He Yuyang: The tough eldest brother of the courtyard house

Just after the first month of the lunar calendar, the last vestiges of snow clung to the base of the wall, yet a hint of warmth had already crept in through the wind. On the branches of the old locust tree at the entrance of the alley, tiny buds, no bigger than grains of rice, had sprouted, timidly peeking out in the biting spring chill—and so, spring of 1943 had arrived quietly.

He Yuyang squatted in a corner of his backyard, clutching a small, well-worn shovel, his fingertips red from the cold. The backyard was usually a dumping ground for miscellaneous items, with a small patch of open space about ten feet square against the west wall, perpetually blocked by abandoned wooden boxes and broken jars, never seeing the light of day. A few days ago, while his father was at work and his mother was spinning thread inside, he secretly moved the clutter aside, turned over the hardened soil three times with the shovel, and even mixed in some decaying leaves from his storage space, finally managing to create a small vegetable patch.

At this moment, in the dim morning light, he carefully took a small coarse cloth bag from his pocket. Inside the bag were dozens of vibrant green seedlings—bok choy and radish seedlings huddled together, their leaves still glistening with fine water droplets, looking very healthy. This was the result of three whole days of cultivation in his spatial dimension.

The time flow rate in the space is 1:5000; one day outside is equivalent to nearly fourteen years inside. He specially selected cold-resistant varieties and carefully watered them with spiritual spring water. In just three days, these seedlings grew to the point where they could be transplanted, with tender white roots and thick leaves, more than twice as robust as those available on the market.

"Hurry up, before Mom finds out," He Yuyang muttered, but his hands didn't stop moving. He first used a small shovel to make fine holes in the vegetable patch, spacing them just right so as not to waste space and give the seedlings enough room to grow. This was a skill he learned at his maternal grandmother's house in the countryside in his previous life, and he never expected it to come in handy in this courtyard house in this life.

With each seedling he planted, he would take out a small porcelain bottle from his robes and drip two drops of spiritual spring water onto the roots. This spiritual spring water was specially diluted by him, with a concentration only one-tenth of that in his spatial storage—he was afraid that the effect would be too astonishing and attract unnecessary trouble. Even so, the roots that had been touched by the spring water visibly stretched out a bit, as if they had been infused with vitality.

The morning mist gradually dissipated, and the eastern sky began to lighten. He Yuyang had just finished planting the last radish seedling when she heard her mother's voice from the front yard: "Yangyang? Are you awake? Come and help your mother start the fire."

"They're here!" He quickly covered the seedlings with soil, then moved a broken wooden box from the side and half-hidden it in front of the vegetable patch, leaving only a gap for sunlight to shine through. After doing all this, he patted the dirt off his hands, turned and ran to the front yard, but in his mind he was thinking about how to explain to his mother the seedlings that had appeared out of nowhere.

In the kitchen, Liu Yan was adding firewood to the stove, the firelight making her cheeks slightly flushed. Seeing He Yuyang enter, she casually asked, "What were you doing in the backyard? I heard some noise."

"Nothing much, Mom." He Yuyang casually stuffed a piece of firewood into the stove. "I just thought it was a waste to leave that empty patch of land in the backyard unused, so I thought I'd dig it out and plant some vegetables. Oh, Mom, I found a cloth bag at the alley entrance a few days ago. It had half a bag of vegetable seeds inside, and they looked pretty good, so I thought I'd give it a try."

"You picked up vegetable seeds?" Liu Yan was stunned for a moment, her fire tongs hovering in mid-air. "Will they even grow? Don't waste your time. Spring seeds are precious. If they don't grow, it'll just be a waste of your effort."

"Let's give it a try, Mom." He Yuyang looked up, her eyes sparkling with childlike anticipation. "What if it grows? Then we can save some money on vegetables. I've already tilled the soil, just waiting for you to come and see how to plant it properly."

Liu Yan was swayed by her son's words. These past few years had been tough, and grocery shopping was a significant expense. Growing their own vegetables would certainly save them a lot. She wiped her hands and followed He Yuyang to the backyard, but she didn't hold out much hope—most of the seeds they found were old; it would be good if they even sprouted.

But when He Yuyang moved the broken wooden box, revealing the neat vegetable patch underneath, Liu Yan's eyes widened in surprise.

