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

In the afternoon, the sun was shining brightly.

Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing poured the mushrooms they had picked that morning onto a bamboo mat and began sorting them. The larger, better-looking ones were picked out to be dried and sold; the smaller ones, or those that were damaged, were kept for their own consumption or dried for use in winter stews.

Chen's mother also came over to help, picking the mushrooms while muttering, "The rain has been good this year, the mushrooms are growing well, I guess we can dry a lot of them."

Chen's father then took Chen Xiaohe to deal with the catch from the traps. The pheasants and rabbits were cleaned, some were stewed that evening, and the rest were rubbed with salt and Sichuan peppercorns in preparation for smoking.

The four children ran around in the yard, glancing at their grandmother picking mushrooms one moment, then crowding around their grandfather to look at the pheasants the next, chattering incessantly. Afu, the youngest, squatted beside the bamboo mat, secretly reaching out to touch a mushroom, but Su Xiaoqing grabbed him: "Afu, don't touch it! If you break it, we can't sell it!"

Afu pouted and was pulled away by the stone.

---

As evening approached, a rich aroma wafted from the kitchen.

In a large iron pot, pieces of pheasant and mushrooms were stewing together, the broth bubbling and simmering, filling the air with a fragrant aroma. Su Xiaoyin also cut a few pieces of cured pork and stir-fried them with green beans. She also made cucumber salad, cold wood ear mushroom salad, and heated up the leftover steamed eggs from lunch.

The family sat around in the main room, the table laden with food.

Chen Xiaohe took a deep breath, his eyes lighting up: "It smells so good! Chicken stew with mushrooms, this is a dish we only have during the New Year!"

Chen's mother smiled and put a piece of food on his plate: "Eat more, you must be tired from working these past few days."

Father Chen picked up his bowl, looked at the dishes on the table, then at the family sitting around him, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face: "It hasn't been easy for us to live like this. Our family has come a long way from hard times to now having fields, land, and mountains. It's all thanks to everyone working together."

Chen Dashan nodded: "Things will get better and better in the future."

Su Xiaoyin gently patted Afu in her arms, her gaze tender.

Su Xiaoqing picked up a mushroom with her chopsticks and ate it with relish.

The four children buried their heads in their food, stuffing their little mouths until they were bulging.

----

"Big mountains! Big mountains!"

Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing had just entered the courtyard, still carrying their baskets on their backs, when they called out towards the woodworking workshop. They had a good day; their baskets were full, and their shoulders ached from the weight, but they didn't care about that at the moment.

Chen Dashan poked his head out of the carpentry workshop, still clutching a plane in his hand. Seeing the two looking anxious, he quickly put down his tools and came out to greet them: "What's wrong? What happened?"

Su Xiaoyin caught her breath and pointed towards the village entrance: "They're banging gongs in the village, really loudly. It sounds like something big is about to be announced. Xiaoqing and I are carrying mushrooms on our backs, we can't run anymore, you should go check it out!"

Chen Dashan nodded, wiping his hands on his apron. "Okay, I'll go now. You guys rest at home. Don't go up the mountain again this morning, it's too tiring." He started to walk out, but after a few steps, he turned back and reminded him, "Let the mushrooms dry, don't let them spoil."

"Okay, big brother, you go ahead!" Su Xiaoqing waved to him.

Chen Dashan strode out of the courtyard and headed towards the big locust tree at the village entrance.

---

The two sisters then unloaded their baskets and breathed a long sigh of relief.

Su Xiaoyin rubbed her shoulders, which were sore from the straps digging into her shoulders, and looked at the two baskets full of mushrooms. A satisfied smile appeared on her face: "Today's harvest is really good. If we pick mushrooms for a few more days, we can dry half as many mushrooms as we did last year."

Su Xiaoqing was also exhausted, but she smiled happily: "That's right. Sister, let's clean up these mushrooms first, and then make lunch later."

