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

Zhao Qinghuan smiled at his expression and said she wasn't just saying it casually; she had thought about these things long ago. "Your family has many members, but there are advantages to having many people. If anything happens, everyone lends a hand. Your family has always been harmonious. Your mother-in-law and aunt are sisters, and they've lived under the same roof for so many years without ever arguing. With such a family tradition, I'm willing to live here, not separate and live separately. Besides, I run the shop alone, and Afu tends the medicinal herbs in the village. They're not adjacent, so whether we separate or not makes no difference. If we don't separate, the communal savings will cover our expenses, which gives me peace of mind."

Ah Fu felt a warmth in his heart as he listened, and then, remembering the matter of the shop, he asked a question.

"By the way, have you decided what to do with the shop that was allocated to us? You need to prepare in advance so you don't end up in a rush. My dad and uncle said that you can run the shop however you want, and the family will provide the capital, so you don't need to worry about the money."

Zhao Qinghuan's eyes lit up. She leaned over the counter and used her finger to draw the layout of the shop on the surface.

"Your family already runs a general store, so it wouldn't be appropriate for me to open one too. I'd like to open a food store. It will mainly sell baked goods—all kinds of pastries, biscuits, fried noodles, and dried fruits. We can also set up one or two tables in the store so customers can eat there or take away what they buy. I've looked around our store, and there's no one else selling these things; it's unique. Besides, I've studied noodle making with a master chef, and I'm quite good at it. I can manage it all by myself."

Afu listened, nodding frequently, and asked if she mainly wanted to sell noodles. Zhao Qinghuan nodded and said yes, steamed, pan-fried, or baked noodles were all fine. Flour and the like could be bought at grain and oil shops or obtained from the public treasury. She calculated that the cost was low and the profit was considerable. Afu said, "I understand. I'll go back and tell my father and uncle to help set up the shop and prepare everything in advance as you said: pots and pans, stove, cutting board, steamer, oven—get everything ready so we don't have to rush around later." Zhao Qinghuan smiled and said, "Thank you, Afu." Afu said, "No need to thank me, it's what I should do." The two looked at each other and smiled.

When Zhao Qinghuan returned home, it was almost dark. Manager Zhao was sitting in the main room drinking tea, Madam Zhao was busy preparing dinner in the kitchen, her eldest brother Zhao Qingyuan hadn't returned yet, and her sister-in-law was in the room soothing the child. Zhao Qinghuan placed the basket on the table, poured herself a bowl of water, drank a few sips, and sat down.

"Dad, Afu brought me some silk flowers today." Zhao Qinghuan took the silk flowers out of the basket and handed them to her father. Shopkeeper Zhao took them and looked at them, saying that Sister-in-law Chen was very skillful. Zhao Qinghuan then told him about what she and Afu had discussed—after getting married, they would not separate the family property. Afu would go back to the village to tend to the medicinal herbs, and she planned to open a grocery store in the shop that was allocated to them.

After listening, Manager Zhao put down the silk flower, picked up the teacup and put it down again, and slowly spoke.

"It's right not to separate the family. The Chen family has a good family tradition, and even with many people, things don't get chaotic. You're marrying into the family to live a good life, not to fight for the family fortune. If you separate and move out, it might seem like you're free, but you'll have to shoulder everything yourself, and if you get a headache or fever, there'll be no one to lend a hand. If you don't separate, the family can cover all your expenses, so you can focus on your business, and Afu can focus on his medicinal herbs. Neither of you will interfere with the other's business." Zhao Qinghuan nodded, saying that she thought so too.

Manager Zhao brought up the dowry again. He sipped his tea, his voice steady but his tone solemn. The betrothal gifts wouldn't be kept at home; Qinghuan should take them all back, whatever the Chen family gave. In addition, the family would provide twenty taels of silver as dowry, along with various quilts, mattresses, and fabrics—everything she could take. He paused, then said something that surprised Zhao Qinghuan.

"I've discussed it with your elder brother and sister-in-law, and we've decided to give you that small house in the east of the county town as part of your dowry. The deed has already been changed to your name. The house isn't big, just two main rooms and a small courtyard, but its location is excellent. It's very close to your shop, less than a fifteen-minute walk away. In the future, when you and Afu go to the county town to take care of the shop, you'll have a place to stay, and you won't have to travel back and forth."

Zhao Qinghuan was stunned. She looked at her father, then turned to look at her mother, who was wiping her hands at the kitchen door. Madam Zhao nodded to her and said, "Silly child, just accept it."

Zhao Qinghuan's eyes instantly reddened. She couldn't speak; her throat felt like it was blocked by something.

Manager Zhao waved his hand, picked up the teacup and put it down again, his voice softening. "Of course, the majority of the family fortune will go to your eldest brother in the future. As a married daughter, you'll definitely suffer some losses. Don't blame me for not being able to give you more."

Zhao Qinghuan shook her head vigorously, trying to hold back the tears that welled up in her eyes.

"Father, Mother, Eldest Brother and Sister-in-law, you've already exceeded my expectations by giving me such a large dowry. How can a married daughter take away the family's assets? No one would believe it if they told others. I know that you both love me and are afraid that I'll be mistreated after I get married. I'm more than grateful; how could I possibly complain?"

She paused, her voice lowering. She knew her sister-in-law well; outwardly agreeable, but inwardly calculating. What ordinary family would let their daughter leave home and take the family fortune with her? For her sister-in-law to agree, her parents must have pleaded with her at length. She didn't say this aloud, but simply refilled Manager Zhao's teacup. Manager Zhao glanced at her, said nothing more, and lowered his head to drink his tea. Madam Zhao stood at the kitchen doorway, spatula in hand, looking at her daughter, her eyes also reddening.

Zhao Qinghuan came out of the main room and stood in the courtyard for a while. The moon hadn't risen yet, and a faint red glow remained on the horizon. She thought about what Afu had said—not to separate the family, to go back to the village, to tend the medicinal herbs, and to open a grocery store. She thought about what her father had said—to bring back all the betrothal gifts, twenty taels of silver as a dowry, and a small house in the east of the county town. She thought about Afu's flushed face when he said, "This is what I should do." Suddenly, she smiled, not for anyone else, but because she couldn't help it.

She took a deep breath, turned and went into the kitchen, took the spatula from her mother's hands, and said, "Mom, let me do it, you rest." Madam Zhao didn't argue with her, but stepped back to the stove and watched her cook. The oil in the pan sizzled, and the aroma of scallions mixed with the smoke wafted out of the kitchen door and filled the whole yard.

The wedding day drew closer each day. Afu was busy preparing the new house in the village and set up his shop in the county town. Zhao Qinghuan was busy handing over her work to her elder brother at the herbal medicine shop, and in her spare time, she learned cooking from the old cook who had returned from the prefectural city—kneading dough, proofing it, preparing fillings, and controlling the heat. Every day she came home with flour on her hands. Both families were busy preparing the dowry, betrothal gifts, and the wedding feast; busy discussing who would cook, who would borrow tables and chairs, and who would set off firecrackers at the door. The days passed by busily, so busy they barely had time to breathe, but they felt a sense of peace.