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

Su Xiaoyin nodded: "Okay, Mom, it's settled then. Xiaoqing and I will take turns, so you can focus on taking care of the children."

Father Chen added, "Oh, right, go to the county town tomorrow and buy a lot of offal. Pig offal and pig's head, buy plenty, cure them into preserved meats, and have them with rice during the autumn harvest. The autumn harvest is hard work, so we need to eat well and not skimp on the food."

Su Xiaoqing replied, "Dad, I've got it. I'll go buy it first thing tomorrow morning and pickle it as soon as I get back."

Chen Xiaohe said from the side, "Dad, I'll set a few more fish baskets tomorrow and catch more fish. There's been a lot of rain this year, and the fish in the river are plump. We can fry the small fish and pickle and dry the big ones; they'll be a dish during the autumn harvest."

Chen Dashan thought for a moment and said to his younger brother, "Xiaohe, could you ask those old men who fish if they're still fishing during the autumn harvest? If they are, we'll continue to order fish from them. They're selling well at the shop; our regular customers all trust us."

Chen Xiaohe nodded: "Okay, brother, I'll ask tomorrow. Those old men are really nice; they always bring incredibly fresh fish beans, they're always lively and energetic."

Then, Mr. Chen remembered something else and asked Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing, "Xiaoyin, Xiaoqing, how many large dried fish are you drying at home?"

Su Xiaoyin looked at Su Xiaoqing, who thought for a moment and said, "The dried fish at home are all leftovers from the shop. We made them ourselves. There are about thirty or forty of them. They vary in size, with the big ones weighing two or three pounds and the small ones weighing a little over a pound."

Mr. Chen said, "We'll keep a few for ourselves and sell the rest at the stall. Every household needs to prepare food before the autumn harvest. Dried fish keeps well and can be stewed with tofu or steamed. There will definitely be people who want to buy it."

Chen Dashan nodded: "Okay, Dad, I'll sort out the dried fish tomorrow, pick out the good ones to sell, and keep the less attractive ones for ourselves, so as not to waste them."

Chen's father then said, "Dashan, hurry up and make another batch of farm tools. Sickles, hoes, rakes—these are the tools you'll need for the autumn harvest. Keep a few for yourselves and put some on the stall. Farm tools sell well every year before the autumn harvest."

Chen Dashan replied, "Dad, I'll start making them in the next couple of days. We have the wood at home, so it'll be quick. The sickle handles and hoe handles aren't difficult. I can make some smaller items, like washboards and rolling pins, which are easy tasks."

Mr. Chen nodded in satisfaction, tapped his pipe, and stood up: "Alright, everyone's busy tomorrow, get some rest."

The family members went back to their rooms. Chen Dashan lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), thinking about tomorrow. The embroidery needed to be sold, the wastewater needed to be bought, the fish baskets needed to be made, the farm tools needed to be crafted—everything had to be arranged. But he wasn't worried; with the family working together, they could get through any difficulty.

Su Xiaoyin lay down beside him and whispered, "Dashan, do you think Madam Qian and Manager Sun will like our new embroidery?"

Chen Dashan thought for a moment and said, "Yes, we can. Your skills are among the best in the county. Madam Qian liked the Five Relationships picture so much last time, and this lotus flower one is even more exquisite. It'll definitely be fine."

Su Xiaoyin smiled and leaned on his shoulder: "I hope so."

Chen Dashan reached out and embraced her, and the two lay there quietly. Outside the window, the chirping of insects grew louder and louder, and the moon peeked out from behind the clouds, casting a soft glow on the ground.

The next morning, before dawn, the family got up. Chen Dashan and Chen Xiaohe hitched up the oxcart, while Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing wrapped up the embroidery and put it in a basket. Chen's mother dressed the children and checked their schoolbags again.

"Let's go." Chen Dashan cracked his whip, and the oxcart creaked and groaned as it left the courtyard.

