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

The next morning, with the agreed-upon outcome in hand, Mr. Chen headed towards East Street in the county town.

When they arrived at Liu the bricklayer's house, the door was ajar, and a clanging sound came from the courtyard. Chen's father knocked, and Liu the bricklayer's voice came from inside: "Come in!"

When Mr. Chen pushed open the door, he saw Liu the bricklayer busy among a pile of bricks and tiles, holding a small hammer and tapping away. Seeing him arrive, Liu the bricklayer put down his work, dusted off his hands, and greeted him with a smile.

"Brother Chen is here! Please have a seat!"

Mr. Chen sat down on a small stool in the courtyard and got straight to the point: "Master Liu, we've discussed it and decided to trouble you to help us build this shop. How much should we pay the deposit?"

Liu the bricklayer nodded, took out a small notebook from his pocket, turned to a page, and handed it to Chen's father: "This is the receipt, which I wrote in advance. The wages are three taels of silver. You can pay half first, one and a half taels. The remaining half can be paid after the shop is built and you are satisfied with the inspection."

Mr. Chen took the receipt and examined it carefully. It clearly listed the shop's area, construction period, materials used, and wages, one by one. He nodded in satisfaction, took out one and a half taels of silver from his pocket, and handed it to Liu the bricklayer.

"This is the deposit, please keep it safe."

Liu the bricklayer took the silver, pressed his fingerprint on the receipt, and handed it to Chen's father: "Take this. Once all the materials are purchased, we'll sign a formal contract."

Mr. Chen carefully tucked the receipt into his pocket and asked, "Master Liu, when can we start work? When are we going to buy the materials?"

After thinking for a moment, Liu the bricklayer said, "I still have one job to finish, which will be done tomorrow. The day after tomorrow morning, I'll take you to buy bricks, tiles, and lime. Construction will officially begin the day after that."

Mr. Chen nodded and then asked, "Will our family's carpenter be needed when the work starts?"

Liu, the bricklayer, said, "They have to be there. Doors, windows, and shelves need to be installed according to the schedule, and having a carpenter around makes it easy to take measurements anytime."

Mr. Chen said, "Okay, my eldest son is a carpenter. We'll have him live in the county town and keep an eye on things."

The bricklayer, Liu, laughed: "That's great. It's reassuring to have family members watching over things."

Suddenly remembering something, Mr. Chen asked, "Master Liu, will you need us to provide meals during the work period? I forgot to ask that before."

Liu the bricklayer waved his hand: "Brother, you're too kind. Just provide lunch, one dish and one bowl of rice, we don't have to be picky, but we have to eat our fill. We do manual labor, we can't have energy if we're not full."

Mr. Chen nodded and kept it in mind.

---

After leaving Liu the bricklayer's house, Chen's father felt much more at ease. As he walked back, he pondered what he needed to prepare next.

When he got home, the sun was already high in the sky. His mother was feeding the chickens in the yard. Seeing him return, she asked, "Is it settled?"

Mr. Chen nodded and recounted what had happened that day. The family gathered around, asking questions all at once.

Chen Dashan said, "Then Xiaohe and I will pack up our carpentry tools and take them to the county town tomorrow. We also need to bring some grain from home. The house in the county town is full of refined grains, so we can eat coarse grains ourselves."

Mr. Chen said, "Yes, take some coarse grains with you. We can mix them with refined grains and eat them sparingly."

Su Xiaoyin said from the side, "Dad, we also need to take some of the seasonings, oil, and vegetables from home. We'll need them for cooking."

Mr. Chen nodded: "You decide what to do."

Su Xiaoqing suddenly asked, "Dad, what's the standard for lunch that time?"

After thinking for a moment, Mr. Chen said, "We have to add some meat. We can't let people say our family is stingy."

Su Xiaoqing said, "We still have three or four large smoked pork bones at home, why don't we take them all?"

Mr. Chen's eyes lit up: "Okay, take them all. We can use them to make soup later, they'll be oily and flavorful."

Su Xiaoyin said, "Dad, we don't start work until the day after tomorrow. Why don't we have the mountains and rivers set more fish traps these next few days and see if we can catch more fish? That way we can have some meat."

Chen Dashan nodded: "Okay, I'll go down in a bit."

Su Xiaoyin continued, "Let's make some more tofu, then stew some mixed fish with tofu, make a ring of flatbread, and boil some mung bean soup to cool us down. When the vegetables from the garden are ready, we'll make a cold salad. We'll also chop up a plate of pickled vegetables. That would make a pretty good meal."

Mr. Chen listened and nodded in satisfaction: "Okay, let's do it that way. Your mother can bring the vegetables over every day when she goes to the county town to set up her stall."

Chen Xiaohe asked, "Dad, how should we arrange the manpower? We can't be left alone at home, and someone needs to feed the livestock too."

Mr. Chen had already made up his mind. He said, "Your mother has to run her stall and can't move around. So, Xiaoyin and Xiaoqing, you two will work hard every day to go to the county town to cook lunch. Take the children with you; they'll be fine in the yard. Dashan will take his luggage and stay in the county town to oversee the construction site. Xiaohe and I will each stay home, and the other will go to the county town to help out."

Chen Xiaohe said, "Dad, you should go over and check on Liu the bricklayer for the first couple of days. I'll stay home and feed the livestock. If Liu the bricklayer is good, I can go to the county town and help my older brother with carpentry, which will make things easier for him."

Mr. Chen nodded: "Okay, it's settled then."

---

With everything arranged, the family members got busy with their own tasks.

Chen Dashan and Chen Xiaohe walked towards the river with fish baskets. Chen Dashan said, "Xiaohe, set a few more baskets these next couple of days and catch more fish. Stewing fish will make a really good dish."

Chen Xiaohe nodded: "Brother, don't worry, I'll definitely catch more."

Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing were busy in the kitchen, preparing the seasonings, oil, and pickled vegetables they needed to bring, and putting them into baskets. Su Xiaoyin then went to the garden and picked a basket of fresh, tender green vegetables, which looked very appealing.

Chen's mother rummaged through the storeroom and found the few large, smoked bones, tied them with straw rope, and packed them into a bag of coarse grains. She said to Su Xiaoyin, "I'll take some with me tomorrow, and you can take the rest the day after tomorrow."

Su Xiaoyin nodded: "Okay, Mother, you decide."

The four children were chasing the puppy in the yard, running until they were covered in sweat. Shitou ran over, tugged at Su Xiaoyin's sleeve, and asked, "Mom, are you going to the county town? I want to go too!"

Su Xiaoyin squatted down, wiped his sweat, and said, "I'll take you there in a few days. There's a big courtyard in the county town, so our family will have a place there in the future."

Stone's eyes lit up: "Really? I want to go see!"

Su Xiaoyin smiled: "Okay, I'll take you there then."

---

In the evening, Chen Dashan and Chen Xiaohe returned. They carried fish baskets on their backs, smiles on their faces. Chen Dashan put the baskets down; they were full of lively fish, both large and small, weighing about ten pounds.

"We caught quite a few!" Chen Xiaohe said proudly. "Enough for several meals!"

Mr. Chen glanced at it and nodded in satisfaction: "Good. Go again tomorrow and save up more."