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

In the early autumn evening, the summer heat gradually subsided, and the last rays of the beautiful sunset lingered on the horizon, bathing the Chen family courtyard in a warm, orange-red hue. After a simple dinner, the family didn't rush back inside. Instead, they moved small stools and cushions and sat around the old jujube tree in the yard to enjoy the cool shade. A gentle breeze carried the scent of ripening crops from the fields, mingling with the freshness of the vegetable patches in the yard, dispelling the daytime heat.

Chen Dashan gently fanned the sleepy Shi Tou beside him with a palm-leaf fan. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "Father, Mother, there's something I'd like to discuss with you."

Mr. Chen was enjoying this rare moment of leisure with his eyes half-closed when he heard this, so he opened his eyes and said, "What is it? Tell me."

"It's about this year's autumn grain." Chen Dashan's voice wasn't loud, but it was clear enough. "After this year's grain comes in, our family... shouldn't sell it for now? Let's keep it all."

Upon hearing this, Mr. Chen sat up straighter, his face showing confusion: "Not selling? We still have grain from last year and the year before in our cellar. Although it's not spoiled, according to past practice, shouldn't we store the new grain and sell the old grain to exchange for some money or urgently needed items? With so much land this year, if the harvest is good, we'll definitely have a surplus of grain, and we won't be able to eat it all."

Chen's mother also looked over, her eyes filled with inquiry.

Chen Dashan put down his palm-leaf fan, his tone tinged with caution: "Father, Mother, these past few days, Xiaohe and I went to the county to set up our stall. We heard some rumors at the market and teahouses. They say that our county magistrate's term is about to expire and he'll be transferred soon. Who the new official is, what his temperament is, and whether he'll continue with the current policies of light taxes and encouraging land reclamation—nobody can say for sure."

He paused, noticing his parents' serious expressions, and continued, "I was thinking that grain is hard currency. No matter how things change at the top, having grain at home will always put our minds at ease. We might as well wait and see, and once the new official takes office and the situation stabilizes, we can see how things go. Anyway, we don't need this money from selling grain right now. We have some savings from the family estate, and Xiaohe and I can supplement our income by running a stall, and Xiaoyin and Xiaoqing can do embroidery. The grain won't spoil in our cellar."

Listening, Chen's father slowly nodded, his wrinkles smoothing out, then gathering again, finally settling into a sigh of approval: "Dashan is right. We ordinary folks can't understand the ways of the government, but having grain in hand always gives us confidence. Alright, then it's your decision. This year, when the new grain is harvested, we'll prioritize our own consumption, and save the old grain as well. At worst, we can eat the old rice for a few more years; it's better than being caught off guard by fluctuating grain prices or unpredictable tax collection."

Chen's mother breathed a sigh of relief and replied, "That makes sense. So, how's the atmosphere in the county town now? Is the market still lively?"

Chen Xiaohe quickly replied, "Mother, the market is doing business as usual, and there are still quite a few people, but if you look closely, it just doesn't have the same lively and cheerful atmosphere as it did a couple of years ago. There are many people discussing this at the tea stalls and taverns. Now we're just hoping that the new upright official will be like the current one and show some compassion for the hardships we farmers face."

"I hope so." Father Chen tapped the non-existent pipe in his hand (he had quit long ago), gazing at the faint outline of the fields in the twilight. "The crops in the fields are changing every day, they'll be ready for harvest soon. Dashan, Xiaohe, starting tomorrow, you two need to stop what you're doing and focus all your energy on the crops in the fields. This is our foundation, we can't be careless."

"Yes, Father," the two brothers replied in unison.

Chen's mother also started planning: "Before the harvest begins, I'll go up the mountain again tomorrow. I'll see if there are any early-ripening hazelnuts or pine cones to harvest. Once the autumn harvest is in full swing, I won't have time to go up the mountain."

Night gradually fell, and stars lit up one by one. The family's casual conversation subsided, replaced by a silent anticipation of the upcoming autumn harvest and a cautious wariness of the unknown.

---

The next day, as soon as it was dawn, the Chen family members began to get busy.

Father Chen, along with Chen Dashan and Chen Xiaohe, first went to the back mountain to check the traps they had set a few days earlier. They were lucky; each of the two snares caught a plump wild rabbit, and in a modified bamboo cage, they found a large, struggling pheasant with colorful feathers. Next, they went to the river and retrieved the fish baskets they had set in the water, catching some fresh, finger-sized fish. After bringing these "trophies" home, Mother Chen had already gone up the mountain with her basket on her back. Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing stayed in the east wing, using the morning light to continue working on the "Koi Welcoming Fortune" embroidery, which was already mostly finished, their needlework meticulous and precise.

Without lingering, Mr. Chen took a sip of water and then went out again with his two sons. This time, they went to check on the crops. They first went to the barren hill they had bought last year and the newly reclaimed land at the foot of the hill. The main crops planted here were soybeans and some sorghum that could withstand poor soil. Although the crops were not as thriving as those in cultivated land, the plants were still quite robust, the bean pods were beginning to swell, and the sorghum ears were heavy and blushing red.

"These few dozen acres at the foot of the barren hill will ripen earlier than the cultivated land." Father Chen squatted down, opened a bean pod and looked at it. "This year, we'll start harvesting here first. Once we've cleared this area, the crops in the cultivated land will be fully ripe, and then we can harvest them and the yield will be even higher."

Chen Dashan and Chen Xiaohe listened carefully, nodding and taking notes. The three of them walked slowly along the ridges of the fields, stopping from time to time to check and mentally estimate the order of harvesting and the allocation of manpower.

---

At home, Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing embroidered for most of the morning. Feeling their eyes getting sore, they put down the embroidery hoop and got up to stretch their hands and feet.

"Sister, I reckon this 'Koi Welcoming Fortune' painting will be finished in about ten days." Su Xiaoqing rubbed her wrists, looking at the lifelike and colorful koi and lotus flowers on the frame, with a sense of accomplishment in her eyes.

Su Xiaoyin looked at the embroidery pattern, her heart filled with anticipation: "Hmm, let's hurry. After the autumn harvest, we can take it to the embroidery shop to ask about the price. If the price is right, we'll have a much easier time during the New Year." She walked to the kitchen door, looked at the lively little fish in the wooden basin in the yard, and said, "Let's clean these little fish at noon, marinate them with salt, fry them in oil in the afternoon, sprinkle some chopped green onions, and it'll be a good dish. I'll go to the garden to pick some greens, and we'll make noodle soup for lunch with some greens, it'll be refreshing."

Su Xiaoqing followed, "What about the pheasants and rabbits? Should we wait for Big Brother and Xiaohe to come back and get them?"

"Hmm, let the two brothers clean it up. The pheasant is plump, we can make soup. The rabbit... shall we smoke it? Like we smoked the bamboo rats last winter, it'll keep well, and when we're tired from the autumn harvest, we can cut some up and steam it, it'll be fragrant and delicious with rice." Su Xiaoyin planned.

"Great!" Su Xiaoqing's eyes lit up. "When we go to sell our embroidery in a few days, let's buy some big pork bones and stew them with dried mushrooms. It's the most nourishing soup to drink after the autumn harvest."

The two sisters chatted as their hands deftly began to work. One picked and washed vegetables, while the other prepared the small fish. In the courtyard, the sun shone brightly, and the jujube trees were already adorned with a few rosy-red dates, foreshadowing another bountiful and busy autumn. And everyone in the Chen family was making the most solid and meticulous preparations to welcome it.