He Yuyang: The tough eldest brother of the courtyard house

The scorching sun of the dog days of summer softened the asphalt road, and a strange smell of melting asphalt filled the air. He Yuyang carried an empty bamboo basket and followed He Daqing toward the morning market, sweat dripping from his forehead and down his chin, only to reappear as soon as he wiped it away.

"Dad, we need to buy more baby radishes and tender bok choy today. The shopkeeper said yesterday that these two side dishes are the most popular, and the customers all praise their freshness." He Yuyang wiped the sweat from his brow with his sleeve, his voice carrying a youthful clarity.

"Understood." He Daqing carried a heavy money bag, but his steps were light. Since being promoted to head of the kitchen, he had been personally coming to the morning market to buy groceries every day. Firstly, he was worried that the vegetables his staff bought wouldn't be fresh, and secondly, he wanted to take this opportunity to bargain with familiar vendors. In the past two weeks, he had saved a lot of money just on groceries, and the shopkeeper praised him for being thrifty.

The father and son walked familiarly to Old Zhou's vegetable stall. Old Zhou was a short, stout man with a smile on his face. He and He Daqing had known each other for three years and were very close.

"Brother Daqing, you're a little late today!" Old Zhou deftly packed small radishes into a bamboo basket. "Just arrived, look at their quality, aren't they fresh and vibrant?"

He Yuyang went over to take a look. Old Zhou's radish was indeed fresh, still damp with soil. However, it was still a bit inferior to the ones he grew in his space. The small radishes in his space were snow-white, uniform in size, and their roots were all trimmed cleanly, making them look like works of art.

"Uncle Zhou, your radishes are good, but a bit pricey," He Yuyang said with a grin. "Yesterday I saw a vendor carrying similar radishes in the alley south, but they were 20% cheaper than yours."

Old Zhou's eyes widened, and he patted He Daqing's arm: "Daqing, your son is really shrewd! This price is already the wholesale price for you. If it's any cheaper, I'll starve!"

He Daqing smiled and tried to smooth things over: "Old Zhou, the kid is just being silly, don't take it to heart. Just pay the usual price, and give me an extra two pounds. I'll ask the kitchen to save you two extra steamers of hot buns later."

"That's more like it!" Old Zhou chuckled, quickly weighing out the radishes and then grabbing an extra handful of tender bok choy to stuff into the bamboo basket. "Here, this is for you, let the kids have a taste."

He Yuyang secretly gave her father a wink, and He Daqing nodded without saying a word. This was something the father and son had planned long ago—every morning before dawn, when no one was around, He Yuyang would take out some dried goods and vegetables from her spatial storage and sell them at a low price to familiar vendors, then have He Daqing buy them back from the vendors at the "market price." In this way, not only did they save money on the restaurant's food expenses, but He Yuyang also quietly saved a considerable amount of money.

Just like the radishes from earlier, the basket He Yuyang sold to Lao Zhou at dawn was 30% cheaper than the market price. When Lao Zhou resold it to He Daqing, it was only 10% more than the purchase price. It seemed like Lao Zhou was making a profit from the price difference, but in reality, He Yuyang used this method to convert the vegetables in his space into cash without arousing suspicion. After more than half a month, including the "kitchen helper's money" he earned at the restaurant, he had actually saved more than thirty silver dollars, which he carried heavily in his arms, making him feel more at ease than anything else.

After buying the groceries, He Daqing carried the bamboo basket towards the restaurant, telling He Yuyang to go home first. He Yuyang agreed, but instead of going straight back to the alley, she went around to the willow grove by the moat.

Few people usually come here; the dense shade of the willow trees blocks the scorching sun, with only dappled sunlight filtering through the leaves and falling to the ground. He Yuyang confirmed that no one was around, and with a thought, his figure vanished from the spot in an instant.

When I opened my eyes again, I was already in a familiar space.

The golden wheat fields rippled in the wind, and in the distant vegetable patches, plump white radishes and vibrant green rapeseed grew lush and green. The spring water tinkled in the irrigation ditch, and the air was filled with the fresh scent of grass and trees. He Yuyang took a deep breath, feeling all the heat in his body dissipate.

He came today to try and see if he could get into the small villa that had always stood in the corner of the space.

