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

"The sow did a good job with this litter; all three piglets are strong and healthy." Mr. Chen looked at the piglets with a satisfied expression. "This has saved us a lot of money. In previous years, buying piglets would have cost at least several taels of silver, but this year we've saved that money."

Chen Dashan also came over to take a look. The sow warily raised her head, glanced at him, and then lay down again. The piglets were white with a hint of pink, thin ears, and pink noses. They huddled under the sow's belly, occasionally nudging and grunting.

"By the way, did you go to Li Hu's place? Didn't he say he'd ask you to make doors and windows after the spring planting?" Chen's father remembered this and turned to ask Chen Dashan.

Chen Dashan nodded and stepped back from the edge of the pen, afraid of startling the sow: "Uncle Li Hu's spring planting isn't finished yet. Their barren mountain and the land at the foot of the mountain cover a considerable area. Besides him, they don't have many hired help, so it will probably take another two or three days. I'll go over and work after they're done. I've prepared all the materials for the doors and windows; the wood is stored in the warehouse. I'll wait for his message."

Mr. Chen grunted in response, asked no further questions, and turned back to tending to the vegetable garden.

Chen Dashan returned to the carpentry workshop and inspected all the tools he used for making doors and windows. The plane blade was dull, so he pushed it a few times on the whetstone; the saw blade was a bit loose, so he tightened it. He neatly arranged the tools one by one in a convenient place, waiting for Li Hu to give him a call so he could start working.

In the evening, Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing returned from the county town. The car was loaded with two jin of pork belly, a large bone, and a bag of snacks—given to the children by Chen's mother.

"Sis, how do you plan to eat the pork belly?" Su Xiaoqing asked while unloading the truck.

Su Xiaoyin carried the meat into the kitchen and rinsed it under the tap: "Half will be braised, and the other half will be used for stir-frying tomorrow. Dad said today that spring planting is over, so we should have a good meal."

The aroma of meat quickly filled the kitchen. Pork belly was cut into chunks and fried until golden brown in a pot, then simmered with scallions, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, and sugar over low heat. The bone broth was bubbling away. Su Xiaoqing kneaded dough, preparing to steam buns. The fire in the stove burned brightly, illuminating the kitchen.

As dusk fell, the whole family sat together. The braised pork was glistening with oil, the bone broth was milky white, and there was also a dish of stir-fried bamboo shoots with cured pork and a dish of cold water celery salad. The children ate with gusto, their mouths dripping with oil. Shi Tou ate three pieces of braised pork in a row, but Chen's mother stopped him, worried that he would have indigestion.

Father Chen took a sip of soup, looking at everyone in the room, and felt at ease. Spring sowing was finished, vegetables were planted in the yard, chickens and ducks were put into their pens, the sow had given birth, and De Ge's family's happy event was fast approaching. Days came one after another, busy as they were, but busy with something to look forward to.

----

"Xiaoyin, Xiaoqing, Dege's son is getting married tomorrow. Dege came over this afternoon and said he wants the kids to come over tonight to roll around in bed." Chen's father came back from outside, holding a red paper packet in his hand. Dege had just given it to him as a thank-you gift for helping out tomorrow. He put the red paper packet on the table, poured a bowl of water, and gulped down a few mouthfuls.

Su Xiaoyin was tidying up the dishes in the kitchen when she heard this. She wiped her hands and came out: "Okay, Dad, I'll help Shitou and the others put on their clothes and then take them over. Do they need to stay there? What did Brother De say?"

Mother Chen came out of the kitchen carrying a basin of washed wild vegetables, wiping her hands on her apron: "Some need to stay overnight, some don't. I don't know how De's family plans it, you can ask De later. If they need to stay, let the four of them stay overnight. They're all from the same village, so it won't be a problem. Shi Tou is older and can take care of his younger brother, and Qing Qing is steady, so nothing will go wrong."

Su Xiaoyin thought for a moment, still a little worried: "Okay, Mom, I'll ask De-ge in a bit. It would be best if they didn't need to stay there. I'm a little worried about the four of them staying there alone. I'm afraid they'll wake up in the middle of the night looking for Mom and cry. Even though Shitou is sensible, he's still just a child."

Chen's mother nodded: "Ask them carefully. If they want to stay, take their bedding with you and change into clean clothes. Also, bring some flatbread in case they get hungry at night."

Su Xiaoqing came out of the house with a wooden comb in her hand and beckoned the four children to come and have their hair combed. The children were chasing a tabby cat in the yard, pushing and shoving each other, none of them wanting to be combed first. Su Xiaoqing had to call out several times before she finally got them to sit down on small stools one by one and have their hair combed. Qingqing's hair was long, braided into two plaits with red ribbons tied at the ends. Shitou's hair was short, so Su Xiaoqing dipped her brush in water and combed it into a side part, making him look like a little adult. Aji and Afu were restless, tilting their heads this way and that, so Su Xiaoqing slapped Afu on the back of the head: "Don't move, or I'll shave your head bald."

Afu pouted and became obedient.

Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing changed the four children into clean clothes. Shitou wore the dark blue cotton-padded jacket, Qingqing wore the peach-colored vest, and Aji and Afu wore blue cloth shirts. Each child was dressed in a new outfit. Although they weren't made of expensive materials, they were clean and neatly ironed. Su Xiaoyin checked each child's clothes one by one, making sure the buttons were fastened and the collars were turned up properly. She then knelt down and retied their shoelaces.

"Let's go. When we get there, listen to what Aunt De says. Do whatever she tells you to do, and don't be naughty." Su Xiaoyin held Qingqing's hand with one hand and Afu's hand with the other. Su Xiaoqing held Shitou's and Aji's hands. The three women, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, led the four children toward De's house.

As dusk fell, the village was filled with the sounds of dogs barking, and wisps of smoke rose from the chimneys of each house, drifting in the air in a thin layer. Two red lanterns hung in front of De Ge's house, and a large red "double happiness" character was pasted on the lintel. Several borrowed eight-immortal tables were set up in the yard, and a few neighbors were helping to move the tables and chairs.

Dege's wife stood at the door and saw the Chen family arrive. She quickly went to greet them with a smile on her face: "Xiaoyin and Xiaoqing, thank you so much. It's been hard for you to bring the children on this trip."

Su Xiaoqing smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, it's no trouble at all. The four of them can't stay idle at home anyway, so they've come to share in the joy."

Su Xiaoyin led Shitou to stand in front of Dege's wife and asked, "Sister-in-law, after the four of them have finished their lovemaking, do they still need to stay here? I'll make arrangements when I get back."

Dege's wife held Shitou's hand, looked him up and down, nodded in satisfaction, then looked at Qingqing and Aji and Afu, before turning to Su Xiaoyin and saying, "Dege and I have discussed it. After we've had sex, they don't need to stay overnight. They're still too young. I'm afraid they'll be scared if they stay alone at night. It wouldn't be good if the child needed to pee in the middle of the night and couldn't find anyone, or if they had nightmares and cried."