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

Just as dawn was breaking, Chen's mother stood at the gate of the courtyard carrying a small basket filled with high-quality dried wood ear mushrooms that she had selected the night before, lined with a clean white cloth. Chen Xiaohe had already finished preparing the mushrooms and carefully placed the two turtles, which were covered with damp cloths to prevent them from drying out, into a large wooden bucket, then added some water to the bucket.

"Xiaohe, be careful on the road later. Go early so you can come back early." Chen's mother handed the basket to her son and carefully instructed him, "Take this wood ear fungus. Whether Steward Zhou took the turtle or Manager Wang bought it, give them this wood ear fungus as a gift. Remember, things have a price, but favors are hard to come by. We should try our best to maintain good relationships with these people so that we can continue to send them any rare things we find in the mountains later."

Chen Xiaohe took the basket, slung it firmly over his arm, grinned, revealing a set of white teeth: "Mom, don't worry! I know the roads in this county town and the rules for selling goods like the back of my hand! I promise I'll be back early, and this afternoon I can even go to the fields with Dad and my older brother to fertilize the fields!"

Chen Dashan, who was inspecting the ropes of the cart, looked up when he heard this and said in a deep voice, "Be careful on the road. If they don't want to take it, don't force them. We can just cook it ourselves when we get back."

"Okay! Got it, bro!" Chen Xiaohe replied, securing the wooden bucket to the cart, and pushed it forward. "I'm off!"

Watching their youngest son push the cart until it disappeared into the misty village road, Chen Dashan and his father turned back into the yard to begin another important and "smelly" task for the day—mixing fertilizer. The rotten leaves and black soil they had dug up yesterday were piled in the corner of the yard, next to their own composted manure that had been fermenting for a long time. The smell of the two mixed together was truly strong.

After staying in the house for a while, Chen's mother couldn't stand the pungent smell and was worried that the fine linen she had half-woven, which she was preparing to make into summer clothes, would be tainted with the strange smell. So she simply moved the loom and all the items to Chen Dashan's new house.

When Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing saw their mother-in-law coming over, they quickly put down their embroidery frames and got up to greet her: "Mother, what brings you here? Please sit down and have some water."

"No need to bother," Chen's mother waved her hand, a helpless smile on her face. "Your father and Dashan are mixing fertilizer. I really can't stand the smell in the old house. I was afraid it would taint the woven cloth, so I moved here to find some peace and quiet. You were right not to go over there."

Su Xiaoyin smiled and said, "Dashan said before he left this morning that the old house smells strong today, and told us to stay here and not go over there."

"He's very thoughtful." Chen's mother nodded, set up the loom by the window where it was ventilated, picked up a bib that Su Xiaoqing was making, embroidered with lotus patterns, looked at it, and praised, "The stitches are getting finer and finer, and the color scheme is elegant."

Su Xiaoqing felt a little embarrassed by the praise and changed the subject, asking, "Mother, you said you'd buy a cow... how much silver do we need to prepare? I've been thinking about it."

When the topic of buying an ox came up, Chen's mother became serious. While tidying the threads on her loom, she said, "An ox is a big purchase for farming families. In our area right now, an ordinary adult ox will cost at least fifteen taels of silver. If it's a female ox, or one in its prime with exceptional strength, the price will increase by two or three taels. And that's just the cost of the ox."

She paused, then continued, "Once we buy the ox, we'll need to get a plow. The plowshare can be made in the mountains, but the iron plowshare has to be custom-made by a blacksmith, which is another expense. If we also want a cart frame for hauling goods or carrying people, even if we use our own wood, a simple wooden frame, whether we hire someone to make it or buy a ready-made one, will cost one to two taels of silver. All things considered, even if we keep everything simple, to get a complete set of tools for hauling goods and people, it will cost at least sixteen or seventeen taels of silver."

Su Xiaoyin listened quietly, silently calculating in her mind. She and her sister had indeed discussed it for a long time last night, and now she spoke softly, "Mother, sixteen or seventeen taels of silver... it's not a small amount, but it's not out of reach. Xiaoqing and I have discussed it. This year, if both families grit their teeth, do more embroidery, make more small bamboo and wood items, and Brother Dashan and Xiaohe go to the mountains more often, plus the harvest from the fields, if the whole family tightens their belts and works hard, we might be able to raise the money in a year."

She looked up at Chen's mother, her eyes clear and firm: "We think that the sooner we buy the ox, the sooner our family will benefit. Not only will farming be easier, but it will also be more convenient to sell mountain products and deliver embroidery in the county town. During the off-season, we might even be able to use the oxcart to help the neighbors haul some goods and earn some extra money to supplement our household income. If the public funds are insufficient by then, our two families have saved some money during this period and can make up the difference. Mother, let's all work together to try and bring the ox back next year, what do you think?"

Listening to her daughter-in-law's clear and expectant words, and seeing the longing for a better life in their eyes, Chen's mother felt a warm glow in her heart and was filled with renewed energy. She put down her shuttle, patted Su Xiaoyin's hand, and smiled, "I'm so happy that you're so thoughtful and can plan this together. You're right, the ox is a big deal, and a good thing. It's really too much for your father and his two brothers to carry it all by hand, plus the fourteen acres of newly cleared land this year. Alright, it's settled then. The whole family will stick together, and next year, we'll definitely buy the ox!"

She gazed out the window, as if she could already see the strong oxen pulling the new plow, steadily moving forward in their own fields. "I'll have to talk to your father later and tell him to start looking around and inquiring in advance. There's a trick to buying oxen; you have to choose strong and docile ones, and you also have to watch out for sick or old ones. It's not easy. We need to start paying attention early."

Sunlight streamed through the window, bathing the three women—the mother-in-law, the daughter-in-law, and the mother-in-law. From the old house, the faint sounds of Chen's father and Chen Dashan working could be heard, while from the new house, the sounds of looms and needles threading intertwined.