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

The cellar was indeed spacious, with dry walls and good ventilation. Chen Dashan carefully measured the length, width, and height with a ruler, and silently calculated in his mind before finally climbing up.

"Brother De, I've taken the measurements." He jotted down the numbers in his notebook. "Your cellar is big enough for a maximum of six shelves. But I think five would be better, leaving some room for passage, making it easier to get things without feeling cramped. What do you think?"

Chen De thought for a moment: "Okay, then let's put five on the list. How much?"

Chen Dashan mentally calculated the amount of wood and the time required: "Brother De, I won't lie to you, I currently have two carpentry orders—one is for Master Zhou's twenty sets of tables and chairs, and the other is for Manager Li's set of camphor wood furniture. Both need to be completed quickly. I can only make this frame for you in my spare time, and it will take at least twenty days. Do you think that's feasible?"

Chen De waved his hand: "No rush, no rush. We'll use it in winter. Twenty days is no problem at all."

Chen Dashan nodded: "Then it's settled. Five shelves, made of pine wood, sturdy and durable, the price will be one tael of silver."

Chen De was taken aback: "One tael? Da Shan, your price is much cheaper than other carpenters. Don't lose money."

Chen Dashan laughed: "Brother De, don't worry, I can't just not make money off you even if I can't make a profit. I'll just charge you the cost price. Besides, in the past two years, when my family bought saplings and exchanged seeds, wasn't it always you who took the lead? I know how much you've done for me. If you have no objections, I'll go back and start working, and deliver it to you when it's done."

Chen De felt a warmth in his heart upon hearing this, and took out an ounce of silver from his pocket and stuffed it into Chen Dashan's hand: "Take this money first, I trust you."

Chen Dashan didn't refuse. He took the money, tore off a piece of paper from his bag, wrote a receipt, and handed it to Chen De: "Brother De, keep this safe. I'll try my best to get going."

---

After Chen Dashan left, Chen De took the receipt and went into the main room. The village head was dozing in his recliner when he heard footsteps and opened his eyes: "Dashan's gone?"

Chen De nodded, recounted what had just happened, and then showed the receipt to his father.

After listening, the village head was silent for a while, then nodded: "The Dashan family is a kind family. One tael of silver for five shelves is indeed the cost price." He looked at his son, "In the future, if there is any good news or you hear any useful information, think of their family more often."

Chen Deying replied, "Father, I know."

The village head sighed, his tone tinged with emotion: "I'm getting old, I won't be able to do this for many more years. At the end of this year, I'd like you to take over as village head. While I'm still able to move around, I'll help you get started and give you a boost."

Chen De was stunned for a moment: "Father, this..."

The village head waved his hand, interrupting him: "You've been running around for me all these years, and you're familiar with everything in the village. You're well-liked and reliable. I'm in this position not for anything else, but to uphold fairness and ensure that the villagers can live a good life. We should keep in touch with kind-hearted families like the Chen family. If they live well, the atmosphere in our village will be better; if the atmosphere is better, more people will come; and with more people, the village will prosper."

Chen De listened attentively and nodded emphatically: "Dad, I've got it."

---

When Chen Dashan returned home, he gave one tael of silver to his parents and told them about what had happened to De Ge's family.

After listening, Mr. Chen smiled and said, "Brother De is an honest man, and the village head is also reasonable. We should keep in touch with them more often in the future; it won't hurt."

Chen Dashan nodded and went back into the woodworking shop to get busy.

Wood shavings flew everywhere, and the scent of wood filled the air. He was thinking: the tables and chairs for Master Zhou, the furniture for Manager Li, the shelves for Brother De... He had to work on these three jobs at different times, and he had to arrange the schedule well so as not to delay the work of any of them.

Fortunately, although life is busy, it's a fulfilling and hopeful busyness.

The laughter of four children rang out again in the courtyard. The sun was setting, wisps of smoke rose from the chimneys, and a new day, filled with busyness and hope, took another step forward.