Upon arriving in the county town, Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing went to the Qian residence first. Madam Qian was drinking tea in the flower hall. Seeing them arrive, she smiled and instructed her maid to serve tea. Su Xiaoyin unfolded the embroidered lotus flower design, and Madam Qian's eyes lit up at the sight.

"What...what kind of flower is this? It's so beautiful!" Madam Qian leaned closer to take a look, gently touching the embroidered surface. The petals were layered upon layered, and the silk threads shimmered softly in the light.

Su Xiaoyin explained, "Madam, this is a lotus flower, which combines the characteristics of peonies, lotuses, and chrysanthemums, symbolizing wealth and fulfillment. This is our first time embroidering, so our skills are still a bit rough. Please take a look and see if you like it."

Madam Qian nodded repeatedly, "I love it, I love it so much! I'll take this one. Fifty taels it is, is that alright?"

Su Xiaoyin was overjoyed and quickly said, "Okay, whatever amount Madam says, that's fine."

Madam Qian had her maid bring fifty taels of silver and rewarded her with a bolt of fine silk, saying with a smile, "You sisters' skills are getting better and better. In the future, if you have any new embroidery, please bring it to me first."

Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing thanked Madam Qian and took their leave. They then went to Manager Sun's bookstore. Manager Sun looked at the embroidery and praised it, saying he would recommend it to suitable customers next time.

Stepping out of the bookstore, Su Xiaoqing clutched the silver note tightly, almost jumping for joy: "Sister, it's a done deal again! Fifty taels!"

Su Xiaoyin patted her hand with a smile: "Come on, let's go to the cloth shop to buy some fabric scraps, and then to the butcher shop to buy some offal. Dad's still waiting."

The two bought scraps of cloth, three sets of pig offal, two pig heads, and several pounds of pork belly, filling a basket to the brim. When they returned to the general store, Chen Dashan had already arranged the goods, with spicy braised pork and jujube cake selling the fastest.

In the evening, the family returned to the village. Su Xiaoyin washed the offal clean, marinated it with salt and Sichuan peppercorns, and hung it to dry under the porch. Chen Xiaohe returned from the riverbank with a basket containing more than a dozen fish, both large and small. Su Xiaoqing cleaned the fish, marinated the large ones, and fried a plate of the smaller ones to add to the evening's meal.

Chen Dashan worked in the carpentry workshop until midnight, making more than a dozen sickle handles and hoe handles, as well as several washboards, which he neatly stacked on the shelf.

----

"Sister-in-law, Xiaoqing, we caught quite a few small shrimp in the fish basket. Why don't you cook some for dinner tonight?"

Chen Xiaohe returned from the riverbank carrying a fish basket and called out as soon as he entered the courtyard. He was soaking wet, his trousers rolled up above his knees, his feet covered in mud, but he had a smile on his face. The fish basket was heavy, and water seeped out from the gaps in the bamboo strips, forming a small puddle on the ground.

Su Xiaoyin came out of the kitchen, took the fish basket, and looked inside. Wow, it was filled with a dense layer of tiny shrimp, lively and jumping around. She laughed and said, "So many shrimp! Okay, we'll make shrimp cakes for dinner. By the way, do we have any fish? If so, we can make some fish soup to go with the cakes."

Chen Xiaohe placed the fish basket beside the well and scooped out several crucian carp. They weren't very big, each weighing only about half a pound, but they were all fresh and lively, their scales shimmering silver in the sunlight. "Here, these crucian carp, I'll clean them and bring them to you." He squatted by the well and deftly scaled and gutted them, cleaning them in no time.

Su Xiaoqing also came out of the kitchen, took the cleaned fish, looked at the dried shrimp, and said, "Sister, put more scallions on the shrimp cakes, they'll be more fragrant."

Su Xiaoyin nodded: "Okay, go to the garden and pick a few scallions and some green peppers, chop them up and put them in, it'll look nice too."