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

The next morning, before dawn, Chen Dashan carefully inspected the set of study furniture, making sure that every mortise and tenon joint was perfectly fitted and every inch of paint was smooth and flat, before he began loading it onto the oxcart.

"Xiaohe! We're leaving! Come back soon, we have a lot of things to do at home!" he called into the house.

"Coming, coming!" Chen Xiaohe rushed over from the backyard, his trousers still damp. "Big brother, wait a minute, I just went to put the fish in the basket!"

He ran to the oxcart, catching his breath, "It's been so long since we've had fresh fish! I've gathered all the fish baskets from home and put them in the river. Keep an eye on things for me, we'll go retrieve the baskets when we get back!"

Chen Dashan nodded, a slight smile playing on his lips: "I was so busy I forgot about it. It's good that you remembered. Catch more fish so the children can have some nourishing food when we get back."

The two brothers boarded the oxcart, and the old ox steadily strode forward, the wheels creaking and groaning as they rolled along the village road, heading towards the county town in the rising sun.

On the way, Chen Xiaohe was silent for a while, then suddenly spoke up: "Big brother, thank you."

Chen Dashan glanced at him sideways: "What are you thanking me for?"

"Thank you and sister-in-law." Chen Xiaohe lowered his head, his voice somewhat muffled. "I've heard everything from Xiaoqing about what you've been planning for Afu. As his own father, I haven't even thought that far ahead; I've only been thinking about the present. Yet you've considered things so far ahead for him..."

Chen Dashan reached out and patted his younger brother's shoulder: "What nonsense are you talking about? We're family, your business is my business, and I love Afu too. Besides, Xiaoyin is his aunt, if she doesn't think about the child, who will?"

Chen Xiaohe looked up, his eyes welling up with tears, and nodded vigorously: "Big brother, I will definitely work hard to earn money! Our family's life will get better and better!"

"That's more like it." Chen Dashan smiled. "After delivering the furniture, let's go to the furniture brokerage to ask about the prices. Once we have a better idea of ​​what to expect, we'll have a clear goal for saving money in the future."

The oxcart continued on its way, with fields of new green on both sides of the road, and the morning breeze carrying the unique fragrance of crops.

---

Upon arriving in the county town, Chen Dashan drove the oxcart straight to Master Zhou's residence.

Master Zhou was already waiting at the door. He was a middle-aged man in his forties, well-dressed and speaking amiably. Upon seeing Chen Dashan, he greeted him with a smile: "Master Chen is here! Come in, come in!"

Chen Dashan and Chen Xiaohe unloaded the furniture piece by piece and carried it into the study designated by Master Zhou. The kang cabinet, wardrobe, desk, bookshelf... were all placed in their positions, and Master Zhou, with his hands behind his back, carefully examined each piece.

He touched the desk surface; it was smooth and flat. He opened the wardrobe door; the hinges were flexible and closed tightly. He then sat on the chair and tried it out; it was steady and didn't wobble at all.

"Excellent!" Master Zhou slapped his thigh. "Master Chen, I'm truly impressed by your skills! They're even better than I imagined!"

Chen Dashan breathed a sigh of relief, but his expression remained calm: "I'm glad Mr. Zhou is satisfied. Please take a closer look and see if there's anything that needs to be changed."

"No need to change it, it'll be fine as it is." Master Zhou readily took out his money pouch. "The final payment is two taels of silver, you can count it."

Chen Dashan took the silver, counted it carefully, and put it into his pocket after confirming that there was nothing wrong with it.

Just as he was about to take his leave, Master Zhou waved his hand and said, "Master Chen, don't be in such a hurry to leave. I have a business deal I'd like to discuss with you."

Chen Dashan was taken aback: "Please speak, Mr. Zhou."

Master Zhou led them through a moon gate to an empty side courtyard. The courtyard was deserted, with only a few rooms that looked like they had been abandoned for a long time.

"I plan to set up a school here," Master Zhou said, pointing to the rooms. "Any child from this county who is willing to study is welcome to come. These rooms are just sitting empty anyway, so I might as well do something useful with them."

Chen Dashan listened, secretly admiring him. This Mr. Zhou, with his substantial wealth, was indeed a rare find, willing to do such a thing.

