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

The midday sun shone through the branches of the old locust tree in the courtyard, casting dappled, shimmering light on the ground. A crisp autumn breeze blew by, carrying a hint of coolness and swirling up a few early yellow leaves. Inside the main room, the Chen family had just finished lunch and were sitting around talking, the air still carrying the aroma of stewed green beans and a faint scent of fresh wood.

Chen Xiaohe downed a bowl of cold tea, wiped his mouth, and, with the excitement of returning from the market, said to Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing, "Sister-in-law, Xiaoqing, today at the market, a well-dressed woman, around forty years old, saw the handkerchiefs you embroidered and really liked them. She looked at them over and over for a while, then asked if I had any larger embroidery designs, saying she wanted one for her mother-in-law's birthday celebration, something auspicious and presentable."

He paused, and seeing that the two sisters were listening intently, he continued, "I told her that you are embroidering a large 'Koi Welcoming Fortune' design, which should be finished around the autumn harvest. The woman was very interested and asked me to make sure to keep one for her to see. I figured that since she's doing this for a birthday celebration, and our 'Koi Welcoming Fortune' design has a good meaning and a festive and prosperous image, she might actually like it. I told her that once it's finished, she can take a look first. If the design, craftsmanship, and price are all to her liking, then we can discuss the sale; if not, we can send it to the embroidery shop without delay."

Upon hearing this, Su Xiaoyin's eyes lit up slightly. She exchanged a glance with her sister and pondered, "This is indeed a good thing. Selling it directly to the customer, if the deal goes well, might even get us a better price than what the embroidery shop would offer, and it saves us a middleman. Xiaoqing and I will work harder recently and try to finish this embroidery before the autumn harvest. Whether we sell it to this lady or send it to the embroidery shop, it will be a good source of income." She calculated the timeline, "Once the autumn harvest begins and the work in the fields gets busy, this embroidery will have to be put on hold temporarily. We'll have to wait until after the harvest, during the winter off-season, to pick up the larger embroidery pieces again."

Su Xiaoqing nodded in agreement: "My sister and I have calculated that if it were such a large and intricate embroidery, even if we worked our hardest all year round, we could only complete about three pieces. That would be if we could finish all the other chores at home and the children were well-behaved and didn't cause any trouble."

Chen's mother was mending a small garment when she heard this. She looked up with a relieved smile on her face: "Three pieces are not too few! Such large embroidered pieces, as long as the craftsmanship is good, can earn more than half a year's income from ordinary embroidery. In addition, there are the bamboo and wooden products, hair ties and sachets that Da Shan and Xiao He sell at their stalls, as well as the produce from the fields, the harvest from the mountains, and the livestock we raise... Now that our family is pursuing these several avenues together, with a steady stream of income, the money we accumulate in a year is quite considerable. In the past two years, the heavens have been kind to us, with favorable weather and good harvests. Our family's life is looking more and more promising."

Chen Dashan had been listening quietly until now, when he finally spoke, his voice as steady as ever: "Today at the market, someone came in asking about furniture. Not a complete set for a new house, just a lockable bedside table and two sturdy grain bins. Simple in style, and the materials are ordinary. Coincidentally, Xiaohe and I had made a few pieces of this kind of simple furniture in our spare time before, and they're all stored in the warehouse, just in case someone needs them. This afternoon, Xiaohe and I will go find those pieces, polish them again, and apply a coat of tung oil, making them shine like new, and then we can deliver them. This order will earn us one and a half taels of silver."

Father Chen, puffing on his pipe, nodded in agreement: "That's what you call 'preparing for busy times.' You two brothers should make a few more common pieces of furniture and farm tools whenever you have free time. You never know when you might need them. It saves customers the trouble of waiting, and it gives us extra income. The autumn harvest is just around the corner; sickles, winnowing baskets, and hampers will definitely sell well at the market. This afternoon I'll go to the back mountain to see if the traps I set a few days ago caught any wild rabbits or pheasants, to add some meat to our household. These plump autumn wild animals are the most nutritious."

Chen Xiaohe immediately chimed in, "Dad, I'll go with you! I set a fish trap by the river this morning, and I'll go see if I've caught anything." He suddenly remembered something, his eyes lighting up, "Oh, right, Mom! I was wandering around the barren hills near our house the other day and found a wild persimmon tree! It doesn't have many fruits yet, but they look quite large. They're still a bit green now, but once the autumn frost comes, they'll definitely be sweet and tender. I'll go pick some early this autumn. Could you try making them into dried persimmons? I remember they sell dried persimmons in town, but they're very expensive!"

Upon hearing this, Chen's mother beamed with joy: "A persimmon tree? That's a wonderful thing! Okay, when you bring it back, I'll give it a try. Making dried persimmons requires patience; you have to repeatedly dry and knead them. If you succeed, you can keep them as a winter snack or give them away—they're quite presentable. Even if you don't succeed, fresh persimmons are still sweet once ripened!"

The family chatted animatedly, clearly outlining their current tasks and plans for the autumn. The setting sun cast their shadows on the clean earth. In the yard, chickens scratched for food, pigs grunted, and cows ruminated. On the kang (heated brick bed) in the east wing, the four children slept side-by-side, their breathing even. In the vegetable garden behind the house, beans and cucumbers were still striving to produce their last harvest, while radish and cabbage seedlings were already lush and green. On the hillside, newly planted fruit trees swayed gently in the autumn breeze, as if gathering strength, awaiting their bloom next year.

Life is like the "Koi Welcoming Fortune" embroidery pattern gradually taking shape in Su Xiaoyin's hands—each stitch, though perhaps slow, is purposeful and increasingly vibrant. All the hard work and ingenuity, all the plans and expectations, are densely woven into this land and these years deeply rooted in them, creating a splendid and prosperous picture belonging to the farming family. The refreshing autumn breeze brings the message that the harvest season is approaching, and also this small family's more steadfast confidence in the future.