Courtyard House: Rebirth of a Shopkeeper in 1937

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking and the sky was still tinged with the pale light of day, the open space at the breeding base was already bustling with activity. Following their pre-arranged tasks, five people formed groups, each with their own duties—some digging holes, some planting seeds, some covering them with soil, some fetching water, and some watering. Everyone was clearly assigned a task, and no one was idle. The eldest brother had specifically instructed them that only through hands-on labor would they truly appreciate the hard-won harvest; especially the younger children, who needed this sense of accomplishment from their own labor. Don't underestimate them because of their age; they will be the backbone of the base in the future, weeding and catching insects. These little ones can play with ants all day long; there's no need to worry about their patience.

The cabbage seeds planted this time were a superior variety that Xingbao had specially cultivated temporarily in his space. To encourage the seeds to germinate sooner and increase the germination rate, Xingbao soaked the seeds in diluted spiritual spring water for a full hour the night before.

When they first started sowing, everyone misjudged the spacing and scattered the seeds too densely. Xingbao realized this wouldn't do, so he quickly ran home and found a bunch of small sticks. He cut them into two lengths, 50 centimeters and 60 centimeters, according to the pre-calculated dimensions, to serve as standards for row and plant spacing. While demonstrating how to measure the spacing with the sticks, he patiently explained, "If you plant them too densely, the cabbages will compete for nutrients, and they'll all grow thin and small. Planting them at this distance allows each cabbage to spread out and grow big and strong." After hearing Xingbao's explanation, everyone understood and adjusted their planting according to the standards, and the sowing progressed smoothly.

Many hands make light work. Although adjusting the spacing caused some delays, everyone managed to complete all the sowing tasks successfully before the sun fully rose over the mountain and the golden sunlight bathed the fields. They then carefully arranged the watering schedule for the next few days to ensure that the seeds in every plot received water. Only then did they pack up their tools with satisfaction, chatting and laughing as they headed home.

The next morning, Xingbao and his brothers first moved the tables and chairs needed for the bamboo shed and arranged them neatly. Then they went straight to the breeding field to check on the situation. They hadn't gone far when they saw several children responsible for watering the plants that day squatting by the edge of the field, chattering about something, as if discussing something important. The three of them exchanged a glance and quickly ran over.

Only upon closer inspection did the three children realize that the cabbage seeds they had sown just yesterday had already sprouted into tiny, tender seedlings. The bright green tips, topped with thin seed coats, looked exceptionally delicate. The children, however, weren't discussing watering at all; they were deciding which seedlings to urinate on, claiming it would make the vegetables grow faster. They had clearly chosen their targets and were now standing up, their faces flushed, ready to begin.

"Don't pee!" In a moment of panic, Xingbao shouted, his heart pounding in his throat—the seedlings had just sprouted and their roots hadn't taken hold yet; if he peed on them, the high concentration of salt would definitely burn them to death!

The children were startled by the loud shout, stopping abruptly and slowly turning around. One of the boys, with a chubby face, frowned and asked, "Xingbao, why can't we pee? My mom said we should pee in our own field so it can be fertilizer and make the vegetables grow faster!" The other children nodded in agreement, their faces full of confusion—in their eyes, pee should be poured on the ground, and if they peed outside, they would get scolded by their parents when they got home.

Upon hearing this, Xingbao couldn't help but slap his forehead, inwardly cursing: In the countryside, people do have the habit of using urine as fertilizer, but it depends on the time and method! He then thought that if he didn't explain it clearly quickly, more children might come here to urinate or even defecate, ruining all the seedlings in the entire breeding field! He had to find someone to keep an eye on things and explain the reasons clearly first.

He took a deep breath, trying to make his tone gentle and patient: "Don't rush to refute me. Think about it carefully. When you see your parents urinating on vegetables, don't you add a lot of water to the chamber pot and stir it well before using it? You've never seen anyone urinate directly on vegetables, have you?" As he spoke, he observed the children's expressions. When he saw several children begin to frown and think, he knew that his words had struck a chord with them.

As soon as he finished speaking, only four children nodded, seemingly understanding, while the rest remained blank. Even the eldest and second eldest brothers leaned closer, their eyes filled with curiosity, as if demanding an explanation. Xingbao pondered for a while, realizing he had to use something they were most familiar with as an analogy; otherwise, no amount of explanation would be effective. He couldn't help but think of salt, and continued, "It's like adding salt when cooking at home—without salt, the food is tasteless and doesn't taste good; but if you just grab a handful of salt and put it in your mouth, wouldn't it taste salty and bitter, and you'd have to drink water and drool to feel better?"

Upon hearing this, all the children nodded vigorously; they all knew the taste of salt. Xingbao pressed his advantage: "Our urine is salty too, with a salt concentration even higher than cooking salt. These seedlings are so small; they won't drool like us to dilute the saltiness. If we pour it directly on them, they'll definitely 'die from the saltiness'!"

Everyone suddenly realized what was happening, and their faces showed expressions of lingering fear. But then a problem arose: when they were interrupted, they were all already bursting with urgency. A short boy, with his legs crossed, stomped his feet in discomfort: "Xingbao, what do we do now? I can't hold it in any longer!" The other children nodded anxiously, looking extremely embarrassed.

Xingbao glanced around at the buckets next to him and saw that they were all stale buckets that were usually used to store fertilizer. He pointed to one of them and said, "You can pour it into this bucket first. We'll fill it with water to dilute it later, and then we can use it to water the vegetables. This way, we won't waste any fertilizer and we won't hurt the seedlings."

Several children quickly followed suit. But they had only urinated halfway when several more children rushed over from the village, shouting "Wait for us!" and started urinating in the bucket as well. Xingbao sighed helplessly at the sight—just as he had expected, if this wasn't stopped in advance, more and more people would come.

He turned to his elder brother and said, "Brother, more children will definitely come here to pee and poop, so we need to find someone to keep an eye on them. Why don't we just build a simple outhouse by the roadside? First, it will solve the children's problem, and second, I'm worried about not having enough manure for composting. I can't keep going down to the river to dig mud. If I dig too much, the horseshoes along the river will become extinct, and it's not safe to go down to the river all the time."

Seeing the children arriving one after another and heading straight for the water bucket, the eldest brother also thought this method was feasible and immediately nodded in agreement.