal for a walk on the path behind the mountain to let the little donkey exercise and strengthen its legs.

That noon, after class, Xingbao and his friends chatted and laughed as they walked from the backyard into the main room. Just as he crossed the threshold, he saw Qianjin standing with his father by the counter. His father held an account book, while Qianjin pointed to a blue cloth bundle on the counter. The two were huddled together, talking quietly, nodding occasionally. The bundle was bulging, its edges carefully tied with hemp rope, and glimpses of brown paper could be seen peeking out, as if it contained something precious, making Xingbao's heart itch with anticipation.