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

Father Chen glanced at his two sons and nodded: "Alright. You two can make arrangements and help each other out. You don't need to worry about things at home; your mother and I will take care of them. As for the livestock, your mother and I will keep an eye on them."

Chen Dashan asked about the spring season: "Dad, are we going to the neighboring county to buy seeds again this spring?"

Mr. Chen said, "Go. I've already arranged with Brother De to go together in the spring. This time, Brother De, Li Hu, and I will go together. If you're busy here, I won't let you go; I can go by myself."

Chen Dashan then asked, "Are we still going to buy fruit tree seedlings? There's still plenty of open space on the mountain."

Father Chen shook his head, lit his pipe, took a drag, and slowly exhaled. "I won't buy any more. This is basically all there is to the mountain. There's no room left to plant more. We already have melons, medicinal herbs, fruit trees, and a vegetable patch. It's all arranged perfectly. Planting more would be too much to manage and would just be a waste. How much we plant is secondary; growing it well is what matters. I feel that things are just right now."

Chen Xiaohe nodded in agreement, "Dad is right. The good fruit yield this year is the result of our careful tending. If we had planted too many at once, we wouldn't have been able to manage them all. The fruit would have been small, of poor quality, and wouldn't have fetched a good price. We would have ended up losing money."

Mr. Chen added, "By the way, I've discussed it with Brother De. When we buy seeds in the spring, we'll also go to the neighboring county to see if they have any new wheat seeds. The wheat yield here has been consistently low. If we can get a better batch of seeds, next year's harvest could be 20% higher."

Chen Dashan thought for a moment and said, "Dad, why don't you buy the seeds and we plant a small patch on our own land first? If the yield is really high, we can save more seeds next year."

Mr. Chen nodded: "That's what I think too. Take your time, no rush—alright, the pastries won't taste good when they're cold, eat them while they're hot." He picked up a piece of osmanthus cake, took a big bite, and said indistinctly, "Good stuff, don't waste it."

The family fell silent and began to eat. The children ate with crumbs all over their mouths. Afu ate too quickly and choked, patting his chest. Chen's mother quickly poured him a bowl of water and forced him to drink it down, patting his back and scolding him. Qingqing used a small plate to catch the crumbs, eating much more politely than Afu.

Mother Chen picked up another honey-flavored pastry, broke it in half, handed one half to Father Chen, and kept the other half for herself. As she chewed, she said, "Xiao Yin, take this pastry to the shop and try selling it for a few days. If it sells well, make a few more batches before the New Year. During the New Year, every household buys snacks to entertain guests, and we've caught a lucky break."

Su Xiaoyin nodded: "Mom, I'll make a lot more tomorrow and try it out at the shop. Honey is expensive, so I'll make a small batch first to see if people accept the price. If it sells well, I'll make more."

Su Xiaoqing interjected, "Sis, let's also make some savory ones, like pork floss or scallion ones, so that some people don't eat sweets, and we'll have an option."

Su Xiaoyin's eyes lit up: "Okay, I'll try it tomorrow."

The fire in the kitchen was still burning, the braising pot on the stove was bubbling away, and the charcoal in the oven was still glowing red. The sky outside the window was hazy gray, and the branches of the trees swayed gently in the wind. The end of the year was approaching, and every household was busy, including the Chen family.

After finishing the last piece of pastry, Mr. Chen patted the crumbs off his hands, stood up, and said, "Alright, I'm going out for a walk to see if anyone in the village hasn't slaughtered a pig yet, and I'll lend a hand."

Chen's mother added, "Come back early, we'll have dumplings for dinner. The chive and egg filling is already prepared, just waiting for you to come back and wrap them."

Mr. Chen waved his hand, put on his cotton-padded coat, and went out the door.

Chen Xiaohe also stood up, took his basket, and went to the backyard to feed the livestock. Chen Dashan returned to the carpentry workshop to continue working. Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing cleared the dishes from the table, while Chen's mother led the children in making dumplings in the main room. Shitou rolled out the dough, Qingqing filled it, and Aji and Afu played with dough figurines, getting flour all over their faces. Chen's mother didn't know whether to scold or laugh.

In the kitchen, Su Xiaoyin was washing the baking tray, while Su Xiaoqing was chopping scallions beside her. The two were discussing tomorrow's pastries.

"Sis, should we add less sugar to the honey? Honey is already sweet enough."

"Okay, reduce the sugar by 10% tomorrow. As for the osmanthus one, I think adding some red bean paste would make the flavor richer."

"Okay, I'll try it tomorrow."

----

"Old woman, I've already found someone."

Mr. Chen returned from outside, took off his cotton-padded coat and draped it over the back of a chair, then stood at the kitchen doorway. The firelight from the stove cast flickering shadows on his face. Mrs. Chen, who was squatting in front of the stove adding firewood, looked up when she heard this, wiping her hands on her apron.

"Who have you found?"

"Old Li's second son and Liu Laosi. They'll take turns, from the 30th to the 5th, twenty coins a day. They'll feed the livestock, add hay, and clean the shed. They're very attentive. I've already told them that if the livestock get thin, their wages will be deducted." Father Chen spoke slowly and deliberately, arranging everything properly.

Mother Chen nodded, stood up, rubbed her back, and said with a satisfied look on her face: "Alright, let's pack up and send a cartload to the county town first. Let's tidy up the house properly, air out the bedding, burn the floor stove to get rid of the dampness, and wash all the pots and pans so that we can have a good New Year."

Father Chen turned and quickly hitched up the oxcart, wiping the cart floor clean and laying down a layer of dry straw. Mother Chen busied herself inside, opening the grain jar and scooping out two bags of wheat flour and a bag of millet, which she then loaded onto the cart. She carried a jar of pickled vegetables, and carefully selected several radishes and cabbages, stacking them at the back of the cart. She packed a bag each of dried mushrooms, wood ear fungus, and dried bamboo shoots, tied the openings tightly with thin hemp rope, and stuffed them into the gaps between the jars.

"By the way, old man, when can we dig up winter bamboo shoots? If we can get winter bamboo shoots, we can have an extra dish for New Year's Eve dinner: stir-fried winter bamboo shoots with cured pork. The kids love it." Chen's mother asked while stacking things on the car.

As Mr. Chen bent down to inspect the cart wheels, he straightened up and dusted off his hands. "We'll have to wait a while for the winter bamboo shoots. I went to the bamboo grove yesterday, but they haven't sprouted yet. I also dug in several spots in the ground, but I didn't see any. This winter has been cold late, so the bamboo shoots are lazy. We'll have to wait until after the New Year to see them. If we find any, I'll go with Dashan and Xiaohe to dig them up. We'll dig up a lot, pickle a whole jar, and dry a basketful. That'll be enough to eat for a while."

Chen's mother was a little disappointed, but she didn't say anything more. She turned around and took out another jar of pickled vegetables, sealed the mouth of the jar with oil paper, and stuffed it under the cart.

"Let's go." Mr. Chen stuffed the last bundle of firewood into the back of the cart and took the bundle from Mrs. Chen's hands.