Courtyard House: Rebirth of a Shopkeeper in 1937

Tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the school has given us a three-day holiday so that the children can help their families with the preparations. As usual, before dawn, Dad took my eldest brother and Ding Ge to Yongfeng. We need to go to Yongfeng to buy some mooncakes and other ingredients for the festival, and my eldest brother will also take the opportunity to visit the academy for some lessons.

After breakfast, Xingbao slung his small basket over his shoulder, picked up his sickle, and prepared to head to the back mountain. He hadn't cut enough yesterday; he needed to cut more weeds to fill in, hoping they would decompose quickly enough to fertilize the rice. Guixiang also insisted on coming along, clutching the straw whip Xingbao had woven for her. She held onto Heitan's reins and followed behind, muttering, "Heitan, if you cause trouble again today, I'll whip you!" As she spoke, she lightly lashed the roadside weeds and wildflowers with the whip, scaring Heitan so much that he shrank back, not daring to lift his hooves too high, and kept dodging to the side.

Xingbao smiled helplessly as he listened to Guixiang's words: "When we got home yesterday, Heitan had already tasted the whip. Guixiang had just gotten the whip when she saw Heitan wouldn't leave and kept trying to hide in the grass. Without thinking, she lashed out and whipped Heitan across the rump. It was Heitan's first time being whipped, and it was so startled that it reared up and kicked wildly. Luckily, Guixiang was standing to the side and wasn't hit. Xingbao, standing nearby, was terrified and quickly ran over to grab the reins, pulling Heitan aside with all his might, afraid it would kick Guixiang again. Guixiang was also stunned and stood there motionless for a long time. After returning home, neither of them mentioned it, but unexpectedly, Guixiang came back with the whip today."

"Sister, Blackie is still young, don't really whip it. If it starts acting up, we'll have to work hard to pull it out," Xingbao said, turning around. Guixiang snorted, but still put the whip away, only holding it in her hand as a gesture. Blackie seemed to understand Xingbao's words, obediently following behind, no longer daring to wander into the bushes.

As the two walked towards the back of the mountain, they ran into their second brother and Dashan, who were carrying baskets on their backs heading east into the mountains. "Second brother, where are you going?" Xingbao called out. The second brother stopped and said with a smile, "Dashan and I are going to collect some dry leaves. Didn't you want to make compost? Adding dry leaves will speed up the decomposition process and make the fertilizer softer." Xingbao then remembered that his grandfather had mentioned adding dry leaves and straw when making compost to make the fertilizer more breathable.

"Are there many leaves on the mountains over there? Is it dangerous?" Gui Xiang asked curiously. Da Shan waved his hand: "Don't worry, after we hunted the wolves, the village organized people to go into the mountains to clear them. As long as you don't go too deep into the mountains, there's no danger. The leaves on the other mountains have already been collected by the villagers for firewood or to feed the livestock. No one has come to these mountains yet." After saying that, the two of them carried their baskets and walked into the mountains, quickly disappearing into the woods.

Xingbao and Guixiang continued walking towards the back of the mountain. The roadside weeds grew lushly. Xingbao squatted down, picked up a sickle, and began to cut the grass. The sickle was very sharp, and he could cut a bundle of weeds in just a few strokes. He neatly put the weeds into his basket, and soon he had cut about half a basket. Guixiang stood beside him, leading Heitan, and occasionally helped pick up the scattered weeds and put them into the basket. She also kept a watchful eye on Heitan, preventing him from getting close to the pile of grass.

The sunlight gradually rose, filtering through the gaps in the leaves and warming them. Xingbao wiped the sweat from his brow, looked at the nearly full basket of weeds, straightened up, and called out, "Sister, let's go home. This grass is enough to fill half a vat. We'll come back to cut more this afternoon." Guixiang nodded, took Heitan's hand, and followed Xingbao home. This time, Heitan didn't dare to cause trouble and obediently followed, his hooves making a soft "tap-tap" sound on the path.

As soon as they got home, Xingbao emptied the weeds from his basket into a corner of the yard. He then brought out a small chaff cutter from the woodshed, the kind his father usually used to chop weeds for guests and to feed livestock. He placed small handfuls of weeds under the cutter, pressed down on the handle with both hands, and with a "snap," the weeds were chopped into small pieces two or three inches long. Guixiang also came to help, picking up the chopped pieces and putting them into a bamboo basket nearby. Working together, the two of them finished chopping all the weeds in no time.

Around noon, the voices of Second Brother and Dashan came from outside the courtyard gate. Xingbao and Guixiang ran to open the gate and saw the two of them returning excitedly with baskets on their backs. The baskets were not filled with many withered leaves, but were full of brown fir mushrooms, as well as some common white and yellow mushrooms, all covered with fresh soil and looking very fresh.

