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

"Old man! We're back!"

As the sun began to set, the oxcart, carrying the slightly weary but joyful Chen family, creaked and groaned its way back to their courtyard. Father Chen, holding his fourth son, Afu, who was whimpering and on the verge of tears, in one arm and trying to stop his eldest son, Shitou, from rushing out the gate with the other, had a thin layer of sweat on his forehead. Hearing the sound, he felt as if he had been granted a reprieve and quickly called out, "Hey! Come in, come in! You're finally back!"

Mrs. Chen jumped out of the car first, then burst out laughing at the scene. She quickly went over and took the tearful Afu, then patted Shitou's head: "What happened? We've only been gone half a day, and the house is already in chaos?" As soon as Afu landed in his grandmother's arms, he buried his face in hers and sobbed a couple of times. Shitou also hugged Mrs. Chen's leg, looking up at her and complaining, "Grandpa... Grandpa won't take us to find Grandma!"

Father Chen wiped his sweat, looking at his grandsons who had been "betrayed" in an instant, and couldn't help but laugh and cry. He said to Mother Chen, "You have no idea! The first hour after you left this morning was fine. You ate and drank your fill and played happily. But once you got tired of playing with those wooden blocks and straw stalks, things started to go wrong. One wanted to find his mother, and another wanted his grandmother. No matter how I coaxed them, nothing worked. My old face was almost stiff from smiling. I told them seven or eight stories, and even secretly gave them a small piece of candy, but nothing worked! I finally managed to wait until you came back." He shook his head, his tone helpless yet with a hint of sweet complaint, "These four little devils, I really can't handle them."

Holding Afu in her arms, Chen's mother looked at Chen's father, who seemed to have aged ten years in just one afternoon, feeling both heartache and amusement. "Who was it that patted their chest and said 'It'll be easy' before leaving this morning? Now you know how tough it is to take care of a child, don't you? You're always out in the fields or busy with errands outside, spending little time with them, so naturally they're not as close to you. Alright, go wash your face and catch your breath." As she spoke, she expertly bounced Afu in her arms, then gently said to the other three children who were looking at her expectantly, "Grandma and Mommy are back, and we brought you sesame candy from the market. You can eat it later, okay?"

The children then stopped crying and started laughing, chattering excitedly around Chen's mother.

Chen's father felt relieved. Looking at himself, who had been "abandoned" by his grandsons in an instant, he shook his head and smiled self-deprecatingly before turning to the well to fetch water for washing.

Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing quickly washed their hands and faces, and without taking a break, they went into the kitchen to prepare lunch. Lunch was simple: they boiled a few salted duck eggs with a rich, oily sheen, quickly rolled out noodles, used yesterday's bone broth as a base, blanched some bright green bok choy, and then called everyone to eat.

At the dinner table, with their mother and grandmother by their side, the children ate with extra relish. Chen's father was finally able to eat in peace, no longer interrupted by the children's cries of "Grandpa, I want this!" or "Grandpa, he took my food!"

After lunch, Mr. and Mrs. Chen took their four children to take a nap. Soon, the sound of Mr. Chen's loud snoring and the children's soft, even breathing filled the main room; clearly, the old woman and the four children were exhausted.

Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing, however, were not idle. After cleaning and washing the dishes, they took out their sewing baskets and, by the bright sunlight streaming through the window, continued making hair ties. These kinds of small items sold very quickly at the market, so they needed to stock up on more.

Chen Dashan and Chen Xiaohe plunged into the side room filled with timber and tools. Chen Dashan carefully inspected the semi-finished furniture he had made for Master Qin and his nephew, calculating the next steps and timeframes. Chen Xiaohe, on the other hand, began splitting bamboo strips, preparing to weave several more exquisite, lidded bamboo boxes, something an old gentleman had specifically asked about at the market yesterday.

The courtyard was filled only with the rustling of leaves in the breeze and the occasional soft sounds of sawing and planing wood coming from the side rooms, creating a tranquil yet fulfilling atmosphere.

As evening approached, the family gathered again. Mother Chen and her two daughters-in-law began wrapping zongzi (sticky rice dumplings). Snow-white glutinous rice, dark red dates, and emerald green bamboo leaves covered the table, filling the air with a fresh, herbal aroma. While deftly winding the cotton thread, Su Xiaoyin said to Mother Chen, "Mom, shall we stew that fish we bought yesterday tonight? And make a cucumber salad too?"

"Okay," Chen's mother nodded, "Cut off the remaining piece of cured pork from the roof beam and stir-fry it with garlic sprouts. Steam a bowl of minced meat and egg custard separately for the children; they love it. Make some cabbage and pork dumplings for dinner, and pan-fry them for breakfast tomorrow."

While they chatted about everyday things, Chen Dashan took out his old notebook used for bookkeeping and, by the light of the oil lamp, began to calculate the income from the new market over the past three days. He calculated carefully, and Chen Xiaohe watched eagerly from the side.

After a long while, Chen Dashan raised his head, his eyes shining with disbelief, and slowly said, "Father, Mother, in these three days at the market... we made a total of thirteen and a half taels of silver."

"How much?!" Chen Xiaohe was the first to exclaim, almost jumping off his stool. "Thirteen and a half ounces?! My God! I knew that more people would make it sell better, but this... this is too much!" He was so excited that his face turned red.

Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing also stopped what they were doing and looked over in surprise. Thirteen and a half taels! This was almost all that the family could save after a year of hard work in the fields, after deducting food rations and taxes!

Father Chen paused, holding his pipe, the deep wrinkles on his face slowly smoothing out into a smile of relief and emotion: "Good, good... I really didn't expect this new market to be so successful." He took a drag of his pipe and slowly exhaled. "This money has really given Gongzhong a much-needed boost. Buying that barren mountain in the spring almost emptied our savings, and we've been on edge these past few days. Now, things are much better, we can relax a lot."