After fleeing the famine, my older sister and I married the brother next door.

"Is Dashan home? I'm your Aunt Li Er!"

A crisp yet polite woman's voice came from outside the courtyard gate. Chen Dashan was tidying up the firewood he had just chopped in the yard. Hearing the voice, he put down his axe, wiped the handle, and quickly went over to open the gate.

Standing outside the door was a woman in her fifties, with a round face, smile lines at the corners of her eyes, and neatly combed hair. It was Aunt Li Er from the end of the village. She had an empty basket slung over her arm, and it looked like she had just come from the fields or somewhere else and had stopped by on her way.

"Aunt Li, please come in." Chen Dashan stepped aside and invited her into the courtyard.

Su Xiaoyin, who was hanging out her clothes to dry at the entrance of the main room, also saw it. She quickly put down what she was doing and came over with a smile, saying, "Second Auntie is here! Come in and sit down. I'll pour you a bowl of water."

Aunt Li waved her hand, her usual brisk smile on her face: "No need to bother Xiaoyin, I'll leave as soon as I'm done talking, I have a lot of things to do at home." She turned to Chen Dashan and got straight to the point, "Dashan, I've come today because I need your help. My third son is engaged after the autumn harvest. We need to furnish the new house, and I'd like you to make some decent furniture for him."

Chen Dashan nodded, his expression turning serious: "Auntie, what do you think we need?"

Aunt Li had clearly planned ahead, counting on her fingers: "Two camphor wood kang cabinets for clothes and bedding, these are the most important. We'll also make a tall wardrobe for the new room. We need a small kang table, and a dressing table for the young lady. A large square table for dining in the main room, plus five or six long benches, that's about it."

She paused, then added, "I have camphor wood at home; I prepared it a few years ago. We've already had the planers cut and dried it thoroughly. You can come pick it up later. As for the other wood, like for making wardrobes, tables, and chairs, you'll have to take care of that, Dashan. How much would all that work cost, including labor and materials? And how long would it take to finish?"

After listening, Chen Dashan quickly weighed the options in his mind. The kang cabinet, wardrobe, and dressing table were all delicate pieces, especially the camphor wood, which was hard and labor-intensive to polish; the tables and stools, on the other hand, were more ordinary. He happened to have some semi-finished products he had made in his spare time in his storeroom, which could be cleaned up and oiled before use. He pondered for a moment, then looked up at Aunt Li Er and gave her a clear and reasonable quote:

"Auntie, these are quite a few items you've requested, and each one requires careful craftsmanship. It will take at least a month to complete. You'll provide the camphor wood, and I'll cover the rest. The total price will be two and a half taels of silver. Is that price acceptable?"

"Two and a half taels?!" Aunt Li's eyes lit up, and her smile deepened, filled with surprise. "Dashan, your price is really reasonable! To be honest, I went to town to ask around and also asked around in the neighboring village about carpenters. The labor costs alone weren't cheap, and you'd have to find the wood yourself. It would cost at least three taels of silver! Your price, including materials and labor, is only two and a half taels! It's a great deal! Absolutely a great deal!"

Chen Dashan smiled憨厚ly: "We're all from the same village. Auntie thinks highly of my skills, so how could I charge more? This is the price. Please don't tell anyone else, or people will say I'm being unfair."

"Don't worry! Don't worry!" Aunt Li patted her chest to assure her, then lowered her voice, "I'm tight-lipped! So... how much is the deposit?"

"You can just give me a deposit of one and a half taels. Once everything is ready, come and see for yourself. If you're satisfied, you can pay the remaining one tael," Chen Dashan said.

"Great!" Aunt Li immediately pulled out an old money pouch from her bosom, carefully counted out a tael and a half of loose silver, and handed it to Chen Dashan. "Then this matter is settled! I'll have your uncle bring the camphor wood planks over later! Oh, I've put my mind at ease. I'm off now, I haven't fed the chickens and ducks at home yet!" With that, she turned and left in a hurry.

Su Xiaoyin quickly said, "Second Aunt, please have some water before you go!"

"No, no, next time, next time!" Aunt Li waved her hand, picked up her basket, and walked briskly out of the courtyard gate.

After seeing Aunt Li off and closing the courtyard gate, Su Xiaoyin walked to Chen Dashan's side and asked softly, "Two and a half taels of silver... how much can we earn?" She was gradually learning to manage the household accounts and knew that there was a cost to the timber, and the labor was even more valuable.

Chen Dashan weighed the still-warm silver coins in his hand, a slight smile playing on his lips. He said in a low voice, "After deducting the cost of materials and labor, we should at least net one tael of silver. I reckon we might even earn a few hundred more." He led Su Xiaoyin to the small storeroom on the side of the house, explaining as he went, "I already have stools and a small kang table in my storeroom. I had them made during my free time recently. With a little polishing and two coats of tung oil, they'll look brand new, saving a lot of labor and materials. The main things that will take some work are the two camphor wood kang cabinets, the wardrobe, and the dressing table."

