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

The morning mist had not yet completely dissipated, and the air was filled with the crispness unique to late autumn. Chen's mother deftly stuffed two small cloth bags containing coarse bread and pickled vegetables into her basket, and then checked again to make sure the water bag was full.

"Xiaoyin, Xiaoqing," she instructed the two sisters who were washing a wooden basin by the kitchen door, "your father and I are going up the mountain today to see if there are any new mushrooms sprouting or late autumn mountain produce after the rain. You two stay home and take care of the vegetables in the garden that need to be harvested. Pickle what can be pickled, and spread out what can be dried to dry. There might be frost in a few days, so we need to hurry."

Su Xiaoyin straightened up and wiped her hands: "Mother, we understand. Please be careful when you and Father go up the mountain. It just rained, and the mountain path is slippery."

"Don't worry, we'll look after each other." Mother Chen waved her hand, slung her basket over her shoulder, and said, "We won't be back for lunch; we brought some dry food. Just make yourselves something to eat and keep an eye on the four little rascals."

Mr. Chen was already waiting at the gate of the courtyard with a small hoe on his shoulder. The elderly couple walked one after the other, and their figures quickly disappeared on the path leading to the mountain forest.

After seeing their parents-in-law off, Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing finished up the last bit of work in the kitchen. In the main room, the four little ones sat side by side on a large straw mat spread on the kang (a heated brick bed), surrounded by several perfectly polished wooden blocks and small gourds made by Chen Dashan. They were "communicating" with each other, one grabbing a block of wood and the other touching a gourd, but they didn't make a fuss.

"Let's keep them on the mats to play, then we'll hurry to the garden," Su Xiaoyin said to her sister.

The vegetable garden in autumn is no longer as lush and verdant as it was in summer, but there's still much to finish. The bean vines on the trellis are withered and yellow, but with careful searching, you can still pick some of the last old beans to dry and stew with meat in winter. The eggplant plants have also withered, but a few autumn eggplants still hang on the branches; though not as plump and tender as in summer, they have their own unique flavor. Chinese cabbage and radish are the mainstays, each one plump and full, needing careful harvesting to remove the old and rotten leaves. The row of late-planted mustard tubers in the corner is also ready for harvest.

The two sisters rolled up their sleeves, put on coarse cloth gloves, and began to busy themselves. Su Xiaoqing, with her sharp eyes, pointed to several large, golden pumpkins under the trellis: "Sister, look at these pumpkins! They've had such a good harvest this year, each one is huge! Let's cut one up tonight and steam pumpkin buns. They'll be sweet and fluffy, and Mom, Dad, and my older brother Xiaohe will definitely love them. The rest of the pumpkin flesh can be used to make porridge tomorrow morning; it'll be sticky and delicious."

Su Xiaoyin was chopping a large radish when she heard this. She looked up and smiled, "Great idea! You can start the dough rising now, use warm water, it'll rise slower in this cool weather. Let's keep lunch simple. I'll pick some tender greens, cook a pot of hot noodle soup, and boil a few salted duck eggs. For the children... I'll steam some rice flour porridge for them, and also steam a minced meat and egg custard separately to mix into the porridge, it'll be nutritious."

"Sure!" Su Xiaoqing readily agreed, deftly picking at the green beans. "By the way, sister, Xiaohe said the other day that he didn't get enough of the pickled green beans and spicy cabbage we made last year, and asked us to pickle more this year. I think these green beans and cabbages are pretty good, so let's pickle two big vats this year? Anyway, there are still empty vats in the cellar."

"Yes, we need to pickle more." Su Xiaoyin neatly arranged the chopped cabbages into the bamboo basket next to her. "Not only cabbages and green beans, but I also think this batch of mustard tubers is quite good. We can pickle them into salted mustard tubers, shred them in the morning, drizzle some sesame oil, and eat them with porridge. As for the radishes, some can be dried, and the rest can be grated for fillings or soups." She paused, pointing to a clump of scallions that were starting to turn yellow but were still standing upright by the vegetable patch. "Don't waste these scallion leaves either. We'll collect them later, wash them clean, rub them with salt, and pickle them into salted scallion leaves. They're good with rice too."

Just then, Chen Dashan returned from the backyard carrying timber. Hearing their conversation, he chimed in, "We really need to stock up on pickled vegetables. Winters are long, and vegetables are scarce; we'll rely on these pickled vegetables to survive." He put down the timber, wiped his sweat, and said, "By the way, Xiaoyin, you mentioned last time you wanted a few wooden frames to plant leek roots and scallions in the house for winter? I remember. I'll make them for you once we finish cutting the materials for the furniture for Aunt Li's nephew's family. Just use pine scraps; make them lightweight and easy to move."

Su Xiaoyin's eyes lit up: "Oh, good! No rush, you should focus on the work outside first. I was thinking of transplanting the leek roots, scallions and garlic into a wooden frame and placing it in the east wing of our house near the window. It gets sunshine during the day and the house is warm at night, so maybe it will actually sprout some green shoots in winter. Even if there aren't many, it would be good to be able to pick a handful to add some greenery when we make dumplings for the New Year."

"Sister-in-law, that's a brilliant idea!" Chen Xiaohe, who had somehow joined in, said with a grin, "Seeing some greenery in winter makes me feel so much better. Brother, when you're making the baskets, could you make a couple small ones for me too? I'd like to keep some... um, maybe some garlic sprouts!"

Chen Dashan slapped him on the back of the head: "You always have so many ideas. Okay, let's do it together then."

Amidst their laughter and chatter, the vegetables in the garden were almost ready. Su Xiaoqing straightened up, looking at the several large baskets of cabbage, radishes, mustard greens, and a pile of green beans and pumpkins, feeling a great sense of accomplishment: "This will keep us busy for a while. Sister, I'll go knead the dough and let it rise, then cut the pumpkin open and scoop out the seeds."

"Go ahead, I'll move these to the well platform first, so they'll be easier to clean later," Su Xiaoyin replied.