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

Early the next morning, Su Xiaoyin left the courtyard with a basket slung over her shoulder, the sun just beginning to climb over the wall. She walked slowly, her cloth shoes crunching on the soft grass sprouting from the cracks in the stone slabs. Su Xiaoqing caught up from behind, also carrying a basket, saying she wanted to go together; walking together would give them company and allow them to chat. The two walked along the alley towards the tofu shop. Most of the leaves on the old locust tree by the roadside had fallen, leaving only a few swaying precariously in the wind, as if about to give way. Su Xiaoqing stared at those few leaves for a moment, then suddenly asked a question.

"Sister, did you ask Big Brother last night why he said he would separate the three children in the future? I asked Xiaohe, but he wouldn't say. He just glossed over it and said he would find out later."

Su Xiaoyin didn't answer immediately. She walked for a while before speaking. Her voice wasn't loud, but every word was steady and clear, as if she had thought it over and over in her mind many times. "Dashan didn't say anything either. As soon as I asked, he stopped talking. Don't think too much about it. It's normal for children to separate when they grow up. If you force them to stay together, everyone will gradually drift apart. Branches tied together may still look like one tree, but their roots have long since grown separately. As long as the two of us don't separate, that's fine."

After listening, Su Xiaoqing remained silent for a moment, then reached out and took Su Xiaoyin's arm, saying, "Don't worry, sister, I'll definitely spend the rest of my life with you. We'll never be apart." Su Xiaoyin patted her hand without saying anything more.

Ever since Chen's parents finished arranging their funerals, Su Xiaoyin noticed that Chen Dashan and Chen Xiaohe had been secretly discussing something. Sometimes they would squat down in the yard to talk, and sometimes they would stand at the door of the carpentry workshop, their voices low, stopping as soon as they saw her approaching. She asked him once, and Chen Dashan only said, "You'll find out when the time comes," so she didn't press him further. She knew she would find out eventually.

That morning, Mr. Chen called Chen Dashan, Chen Xiaohe, Su Xiaoyin, and Su Xiaoqing into the house. Mrs. Chen sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), sewing a small garment, her needle and thread never ceasing. Mr. Chen sat in a grand chair, his cane resting beside him. He asked the four of them to sit down, the door ajar so that no sound from outside could enter. The room was quiet. Mr. Chen spoke, his voice not loud, but every word seemed weighed down with weight.

"During this time, Dashan and I discussed something about Shitou, Aji, and Afu dividing the family property. I also think Dashan makes a good point. The children are all grown up and have their own livelihoods and lives. It would be uncomfortable for them to stay together. While I'm still alive, I'll take charge of this division of the family property. Our family is one of the larger families in the village, so there's no reason for us to continue living together."

Neither Su Xiaoyin nor Su Xiaoqing were surprised. Su Xiaoyin sat on the edge of the stool, her back straight, and said calmly, "Dad, it's fine to separate the three of them, but Xiaoqing and I won't separate. We'll stay together with you. We sisters have lived together for decades, bound together since the year we fled famine, never separated." Chen's mother put down her needlework, looked up at her two daughters-in-law, and said, "Silly children, your father and I are getting old, and it's precisely the time when we need your care. Don't worry, we won't separate you, and you two sisters won't be separated."

Chen Dashan took over the conversation, his voice steady and clear, as if he had already thought it through many times. He and Xiaohe would keep one-third of the family's farmland and barren hills, and the remaining two-thirds would be divided equally among the three brothers. As for the money, each family would receive fifty taels from the public funds, totaling one hundred and fifty taels for all three. The house and general store in the county town would remain untouched until after their deaths. Shitou had a school, Aji had a job in the government, and Afu had a general store; they all had their own livelihoods, and their shops were rented out, so they were financially secure.

Su Xiaoyin asked, "What about the school?" Chen Xiaohe picked up the conversation—the school was originally bought with money from the public school. Over the years, Shi Tou and the others had been contributing money to the public school every year, and their contributions had almost recouped the initial investment. So, the school would be divided among the three brothers, and the family would no longer interfere. Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing nodded and didn't say anything more.

That evening, the three brothers returned with their wives and children. The main room was packed with people; there weren't enough long benches, so two more chairs were brought in. The children squatted in a row on the threshold, like a string of little mushrooms. Chen Dashan announced the decision to divide the family property, clearly explaining the land, silver, and house to be divided. The main room was quiet for a moment. Shitou was the first to speak, saying he disagreed, followed by Aji and Afu. Chen's father sat in his armchair, tapping his cane on the ground. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an unyielding certainty—"A tree grows big and branches out. You are all capable of supporting your own families now. Just remember to come back and visit us old folks during holidays. Here is the silver and land deed for you. Take them. The rest, you three brothers can discuss among yourselves."

On the table lay three blue cloth bundles, three land deeds, and three contracts. Shi Tou, A Ji, and A Fu exchanged glances and remained silent for a long while. Shi Tou reached for his own contract first, opened it, looked at it, and then put it back. When he spoke, his voice was soft, but every word was clear—he couldn't leave the school; the land would be given to A Fu to cultivate, and he would only need some food rations each year. A Ji said he agreed, that A Fu would manage the land, and the food rations would be calculated at market price. A Fu sat on the bench, silent for a moment, and said he could cultivate the land, but just providing food rations wasn't enough. "You have official titles, and the land is registered in your names, so you don't have to perform corvée labor. I've already gained a great advantage from that alone; I can't let you suffer. Give me grain or silver at the market price for rented land; that's fair." Shi Tou said no need; he had actually benefited over the years. With the family division money received, the family relationships couldn't be so clearly defined. "Just give me half the market price," he said.