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

When the rooster crowed for the third time, the lights in the Chen family's kitchen were already on.

Su Xiaoyin opened her eyes almost simultaneously with the first ray of grayish-white light filtering through the window paper. She rubbed her eyes and sat up. The new environment had left her feeling tense, and she hadn't slept soundly. She quickly dressed herself, still in her faded old clothes, but her hair was combed neater than it had been a few days ago and held securely in place with a wooden hairpin.

Pushing open the door to the side room, they saw that Su Xiaoqing was also up. The chill of the late autumn morning hit them, and the two of them instinctively shrank their necks. The light in the main room was also on, and soon, Mr. and Mrs. Chen came out. Mr. Chen carried two sturdy shovels and a pickaxe on his shoulders, while Mrs. Chen carried a basket containing dry food and a water jug.

"Father, Mother," the two sisters greeted each other softly.

"Yes, it's good that you're up." Chen's mother nodded, her face showing the solemnity of someone who gets up early and a hint of excitement. "There's water warming on the stove, go wash up quickly. There's a lot of work to do today, so make sure you eat well."

Chen Dashan and Chen Xiaohe came out one after the other. Chen Dashan was leaning on his wooden stick, and he had changed into a more neat old outfit with his trousers tucked in. Chen Xiaohe, on the other hand, was full of energy, his eyes shining like morning stars, and he was humming a tuneless little tune.

The family washed up silently and quickly in the cool morning light, then gathered around the square table in the main room. Breakfast was simpler than yesterday's: leftover porridge from last night, heated up with pickled vegetables, and a few thicker multigrain pancakes that Chen's mother had specially prepared early in the morning. Everyone ate quickly, and the sounds of chewing and the slight clinking of bowls and chopsticks were particularly clear in the quiet morning.

"Alright," Chen's father was the first to put down his bowl, wipe his mouth, "Dashan, Xiaohe, grab your tools and come with me to the homestead."

"Yes!" Chen Xiaohe responded loudly, grabbing the carrying pole and basket leaning against the wall.

Chen Dashan didn't speak. He simply picked up a wooden stick and a roll of straw rope (used for measuring and positioning) leaning against the door, nodded to his parents, glanced at the Su sisters who were clearing the dishes, his gaze calm and unwavering, but seemed to pause for a moment before turning around and following his father out the door with slightly heavy but steady steps.

After the father and his two sons disappeared outside the courtyard gate, Chen's mother stood up and said to her two daughters-in-law, "Let's hurry up. There are still some autumn vegetables in the garden; we need to pick some and wash them. The helpers are coming today, so we can't skimp on lunch."

"Yes, Mother," Su Xiaoyin replied, quickly stacking the bowls and chopsticks.

The Chen family's vegetable garden was behind the house, surrounded by a low fence. It wasn't large, but it was neatly maintained. In late autumn, a patch of green stubbornly remained in the garden, mainly consisting of Chinese cabbage and radishes, with a few rows of cold-resistant spinach and scallions along the side. The morning dew hadn't dried yet, and glistening water droplets clung to the vegetable leaves.

Mother Chen walked ahead carrying a basket, pointing and instructing: "Pick out a few outer layers of the cabbage, the inner core is tender. Pick a few large radishes, we'll shred them for a cold salad later, or use them in soup. Pick some spinach and scallions too, to add flavor."

The Su sisters responded and squatted down to begin working. The scent of earth mixed with the freshness of plants wafted over them, and as their fingers touched the cool, damp vegetable leaves, Su Xiaoyin suddenly felt a strange sense of peace. These weren't the unknown wild vegetable roots she'd dug up on her escape from famine; these were vegetables grown in her own garden, safe to eat. She broke off a thick cabbage leaf and carefully placed it in her basket.

"Your movements are quite nimble," Chen's mother said, a rare compliment as she watched from the side.

Su Xiaoqing smiled shyly.

After picking most of the vegetables, the three of them carried the heavy baskets back to the front yard. Mother Chen put the baskets down by the well and instructed, "You two wash these vegetables first, be careful, remove all the mud, roots, and rotten leaves. I'll go to the tofu shop at the village entrance to buy some tofu. This morning, Da Shan came back from the river and caught a few crucian carp. They weren't big, but they were fresh. We'll make a tofu and fish soup for lunch; that'll be a nice meal."

Hearing that there was fish, Su Xiaoqing's eyes lit up. On the road of fleeing famine, let alone fish, even a decent bowl of hot soup was a luxury.

"Mother, don't worry, we'll wash the vegetables thoroughly," Su Xiaoyin quickly replied.

Chen's mother nodded, pocketed a few copper coins, and hurriedly left.

The well water was icy cold. The two sisters drew water and, using a wooden basin, began to carefully wash the vegetables. They had to separate each cabbage leaf to wash away the mud and sand from the crevices; they had to brush the soil off the roots of the radishes; and they had to strip each spinach stalk, removing the yellow leaves and the tough outer skin of the roots. The cold water quickly turned their fingers red, and a slight stinging sensation came from their fingertips, but neither of them uttered a sound, simply focusing intently on their work.

"Sister," Su Xiaoqing said softly, picking at the spinach, her voice filled with anticipation, "you say our lives will get better and better, right?"

Su Xiaoyin was vigorously scrubbing a large radish when she heard this. She looked up and saw her younger sister's face, flushed slightly from the cold water but serious. In the distance, the faint sounds of men's chants and the heavy thumping of tamping earth could be heard from the eastern construction site. The sounds weren't pleasant, but they were full of power.

She nodded vigorously, a faint yet firm smile curving her lips: "Yes. We definitely will. Once the new house is built, we'll move in, and it will be our real home."

"Yes!" Su Xiaoqing nodded emphatically, her eyes shining even brighter. "Once the house is finished, let's ask Grandma to take us for a walk in the back mountain, shall we? I heard there are mushrooms and wood ear fungus in the mountains in autumn. If we can find some, dry them, and add a little to stews in winter, it'll be a rare and delicious flavor!"