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

Before dawn the next day, Chen Xiaohe went up the mountain with a basket on his back. The melon patch on the mountain was lush and green, with watermelons and cantaloupes hidden under the leaves, round and plump, looking very appealing. He picked the biggest ones, filling two baskets to the brim, covered them with straw mats, and carried them down the mountain.

Father Chen had already harnessed the oxcart. Chen Xiaohe loaded the melons onto the cart, and Father Chen drove it towards the county town. He first delivered some to Wang's restaurant. When Manager Wang saw the new melons, he was overjoyed and said that this year, according to the old custom, he would take as many as he could get. Father Chen also delivered some to the stalls at the market, and Mother Chen took them and placed them in the most conspicuous position.

The remaining melons were taken by Chen's father to the general store. Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing had already tidied up the store, and Qingqing had come along to help arrange the goods. The fresh melons were placed at the front of the counter, their vibrant green color looking incredibly fresh. Soon, a customer came in, saw the melons, and exclaimed, "Oh, the new melons are here? I'll have one!"

Su Xiaoyin smiled, picked out a melon for him, weighed it, and took the money. They sold quite a few melons that morning. Su Xiaoyin took a moment to say to Su Xiaoqing, "Melons are selling even better this year than last year; it looks like we need to pick more."

Su Xiaoqing nodded: "Sister, let Xiaohe deliver it tomorrow."

In the afternoon, Chen's father came to pick them up in an oxcart. Su Xiaoyin tidied up the shop's accounts, locked the door, and got into the cart with Qingqing.

Back home, Chen Dashan was still busy in his carpentry workshop. Grandpa Li's order was pressing, and he needed to hurry. Chen Xiaohe was weaving bamboo baskets in the yard. Seeing them return, she stood up and asked, "Sister-in-law, Xiaoqing, how did the melons sell?"

Su Xiaoyin smiled and said, "Great! They sold out before the afternoon. We'll pick more tomorrow."

Chen Xiaohe was delighted: "Okay, I'll go earlier tomorrow."

That evening, the family sat down for dinner. Father Chen recounted the day's melon delivery, and Chen Dashan updated on the furniture-making progress. Su Xiaoyin asked, "Dashan, will Grandpa Li's furniture be delivered on time?"

Chen Dashan nodded: "Yes, we can. There are ready-made beds and cabinets in the warehouse; we just need to modify them. The chairs will be ready quickly too, in half a month. It won't delay anything."

Mr. Chen said, "That's good. Take it to them as soon as you're done, so as not to delay their son's wedding."

----

"Sister, we'll be able to finish this embroidery in about half a month."

Su Xiaoqing put down her embroidery frame, stretched her stiff neck, and let out a long sigh. Cicadas were chirping merrily outside the window, and the afternoon sun streamed through the paper window, illuminating the lotus flower design on the embroidery frame, making the silk threads of the petals shimmer with a soft sheen. She had been embroidering for almost two months, and it was finally nearing completion.

Su Xiaoyin put down her embroidery frame and rubbed her eyes. She looked at the embroidery pattern; the petals of the lotus flower were layered upon each other, the gradient silk threads transitioning naturally and softly from deep red to light pink, and the stamen in the center was outlined with gold thread, shimmering in the light. She nodded in satisfaction, then looked at her sister's tired face and said with concern, "Let's rest after we finish embroidering. You've been exhausted lately, staying up all night every day."

Su Xiaoqing nodded, leaned back in her chair, and closed her eyes. "Okay, let's take a break then. Sister, take a look at the silk flowers I made in my spare time. What do you think?" She took a few silk flowers out of the basket and handed them to Su Xiaoyin. "I feel like they'll sell well if we take them to the shop."

Su Xiaoyin took the flowers and her eyes lit up. The silk flowers were exquisitely made, with petals layered from fine silk, the colors ranging from light to dark, and the outermost petals slightly curled at the edges, looking as natural as real flowers. There were pink peach blossoms, pale yellow forsythia, light purple lilacs, and a large red peony, layered upon layered, magnificent and splendid.

"So beautiful!" Su Xiaoyin looked at them over and over, unable to put them down. "Your craftsmanship is getting better and better. These flowers will definitely be in high demand at the shop. Oh, and I also made some cloth dolls. I'll take them to sell together later."

Su Xiaoqing opened her eyes and said with a smile, "Sister, after Big Brother finishes fixing Grandpa Li's furniture, let's go mushroom picking in the mountains. It feels like it's been a long time since I've been to the mountains; I want to clear my head. Staying cooped up in the room embroidering all day, I'm getting moldy."

Su Xiaoyin nodded: "Okay, no problem. We'll have Dashan and Xiaohe take us there, pick lots of mushrooms, dry them, and eat them in the winter. There's been a lot of rain this year, so there should be plenty of mushrooms on the mountain."

The two sisters chatted for a while longer when Su Xiaoyin suddenly remembered something: "Oh right, Shi Tou, Aji, and Afu are out of Xuan paper. We need to go buy a few more stacks. And the same goes for calligraphy brushes. Afu said his brush has split, so the characters he writes don't look good."

Su Xiaoqing sighed and counted on her fingers: "This is too wasteful. Three children go through a lot of paper and pens every month. Luckily, we've done some embroidery for Manager Sun before, so we have a good relationship and he sells it to us at a relatively low price. If we buy from other stores, it will cost much more money."

Su Xiaoyin laughed: "What do you think? We're just sending them to school to learn to read; we're not preparing them for the imperial examinations yet. If we were preparing them for the examinations, it would cost even more money, and there's no guarantee they'd pass. Hiring a teacher, buying books, the travel expenses to the examinations—all of that costs money!"

Upon hearing this, Su Xiaoqing frowned slightly, her expression a mixture of anticipation and worry: "Sister, hearing what you said makes me very anxious. I hope they have a talent for scientific research, but I'm also afraid they do. If they do, I'm worried we can't afford to support them; if they don't, it would be a pity."

Su Xiaoyin patted her hand with a smile: "Don't think so much. The children are still young, let's focus on building a solid foundation first. If they really have talent, we'll support them. With the produce from the shop, the fields, and the mountains, as well as embroidery and carpentry work, even if it's a bit difficult, I don't think it'll be a problem. If it really doesn't work out, we can take on a few more embroidery jobs, and we'll get through it in a few years."

Hearing this, Su Xiaoqing felt a little more at ease. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Then let's not rest after this embroidery is finished. I'll think about what to embroider next now and draw out the patterns first. While my mind is still clear, I'll draw a few more patterns to have in hand."

Su Xiaoyin nodded: "Okay, you think about it first. I'll go tidy up the dolls I made today and take them to the shop tomorrow."

Li Hu's health hasn't fully recovered. Although he can walk around, he gets breathless if he walks fast, let alone drive the mule cart to the county town to pick up and drop off the children. Li An is still staying with Chen's mother for the time being, going to and from school with Shi Tou and the others. Every morning, Chen's mother takes the four children to school and picks them up in the afternoon. Although it's a bit busy, she's happy to see the children growing up day by day.

Chen's mother noticed that Li An had become much more cheerful recently. In the first few days after he returned, although he smiled, there was always something unspeakable about his smile. Now it's different. He runs and plays with Shi Tou and the others, and his eyes crinkle when he smiles, just like a normal child.