Courtyard House: Rebirth of a Shopkeeper in 1937

These past two days, Dad hasn't been idle. He went up the mountain early in the morning to cut thin bamboo, and for two consecutive days, a small mountain of bamboo piled up at home. Taking advantage of the sunny weather, he and my second brother neatly inserted the straightened thin bamboo into the pillars of the bamboo shed to build a fence. "After we install the door and plaster it with mud mixed with straw, we won't be afraid of the cold in winter," Dad said, patting off the dust. The original wooden signboard of the shop was also moved to a conspicuous place on the bamboo shed and nailed firmly, so that the four characters "Song's Shop" could be seen from afar.

Meanwhile, the work at the breeding field was also underway. After days of hard work by the children, the land, originally covered in gravel and hardened by footsteps, had been thoroughly tilled and turned over with hoes, then carefully leveled with rakes. The clods were broken up and softened, and from a distance, the flat yellow earth radiated vitality. That afternoon, all the children involved in the breeding work, filled with anticipation, gathered early at the small banyan tree at the village entrance, chattering excitedly about the upcoming tasks. Some rubbed their little hands together eagerly, while others stood on tiptoe, gazing towards the breeding field, their eyes full of longing.

Seeing this, the eldest brother, Song Yanbang, smiled with satisfaction. He strode up the large, protruding rock—its higher elevation ensured everyone could hear him clearly. He cleared his throat and announced loudly, "Brothers and sisters, you've all worked hard these past few days! Digging rocks and turning the soil under the scorching sun, not a single person complained! Now, our breeding ground is finally ready! From today onwards, this is no longer just ordinary wasteland, but our proper breeding base in Jinxianpu!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a cheer erupted from the crowd. Fu Gui was the first to shout, "Sir! Shouldn't we put up a wooden sign to mark this breeding base?"

Before Fu Gui could finish speaking, Xiao Hua pulled Gui Xiang forward, sucking her little finger and saying softly, "Sir, let's not wait for the sign to be put up, let's go dig river mud!" Gui Xiang nodded vigorously behind her, her face full of anticipation.

"Yeah, Yanbang, stop dawdling!" A boy of about sixteen or seventeen stood up and urged, "Hurry up and arrange to dredge the river mud, we're all ready!" As soon as he spoke, the other children echoed him, stamping their feet in impatience, wishing they could run to the riverbank immediately.

The eldest brother chuckled and raised his hand to signal for quiet: "Alright, alright, look how anxious you all are! Gui Xiang must have leaked the news beforehand! In the end, it's the river hooves that are more appealing to you little gluttons!"

These words made the children burst into laughter. Gui Xiang, having her thoughts exposed, stuck out her tongue shyly and hid behind Xing Bao, only peeking out with her eyes.

The laughter subsided, and the eldest brother, his smile fading, said seriously, "Let me make this clear first, so you don't get a beating from your uncles when you get home. We're not digging river mud for fun; it's to prepare fertilizer for planting cabbages later. Tomorrow we'll also go up the mountain to rake some leaves back, burn them to ash, and mix them with the river mud to make the fertilizer more effective. Although it's a bit late to plant cabbages now, we can still get some harvest, and everyone can bring home a few cabbages."

He paused for a moment, then said to Fugui, "There's no need to put up signs. These superior seeds are the treasures of our village, and we're afraid outsiders will steal them. It's better to keep a low profile; better safe than sorry."

After saying that, the eldest brother loudly ordered, "Now everyone go home and bring buckets and wheelbarrows, and gather at the riverbank to prepare to dredge river mud!"

"Alright!" the children responded in unison. As soon as the eldest brother finished speaking, everyone scattered and ran home noisily. Xingbao and his sister also hurried home, pushed their wheelbarrow, and took the clean bucket of swill. Guixiang specially found a wooden basin from home and fixed it to the wheelbarrow, and also brought out some charcoal—she had been eyeing the water chestnuts from the river since last year, but because her eldest brother had to go to school and her second brother was too young to play with, she finally didn't want to miss out this time.

