Courtyard House: Rebirth of a Shopkeeper in 1937

When Xingbao woke up from his afternoon nap, he took a small hoe and went to the experimental field to tend to the rice. He checked the growth of the rice, dug up the newly sprouted weeds by the roots, and added some water to the field. Guixiang helped him make a record. After checking that there were no omissions, Xingbao waved his little hand and said, "Let's go make compost." He took the small hoe and walked towards the back of the house.

Gui Xiang ran over, a small shovel in her hand, and skipped along, saying, "Xing Bao, let me help you empty the weeds!" Xing Bao smiled and nodded. The two of them first put the chopped weeds and leaves they had collected that morning into a basket, carried it over, placed it on the rim of the water vat, and stood on tiptoe to slowly pour it into the vat. Working together, they quickly filled the vat more than halfway. Next, Xing Bao went to the chicken coop to shovel chicken manure, which was excellent material for composting. As soon as he put the broom under the chicken coop, Gui Xiang wrinkled her little nose and took two steps back: "It stinks! Xing Bao, I'm not shoveling chicken manure!" Xing Bao smiled helplessly: "Sister, if we shovel the chicken manure in the yard to compost, the yard won't smell so bad anymore, and you'll be able to hang your clothes to dry more comfortably." In the end, Gui Xiang bit her lip, mustered her courage, covered her nose with one hand, and came over to help Xing Bao sweep out the chicken manure, carefully shoveling it into the vat.

When they went into the livestock pen to shovel the black charcoal manure, Guixiang just stood far away and called out, "Xingbao, be careful, don't get it on your clothes!" But when she actually saw Xingbao carrying the sewage from the outhouse into the vat, she still cried out "Ah!" and ran away, covering her nose. Xingbao even added muddy water, charcoal ash, and yellow soil from the ditch into it.

Xingbao didn't force him. He went to the ditch and scooped up some muddy water, brought charcoal ash from the kitchen, and shoveled some damp yellow soil, dumping it all into the vat. Even with the charcoal ash to mask the smell, an unpleasant odor still wafted from the vat. He held his breath, found a thick stick, stuck it into the vat, and stirred it with all his might—the weeds, manure, and soil had to be mixed evenly, otherwise they would decompose slowly and easily stink. But he was young and his arms weren't very strong. After stirring for a few moments, his arms started to ache, and sweat beaded on his forehead. He could only run to the side to catch his breath and wait for the smell to dissipate before continuing to stir.

Meanwhile, Gui Xiang secretly went around to the corner of the wall and peeked half her head in this direction. She saw that Xing Bao's face was flushed from all the commotion. Just as she was about to tell him to take a break, she smelled the odor coming from the wall and quickly shrank back.

Xingbao hadn't stirred it a few times when he heard footsteps outside the yard—his second brother and Dashan were returning with baskets on their backs. "Seeing how many mushrooms we picked this morning, and knowing there were many more people going into the mountains to pick mushrooms this afternoon, we only picked this much!" His second brother put down his basket; the mushrooms only covered the bottom, but it was filled with withered leaves and pine needles. "But these withered leaves and pine needles are perfect for composting, much better than weeds." Dashan nodded in agreement, dumping the withered leaves and pine needles from his basket into the vat, and picked up another stick: "Xingbao, let me stir it for you!"

The second brother rolled up his sleeves and stirred the water in the vat with two sticks, quickly mixing the withered leaves and pine needles with the manure. With their help, both vats were stirred in no time. Xingbao suddenly remembered something, ran into the house, and soon came out clutching a cloth bag filled with dried orange peels—his mother had saved them for smoking meat; the peels could remove odors, so he had specifically asked his mother for some. He sprinkled the orange peels on top of the water vat, the golden peels adding a nice touch of color to the dark brown manure.

Finally, the three of them found a sturdy wooden plank and together covered the water vat. They then piled a ring of damp soil around the plank to prevent the smell from escaping and to block any rain that might come. "Finally done!" Xingbao straightened up, wiping the sweat from his brow. His coarse cloth shirt was covered in mud and had a faint, unpleasant odor, but looking at the covered water vat, he felt a great sense of accomplishment. He looked up at the sky; the sun was still high in the west, and the weather was still a bit hot. If the composting went quickly, it might even be able to be used as fertilizer for this season's rice! Even if it wasn't, it didn't matter. As long as the compost helped the rice grow well, the villagers would see the results and naturally follow suit.