He pushed open the storeroom door, inside which were neatly stacked pieces of wood and semi-finished furniture. He pointed to several stools that were already formed but had not yet been finely sanded and oiled, as well as two small kang table blanks, and said, "Look, these can be used after a little tidying up."

Seeing this, Su Xiaoyin felt reassured and became happy: "That's great! I'll make some pancakes for lunch, and then clean up those small fish from yesterday and make a jar of fish sauce for you to eat with your rice. You and Xiaohe will go get the camphor wood planks this afternoon?"

"Okay." Chen Dashan nodded. "I'll go after lunch. First, I'll bring back the camphor wood, check the condition of the planks, and then I can start cutting the wood to make the kang cabinet. This work isn't urgent, but it can't be delayed either; it needs to be done carefully." As he spoke, he picked up the straw rope and carrying pole leaning against the wall. "I'll go to the back hill first to gather some fresh hay for the cattle and sheep. Mother mentioned this morning that there's not much hay left for the livestock. By the way, did Mother say when we'll be able to buy the piglets?"

Su Xiaoyin followed him into the courtyard and replied, "Mother said it will be in the next few days. The piglets we saw before were only recently born and need to nurse for a few days to grow stronger before we can bring them back. Mother went to see them again yesterday and said the piglets are quite lively, so they should be here in a day or two."

"Okay." Chen Dashan hoisted the carrying pole onto his shoulder. "Then go back inside and check on the children; they should be awake by now. I'll be right back."

Su Xiaoyin nodded, watching her husband's tall and steady figure leave the courtyard and head towards the back mountain. The spring sunshine was perfect, bathing the small courtyard in warmth. She turned and went back to the main room; the two little ones were indeed awake, lying on the kang (heated brick bed) babbling and kicking their arms and legs. She smiled and went over, gently touching each of their little faces, her mind already planning lunch and afternoon chores.

At noon, Chen Dashan brought back two large bundles of tender grass and fed them to the cattle and sheep. After the family had eaten the cornbread and small fish sauce made by Su Xiaoyin (the small fish were fried until crispy and cooked in sauce, making them salty and delicious), Chen Dashan called Chen Xiaohe and pushed a cart to Aunt Li's house to pick up camphor wood planks.

Just as Aunt Li had said, the planks were already prepared. They were of uniform thickness, with clear grain, and carried the unique fragrance of camphor wood. Chen Dashan and Chen Xiaohe carefully loaded them onto the car and transported them home.

In the afternoon, Chen Dashan busied himself in the open space outside the small storeroom. He first moved several stool blanks and two kang table blanks out of the storeroom, carefully sanded off the burrs, and prepared to apply oil. Chen Xiaohe helped clean the camphor wood boards and measure their dimensions.

After putting the children to sleep, Su Xiaoyin moved a small stool to the doorway and sat there, watching over them while braiding new hair ties with the leftover scraps of colored cloth. Occasionally, she would glance up at her busy husband and brother-in-law. The sunlight cast long, slanted shadows, and the rhythmic sounds of sawing and sanding mingled with the spring breeze and the faint scent of flowers and grass, creating a peaceful yet vibrant scene of spring labor.

In the evening, Mr. and Mrs. Chen returned with baskets full of wild vegetables and mushrooms, and unexpectedly found a nest of wild eggs. Seeing the carpentry work that had already begun in the yard, they inquired about the progress and were both happy for Chen Dashan. Mrs. Chen even said, "This job is a good one! It'll be a sure way to earn some money. Once we buy the piglets, our income will be even more substantial."

During dinner, Chen Dashan shared his plans: "Dad, Mom, Aunt Li's work can last for a while. Xiaohe helped me a lot this afternoon, and he'll learn more about carpentry from him in the future. I'm thinking that once this batch of furniture is finished and we have some extra money, should we buy a couple more handy tools? With better tools, we can make some of the more intricate mortise and tenon joints and carvings more refined, and that will also increase the price."

Mr. Chen nodded: "That makes sense. Craftsmanship is fundamental, but the tools also need to be up to par. Once you've figured out what you need, we'll discuss buying it together."

Chen Xiaohe excitedly replied, "Brother, I'll definitely study hard! I can help you out in the future and ease your burden."

With a smile, Chen's mother placed a piece of stewed rabbit meat into each person's bowl: "Work hard! Our family is hardworking and united, so we're not afraid of not making a living. Once we've settled the payment for this batch of furniture and the piglet has arrived, we'll make some serious plans."

As night deepened, the Chen family courtyard was filled with the scents of wood, food, and a faint aroma of herbs (Mother Chen had spread out the herbs she had gathered during the day to dry). In the east wing, the four little ones slept soundly. Although the adults were tired, their faces reflected a genuine anticipation for tomorrow, for autumn, and for the days to come.