Before long, a group of children arrived at the riverbank, carrying buckets of various sizes and pushing wheelbarrows. Each child's face was beaming with excitement, rosy from the sun, and their chatter and playful shouts completely shattered the tranquility of the river bend. The riverbank quickly became crowded, a sea of ​​heads. Many of the older children had brought their younger siblings. The little ones had never seen such a lively scene before, curiously peering around the river, some even reaching out to touch the cool water, only to be quickly pulled back by their older siblings to prevent them from falling.

Xingbao immediately noticed the chaotic scene and his heart skipped a beat. He thought to himself, "This is too dangerous!" He quickly squeezed next to his older brother, tugged at his sleeve, and whispered in his ear, "Brother, this won't do, it's too dangerous! You should arrange for the older brothers to take turns going into the water to dig up the river mud and transport it ashore in two shifts. Those around ten years old can be in charge of pushing the wheelbarrows to transport it. I'll take the younger ones to the breeding field to wait. After the older brothers dump the river mud on the field, they can collect the horse hooves there. This division of labor is both safe and won't delay the work."

The eldest brother looked down and saw that he was surrounded by little radish heads, some of whom were pushing and shoving each other. It was indeed very dangerous. He nodded vigorously and said, "Do it your way! This is a good arrangement! You take the little ones to the breeding field first. There are too many people and too many feet on the riverbank. If anyone falls or bumps into someone, none of us can take the responsibility."

Xingbao immediately pushed his way through the crowd and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Younger brothers and sisters, come with me to the breeding field! The older brothers will dump the river mud with horseshoes on it on the field for us to collect; it's much safer than waiting by the river!"

The older children realized the riverbank was dangerous with so many people and started helping to comfort the little ones. Some took the little ones' hands, others picked up the very young children, urging them to go with Xingbao. Just then, Guixiang suddenly panicked. She remembered her wooden basin was still on the rocks by the riverbank and quickly stood on tiptoe, shouting towards Xingbao, "Xingbao! Wait! Help me carry the basin over there!"

Xingbao looked back and saw Guixiang's wooden basin sitting alone on the rock. He had no choice but to temporarily hand over the task of leading the team to Xuewen, who was beside him: "Brother Xuewen, you lead everyone to the breeding field first. I'll go get the basin and catch up right away." After saying that, he turned around and ran to the rock to pick up the basin. However, he was young and the basin was a bit big, so it was inconvenient to walk while holding it in his arms. He simply lifted the basin and carried it on his back. The basin almost covered his upper body, making him look like a small, moving wooden barrel. Although it wasn't heavy, it blocked his vision and made walking very inconvenient and unsteady.

He hadn't walked far when he heard Gui Xiang urging him from behind, "Xingbao, hurry up! Don't delay picking up the horse hooves!" Then, with a sharp "smack," a small stick struck the wooden basin on his back. Seeing this, several mischievous children around him followed suit, picking up twigs and sticks from the ground to hit the basin, the "smack, smack, smack" sounds growing louder. A few particularly mischievous ones ran in front of Xingbao, squatted down, and looked up at his comical figure carrying the basin, giggling and shouting, "Xingbao looks like a little wooden bucket! Xingbao is a little wooden bucket!"

Xingbao was so angry that his face turned red, his cheeks puffed up like little balls. He was both angry and helpless, but with his hands on the wooden basin on his back, he couldn't spare the strength to scold them. He could only bury his head in his hands and hurry forward. Finally, he reached the small banyan tree, put down the basin, turned around, put his hands on his hips, and gave a heavy "humph" to the little radish heads who were still clutching their sticks and laughing so hard they couldn't stand up straight. His eyes were full of dissatisfaction, and he looked like a little tiger with its fur standing on end.

Seeing this, Gui Xiang quickly threw down the small stick in her hand, ran to Xing Bao's side, tugged at his sleeve and rubbed against him, looking all ingratiating—she didn't want to make Xing Bao angry, otherwise she wouldn't get any of the good food in the future.