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

"Madam Chen, you've finally arrived. I was just wondering the other day, shouldn't you have finished that large embroidery by now?"

Su Xiaoyin quickly stepped forward and curtsied, saying, "Thanks to Madam's blessing, it was just completed yesterday. I brought it here today for Madam's appreciation."

She carefully untied the bundle and unfolded the embroidered painting, "Pine and Crane for Longevity." On the embroidered surface, more than a foot wide, vigorous pine branches twisted and turned, the needlework delicate and layered; the pine needles were embroidered with layers of green silk threads of varying shades, as if one could smell the fragrance of pine resin. Two cranes gracefully fluttered among them, one stretching its neck and calling out, the other lowering its head and pruning its feathers, the feathers embroidered with a mixture of silver-gray and pure white silk threads, shimmering and lifelike.

Madam Zhao's eyes lit up instantly. She stood up, walked to the embroidery, and examined it carefully for a long time. Her fingers gently brushed across the embroidery, but she dared not actually touch it, for fear of damaging the exquisite piece.

"Excellent! Excellent!" Madam Zhao exclaimed repeatedly. "This embroidery is even more skillful than the koi fish embroidery from last time. Your skills, sisters, are becoming more and more refined."

Su Xiaoqing smiled, her eyes full of joy.

Madam Zhao straightened up and looked at the two sisters: "It's quite a coincidence, I was just wondering what New Year's gift to give my mother this year. The old lady loves auspicious symbols like pine and crane, and this embroidery of yours really hits the spot."

She hesitated for a moment, then said, "I'll take this embroidery. Thirty-eight taels of silver, what do you think?"

Thirty-eight taels! That's three taels more than the last one!

Su Xiaoyin quickly calculated in her mind that the price was higher than they had expected. She nodded hurriedly, her voice filled with barely suppressed joy: "Thank you for your consideration, Madam! We'll go with your price."

Madam Zhao nodded in satisfaction and instructed the maid to fetch the silver. Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing carefully rewrapped the embroidery and took out a few items from their bundle—several newly made hair ties, brightly colored and exquisitely woven; and several handkerchiefs embroidered with orchids and butterflies.

"Madam, these little things are newly made by us. They are just a small token of our appreciation. You may keep them as a gift or use them yourself."

Madam Zhao took the hair ties, looked at them, and nodded with a smile: "You are so thoughtful. These hair ties have some novel designs; I'll keep them to give to the young maids as New Year's gifts."

The maid brought over thirty-eight taels of silver, three small ingots, and a string of copper coins. Su Xiaoyin took them, carefully put them into her inner pocket, and then curtsied to Madam Zhao.

"Thank you for your kindness, Madam. If we have any new embroidery designs next year, we will definitely send them to you for your review first."

"Alright, I'll be waiting." Madam Zhao waved her hand. "Go on, it's cold, be careful on the road."

---

After leaving the Zhao residence, Su Xiaoqing clutched her chest and whispered to her sister, "Sister, my heart is pounding! Thirty-eight taels of silver!"

Su Xiaoyin patted her pocket; the heavy feeling made her feel at ease. "I'll be happy when we get back. Let's go to the fabric shop now."

The two hurried back to the market. Chen's mother and father were busy at their stall. Seeing them return, Chen's mother's eyes lit up, and she asked in a low voice, "Did you sell them?"

Su Xiaoyin nodded and lowered her voice, "Sell it, we'll talk about it when we get back." She took out the thirty taels of silver from her bosom and handed it to Chen's mother, "Mother, please keep these thirty taels. There are too many people in the county town, I'm afraid someone will steal them. Xiaoqing and I will take the remaining eight taels to buy silk fabric and embroidery thread."

Mother Chen took the silver, her hand trembling slightly. Thirty taels! She'd managed the household for so many years and had seen silver before, but this was the result of her two daughters-in-law's painstaking embroidery! She took a deep breath, carefully tucked the silver into her innermost pocket, and patted it: "Go on, take the basket, buy the embroidery thread, and then see if there's anything else you can find. The New Year is almost here, we should start preparing."

Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing carried baskets on their backs and walked towards the cloth shop. When they passed the meat stall, Su Xiaoqing took a second look. There were several large bones on the stall, cleaned up neatly, and next to them was a piece of pork belly, with alternating layers of fat and lean meat, which looked very tempting.

"Sister, after we buy the embroidery thread, let's buy some meat. It's almost Chinese New Year, and we should have a few good meals at home."

Su Xiaoyin nodded: "Okay, let's buy some more big bones and make soup for Mom, Dashan, and Xiaohe to nourish them. Everyone's been exhausted this past month."

The two chatted as they walked briskly toward the fabric shop. The winter sun shone warmly on them, warming their hearts as well.

This year has flown by. From spring to winter, from sowing to harvest, from the first small embroidery pattern to the large embroidery piece weighing thirty-eight taels, their lives have been shaped into what they are today, stitch by stitch, hoe by hoe, sickle by sickle.

The fabric shop was just ahead. Su Xiaoyin glanced back at the market, where it was bustling with activity, and it seemed that her family's stall was surrounded by people again. A smile curved her lips as she took her sister's hand and walked into the fabric shop.

----

Upon seeing that they were regular customers, the shopkeeper immediately put on a smile: "You two ladies have arrived? What would you like to order this time?"

Su Xiaoyin placed eight taels of silver on the counter and said in a steady voice, "Shopkeeper, we want to buy silk fabric and embroidery thread. It's a large quantity, so please give us a discount."

The shopkeeper's eyes lit up. Half an hour later, the two sisters emerged from the cloth shop, their baskets overflowing with fine silk fabric and various embroidery threads, costing a full three and a half taels of silver. The shopkeeper beamed, and before leaving, he stuffed two large bundles of fabric scraps into their bags: "These are all scraps of fine cotton cloth, not enough for large items, but perfect for embroidering handkerchiefs or making sachets!"

Su Xiaoqing took the piece of cloth and weighed it in her hand; it was quite heavy. Her face lit up with a smile.

Next, they went to Tao Family Cloth Shop. It sold fabrics for ordinary families at affordable prices. The two sisters spent a long time choosing suitable fabrics for each member of the family—dark blue fine cotton for their parents, grayish-blue cloth for Chen Dashan and Chen Xiaohe, and a few brightly colored pieces for themselves and the children. These were all slightly flawed, discounted fabrics, but they didn't affect their appearance at all.

I bought several more thick bales of cotton, intending to make new cotton-padded coats for the whole family. The weather is getting colder and colder; it's time to get new coats from last year.

The shopkeeper of the Tao family also gave them scraps of cloth, two large bundles, mostly coarse linen with only a few pieces of fine cotton. Su Xiaoyin glanced at them and knew what to expect—coarse linen was good for patching shoe soles and mending clothes, and nothing should be wasted.

After leaving the fabric shop, the two went to the meat market. They bought several large bones, a set of pig offal, and two lively, wriggling carp, asking the vendor to clean them for them. After shopping, Su Xiaoyin dragged her sister around the market, quietly inquiring about the prices of dried persimmons, dried dates, and dried mushrooms at other stalls. Once they had a better understanding, they headed back.

When they returned to their stall, Mr. and Mrs. Chen were already packing up. Most of the goods on the stall had been sold, and Mrs. Chen was putting the remaining odds and ends into a basket on her back.

"Mom, we're back." Su Xiaoyin and her sister quickly stepped forward to help.

Chen's mother looked up and saw that her two daughters-in-law's baskets were bulging, and asked with a smile, "Did you buy everything?"

Su Xiaoyin nodded and briefly recounted how much she spent and what she bought, also mentioning the prices she had inquired about. Chen's mother listened, nodding repeatedly, "Good purchases. We'll have to go back and look around in a few days to see what else we need for the New Year."