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

As dawn broke and dew still clung to the tips of the grass blades, there was commotion in the Chen family's courtyard.

"Old man, you stay home and watch the four kids today. Xiaoyin, Xiaoqing, and I are going to the mountains to pick mushrooms. There's been plenty of rain this year, so we've got a lot of mushrooms. Let's dry some and save them to sell for a good price in winter," Chen's mother said to Chen's father, who had just finished washing up, as she deftly tied the straps of her basket. She was wearing a slightly worn indigo jacket, her trousers were tightly bound, and she had a plain headscarf wrapped around her head—a neat and efficient outfit for going into the mountains.

Father Chen wiped his face with a cloth and nodded cheerfully, "Alright, you can go without worry. Leave the four little darlings to me." He walked to the door of the east wing and peeked at the four little ones lying side by side on the kang (a heated brick bed)—Shitou was sleeping soundly on his back, Qingqing was curled up, and Aji and Afu were head to head, still fast asleep. A child just over a year old is at the most playful and also the most clingy age, but Father Chen's face was full of smiles, clearly very happy to take on this "child-watching" task.

Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing also came out, all ready to go. The two sisters were dressed in old clothes that allowed them to move around easily, their hair was tied up tightly, and they carried baskets on their backs that were the same size as their mother's. In their hands, they each carried a small basket covered with coarse cloth, containing a small hoe and a small shovel for digging up medicinal herbs.

"Father, then we'll go with Mother," Su Xiaoyin said softly.

"Go on, go on, be careful going up the mountain, watch the road," Chen's father instructed, watching as the three women—mother and daughter-in-law—pushed open the courtyard gate and their figures quickly disappeared into the village road shrouded in the morning mist.

---

Almost simultaneously, Chen Dashan and Chen Xiaohe were already busy in the carpentry shed near the new house. The hissing of saws pulling wood and the swishing of planes cutting through boards were particularly clear in the quiet morning. The shed was filled with the pleasant aroma of pine and camphor wood.

The furniture order for Master Qin's nephew was accepted, with a payment of four taels of silver and a deadline of completion before the autumn harvest. Time was limited, so the two brothers agreed that aside from necessary farm work and market stalls, they would dedicate all their free time to this furniture set. Chen Dashan was responsible for the main frame and mortise and tenon structure. He sat on a wooden stool, slightly hunched over, holding an ink line in his hand, carefully drawing lines on a smooth camphor wood piece. His eyes were focused, and his hands moved steadily and accurately. His legs were now fine for daily walking and doing delicate work while seated, unless he was doing extremely heavy physical labor continuously; however, they still ached and felt uncomfortable on rainy days.

On the other side, Chen Xiaohe carefully used a chisel to refine the carving on the edge of a drawer panel. He was diligent in learning the craft and had a knack for it; he could now handle simple carvings, while Chen Dashan laid the foundation for the more complex parts, which he then refined. The two worked together more and more seamlessly.

"Brother, is it okay if I carve the intertwined branches pattern on this panel with this density?" Chen Xiaohe stopped what he was doing, picked up the panel and asked.

Chen Dashan glanced at it and nodded: "Okay, the spacing is fine. If you use a small round chisel to smooth out the bends in the leaves, it will look even more lively."

"Alright!" Receiving the affirmation, Chen Xiaohe worked even harder.

---

At home, the four little ones woke up one after another. Father Chen happily fetched warm water and washed their faces one by one, then changed their pants that had been wet during the night. Stone, the oldest, could already wobble a few steps and chased after Father Chen wanting a "horse ride." Father Chen then hoisted him onto his shoulders and slowly circled him in the yard, making Stone giggle. Qingqing and Aji sat on the kang (heated brick bed), playing with the small wooden blocks Chen Dashan had made for them, passing them back and forth. The youngest, Afu, was still on the kang, watching his older siblings play with his big, bright eyes.

Just as things were getting lively, a voice called out from outside the courtyard gate: "Big Mountain's dad, are you home?"

Chen's father put down the stone and went out to greet him, only to find it was Chen Ermu from the same village. "Brother Ermu, what brings you here? Please come in and sit down."

Chen Ermu entered the main room and saw four chubby babies on the kang (a heated brick bed). He said enviously, "Brother, you're so lucky to have four grandsons and granddaughters all at once!" He sat down on a stool, took a sip of water from the rough earthenware bowl handed to him by his father, and then explained his purpose: "To be honest, brother, I came today to learn from your experience. I see that your family has bought wasteland and acquired barren hills, and your life is clearly improving. I've also been thinking about adding some property to our family, but I haven't decided yet. I've come to hear your ideas."

Father Chen picked up Aji, who was trying to climb off the kang (a heated brick bed), and after a moment's thought, said, "Brother Ermu, for us peasants, the land is our foundation. Now the harvest is good, the weather is favorable, and the government has a policy of tax exemption for reclaiming wasteland. Having an extra acre of land will give our children and grandchildren more security in the future. However, are there any suitable wastelands near your home?"

Chen Ermu's eyes lit up: "Yes! I've got my eye on that plot of land at the east end of our family's land. It's about seven or eight mu. It's a bit out of the way, and the soil is thin, but it's close to home, so it'll be easy to manage. I'm thinking of gritting my teeth and buying that wasteland this year. Once I have a bit more money, I'll even take over that small barren hill next to it. To be honest, brother, my family has raised a few more pigs and a flock of chickens this year, so we'll definitely have enough manure next year. With manure to keep the wasteland afloat, it'll recover in a few years." He said, his tone filled with anticipation.

Mr. Chen nodded repeatedly, "Your plan is good! A steady and methodical approach. That's what our family thought at the beginning too—to focus on the barren land first, and gradually improve its fertility. The barren mountains are a later matter; we can only manage them when we have the resources. Ultimately, all the hardship and toil we've endured in this life is to leave something substantial for our children and grandchildren, isn't it?"

The two old brothers chatted about reclaiming wasteland, composting manure, and what crops were suitable to grow, finding themselves increasingly congenial. On the kang (a heated brick bed), the four children played by themselves, sunlight streaming through the window, warmly bathing half the kang.

---

Meanwhile, the back mountain was a different scene altogether. The air in the forest after the rain was exceptionally fresh and moist, filled with the vibrant scents of earth, decaying leaves, and vegetation. Chen's mother, along with her two daughters-in-law, were bending over, carefully searching under the pine trees and along the bushes.

"Xiaoyin, Xiaoqing, look here!" Chen's mother parted a clump of ferns, revealing clusters of brownish mushrooms with thick caps, crowded together, a delightful sight.

"There are some here too! They're pine mushrooms!" Su Xiaoqing spotted her target not far away. The bright yellow pine mushrooms looked like little umbrellas, dotting the thick pine needles.

Su Xiaoyin, with her sharp eyes, spotted a large patch of thick, dark, glossy wood ear mushrooms on a half-rotten piece of fallen wood. She carefully pried them up from the edge with a bamboo stick, trying not to damage the mycorrhizae.

The three women, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, were quick and experienced, knowing which mushrooms were edible and which were poisonous. They carefully picked the best-looking ones and gently placed them in their baskets. They didn't let any stray herbs, such as plantain, dandelion, or motherwort, go to waste either, digging them up with their roots using a small hoe, shaking off the soil, and putting them in their small baskets.

"This year's mushrooms are really good quality!" Chen's mother straightened up, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and looked at the half-full basket on her back, her face full of the joy of a bountiful harvest. "Let's hurry up and make one more trip this morning. Once they're dried, we can send them to the county town in winter and they're sure to fetch a good price."