Courtyard House: I Rely on Time-Space Trade to Build a Nation

The day Li Zhenying received the notification was a cloudy day.

The village loudspeaker blared her name three times. She put down her work and headed towards the village office. Along the way, she encountered several acquaintances, all of whom kept their heads down, silent, and avoided eye contact.

Sitting in the village office was a woman in a uniform with two stripes on her epaulets, who looked to be in her early thirties, her face expressionless. Standing next to her was a man in his forties, wearing glasses and holding a notebook.

"Lee Jin-young?" the man asked.

"Yes."

"Can you read?"

"Know a little."

The man made a note in his notebook. The woman spoke:

"Conscripted by the government. Go to the Republic, work in a factory. Three years."

Lee Jin-young was stunned for a moment.

The woman continued, "Does your father speak Chinese?"

"I know some."

"You studied it too?"

"I know a little bit."

The woman nodded and said a few words to the person next to her. Then she turned to look at Lee Jin-young:

"You'll be the class monitor, in charge of ten people."

And so, Li Zhenying became one of the first female workers to go to the Republic.

Her partner, the deputy squad leader, was also a woman named Park Soon-hee. She was two years younger than her, didn't talk much, but was efficient at her work.

On the day they set off, they traveled by oxcart and horse-drawn carriage for two whole days before finally reaching a station on the border. Along the way, there were ruins everywhere: charred houses, blown-up bridges, and emaciated children standing blankly by the roadside.

Li Zhenying didn't dare to look too much. At the station, she transferred to a truck; although the ride was bumpy, it was noticeably faster.

After crossing the border, the scenery suddenly changed.

The train station on the Chinese side was new. High platforms, neat brick buildings, and staff in clean uniforms moving about. When the female workers disembarked, many were stunned, standing there motionless.

The company commander had to call them several times before he finally woke them up.

Before boarding, everyone was given an aluminum lunchbox. Li Zhenying opened it and looked inside; it contained a spoon and chopsticks, a towel, a bar of soap, and a roll of toilet paper. Someone next to her whispered, "What's this for?" No one answered.

Once on the train, they were seated in hard seats.

Each carriage can seat about 120 people, which is just enough for a company.

Lee Jin-young had her ten people sit together, with the vice class leader Park Soon-hee sitting on the outermost side.

"Put your luggage on top!" the company commander shouted, pointing to the luggage rack.

The female workers put their bundles down, sat down, but kept their eyes fixed on the outside of the window.

The train started moving slowly, gradually accelerating, and the female workers began to be attracted by the scenery outside.

Outside there are mountains, fields, houses, a gray road, and chimneys belching smoke.

Those houses weren't ruins; they were intact, some even new. Occasionally, you could see a strange machine driving by on the road. Later, Li Zhenying learned that it was called a tractor.

Since we boarded the bus at nearly 11 a.m., it wasn't long before noon arrived.

A woman entered the carriage. She was in her thirties, with a round face and a loud voice, wearing a dark blue uniform. She was pushing two large buckets, and behind her was another person carrying a large basket covered with a cotton cloth.

After a brief exchange between the translator and the company commander, the commander stood up and shouted, "Everyone, take out your mess kits!"

The female workers quickly opened their lunchboxes and emptied the towels, soap, and toilet paper inside, leaving the lunchboxes empty.

The round-faced woman then had the translator say a few more words to the company commander.

Lee Jin-young heard it because she was close by.

The round-faced train conductor began speaking to the translator.

"Tell them that if they don't have enough, they can come back for more, there's plenty. But the first time, each person should just eat one or two steamed buns, don't eat too much. You've come from your hometown, your stomachs have been empty for too long, eating too much at once will kill you."

"It's 12 o'clock now, and we'll be back around 5 pm. We eat three meals a day: 8 am, 12 pm, and 5 pm. If you're really starving, you can go to the dining car and ask me for something to eat."

The company commander nodded and said directly to the female workers, "Take two steamed buns each, that's all."

She didn't explain why. But Lee Jin-young understood.

The round-faced woman started pushing the cart forward, holding a large spoon in her hand.

The person next to him lifted the lid of the bucket, and a meaty aroma immediately filled the entire carriage.

Lee Jin-young heard someone swallow. Her own stomach started growling.

The round-faced woman scooped food into each lunchbox. A spoonful of stir-fried green peppers with sliced ​​pork, a spoonful of stir-fried bok choy. Piled up in the lunchboxes, it looked incredibly tempting. After scooping the food, she took two steamed buns from a basket and handed them to everyone.

The steamed buns were made from a mixture of cornmeal and wheat flour, and were less than the size of a fist, but they were steamed until they were soft and fluffy. They would flatten out when you squeezed them, and spring back when you let go.

Lee Jin-young held the lunchbox, staring blankly at the slices of meat inside for a long while.

She thought of her mother at home, and her younger brother and sister, who hadn't eaten meat in a very, very long time.

The company commander shouted, "Eat after you've gotten your food!"

All the female workers listened quietly and stared at their lunchboxes.

Everyone had received or witnessed some form of "lesson" on the way here; if they disobeyed, the company commander and platoon leader would directly beat them.

