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

"Brother, are the tables and chairs at Master Zhou's house almost ready?"

Chen Xiaohe put down the bamboo strips in his hand, went to the door of Chen Dashan's carpentry workshop, and peeked inside.

Chen Dashan was squatting on the ground, carefully inspecting a newly made table. Hearing this, he looked up, a hint of satisfaction on his face: "It's almost done. All that's left is polishing."

He stood up, dusted off the sawdust from his hands, and pointed to the neatly stacked tables and chairs in the room: "These are the ones that are already finished, just a few more sets left. Master Zhou is making them for the school, the children will use them every day, so they need to be carefully sanded, not a single burr can be left. After they are all sanded, we'll brush on some tung oil and let them dry, and that'll be it."

Chen Xiaohe went inside, touched the tabletop of a table—it was indeed smooth—and then squatted down to examine the joints of the table legs; the mortise and tenon joints fit perfectly. He nodded, "Brother's skills are getting better and better. Leave the rest to me; I'm good at polishing. You hurry up and get on with the furniture for Master Li's house; don't delay."

Chen Dashan thought for a moment and nodded: "Alright. We have to do a good job at Master Li's place and can't afford any mistakes. Steward Liu helped us get the job, so if we don't do it well, we'll lose face."

"I know." Chen Xiaohe had already started rolling up his sleeves. "Don't worry, go ahead and do your work. I'll keep an eye on things here."

The two brothers worked together in the yard, each busy with their own tasks.

---

In the east wing, Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing were also engrossed in their embroidery.

The large embroidery piece, "Wealth and Longevity," is two-thirds complete. Large peonies are layered upon each other, their petals embroidered with varying shades of pink silk thread, the gradient transitions natural, making them look like real flowers. The leaves are drawn with varying shades of green thread, the veins clearly defined, as if one could see dewdrops rolling down them.

After finishing embroidering a leaf, Su Xiaoqing straightened up and stretched her neck, then looked at her sister's progress: "Sister, your peony is so well embroidered, it's even more beautiful than the painting."

Su Xiaoyin didn't even look up, her hands still busy with needle and thread: "Don't praise me, your embroidery of the branches and leaves over there is also very good. We've been working together for so many years, we're already in sync."

Su Xiaoqing smiled, then lowered her head and continued.

Outside the window, the soft rustling of Chen Xiaohe sanding furniture drifted from the courtyard, occasionally mingled with the sounds of Chen Dashan moving timber. Four children played in the yard; Shitou, with his younger siblings, squatted on the ground watching ants, occasionally letting out a gasp of surprise. Sunlight streamed through the paper windows, making the room warm and cozy; everything felt peaceful and fulfilling.

Su Xiaoyin suddenly spoke up: "Once this embroidery is finished, we should start preparing for the Dragon Boat Festival."

Su Xiaoqing nodded: "Yes, I was just thinking about it. Hair ties, sachets, and little cloth tigers—we need to make these in advance. We've sold quite well during the Dragon Boat Festival in previous years, so we need to make even more this year."

"Okay. Then let's start tomorrow, making embroidery patterns every morning and small items for the Dragon Boat Festival every afternoon," Su Xiaoyin planned. "We're good at these, so we can do them quickly."

---

In the county town, Chen's mother was setting up a stall.

These days, she's gotten used to driving her mule to the county town every day. She sets off early in the morning and returns in the evening, earning a little over two hundred coins a day. It's not much, but it's stable, a steady stream of income.

She discussed it with Chen Dashan and Chen Xiaohe, and they decided that she would run the stall on weekdays so that the brothers could focus on their carpentry work. She was getting old and couldn't do heavy farm work anymore, but running the stall wasn't tiring and could supplement the family income. In the winter, when farming was less busy, her sons would take over.

"Auntie, how much is this hair tie?" A young woman squatted in front of the stall, picked up a peach-colored hair tie and asked.

Chen's mother greeted them with a smile: "Three coins for one, five coins for two. They're all homemade, sturdy and nice-looking."

The young woman picked out two, paid, and left happily.

Mother Chen put the copper coins into the money box, thinking to herself: The Dragon Boat Festival is in a few days, I should have Xiaoyin and the others make more sachets and hair ties, they will definitely sell well then.

---

On the mountain, Chen's father was busy with something.

He first found a few suitable spots and dug several traps. He was skilled at this; he had done it since childhood and could do it even with his eyes closed. After digging the traps, he began to wander around the mountain, searching for medicinal herbs.

Dr. Li had been helping their family find herbal seeds, and Mr. Chen was grateful. He thought he should collect more herbs and send them to the clinic as a way of repaying the favor.

As he walked, he saw a patch of mushrooms, bent down, picked them, and put them in his basket. These mushrooms, once dried, would also bring in some income.

After walking a while longer, he saw a large patch of pig feed, growing very tender. He put down his basket and began cutting the pig feed. His family now had many pigs, requiring two large bundles of pig feed every day, as well as fodder for the cows and mules; they couldn't afford to run out.

While cutting grass, he thought about the chores at home: the bean cakes were almost gone; he'd have to ask his wife to go buy some more. The oxen and mules worked hard, so they needed to be fed better…

Just then, someone tapped me on the shoulder.

Mr. Chen was startled. He turned around and saw that it was Chen Ermu.

"What are you thinking about? I called you several times and you didn't answer," Chen Ermu asked with a smile.

Mr. Chen laughed too: "Thinking about the work at home. Why did you come up the mountain too?"

Chen Ermu said, "I came to find some wild vegetables. By the way, I was just about to ask you something—does your family make money running a stall in the county town?"

After thinking for a moment, Mr. Chen said as he walked, "Overall, we make money every month. But you have to understand, most of the things we sell have no cost to us."

"No capital?" Chen Ermu was somewhat surprised.

Mr. Chen nodded: "The dried vegetables and mushrooms we sell in winter are all picked from the mountains. The wood carvings and bamboo weaving are made by Da Shan and Xiao He themselves. Even the tiger-head shoes, sachets, and hair ties are made by my two daughters-in-law using leftover scraps from their embroidery work. So the cost is negligible. Labor is the least valuable thing in our rural area."

Chen Ermu nodded thoughtfully.