"Xingbao, Second Brother, Mother has boiled water. Hurry up and go take a bath and change your clothes!" Guixiang's voice suddenly came from the back door. The little girl, holding onto the door frame, only peeked out with half her head, her eyes sparkling as she looked at them, but her feet were firmly planted on the threshold, clearly still disgusted by their smell. After speaking, she shrank back like a startled little rabbit and ran back to the main room, even the wooden door creaking and shaking, leaving only a series of light footsteps.

The three brothers exchanged glances, a helpless, bitter smile playing on their lips—the smell of compost on them was pungent even to themselves. They tidied up their tools before heading to the kitchen. As soon as they entered, they saw their mother adding cold water to a wooden basin, a clean set of coarse cloth clothes on a bamboo stool beside her. "Xingbao, you smell bad, wash first, don't bother your sister," their mother said, stirring the water in the basin while glancing towards the door—Guixiang was probably hiding in the main room, not daring to approach the kitchen.

Xingbao responded crisply, reaching out to unbutton his coarse cloth jacket. He casually draped the mud-splattered garment over a bamboo stool, revealing the lingering grass stains on his arms. He tentatively dipped his feet into the hot water, the warmth creeping up his toes, and he immediately let out a comfortable sigh, his shoulders relaxing. He carefully scrubbed the mud from the crevices, the occasional splash of water leaving a small damp patch on the blue brick floor. After his bath and changing into clean clothes, all his fatigue and the unpleasant odor were washed away, leaving even his hair feeling refreshed.

At dinner, the eight-immortal table was set with loofah soup, steamed pumpkin, and the stir-fried mushrooms with cured pork that Mother had promised. Xingbao had just sat down on the stool when he noticed Guixiang quietly moving closer to her mother, her little eyes constantly glancing at him like a wary little sparrow, afraid he might still smell of her. Xingbao deliberately moved closer to her, and Guixiang immediately cried out "Ah!" and hid behind her mother, making the whole family laugh.

When it was time for bed, the little girl was even more nimble. Clutching her pillow embroidered with tiny flowers, she ran to her parents' bedside, climbed up the edge, and loudly told her mother, "Mom, I want to sleep with you!" She looked as if she was afraid of being "infected" with Xingbao's scent.

Xingbao stood at the door, both amused and exasperated—it was obvious he was being rejected. But instead of being angry, his eyes lit up; he saw this as a good opportunity to make a request. He tiptoed to his father's side, tugged at his sleeve, and looked up at him earnestly, saying, "Dad, could you take some time to make another small bed and partition my sister's and my room with a wooden board? That way, my sister and I can sleep alone without disturbing each other. And when my younger siblings grow up, they can squeeze into the same room with us, saving us the guest room space."

Father, who was sitting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) fanning himself, paused for a moment upon hearing this, then put down the fan, reached out and patted Xingbao's head, his eyes full of smiles: "Our Xingbao knows how to think of things! But you're still young, so there's no rush. When we can go into the mountains to cut down trees this winter, I'll talk to Uncle Youcai. Cutting down trees is cheaper than buying ready-made timber, but it'll take some time." Mother, sitting beside him sewing shoe soles, nodded in agreement: "That's good too. You two siblings are both grown up now, so it'll be easier for you to sleep separately. It'll save your sister from kicking off the covers at night and me having to get up to cover her."

Gui Xiang, who had been listening intently between her parents, stopped objecting when she heard she would have her own little space. She just muttered softly, "Then I want a flowery mattress on my bed, as pretty as Mother's." Her mother put down her needlework, smiled, and playfully pinched her nose. "Alright, I'll make you a new flowery mattress and quilt later. The ones you have now are for Xing Bao."

The oil lamp cast a warm glow on the wall. The family gathered around the lamp, chatting, occasionally punctuated by Gui Xiang's cheerful laughter and her father's deep voice responding. Xing Bao leaned on his father's arm, listening to the lively sounds from inside the house, secretly pleased. Not only was the composting project settled, but he would also have his own little room. All that smelly work hadn't been for nothing.