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

In the evening, Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing returned from the county town in their mule cart. Several empty baskets lay on the cart; all the wild vegetables and bamboo shoots had been sold, and not even the tofu dregs were left. Su Xiaoyin jumped off the cart, tied the reins to the stone block at the gate of the courtyard, and called out back into the house.

Chen Dashan was tidying up his tools in the carpentry workshop when he heard the noise and poked his head out. Su Xiaoyin walked into the yard carrying a basket, a smile on her face, clearly indicating that something was up.

"Dashan, someone came to the shop today asking you to make furniture." Su Xiaoyin put the basket down at the kitchen door, patted the dust off her clothes, and said, "It's Manager Li from the general store in town. He said he wants to make a set of shelves and counters. I told him to come to the shop again tomorrow and talk to you in person."

Chen Dashan put down the plane in his hand, his eyes lighting up: "Manager Li? Is he the one that Brother De introduced last year? Didn't his daughter just get married and move to town?" He wiped his hands, walked out of the carpentry workshop, and sat down on the stone bench in the yard.

Su Xiaoyin nodded and took out a bag of pastries from the basket. It was given to her by Manager Li, who said she should try them. She placed the pastries on the stone table and said, "It's his shop. I've been there before. It's not small, but the shelves are old and the counters are low, making it inconvenient for customers to bend over and pick out items. He said he wants to replace them with a sturdy and durable set. The style doesn't need to be too fancy; it just needs to be able to hold things."

Chen Dashan smiled, reached for a pastry, broke it open, and saw that it was filled with sweet jujube paste. "That's perfect. Uncle Li Hu's doors and windows will be finished soon, so we can connect them right away. No delay, no delay." He took a bite of the pastry, chewed it, and nodded. "Manager Li is an honest man; I trust him to do the work."

Chen Xiaohe came from the backyard, carrying a handful of grass to feed the sheep in the pen. Hearing his older brother's words, he wiped his hands, sat down at the other end of the stone bench, and said, "Brother, you go to the shop tomorrow. I need to go up the mountain to check on the fruit trees; they'll be ready for pollination soon." He counted on his fingers, "Last year I tried artificial pollination, and it was much better than bee pollination; the fruit yielded more and was more uniform in size. I have to continue this year."

Father Chen came out of the house, holding an old hoe in his hand. The blade was a bit dull, and he squatted down next to the whetstone, sharpening it stroke by stroke. Hearing his two sons' words, he looked up at the clouds on the horizon. There was no wind, and it didn't look like it was going to rain.

"Then your mother and Dashan will go to town tomorrow. I need to go check on the fields; it hasn't rained much lately, we need to see if we need to water them." Father Chen turned the hoe over and continued sharpening it. "The soil moisture was okay during spring planting, but it hasn't rained a drop in the last ten days or so, and the fields are starting to dry out. The corn seedlings have just sprouted, they're most vulnerable to drought. I'll go check on them tomorrow, and if it's too dry, I'll have to carry water to irrigate them."

Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing listened from the side. The two sisters exchanged a glance, knowing that tomorrow would be another busy day.

Su Xiaoyin said, "Then we'll continue embroidering at home tomorrow. That 'Phoenix and Luan in Harmony' piece should be finished in about a month. Let's take advantage of the less busy days to catch up. We also need to make a batch of sachets and five-colored ropes before the Dragon Boat Festival. The stall relies on these to make a good volume of business every year, so we can't delay."

Mr. Chen nodded, put the sharpened hoe aside, stood up and stretched his back: "Okay, it's settled then."

The next morning, before dawn, Chen Dashan and his mother had already harnessed the mule cart. The three boys got up too; Shitou rubbed his eyes and climbed onto the oxcart, while Aji and Afu were lifted up by their mother, each wrapped in an old cotton-padded coat, huddled on the cart floor yawning. Qingqing also went along to help her grandmother watch the stall.

Su Xiaoqing saw them off at the gate of the courtyard and said, "Mom, please take care on your way."

Chen's mother waved her hand, cracked her whip, and the mule cart creaked and groaned out of the courtyard gate, quickly disappearing into the morning mist.

