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

The lunch conversation, made over the morning's harrowing rescue, carried a different solemnity than usual. After finishing his pipe, Mr. Chen tapped the ash from his pipe on his shoe, his gaze sweeping over his two sons, whose hair was still slightly damp despite their new clothes. His tone was more serious than usual: "...You did the right thing today, saving a life and accumulating good karma. But in the future, you need to be more careful and think more about the family. The river has just risen, the current is swift, and we can't know what's down there. What if..." He didn't finish the sentence, only letting out a deep sigh, a sigh filled with a father's lingering fear and worry.

Chen Dashan lowered his head, his voice steady: "Dad, I understand." He had indeed jumped in instinctively, and now, recalling the rushing, icy river water laden with withered branches and leaves, and the feeling of sinking into the mud beneath his feet, it was truly dangerous. Chen Xiaohe also abandoned his usual playful demeanor, nodding earnestly: "Dad, Mom, Sister-in-law, Xiaoqing, we're sorry to have worried you. We'll be more careful next time."

The family was having a private conversation when footsteps and a slightly hurried greeting came from outside the courtyard gate: "Brother Chen! Sister-in-law! Are you home?"

Mr. Chen got up to go out and saw the grandfather of the child who had fallen into the water that morning. Some villagers called him Uncle Lao Nian, while others called him Brother Lao Nian. He was carrying a bamboo basket covered with a blue cloth, and round eggs could be vaguely seen inside. In his other hand, he was also carrying a large rooster whose feet were tied with straw rope and whose wings were flapping. Behind Lao Nian were the child's parents. The mother was still holding the child tightly in her arms. The child had been changed into clean clothes, but his eyes were still a little red and swollen.

"Brother Chen, Dashan, Xiaohe!" As soon as Lao Nian entered the door, his face was filled with gratitude, and his eyes were a little red. "This morning was really... really thanks to those two young men, Dashan and Xiaohe! If it weren't for them, my only son... would really be gone!" As he spoke, his voice choked up. The child's parents also thanked him repeatedly. The mother even tried to pull the child to kowtow to Brother Chen Dashan, but Chen's mother and Su Xiaoyin quickly stopped her.

"Old Nian, please don't do this! We're all neighbors, how can we just stand by and watch someone die? Come in and sit down!" Father Chen hurriedly ushered him into the house.

Old Nian insisted on not going in, and handed the basket forward: "I won't sit down, the child is still frightened. This little thing is a token of our family's affection, please accept it! Don't be disgusted!" The basket looked quite heavy, with at least twenty or thirty eggs, and the rooster had glossy feathers, obviously a good chicken that the family carefully raised to lay eggs or that they would only kill for festivals.

Mr. and Mrs. Chen refused to accept the gifts, repeatedly saying, "Old Nian, this is too much! These things are too valuable! Take them back quickly, use them to calm the child's nerves, and help him recover!"

"That's right, that's right," Chen's mother chimed in. "The child was terrified this morning, we have to comfort him properly. We really can't accept the things, you're not exactly well-off either."

The two families started arguing in the courtyard. Finally, Old Nian got impatient, stubbornly insisting, "Brother Chen, sister-in-law! If you don't accept it, you're looking down on me, thinking my gift is too meager! What's a little something compared to saving my life? If you don't accept it, I... I won't be able to get over it when I get back!"

Having said all that, further refusal would truly hurt their relationship. Mother Chen glanced at Father Chen, and seeing him nod slightly, she sighed, taking the heavy basket and the still-flailing rooster: "Oh, Brother Lao Nian, you...you're too kind. Well...we'll accept it, alright. It's good that the child is alright. Just make sure to keep a close eye on him from now on; he can't be allowed to play by himself by the river again."

"Definitely! This time you've learned your lesson!" Old Nian said with a relieved smile when he saw that they had accepted the money.

Chen's mother turned to Su Xiaoyin and said, "Xiaoyin, go to the backyard and pick the biggest watermelon so your Uncle Nian can take it back to the child to sweeten her mouth and calm her nerves."

Su Xiaoyin responded and went, soon returning with a large watermelon, green-skinned with black stripes and weighing over ten pounds. The old man's family declined several times before finally accepting it, leaving with profuse thanks.

Watching them walk away, Chen Xiaohe went closer to the basket, lifted the blue cloth to take a look, and clicked his tongue, saying, "Dad, Mom, this... there must be thirty eggs, right? This chicken is so fat! This gift is quite substantial."

Mother Chen carried the basket into the main room and tied up the rooster that had been temporarily placed in the corner of the yard to prevent it from running away. She returned to the house, looked at the basket of eggs, and pondered, "The Nian family isn't exactly wealthy, so this gift is truly thoughtful. We can't accept such a generous gift for nothing."

She thought for a moment and said to Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing, "Xiaoyin, Xiaoqing, I'll have to trouble you two. I remember we still have quite a bit of that slightly yellowed but still soft, flawed fine cotton fabric we bought last time. Estimate the child's size from this morning and make him a set of close-fitting undergarments. Children grow quickly, so make them a little loose so he can wear them for longer. We'll provide the fabric, and the handiwork is nothing special. Consider it a small return gift; it shows our goodwill and won't feel like we're being distant."

Su Xiaoyin immediately nodded: "Mother, that's a good idea. We still have more than half a bolt of cloth left, more than enough to make an undergarment for the child. Xiaoqing and I will work hard these next couple of days and it will be finished in two days. We'll make the simplest style, like a monk's robe, so it'll be comfortable to wear."

Su Xiaoqing also said, "Yes, I'll embroider some simple peace patterns on the collar and cuffs as a token."

"Alright, you all decide what to do." After arranging the clothes, Chen's mother looked at the rooster clucking in the corner of the yard and the basket of eggs. "Let's keep this rooster for a few days, and kill it when the autumn harvest is at its most tiring. We can make a soup to help everyone regain their strength. As for the eggs..." She smiled, "Xiaoyin and Xiaoqing made tea eggs, salted duck eggs, and salted goose eggs before, and everyone in the family said they were delicious. This time, shall we try pickling some salted eggs? We can also make some tea eggs with the rest and enjoy them slowly."

Listening from the side, Mr. Chen nodded in agreement: "Yes, your mother has made proper arrangements. We accept the gifts, remember the kindness, and we reciprocate in kind, neither taking advantage of others nor refusing their good intentions. That's how we live, helping each other out."