Dozens of seedlings crowded in the soil, their leaves a vibrant, glossy green, even the stems exuding a lively energy. They didn't look like they had just been planted; they looked like robust seedlings that had been nurtured in a greenhouse for a long time. Especially the sheen on the leaves, which looked full of vitality, was much better than the seedlings she bought from the market last year.

"This...you planted this from seeds you found?" Liu Yan squatted down and carefully touched a cabbage leaf. Her fingertips could feel the fine hairs on the leaf, which was moist and full of life.

"Yes, Mother." He Yuyang stood aside, deliberately speaking casually, "It's probably because these vegetables are good. I soaked them the night before last, and they sprouted yesterday. I thought I'd plant them as soon as possible so as not to delay the planting time." He deliberately shortened the time frame to avoid arousing his mother's suspicion.

Liu Yan found it increasingly astonishing. She had been growing vegetables for half her life and had never seen seedlings sprout so quickly and grow so well. The roots of the seedlings looked robust, and new shoots had already emerged from the parts buried in the soil, clearly indicating that they were fully alive.

"That's strange..." she muttered to herself, reaching out to touch the soil in the vegetable patch. The soil was moist, yet not sticky, clearly indicating it had just been watered. "Did you water it last night?"

"Hmm, I'm afraid it'll be too dry." He Yuyang nodded, quickly changing the subject, "Mom, do you think this is okay? Should we move it around a bit?"

Liu Yan then came to her senses, carefully examined the location of the vegetable patch, and ruffled the soil a couple of times. Her brows gradually relaxed: "You turned the soil quite finely, and it's loose. The location is also alright, it gets some sun, but..." She paused, a hint of doubt in her eyes, "These seedlings are growing way too well, aren't they? Could they be some rare variety that's hard to care for?"

"Perhaps it's because of the good soil in our backyard," He Yuyang had already prepared her excuse. "Didn't Third Uncle say that this yard used to be a small vegetable garden, and the soil underneath is very fertile? Besides, even if it's not easy to take care of, we can just put in more effort. Mother, don't worry, I'll come and water it every day, it'll definitely grow well."

Seeing her son's serious expression, Liu Yan's doubts gradually faded. Perhaps it was truly the good energy of this yard? Or perhaps her son was lucky and picked up some good seeds? In any case, it was always a good thing that the seedlings were growing well. She stood up and patted He Yuyang on the shoulder: "Okay, let's try planting them. You'll be in charge of watering them. Remember not to overwater them, or they'll rot."

"Okay, Mom!" He Yuyang smiled, revealing two small tiger teeth, but she breathed a sigh of relief—she had finally managed to fool them.

From that day on, watering the seedlings became He Yuyang's daily "task". He would always go to the backyard early in the morning and late at night when no one was around, first mix the spiritual spring water from his space with well water, put it in a broken earthenware jar, and then water the seedlings little by little.

The effects of the spiritual spring water were indeed amazing. In just three days, the bok choy had grown half a finger taller, and the leaves had spread out like small fans; the radish seedlings had also sprouted new leaves, and the leaf stalks had turned from tender white to light green, looking sturdy.

Early that morning, He Yuyang had just finished watering the plants when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around and saw his younger brother, He Yuzhu, running over with a small watering can in his hand: "Brother! Let me help you water the plants!"

He Yuzhu had been seeing his brother running to the backyard a lot these past few days and had become incredibly curious, constantly pestering him to come and see. He Yuyang, unable to resist his nagging, finally agreed to take him to see it.

"Slow down, don't step on the seedlings." He Yuyang quickly pulled her younger brother to her side and pointed to the bok choy, saying, "Look, these are bok choy. When they grow up, we can stir-fry them or make soup. Those with serrated leaves are radish seedlings. Radishes will grow underneath, and they'll be crunchy and delicious."

He Yuzhu squatted by the vegetable patch, his little finger carefully touching a cabbage leaf, his eyes wide open: "Brother, they've grown so fast! They're so much taller than they were a few days ago!"

"That's right," He Yuyang deliberately raised his chin smugly, "I water and fertilize them every day. Zhuzi, if you want to help me, come and check every day to see if there are any bugs. If there are, tell me, okay?"

"Yes!" He Yuzhu nodded emphatically, her little face full of seriousness. "I'll keep a close eye on them! No one is allowed to steal them!"

