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

At dinner, the family sat together and talked about building the shop again. Father Chen repeated what the bricklayer Liu had said in detail, and everyone listened attentively.

Chen's mother said, "Then when I go to the county town to set up my stall tomorrow, I'll take some of the goods with me first."

Chen Dashan said, "Mother, I'll go with you tomorrow. We'll take the carpentry tools over first, and then tidy up the yard."

Mr. Chen said, "Okay. We all need to be on our toes when we start work the day after tomorrow."

After finishing their meal, everyone went back to their rooms to rest. Chen Dashan lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), thinking about tomorrow, feeling a little excited. With the shop built, the family would have a stable income. And when the children grew up, they would have somewhere to go.

Su Xiaoyin whispered from the side, "Dashan, do you think this shop will be able to open in the future?"

Chen Dashan grasped her hand and said, "Yes, we can. As long as we work hard, we definitely can."

----

"Xiaoqing, I didn't take any soy sauce, and we don't have much left at home. Could you help me think of something to buy later?"

Su Xiaoyin walked around the kitchen, laying out the seasonings she had brought one by one, and realized that the most important thing was missing. She poked her head out and called out to her younger sister, who was hanging clothes to dry in the yard.

Su Xiaoqing shook out the clothes in her hands, hung them on the rope, and turned around to ask, "Sister, is there anything else you need? I'll buy it all at once."

Su Xiaoyin rummaged through the things she had brought again, thought for a moment, and said, "We don't have enough bowls and plates either. The ones we had in the house before are either broken or damaged, and there are only a few chipped ones left that are unusable. After we finish cleaning the kitchen, let's go to the market and buy some more."

Su Xiaoqing nodded and quickened her pace.

Chen Dashan came out of the east wing, holding a rag in his hand, his clothes covered in dust. He had just finished tidying up the small room where he had prepared to do carpentry work, and was arranging the tools he had brought one by one.

"Dashan, Xiaoqing and I are going out to buy some seasonings. We're missing a lot of things in the kitchen." Su Xiaoyin walked over and dusted off his sleeves.

Chen Dashan nodded: "Go ahead. I'll tidy up here. You guys take your time and look around."

Su Xiaoyin responded and went out the door with Su Xiaoqing, carrying baskets.

---

The two sisters went to the general store first.

The shop was well-stocked, with soy sauce, vinegar, salt, and sugar displayed prominently. Su Xiaoyin picked out a bottle of soy sauce and bought some seasonings for stewing meat—star anise, cinnamon, and bay leaves, grabbing a small handful of each.

"Sister, let's buy some more sugar," Su Xiaoqing said, pointing to the sugar jar on the counter. "We can use it to make sugar water or give the kids some."

Su Xiaoyin nodded and asked the shopkeeper to weigh out half a pound of white sugar, wrap it in oil paper, and put it in the basket.

After leaving the grocery store, Su Xiaoqing asked, "Sister, shall we go buy some dishes now?"

Su Xiaoyin thought for a moment and said, "Let's go to Mom's stall first and ask her where she got the best deal. We don't know anyone here, so let's not get ripped off."

Su Xiaoqing nodded, and the two walked towards the market.

---

The market was bustling with activity. Vendors selling vegetables, meat, and cloth called out their wares in a lively atmosphere. Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing weaved through the crowd toward Chen's mother's stall.

From afar, you could see Chen's mother sitting behind the stall, munching on a flatbread, with a bamboo tube beside her. The stall was decorated with small items like hair ties, handkerchiefs, and tiger-head shoes, and occasionally someone would stop to look at them.

"Mom!" Su Xiaoqing ran over and squatted down in front of the stall.

Chen's mother looked up, saw her two daughters-in-law, and smiled, "Xiaoyin and Xiaoqing? What brings you here?"

Su Xiaoyin put down the basket and said, "Mother, we don't have enough bowls and plates in the house. The ones the master used before are either broken or torn, and there are only a few chipped ones left that are unusable. We want to buy some new ones, but we don't know where to buy them."

Chen's mother nodded and pointed to the very back of the market: "Go all the way in, there's an old man Hu's stall that specializes in selling pottery. His stuff is cheap and the quality is good; a lot of people in our village buy from him."

Su Xiaoyin made a note of it, then asked, "Mother, did you eat lunch?"

Chen's mother waved the flatbread in her hand: "I'm eating. Don't worry about me, go buy some things and come back early. Dashan is all alone there, I hope nothing happens to him."

Su Xiaoyin nodded and pulled Su Xiaoqing deeper into the market.

---

Grandpa Hu's stall was in the far corner. It wasn't big, but everything was neatly arranged. Bowls, plates, basins, and jars were stacked one by one, looking sturdy.

The old man was in his sixties, with gray hair, but he was full of energy. Seeing the two sisters come over, he greeted them with a smile: "Ladies, what would you like to buy? Take a look at my goods, they're all homemade, sturdy and durable."

Su Xiaoyin squatted down, picked up a bowl, and examined it closely. The bowl had a thick bottom and a smooth glaze; it was indeed quite nice.

"Grandpa, how much is this bowl?" she asked.

Grandpa Hu said, "Two coins each. If you buy a lot, it'll be cheaper."

Su Xiaoyin did the math and said, "Then give me ten bowls and ten plates. Also, two larger basins, one for kneading dough and one for washing vegetables."

Grandpa Hu responded and quickly packed the items into a bamboo basket, handing it to Su Xiaoqing. Su Xiaoqing took it, weighed it in her hand, and found it quite heavy.

"How much is it in total?" Su Xiaoyin asked.

Grandpa Hu counted on his fingers: "Ten bowls, twenty coins. Ten plates, twenty coins. Two basins, the large one eight coins, the small one six coins. That's fifty-four coins in total. Since you bought so much, fifty coins will suffice."

Su Xiaoyin paid the money, and the two sisters carried the bamboo basket back home.

---

When Su Xiaoyin reached the meat stall, she suddenly stopped.

"Sister, what's wrong?" Su Xiaoqing asked.

Looking at the pig offal on the cutting board, Su Xiaoyin said, "Let's buy a set of pig offal and braise it. That way, whether Dad or Xiaohe is home alone, they can just heat it up and eat it, which will save them trouble."

Su Xiaoqing's eyes lit up: "That's right! Once it's braised, it can be kept for several days. Just cut a plate whenever you want to eat it."

Su Xiaoyin walked over, picked out a clean set of pig offal, bargained with the butcher, and finally bought it for fifteen coins. The butcher wrapped it in a lotus leaf and handed it to her.

Su Xiaoqing took the lotus leaf bag, put it in the basket, and said, "Sister, let's go back. Now that we've bought everything, Big Brother must be getting impatient."

Su Xiaoyin nodded, and the two quickened their pace to walk back.

---

Back at the house, Chen Dashan had almost finished tidying up.

The east wing was cleaned up, with a clean mat on the kang (heated brick bed) and the quilts neatly folded. The west wing was also cleaned up and left for Chen Xiaohe and Su Xiaoqing to live in. The largest room in the middle was the most carefully cleaned up, with a newly woven mat on the kang and the windows sparkling clean—this was for Chen's parents.