Courtyard House: Rebirth of a Shopkeeper in 1937

"What's all this noise about?" Fortunately, it didn't take long before Wang Jiazhang's voice came over, and with just one sentence, he quelled the commotion. It turned out that Wang Jiazhang had also heard about Dawei's amazing potato yield and had come to see for himself. However, he lived a bit far away, and being old, he was slow on his feet. He happened to run into Yanbang and his brothers, who were on their way to invite the village elder, which allowed him to arrive in time.

The crowd immediately parted to make way, and Wang Jiazhang slowly walked to the bamboo basket, bent down, and touched the potatoes that were still covered in damp mud. He couldn't help but exclaim, "Such big potatoes! I've never seen anything like it in all my years!" He then turned to the young men beside him and said, "Don't just stand here watching the show. Give me a hand and carry these potatoes to Dawei's main room. Don't let them get ruined in the sun."

After everyone had gathered up the scattered potato seedlings and carried the full baskets of potatoes into the main room, several other village elders arrived at the kitchen one after another. Looking at the plump and large potatoes displayed in the center of the main room, the elders couldn't help but marvel and circled the potato baskets for a long time.

Once everyone had calmed down a bit, Father invited the village elders to sit at the head of the table and had Xingbao and Guixiang serve freshly brewed hot tea. After the elders had tasted the tea, Father cleared his throat and got straight to the point: "Uncles and elders, you've all seen the number of potatoes. Firstly, we don't have much land, and secondly, this is the first time the children have grown them, so this is all we've managed to grow. I invited you all here today to discuss how to best utilize these potato seeds."

The villagers in the main room held their breath, quietly watching the elderly men whispering amongst themselves. Everyone knew that the potato yield was nearly double what they usually grew. For families with little land, planting them would feed more people next year—it could be life-saving; for families with more land, it would bring in even more money. Everyone craned their necks, practically pressing their ears to the village elders' mouths, afraid of missing a single word.

After about the time it takes to eat a meal, the village elders finally reached a decision. Wang Jia cleared his throat, stood up, and said in a steady voice, "Listen up, everyone! These potato seeds are all we have right now, and they're very precious. Since Xingbao and his friends painstakingly cultivated them, these seeds should naturally be entrusted to them for leadership. The village has decided to designate that wasteland on the east bank of the river as a breeding ground specifically for the village, to expand the cultivation of these potatoes."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, and continued, "From now on, one-tenth of the harvest from this seedbed will go to the village as a benefit for the whole village; Dawei's family, who worked hard to lead the effort, will receive forty percent; and the remaining fifty percent will be distributed among the children who helped manage the seedbed. As for any family that wants seeds, they can buy them at the usual price. But there's one rule—before everyone in our village can plant them, no one is allowed to share these potato seeds with anyone outside!"

This decision was an incredible surprise. Xingbao's eyes lit up when he heard it, and for a moment he felt a little unreal. His mind was already racing, planning the land in the bend of the river to the east: how to divide the plots, how to water and fertilize, how to select better seeds... He was completely absorbed in it.

The villagers below were also in an uproar, crowding forward and asking all sorts of questions: "Chief Wang, how many children are needed to help with the breeding field?" "Are there any age requirements? My son is sixteen, and he's very quick and agile!" "My child is also sensible and can work in the fields..." In an instant, the main room became lively again, but this time the liveliness was full of joy and anticipation.

At this moment, Wang Jiazhang raised his hand to quiet everyone down. Turning to Xingbao and his brothers, he said, "Yanbang, Yanguo, Xingbao, you brothers should discuss how many people you need to help with the seedbed. We measured that land before; it's about six-tenths of an acre. If we can build a stone embankment and make it neat, we can gain another ten or two-tenths of an acre. To be honest, the village head originally intended to sell this land to her cousin's family. If you hadn't already planted the banyan trees there, I would have agreed then. Now, it's officially your responsibility to manage this land. Remember, everyone in the village, young and old, is hoping your improved seeds will yield a good harvest!"

The eldest brother gently tugged at Xingbao, who was still lost in thought about planning the plot of land. Seeing him come back to his senses, he straightened his clothes, took a step forward, and respectfully bowed to the village elders: "Thank you all for your trust. My siblings and I will definitely work hard and live up to your expectations!" Xingbao and his second brother quickly followed suit and bowed as well. Seeing her brothers busy at work, Guixiang ran out from a corner with a snowball in her arms and imitated the bowing gesture, making the villagers laugh heartily.

After the laughter subsided, the brothers huddled together and quietly discussed how many people they would need to help with the breeding plot. The eldest brother frowned slightly and said with some difficulty, "Yan Guo, Xing Bao, think about it. It's only six fen of land in total. Even if we add the one or two fen that have been cleared out, we can easily arrange for thirty children around ten years old to help. The problem is, deciding which families' children to take in and which not to take in is difficult. If we're not careful, we might offend a lot of villagers."

The second brother was already lost in thought, his mind filled with images of himself ordering everyone around. Hearing this, he waved his hand dismissively, "Big brother, you can discuss this with Xingbao. Once it's settled, just let me lead the team to work!"

Xingbao shook his head, already having made up his mind—only children make choices; he would accept it all! "Big brother, our initial intention in cultivating improved varieties and planting experimental fields was to help the villagers harvest more grain. Now is a good opportunity to promote planting methods and spread improved varieties. Of course, the more people, the better. This way, we won't offend anyone, and more children can learn planting techniques, so that everyone can avoid detours when they plant on their own in the future. Although preparing the land will be a bit hard at first, we can divide people into several groups and take turns working in the fields. With more people, each child will only have to take turns every few days, which won't interfere with their family's farm work."

Seeing that his eldest brother didn't object, Xingbao raised his voice a little so that everyone in the village could hear: "Eldest brother, second brother, I think it's settled then—children over six years old who are not yet married, as long as they are willing to help, we'll accept them all! Starting today, registration is open for these three days only. After these three days, we'll only accept children over six years old!"

The eldest brother looked at the second brother, who nodded in agreement, then turned to the village elders and said, "Villagers, we've discussed it and decided to do as Xingbao said!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Jiazhang nodded, placed his water pipe on the table, stood up, and said to the villagers, "Did you all hear what Xingbao said? If you want your children to help in the breeding fields, just have them sign up with Xingbao and his siblings!"