Some company commanders were even armed. At the bus station, everyone saw a company commander directly "shoot" a "disobedient" female worker.

Lee Jin-young could clearly see 17-year-old Kim Hee sitting opposite her constantly swallowing, but she could only stare wide-eyed and try to hold it in. It was as if if she didn't keep an eye on her lunchbox, the food inside would disappear.

The ten minutes spent getting food felt incredibly long, until the company commander shouted, "Time to eat!"

Only then did the female workers begin to eat.

Kim Hee quickly finished her two steamed buns, but her eyes remained fixed on the one in Lee Jin-young's hand.

Those eyes looked like those of a starving puppy, so pitiful.

Li Zhenying hesitated for a moment, then handed her one of her steamed buns.

Jinxi paused for a moment, took the steamed bun, and tears welled up in her eyes.

The round-faced woman is here again.

After a while, the round-faced woman returned pushing the cart.

Li Zhenying called out to her in Chinese, "Sister, could you give me two more steamed buns?"

The round-faced woman paused for a moment, then looked at her.

Lee Jin-young said, "I gave her my steamed bun." She pointed to Kim Hee next to her.

Upon hearing this, the round-faced woman's face immediately lit up with a smile: "You're such a kind-hearted girl." She immediately gave Li Zhenying two more steamed buns and a spoonful of meat.

The company commander saw it and immediately stood up to come over, but the round-faced woman—the train conductor—saw it too.

He quickly said a few words to the translator beside him, and the translator then spoke to the company commander:

"This lady said that the girl speaks Chinese and asked if she could borrow her to help clean the carriage."

The company commander couldn't refuse and could only nod, but his gaze towards Li Zhenying carried a hint of displeasure, clearly indicating that Li Zhenying had caused him trouble.

Soon, the round-faced train attendant led Li Zhenying to the back of the train, which was the train attendant's room.

The round-faced train conductor pointed to a metal object on the wall and said:

"See this? This is a water boiler. It has traffic lights on it. When the red light is on, the water isn't boiling yet; when the green light is on, the water is boiled and you can fill it."

Then he took out two thermos flasks from behind him and handed them to Li Zhenying:

"When the light turns green, take these two thermos flasks and fill them up. Bring them back. Pour them some water to drink, and you can also rinse their lunchboxes while you're at it."

"Don't fill the water too full, just pour this much." She picked up a lunchbox and gestured, "One-third to one-half is enough. The water is hot, be careful not to burn yourself."

She then took out a broom and a dustpan: "Sweep this carriage every hour."

She pointed to a clock on the wall: "See that clock? Can you read it?"

Li Zhenying nodded. She had seen the watches of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army before, and someone had taught her how to tell time.

"That works. Start from one point and scan once every hour."

The round-faced train conductor patted her on the shoulder: "I'll go check out the other carriages and pick up some fruit and candy while I'm at it."

After a while, the round-faced train conductor returned.

This time, she carried a large basket of things, walked to the middle of the carriage, and called out to Li Zhenying.

Li Zhenying quickly helped distribute the items in the basket—one apple and two pieces of hard candy to each person.

The female workers held the apples, looking at each other in bewilderment. They didn't understand what it meant.

The company commander looked at the round-faced woman, but the round-faced woman was looking at Li Zhenying.

"Tell them," the round-faced woman said.

"Every day we get a piece of fruit and two pieces of candy. If we get hungry in the afternoon, we can eat something to tide us over, and there's dinner around 5 or 6 pm."

With no translator available, Li Zhenying had no choice but to grit her teeth and translate the words into a low voice for the company commander.

The company commander remained silent for a few seconds, but eventually relayed his words to the female workers.

The female workers then realized what was happening, and some of them brought the apples to their noses and smelled them intensely.

Some people carefully put the candy into their pockets, reluctant to eat it.

But Li Zhenying noticed that the company commander's gaze was colder than before.

The train was still running at dusk. The sky outside the window gradually darkened.

Lee Jin-young leaned against the train car door, watching the female workers. Some were already asleep, while others were still talking quietly. The deputy foreman, Park Soon-hee, leaned against her, her eyes also closed.

The round-faced train conductor came again and brought dinner.

Just like at noon, a spoonful of sliced ​​meat, a spoonful of bok choy, and two steamed buns. This time, no one wolfed down their food; everyone ate slowly, as if savoring something.

This time, Li Zhenying didn't wolf down her food. She took a bite of the steamed bun; it was soft and sweet. She glanced at the slices of meat in the lunchbox, then at the lights flashing past the window.

The people here can eat their fill, have meat, and receive apples and candy.

The train was clean and tidy, not a charred ruin. The houses were new, the chimneys were smoking, and the people were smiling.

She thought of her mother, her younger brother and sister, and the children standing by the roadside in a daze.

She suddenly realized that from the moment she boarded the train, she had been making comparisons in her mind.

This place is so different from home.

Outside the window, the night grew deeper. The train rumbled forward, its destination unknown.

But Li Zhenying knew that this place was a completely different world from the place where she had lived for the past twenty years.