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

The morning sunlight streamed softly into the east wing through the clean window paper. When Su Xiaoyin woke up, the first thing she smelled was a rich and mellow aroma of meat, the unique, gelatinous fragrance of bones simmered for a long time, with a hint of sweet radish.

She slowly sat up, her body feeling somewhat heavy. Su Xiaoqing in the next room also stirred. The two sisters helped each other out of the room. In the main room, Chen's mother was carrying a steaming earthenware pot out of the kitchen. Seeing them, her face immediately lit up with a kind smile.

"You're awake? Perfect timing, the soup's just been served, come and drink it while it's hot." Mother Chen called out, placing the earthenware pot on the table and quickly setting out two boiled eggs and a plate of crisp, green cucumber salad. "Last night I simmered those big bones all night over a low flame, the marrow was extracted, it's incredibly nourishing. I also added radishes to cut through the richness and help with digestion. Please sit down."

Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing sat down at the table, looking at the carefully prepared food in front of them, their hearts filled with warmth. "Mom, have you and Dad eaten?" Su Xiaoyin asked.

"We've already eaten, we ate a long time ago." Chen's mother sat down beside her, picked up a shoe sole and started sewing, saying as she worked, "Your father, along with Dashan and Xiaohe, got up before dawn. After eating dry rations, they took their fish baskets and traps to the river to see if they could catch any fish or anything. After that, they went straight up the mountain. They had to hurry and chop firewood, and also check if there were any mushrooms or other mountain products that had escaped. These past few days, with the autumn harvest finished, there have been a lot more people going up the mountain to gather things. If you go late, the good spots will be taken." She sighed, "The three of them brought dry rations, saying they'd chop enough firewood for a cartload and then gather mountain products along the way. They probably won't be back until the afternoon."

Su Xiaoyin sipped the soup; it was indeed rich and flavorful, with tender, juicy radishes that had absorbed the meat broth perfectly. Remembering her earlier chat with Chen Dashan, she said, "Dashan mentioned before that this winter is different. Xiaoqing and I are in postpartum confinement, so the fire in the house can't be turned off. Plus, with the baby, there are more places where we need hot water for washing and cleaning, so we'll definitely use more firewood than in previous years. It's only right that they work harder."

Chen's mother continued sewing, comforting them, "You don't need to worry about that. We may not have much else, but we have plenty of strength. Everyone in the mountains and by the river is hardworking, and your father is no slouch either. We may lack other things on this hill, but we have plenty of dry branches and fallen pine needles. As long as people are diligent and willing to put in the effort, the firewood pile will only get higher and higher. It won't freeze you, and it won't let my eldest grandson and granddaughter get cold!" She spoke with certainty, carrying the unique steadfastness of a farmer.

Su Xiaoqing was peeling an egg when she heard this and asked curiously, "Mother, judging from what you're saying, are there really any families that aren't hardworking and reluctant to burn firewood? The north wind is howling in winter; how can people stand it without heating the kang (heated brick bed)?"

"What do you mean, 'no'?" Mother Chen pursed her lips and gestured with her chin toward the end of the village. "Chen the Cripple's house at the end of the village, that's the number one lazy household in our village. Neither of them is hardworking. In the fall, while other families are busy storing firewood, their house and yard are bare. One pile of firewood can last from this winter to next spring! Only in the dead of winter, when they can't stand the cold anymore, do they bother to light a fire to warm themselves up. Otherwise, they just tough it out. In the summer, if you go to their land, the weeds grow taller than the crops, and they don't even bother to weed it. The village head has told them countless times, his lips are worn out, but it goes in one ear and out the other. Eventually, the village head got too lazy to care anymore. Sigh, it really is true to the old saying, 'Lazy people make the land grow weeds.'"

Su Xiaoyin was surprised: "His family members are like this too? Doesn't anyone try to talk them out?"

"He did marry a wife," Chen's mother shook her head, "but she's just like him, lazy and indolent. The first few years of their marriage were alright, but then they couldn't have children. They sought medical help everywhere, spending a lot of money, but nothing came of it. Gradually, they lost their motivation, feeling there was no point in working, so they simply gave up and lived one day at a time. The harvest from the fields wasn't enough to make ends meet, so they borrowed a little from one neighbor and begged from another. Everyone in the village knew their character and wasn't willing to help them much. Even pitiful people have their faults."

After finishing her sentence, Chen's mother realized it wasn't appropriate to say these things in front of her daughter-in-law, so she changed the subject: "Let's not talk about them anymore, it's no use causing them any trouble. For lunch, we'll stir-fry some shredded carrots, reheat the bone broth from this morning, and make some flatbreads, okay? You're both feeling heavy and don't have much of an appetite right now, so just tell your mother what you want to eat."

Su Xiaoyin hurriedly said, "Okay, Mother's arrangements are fine. Xiaoqing and I are getting bigger and bigger, and it's making our stomachs uncomfortable, so we can't eat too much. But eating small meals frequently doesn't make us feel hungry. It's just that it's troublesome for Mother to always arrange things separately for us."

"What's the trouble?" Chen's mother gave her a reproachful look. "Pregnant women are precious. Once you give birth, your appetite will naturally return. You don't have to eat three meals a day with us. Just tell me if you're hungry, and I'll get you something to eat anytime." Remembering something, she smiled and said, "Oh, right, didn't your father bring back some chestnuts before? They're a bit small, but they should taste pretty good. I'll take some out and roast them over the embers in the stove. They'll be fragrant and sweet, a nice snack for you. If you can't finish them, I'll grind them into powder, mix in some sugar and lard, and make chestnut cakes for you. They're so smooth and easy to digest."

Upon hearing this, Su Xiaoqing's eyes lit up: "Really? Mom, you can make chestnut cake?"