"Yes, we can't let outsiders see us," He Yuyang said, seizing the opportunity to remind us. "The seedlings are still small; if others see them, they might steal them. When they grow up and produce vegetables, I'll make you cabbage stew with tofu, okay?"

"Okay!" He Yuzhu smiled, her eyes narrowing into slits, and patted her chest to assure him, "I won't tell anyone! Only the three of us will know!"

As the two brothers were talking, they heard their mother's loud voice coming from the courtyard: "Da Mao! Where have you been? Come back and eat right now!" This was followed by Xu Da Mao's crying and fussing, probably because he was being unreasonable again.

He Yuyang's eyes sharpened, and she pulled He Zhu behind the vegetable patch, lowering her voice to say, "Did you hear that? Xu Damao and the others are in the central courtyard. Don't let them see these seedlings, understand?"

He Yuzhu nodded as if he understood, but knowing that his brother didn't want others to see, he quickly covered his mouth and even breathed softly.

Once the sounds from the courtyard had faded into the distance, He Yuyang pulled her younger brother out, secretly on high alert. There were many eyes in this courtyard, especially the Xu and Yan families; they could see even the slightest movement. These vegetable seedlings were too conspicuous; they had to be hidden well, or there would be no shortage of trouble.

In the days that followed, He Yuyang found some dry branches and built a fence about half a person's height around the vegetable patch. He also wrapped some dry grass around it, so from a distance it looked like a pile of junk. No one would have guessed that a vibrant vegetable patch was hidden behind it.

Liu Yan would occasionally come over to check on them, and each time she was amazed by how well the seedlings were growing. In just half a month, the bok choy had grown to the point where the tender leaves could be picked and eaten. The leaves were plump and juicy, and clear juice would ooze out from the broken parts, carrying a faint fragrance.

"These seedlings are really strange," she muttered to He Yuyang as she pinched off a tender leaf from a bok choy plant. "The other day, your auntie said that her bok choy seeds had just sprouted, and we could already eat them. Yangyang, do you think there's something special about this land?"

"Maybe, Mother." He Yuyang helped put the plucked tender leaves into the bamboo basket, but in his heart he was thinking: It's not the land that matters, it's the water. Looking at the smile on his mother's face, he suddenly felt that all this sneaky hard work was worth it—as long as his family could eat fresh vegetables, what was this little trouble?

At dinner time, a fragrant aroma wafted from the kitchen. Liu Yan stir-fried some freshly picked bok choy with an egg; although she used only a small amount of egg, the sweetness of the bok choy overpowered the egg's flavor. He Yuzhu held his bowl, eating mouthful after mouthful, his little mouth stuffed full of food, and mumbled, "Mom, this food is so delicious! It tastes better than what you buy!"

"Eat more if you like it." Liu Yan smiled and put a piece of food on her youngest son's plate, but her eyes were fixed on He Yuyang, with a hint of relief and a touch of indescribable emotion. She always felt that the vegetables were growing too strangely, but looking at her son's open and honest eyes, she felt that she was overthinking it—perhaps God really took pity on them, which was why the vegetables they found grew so well.

He Yuyang felt a little uncomfortable under her mother's gaze, so she quickly lowered her head and ate her rice, but in her mind she was already planning her next move. The bok choy was ready to eat, but the radishes would have to wait a while. There were also some cucumber and tomato seeds in her space. Should she plant some when the weather got warmer? That way, they could have fresh fruits and vegetables to eat in the summer, and she could also supplement her mother's vitamins to prepare her body for her pregnancy with her younger sister next year.

Moonlight streamed through the window paper, falling on the ground like a light frost. He Yuyang lay in bed, listening to his younger brother's even breathing beside him, but his consciousness sank into the distance.

In the vegetable garden within the space, a new batch of cabbages and radishes had grown, a lush green expanse that was pleasing to the eye. The spirit spring water bubbled and bubbled from its source, the rising mist nourishing the surrounding land, turning it a deep, dark green. He knew that this small space was their family's only support in this chaotic world.

"I need to grow up quickly," he murmured to the vegetables in his space, as if telling himself, "Only when I grow up can I better protect my mother and this family."

In the vegetable patch in the backyard, the first few radish seedlings planted quietly sprouted new leaves, stretching out in the moonlight, as if echoing his innermost thoughts. This spring, nourished by the spiritual spring, not only brought life but also held the promise of hope. He Yuyang knew this was just the beginning; there was still much, much more he needed to do.