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

"Old woman, you can continue setting up your stall today. Da Shan, Xiao He, and I have to go back to the village. It's too hot today, and we still need to water the fields, otherwise the crops will all be ruined."

Early in the morning, Mr. Chen stood in the yard and looked at the sky. The sun had already risen, shining brightly and making one's scalp tingle. He turned to Mrs. Chen, who was packing her things, and said...

Chen's mother nodded: "Okay, you all go home and get busy. The things in the fields are more important, I can manage the stall by myself."

She turned to Su Xiaoyin and asked, "Xiaoyin, Xiaoqing, are you waiting at the house in the county town, or are you coming back with me this afternoon?"

Before Su Xiaoyin could speak, the four children shouted, "Grandma! We'll wait for you in the county town! We're not going back to the village!"

Shi Tou ran over, hugged Chen's mother's leg, and looked up at her with his little face, saying, "Grandma, the county town is so much fun! We'll wait for you to go back together!"

Qingqing and Aji nodded in agreement, and Afu ran over to join in the fun, shouting along with his older siblings, "Wait for Grandma! Wait for Grandma!"

Surrounded by her four children, Chen's mother couldn't stop smiling. She patted each of their heads, saying, "Alright, alright, listen to my eldest grandson. After Grandma finishes setting up her stall, I'll pick you all up and take you home together."

Chen Dashan slung his basket over his shoulder and said to Su Xiaoyin, "Then we'll be going now. There's a lot of work to do in the fields; we'll have to water the plants all day."

Su Xiaoyin nodded: "Go ahead, don't overwork yourself. The midday sun is strong, take a break before you continue."

Chen Dashan responded and followed his father and Chen Xiaohe out the door. The mule cart and the oxcart went one after the other, one heading towards Nanshan Village and the other towards the market.

---

Once the person left, the house became quiet.

Shi Tou was playing with his younger siblings in the yard when Su Xiaoyin squatted down and said to him earnestly, "Shi Tou, you're the older brother. Play nicely with your younger siblings in the yard. Don't push the gate open and go outside, understand?"

Stone puffed out his little chest: "Mom, don't worry! We'll play hide-and-seek inside the house, we won't go out!"

Su Xiaoyin smiled and patted his head: "Good, Shitou is so sensible. If you need anything, call your mother or aunt. We'll do our embroidery next door."

Shi Tou pulled Qing Qing and A Ji into the house, with A Fu following behind, stumbling along. The four children quickly disappeared behind the curtain, and laughter echoed from inside.

Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing sat down in the next room, took out the Qilin Bringing a Child painting, and began to embroider. The cicadas outside the window chirped louder and louder, but the room was quiet, with only the faint sound of the embroidery needles piercing through the silk.

---

Around noon, Su Xiaoyin put down her embroidery frame, stood up, and stretched her neck. She went to the kitchen, reheated the leftovers from yesterday, and took a few flatbreads, putting them in a basket.

"Xiaoqing, I'm going to bring food to Mother. Look after the child."

Su Xiaoqing looked up from in front of the embroidery frame: "Sister, you go ahead. I'll watch over them."

Su Xiaoyin slung her basket over her shoulder and went out. The sun was blazing, making the stone slabs on the ground scorching hot. She quickened her pace and soon arrived at the market.

Chen's mother was sitting behind the stall, with no one in front of her. She held a palm-leaf fan in her hand, fanning herself idly, but her eyes were still fixed on the passing crowd.

"Mom, dinner's ready." Su Xiaoyin placed the basket on the stool and brought out the food one by one.

Chen's mother put down her palm-leaf fan and took the bowl and chopsticks: "Have you eaten?"

"I've eaten. Don't worry about me, go ahead and eat."

Chen's mother nodded and began to eat heartily. Su Xiaoyin stood behind the stall, helping to serve customers. A young woman bought two hair ties, and an old man bought a bamboo basket; they bought a few things here and there, but the supply never stopped.

After Chen's mother finished eating, Su Xiaoyin carried the empty basket back home.

---

When I got home, before I even entered the courtyard, I could hear a commotion inside.

Su Xiaoyin pushed open the door and saw that the yard was a mess. Su Xiaoqing was squatting on the ground cleaning up, soaking wet from head to toe, with water dripping from her hair. The four children were shirtless, laughing and shouting around a wooden basin. Shitou was splashing water on Qingqing with a water ladle, and Aji and Afu were not to be outdone, splashing water everywhere with their little hands and feet.

"Sis! You're finally back!" Su Xiaoqing looked up, both amused and exasperated. "These four little devils are so mischievous! I dried some water for them to bathe in, but none of them behaved and they got me all wet!"

Su Xiaoyin couldn't help but laugh and quickly went over to help. The two sisters hurriedly pulled the four children out of the water, dried them with a cloth, and changed them into clean clothes. Afu was still reluctant to come out, pouting, but Su Xiaoyin picked him up and kissed him, and he finally stopped fussing.

After their bath, the four children were tired and lay obediently on the kang (a heated brick bed). Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing patted them gently on either side, and soon the four little heads were huddled together, and they fell asleep.

Su Xiaoqing let out a long sigh and leaned against the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed): "I'm exhausted. These four little ones are more tiring than embroidering a large embroidery."

Su Xiaoyin laughed: "That's right. You should rest for a while too, you have to go back with your mother this afternoon."

---

In the afternoon, Chen's mother packed up her stall and drove a mule cart to pick them up.

The four children were already awake and were very excited to hear they were going home. Shitou climbed into the car, tugging at his mother's clothes, and chattered excitedly, "Grandma! We took a bath today! It was so much fun! We splashed Auntie all over with water!"

Qingqing chimed in, "I spilled the most!"

Aji and Afu, not to be outdone, eagerly claimed they had spilled some as well. Mother Chen beamed, hugging each of them tightly: "Good, good, good children."

Su Xiaoqing shook her head helplessly beside her: "Mom, you don't know how much trouble these four little ones cause. I can't handle them all by myself."

Chen's mother smiled and said, "Kids are like that, it's good for them to be a little mischievous. They'll behave themselves when they grow up."

The mule cart creaked and groaned along the road back to the village. The setting sun painted the sky orange-red, and people were watering the fields, the water droplets shimmering in the sunlight. Four children chattered excitedly about their day, one after another, making quite a scene.

---

By the time I got home, it was already dark.

Chen's father, Chen Dashan, and Chen Xiaohe had just returned from the fields, covered in sweat, their clothes soaked through. Su Xiaoyin quickly went to the kitchen to fetch water, while Su Xiaoqing went to get clean clothes.

Chen's father washed his face, sat down to drink water, and said to Su Xiaoyin, "In a few more days, the melons on the mountain will be ripe. Then we can take them to the county town to sell."

Su Xiaoyin nodded: "Dad, Xiaoqing and I want to try making braised food. We still have some of the braising spices we bought last time, and we want to try making it again."

Chen's mother said from the side, "Okay, tomorrow I'll buy some of the best-selling braised food in the county town, and we'll try their flavors and learn how to make it."

Chen Xiaohe leaned closer: "Mom, buy more! I want some too!"

Chen's mother chuckled and patted him lightly: "All you ever think about is food. I bought this for you to learn, not just to satisfy your cravings."

The whole family laughed.

Outside the window, the moon rose, casting its soft light across the ground. In the Chen family's courtyard, lights shone brightly, and laughter drifted far. Life is like this, day after day, mundane and busy, but fulfilling and full of hope.