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

Ang Lee helped his father to his feet, thanked the Chen family, and the father and son slowly walked towards their own courtyard.

Pushing open the courtyard gate, the grass in the yard had grown quite tall, but the house had been cleaned up neatly by Chen Dashan and the others. Li Hu sat down on the kang (a heated brick bed), and Li An climbed up next to him.

"Dad, are you really not leaving again?" Li An asked softly.

Li Hu pulled him into his arms and whispered, "I'm not leaving. I'll stay home with you."

Ang Lee smiled and buried his face in his father's arms.

That evening, Li An talked to his father for a long time, about things at school, about Shi Tou and the others, and about how Grandma Chen cooked delicious food for him every day. Li Hu listened, feeling both sad and warm inside.

"An'an, go to sleep," Li Hu said softly. "Daddy won't leave, Daddy will stay with you."

Ang Lee hummed in agreement, closed his eyes, and soon fell asleep. His little hand was still tightly clutching his father's clothes, and his lips were curved in a smile in his dream.

Looking at his son's sleeping face, Li Hu felt a surge of relief. Thank goodness, he was back alive. Thank goodness, he could still watch his son grow up.

Outside the window, the moon rose, casting its soft light across the ground. The village was quiet, broken only by the occasional chirping of insects. Li Hu leaned against the quilt, gently patting his son's back, thinking to himself, "I'll never leave again. I'll stay home, guard this home, and watch my son grow up."

----

Li Hu's health was slowly recovering. Although he couldn't do heavy work yet, he could already walk on his own. That morning, he leaned on his crutches and slowly walked to the Chen family's courtyard. Chen's father was sharpening a hoe in the yard. When he saw him come, he quickly put down what he was doing and moved a stool for him to sit down.

"Brother Chen, I want to discuss something with you." Li Hu sat down, took the herbal tea handed to him by Chen's mother, and took a sip.

Chen's father sat down opposite him and lit his pipe: "Go on."

Li Hu sighed and said, "My health won't recover anytime soon, and I can't keep relying on Brother De to help with the work on the barren mountain. I already feel bad that he's been helping for so long. I was thinking of hiring two people to take care of the mountain. What do you think?"

Mr. Chen took a drag of his cigarette, thought for a moment, and said, "Hiring someone is an option, but I have a suggestion."

Li Hu quickly said, "Brother, please speak."

Mr. Chen tapped his pipe and said seriously, "I feel that if you want to hire someone, don't look for them in the village. They're all from the same village. If they don't do a good job, and you fire them and then hire someone else, the original family will definitely be unhappy. It might even cause trouble for you. There are only two people in your family, which is quite small, and you can't afford to go through all that trouble. So I suggest you hire someone from another village. If they're not suitable, you can just fire them without any worries."

Li Hu nodded repeatedly, "Brother Chen, you're right. You've thought of everything. I remember there's a village near the mountains over there. They don't have much farmland, and all the able-bodied men are working outside. I'll go there and ask."

Mr. Chen nodded: "Okay, go and ask around. Find a few honest and reliable people, negotiate the price, and get the work started. The work on the barren mountain can't wait; the fruit trees need fertilizing, and the weeds need weeding."

Li Hu sat for a while longer before taking his leave.

After seeing Li Hu off, Chen's father picked up his hoe and went out. The weeds in the field had grown back, and he had to hurry up and weed them, otherwise they would steal the fertilizer and the crops wouldn't grow well. He walked along the village road towards the field, meeting several villagers along the way, exchanging greetings, and then each went about their own business.

In the evening, Chen Xiaohe returned from the mountain with a basket on his back containing two lush green watermelons and several golden melons. Smiling, he called out as soon as he entered the yard, "Dad, eldest brother and sister-in-law, the melons at home are ready to eat! I picked two; let's try them and see how they taste."

Su Xiaoyin came out of the kitchen, took the melon, and washed it by the well. Chen Dashan also put down his carpentry work and came over. The family sat around the stone table in the yard, waiting to taste the first batch of melons this year.

Chen Xiaohe cut open a watermelon with a knife; the flesh was red with black seeds, and juice flowed down the cut, releasing a sweet and juicy aroma. He then cut open a cantaloupe; its golden flesh was fragrant and delicious.

Mr. Chen took a slice of watermelon, took a bite, chewed slowly, and nodded: "Sweet, and juicy. Just as good as in previous years."

Chen's mother also tasted a piece and said with satisfaction, "This melon will definitely sell well at the shop. Tomorrow morning, Xiaohe, pick more and send them to the shop and stalls."

Chen Xiaohe said, "Okay, Dad, I'll get up early tomorrow to go pick them on the mountain. Big brother, how's business at the shop lately?"

Chen Dashan was eating a melon when his younger brother asked him. He put down the melon rind, wiped his mouth, and said, "Business is good. These past few days, many regular customers have come to ask when our melons will be available for sale. They all say they've been waiting for a year, just looking forward to this."

Chen Xiaohe smiled: "Then pick more tomorrow, so we don't run out."

Chen Dashan added, "Oh, right, I also got another order today. Old Master Li's son is getting married and needs some furniture made: a bed, a cabinet, a table, and chairs, for a total of three taels of silver. Old Master Li paid a deposit of one and a half taels, and will settle the rest upon delivery."

Chen Xiaohe asked, "Brother, when is the delivery date? Is it urgent?"

Chen Dashan said, "It's urgent, and the goods need to be delivered within a month and a half at the latest. Fortunately, we already have some of the furniture that Grandpa Li wants. We had made a few extra sets of the bed and cabinet before, and they're in the warehouse. We just need to modify them according to the dimensions and carve some patterns on them. The chairs need to be made new, but that won't be too much trouble."

Chen Xiaohe thought for a moment and said, "Brother, how about I go to the shop on the mountain to sell goods for a while, and you stay home to handle Grandpa Li's orders? I'll keep an eye on the work on the mountain, and you can rest assured about the shop."

Hearing this from the side, Su Xiaoyin put down the melon she was holding and said, "If you're too busy, Xiaoqing and I will take Qingqing to the general store to sell goods. Dashan and Xiaohe will stay home and take care of things. We know how things are at the store, so you don't need to worry."

Su Xiaoqing nodded, "Yes, sister is right. We sisters will watch the shop, you two can focus on your work."

After finishing the last piece of watermelon, Chen's father wiped his mouth and said, "That works too. Let's taste this melon in a bit. If it's as sweet as it is every year, we'll take it to the shop to sell. I'll take care of delivering the melons to Wang's restaurant and the stalls at the market. I'll drive the oxcart away, and I'll go to the county town to pick you up this afternoon."

Su Xiaoyin said, "Dad, don't tire yourself out. Come back early after you've delivered the melons."

Mr. Chen waved his hand: "It's nothing, how could driving a carriage be tiring?"

The family finished tasting the melon and everyone said it was delicious. Chen Xiaohe collected the melon seeds to plant next year. Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing tidied the table, and Chen Dashan went back to the carpentry workshop to continue working.