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

As darkness fell, voices and sounds could be heard coming from outside the courtyard gate.

Chen's mother returned first, her basket once again full of spring bamboo shoots, her face beaming with the joy of a bountiful harvest: "I was lucky today, I dug up quite a lot again! Tomorrow I'll take them to the Wang family restaurant, and they should fetch a few hundred copper coins."

Shortly after, Chen's father, Chen Dashan, and Chen Xiaohe also returned. It turned out that Chen's mother had finished digging bamboo shoots and happened to run into the three men on their way home.

"Oh, is everyone all here today?" Chen's mother looked at her husband and sons.

Mr. Chen nodded: "The work in the fields is almost done. We'll just need to finish up tomorrow and we'll be done."

Seeing the bamboo shoots in his mother's basket, Chen Dashan already had a plan in mind: "Mom, did you dig a lot today?"

"That's right, Xiaoyin and Xiaoqing dug during the day too, and piled it up all over the corridor."

The family chatted and laughed as they entered the courtyard. In the kitchen, the food was already laid out on the table. In the center was a large pot of braised pork and bamboo shoots, the soup milky white, with spring bamboo shoots, salted pork, and fresh pork stewed to perfection; next to it was stir-fried spring bamboo shoots with cured pork, the cured pork translucent and the spring bamboo shoots crisp and tender; there were also stir-fried wild vegetables and cold bracken salad, all picked casually during the day.

"Dinner's ready!" Su Xiaoqing brought out the last dish.

The family sat around the table. Mr. Chen was the first to pick up his chopsticks, took a piece of bamboo shoot, put it in his mouth, chewed it, and praised, "Fresh! This is the taste! I look forward to this all year round."

Chen Dashan also took a bite and nodded: "This year's bamboo shoots are even more tender than last year's."

Chen Xiaohe was even more direct, shoveling several mouthfuls of rice before finally speaking: "Mom, tomorrow morning my older brother and I will get up early and go dig another batch of bamboo shoots. We'll take the ones you dug today, along with the ones we'll dig tomorrow, to Wang's Restaurant."

Chen's mother nodded: "Okay, you guys handle it."

Mr. Chen added, "Spring plowing at home is almost over, so going a little later in the morning won't cause any problems."

Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing exchanged a glance, and Su Xiaoqing said, "Dad, Mom, let's go help out tomorrow and pick some wild vegetables while we're at it. The wild vegetables are so tender these days; we can pick bracken, water celery, and tender shoots of wild aralia."

After thinking for a moment, Chen's mother instructed, "Take the children with you and proceed according to your abilities. The tender wild vegetables are mostly found at the edge of the woods, where the paths are difficult to walk, so don't venture too deep. The children are the most important."

"Yes, Mother," the two sisters replied in unison.

Chen Dashan ate a few bites of food, then suddenly remembered something: "Oh right, today Manager Wang of Wang's Restaurant sent someone to tell us that as soon as our spring bamboo shoots are harvested, we must send them to him first. He said that the spring bamboo shoots we've sent in the past two years have been fresh and of good quality, and the customers have all praised them."

Upon hearing this, Mr. Chen smiled and said, "This is a good omen. Manager Wang is an honest man. If we get along well with him, we won't have to worry about selling our mountain products in the future."

Mother Chen smiled and said, "That's right. Our family's life has been getting better and better these past two years, all thanks to our whole family working together. We have a good harvest in the fields, we have mountain produce, you all have your skills, and Xiaoyin and Xiaoqing have embroidery skills. In the future, things will only get better."

Chen Xiaohe, holding his chopsticks, replied with a grin, "Mom's right! Our family is like this—the whole family pitches in, and life is booming!"

Upon hearing this, Stone echoed, "Let's all go together! Let's make it a blazing success!"

Qingqing and Aji joined in the commotion, and Afu, with food still in his mouth, also started babbling, making everyone at the table burst into laughter.

---

As night deepened, the Chen family courtyard gradually quieted down.

The porridge for tomorrow morning was still warm in the kitchen. Under the eaves, the bamboo shoots dug up during the day were piled up neatly, emitting a faint fragrance. The mule quietly chewed its fodder in the shed, occasionally snorting.

