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

Afu sat in Su Xiaoqing's lap, a piece of meat clutched in his little hand, munching intently. Su Xiaoqing looked down at him, her heart melting completely. Although the child was frail, he was growing and getting better every day. The road ahead was long, but with the hope of forty taels of silver, she felt much more at ease.

After dinner, the family sat in the courtyard to enjoy the cool evening air, as usual. A gentle breeze blew, and fireflies danced among the grass. The four children chased after the fireflies, their laughter ringing out.

Mr. Chen, puffing on his pipe, said slowly, "This year's life is much better than last year's."

Mother Chen nodded: "That's right. The crops in the fields, the produce in the mountains, the carpentry work by the mountains and rivers, and the embroidery by Xiaoyin and Xiaoqing—everything is going smoothly."

Chen Dashan looked at the children running around in the yard, a smile on his lips: "Life will get better and better."

Su Xiaoyin leaned against him, looking at the courtyard under the moonlight, her heart filled with peace.

Yes, things will get better.

Just keep moving forward, step by step, steadily and surely.

----

"Sister, let's hurry up and embroider!"

Early in the morning, after feeding the chickens and ducks and tidying up the yard, Su Xiaoqing rushed into the east wing, wiping her sweat and urging her sister on. She was still clutching the freshly washed damp cloth in her hand, clearly having finished her chores outside and eager to come in.

Su Xiaoyin was washing the faces of her four children. Shitou, being mischievous, splashed water everywhere, while Qingqing giggled beside him, and Aji and Afu huddled together watching the commotion. Hearing her sister's call, Su Xiaoyin continued washing her hands, replying, "Okay, I'm coming right now. Let's get these little rascals sorted out first."

She quickly wiped each child's face, then told Shitou to play with his younger siblings in the yard and not to run out. Only then did she wash her hands and sit down in front of the embroidery frame.

"Sister, we need to hurry." Su Xiaoqing had already picked up her needle and thread and said as she threaded the needle, "The autumn harvest is coming soon, which will delay things for at least a month. Let's finish this Guanyin praying for a child embroidery as soon as possible so we can have peace of mind."

Su Xiaoyin nodded and picked up her needle. The embroidery pattern for the Guanyin praying for a child was already finished. Guanyin, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, held a chubby baby in her arms, her robes flowing, and her lotus throne layered upon layer. This picture was even more exquisite than the previous one, "Wealth and Longevity," especially the face of Guanyin and the expression of the baby, which could not be taken lightly.

"I was thinking that once this embroidery is finished, we should make some tiger-head shoes, tiger-head hats, hair ties, silk flowers, and things like that for the stall," Su Xiaoyin said as she stitched. "The young wives and girls love buying these things before and after the New Year. They'll definitely sell well then."

Su Xiaoqing's eyes lit up: "Sister, you're thinking really far ahead! There are still several months until the New Year."

"What's so far?" Su Xiaoyin smiled. "The days will pass by. These scraps of cloth didn't cost any money, so let's make them whenever we have time and sell them slowly. We'll sell as many as we can."

The two sisters chatted, but their hands never stopped working. The needle and thread moved through the silk fabric, making a soft rustling sound. Outside the window, they heard the laughter of four children playing, occasionally mimicking the tone of an adult scolding someone, which made the two sisters smile at each other.

---

There was also some activity in the woodworking shop in the yard.

Chen Dashan carried the last piece of furniture off the workbench and let out a long sigh of relief. This was the last piece of camphor wood furniture from Master Li's set—a large wardrobe with double doors, drawers inside, and simple cloud patterns carved on the outside. He checked it over carefully, making sure there were no omissions, before straightening up and stretching his stiff shoulders and back.

"Big brother, are you done?" Chen Xiaohe came in from outside, carrying two empty fish baskets.

"It's done." Chen Dashan patted the sawdust off his hands. "After drying for two days, we can send it to Master Li."

Chen Xiaohe came over to take a look and exclaimed in admiration, "Brother, your craftsmanship is really good. This cabinet looks sturdy, and the carvings are beautiful. It's much better than the carpenters in the county town."

Chen Dashan didn't respond to that, but instead said, "This job at Master Li's house was all thanks to Steward Liu's connections. I've been worried the whole time, afraid I wouldn't do it well and it would affect my relationship with Steward Liu." He paused, "Now I can finally breathe a sigh of relief."

Chen Xiaohe knew his older brother had been under a lot of pressure lately, so he patted him on the shoulder and said, "Brother, you're overthinking it. Everyone who sees your skills praises them. Come on, let's put some fish in the basket, catch some, and take a stroll in the mountains. The autumn harvest is coming soon, and then we won't have time to wander around."

Chen Dashan felt a little relieved after hearing this: "Okay, let's go. I've been cooped up in the woodworking shop every day for the past few months, I really need to get some fresh air."

The two brothers carried baskets on their backs, along with fish baskets and sickles, and headed towards the back of the mountain.

---

The riverbank was lush with aquatic plants, and the water flowed gently. Chen Dashan chose several deep spots, placed the fish baskets securely on them, and weighed them down with a stone to prevent them from being washed away.

"Brother, do you think we should stock up on more fodder?" Chen Xiaohe asked while helping out. "We now have an extra mule at home, and we're worried we won't have enough fodder for the winter."

Chen Dashan nodded: "We should prepare more. Before the autumn harvest, let's cut more grass, dry it, and store it." He looked at the grass by the river, "The grass by the river is growing very well, let's come here more often."

After unloading the fish, the two brothers headed up the mountain.

The air on the mountain was fresh, and the vegetation was lush. Chen Dashan walked ahead, occasionally bending down to gather a handful of pig feed and tossing it into his basket. After walking for a while, he suddenly stopped and took a deep breath.

"Little River, have you noticed that staying in the mountains makes me feel much better?" he said.

Chen Xiaohe caught up, chuckling, "Big brother, you've been cooped up for months. After the autumn harvest, let's go up the mountain more often."

The two walked and gathered pig feed, and soon their baskets were full. Chen Dashan then remembered something else: "When we get back, let's soak more soybeans, make some tofu, and dry some dried tofu."

Chen Xiaohe was taken aback: "Making tofu? Big brother, you know how? Our family has made tofu pudding before!"

"Can't we learn if we don't know how?" Chen Dashan rarely showed a smile. "Although our homemade tofu isn't as good as Uncle Ermu's or the tofu shop's, it's cheaper. We can dry more tofu and eat it as a dish during the autumn harvest, so your sister-in-law and Xiaoqing won't have to think about cooking every day."

Chen Xiaohe suddenly realized: "Brother, you want to prepare the vegetables for the autumn harvest in advance so that sister-in-law and Xiaoqing can focus on embroidering that Guanyin praying for a child?"

Chen Dashan nodded: "Yes. They're rushing to finish their embroidery, so we should help out as much as we can. During the autumn harvest month, the most tiring part is cooking, so if we prepare some vegetables in advance, it will make things much easier for them."