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

Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing were happy to see their family's life getting better and better. Whenever someone was too busy, they would lend a hand, never complaining of the hard work or the hassle. Sometimes they would watch the children for half a day, sometimes they would help prepare vegetables for half a day. Chen Dashan and Chen Xiaohe had less land to cultivate this year, so they had more free time. Besides one of them going to the general store to sell goods, the other would either go to the mountains or the river to set nets. These days, they had a constant supply of fish and shrimp. Any leftovers were dried by Su Xiaoyin and stored away, layered on bamboo sieves. The autumn sun was dry and intense, so after a few days of drying, they were put into cloth bags, tied tightly, and hung on the cellar beam. Su Xiaoqing used the dried fish and shrimp to make a batch of spicy dishes. Bright red chili peppers and peppercorns coated the dried fish, making them glisten with oil and look incredibly appetizing. Chen Xiaohe took them to a grocery store to sell, and they were all gone in a few days. The people who bought them kept coming back to ask if there were any left. Chen Dashan said that since the weather was good these days, he would dry more, keeping half to sell and half for his own family to eat.

Su Xiaoyin said that mushrooms had recently sprouted in the mountains, and they needed to hurry and pick them, as they would become too old after a few more rains. They should dry as many mushrooms as possible while they were fresh to sell at the general store, and also keep some for themselves, as they would be essential for stews in winter. Su Xiaoqing said that with the new mushrooms, they should eat them fresh first, as the aroma was incomparable to dried mushrooms. Chen Xiaohe chimed in, saying that fresh mushrooms were delicious in steamed buns or mushroom sauce. Chen's mother, sitting in the kitchen listening, paused while picking vegetables, her eyes lighting up. She said she hadn't had mushroom-filled buns in a long time. Su Xiaoyin said, "Then tomorrow we'll go to the mountains to pick mushrooms, and on our way back we'll buy two pounds of pork belly from the county town, and we'll steam buns tonight." Chen's mother nodded in satisfaction, then lowered her head to continue picking vegetables.

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A few more years passed, and the Chen family's life flowed by like the river in front of their house, neither fast nor slow. The surface of the water showed no ripples, but the water underneath kept flowing.

That Mid-Autumn Festival, Shi Tou, Aji, and Qingqing all returned to Nanshan Village. The old house's courtyard wasn't big enough, so they knocked down the neighbor Afu's courtyard and set up three tables. One table for adults, one for children, and one left empty for mooncakes and fruit. Newly made lanterns hung at the entrance to the main room; Qingqing had made them herself, with patterns cut from red paper and candles lit inside.

Song'er and Lu'er are already running around everywhere, and Qingqing's baby was born early—a boy, so her wish hadn't come true. When Qingqing heard it was another son, she wasn't too disappointed, saying that she wasn't destined to have a daughter, so she accepted it. Yang Wenhu stood to the side, wanting to laugh but not daring to. Qingqing glared at him, and he finally suppressed his laughter. But when he turned around, he almost let it slip to his mother, who smacked his arm with her apron, saying, "You have the nerve to talk about your dreams?"

Shi Tou and A Ji's children were running around in the yard, the older ones leading the younger ones, the younger ones chasing the older ones, it was hard to tell whose children they were. Zhang Qiu Ming and Zhang Yu Ming sat on the porch, picking vegetables, chatting idly. Their relationship with their family couldn't be as close as it used to be, when they could talk about anything, but being able to sit down like this was good enough. Zhang Qiu Ming handed Zhang Yu Ming a bowl of water, which Zhang Yu Ming took and drank a sip of, saying that her mother said she was making mushroom-filled buns tonight, and that her mother had prepared the filling herself. The two didn't say anything more, finished picking their vegetables together, and then went to help in the kitchen.

Zhao Qinghuan and Afu were also busy on the side.

Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing were busy in the kitchen, one chopping vegetables and the other tending the fire. They rarely spoke, but they worked together seamlessly, as if one person had been split in two. Mother Chen sat on a bamboo chair in the corridor, holding her youngest great-grandson in her arms and patting him gently. Father Chen sat next to her, his cane resting on the back of the chair. He didn't speak, his gaze moving slowly from one face to another.

The food was served. Steamed buns, stewed fish, braised pork, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, and cucumber salad filled three tables. The mushroom-filled buns were made by Su Xiaoyin herself; Chen's mother ate two and said they still tasted the same. Shi Tou poured a glass of wine for Aji and Afu, who accepted it, and the three clinked glasses without any further formalities.

The moon rose in the evening, big and round, hanging among the branches of the old locust tree. Its clear light shone down, illuminating the courtyard. The children, having eaten their fill, chased the moonlight in the yard, Song'er leading the way, Lu'er following behind. Their laughter floated on the night breeze, crisp and clear, as if it could drift all the way to the moon.

Night fell, and the children, tired, were carried inside by their parents. Chen Dashan stood up, his hands lingering on his knees for a moment before slowly straightening his back. He walked to Su Xiaoyin, draped a coat over her shoulders, and said without turning around, "There are still a few steamed buns left; I'll heat them up for Mom and Dad's breakfast tomorrow morning." Chen Dashan agreed, adjusted her collar, and lightly touched her shoulder with his palm, like a leaf resting on water before moving away. The two stood there, the moonlight casting their long, side-by-side shadows on the ground, as if they had walked together from their youth until now.

Su Xiaoyin stood for a while and asked, "Have you ever imagined this kind of life before?" Chen Dashan said he hadn't. When he first arrived, he didn't even have a decent set of clothes. Su Xiaoyin said, "Now you have everything." Chen Dashan said, "Yes, you have everything."

The Chen family's life goes on. The sun will rise as usual tomorrow morning, the fire in the kitchen will be lit again, and they will still be busy in their respective places. The chickens and ducks will wait to be fed, the fields will wait to be planted, the shops will wait to open, and the days will pass by one after another, unhurriedly.

Thank you all for your continued support. This article is now officially finished!