He Yuyang: The tough eldest brother of the courtyard house

On a summer night in 1959, the sycamore leaves in the military compound in Baoding rustled in the wind. He Yuyang sat under the lamp, holding a blueprint he had just redeemed from the sign-in system. His fingertips traced the fine lines on it—it was a design blueprint for improving farm tools, with everything clearly marked, from the curvature of the hoe to the transmission structure of the waterwheel. Beside him was a palm-sized cloth bag containing dozens of plump rice seeds, their shells gleaming with a lustrous sheen—"double-cropping high-yield rice seeds," a reward from the system.

"Looking at these again?" Xu Xiuli walked in carrying a bowl of cooled mung bean soup and placed it on the table. "These rice seeds look unusual; they're much plumper than the ones we grow in our yard."

He Yuyang looked up and smiled, pushing the rice seeds in front of her: "This is a new variety that I got through someone. It is said that it can be planted twice a year, and the yield per mu is much higher than the current rice varieties." He did not mention the system. This secret had been kept in his heart for many years, and he felt a little guilty every time he faced Xu Xiuli's clear eyes.

Xu Xiuli picked up a rice seed and examined it in her palm. "The south has suffered a disaster. The newspapers say that many places have no harvest. If this rice seed can really produce a high yield, it can save many lives." She sighed and put the rice seed back in the cloth bag. "I just don't know when it will be widely available."

He Yuyang's heart skipped a beat. He had already learned from system notifications and secret reports from the military that natural disasters would worsen in the coming years, and a food shortage could sweep the entire country. These rice seeds and agricultural tool blueprints might be the key to alleviating the crisis. However, given his special status, directly producing these things would inevitably arouse suspicion.

"Xiuli," he pondered, "if I send these rice seeds and blueprints to the agricultural department anonymously, do you think they'll believe me?"

Xu Xiuli paused for a moment, then nodded: "Why don't you believe me? As long as the trial planting is successful, who cares who sent it? Besides, the country needs talent right now. Even if it's just ordinary people contributing their wisdom, they will value it." She looked at He Yuyang with trust in her eyes, "If you want to do it, then do it. I support you."

With his wife's support, He Yuyang felt more at ease. Early the next morning, he went to the town's supply and marketing cooperative and bought a brand new envelope. He carefully put the rice seeds and blueprints inside, addressed the letter to "Grain Production Department, Ministry of Agriculture," and wrote only "Citizen of Baoding" as the sender's address, without leaving his name. But when he reached the post office, he hesitated again—what if these things were thrown away as waste paper?

"Comrade, are you mailing a letter?" The post office staff greeted him when they saw him standing still.

He Yuyang took a deep breath and handed over the envelope: "I'm sending this by registered mail, please make sure it's delivered." He paid an extra two cents for registration, watched the envelope being stamped and put into a green mailbag, before turning to leave. The sunlight shone on him, but he felt a heavy weight in his heart, as if he were carrying the food rations of millions.

For the next few months, He Yuyang kept up with the news in the newspapers and on the radio, but he still didn't see any news about high-yield rice varieties. Xu Xiuli, afraid that he would be disappointed, always comforted him, "The agricultural department receives a lot of letters; maybe they haven't even looked at yours yet."

One late autumn day, He Yuyang was reading the newspaper in his office when a news article caught his eye: "A Farm in Hebei Successfully Trials a Mysterious Rice Variety, Yield Exceeds 1,000 Jin per Mu." The newspaper included a photo: in a golden rice paddy, heavy ears of rice bent the stalks, and several farmers were harvesting, their faces wrinkled with rice chaff. The report said that this rice variety not only had a short growing season but was also resistant to both flooding and drought. Even more remarkably, it could yield two harvests a year. The farm's technicians were researching and promoting its use, but the person who sent the rice seeds and blueprints never showed up, only saying in a letter, "May this rice variety alleviate people's hunger."

"It's a success!" He Yuyang was so excited he almost slammed his fist on the table. He picked up the newspaper and looked at it again, his eyes shining.

When he got home that evening, he handed the newspaper to Xu Xiuli, his voice trembling: "Look, the trial planting was a success! The yield is 1,000 jin per mu, more than double that of the current rice varieties!"

Xu Xiuli looked at the newspaper, her eyes suddenly reddening: "That's wonderful...that's really wonderful..." She put down the newspaper, grasped He Yuyang's hand, "I knew you were doing the right thing. Those who are starving can finally eat more."

Looking at the tears in his wife's eyes, He Yuyang felt a surge of warmth in his heart. He suddenly felt it was time to tell her the secret.

"Xiuli," he said, pulling her to sit on the edge of the bed, his expression turning serious, "There's something I've been keeping from you for a long time, and I have to tell you today."

Seeing his serious expression, Xu Xiuli felt uneasy: "What is it? Tell me."

He Yuyang took a deep breath and slowly began, "Actually, I'm not from this era. I come from decades in the future, with a system that allows me to sign in and exchange items. Those spiritual spring waters, rice seeds, and blueprints were all given to me by the system. And the vegetables in our yard are growing so well, and Jian Guo and Yuan Chao are so strong, all because..."