The house quieted down. Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing went to the backyard first and fed the livestock. The chickens, ducks, and geese were let out and pecked at the ground; the pigs in the sty grunted and rooted around their troughs, and Su Xiaoyin added two buckets of pig feed and a ladle of bran. The old sow lay in a corner, her three piglets huddled under her belly, nursing noisily.

After feeding the livestock, the two sisters washed their hands and sat down by the window in the east wing. With the embroidery frame set up and the silk threads ready, Su Xiaoyin picked up her needle, took a deep breath, and began embroidering the image of phoenixes singing in harmony. Su Xiaoqing helped by preparing the threads, sorting and winding similar-colored silk threads and arranging them in a small box. Sunlight streamed in through the window, falling on the embroidery cloth, making the gold threads shimmer in the light. The two sisters sat side by side, their needles moving up and down, the soft rustling of the silk threads through the fabric like silkworms eating mulberry leaves.

After embroidering for a while, Su Xiaoqing looked up and stretched her stiff neck. She rubbed the back of her neck and stood up. "Sister, let's take a break. I'll soak some mung beans and make some mung bean cakes tonight. It's hot, so mung bean cakes will help cool us down. Didn't Mother say that the pastries at the shop sell well? Let's make a variety of kinds."

Su Xiaoyin put down the needle, stretched her wrist, and nodded in agreement. "Okay, then go soak some. Soak some soybeans too, and tomorrow morning we'll make two blocks of tofu to sell at the general store. Make some dried tofu from the leftovers for our family. Dad said the spiced dried tofu we made last time was delicious; after braising it, it's even more fragrant than meat."

Su Xiaoqing smiled and agreed, then took the basin to the storeroom to scoop out beans. She soaked a small basin of mung beans and a large basin of soybeans, placed them in the corner of the kitchen, and covered them with a damp cloth.

Su Xiaoyin continued working on her embroidery. She wanted to finish the embroidery quickly so she could have time to prepare for the Dragon Boat Festival. Sachets, colorful ropes, and little tiger shoes—she needed to stock up on everything in advance. Last year, she was so busy before the Dragon Boat Festival that she couldn't stop running around; she couldn't repeat that mistake this year. Finishing the embroidery early and stocking up early would allow her to be calm and composed when the time came, and her business would be more relaxed.

The courtyard was quiet, the sunlight was warm, and the wind rustled through the old locust tree, its newly sprouted leaves whispering. In the distance, from the fields, someone could be heard calling to the livestock, their voices faint and distant.

As dusk fell, Chen Dashan returned in his mule cart. His mother and children would stay in the county town; it was more convenient there, and it would be closer to take the children to school the next morning. Chen Dashan tied up the mule, added some fodder, and went into the main room. His father and Chen Xiaohe were already seated at the table. Su Xiaoyin brought out the food, and the family sat together.

Mr. Chen picked up his rice bowl and asked, "Dashan, have you received the furniture order yet?"

Chen Dashan picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks, chewed it, swallowed it, and nodded: "It's settled. It's a job worth five taels of silver. I gave you three taels as a deposit today, and the remaining balance will be paid when there are no problems with the delivery. Manager Li is a straightforward person. After seeing the sample I brought, he didn't say a word and took out the silver on the spot."

Mr. Chen nodded in satisfaction. "That's good. You'll need to get busy with the new order now. This family doesn't want many styles, but they all need to use good wood and be carved, which will take a long time. Keep that in mind and don't drag it out too long. They've given you a deposit, which means they trust you, and you can't let them down. Our family is in the business of long-term success; reputation is more important than money."

Chen Dashan nodded, his tone resolute: "Dad, don't worry, I have everything under control. Tomorrow we'll finish the last bit of work on Uncle Li Hu's doors and windows, and the day after tomorrow we'll be free to focus on Manager Li's work. We have enough wood at home, both camphor and pine. We ran out of elm last time, so we'll have to buy two more. I've discussed the carving pattern with Xiaoyin; we'll use a lotus scroll design—simple, elegant, and not too labor-intensive."