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

Mother Chen put down the cleaned wooden horse, patted non-existent dust off her hands, and spoke with a steady yet resolute tone: "I don't have any urgent work this afternoon, so I'll go to the village head's house and have a chat with him. Someone has to stop this conversation. If any woman in the village is really anxious to have a child, she should honestly go to the county clinic to see a proper doctor if she's sick! What's the use of asking others? Besides," she paused, lowering her voice but speaking clearly, "not being able to have a child doesn't necessarily mean it's the woman's problem. Maybe the man has a physical problem? This needs to be 'inadvertently' revealed by the village head's wife, so those confused people don't keep staring at other people's wives' bellies and speculating wildly."

Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing listened from the side, feeling both grateful for their mother-in-law's protection and somewhat helpless. They had married into the family, enjoyed harmonious relationships with their husbands, and were fortunate enough to have four children—it was all perfectly natural. What "secret formula" was there? It was simply a matter of good health and a bit of luck.

Chen's father tapped his cigarette ash and stood up: "Alright, let's put those idle chatter aside for now. Dashan, Xiaohe, you two don't need to go up the mountain this afternoon. Come with me to the house and dig out the manure we've collected from the pigsty and chicken coop, and move it to the field to compost for a few days. The wheat needs topdressing soon, and we also need to prepare some for the cornfield."

Farmyard manure is a treasure for crops, but disposing of it is dirty, tiring, and smelly. Upon hearing this, Chen's mother immediately said, "That's perfect! This afternoon I'll take Xiaoyin, Xiaoqing, and the four children to the new house. Disposing of manure here smells terrible; I don't want it to bother my precious grandchildren." As she spoke, she called to her two daughters-in-law, "Xiaoyin, Xiaoqing, pack up the diapers and blankets the children will need, and your embroidery tools. We'll go over there now. The yard over there is bright and sunny in the afternoon; the children can climb on the mats there."

"Okay, Mother." The two sisters quickly agreed and got up to go inside to tidy up. A little while later, Mother Chen was carrying Aji, Su Xiaoyin was carrying Shitou, Chen Dashan was carrying Qingqing who was about to take her first steps, and Su Xiaoqing was carrying the youngest, Afu, in a baby carrier. The group, carrying large bags and bundles, moved in a large but orderly fashion towards the new house a few dozen steps away. Chen Xiaohe silently carried two light strollers over as well.

Watching the women and children leave, Chen's father stood up and muttered, "Change into some old clothes, time to get to work!"

After the father and his two sons changed into their most durable and dirt-resistant old trousers and jackets, put on straw hats, and took shovels, carrying poles, and baskets, they went to the pigsty and chicken and duck shed in the corner of the backyard. After accumulating manure throughout the winter and spring, the manure in the pens had fermented with the bedding straw, turning a dark and shiny black, making it excellent base fertilizer.

Father Chen was an experienced hand at it. He first used a shovel to remove the top layer of dry grass and loose soil, revealing the dark-colored, fine-textured compost underneath. "Start digging from here first, be careful not to bring up the raw soil underneath," he instructed.

Chen Dashan and Chen Xiaohe responded and wielded their shovels. For a moment, the only sounds in the backyard were the "swish" of shovels digging into the manure and lifting them up, and the occasional hushed conversation. The rich, fertile aroma unique to farmhouses filled the air, and to the farmers, this smell seemed to foreshadow a bountiful autumn harvest.

Sweat quickly soaked the backs of the father and his two sons, and large beads of sweat rolled down their foreheads, but none of them complained; they simply buried themselves in their work. Basket after basket of glossy black manure was carried to the open space in the front yard, piled into neat cones, covered with tattered straw mats, and left to decompose, waiting to be spread in the fields and transform into the power to nourish the crops.

On the other side, in the courtyard of the new house, a different scene unfolded. The sun shone warmly, and Chen's mother spread a large straw mat under the eaves, placing her four children on it, letting them crawl around and play with the clean wooden blocks and cloth balls she had brought. Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing sat under the shade of a tree, their embroidery frame stretched out. The "Four Joys at the Door" design was almost complete, vibrant in color and auspicious in meaning. Needle and thread moved swiftly in their hands, and occasionally, glancing up at the playing children, a gentle smile unconsciously appeared on their lips. The courtyard was filled with the scent of sunshine, grass, and a faint milky fragrance, peaceful and serene.

While keeping an eye on the children, Chen's mother also held a needle and thread, mending an old shirt with worn-out cuffs for Chen's father. She occasionally chatted with her daughters-in-law, the topics ranging from the color matching of embroidery patterns to the children's newly learned tricks, and what dish to cook with the freshly dug bamboo shoots that evening... Those worries about the "secret recipe" seemed to have been kept far away outside the courtyard walls by this peaceful and warm afternoon.

As the sun gradually slanted westward, it cast long shadows in the courtyard. In the new house, the children, tired from playing, began rubbing their eyes and whimpering. Over at the old house, the last basket of manure was finally neatly piled up. Two courtyards, two different kinds of busyness, yet both for the same home, for the same vibrant and forward-moving life.