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

After dinner that day, Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing called everyone to the main room and distributed the new clothes to each person, telling them to take them home to try them on, and to bring them back for alterations if they didn't fit. Zhao Qinghuan received her two new outfits, one pale yellow and the other light green, made of fine cotton that was light and soft to the touch, cool to the touch. The collars were embroidered with orchids, the stitches fine and dense, even more exquisite than those sold in shops outside. Her nose tingled with emotion, and she repeatedly thanked her aunt and mother. Back at her parents' home, new clothes weren't made every year. Most of the time, they only made one outfit every two or three years, and usually the best fabrics went to her parents and elder brother and sister-in-law first, leaving only the scraps for her. To have new clothes to wear every year right after entering the family was something she never dared to dream of.

Zhang Qiuming and Zhang Yuming were the same. Holding their new clothes, the two sisters' eyes were red. Zhang Yuming blurted out that when they were at their parents' home, their mother made new clothes for their father every year, while she and her sister could only piece together leftover fabric, enduring colors they didn't like and styles that didn't fit. Zhang Qiuming didn't say much, her fingers tracing the embroidered flower on her cuff for a while, her voice a little hoarse. She said, "Aunt, Mother, thank you for your trouble." Su Xiaoyin patted her hand, saying, "We're family, no need for formalities. You're part of the Chen family now that you've married in, just like Qinghuan, we're all one family."

Mother Chen emerged from the inner room wearing a new silk gown. She took a few steps in the main room and asked if it looked good. Father Chen scrutinized her for a while, then said it looked good, making him look ten years younger. Mother Chen rolled her eyes at him, but her lips curved into a forced smile. Chen Dashan and Chen Xiaohe took their respective coarse linen garments. Chen Dashan simply said they were fine, while Chen Xiaohe had already tried them on. The three of them, including Shi Tou, stood to the side, each clutching their new clothes, without even trying them on. Afu said he'd try them on later, and Chen Dashan glanced at him, not saying anything, but a slight smile playing on his lips.

Back inside, Zhao Qinghuan folded her new clothes and put them in the wardrobe. Turning around, she saw Afu taking something out of his pocket. Wrapped in red paper, inside was a wooden hairpin. The hairpin was smoothly polished, and the head was carved with an orchid, its petals layered upon layered. Afu held the hairpin up to her, smiling, and said, "I learned this from my father. My skills aren't quite there yet. You can wear this for now, and I'll make you a proper one when I've practiced enough."

Zhao Qinghuan took the hairpin and examined it closely. The lines weren't as smooth as Chen Dashan's; the orchid petals were uneven in color, and some areas still bore the marks of the carving knife. She held it in her hand, stroking it for a while, and said, "It's quite nice, I like it very much." Afu smiled and said, "As long as you don't mind." Zhao Qinghuan inserted the hairpin into her hair bun, looked at herself in the bronze mirror, and smiled back at Afu. Afu squatted on the edge of the kang (heated brick bed), scratched her head, and her ears turned red again.

In the next room, Zhang Yuming held up her new clothes against herself. Shi Tou sat at the table reading, barely turning a page, his eyes constantly glancing in her direction. Zhang Yuming turned to him and asked if it looked good. Shi Tou said it looked good, his voice muffled. Zhang Yuming said, "Couldn't you have said a few more words?" Shi Tou thought for a moment and said, "It looks very good." Zhang Yuming smiled, didn't press further, folded the clothes, and put them in the closet.

Zhang Qiuming neatly arranged the new clothes in the closet and closed the door. Aji sat by the window, holding a book, not turning the pages for a while, his gaze fixed on her. Zhang Qiuming walked over and sat down beside him, asking what was wrong. Aji closed the book and said nothing. The two were silent for a moment, then Zhang Qiuming placed her hand on the back of his hand and gently patted it.

Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing sat under the lamp, picking up the remaining scraps of cloth and putting them into a basket to use for making shoe soles. Su Xiaoyin said she would make a few more pairs of tiger-head shoes for Qingqing's child tomorrow, and Su Xiaoqing said she would sew a couple more little hats. As they talked, their voices gradually lowered. The fire in the kitchen had long since gone out, and the chirping of insects outside the window was intermittent; the courtyard was quiet.

----

In recent years, the Chen family has finally established itself in the village. Two brothers getting married on the same day, and three sisters-in-law living in harmony—this is a rare sight in the countryside. The village old ladies initially didn't believe it, and when they gathered to sew shoe soles, they would always whisper among themselves—"Three daughters-in-law living in the same courtyard, how can they not quarrel? Just wait and see, once the novelty wears off, they'll start fighting." But as the days went by, the Chen family's courtyard remained quiet, without the sounds of bowls being smashed or pots being broken, or any veiled insults or curses.

The three sisters-in-law, Zhao Qinghuan, Zhang Qiuming, and Zhang Yuming, clearly divided the kitchen chores. One day, one would cook, another would tend the fire, and yet another would wash the dishes; they would take turns each day, never arguing about who did more or less work. Every day at dawn, the three of them would go to the county town together—Zhao Qinghuan to the grocery store, and Zhang Qiuming and Zhang Yuming to the dessert shop. After closing the shops in the afternoon, the three would return home together, chatting and laughing on the way, their baskets bumping against each other, like close sisters. Even at home, they wouldn't be idle. Qinghuan would knead dough and steam buns, Qiuming would pick and wash vegetables, and Yuming would feed the chickens in the backyard. Sometimes, Chen's mother would try to lend a hand, but Yuming would press her back into her chair, saying, "Grandma, you rest. We're young, we're not tired." Chen's mother would sit on the porch watching them work, feeling incredibly comforted.

Chen Dashan and Chen Xiaohe were in charge of the family's fields, fruit trees and medicinal herbs on the mountain, as well as the general store in the county town. During the busy farming season, the two brothers and their employees worked in the fields from dawn till dusk; during the off-season, they would keep an eye on the general store, sometimes with Su Xiaoyin or Su Xiaoqing taking over for them so they could rest. Over the years, Chen's General Store had become the most famous shop in the surrounding streets. It had everything: braised pork, roast chicken, roast duck, pastries, tofu, bean sprouts, etc., all at fair prices and in generous portions. If the neighbors needed something, their first thought was to "go to Chen's General Store," and only look elsewhere if they couldn't find it there. Roast chicken and roast duck were the shop's signature dishes, made with their long-established brine and unique marinating recipe, resulting in golden and crispy skin and tender, juicy meat. Even merchants from the prefectural city would make a special detour to buy them.

The grocery store and dessert shop brought in a considerable amount of money each month. Afu and Zhao Qinghuan kept the accounts meticulously, taking half from the public funds and keeping the other half for their own family. At the dessert shop, Zhang Qiuming managed the accounts, and Zhang Yuming oversaw the cooking. The two sisters worked together seamlessly, making thick red bean paste and creamy mung bean paste. Zhang Qiuming had devised her own recipe for sweet fermented rice, resulting in a fragrant, sweet but not cloying drink. Young women and wives from the county town would come every few days to sit, order a bowl of sweet fermented rice balls, and chat for hours. Although Qingqing was pregnant, she would visit the dessert shop every few days, ostensibly to help with the accounts, but actually to crave a sour plum drink. Zhang Yuming always added an extra spoonful of honey, which Qingqing enjoyed with a beaming smile.

Shi Tou and A Ji, however, remained uneasy. They felt their contributions to the family were too small. A Fu tended to the medicinal herbs and ran a grocery store, working from dawn till dusk, contributing a considerable amount to the public coffers each year. Their three sisters-in-law, Zhao Qinghuan, Zhang Qiuming, and Zhang Yuming, ran thriving shops, and half of their earnings also went to the public coffers. As for the two brothers, Shi Tou taught at the county school, receiving a modest monthly salary; A Ji worked in the government office, earning a low wage. The money they contributed to the public coffers was far less than what A Fu and A Ji contributed.