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

"Mother! We're back! Everything's sold! We've even returned the oxcart to the village head!"

Before Chen Xiaohe even entered the courtyard, his voice, brimming with barely suppressed excitement, rang out. Chen's mother, who was kneading dough in the kitchen, and the Su sisters, who were busy embroidering in the east wing, both hurriedly put down their work to greet him. Even Chen Dashan, who was polishing wooden pieces in the courtyard, looked up.

Chen's father followed his son into the main room, his face showing the weariness of a long journey, but beneath that weariness shone an indescribable, heavy joy. He didn't say much, but simply gestured for Chen Xiaohe to close the door to the main room, and then carefully took out a small bag wrapped in several layers of old cloth from the innermost pocket of his body.

The main room fell silent, save for the occasional crackling of the oil lamp wick. Several pairs of eyes were fixed on Chen's father's hands.

The old cloth was unfolded layer by layer, revealing what was inside—a small, high-quality snowflake silver ingot, with a small pile of scattered copper coins next to it.

"This is..." Chen's mother's voice was a little tight.

Mr. Chen picked up the silver ingot and placed it on the table, then pushed the pile of copper coins over, his voice slightly hoarse with excitement: "Five taels of silver, plus ten copper coins. It's all here."

"Five taels?!" Madam Chen gasped, her eyes widening instantly. Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing couldn't help but cover their mouths, and even the usually composed Chen Dashan's gaze froze for a moment as he looked at the silver ingot.

They originally estimated that they could get a good price of more than four ounces, but they didn't expect it to be so much higher!

"It was sold at 'Wang's Restaurant'," Mr. Chen explained after catching his breath. "Manager Wang is a straightforward man. Seeing that our goods were good, he didn't try to haggle at all. There were 280 catties of winter bamboo shoots after peeling, and the bamboo fungus, live bamboo rats, and smoked dried rats were all priced at the higher end of the market price." He recalled Manager Wang's surprised expression when he saw the bamboo fungus and added, "He also said that if we ever get any rare mountain products from the mountains again, we can send them to him."

Chen Xiaohe chimed in, a hint of smugness in her voice: "I gave that bag of slightly inferior bamboo fungus to Manager Wang, and he was so happy, saying we were honest! Mother, I think we might be able to sell him the spring bamboo shoots next year too!"

Upon hearing this, Chen's mother nodded repeatedly, unable to contain her smile: "Excellent gift! Worth it! This is how relationships should be maintained! Once we've established this connection, not only will our winter and spring bamboo shoots have a reliable source, but also the mushrooms and wood ear fungus we usually pick—the better ones—might have a stable place to go! This is a long-term benefit!"

She picked up the heavy silver ingot, weighed it in her hand, and felt a surge of warmth in her heart despite its icy touch. She looked at everyone in the room, cleared her throat, and said seriously, "This five taels of silver is a blessing our whole family earned by working together in the mountains, sweating and toiling, digging it out of the soil hoe by hoe. As we agreed beforehand, it will be split 50/50. Two taels and 5 mace will stay in the family coffers, and you two families, Dashan and Xiaohe, will each receive one tael, 2 mace, and 5 mace."

She then pointed to the ten copper coins: "These ten coins are just spare change, and they will also go into the public coffers for daily odds and ends."

As she spoke, she asked Chen Dashan to fetch a balance scale and scissors. She carefully cut the five-tael ingot of official silver, weighed out a piece weighing two taels and five mace, and then divided the rest into two equal parts. The "click" sound of cutting the silver was particularly clear in the quiet hall, each cut seeming to strike the heart of everyone present, yet it was a joyful tremor.

Su Xiaoyin accepted the small piece of silver and a few strings of copper coins (calculated as change) that Chen Dashan handed her, belonging to their little family. The coolness and weight in her palm gave her a dreamlike, unreal feeling, followed by an overwhelming sense of security and joy. She looked up at Chen Dashan, who was also looking at her, his eyes reflecting the same emotions, only deeper. Su Xiaoqing also clutched her share tightly, her face flushed with excitement, and looked at Chen Xiaohe, who winked at her.

Chen Dashan carefully put away his money and said, "Mother, the last big market before the New Year is in a couple of days. We have a lot of things this time: hair ties, embroidery, woodenware, bambooware, and maybe some leftover mountain products. I was thinking, why don't you come with us? With more people, we can keep an eye on things and avoid being overwhelmed."

After a moment's thought, Chen's mother readily agreed, "Alright! I'll go with you! We can also go to the market and see if there's anything we need to buy for the New Year. As for your father," she looked at Chen's father, "he'll stay home and watch the house. While he's at it, he should make those pheasant and rabbit traps you were talking about before, and go down to the back mountain to see if he gets lucky. If he can catch one or two, we'll have another main dish on our New Year's Eve dinner table!"

Mr. Chen smiled憨厚ly and nodded in agreement: "Yes, I'll make condoms at home. You can go without worry."

With the grand plan finalized and the allocations completed, the Chen family felt a renewed sense of tension, this time a tension brimming with energy and anticipation. The last major market day before the new year acted like an invisible command, urging everyone to speed up their actions.

For the next two days, the lights in both the old and new courtyards of the Chen family stayed on later than usual. Aside from eating and sleeping, Chen Dashan practically lived in his carpentry shed. The sounds of saws, planes, and carving knives were almost constant. Adorable little wooden horses, chubby kittens and puppies, and simply designed yet exceptionally smooth wooden combs and hairpins were created one after another, filling the baskets beside him. He even specially used scraps to make several lightweight little stands for hanging hair ties, more delicate than the last ones.

Chen Xiaohe also became obsessed with bamboo. His splitting technique became increasingly skilled, and the bamboo baskets, small wicker baskets, and sewing boxes he wove were not only sturdy but also had more ingenious designs. Some were woven with simple patterns, and some had movable lids. He wove during the day and at night, by the light of an oil lamp, he trimmed the burrs and polished the edges, striving to make sure that everything he took out looked pleasing to the eye and felt smooth to the touch.

In the east wing of the Su sisters' room, the oil lamp often burned late into the night. Embroidery frames were set up, and fine needles, adorned with colorful threads, danced across the fabric. On red bibs, golden carp leaped, and plump lotus roots appeared endearingly; on moon-white handkerchiefs, winter plum blossoms dotted the landscape, and magpies perched on branches; on indigo pillowcases, auspicious gourd and ruyi patterns gradually became clear. Sometimes, the two sisters would prick their fingers with the needles, rub them, apply some clam oil that Chen Dashan had bought, and continue. Sure enough, Chen's mother took over the task of making hair ties. With her quick wit, she wove double-stranded, triple-stranded, and even tasseled patterns from brighter strips of cloth, piling them in a colorful basket.

Chen's father was also busy, tinkering with wire and bamboo strips in the yard, making his specialty hunting snares. His eyes were focused, as if he could already see pheasants and rabbits struggling in the snares.

The biting winds of December howled outside, but inside the Chen family's house, a warm and cozy atmosphere filled the air with shared anticipation and busy activity. The lights, burning late into the night, illuminated not only their work but also their steady and hopeful path towards their first prosperous New Year. Everyone was determined to make a splash at the last market day before the New Year, hoping for a successful start to their new and warm little family life.