The villa appeared suddenly last month. With its blue bricks and gray tiles, it looked like a typical farmhouse in northern China, but it was always shrouded in a faint white light, and no matter how hard he pushed, he couldn't open the door. Until last night, when he was practicing his internal energy, he suddenly felt a strange connection, like a key finding a lock.

He Yuyang walked to the villa door and gently pressed his hand on the door panel. Sure enough, the white light receded like water, and the door creaked open.

He took a deep breath and stepped inside.

The villa was surprisingly simple. In the small main room, there was an eight-immortal table and four chairs, with several light-colored wooden storage shelves in the corner; to the left was the bedroom, with a wooden bed covered with a coarse cloth mattress and a small wooden cabinet at the head of the bed; to the right was what looked like a study, with a desk by the window, on which were placed writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstone, all of which were brand new and did not look like they had been used.

What surprised He Yuyang the most was that although the light in the villa was natural light, there were no windows and no candlesticks on the walls, yet every corner was bright, warm, and comfortable. He walked to the window (if it could be called a window) and looked out. He could clearly see the wheat fields and vegetable plots in the space, and even hear the sound of the spiritual spring water.

"Does time flow at the same rate as outside?" He Yuyang wondered to himself, taking out a pocket watch from his pocket—he had bought it from a flea market for five silver dollars; although it was a bit old, it kept accurate time. He placed the pocket watch on the desk and silently counted the time in his mind.

After an incense stick had burned, the hands of the pocket watch had moved exactly fifteen minutes, without the slightest error.

"It seems that time is synchronized." He Yuyang breathed a sigh of relief. His biggest worry was that the flow of time in space was different. If he stayed inside for too long, several days would have passed outside, which would be troublesome.

He sat down by the bed and tried to circulate his internal energy. This was a basic cultivation technique he had learned before transmigrating, and he hadn't dared to slack off since arriving in this world, though his progress had been slow. But as soon as he sat down by the bed, he felt a faint warm current surging in from all directions, flowing along his meridians and converging towards his dantian, at least twice as fast as outside!

"The spiritual energy here is actually more concentrated than outside!" He Yuyang was both surprised and delighted, and quickly sat down cross-legged to concentrate on cultivation.

He didn't know how much time had passed before he slowly opened his eyes, feeling refreshed all over, and his internal energy in his dantian seemed stronger. He looked down at his hands; his skin even seemed smoother, and all his fatigue vanished.

"Living here will not only not affect my lifespan, but will also accelerate my cultivation..." He Yuyang was overjoyed. This villa was practically tailor-made for him! From now on, he would no longer have to worry about his parents discovering him cultivating at night.

He got up and went to the study, opened the desk drawer, and found it empty. Remembering something, a thought struck him, and a yellowed booklet appeared in his hand—this was the monthly reward from the "check-in system" last month, "Basic External Injury Medicine Recipes," which recorded the preparation methods for more than a dozen common external injury medicines, from hemostatic powder to anti-inflammatory ointment, all included.

"Perfect, this is the place to put it." He Yuyang carefully placed the booklet into the drawer, then took out several cloth bags from his spatial storage, filled with dried sweet potatoes, dehydrated spinach, and radish strips. These were made from crops from his spatial storage, retaining most of their nutrients and having a long shelf life, making them the best emergency reserves.

He neatly stacked the cloth bag on the storage shelf, then took out the heavy money bag from his pocket, poured out thirty-three silver dollars, wiped them clean one by one, and put them into the small wooden cabinet by the bedside.

The silver coins clinked crisply in the cabinet, and He Yuyang felt a sense of security as he looked at them. In these turbulent times, money and food were a source of security. With these silver coins, even if something unexpected happened, his family could weather the storm safely.

After tidying up, he wandered around the villa again and found an inconspicuous little door in the corner. When he pushed the door open, he found that it was a cellar, about two meters deep, cool and dry, which was perfect for storing things that were afraid of moisture.

"It's really starting to feel more and more like a home." He Yuyang smiled and shook his head. This space is like a constantly growing treasure, always bringing surprises.

He walked into the main room, pushed open the door, and outside was still a golden wheat field. He looked up at the sky; the sun was high in the sky in the space. Judging that it must be noon outside, he didn't linger any longer and with a thought, he exited the space.

