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

"Mom, the food is ready, come and eat!" Su Xiaoyin called out as she placed the last dish of mixed tiger vegetables on the table.

After changing out of her sweat-soaked clothes and quickly feeding the chickens and ducks, Chen's mother sat on a small stool in the yard, catching her breath. Hearing this, she responded, "Yes, I'm here." She went into the main room and looked at the brightly colored and fragrant food on the table. Feeling comforted, she urged her two daughters-in-law, "You two should eat quickly too. I'll take your father's food first. We have a lot of work to do today, and I'm afraid we'll have to work until dark. After you finish eating, tidy up and go back to your room to rest. Don't wait for us. I'll eat with them in the fields."

As she spoke, she deftly packed the food left for the father and his two sons, along with the herbal tea that was being chilled in the well. Then, carrying the basket, she hurried off to the fields despite the lingering summer heat.

Knowing they couldn't dissuade her, Su Xiaoyin and her sister obediently sat down to eat. The food was delicious and appetizing, but with their families working hard in the fields on their minds, they didn't eat much. After the meal, the two cleaned up the dishes and stove, and seeing that it was getting dark, they went back to their new house together.

After soaking their feet in well water to relieve the stickiness and fatigue, the two sisters went to bed early. Having worked all day, their bodies felt heavy, and they quickly fell asleep.

As night deepened and all was quiet, Su Xiaoyin vaguely heard the door creak open in her sleep. She opened her eyes groggily and listened carefully. She could hear very light footsteps and rustling sounds of something being put down.

"Dashan? Is that you back?" she asked softly, still sleepy.

"It's me." Chen Dashan's low voice came, tinged with a hint of weariness. "Did I wake you? It's okay, go back to sleep."

Su Xiaoyin had become a bit more awake and groped to sit up: "No, it wasn't you who made the noise. Shall I get you a bowl of water?" She then tried to get off the kang (a heated brick bed).

Chen Dashan quickly stopped her, pressing her arm in the dim moonlight filtering through the window: "No need, really no need. You should lie down."

Su Xiaoyin keenly noticed that his movements seemed slower than usual, and his breathing was slightly heavier. "What's wrong with you?" she asked, wide awake.

Chen Dashan sat down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), paused for a moment, and then said in as relaxed a tone as possible, "It's nothing, it's just that the autumn harvest work has been heavy these past few days, and my legs... are a little uncomfortable. It's an old problem; it happens when it's cloudy or rainy, or when I exert myself too much." He paused, his voice becoming even lower, "Compared to those who... didn't come back from the battlefield, or were even more seriously injured, I'm already doing very well."

The soft moonlight streamed in, outlining the contours of his profile. He looked much thinner and darker than in early summer, his jawline taut. Su Xiaoyin's heart clenched, remembering his slightly limping leg—an old injury from his time in the army. She reached out and gently touched his knee, feeling the hard plaster beneath his clothes: "Tomorrow… I'll go to Doctor Li's and get you some medicine? Or maybe buy some better plasters."

Chen Dashan held her hand, his palm rough and warm: "Really, you don't need to. There are still some plasters we bought before, I've already put them on. One night's rest will be fine." He didn't want her to worry, and he didn't want to spend more money. "Go to sleep, you have to get up early tomorrow."

He helped Su Xiaoyin lie down again, then lay down beside her fully clothed, habitually pulling her gently into his arms. Su Xiaoyin nestled against his chest, listening to his steady yet slightly weary heartbeat, the scent of his body a mixture of sweat, soap, and faint ointment filling her nostrils. In the dim moonlight, she looked up at his tightly closed eyes, his brow still furrowed with weariness, and a pang of sorrow spread through her heart, turning into a silent sigh.

Her husband worked so hard. For the sake of the family, he never complained, always silently shouldering the heaviest tasks. Su Xiaoyin stroked her pregnant belly, for the first time so desperately hoping for a safe delivery and a speedy recovery for herself. Once she was feeling better, she could focus more on her embroidery and earn more money. She secretly thought that once she had saved enough, she would definitely buy an ox. With an ox, plowing and pulling carts would save Da Shan a lot of effort, and her legs would suffer less.

The moonlight flowed quietly, caressing the couple sleeping in each other's arms, and also caressing the tranquil mountains and fields outside the window.

---

Thanks to the family's tireless efforts from dawn till dusk, the Chen family's autumn harvest was finally nearing its end. The last batch of grain was stored away, and the yard and under the eaves were piled high with golden corn cobs, plump bean pods, and heavy ears of millet.

The sun shone brightly on the threshing ground. Father Chen, along with his eldest son Chen Dashan, spread the harvested grain evenly across the clean, sun-warmed surface. Father Chen carefully spread the grain with a wooden rake, turning it occasionally to ensure every grain received sunlight, removing any remaining moisture for easier storage. Chen Dashan, on the other hand, gathered the dried grain and packed it into burlap sacks. His movements were steady and strong, though his injured leg would cause a barely perceptible, extremely brief pause when he bent over and stood up.

On the other side of the field, the harvested fields appeared empty and tranquil. Mother Chen, with her youngest son Chen Xiaohe, each carrying a bamboo basket, was bent over, meticulously searching among the harvested bean rows and wheat stubble, as if on a treasure hunt. Bean pods burst easily, and some ripe beans would inevitably scatter, landing in the cracks of the soil; when harvesting wheat, a few ears of wheat would inevitably be left behind; in the fields where sweet potatoes had been dug, there might also be some hidden "sweet potatoes." These were all harvests that shouldn't be wasted after a season of hard work. Mother Chen had sharp eyes and rich experience, always able to find those "treasures" hidden under withered leaves and beside clods of earth. Chen Xiaohe followed beside her, picking up the beans, ears of wheat, and small sweet potato tubers his mother found, carefully placing them into the basket. The sun shone warmly, and an occasional autumn breeze carried the unique scent of the fields, a mixture of hay and earth.