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

"Father, Mother, Eldest Brother, Sister-in-law, Xiaoqing! I'm back!"

Chen Xiaohe rushed back from the county town, pushed open the gate of the old house, but found it eerily quiet. Half-mixed manure was piled in a corner, emitting a strong odor, but there wasn't a soul in sight. Puzzled, he pushed his cart into the yard and listened intently, faintly hearing laughter and chatter coming from the direction of his new house.

"Hey, so they've all come this way!" he muttered, turning to walk towards his own yard. Just as he reached the gate of the new courtyard, he heard a lively commotion inside, with his mother and sister-in-law talking, and his father and older brother occasionally responding.

With a creak, the courtyard gate opened, and Chen Xiaohe poked her head in, deliberately pulling a long face: "Well, you guys, you've all been hiding here eating and drinking like mad, without even telling me! I had to call out to the empty courtyard in the old house for ages!"

In the courtyard, Chen Dashan was helping Su Xiaoqing set the table with dishes. Hearing this, he looked up and laughed, "You know the smell of mixing manure; you can smell it from miles away. Mother was worried that the fumes would ruin the cloth she had just woven, and she was also worried that your sister-in-law and Xiaoqing would feel uncomfortable with the smell, so she said she would come here to cook lunch and get some fresh air. I thought you wouldn't be back until at least the afternoon, so I didn't wait for you. I didn't expect you to be so fast."

Chen's mother brought out a large bowl of steaming hot multigrain pancakes from the kitchen. Seeing her youngest son, her face lit up with a smile: "You're back just in time! Quickly wash your hands, the last dish will be ready soon, then we'll eat! We've been waiting for you!"

Su Xiaoyin also peeked out from the kitchen with a smile: "Xiaohe, you've worked hard, take a rest."

Chen Xiaohe chuckled, his little complaints long since vanished. He quickly went to the well to draw water to wash his hands; the icy water instantly relieved most of the heat from his journey. When he returned to the main room (which also served as the dining room), the last dish—a large plate of bright green, glistening stir-fried wild vegetables with garlic—was served, piled high in the center of the square table.

The family sat down around the table. Chen Xiaohe was starving. He grabbed a flatbread, took a big bite, and swallowed it whole. Ignoring the heat, he spoke first, his eyes shining with excitement: "Guess how much those two precious turtles sold for?"

Everyone stopped eating and looked at him.

Chen Xiaohe held up four fingers, lowering his voice but unable to suppress his smugness: "Four taels! A full four taels of silver! Two turtles, one two taels each, and Steward Zhou bought them without a word! He even told me that if I ever get any more wild game of this quality, whether it's turtles or something else, just send it to him, and he'll take it all! He also accepted the basket of wood ear mushrooms, he really liked them, and said we should dry more, so if we can maintain this quality, his family can buy some regularly. He also wants the best mountain mushrooms, but he made it clear that only the best quality ones are acceptable, the inferior ones are not."

"Four ounces!" Su Xiaoqing exclaimed softly. Mr. and Mrs. Chen also smiled with delight. Selling two turtles for this price was indeed a pleasant surprise, even better than expected.

Mrs. Chen nodded repeatedly, "Good, good! Steward Zhou is right. In business, quality is paramount. From now on, when we go up the mountain to pick mushrooms and fungus, we must be more careful and only choose the best ones. We'll take these four taels of silver to the county town to sell, and keep the less desirable ones for our own consumption..." She paused, looked at Mr. Chen, who nodded slightly, and continued, "According to our family rules, forty percent is kept from the public coffers, and the remaining sixty percent is for your two families."

She carefully put away the share of silver belonging to the public treasury, and then divided the remaining loose silver and copper coins into two portions. Watching her son and daughter-in-law put away the money, Chen's mother brought up the matter she had discussed with her two daughters-in-law that morning at the new house.

"This morning, I was chatting with Xiaoyin and Xiaoqing about our future. With more land and heavier work, it's inconvenient to go to the county town to sell goods and transport things. I was thinking, if our whole family works harder this year and saves more money, maybe we can buy a cow next year?" Chen's mother said in a consultative tone, her gaze sweeping over Chen's father and two sons.

Father Chen put down his chopsticks and pondered, "Buying an ox is a big deal. A good draft ox these days costs at least fifteen or sixteen taels of silver. Add to that the plow, cart frame, and even if Da Shan can do some carpentry work to save money, it'll still cost close to twenty taels. That's no small sum." Although he said this, there was a glint in his eyes. "However, if we can really buy one, it would be a wonderful thing. It would make plowing easier, hauling goods more convenient, and during the off-season, we could even earn some hard-earned money by working as porters. Since you're all interested, I'll start tomorrow and keep an eye out for any families nearby selling calves or whose cows are pregnant, so we can reserve a good one in advance."

Upon hearing about buying cattle, Chen Xiaohe became even more enthusiastic. He was quick with his calculations and chimed in, "Dad, Mom, is the public coffers enough? If we add what our two families will receive today, plus our previous savings, will it be enough? If not, we'll contribute more!"

Mother Chen shook her head and spoke frankly: "The family's coffers are less than ten taels of silver at most. Adding what you got today, and what we had before, we might just be able to buy an ordinary calf. But if we buy the calf, we won't have a single penny left. Now that Xiaoyin and Xiaoqing are both pregnant, we must keep enough money for emergencies. We have to buy the calf, but we can't empty our coffers, and we can't let the pregnant women feel uneasy."

Chen Dashan, who had been eating quietly, spoke up at this moment, his voice steady and strong: "Mother is right. We should buy the cow, but we have to be careful. If we don't have enough money, we'll earn it together. Over the next six months, Xiaohe and I will make more trips up the mountain to check for traps and set fish baskets. If we're lucky enough to catch some valuable wild animals, that will be income. We can't neglect our bamboo weaving and wood carving skills either. Xiaohe and I will make more exquisite pieces and sell them at the market. As for embroidery, Xiaoyin and Xiaoqing should do what they can and not overwork themselves, but good embroidery pays well, so that's another way. In addition to the produce from the fields and the dried mountain goods... if our whole family works together and everyone puts in their best effort, we should be able to save up quite a bit by the end of the year. Next spring, we might not only be able to buy the cow, but also have some money left over."

His words were like a reassuring stone, settling into everyone's hearts. Su Xiaoyin softly echoed, "Yes, Mother, don't worry about us. We know what we're doing with the embroidery; we'll rest when we're tired. Now that we have hope for the future, we have the energy to keep going. Buying a cow is a family matter, and our little family is willing to contribute as much as we can."

Su Xiaoqing nodded vigorously, "Yes! Let's all work together!"

Looking at his son and daughter-in-law, each with bright, energetic eyes, the resentment he felt due to the forced labor and the family affairs of Wufu completely dissipated. He picked up his bowl, took a big gulp of mung bean soup, wiped his mouth, and a long-lost, contented smile appeared on his face: "Good! It's settled then! Buy a cow! Next year, we absolutely must have the sound of cowbells ringing in our yard! I'll be in charge of finding out about the cows, your mother will be in charge of managing the household, you two will do the work outside, and Xiaoyin and Xiaoqing will take care of things at home. If we, as a family, think in the same direction and work together, there's no obstacle we can't overcome, and no money we can't save!"

"That's right! There's no money you can't save!" Chen Xiaohe raised the pancake in his hand like he was raising a glass, which made everyone laugh.