"Xingbao! Guixiang! Look!" The second brother put down his basket and excitedly picked up a handful of pine mushrooms. "There were so many pine mushrooms in the mountains we went to! They grow under the pine needles, and you can find them every time! We originally wanted to collect more fallen leaves, but there were so many mushrooms that our basket couldn't hold them all!" Dashan added with a smile, "These mushrooms are so delicious when stewed with meat. Let's go pick more this afternoon and try to collect as many as possible so we can eat them for Mid-Autumn Festival!"

Gui Xiang leaned closer, curiously touching the cap of the fir mushroom, and couldn't help but tilt her little face up and ask, "Second Brother, are there really a lot of mushrooms in the mountains? I want to go picking them with you, I want to pick big mushrooms too!"

My second brother patted his chest and said proudly, "Don't worry! I know which area has the most mushrooms under the pine trees. I'll take you there this afternoon, and I guarantee you'll fill your basket!"

These words were overheard by the mother, who had just entered the backyard. Seeing this, she quickly walked over, grabbed her second brother's ear with considerable force, and said, "Looks like I didn't hit you hard enough last time. It's only been a few days and you want to take Guixiang up the mountain again? The mountains are too dangerous. What if you encounter snakes or get lost?"

The second brother immediately turned his head to the side in pain, stood on tiptoe, and his face was all scrunched up. He cried out, "Mother, it hurts, it hurts! I dare not do it again, I dare not take my sister up the mountain again! Please let go!" Xingbao and Guixiang stood by, too scared to speak.

Seeing her second brother beg for mercy, Mother finally released him, gently rubbing his reddened ear with her fingertips. Turning to Guixiang, she said softly, "Guixiang, be good. There are many unseen dangers in the mountains. When you grow up and can find your own way, you can go mushroom picking with your brother, okay?"

Gui Xiang was clearly frightened by her mother's "making an example of someone" manner. Her little face was still a bit pale. She quickly ran over and hugged her mother's leg, whispering, "Mom, I won't go mushroom picking anymore. I'll stay home and help you with chores, like picking vegetables and feeding the chickens."

Seeing that her goal had been achieved, Mother smiled, patted Guixiang's head, and then turned to Dashan and said, "Dashan, divide the mushrooms among yourselves. Take them home and dry them as soon as possible. These mushrooms are fresh and will spoil easily if left for too long." Dashan nodded, took half of the mushrooms from his own basket, wrapped them in cloth, said goodbye to his second brother and Xingbao, and then carried the mushrooms home.

After Dashan left, Mother directed her three children to clean the mushrooms. They divided the work: Xingbao carefully scraped the dirt off the mushroom roots with a shard of porcelain; the second brother rinsed each mushroom thoroughly by the basin; and Guixiang squatted beside them, diligently picking out any weeds. Mother wasn't idle either, checking the mushrooms every now and then, examining them carefully to make sure no poisonous mushrooms had been mixed in before placing them in a bamboo sieve to drain.

Then, Mother took a bowl of fresh mushrooms to the kitchen to cook, while her second brother sliced ​​the rest thinly and spread them out on a bamboo tray to dry, intending to save them for later. Guixiang followed behind her mother, eager to see what the mushroom dish would look like, but when lunchtime arrived, the table was set with green vegetables, tofu, and scrambled eggs; the mushrooms she had been hoping for were nowhere to be seen. The little girl immediately wilted, sitting at the table picking at her rice with little appetite, barely touching even her usual favorite eggs.

Xingbao watched, then glanced at the dried mushrooms drying on the windowsill, and suddenly his mind wandered back to the family's rooster. He deliberately raised his voice and said to his mother, "Mom, are you going to kill the rooster this afternoon? We can use the fresh chicken to stew mushrooms; it'll be a delicious addition to the family menu for tomorrow's Mid-Autumn Festival!"

Upon hearing this, Gui Xiang instantly perked up. She put down her chopsticks, opened her eyes wide, and looked at her mother with hopeful eyes, even the corners of her mouth slightly upturned. Her mother glared at Xing Bao, annoyed: "You two siblings shouldn't keep staring at the rooster. Don't we still have some smoked pheasant at home? We'll stew it for the festival tomorrow, with some dried mushrooms. It'll be just as delicious. Tonight, I'll make you some stir-fried cured pork with mushrooms to satisfy your cravings."

Xingbao still wanted to try, so he scratched his head and said, "Mom, smoked pheasant isn't as tender as fresh chicken, and the rooster doesn't lay eggs, plus it keeps me awake every morning. If we don't try to get it, what are we supposed to do with the hen? The hen lays eggs for us to make red eggs!" This made his mother laugh, and she tapped Xingbao's forehead. "You always have so many excuses! We need the rooster to crow and tell the time. We'll talk about it later. Tonight we'll have stir-fried cured pork with mushrooms, I promise you'll have your fill!" As soon as Guixiang heard about the stir-fried cured pork with mushrooms, she immediately took a sip of porridge, and her little face lit up with a smile again.