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

Su Xiaoyin was tidying up her pastry-making tools when she heard this. She smiled and tapped her sister's forehead: "You, you just can't sit still. Embroidery is a slow and meticulous process, you can't rush it. But it's good to hear some new things, to relieve your boredom."

Mother Chen wore a mysterious expression that said, "You finally asked the right question." She enjoyed the curious looks from her two daughters-in-law for a moment before lowering her voice and saying, "You know what, I really know some 'explosive' news that will definitely shock you."

"What news? Tell me quickly, Mom!" Su Xiaoqing immediately leaned closer, her eyes wide open. Su Xiaoyin also slowed down her movements and listened intently.

Mother Chen cleared her throat and said in a tone of sighing and emotion, characteristic of telling rural secrets: "It's about Chen Fengnian's family in our village. You know, right? His eldest son and second son had children around the same time a few years ago. The eldest son had a grandson, and the second son had a grandson."

The two sisters nodded. Chen Fengnian's family was quite large in the village, and they remembered this incident.

Mother Chen continued, "The strange thing is, now that we've found out—that eldest grandson isn't the eldest son's biological son at all; he's the second son's! And that second grandson isn't the second son's biological son either; he's the eldest son's!"

Su Xiaoyin was stunned for a moment, then her mind raced to make sense of the tongue-twisting relationship. She asked in surprise, "Mom, you mean... their two grandsons were switched? Were they switched at birth?"

"If they had been switched at birth, it could be an accident," Chen's mother shook her head, her face showing a complex expression—a mixture of disdain and sigh. "It was their own old lady who deliberately switched them!"

"Your own grandmother replaced them? What's the point?" Su Xiaoqing asked incredulously. "Aren't they all her own grandsons? They grew up under the same roof, so it doesn't matter who raises them, right?"

"That's different," Chen's mother sighed. "His eldest daughter-in-law married into the family from the next village. She's an only child, and her parents dote on her. They're well-off and often help her out. His second daughter-in-law, on the other hand, comes from an even poorer village in the mountains. Her parents favor sons over daughters, and she has a bunch of younger siblings. They rely on this married daughter to send money and things back to help them out. Chen Fengnian's mother is biased to the extreme. She's always favored her second son, and by extension, she finds her second daughter-in-law more agreeable. She thinks that her second son and his wife are struggling financially, and raising another child would be even harder. Her eldest son's family is well-off, so raising another child wouldn't be a problem for them."

She paused, looking at her two daughters-in-law who were listening intently: "So, the two daughters-in-law gave birth one after the other, both on their own kang (heated brick bed). Taking advantage of the chaos, the old lady secretly switched the two newborn boys! She planned to have her wealthier eldest son's family raise the child for her beloved second son. Later, the second daughter-in-law, perhaps out of maternal instinct, vaguely felt the child wasn't hers, and she constantly beat and scolded the other child (who was actually her sister-in-law's biological child), giving the best things to her later-born daughter and skimping on the other child's food and clothing. This was kept secret for several years, but recently, the second daughter-in-law's bloodsucking family came to beg again. They probably let it slip while cursing the child as a 'freeloader' and a 'bastard,' which the eldest daughter-in-law overheard. This really stirred up a hornet's nest!"

Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing held their breath, unable to imagine the chaos that had taken place in that house.

"Would the eldest son and daughter-in-law let it go? They made a scene right there! They even dragged the child to town for a blood test to prove paternity! Chen Fengnian initially couldn't believe it, but after pressing the old lady for answers, she couldn't take it anymore and tearfully admitted it." Chen's mother shook her head. "Now look what's happened! The eldest son and daughter-in-law's hearts have been pierced and chilled to the bone by their own mother! Chen Fengnian also knows that this family can never be brought together again. If they don't separate the family, someone might die. A few days ago, he decided to separate the family. He still has some conscience; he divided it fairly. The old couple kept two acres of land for their retirement, and the remaining land and house were split equally between the two sons. The eldest son packed his things that very day, took his wife and child, and moved directly to his father-in-law's house! I heard he's already approached the village chief and got a new plot of land for their home. He's said that he won't shortchange his parents on their retirement expenses, but he won't give them a penny more! As for that biased old lady, the eldest son doesn't even want to look at her again."

After Chen's mother finished speaking, the room fell silent. Only the faint crackling of the firewood in the stove and the occasional laughter of the children could be heard. Outside the window, the sky grew increasingly gloomy, and the first tiny snowflake drifted down silently, sticking to the cold window paper and quickly melting into a damp patch.

Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing remained silent for a long time, their hearts heavy. They felt sorry for the innocent child who had been switched and suffered injustice, and they also felt sorry for the eldest son's family who had been heartbroken by their own relatives. Originally, they should have been a family connected by blood and supporting each other, but because of the elders' favoritism and confusion, they had fallen to such a state, with their family ties shattered.

"That old woman Chen, what a terrible thing she's done..." Su Xiaoyin sighed softly. "She feels sorry for her second son, but isn't her eldest son also her own flesh and blood? Now look what's happened, she's dragged the whole family into this mess."

"Who can argue with that?" Chen's mother sighed. "Harmony in the family is the foundation of everything. Once hearts turn to one side, the family falls apart. Our family must never follow that path. Although your father doesn't talk much, he is the most fair-minded. Your father and I only hope that you brothers and sisters-in-law live in harmony, and that the children are close and loving towards each other, so that life can become more and more promising."

Just then, the sound of footsteps treading through the snow and a man's deep voice came from outside the courtyard gate. It was Mr. Chen and the others returning.

"You're back!" Su Xiaoqing quickly got up and went to lift the cotton curtain.

The three of them, father and son, entered the house shivering in the cold, a thin layer of snow clinging to their shoulders and hats. The baskets they carried looked heavy, but clearly didn't indicate a large harvest.

"Dad, how's it going? Do you have any stock?" Su Xiaoyin asked as she took the coat Chen Dashan had taken off and shook off the snow.

Mr. Chen patted the snow off his clothes, his face showing little joy. "Two traps caught rabbits, but neither was very big. One of them was half-eaten by something. The other trap broke; I guess it caught a bigger one and it broke free and ran away. Luckily, we got there in time. If we had been any later, with this snow, we wouldn't have been able to find that half-rabbit." As he spoke, he took two frozen, grayish-brown rabbits out of his basket. They weren't very big, and one of them was missing a hind leg.

Chen Xiaohe put down his basket, rubbing his frostbitten hands, but remained optimistic: "A harvest is good enough! Even half a carp is meat! I'll have Mom prepare it tonight and stew it with radishes. It'll be warm and comforting, perfect for a snowy day!"

Chen's mother looked at the two rabbits and nodded: "Okay, I'll get them ready in a bit. You two go and warm yourselves up by the stove. The ginger soup is warming in the pot, have a bowl to ward off the cold."

The father and his two sons huddled around the stove, drinking hot ginger soup in the warmth, which gradually warmed their stiff bodies. Outside, the snow fell thicker, with goose-feather-like snowflakes fluttering down, silently covering the courtyard, fields, and distant mountains.