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

As darkness fell completely, familiar footsteps and the creaking of a cart echoed from the village entrance, followed by Chen Xiaohe's weary yet excited shout: "Mom! Big Brother! I'm back!"

Having been keeping a close eye on the commotion outside, Chen's mother immediately put down her needlework and hurried to the courtyard gate. In the dim light of the oil lamp, Chen Xiaohe, covered in sweat, pushed an empty cart with a relaxed smile on his face.

"You're finally back! Did anything happen on the way?" Chen's mother helped her son push the cart into the yard while looking them up and down. Seeing that their clothes were clean despite being covered in dust, she was relieved.

"Don't worry, Mom, everything's fine! Everything went smoothly!" Chen Xiaohe put down the handlebars, wiped the sweat from his face with his sleeve, and his eyes gleamed in the dim light. "Mom, guess how much that roe deer sold for today?"

Hearing this, Chen Dashan, who was drawing water from the well to wash up, straightened up and pondered, "Deer meat isn't particularly rare. If you take it to a regular restaurant in the county town, it'll cost at most twenty coins per pound. That deer wasn't especially fat. After removing the fur and internal organs, the meat would probably weigh thirty-five or thirty-six pounds? That would be about seven hundred coins."

Chen Xiaohe chuckled, a hint of smugness in his voice. "Big brother's calculations are spot on! That's the usual price. But we were lucky today!" He lowered his voice, as if sharing a secret. "I was just pushing my cart into town, and before I even reached the street where Wang's Restaurant was, I ran into a well-dressed steward-like man at the East Market entrance. He saw the roe deer on our cart—fresh, with intact fur—and stopped us to ask the price. He said his master was entertaining friends from the prefectural city and was looking for some fresh mountain produce. After I told him the price, the steward didn't hesitate and immediately gave me one tael of silver! He even said any extra was a tip, and told me to deliver the roe deer directly to their residence!"

"One tael of silver?!" Even the composed Chen Dashan was slightly moved. This was nearly three hundred coins more than he had expected!

"Of course!" Chen Xiaohe was even more delighted. "I delivered it right away. I chatted with the steward a bit on the way, and he said that his master really liked wild game. He told me that if I ever got any bamboo fungus, or any fresh wild game like deer, pheasant, or rabbit, I could just send it to the back gate of their mansion and ask the steward surnamed Zhou. I quickly agreed!"

Hearing this, Chen's mother beamed and patted her youngest son's arm: "Good! Xiaohe handled this cleverly! Wang's Restaurant is good, but it's always good to know more ways! From now on, our supplies from the mountain will have a wider market! Alright, stop standing there, we've been waiting for you to start eating! Are you starving?"

Inside the main room, the oil lamp was dimmed. Su Xiaoqing had already prepared a large bowl of mixed grain rice for her husband. On the table was a large plate of stir-fried chili peppers made with the offal (cleaned extremely thoroughly) that had been prepared that day; the red and green colors were vibrant, and the aroma was irresistible. There was also a large bowl of milky white crucian carp and tofu soup, sprinkled with bright green scallions; and a dish of cold wild vegetables drizzled with sesame oil. Although it wasn't a lavish meal, the combination of meat and vegetables, steaming hot, was a perfect treat for someone who had worked hard all day.

Chen Xiaohe was starving. He picked up his bowl and shoveled a large mouthful of rice into his mouth, then added a bite of spicy stir-fried offal. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he ate, exclaiming repeatedly, "Delicious! So delicious! Home-cooked meals are the best!"

The family sat around the table, eating and chatting about the day's events. Chen Dashan asked about the final touches on the wasteland, and his father said it was all done, with all the weeds pulled out. Su Xiaoyin whispered to her sister that she had finished embroidering several handkerchiefs that day.

After the meal, Chen's mother cleared away the dishes, but did not immediately tell everyone to leave and rest. She took out the old wooden box that held the money and lit the oil lamp again.

"Xiaohe, you've had a hard day's trip, it's a long way, but you've done a great job." Chen's mother counted out ten copper coins from the wooden box and handed them to Chen Xiaohe. "These ten coins are your errand fee. Keep them for your own spending money."