Master Zhou continued, "The school needs desks and chairs. I've calculated that, based on the dimensions of my room, about twenty sets of desks and chairs per room would be sufficient. Let's order twenty sets to start, and we can add more if there are more students later."

He pulled a piece of paper from his sleeve with dimensions written on it: "Make it to these dimensions. No need for carvings, just make sure it's sturdy and durable. You know, things for children can't be anything that's not sturdy."

Chen Dashan took the measurements, looked at them carefully several times, and quickly began to calculate in his mind.

Timber, labor time, waste... he mentally added them up one by one, while Chen Xiaohe watched him nervously from the side, not daring to breathe.

After a while, Chen Dashan looked up: "Master Zhou, twenty sets of tables and chairs, made to your dimensions, using sturdy wood, will take about three months to complete. As for the price..." He paused, "...seven and a half taels of silver."

Mr. Zhou didn't even frown, and readily nodded: "Alright, this price is fair. Just make it to the same quality as the furniture you made for me, and do a good job."

He took out another four taels of silver from his purse and handed it to Chen Dashan: "This is the deposit. Give me a receipt."

Chen Dashan took the silver, took out a blank receipt he had prepared beforehand from his pocket, filled in the amount, signed his name, and handed it to Master Zhou.

Mr. Zhou took the receipt and smiled, "Master Chen, do a good job. If these tables and chairs work well, there will definitely be more orders."

Stepping out of the Zhou residence, Chen Xiaohe finally couldn't hold back any longer and grabbed his elder brother's sleeve: "Brother! Seven and a half taels of silver! When you said you wanted seven and a half taels, my heart almost stopped! I thought you'd only want five taels at most!"

Chen Dashan rarely showed a smile, and said as he walked, "I went to several carpentry shops in the county and town before and inquired about the prices of all kinds of furniture. For furniture like tables and chairs, the wood wastage is fixed, and the labor costs are also transparent, so it's easy to calculate the approximate price."

He paused, then continued, "My quote is about one or two taels of silver cheaper than those other carpenters. Master Zhou was already satisfied with our craftsmanship, and now that our price is lower than others, of course he'll be willing to work with us."

Chen Xiaohe's eyes lit up: "Big brother, you're so observant! I didn't even know you went to inquire!"

"While you were busy weaving bamboo baskets," Chen Dashan said, making a rare joke.

Chen Xiaohe chuckled a few times, then said seriously, "Don't worry, brother, I'll help you when we get back! My skills have improved a lot lately; I can plane wood and make mortise and tenon joints now. If we work together, we can definitely finish the job in three months!"

Chen Dashan nodded, feeling a surge of warmth in his heart. Twenty sets of tables and chairs, seven and a half taels of silver—after deducting the cost of the wood, he could make a considerable profit. Adding to his previous savings, he might actually be able to open a shop in town by the end of the year.

As the oxcart headed back, Chen Dashan stopped it when it passed the county town's brokerage office. "Xiaohe, wait here for a bit. I'll go in and ask about the shop."

Chen Xiaohe jumped out of the car: "Brother, I'll go in with you!"

The two brothers entered the brokerage firm, where a broker in a long robe greeted them with a broad smile: "Gentlemen, what would you like to see? Buy a house, land, or rent a shop?"

Chen Dashan cupped his hands in greeting: "I'd like to inquire about the approximate prices of shops in town?"

The broker's eyes lit up, and he warmly invited them inside to sit down, poured them tea, and took out a thick book to look through...

---

When we came out of the dental clinic, the sun was already high in the sky.

Chen Xiaohe's expression was somewhat complicated: "Brother, the shops in town... are really expensive. The cheapest one is over fifty taels of silver."

Chen Dashan nodded, his expression remaining calm: "Now that we know the market, we'll have a better understanding. Let's save slowly, there's no rush."

The two boarded the oxcart and headed home. Chen Xiaohe suddenly remembered something: "Brother! The fish baskets! We haven't opened them yet!"

Chen Dashan realized what was happening and cracked his whip, making the old ox quicken its pace: "Hurry up, don't let the fish get away!"