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

Su Xiaoyin fell silent. She recalled the days when she and her sister fled famine, the feeling of hunger she never wanted to experience again.

Father Chen said, "Our family is considered good. We managed to salvage the grain; the losses were all small pieces. If we're careful with our food next year, we'll be fine. Besides, we still have last year's grain, so we don't need to worry. We also need to hurry up and store as much as we can on the mountain."

After dinner, the family went to their respective rooms to rest. Exhausted from the whole day, no one had the energy to talk much.

Su Xiaoyin lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), listening to the occasional chirping of insects outside. Chen Dashan lay beside her, tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep due to leg pain. She turned to her side, placed her hand on his leg, and gently massaged it.

"I'll be home tomorrow and give you a few more moxibustion sessions," she said softly.

Chen Dashan held her hand, said nothing, and just squeezed it gently.

Moonlight streamed through the paper window and onto the kang (a heated brick bed). The cat they had taken in was curled up on the straw mat, purring softly. The four children slept soundly, their even breathing rising and falling in waves.

That's life—there are sunny days and rainy days, bountiful harvests and lean years. But as long as the family is together, supporting each other, even the hardest days can be overcome.

Tomorrow, the sun will rise as usual. The chores that need to be done will still be there.

----

After four or five days of hard work, all of the Chen family's grain was finally dried and stored away.

That evening, Chen Dashan poured the last bag of corn into the cellar, straightened his back, and let out a long sigh of relief. Standing at the cellar entrance, looking at the neatly stacked grain sacks inside, he felt much more at ease. This grain was what his family would eat for the next year; it was their greatest source of confidence in making a living.

"Big brother, are you done?" Chen Xiaohe walked over from the side and handed him a bowl of water.

Chen Dashan took the grain and gulped it down, then wiped his mouth and said, "It's all done. Although we suffered a disaster this year, we harvested early, so the losses weren't too great. This grain is enough for our whole family to eat, and it should last until next autumn's harvest."

Chen Xiaohe nodded: "Then starting tomorrow, you stay home and husk corn, and do all the other odd jobs. I'll go up the mountain with Dad."

Chen Dashan nodded: "Thank you for your hard work, you and Dad."

Chen Xiaohe glanced at him but didn't say anything more. He knew his older brother's leg was an old problem, and he had indeed been exhausted from the harvesting season; he needed a good rest.

---

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Chen's father and Chen Xiaohe carried baskets up the mountain.

In the autumn mountains, the grass and trees began to wither and turn yellow, but if you looked carefully, you could still find quite a few good things. Father Chen walked ahead, his eyes searching everywhere. Chen Xiaohe followed behind, holding a small hoe, digging up mushrooms and picking wood ear fungus whenever he saw them.

"Dad, there are mushrooms over here!" Chen Xiaohe shouted.

Mr. Chen went over to take a look and nodded: "These are good mushrooms, pick them. Be careful not to damage them."

The two squatted down and carefully picked the mushrooms, putting them into their baskets. The grove was sunny, and the mushrooms were growing well; they soon filled about half a basket.

Continuing uphill, they found several more wild chestnut trees. The ground beneath them was littered with spiky pods, some already split open, revealing glistening chestnuts. Excitedly, Chen Xiaohe squatted down, stepping on the spiky pods and peeling them off one by one.

"Dad, these chestnuts are huge! Bigger than last year's!"

Mr. Chen squatted down to help: "Gather more, and your mother can stir-fry it for you when we get back. The rest can be dried and used to stew meat in the winter."

The two filled a sack with chestnuts, then walked a little further and saw several hazelnut trees. The hazelnuts were ripe and scattered on the ground. Chen Xiaohe made some room in the sack and picked up quite a few more hazelnuts.

By noon, the baskets and sacks were full. Looking at the sky, Chen's father said, "That's enough, let's go down the mountain. We'll come back this afternoon."

---

Chen's mother also went to the county town to set up a stall today.

She hadn't been there for several days, and the goods at the stall were selling well. Hair ties, tiger-head shoes, little cloth tigers, and the bamboo and wood carvings were all selling well. Chen's mother was happily counting her earnings while serving customers.

Around noon, the market was less crowded. Chen's mother sat down to rest and ate a few bites of the dry food she had brought. An old woman selling vegetables nearby leaned over and whispered, "Sister-in-law, did you know? The price of grain in the county town has gone up."

Chen's mother was taken aback: "How much has it gone up?"

"It's gone up by 20%." The old woman shook her head. "I heard that several counties suffered from disasters this year, resulting in poor harvests. Our county is considered relatively lucky, as it wasn't severely affected, but prices have still gone up."

Chen's mother's heart sank, but she didn't show it on her face. She nodded, "I understand, thank you for reminding me, sister-in-law."

Business was still good in the afternoon. Chen's mother was busy until the sun was setting before packing up and going home. She counted her earnings for the day, which totaled more than five hundred coins. She felt a little more at ease—with income at home, she didn't have to worry about rising grain prices.

---

Back home, Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing were busy in the yard.

The vegetables in the yard need to be harvested. The cabbage will have to wait a few more days, but the green beans, eggplants, and peppers need to be picked quickly—dry what can be dried, and pickle what can be pickled. The two sisters squatted in the vegetable garden, busy and sweating profusely.

Chen's mother tied up the mule, unloaded the things from the cart, and came over to help.

"Mom, how's the county town today?" Su Xiaoyin asked.

After telling her about the rising grain prices, Chen's mother laughed and said, "But our stall is doing well; we made over five hundred coins today."

Su Xiaoyin breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good. Mother, you'll have to work hard and go to the stall every day. Xiaoqing and I can handle the chores around the house."

Chen's mother nodded: "Okay. You've all worked hard; you must be exhausted these past few days."

Su Xiaoqing looked up and smiled, "Mom, we're not tired. Although there's a lot of work this year, we're eating well, with meat and fish, so we haven't lost much weight."

Looking at her two daughters-in-law, Chen's mother felt very content. These two girls were hardworking, capable, and sensible; they were a blessing to the Chen family.

---

As the sun was setting, Chen's father and Chen Xiaohe returned.

The two unloaded the baskets and sacks, piling them full on the ground. Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing came over to look; the baskets contained mushrooms, wood ear fungus, and wild vegetables, while the sacks contained chestnuts, hazelnuts, and a small packet of medicinal herbs.

"Xiaohe, you also picked medicinal herbs?" Su Xiaoqing asked in surprise.

Chen Xiaohe chuckled: "I just picked them when I saw them. Didn't Doctor Li say he was buying these medicinal herbs? If we collect enough, we can sell them and make some money."

Su Xiaoqing laughed and playfully punched him: "Wow, you're getting better and better at managing your finances."

The family chatted and laughed as they put things away. Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing went to the kitchen to cook, with Chen's mother helping out. Chen's father sat in the yard resting, while Chen Dashan and Chen Xiaohe took out chestnuts and hazelnuts to dry.

At dinner time, the family sat together.

Several home-style dishes were laid out on the table: a pot of stewed tofu, a plate of stir-fried mushrooms, a dish of pickled vegetables, and a large bowl of mixed grain porridge. The four children sat obediently eating, with Shi Tou taking care of his younger siblings, while A Fu ate with food all over his face.