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

Back at the old house, the oil lamp in the main room was brightened, dispelling the chill of the winter night and illuminating the lingering flush of excitement on the family's faces. The fatigue of a long day seemed to vanish in the face of such a bountiful harvest.

As usual, Mrs. Chen took out her blue ledger and worn-out calligraphy brush, her expression serious, but the smile in her eyes and brows was impossible to hide. "Come on, everyone, tell me, how much did you each earn today?"

Su Xiaoyin spoke first, her voice trembling slightly with excitement: "Mother, the shopkeeper accepted all of Xiaoqing and my embroidery. Five handkerchiefs, two pairs of pillowcases, four bibs, and two bibs, for a total of 530 coins." As she spoke, she took out the money bag she had carefully carried all the way from her bosom and placed it heavily on the table.

"Five hundred and thirty coins!" Chen Xiaohe exclaimed, his eyes widening in surprise.

Chen Dashan calmly reported the numbers: "I sold two hundred and ten coins for wood carvings and small items."

Chen Xiaohe added, "My bamboo basket and boxes sold for 180 coins."

Chen's mother concluded by saying, "The hair ties sold quite well; I got ninety-five coins."

Chen's father, who had been sitting beside him smoking and listening, tapped his pipe on the sole of his shoe. Every wrinkle on his face smoothed out. He slowly did some mental calculations, his voice carrying a confident joy born of hardship: "Five hundred and three, plus two hundred and one, that's seven hundred and four; plus one hundred and eight, that's nine hundred and two; plus ninety-five… hey, one thousand and fifteen coins! A full tael of silver and fifteen coins!"

"More than one tael of silver! And for just one day!" Chen Xiaohe was so excited he almost jumped off his stool. "We're amazing!"

Although Chen Dashan was also happy, he thought more deeply than his younger brother. He shook his head and said, "Don't get carried away. Today is the last big market day before the New Year. Every household is willing to spend money to buy New Year's goods and some new and interesting items. Under normal circumstances, how could we sell so much at once? We need to keep that in mind."

"Dashan is right," Chen's mother nodded, picking up the thread, "The annual market has its own liveliness, and ordinary days have their own way of being. However," she changed the subject, her eyes gleaming with planning, "Xiaoyin just mentioned at the market that the embroidery shop owner suggested that there will be many auspicious days after the New Year and before the spring planting, and many families will be holding celebrations. He told us to continue embroidering some festive patterns. This is a reliable way to make money."

Su Xiaoyin quickly agreed, "Yes, Mother. The shopkeeper said that auspicious pillowcases, bibs, and small embroidered patterns with good meanings will definitely sell well after the New Year. The embroidery we brought today has almost run out of fabric and thread, and there isn't much thread left. So before the market closed, Mother accompanied us to Tao's Fabric Shop again."

She continued, slightly embarrassed, "This time, I spent 245 coins on embroidery thread and fabric. However, the shopkeeper saw that we were regular customers and bought a lot, so he gave us two large bundles of fabric scraps as a gift. I looked at them, and there were several pieces that were big enough to make handkerchiefs. The remaining scraps were all quite bright in color and pattern, so I can use them to make more hair ties."

Mother Chen added, "The cloth business has been good lately, and the shopkeeper is happy too. Those two bundles of cloth scraps look even better than last time. We should make more whenever we have free time, whether it's embroidery, hair ties, or small bamboo and wooden items, and save them up. When the farm work is less busy after spring, or before major festivals like Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, or Chinese New Year, we'll go to the market to sell a batch. Especially during festivals, people are willing to spend money, wanting something festive and new."

As she spoke, she looked at her two daughters-in-law with a gentle yet firm gaze, and announced the decision she had discussed with Chen's father: "Xiaoyin, Xiaoqing, there's something your father and I have decided. Next spring, you two sisters won't have to do the heavy work in the fields—plowing, sowing, and harvesting."

Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing were both taken aback. They subconsciously wanted to say, "We can do it," but Chen's mother stopped them by raising her hand.

"Listen to me," Mother Chen said firmly. "Your hands are the hands that hold embroidery needles. It took a lot of effort to recover some of your skills, and they're not as rough as they were when you first arrived. If you keep working in the fields, those hard-earned skills will be compromised. Now that we have another source of income—embroidery and selling things—we can't afford to lose sight of the bigger picture. The heavy lifting in the fields can be handled by the three of them, plus me."

She paused, then added, "However, all the housework—washing clothes, cooking, feeding the chickens, ducks, and pigs (if we bought piglets), and tending the yard and vegetable garden—is your responsibility. During the busy farming season, you'll be doing three meals a day, delivering water and food, so it won't be easy for you either. We just have different roles; no one has it easier than the other."

Chen's father, puffing on his pipe, nodded and said, "Your mother is right. We have enough manpower now, so we should use our strengths where they're needed. Embroidery sells well; it earns more than you can earn by digging up a few extra acres of land, and it's more sustainable in the long run."

Chen Dashan and Chen Xiaohe nodded in agreement.

Seeing that her daughters-in-law had taken her to heart, Chen's mother continued with her longer-term plans: "Now that we have this money, we're much better off. Your father and I have discussed it, and once the spring planting is finished next year and things are settled in the fields, we'll have your father go to the government office again and ask if we can use the public funds to buy a few more acres of wasteland."

"Wasteland?" Su Xiaoqing asked softly.

"Yes, wasteland." Chen's mother gazed out the window at the deep night, as if she could already see the bustling scene of reclamation next year. "For the first five years, we don't collect land taxes on wasteland here. Our family has grown now, and we might have more children in the future. We don't feel secure relying on this little bit of land. While we're still tax-free, and your father and I are still able to work, and we have the strength to clear a few more acres of wasteland and nurture it for a few years, that will be the foundation of our descendants' livelihood. It will be tough, it will be tiring, but it's worth it."

This grand yet pragmatic plan unfolds like a slowly unfurling scroll, stirring the hearts of everyone present. From fleeing famine to settling down now, in just one autumn and winter, they have not only established themselves and built new houses, but also found skills to make a living, and are now even planning to acquire land and expand their business. Every step they have taken has been so solid and so full of hope.

The warm glow of the oil lamp enveloped the family. On the table, copper coins and silver scraps gleamed, testaments to today's hard work; in each person's heart burned a flame of hope for an even brighter year to come. This approaching New Year, for the Chen family, was more than just a traditional festival; it was a solemn prelude to truly taking root in this new land and marching towards a bountiful future. Outside, perhaps another light snowfall was quietly falling, nourishing the slumbering earth and silently blessing this hardworking and united family.