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

When Chen's mother returned home carrying a heavy basket, the yard was quiet. Only the occasional soft sounds of cattle and sheep chewing fodder came from the livestock shed, and the faint, clear laughter of children drifted from the direction of the main room, like spring water splashing against pebbles, which softened one's heart.

She carefully placed the basket under the eaves outside the main room, first checking on the livestock and adding fresh hay and water to the troughs. Then she took the few newly picked astragalus plants, some motherwort, and other herbs that she didn't know but Doctor Li said were useful, and spread them out on the bamboo mat in the backyard where medicinal herbs were dried. The spring afternoon sun was perfect; after drying for a few days, they could be brought in, another small source of income.

After finishing these tasks, she went to the vegetable garden and picked a few tender bok choy and a bunch of scallions, then washed them by the well. Only then did she return to her house, fetch water, quickly wash herself, and change into some clean old clothes she wore at home. Having worked on the mountain path all morning, she finally relaxed and felt a little tired, but also a sense of peace.

She gently pushed open the door to the main room. The room was softly lit, the paper windows filtering out the harsh midday sun, leaving only a warm, inviting atmosphere. Her two daughters-in-law sat facing each other on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), embroidery frames in front of them, their fingers holding fine needles, colorful threads moving lightly across the fabric, making an almost inaudible rustling sound. In the center of the kang, in a safe haven surrounded by a few pillows and old quilts, four chubby babies dressed in matching light blue jackets sat huddled together, each fiddling with their own toys.

The eldest brother, Shi Tou, clutched a small wooden horse tightly in his hand, muttering to himself; the second brother, Qing Qing, hugged a soft little rabbit doll made of floral fabric, rubbing his face against it; the third brother, A Ji, and the fourth brother, A Fu, were engaged in a friendly (temporary) struggle for "ownership" of a cute little wooden dog newly carved by Chen Da Shan, pushing and pulling each other while giggling incessantly.

This tranquil yet vibrant scene made Chen's mother stand at the door, momentarily reluctant to disturb it. It was Su Xiaoyin who happened to look up and see her mother-in-law, quickly putting down her needlework: "Mother, you're back! Are you tired? Sit down and rest, I'll get you a bowl of water."

Mother Chen waved her hand, a relieved smile on her face, and walked to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) to sit down next to the children: "No need to rush, I've already had a drink in the kitchen. How long have you been embroidering? Don't keep your heads down, or your eyes will get sore and your necks will hurt. You need to rest when you need to."

She reached out and touched Afu's fluffy little head, who was closest to her. The little guy looked up at her and grinned, revealing a few tiny teeth, before turning his attention back to his "tug-of-war" with his brother.

"I've only been embroidering for less than an hour, and I just took a short break." Su Xiaoqing stopped sewing, rubbed the back of her neck, and asked, "Mother, did your day on the mountain go well? Did you gather a lot of mugwort?"

"Successfully, we picked a large bundle of mugwort, enough for a while." Chen's mother said, recalling the incident on the way down the mountain, a look of both annoyance and amusement appeared on her face, "It's just that on the way down the mountain, we ran into Li Dazui from the village, who blocked the road and asked us all sorts of questions, really..."

Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing both looked over curiously. They knew Li Dazui; she was a notorious gossip in the village, who loved to pry into other people's private affairs and spread baseless rumors.

"What did she ask about our family?" Su Xiaoqing asked.

Mother Chen snorted, "What else could they ask? They were trying to find out, going around in circles, that our daughter-in-law got pregnant soon after marrying into the family, giving birth to four in a row. They asked if there was some secret formula, saying that since we're from the same village, we couldn't keep anything secret. I shut them down! I said there's no secret formula, our daughter-in-law is just lucky. She was born twins in her own family, and the environment here is good, so she's in a good mood and good fortune has naturally come. Tell her family to wait a little longer; it will happen when it's meant to be."

Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing felt a little embarrassed after hearing this, but they also thought their mother-in-law's reply was very well said.

"What happened to her family?" Su Xiaoyin hesitated for a moment before asking. They had only been married into the family for a short time and only knew that Li Dazui was a gossip, but they didn't know anything about her family background.

Mother Chen sighed, lowering her voice as if afraid of frightening the children: "You married into the family late, so you don't know. This Li Dazui has a terrible reputation in our village. Her mother-in-law... was starved to death by her."

"Ah?" The two sisters gasped simultaneously, covering their mouths, their eyes filled with horror.

"Her husband was a coward. He just watched his wife mistreat his mother without uttering a sound. After the old lady passed away, it was only after a long time that word slowly started to leak out. But what could they do when the old woman was gone? The villagers talked about them behind their backs all the time." Chen's mother shook her head and continued, "Later, her eldest son got married, and the following year, his new wife became pregnant. And what happened? Somehow, her eldest son forced her to drink some kind of medicine, causing her to miscarry... I heard it was a fully formed male fetus. From then on, the eldest daughter-in-law never got pregnant again."

Su Xiaoqing gasped, "That's his own flesh and blood! How could he..." She couldn't finish her sentence, feeling a chill rise up her spine.

Mother Chen's face was grave: "Who says otherwise? Some people say that her eldest son still harbored resentment over his grandmother's starvation to death, and fearing that he would be treated the same way by his son when he got old, he simply decided to eliminate any future trouble... What a tragedy! Later, her second and third sons also got married one after another, but for some reason, none of their wives had any children. Some of the older people in the village said in private that they were afraid the old woman who starved to death was haunting them and coming back to haunt them."

The main room fell silent for a moment, save for the faint sounds of children playing. The sunlight streamed in quietly, yet it seemed unable to dispel the chill brought on by the story.

"So," Chen's mother said earnestly to her two daughters-in-law, "when you see Li Dazui and his family in the village, try to stay as far away as possible. Getting involved with them will only bring trouble. A wicked heart makes for an unsettling household."

Su Xiaoqing suddenly remembered something and said, "Mom, before, when my sister and I were pushing the children to the tofu shop, we passed under the big locust tree in the middle of the village and heard a few aunties sitting there, whispering and complaining, as if they were also complaining that their daughters-in-law hadn't had children after several years of marriage."