Back in the willow grove, He Yuyang dusted himself off and hurried home. Passing a general store, he went in and bought two packs of needles and a bundle of thread—Liu Yan was almost out of needles and thread—and a piece of maltose, intending to share it with He Yuzhu when he got home.

As soon as he entered the alley, he saw Aunt Zhang looking out from the doorway. When she saw him, she quickly waved and said, "Yangyang, you're finally back! Your mother wants you to go to the restaurant as soon as you get back, saying your father is too busy."

"Okay, Aunt Zhang." He Yuyang stuffed the malt candy into Gou Dan's hand, who had just run out, and turned to run back to the restaurant.

The restaurant was indeed bustling with activity, packed with customers, and waiters carrying plates moving among the tables. He Daqing was standing at the kitchen door, directing the kitchen helpers to sort vegetables, his forehead covered in sweat.

"Dad, I'm here." He Yuyang quickly stepped forward to help, picking up a bunch of bok choy and starting to pick it.

"Perfect timing! Quickly wash these radishes; the head chef needs them." He Daqing breathed a sigh of relief when he saw him arrive. "There are an unusually large number of customers today. They ordered more than twenty half-portions of braised pork alone, and we don't have enough radishes."

"Okay." He Yuyang replied, quickly washing the radishes. These radishes were bought from Lao Zhou that morning, and they included quite a few of the "premium" radishes from his space. They were all uniform in size and looked very appealing.

The head chef called out from beside the stove, "Daqing, are the radishes ready yet? The customers are waiting!"

"Here it is!" He Yuyang handed over the washed radish. The head chef took it and his eyes lit up: "Hey, this radish is really good! Where did you buy it? I'll bring some home for myself later."

"It's from Uncle Zhou's place, he said it's brand new stock that just arrived," He Yuyang said with a smile.

The head chef tossed the wok, praising, "This dish is excellent; it's incredibly fragrant. Yangyang, you have a good eye! You should learn from your father when it comes to grocery shopping in the future."

"Understood, Master Li," He Yuyang replied, but in his heart he was thinking that after a while, he would take out more vegetables from his space to enrich the restaurant's menu. This would not only help his father run the business better, but also make reasonable use of the space's output, killing two birds with one stone.

Busy times always fly by, and before you know it, it's evening. After seeing off the last group of customers, the shopkeeper happily gave the staff extra "hard work money." He Daqing held the money in his hand, grinning from ear to ear.

"Dad, did you make a good living today?" He Yuyang handed over a cloth to wipe his sweat after helping clean up the kitchen.

"Not bad, not bad!" He Daqing counted the copper coins in his hand. "Today's turnover alone is equivalent to three days' worth before! The manager said that at the end of the month, each of us in the kitchen will get an extra two catties of meat!"

The father and son chatted and laughed as they walked home, the setting sun casting long shadows. Seeing his father's happy expression, and remembering the small villa in his spatial dimension and the thirty-three silver dollars, He Yuyang felt a deep sense of peace.

In the summer of 1943, although supplies were still scarce and society was turbulent, the He family's life, like the rising autumn wind, slowly began to show signs of hope. The small villa in their new home was their new refuge, the silver dollars they had saved were their source of security, their father's promotion was proof that life was getting better, and they themselves were growing stronger day by day.

He knew that the road ahead was still fraught with undercurrents: the Xu family's resentment, Yi Zhonghai's suspicions, and the inherent risks of this chaotic world—all like lurking reefs, ready to unleash a storm at any moment. But he was not afraid.

With the warmth of family, the support of space, and the strength in his own hands, no matter how strong the wind and rain, he can still provide a safe haven for his family.

Back home, Liu Yan had already prepared dinner. She'd added extra fine flour to the cornbread and stir-fried some tender green bok choy—it looked very appetizing. He Yuzhu, holding a piece of maltose candy, ate it with his mouth full of sugar crumbs, making the whole family burst into laughter.

Watching this heartwarming scene, He Yuyang quietly handed the needle and thread he had bought that day to his mother, and then put the remaining silver dollar into the hidden compartment in the kang (heated brick bed)—where most of his savings were hidden.

The moonlight outside the window was perfect, falling on the vegetable patch in the yard. The cucumber vines had sprouted new buds, growing quietly in the night. Just like this home, just like himself, in a place unknown to anyone, he was gathering strength, waiting for a brighter tomorrow.