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

As the sun began to set, the bustling sounds of the market subsided, and many stall owners started packing up, preparing to go home. Chen's mother glanced at the few remaining goods on her stall—only two or three pieces of wooden and bamboo ware remained, and a handful of hair ties hung on the bamboo rack—and said to her two sons, "Dashan, Xiaohe, you two watch the stall and make sure everything is packed up neatly. I'll take Xiaoyin and Xiaoqing to look around again and see if we can find some cheap New Year's goods."

"Okay, Mother, you go ahead, we'll take care of things here," Chen Xiaohe readily agreed.

Chen's mother carried the now-empty basket on her back, with Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing following on either side, merging into the dwindling but still searching crowd of people.

They first arrived at the meat section. Most of the meat stalls had already closed up shop, except for one stall that remained. The chopping board was empty, except for a large, bald pig's head that had been shaved white, a set of relatively clean offal (heart, liver, lungs, and intestines) tied with straw rope, and two large, cleanly shaved bones, lying forlornly in a wooden basin beside it. The stall owner was a burly butcher, slowly wiping his greasy knife, preparing to close up shop.

Chen's mother stepped forward, examined the pig's head and offal carefully, and asked, "Boss, if we take all of these leftovers, can you give us a discount?"

Seeing that business was still coming in at this hour, the butcher immediately became enthusiastic: "Auntie, if you can buy all of these, I'll definitely give you a discount! Look at this pig offal, a whole set, cleaned spotlessly, it would normally cost at least fifteen coins, but you can just give me twelve! And this pig's head, look at it, the meat is so thick, the tender meat near the ears is the best, normally one like this would cost at least one hundred and twenty coins! These two big bones are a free gift, no charge! How about it?"

Mother Chen considered the options in her mind. Although pig's head meat was time-consuming to cook, it would be a hearty dish for the New Year if done well, and the offal would also make a large plate. She looked troubled and bargained, "Boss, look, this is all leftovers. How about this, pig's head and offal, it'll be 120 coins in total. Okay, I'll take it all so you can go home early."

The butcher hesitated for a moment, then, seeing that no one was around, stamped his foot and said, "Alright! Seeing how generous you are, ma'am, one hundred and twenty coins it is! Next time you buy meat, remember to look for me!" As he spoke, he quickly wrapped and tied the pig's head and offal with dried lotus leaves and straw rope, and also tied up the two large bones, before handing them over.

Chen's mother carefully took these heavy, oily "treasures," placed them at the bottom of her basket, and covered them tightly with an old cloth to prevent the oil stains from contaminating other things. Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing watched from the side, feeling both happy and astonished. One hundred and twenty coins was no small sum for farmers, but considering it was the New Year and there was so much meat, they felt it was worth it.

Continuing on, they passed a candy stall with square, dark yellow hard candies on display. Chen's mother stopped and bought a pound. "It's the New Year, you always need something sweet to treat yourself," she said with a smile to her two daughters-in-law. The sweet aroma of the hard candies filled their nostrils, evoking the most basic anticipation of the holiday.

Then she saw a stall selling sachets, pouches, and other trinkets. Su Xiaoyin went up to examine the embroidery and designs carefully, touched the fabric, and thoughtfully put it down. She asked Chen's mother, "Mother, how many hair ties do we have left from today?"

Mother Chen calculated for a moment, a satisfied smile spreading across her face: "Hey, I almost forgot to mention it! Those hair ties sold really well today! We brought fifty in total, and now there are only five left on the bamboo rack! We sold forty-five! Some were sold for two for five coins, and some for three coins each, for a total of fifty-five coins! The cloth scraps were practically free anyway, so these fifty-five coins are pure profit!"

Upon hearing this, Su Xiaoqing almost jumped for joy: "Really? That's wonderful! Now we can almost earn back the money we spent on fabric and embroidery thread!" She took her sister's arm, her eyes sparkling.

Su Xiaoyin breathed a sigh of relief; this would greatly reduce their embroidery costs. Remembering the shopkeeper's advice, she said to Chen's mother, "Mother, the shopkeeper just suggested we try embroidering some children's bibs and bellybands in festive, bright colors that would sell well during the New Year. Since we're here, I thought we should go to Tao's cloth shop again to see if they have any suitable fabrics and embroidery thread."

"Yes, we should go and take a look. While we still have money, we should prepare the necessary materials," Chen's mother agreed.

The three then turned towards Tao's Cloth Shop at the end of the street. The shop was a bit quieter than in the morning, and the shopkeeper was dozing off behind the counter. Seeing them come in, he recognized them as regular customers who had bought things before, so he perked up and greeted them.

This time, Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing had a clear goal. They carefully selected several brightly colored and festive embroidery threads—bright red, peach pink, royal blue, and golden yellow. They also chose a soft, bright red piece of fine cotton fabric to make a baby's bib. Finally, after much hesitation, Su Xiaoyin gritted her teeth and bought a piece of finer, more even-colored off-white cotton fabric, which was significantly more expensive than the ordinary white fabric they had used before. This was to try embroidering slightly larger and more intricate patterns, such as small floral and bird designs, to see if they could sell it for a better price.

When it came time to settle the bill, the shopkeeper rattled off the abacus: "Embroidery thread, thirty-five coins; red fine cotton cloth, forty coins; moon-white fine cloth, eighty coins; a total of one hundred and fifty-five coins."

One hundred and fifty-five coins! That's fifty-five coins more than last time! Su Xiaoyin's hands trembled slightly as she paid. This was almost half of what she earned from selling embroidery today. But thinking of the shopkeeper's advice and the potential for even better profits, she resolutely counted out the money.

As they walked out of the fabric shop carrying their newly purchased, expensive fabric and embroidery thread, the three of them felt a little heavy-hearted, but even more so, they were filled with anticipation for the future and a determination to do their best.

When they returned to their stall, Chen Dashan and Chen Xiaohe had already packed everything up. The last few small bamboo and wooden items and hair ties had also been sold, leaving the stall empty. Chen Xiaohe was happily counting the copper coins he had earned from selling goods that day, while Chen Dashan quietly tied up the wooden boards, hemp cloth, and bamboo frames.

"Are they all sold out?" Chen's mother asked.

"Sold out, Mom!" Chen Xiaohe waved the string of coins in his hand. "The last two little wooden horses my brother made were bought by an old man with his grandson! And not a single hair tie is left!"

"Okay, let's pack up and go home!" Chen's mother waved her hand.

The five men, carrying their respective harvests, embarked on their journey home. The setting sun cast long shadows, their baskets heavy with New Year's goods and hopes, their arms tucked with the coins earned from today's labor and a clearer plan for tomorrow. Although spending a "huge sum" on fabric was painful, the thought of the hair ties and embroidered items they had sold, and the potentially better sales channels in the future, replaced that apprehension with a more solid expectation.

The winter evening breeze carried a chill, but everyone's hearts were warm. The road home seemed shorter. They knew that once home, under the warm glow of an oil lamp, they would tally the day's income and expenses, plan how to marinate the pig's head and braise the offal, and discuss which piece of red cloth to embroider for the bibs first… This little family, growing more and more vibrant because of their collective efforts, would welcome its first truly special, anticipated Spring Festival. As night deepened, the scattered lights of the village ahead seemed to silently beckon the returning travelers.