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

In the twelfth lunar month, dawn breaks late. By the third crowing of the rooster, the Chen family courtyard is already brightly lit, with shadowy figures moving about. In the main room, the oil lamp illuminates the last few pieces of furniture, polished to a mirror shine, making them appear exceptionally sturdy—two large camphor wood wardrobes stand side by side, their mortise and tenon joints fitting perfectly, exuding the unique fragrance of the wood; an eight-immortal table is paired with four long benches, their edges rounded and their surface cool to the touch; and there is also a pair of kang cabinets with brass locks, their doors carved with simple auspicious cloud patterns, revealing a rare refinement in a peasant household.

Chen Dashan wiped the cabinet surface one last time with a coarse cloth, straightened up, rubbed his aching lower back from days of rushing to finish the work, and said to his mother, who was busy in the kitchen, "Mother, the furniture is finally all done. Tomorrow, Xiaohe and I will deliver it to the owner to see if there's anything they're not satisfied with, and we can make changes before the New Year. If there are no problems, we'll take advantage of the next few days to make some more small trinkets to sell at the market during the three-day New Year's holiday."

Mother Chen peeked out from the kitchen, her hands still covered in flour, a relieved smile on her face: "Okay, it's good that you understand. Go early tomorrow, drive carefully, the roads are slippery in this December weather. I'll make pork and cabbage dumplings tonight, so you can eat them hot when you get back."

"Hey!" Chen Xiaohe had just brought firewood in from the backyard when he heard this. His eyes lit up, and then, remembering something, he turned to ask his father, who was sharpening a wood-chopping knife, "Dad, have you been to the bamboo forest lately? Have the winter bamboo shoots sprouted yet? We dug them up this time last year."

Father Chen stopped sharpening his knife, sprinkled some water on the whetstone, and shook his head: "I just went to check the other day, the ground is still hard, and I haven't seen any bamboo shoots yet. This winter was cold late, so the winter bamboo shoots are probably coming out late too. I'll go take a closer look in a couple of days when the earth's energy rises a bit more. If they've sprouted, we have to hurry, winter bamboo shoots are precious, we can't afford to delay."

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, Chen Dashan and Chen Xiaohe hitched up the oxcart. The two brothers carefully lifted several large pieces of furniture onto the cart, securing them firmly with hemp ropes and old cotton quilts, and then covering them with a layer of tarpaulin to protect them from the snow. The old ox seemed to know this was the last heavy haul before the New Year, its hooves pawing the ground as it steadily trod the frozen, hard dirt road. The brothers proceeded cautiously, arriving at their master's neighboring village when the sun was high in the sky.

The homeowner had been eagerly awaiting their arrival. Upon seeing them, he quickly called for help to unload the cart. The homeowner, a farmer in his fifties surnamed Zhao, carefully examined the furniture, touching the cabinet doors, pulling out drawers, and tapping on the tabletops. His smile grew wider and wider until he clapped his hands and exclaimed, "Excellent! Dashan, your craftsmanship is superb! Even better than Liu the carpenter in town! The smell of this wood is so reassuring!" His wife nodded repeatedly, touching the cloud-patterned pattern on the kang cabinet, clearly delighted.

"I'm glad Uncle Zhao and Aunt Zhao are satisfied." Chen Dashan felt relieved, and a simple, honest smile appeared on his face.

"Satisfied! Extremely satisfied!" Old Zhao was very pleased. He immediately pulled out an old money pouch from his pocket and counted out the remaining balance he had prepared beforehand—one and a half taels of loose silver, plus a string of fifty copper coins. "Here you go, Dashan, Xiaohe, take this! We're all so happy to have new furniture before the New Year! This extra fifty coins is for you two brothers, to buy something nice and have a prosperous New Year!"

Chen Dashan quickly declined, but Old Zhao insisted on giving it to him. Unable to refuse, they had no choice but to accept it. The two brothers felt warm inside; this was not just money, but also recognition of their skills.

Meanwhile, the Chen family's old house was also bustling with activity. Father Chen had gone to set rabbit traps early in the morning and, with good luck, caught a plump pheasant and two gray rabbits. He was deftly tidying them up by the well, placing the pheasant's colorful tail feathers aside to leave for the children to play with. Mother Chen watched from the side, thinking, "The pheasant is fat; we'll keep it to make soup tomorrow. Da Shan and Xiao He have traveled a long way today, so they'll have something hot to eat to nourish themselves. As for the two rabbits, we'll skin them completely, smoke the meat, and hang it on the kitchen beam. When spring comes and planting is at its most tiring, we can cut off a piece and either stir-fry or stew it—it'll be a real treat."

Su Xiaoyin brought over a basin of hot water for Chen's father to wash his hands, and said, "Dad, keep these chicken and rabbit giblets. I'll stir-fry them with chili sauce tonight. They'll be fragrant and delicious with rice." Her cooking skills are becoming more and more refined, and she can make delicious dishes from simple ingredients.

After washing his hands, Mr. Chen looked at the chickens, ducks, and geese pacing around the yard and asked thoughtfully, "Honey, how are our egg-laying birds doing lately? I see those speckled chickens aren't very active anymore."

Mrs. Chen sighed and pointed to the corner: "That's right. Those three hens started brooding in the spring, and they laid eggs well this summer and autumn, but they've become lazy in winter, not laying a single egg for ten days or so. Five of the ducks have also stopped laying eggs, just eating. Only the pair of geese lay an egg every few days. I'm thinking, aren't we wasting too much food?"

Father Chen squatted down, rolled a pipe, lit it, and took a puff. The smoke curled upwards in the chilly air. "The New Year is all about abundance. My idea is to kill the non-egg-laying pigs, the fattest ones, during the New Year holidays. We'll eat some fresh and cure and smoke the rest. If we can actually buy that barren mountain in the spring, cleaning it up will be even more arduous than clearing wasteland. Without some hearty dishes, our bodies won't be able to handle it. We'll keep the ones that lay eggs and hatch another brood in the spring to keep things going. It won't delay anything."

Chen's mother paused for a moment, looking at the poultry she had raised for almost a year, and finally nodded. Farming families are practical; raising livestock and poultry is primarily for supplementing their livelihood. "Alright, I'll do as you say. We'll have a good meat feast for the New Year! The rest can be made into preserved meats, a little something for later."

Just then, the sound of an oxcart wheel and familiar shouts came from outside the courtyard gate. "Dad! Mom! We're back!" It was the voices of Chen Dashan and his brother, light and cheerful.

Chen's mother immediately smiled, brushed the bits of grass off her clothes, and went out to greet him: "You're back! Did things go well?"

"Successfully! The client was extremely satisfied, the final payment was settled, and they even gave us an extra fifty coins as a token of appreciation!" Chen Xiaohe jumped out of the car and handed the money bag to his mother like a treasure.

Mother Chen took the heavy money bag, and the last bit of reluctance she felt about slaughtering the poultry dissipated. Life, like these coins in her hand, was earned penny by penny, through hard work and countless practical tasks. She looked at her husband bustling about in the yard, heard the soft voices of her daughters-in-law and the playful sounds of her grandchildren coming from inside the house, and then looked at her son returning safely. In the cold winter of December, her heart was filled with a warm sense of anticipation.

"Okay, okay!" she said repeatedly. "Come inside and warm up! We'll have dumplings tonight! We'll stew the pheasant tomorrow! This year, our family will definitely have a prosperous and joyous year!"