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

As dawn broke and the rooster crowed three times, smoke began to rise from the kitchen of the Chen family's new house.

Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing got up early, put the last bit of needlework into their small cloth bags, and placed the carefully rolled-up "Eight Immortals Celebrating Longevity" embroidery, neatly wrapped in clean cotton cloth, into a sturdy bamboo basket, covering it with a blue floral cloth. The two sisters had a slight weariness on their faces from working late into the night, but their eyes shone with anticipation.

As Chen's mother stuck pancakes into the pan, she anxiously instructed, "Have you brought everything? Go early and come back early. Take Old Seven's oxcart at the village entrance and give him two coins for the fare. Don't linger in the county town after you've sold everything. There's a lot going on at home lately. Your father and the others went to the fields to fertilize early this morning. Or we could ask Da Shan or Xiao He to take you there. These embroideries are the result of so many sleepless nights of your hard work. Don't let anything go wrong at the end and all your efforts be in vain."

"Mother, don't worry, I've brought everything. After we sell the embroidery, we'll buy some essential things and come right back. We won't linger." Su Xiaoyin took the hot pancakes handed to her by Chen's mother, wrapped them in oil paper, and tucked them into her bosom.

"That's right, Mother, we know what we're doing," Su Xiaoqing assured her.

The two sisters quickly ate some breakfast, slung their bamboo baskets and cloth bags over their shoulders, bid farewell to Chen's mother, and walked towards the village entrance through the dew. Old Seven's oxcart was already waiting there, with three or four villagers also going to the county town sitting on it. After paying the fare, the two sisters found a seat on the side and carefully protected their bamboo baskets in front of them.

The oxcart creaked and groaned its way onto the country road. The early summer morning breeze still carried a chill, dispelling any lingering sleepiness. A middle-aged woman with dark skin, wearing a worn brown jacket, stared at Su Xiaoyin and her sister for a while before suddenly leaning closer and speaking with a tentative smile, "Are you Madam Dashan?"

Su Xiaoyin recognized the woman as the daughter-in-law of the Wang family at the east end of the village, known as Aunt Wang. It seemed she had some past unpleasantness with her mother-in-law, and they only exchanged nods when they met. She nodded politely, "Aunt Wang, it's me."

Aunt Wang's smile deepened, and she lowered her voice, "Mrs. Dashan, I was just about to ask about something. Does your Dashan... still take custom furniture orders? My nephew is engaged and plans to hold the wedding after the Mid-Autumn Festival. He wants a new set of furniture made for his new house. The price is negotiable." As she spoke, her eyes glanced at the bamboo basket Su Xiaoyin was carrying, as if trying to discern something.

Su Xiaoyin's mind raced. Her mother-in-law, Chen's mother, had mentioned in casual conversation that Aunt Wang's family was somewhat unscrupulous, prone to taking advantage of others, and often bought things on credit, sometimes even haggling over prices. Her elder brother, Chen Dashan, was already busy with work for Master Qin in town and several other families in the village, so it was really not advisable for him to take on this kind of potentially troublesome business.

She didn't show it on her face, only a perfectly timed apologetic smile, and said gently, "Aunt Wang, it's really unfortunate. Dashan has recently taken on several jobs, all of which he agreed to a long time ago. His schedule is packed, and he'll probably be busy until the fall. Your nephew's matter is important, so please don't delay. Why don't you go to town or the neighboring village and ask other carpenters? I'm really sorry."

Aunt Wang's smile faded, and a hint of displeasure flashed in her eyes, but she didn't say anything more. She just gave a vague "oh" and turned to talk to the person next to her.

Su Xiaoqing listened from the side, and only after Aunt Wang turned away did she quietly tug at her sister's sleeve and ask in a low voice, "Sister, why aren't you taking it? If Big Brother and Brother Xiaohe hurry up, they should be able to do it too, right?"

Su Xiaoyin shook her head slightly, lowering her voice as well: "Have you forgotten? Mother said that her family... doesn't do things very ethically. We'd rather not earn this money than end up working hard for nothing, not getting our wages in full, and being left feeling angry." Reminded by her sister, Su Xiaoqing immediately remembered her mother's usual nagging, and suddenly understood, nodding quickly.

The oxcart swayed and rattled until it finally entered the county town. The two sisters got off near the market, paying no attention to the stalls that were gradually becoming more lively on both sides, and walked straight towards "Jinxia Embroidery Shop".

The embroidery shop wasn't crowded today, and the proprietress was dusting the counter with a feather duster. Seeing Su Xiaoyin and her sister enter, her eyes lit up, and she put down the duster to greet them: "Oh, it's Madam Chen! It's been a while since we've seen you! Did you bring any new embroidery this time?"