In the east wing, the four children lay side by side, fast asleep. Shi Tou had put his feet on Qing Qing again, and A Fu was stuffing A Ji's fingers into his mouth. Su Xiaoyin gently covered them with blankets and blew out the lamp.

----

"Sis, let's go!"

Just as dawn was breaking, Su Xiaoqing's voice rang out in the courtyard. She had already slung her basket over her shoulder and was holding two small hoes in her hands, her face beaming with eager excitement.

Su Xiaoyin poked her head out of the kitchen and draped the damp cloth she was holding over the shelf: "It'll be ready soon. Wait for me to serve the children their meals."

Inside the main room, the four children were already sitting properly at the small table. Shi Tou held a wooden spoon, staring longingly at the bowl of porridge in front of him. Qing Qing and A Ji were also waiting. In front of A Fu, the weakest of the children, was a specially made small wooden bowl containing millet porridge and steamed egg.

Su Xiaoyin quickly added food to each child's bowl and then instructed, "Shitou, watch your younger siblings eat well. Your mother and aunt are going to get something; we'll be back in a bit."

"Yes, Mother!" Stone replied loudly, picked up the wooden spoon, and began to shovel food into his mouth.

Chen's mother set off early in the morning, before dawn, driving her mule out. Her basket was filled with fresh bamboo shoots she had dug the day before; she would first deliver them to Wang's restaurant, and then go to the county market to set up a stall. Chen Dashan and Chen Xiaohe also got up even earlier, digging up a batch of bamboo shoots in the bamboo forest before daybreak, and were already in the fields with hoes on their shoulders.

Only the two sisters and their four children remained at home.

The two sisters quickly finished their breakfast and first fed the family's livestock—the two pigs in the pigpen grunted and squealed over food, the chickens, ducks, and geese thrashed about in the yard fighting over grains, and the three sheep in the sheepfold bleated for fodder. By the time they finished, the sun had already risen.

"Let's go to the bamboo forest too." Su Xiaoyin slung her basket over her shoulder, picked up her small hoe, and said, "Let's dig up as much as we can. Even if we don't sell it, it's good to keep some for ourselves."

Su Xiaoqing had already started planning: "We can make pickled bamboo shoots, and we can also dry bamboo shoots. By the way, sister, steamed buns with cured pork and bamboo shoots are especially delicious! Shall we steam some buns tonight? Parents and Dashan and Xiaohe have been working so hard these past few days of spring plowing, they deserve to eat something good."

Su Xiaoyin's eyes lit up: "Okay, then I'll have to start the dough rising when I get back at noon. If the dough is ready by tonight, I'll steam some buns." She was already planning in her mind, "I have a piece of cured pork, that'll be enough. I'll add some vermicelli in, it'll be even more fragrant."

The four children were already itching to go to the bamboo forest. Shi Tou took the lead and rushed ahead, followed by Qing Qing and A Ji holding hands. A Fu, the youngest, was led by Su Xiao Yin, his short legs moving incredibly fast.

"Slow down! Don't run!" Su Xiaoyin shouted from behind.

The bamboo grove was quiet. Everyone was busy with spring planting; this usually bustling season for digging bamboo shoots was unusually quiet this year. Sunlight filtered through the bamboo leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground. The air was filled with the unique fragrance of bamboo, mingled with the scent of earth, a truly refreshing experience.

"Sister, look! There are so many here!" Su Xiaoqing had sharp eyes and immediately spotted several places where the soil was slightly raised.

The two sisters put down their baskets and began digging for bamboo shoots. Su Xiaoyin taught the children to identify them: "Look, if the ground is slightly raised or has fine cracks, there's a good chance there are bamboo shoots underneath."

Stone squatted on the ground, imitating his mother as she carefully examined the mound, then suddenly pointed to a small mound and exclaimed, "Mom! Here! There's one here too!"

Su Xiaoyin went over to take a look, and it really was. She smiled and patted the stone's head: "Stone is so amazing, you found it for your mother."