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

Su Xiaoyin nodded and asked, "What kind of design would you like, shopkeeper? My sisters and I have made quite a few large embroidery designs before, including Guanyin giving a child, the Eight Immortals celebrating longevity, the character 'Fu' (福, meaning good fortune), pine and crane for longevity, and a few flower and bird designs."

She took out several recently made cushions from her basket and handed them to Shopkeeper Sun: "These are the ones I made recently. Shopkeeper, please take a look at the embroidery skills. Because the large embroidery pattern was sold to Madam Yu a while ago, I haven't made any large ones recently, just some small ones."

Shopkeeper Sun took the cushions and examined them carefully. One cushion was embroidered with intertwined peonies, the flowers red and the leaves green, layer upon layer, the embroidery exquisite; the other was embroidered with a pair of mandarin ducks, each feather distinct, their expressions lifelike. He turned them over and over several times, nodding in satisfaction.

"Excellent, truly excellent. The peony embroidery looks incredibly realistic, and the mandarin ducks are so lifelike." Shopkeeper Sun put down the cushion. "Tell me, what kinds of large embroidery designs have you made?"

Su Xiaoyin introduced each of the paintings she had made. Su Xiaoqing added to the discussion, explaining the meaning, size, and lines used in each painting.

Shopkeeper Sun listened attentively, nodding occasionally. After they finished speaking, he thought for a moment and asked, "I've seen many paintings of the Eight Immortals celebrating longevity, and paintings of pine trees and cranes symbolizing long life are also common. Are there any that are different? The old lady is well-traveled and knowledgeable; she probably wouldn't be interested in anything too ordinary."

Su Xiaoqing suddenly spoke up: "Shopkeeper, what do you think of the Five Relationships Chart?"

Manager Sun was taken aback: "The Five Relationships Chart? What's that?"

Su Xiaoyin continued, explaining, "The Five Relationships Embroidery features five birds as its main motif: the phoenix, crane, mandarin duck, wagtail, and oriole. These five birds represent the five fundamental relationships: ruler and subject, father and son, husband and wife, elder and younger, and friends. It's typically made with plain silk as the base, fully embroidered with gold thread, and then the Five Relationships pattern is embroidered with various colored silk threads. The composition centers on a lotus flower surrounded by four clusters of auspicious cloud patterns, encircled by vines of peonies and lingzhi mushrooms, with the five birds soaring among them. It's auspicious, grand, and not commonly seen."

Shopkeeper Sun's eyes lit up: "This is wonderful! This is truly excellent! The old lady is very particular about these symbolic meanings, and the Five Relationships Chart is exactly what she wants!" He thought for a moment, then asked, "Is this difficult to make? How long will it take?"

Su Xiaoyin said, "The Five Relationships pattern is more complicated than ordinary embroidery patterns because it uses gold thread, which makes it more expensive. It would take the two of us sisters at least three months to complete."

Manager Sun frowned: "Three months..."

Su Xiaoyin quickly replied, "Shopkeeper, embroidery requires slow and meticulous work. We wouldn't dare say our skills are the best, but every stitch and every thread is made with care. Three months is already the fastest we can go; any faster and we'd be afraid it would affect the quality."

Shopkeeper Sun thought for a moment and nodded, "Alright, three months it is. The old lady's birthday is still half a year away, there's enough time." He looked at Su Xiaoyin, "And the price? How much silver is this Five Relationships Chart?"

Su Xiaoyin quickly did the math in her head—the cost of gold thread wasn't low, plus the silk cloth, embroidery thread, labor, and three months… She took a deep breath and said, “Shopkeeper, forty-five taels of silver.”

Su Xiaoqing almost couldn't hold back and secretly pinched her sister.

Shopkeeper Sun was taken aback for a moment, then smiled: "Forty-five taels? Cheaper than I expected. In the embroidery workshops in the prefectural city, a large piece of embroidery costs fifty taels or more, and none of them are as original as this."

Su Xiaoyin breathed a sigh of relief, but kept a composed expression: "If the shopkeeper thinks it's suitable, then that's good. We sisters will definitely do our best to make the old lady satisfied."