"Hello, shopkeeper." Su Xiaoyin greeted her with a smile, carefully placing the bamboo basket on the counter, lifting the cover to reveal the embroidery rolled up inside, "Please take a look, this is a 'Eight Immortals Celebrating Longevity' embroidery that my sisters and I have just embroidered."

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper's expression became more serious. She gestured for her assistant to watch the shop, then washed her hands before carefully unrolling the embroidery. On the pale white cotton fabric, eight immortals, each in a different pose—riding on clouds, riding beasts, or holding treasures—surrounded a large character for longevity and a peach, amidst swirling auspicious clouds and graceful cranes. The colors were rich yet elegant, the stitches intricate and varied, the figures' robes seemingly moving in the wind, the cranes' feathers clearly defined, and the peach rendered with gradient silk threads, giving it a full and vibrant texture. The entire embroidery was grand in composition, with a peaceful and harmonious atmosphere; the evenness of the stitches and the harmony of the colors far surpassed any embroidery they had previously delivered.

The shopkeeper's wife examined the embroidery closely for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, her fingers gently tracing the surface, her eyes revealing undisguised amazement and admiration. She looked up at the two sisters, her tone much warmer than usual: "Your skills, ladies, have truly improved! While the 'Eight Immortals Celebrating Longevity' theme is common, to embroider it with such spirit and exquisite detail is rare even in our county. The color scheme, the stitching, the composition… if we took it to the prefectural city, I'm afraid it would fetch an even higher price."

She hesitated for a moment, then quoted a price: "Our embroidery shop will buy this piece for twenty-eight taels of silver. What do you think?"

Twenty-eight taels! Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing's hearts pounded. This was several taels higher than the highest price they had privately estimated! The two looked at each other, both seeing the excitement and disbelief in each other's eyes.

Su Xiaoyin steadied herself, knowing that the shopkeeper's offer was fair and that he clearly intended to curry favor, so she no longer hesitated and bowed respectfully: "Thank you for your appreciation, shopkeeper! We are very satisfied with this price."

"Alright!" The shopkeeper smiled and turned to fetch the money from the inner room. She weighed out twenty-eight taels of silver, wrapped it in red paper, and handed it to Su Xiaoyin. After thinking for a moment, she took out two pieces of fine cotton cloth with elegant colors and soft texture from under the counter, each piece about the size of an undergarment, and handed them over together. "These two pieces of cloth are of a fine color and will be comfortable to wear against the skin. Consider this a small token of my appreciation. In the future, if you have any good embroidery, I hope you two ladies will give priority to our embroidery shop."

"Shopkeeper, you're too kind! Of course, of course!" The two sisters thanked him repeatedly, carefully putting away the silver and cloth. The heavy silver coins tucked into their pockets, and the sense of security and joy they felt was almost overflowing.

By the time they left the embroidery shop, the sun was already high in the sky. Clutching their "huge sum," the two dared not delay. They first went to their usual cloth shop, buying urgently needed embroidery thread and several types of silk thread in unusual colors. They also selected two pieces of high-quality silk fabric, preparing to make more intricate embroidery pieces. This alone cost them three and a half taels of silver. Seeing their large purchase, the shopkeeper, as usual, cheerfully gave them two large bundles of mismatched but finely made fabric scraps.

Next, they went to the more affordable "Tao Family Cloth Shop." With the Dragon Boat Festival approaching, it was time for the adults and children in the family to buy summer clothes. The two sisters carefully selected enough ordinary fine cotton cloth to make summer clothes for their parents-in-law, husband, themselves, and children, and also bought several lengths of durable coarse cloth to make work clothes. In total, they spent a little over two taels of silver. Shopkeeper Tao recognized them as regular customers and generously gave them two bundles of fabric scraps as a gift. This time, the scraps even included some small pieces of silk, which delighted the sisters.

After finishing their shopping, the two women carried heavy bags on their backs, and their hearts were filled with satisfaction. As the sun was approaching its zenith, they were worried about home and also afraid that carrying too much money would attract attention, so they dared not shop any further and hurried to the city gate, just in time to catch Old Seven's oxcart returning to the village.

Once seated in the cart, as it swayed and rocked away from the county town, the sisters' tense nerves finally began to relax slightly. Su Xiaoqing touched the hard purse of silver in her arms and couldn't help but whisper, "Sister, twenty-eight taels… I can hardly believe it. I wonder how happy Father and Mother will be when they find out."

Su Xiaoyin smiled and said softly, "Yes, all those nights we stayed up weren't for nothing. This money came at just the right time. We feel more confident about the Dragon Boat Festival market now. We also have the fabric we need to make summer clothes for our family." She looked back at the receding outline of the county town, her heart filled with anticipation for the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival market.