Chen Xiaohe was a little embarrassed, but he still accepted it and chuckled, "Thank you, Mother!"

Mother Chen picked up the one-tael silver ingot again and weighed it in her hand: "According to the rules, forty percent of the one-tael silver from selling the deer should be kept in the public treasury, which is four hundred coins." She counted out the corresponding copper coins and put them into the public treasury's money bag, then pushed the remaining six qian of silver (about six hundred coins) in front of Chen Dashan, "Dashan, this is your family's income from this hunting trip. You keep it."

Chen Dashan accepted the money without hesitation and nodded. He knew that this was his parents' way of being fair and also an affirmation of their small family.

Sitting to one side, watching his wife and children distribute the money in a harmonious and orderly manner, Mr. Chen was filled with emotion. He couldn't help but sigh and slowly said, "Our family's life is getting better day by day. In the end, it's because everyone is of one mind and works together. The worst thing for people is when they are not of one mind."

As Mrs. Chen closed the wooden box, she glared at her husband upon hearing this: "Why are you sighing like that? Our family, Dashan and Xiaohe, has always had a good relationship since childhood, never even arguing. Xiaoyin and Xiaoqing are sisters, and there's no discord between the sisters-in-law; they always speak their minds openly. The younger generation is independent and united; their future is only going to be brighter!"

Chen Xiaohe, curious, couldn't help but ask, "Dad, are you implying something? Has something happened to someone in the village again?"

Father Chen took a puff of his pipe, the smoke rising slowly in the lamplight. He said slowly, "It's Chen Wufu's house at the east end of the village. Speaking of which, they're not even five degrees of kinship with us."

Chen Dashan also looked up: "Uncle Wufu's family? Aren't there only three brothers in their family? The eldest and second eldest are already married, and the youngest seems to have found someone he likes, saying they'll get married after the autumn harvest. What's all this fuss about now?"

Mother Chen picked up the conversation, her tone tinged with helplessness and a worldly-wise indifference: "It's all because the third son is getting married soon that things have started to escalate. The eldest and second sons' wives, for some reason, have been arguing fiercely lately, each feeling that the elders are favoring the other and that they're being taken advantage of. The two sisters-in-law almost came to blows a few days ago over some trivial matter. Now, both wives are insisting on clarifying the division of responsibilities before the new bride enters the family, otherwise they're afraid they'll suffer even more later. It's made the house a complete mess, a chaotic mess."

She shook her head: "Because of this, I heard that the family of the third son's fiancée has objections. They think their family is not harmonious and are somewhat reluctant to go through with the marriage. Your father, seeing other families like this, is why he feels that our family is so fortunate."

The main room fell silent, save for the occasional crackling of the oil lamp wick. The chirping of summer insects outside the window added to the tranquility of the room.

Chen Xiaohe scratched his head and muttered, "Why did this have to happen... the whole family is fighting like this."

Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing exchanged a glance, both seeing relief in each other's eyes. Having fled famine and relied on each other for survival, they cherished this hard-won stability and kinship all the more. A reasonable mother-in-law, a kind husband, and the two sisters becoming sisters-in-law—this was more reassuring than any amount of money.

Chen Dashan was silent for a moment, then said, "Father, Mother, don't worry. Our family won't do that."

He didn't say much, but his words were like a heavy stone, settling into everyone's hearts. Looking at his eldest son's composed face, then at his younger son's lively yet clear eyes, and then at his two daughters-in-law who were meek and obedient yet diligent and honest, the feelings of unease he had for other families were gradually replaced by the sense of peace and harmony in his own family.

"Yes, go to sleep. There's work to do tomorrow." Mother Chen blew out the extra oil lamps, leaving only a faint light from the stove to illuminate the path.

Everyone returned to their rooms. The Chen family courtyard, shrouded in night, was quiet, save for the occasional clucking of chickens, ducks, and geese from the backyard. But within this tranquility lay an unseen power called "family harmony," nourishing life more than any gold or silver, supporting this family as they steadily moved towards a hopeful future amidst ordinary days. In the distance, the faint sounds of arguing drifted from somewhere, quickly dispersed by the night breeze, further emphasizing the precious peace and tranquility of the Chen family's little world.