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

"Big Mountain! There's one here!"

Su Xiaoyin's low, surprised voice rang out in the quiet bamboo forest. Chen Dashan immediately put down another spot on the ground he was examining and strode over. He saw Su Xiaoyin pointing to a shady, gentle slope where the fallen leaves and loose soil were slightly raised, and the soil at the edges had tiny cracks.

Chen Dashan squatted down, poked at the ground with his hand, and then gently tapped the ground with his small hoe, the echo sounding slightly hollow. He nodded, a hint of approval in his eyes: "It's a winter bamboo shoot, well hidden." He gestured for Su Xiaoyin to step back, and then skillfully began to dig, carefully clearing the soil following the predicted direction of the bamboo shoot. In no time, a winter bamboo shoot, as thick as a child's arm and covered in a thick brown sheath, was completely removed.

Su Xiaoyin breathed a sigh of relief, a smile appearing on her face, and turned to carefully search the next place where treasure might be hidden. Chen Dashan gently placed the heavy winter bamboo shoot into the basket beside him and continued to search for possible "brother bamboo shoots" in the vicinity.

This scene repeated itself over the next three days. The Chen family, like tireless treasure hunters, entered the mountains at dawn and returned home at dusk, their footprints covering almost every sunny and shady corner of the bamboo forest. The family worked together seamlessly: the most experienced father and son, Chen Dashan, were responsible for identifying and excavating the most difficult spots; the sharp-eyed and diligent Chen Xiaohe and the Su sisters were responsible for large-scale searches and initial clearing; and the mother stayed home to handle logistics and process the winter bamboo shoots they brought back each day, carefully covering them with sand to keep them fresh.

The harvest decreased daily. After the initial surprise of 100 jin on the first day, they barely managed to dig up 110 jin on the second day, and by the third day, it had plummeted to 80 jin. On the morning of the fourth day, the six of them split up and searched for half a day, but only found a few scattered pieces weighing five jin. The bamboo forest seemed to have been thoroughly cleared, and there was no trace of winter bamboo shoots to be found.

"Alright, that's enough." When Chen's mother returned home at noon, she looked at the "trophies" buried tightly under the sand pile in the yard, as well as the pitifully small five pounds she had found today, and decisively called a halt. "Looking any further would be a waste of effort. Let the mountain rest too. Let's settle the score."

In the main room, the oil lamp was lit even during the day so that it would be easier to see. Chen's mother took out her blue account book, and Chen's father and two sons took out the reset slips they had recorded over the past few days to check them.

"On the first day, exactly one hundred jin (50 kg)." Chen's mother wrote it down.

"The next day, it weighed 110 jin (55 kg)."

"On the third day, it weighed eighty jin (40 kg)."

"This morning, five jin (2.5 kg)."

She picked up her pen and added it up: "It's 295 jin in total."

This number made the whole family hold their breath. Mrs. Chen continued calculating, "This is the weight with the shells on. When we get to the restaurant, they'll definitely remove the outermost layer of old shell and trim the roots, so the weight will be reduced. But even if we reduce it by 20% after peeling, it'll still be at least 230-240 catties of clean bamboo shoots. At 15 coins per catty…" She silently calculated, her eyes growing brighter, "It should sell for at least 3.5 taels of silver! Add to that the bamboo rats we caught and smoked, and those precious bamboo fungus… 4 taels of silver, I think it's even possible!"

Four taels of silver! For this farming family that had just recovered, it was a huge sum of money! Enough to pay for most of the seeds and fertilizer for the coming year, or to complete several important family plans.

Suppressing her excitement, Chen's mother began to make arrangements: "Old man, this afternoon you take Xiaohe to the village head's house to borrow an oxcart. Just say we dug up some mountain produce and want to sell it in the county town tomorrow to buy some New Year's goods. Be sweet-talking." She then looked at Chen Dashan, "Dashan, this afternoon you take out the dried bamboo rat we smoked and the bamboo fungus we dried before. Check them carefully, pick out the best ones, and wrap them separately in oiled paper. Wrap the less desirable ones in another package. Xiaoyin and Xiaoqing, you two continue with your embroidery. I'll make the hair ties. You two hurry up, we can't miss the last big market before the New Year."

She then said to Chen Xiaohe, "Put away all the new wooden horses, cats, hairpins, and combs your older brother made. Have your father take them with him tomorrow. If the winter bamboo shoots sell well, you two can set up a stall in the county town and sell as many as you can."

With tasks assigned, everyone had a clear objective. For the next half day, the Chen family courtyard was filled with a busy yet joyful atmosphere. Chen Dashan carefully sorted the dried bamboo fungus by size and condition, treating them like precious treasures; the Su sisters sewed nimbly, gradually revealing adorable carp patterns on red bibs; Chen's mother wove brightly colored scraps of cloth into more intricately patterned hair ties; and Chen Xiaohe polished the small bamboo and wooden items he and his older brother had made until they shone, carefully categorizing and storing them.