Before he could finish speaking, Xu Xiuli suddenly laughed: "I know."

He Yuyang was stunned: "You knew?"

"Hmm." Xu Xiuli nodded, her eyes showing no surprise, but rather a hint of understanding. "From the 'nutrient solution' you took out when Jianguo was born, to the fine grains and cloth you always managed to produce later, I guessed you had a secret. I just didn't ask, because I knew you were doing good things, all for this family, for the people around you."

She held He Yuyang's hand, her fingertips gently tracing his palm: "Are you afraid I'll think you're a monster? Actually, I've thought about it for a long time. No matter where you come from, you are my husband, the father of Jian Guo and Yuan Chao. You have this family and the country in your heart, and that's enough."

He Yuyang's eyes instantly reddened. He hadn't expected Xu Xiuli to have noticed so early, and he certainly hadn't expected her to be so frank. The secret that had been weighing on his heart for so many years was finally revealed, and the weight on his heart lifted with a thud, replaced by an indescribable warmth.

"I'm sorry, Xiuli, I shouldn't have kept it from you for so long." He hugged his wife, his voice choked with emotion. "From now on, I won't hide anything from you anymore."

"Okay." Xu Xiuli leaned on his shoulder, a smile on her lips. "Then you have to tell me, what else can that system exchange for? Is there any fertilizer that can make the land produce more crops?"

He Yuyang was amused by her and wiped his eyes: "Yes, maybe we can redeem it next time we sign in. Not only fertilizer, but also new farm tools and high-yield seeds. I'll try to get anything that can help the people."

From that day on, He Yuyang stopped hiding the system from Xu Xiuli. He would tell her what he got from signing in that day and discuss with her how to secretly use those things. Xu Xiuli was thoughtful and always came up with the safest methods—for example, mixing the compound fertilizer she redeemed from the system into farmyard manure to make the vegetables grown by the military families in the compound grow better; distributing high-yield vegetable seeds to the neighbors, saying they were "experimental varieties discarded by the military farm".

On one occasion, He Yuyang exchanged for a batch of cold-resistant wheat seeds. Xu Xiuli suggested that he give the seeds to Zhou Lan so that she could donate them to the disaster area in the name of the hospital: "The hospital often deals with local civil affairs departments. Having them do it will not arouse suspicion and will also ensure that the wheat seeds are used effectively."

He Yuyang did as instructed, and not long after, he heard that the survival rate of the cold-resistant wheat planted in the disaster area during the winter was 30% higher than in previous years. When Zhou Lan returned home, she said with a smile, "It's really strange. That batch of wheat seeds looks unremarkable, but it's very frost-resistant. The comrades from the civil affairs department even came to ask me where I got it."

Xu Xiuli and He Yuyang exchanged a glance, both seeing a smile in each other's eyes.

That evening, the couple sat under the lamp, watching their two sleeping children. Jianguo was already three years old, able to run and jump, and constantly shouting, "I want to be a People's Liberation Army soldier!" Yuanchao was also over a year old, had just learned to walk, and always loved to follow his older brother around, babbling "Brother, brother."

"Do you think they'll know their father's secret when they grow up?" Xu Xiuli asked softly.

He Yuyang thought for a moment: "When they're old enough to understand, we'll tell them. Let them know that no matter what, they should always have others and the country in their hearts. Even without a system, they should do their best to accomplish practical things."

Xu Xiuli nodded and leaned on his shoulder: "With you here, I always feel at ease. No matter how tough things get in the future, as long as our family is together, we're not afraid of anything."

Moonlight streamed through the windowpane, illuminating the two children's faces with a soft, veil-like glow. In the distance, the bugle call to signal lights out from the military camp drifted on, long and tranquil. He Yuyang gently embraced his wife, a sense of peace settling over him. He knew the road ahead might still hold storms—famine, political upheavals, unknown challenges—all awaited them. But as long as he and Xu Xiuli stood together, protecting their home and holding fast to their initial aspirations, even the most difficult days could yield crops of hope.

He looked down at the newspaper on the table. The news about the high-yield rice variety had been cut out and pasted into a special notebook. The notebook also contained other clippings—reports on newly built reservoirs, and articles praising model workers. Under each clipping was a line of small print: "Those who act often succeed, and those who persevere often arrive at their destination."

This is He Yuyang's favorite saying. He knows that an individual's strength may be small, but as long as one keeps moving forward and keeps doing, like a rice seed that has been quietly planted, it will one day take root, sprout, and bear full ears of rice, feeding more people. And all he can do is keep going, carrying the love of his family and the responsibility to this era, taking each step steadily and firmly.

Night deepened, and the two children turned over, their breathing even. He Yuyang blew out the oil lamp and lay down on the bed with Xu Xiuli, listening to the wind outside the window. He knew that tomorrow would be a new day, with new sign-in rewards and new things to do, and the people beside him would always be there for him.