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

Father Chen thought for a moment, then counted on his fingers: "Old Liu from the east end of the village is a skilled farmer and an honest man, but he doesn't have much land and has to find work every year. There's also Old Wang, who works tirelessly and is a good person. Then there's Old Zhang's second son, young, strong, and clever. You can ask any of these men. They all have experience in farming, and you can trust them with the work in the fields."

Li Hu carefully wrote it down, then asked, "How are their wages calculated?"

Mr. Chen said, "Just like our family, it's twenty coins per person per day, which covers one meal. That's the going rate, and De Ge's family pays the same. If you pay that, they won't complain."

Li Hu nodded, having made up his mind: "Okay, I'll go find them after the fifth day of the lunar new year and finalize things in advance. By the way, brother, are you going to the neighboring county to buy saplings and seeds again this year?"

Mr. Chen said, "Go. We didn't plant many saplings on our barren mountain before, and we want to plant some more this year. There's still a lot of open space on the mountain; we can't let it go to waste."

Li Hu said somewhat embarrassedly, "Then could you two take me with you? I'll feel more at ease if I go with you guys."

Mr. Chen readily agreed: "Okay, I'll tell Brother De when the time comes. It'll be better if we go together, we can look out for each other on the way. When it comes to buying saplings, we need to choose good varieties. If we go together, we can also negotiate the price with the seller."

Li Hu thanked him repeatedly and said, "This year I want to tidy up the barren mountain properly, plant what needs to be planted, and sow what needs to be sown. Last year's harvest was not good, so we have to work harder this year."

Father Chen waved his hand: "Take your time, no rush. The wasteland will recover in a few years. We villagers aren't afraid of hardship, we're just afraid of having no hope. Life is getting better and better now, a year or two won't make a difference."

Li Hu nodded, exchanged a few more pleasantries, and then took his leave with Li An. Chen's mother packed him a packet of braised meat to take home. Li Hu couldn't refuse, so he accepted it.

After seeing Li Hu off, Chen's father stood in the yard, looking at the snow that had melted halfway, and pondered the plans for spring. He needed to hire people for spring planting, replant saplings on the barren hills, and catch the sows at home—everything needed to be arranged in advance. But the thought that life was getting better and better filled him with peace of mind.

----

"Dashan, you're going to school the day after tomorrow. Have you prepared everything?"

Early in the morning, Brother De pushed open the door and entered the courtyard with a smile on his face. The white breath he exhaled quickly dissipated in the cold wind. He was wearing a newly made cotton-padded coat, and his hair was neatly combed. It was clear that he had come specifically for this matter.

Chen Dashan was chopping firewood in the yard when he heard De Ge's words. He paused for a moment, then put down his axe: "School starts so soon? I thought it wouldn't start until after the Lantern Festival. What do we need to prepare?"

Brother De counted on his fingers: "Meat, red dates, longan, and celery—these four things are indispensable. And silver too. I've inquired; it's one and a half taels of silver per person. The tuition fee plus these apprenticeship gifts are all the old rules."

Chen Dashan did the math, his brow furrowing slightly: "We have three children, so we need to prepare three portions. The meat is easy enough; we still have some from the pig we slaughtered ourselves. We can just pick out the good ones and cut a few pieces. We'll have to buy the red dates and longans in the county town."

Brother De laughed and patted him on the shoulder: "Who told you to have such a large family? We only have one person, which makes things much easier." He stopped laughing and said seriously, "Let's go together early the day after tomorrow, don't be late. It's our first time meeting the teacher, we need to make a good impression. Although Scholar Liu is easygoing, we still need to follow the rules."

Chen Dashan nodded: "Okay, Brother De, I'll go to the county town today and buy everything. Let's meet at the village entrance early the day after tomorrow."

Brother De gave a few more instructions before leaving in a hurry, as he still had to go and inform several other families in the village whose children were about to start school.

Chen Dashan stood in the courtyard for a while, then turned and went inside to tell his father about it. His father nodded: "That's right, the apprenticeship ceremony shouldn't be skipped. Get the meat from home, pick the best. Go to the county town to buy the red dates, longans, and celery, buy fresh ones, don't skimp on the quality."

Chen's mother said from the side, "The money comes from the public funds. It's four and a half taels for the three children. I'll bring it to you in a bit."

Chen Dashan said, "Mom, no rush, we'll get it when we get back."

Chen's mother waved her hand: "It's bound to happen sooner or later, just take it and you'll feel at ease."

Chen Dashan tidied up, called Chen Xiaohe, and the two of them drove the oxcart to the county town.

On the way, Chen Xiaohe said, "Brother, all three of our children are enrolling in school together, so the tuition is quite high. But it's worth it; the children will learn skills and be better off than us in the future."

Chen Dashan hummed in agreement, saying nothing more. He was thinking that it was hard to say how well the three boys, Shitou, Aji, and Afu, would fare at school, but at least they would be literate and wouldn't end up like him, needing someone to read even a simple contract for him. That would be worthwhile.

Upon arriving in the county town, Chen Dashan said to Chen Xiaohe, "You go and open the shop first, I'll go buy some things. After I'm done, I'll go set up the stall."

Chen Xiaohe responded and drove the mule cart toward the general store.

Chen Dashan walked to the market. It was almost Chinese New Year, and the market was crowded with people selling all sorts of things. He first went to the butcher's stall and picked out three pieces of high-quality pork belly, each weighing over two pounds, with alternating layers of fat and lean meat. Seeing that he was buying a lot, the butcher gave him a discount of a few coins, wrapped them in oil paper, and handed them to him.

Next, he went to buy red dates and longans. At the dried goods stall, the red dates were piled up like a small mountain. He spent a long time choosing, finally selecting three portions of large, red dates. He did the same with the longans, picking out those with thin shells and thick flesh, and packed them in a paper bag. Finally, he went to buy celery, which was easy; he picked out three bunches of crisp, juicy celery and tied them with straw rope.

He only headed to the general store after he had bought everything.

Inside the shop, Chen Xiaohe had already arranged the goods. Bean sprouts, tofu, braised meats, and preserved fruits were all neatly arranged. The braised meats were freshly made by Su Xiaoyin that morning, and their aroma hadn't yet dissipated. While greeting customers, Chen Xiaohe kept glancing at the door out of the corner of his eye, waiting for his older brother to arrive.

Chen Dashan put his things behind the counter and went to set up his stall at the market. With the New Year approaching, small wooden carvings were selling well, and people were also interested in bamboo baskets. He hadn't had much free time all morning.

Around noon, Manager Liu arrived.

"Dashan, busy?" Liu Yilong, dressed in a slightly worn official uniform, smiled and carried a teapot.

Chen Dashan quickly stood up: "Manager Liu, you've arrived! Please sit down, I'll get you some water."

Liu Yilong waved his hand and sat down on the stool next to him: "I'm not drinking anymore. I'll just say a few words and then leave. Dashan, I have a job here. See if you can take it."