----

At dinner time, the aroma of food wafted through the main room of the Chen family home.

Tonight's meal was simple yet satisfying—a large pot of wild vegetable stew with tofu, a plate of stir-fried green beans, and a dish of perfectly pickled vegetables. The staple food was mixed grain rice, with some freshly sun-dried mushroom pieces added, making it especially fragrant.

The family sat around the table, the four children huddled together. Shitou ate by himself with a spoon, and Qingqing and Aji followed suit. Only the youngest, Afu, needed to be fed by Su Xiaoqing.

Chen Dashan ate a couple of mouthfuls of rice and suddenly said, "Dad, I went to De Ge's place today and saw the new cellar they dug. It's quite big. I'm thinking, let's dig one in the backyard of our new house too."

Chen's mother looked up, somewhat puzzled: "Isn't the cellar enough now? The things we stored last winter didn't seem to be out of space."

Chen Dashan shook his head: "That was last year. It's only the end of May now, and the cellar is almost full. There's leftover grain from last year, dried vegetables, dried mushrooms, dried wild vegetables, and the dried small fish and bamboo shoots that Xiaoyin and the others have stored. By the time we pick mushrooms and dry wild produce, there definitely won't be any room left for the new grain in the fall."

After listening, Mr. Chen put down his chopsticks and thought for a moment: "Then let's dig one. Not only the cellar, but the storeroom also needs to be expanded. The current storeroom is already cluttered with a lot of things, and there's nowhere to put all your finished furniture. It can only be piled up in the carpentry shed, collecting dust and taking up space. If we expand it, you can store more furniture that the shop uses regularly in your spare time, and people can just pick it out directly."

Chen Xiaohe chimed in from the side, "That'll have to wait until Big Brother finishes all these orders. There are twenty sets of tables and chairs for Master Zhou, a set of camphor wood furniture for Manager Li, and shelves for Brother De—there's a whole bunch of work to do."

Mr. Chen waved his hand: "You all go about your business, I'll prepare the materials. I know what's going on with the stones and wood, you don't need to worry about it."

Chen's mother remembered something else: "By the way, you need to restock those wood carvings and bamboo weavings from Dashan and Xiaohe. They're selling fast, and we're almost out of stock."

Chen Xiaohe slapped his forehead: "Oh dear, I forgot to mention! Mother, I actually made another batch, bamboo baskets, small winnowing baskets, wooden hairpins, and little wooden horses. It's just that the storeroom is full, so I put them in the shed next to the carpentry workshop. I'll take you to see them after dinner."

Chen's mother nodded: "Okay, let's see how much there is, so we have a better idea."

Chen's father, smoking his pipe, suddenly said, "The Dragon Boat Festival is just around the corner. I need to go up the mountain and find some mugwort fields. We should gather more mugwort this year; it'll definitely sell well at the county market when paired with our other products. The rest, we can dry, and use it for the children's baths to repel mosquitoes."

Mother Chen's eyes lit up: "Yes, yes, that's a great idea for mugwort. In previous years, when we sent it over with these things, the mugwort business was booming. If we pick more this year, it will definitely be in high demand in the days leading up to the Dragon Boat Festival."

Father Chen tapped his pipe: "There's nothing urgent to do these days, so I'll go up the mountain and dig a few more traps. If I'm lucky, I might catch some wild rabbits or pheasants to improve the family's meals. The children are growing, they need to eat better."

Stone's eyes lit up at the mention of "wild rabbit": "Grandpa, can I see the wild rabbit you caught?"

Chen's father smiled and patted his head: "Yes, I'll show you the first one I caught."

Afu joined in the fun, raising his little hand and shouting, "I want to see too!"

Everyone at the table laughed.

Su Xiaoqing listened from the side, feeling a warm glow in her heart. This family, from being destitute when they fled famine to now having fields, land, and mountains, having a skill and income, and a lively family with both the elderly and children, has taken every step steadily.

She wiped Afu's mouth and said softly, "Eat slowly, no rush."