The next day, before dawn, Chen's father and Chen Xiaohe set off in the oxcart they had borrowed from the village head. On the cart were 295 catties of winter bamboo shoots, preserved by burying them in damp sand; three live bamboo rats, tightly bound and placed in cages; a dried bamboo rat, blackened and emitting a special aroma by smoking; and two packages of bamboo fungus carefully wrapped in oiled paper—one package contained three catties of excellent quality, and the other contained some miscellaneous, less desirable pieces.

The oxcart creaked and groaned into the county town. They headed straight for the largest and supposedly most luxurious restaurant in town, "Liang Family Restaurant." However, as soon as they explained their purpose, the waiter at the door waved them away dismissively: "Go away, we have regular vegetable vendors delivering our produce. We don't accept odds and ends from outside. Who knows if they're clean?"

After being turned away, Chen Xiaohe was somewhat discouraged, but his father remained calm and simply said, "Let's go and see another house."

They found another restaurant, "Wang's Restaurant," which was slightly smaller but had a good reputation. The owner was a shrewd-looking middle-aged man in his forties, surnamed Wang. After Mr. Chen explained their purpose, Manager Wang was more polite, but also frank: "Brother, to be honest, our restaurant has a fixed source of goods. Unless it's some particularly rare and seasonal mountain delicacies, we don't accept ordinary ones."

Upon hearing this, Chen Xiaohe quickly and carefully took out the best-looking package of bamboo fungus from his basket and opened a corner of the oil paper: "Shopkeeper, please take a look at this."

Shopkeeper Wang glanced at it casually, but his gaze was immediately drawn to it. He stepped forward to examine it closely, then picked one up and held it up to the light to check the integrity of the mushroom skirt. A look of delight appeared on his face: "Wow! This is top-quality bamboo fungus! Rare at this time of year! The quality is truly excellent!" He looked up at Mr. Chen, "Anything else?"

Seeing that there was a way, Mr. Chen felt reassured and gestured for Chen Xiaohe to bring down the other items. When he saw the three lively, plump bamboo rats and the perfectly smoked, glossy dried bamboo rat, Manager Wang's eyes lit up even more. Especially when Chen Xiaohe and his assistant dug the winter bamboo shoots out of the sand, removing the outermost thin shell to reveal the tender, white flesh inside, Manager Wang nodded repeatedly: "These winter bamboo shoots are excellent! Each one is plump and without frost damage, truly rare!"

He immediately ordered his servant to bring a scale, and the bamboo shoots were weighed on the spot after being peeled. The winter bamboo shoots weighed 280 catties, which was better than the Chen family had estimated. There were three catties of bamboo fungus, all intact. There were three live bamboo rats, and the smoked bamboo rats weighed one catty.

Shopkeeper Wang quickly calculated in his mind: his master was hosting a banquet for distinguished guests the day after tomorrow, and he was worried about not having any rare mountain delicacies to impress them. These things had come at the perfect time! He readily quoted prices: "Winter bamboo shoots, the market price is fifteen coins per catty, but yours are of good quality, so I'll go with fifteen coins. Two hundred and eighty catties is four thousand two hundred coins, which is equivalent to four taels and two mace of silver. Bamboo fungus, good stuff, I'll buy it at two hundred coins per catty, three catties is six hundred coins. Live bamboo rats, one hundred coins each, three rats is three hundred coins. Smoked dried bamboo rats, one hundred and ten coins per catty. In total... five taels of silver and ten coins!" He paused, looked at Chen's father, who had a simple face and could not hide his nervousness, and added, "Brother, you are honest, and the goods are good too, exactly five taels of silver! Here are ten coins, please take them."

Five taels! A full five taels of silver! Mr. Chen's heart pounded. His hands trembled slightly as he took the small, yet heavy ingot of silver from Manager Wang. He took a deep breath, carefully tucked the silver into his innermost pocket, and repeatedly thanked him, "Thank you so much, Manager! Thank you so much! You've done our family a great favor!"

The transaction was complete. Chen Xiaohe cleverly took out the slightly inferior bamboo fungus from his basket and handed it to Shopkeeper Wang, saying with a simple smile, "Shopkeeper, this is a little bit of lower quality, please don't mind. Keep it for yourselves to try. If we get anything good from the mountain again, we'll definitely send it to you first!"

Shopkeeper Wang smiled genuinely this time and accepted the bag of bamboo fungus. This stuff was precious; he couldn't even afford to buy it with his entire month's wages. These peasants certainly knew how to be considerate. "Good, young man, you're too kind! Remember to come back if you have any good ones in the future!"

With five taels of silver in their pockets and driving an empty oxcart, Chen's father and Chen Xiaohe felt as if the journey home had shortened. The wind on their faces didn't feel cold; their hearts were warm and bright, like a fire burning within them. This unexpected and substantial income, like a generous New Year's gift from the mountain god, ensured that the Chen family would have an exceptionally fulfilling and prosperous New Year, filling them with unprecedented confidence and anticipation for the coming year.