The two men cleared out the bamboo mats used for drying mushrooms in the yard, first collecting the mushrooms that had already dried yesterday into baskets, preparing to put them in the cellar later. These dried mushrooms were an important winter reserve and a hot commodity at the county market, so they had to be stored carefully.

After harvesting the dried mushrooms, I took out the fresh mushrooms I picked today and started sorting them. I put the good, intact ones in one pile to dry; the slightly damaged ones in another pile, which I could eat at noon; and the ones that were too broken were set aside separately—I'll dry them and eat them myself, so it won't be a problem.

As Su Xiaoqing sorted the mushrooms, she said, "Sister, I see the weather is fine these past few days, perfect for drying them. We should dry a lot so we can sell them for a good price in winter."

Su Xiaoyin nodded: "Yes, last year Mom set up a stall in the county town, and her dried mushrooms sold very well. This year, let's dry even more and have Mom take them to sell."

The two worked quickly and efficiently, and soon they had sorted the mushrooms. The good ones were spread out on a bamboo mat to dry in the sun; the damaged ones were put into small baskets to be used in lunch.

"Sis, what should we eat for lunch? It's too hot, I don't feel like eating." Su Xiaoqing wiped the sweat from her forehead.

Su Xiaoyin thought for a moment and said, "Then let's have cold noodles. Go to the yard and pick some cucumbers, bok choy, and tomatoes, and I'll make the dough. We'll also boil a few salted duck eggs, chop some pickled vegetables, and mix them together. It'll be refreshing and appetizing."

"Okay!" Su Xiaoqing clapped her hands, picked up the basket, and headed to the vegetable garden.

---

In the courtyard, Chen's father and Chen Xiaohe also returned.

The two had a good harvest today; their baskets were full of mushrooms, and Chen's father was also carrying a wild rabbit—caught in a trap.

"Dad, you're back?" Su Xiaoyin poked her head out from the kitchen. "Take a rest, dinner will be ready soon."

Chen's father placed the rabbit in the shade and helped Chen Xiaohe unload the basket from his back before sitting down to catch his breath. He glanced into the yard and asked Su Xiaoyin, "Where's my older brother? Why isn't he home?"

While cooking, Su Xiaoyin replied, "They're banging gongs in the village, so I sent him to see what's going on. He's been gone for a while now, he should be back soon."

Just as Chen Xiaohe was about to go to the village entrance to take a look, the courtyard gate opened, and Chen Dashan returned.

"Dashan, what did the village head announce?" Chen's father asked.

Chen Dashan sat down, first downing a large bowl of cold tea, before speaking: "I announced several things."

Chen's mother returned at this time. She took the mule back to the shed, fed it hay, and then went into the yard. Hearing Chen Dashan's words, she asked while untying her apron, "What were they announcing?"

Chen Dashan cleared his throat and began to explain one thing at a time.

"The first thing is corvée labor. This year, like last year, you can pay it with silver, two taels of silver. If you don't want to go, just go to the village head's house today or tomorrow to pay the money." He looked at Chen's father, "Father, you can go and pay the silver in a bit, our family won't send anyone."

Mr. Chen nodded: "Okay, I'll go after I finish eating."

"The second thing," Chen Dashan continued, "is that three new families have been assigned to our village; they are all refugees who fled famine."

After he said that, everyone fell silent, waiting for him to continue.

"One family consisted of a mother and daughter; the girl looked to be fourteen or fifteen, and her mother was in her thirties. Another family was an elderly woman with her son and grandson; the son looked to be in his thirties, and the grandson looked to be seven or eight. The third family consisted of three women who all looked quite young; I don't know if they were sisters or what their relationship was."

Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing exchanged a glance, both feeling a pang of emotion. They themselves had fled famine and knew all too well the feeling of leaving one's homeland.

Chen Dashan continued, "The government has allocated them wasteland and some grain. As for the rest, they'll have to figure it out themselves, or our village can help them."

Chen's mother sighed, "It's not easy for anyone."