Manager Sun nodded: "Alright, it's settled then. How much is the deposit?"

Su Xiaoyin said, "The deposit is twenty taels. The shopkeeper will check the goods upon delivery and if there are no problems, then the balance will be settled."

Manager Sun took out twenty taels of silver from the counter and handed it over. He then took out paper and pen and wrote out a contract. Su Xiaoyin carefully read it over, confirmed that it was correct, and then signed and pressed her fingerprint on it.

"Don't worry, Manager Sun, we will definitely deliver the embroidery in three months." Su Xiaoyin put away the contract and got up to take her leave.

---

Stepping out of the bookstore, Su Xiaoqing pulled her sister along quickly for quite a distance before exclaiming, "Sister! You really dared to ask for forty-five taels! I thought forty taels was the absolute maximum!"

Su Xiaoyin was amused by her and whispered, "I've inquired about it. Dashan helped me ask before. In the embroidery workshops in the county town, such a large embroidery pattern would cost at least fifty taels or more, and they might not even be as good as what we make. Forty-five taels isn't expensive."

Su Xiaoqing was still incredibly excited: "That's so much! Sis, we've really landed a huge job this time!"

Su Xiaoyin patted her hand: "Alright, let's go to the fabric shop to buy things first. This time we need gold thread, so we have to buy the best."

The two walked towards the cloth shop, and Su Xiaoqing kept talking about the forty-five taels of silver, as happy as a child. Su Xiaoyin let her chatter on, feeling a warmth in her heart. All the hard work over the years had finally paid off.

Upon arriving at the cloth shop, the shopkeeper, recognizing them as regular customers, warmly greeted them: "Ladies, you've arrived! What would you like to order this time?"

Su Xiaoyin listed what she wanted—fine silk fabric, a quantity of gold thread, various colored silk threads, and some fine cotton fabric for making cushions. The shopkeeper took out each item for them to choose from, praising them as he did so: "Ladies, you've taken on a big job, haven't you? You want so many good things."

Su Xiaoqing, quick to speak, couldn't help but say, "That's right, a large embroidery piece worth forty-five taels!"

Su Xiaoyin glanced at her, and Su Xiaoqing quickly covered her mouth.

The shopkeeper smiled, not asking any further questions, but simply praising, "You two ladies have excellent skills, so naturally you have plenty of work. Please come often, and don't hesitate to let me know if you need anything."

After selecting the items and calculating the bill, they had spent a little over four taels of silver. As usual, the shopkeeper gave them two large bundles of fabric scraps, and even specially selected some brightly colored ones, saying they were for making small items.

---

Back at their stall, Chen Dashan and Chen Xiaohe were busy serving customers. Seeing them return, Chen Xiaohe quickly greeted them, "How was it? How was it?"

Su Xiaoqing couldn't hold back any longer and pulled him aside, saying, "It's done! Forty-five taels! The deposit has been paid!"

Chen Xiaohe's eyes widened: "Forty-five taels? That much!"

Chen Dashan also looked up at Su Xiaoyin. Su Xiaoyin nodded and showed him the contract. Chen Dashan examined it carefully, a smile appearing on his lips: "Good. Now I can make another fortune."

Su Xiaoqing chimed in, "Big brother, you have no idea how formidable my sister is. When Manager Sun asked the price, she immediately quoted forty-five taels! I almost lost my temper!"

Chen Dashan looked at Su Xiaoyin with a smile in his eyes: "Your sister knows what she's doing."

Su Xiaoyin felt a little embarrassed by his gaze and lowered her head to tidy up the things in her basket.

Chen Xiaohe pulled Su Xiaoqing aside and asked her all sorts of questions. Su Xiaoqing recounted everything that had just happened. When she mentioned the Five Relationships Diagram, she gestured and said, "That diagram is so complicated. It requires gold thread and five kinds of birds. I get nervous as soon as my sister mentions it, afraid that people will think it's too expensive..."

Chen Xiaohe listened and nodded repeatedly, "You guys are amazing! Our family will be counting on you from now on!"

Su Xiaoqing rolled her eyes at him: "You're so good with words."

---