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

Li Hu listened attentively and asked about thinning seedlings, watering, and pest control, which Chen's father explained to him one by one. The two talked for more than an hour before Li Hu stood up and said he had to go back.

"Brother Chen, thank you so much for today," Li Hu said gratefully. "Your words are more valuable than ten years of study. I'll think about them carefully when I get back and try my best to cultivate the land well next year."

Mr. Chen waved his hand: "No need to thank me, we're neighbors, it's only right that we help each other out. Come over and sit down whenever you have time, and feel free to ask me anything."

Li Hu went to the east wing to call Li An. Li An was having a great time playing with Shi Tou and the others, holding a paper flower folded by Qing Qing in his hand, a smile on his face. He reluctantly said goodbye to Shi Tou and the others, and followed his father outside.

As Mr. Chen saw the child off at the hospital gate, he added, "Remember, the child's health is the most important thing. Give him plenty of good food, and don't force-feed him medicine."

Li Hu nodded and left with his son.

Mr. Chen returned to the courtyard and sat down on the stone bench. Mrs. Chen poked her head out from the kitchen and asked, "What's Li Hu doing here?"

Mr. Chen recounted what had just happened. Mrs. Chen listened and sighed, "Li Hu is also a man with a hard life. He has to raise the child alone, take care of the shop and the fields, how can he manage everything?"

Mr. Chen nodded: "Yes. We should help if we can. We're neighbors, it's not easy for us."

Chen Dashan came out of the woodworking shop, holding a newly made little wooden horse in his hand, and handed it to Afu, who was playing nearby. Afu took it and jumped for joy.

"Dad, what brings Uncle Li Hu here?" Chen Dashan asked.

Chen's father recounted what had just happened. Chen Dashan nodded after listening.

Mr. Chen said, "If not, let us tell Li Hu when we should water, fertilize, and weed next year."

In the evening, Su Xiaoyin made braised rabbit and stir-fried a few other dishes. The family sat together, eating and chatting. Chen Xiaohe said that he had taken the rabbit to Wang's Restaurant today, and the owner praised its plumpness and gave it a good price. Su Xiaoqing said that the persimmon cakes at the shop were selling well, and someone had come to inquire about next year's watermelons. The children chattered about playing with Li An today, and Afu held up his little wooden horse, saying he wanted to show it to his brother Li An.

Looking at this family, Mr. Chen felt a warmth in his heart. Although life was busy, it was fulfilling and filled him with hope.

----

It's getting colder and colder. When I woke up this morning, I could already see a thin layer of frost in the yard.

Chen Xiaohe and Chen Dashan still left home early every day, one to set up a stall in the county town, and the other to open a general store. Their mother was left at home, and the brothers had a perfectly valid reason: "It's getting cold, don't let you get cold." Their mother happily agreed, feeling very comforted. Her children knew how to care for her; that was better than anything else.

Chen's mother stayed home, busy with household chores alongside Chen's father. Feeding the livestock, tidying the yard, preparing food—they were constantly occupied. Freed from their work at the general store, Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing focused on their embroidery. The Five Relationships embroidery was more than half finished; in a little over a month, it would be complete. The two sisters sat in the east wing every day, their needles flying, so engrossed in their work that they didn't even have time for lunch, which Chen's mother brought in.

"Don't overwork yourselves, your eyes are important," Chen's mother said with concern as she placed the food on the table.

Su Xiaoyin raised her head, rubbed her neck, and smiled, "Mother, it's alright, it'll be done soon. It'll be finished in about ten more days."

Su Xiaoqing put down her embroidery frame and stretched her wrists. "Mother, how's business at the shop lately?"

Chen's mother sat down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and counted on her fingers: "Bean sprouts sell quickly; we make more every morning than we can sell. Tofu is the same; people come to buy it as soon as it's put on the table. Any leftovers are made into dried tofu and sold together with braised dishes; that's more profitable than selling tofu alone."

Su Xiaoqing's eyes lit up: "Where's the braised food?"

Chen's mother smiled: "Braised goods sell even better. Especially your sister's new spicy braised pork, many people come specifically to buy it. One old man said that he only likes this spicy flavor and can't buy it at other shops."

Su Xiaoyin laughed too: "Then I'll braise some more spicy stuff later. It's getting cold, eating something spicy will warm you up."

Mother Chen added, "By the way, your dried fruit sells very well. Some women have come specifically to ask about it, saying that your dried fruit is clean, tastes good, and they feel safe giving it to their children as a snack."

Su Xiaoqing excitedly tugged at her sister's sleeve: "Sis, we did it! Let's make more next year!"

Su Xiaoyin smiled and nodded, thinking to herself that with more fruit trees next year, there would be more varieties of dried fruit.

At lunchtime, the family sat together. Father Chen sipped his soup and said slowly, "The pigs are well-fed this year; both are fat. We'll slaughter them in a few days when it snows. We'll keep one for ourselves and sell the other."

Su Xiaoyin put down her bowl, thought for a moment, and said, "Dad, Mom, I was thinking, besides the portion we keep for ourselves, could we take the rest of the meat to the shop to sell?"

Mr. Chen was taken aback: "You mean when you slaughter the pig, you take some of the meat to the shop?"

Su Xiaoyin nodded: "That's right. I see people coming to the shop to buy vegetables and meat every day, and our braised pork sells well, so our fresh pork should be just as good. Our pigs are raised by ourselves, and the pork tastes delicious."

After thinking for a moment, Chen's mother said, "How about this, let's try taking the blood sausage to the shop first. As for the pork, let's take some pork belly, three layers of fat, the kind that city people like to buy to stew. The rest can be sold in the village, or made into cured pork. Cured pork keeps well, so we can sell it slowly at the shop."

Mr. Chen nodded: "Alright, let's do it this way for now. We'll slaughter the pig again in a few days when it snows. Remember to save some good pork belly for Manager Liu; he's always been a great help to us."

Listening from the side, Su Xiaoqing suddenly said, "Dad, can our family raise our own sow? That way we won't have to buy piglets every year, which will save us a lot of money."

Mr. Chen put down his bowl, thought for a moment, and said, "Our family has never raised sows before, so it's hard to say. Sows are not like market pigs; they are more troublesome to take care of, and they need even more care when they give birth. If we don't raise them well, we might end up losing money."

Su Xiaoqing was somewhat disappointed, but she didn't say anything more.

Mr. Chen looked at her and smiled: "Don't be in such a hurry. I've been free lately, so I'll go visit the pig farmers more often and see if I can learn anything. If I can run into Geng the cow herder, that would be even better; he's an expert, so asking him won't hurt."

Su Xiaoqing perked up again: "Dad, then please ask around. If they can raise him, it will be another source of income for our family."