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

"This county town has finally regained some of its vitality and is no longer so desolate."

That evening after dinner, the family sat around the kang (a heated brick bed) talking. Chen Xiaohe recounted the sights he had seen in the county town that day, his tone tinged with emotion.

Mother Chen smiled and said, "It's almost Chinese New Year, so it's naturally going to be more lively. Business will definitely be better than usual in the days leading up to the New Year."

Su Xiaoyin continued, "Tomorrow, Xiaoqing and I will go with you to set up the stall. Once the Five Relationships Embroidery is finished, we need to deliver it to Manager Sun as soon as possible. I reckon he's getting anxious."

Chen Dashan nodded: "Okay, then you can come with us in the morning. After you finish this embroidery, you can take a good rest. You've made three large embroidery pieces this year, not counting the smaller ones. It's the end of the year, you should take a break."

Chen's mother also felt sorry for her two daughters-in-law: "Yes, you and Xiaoqing should rest well. If you want to embroider, do it next year. It's almost the end of the year, so don't do it."

Su Xiaoqing leaned on her sister's shoulder and smiled, "Okay, Mother, I'll listen to you. When my sister and I were making this Five Relationships picture, we did feel a bit tired. Let's continue embroidering after the New Year. In the meantime, let's tidy up the house properly, since the New Year is coming. Then we can think about what embroidery to make after the New Year."

Chen's mother then asked her two sons, "Will we still plant more melon seedlings in the valley next year? The jujube, persimmon, and apple trees we planted before should bear fruit this year, right?"

Chen Dashan thought for a moment: "The melon seedlings have sold quite well these past two years; many people in the county recognize our melons. I'm thinking of planting more melon seedlings this spring. Selling melons this summer brought us a considerable income. However, we have no experience with planting fruit trees on the mountain. Tomorrow I'll ask Brother De how they do it. They have even more fruit trees than we do."

Father Chen took a puff of his pipe and said slowly, "You go set up your stall. I'll ask the village head tomorrow. It would be best to find someone experienced so we can learn from them. That way, if there are any pests or fruit tree diseases, we can handle them ourselves."

After the family finalized their plans for tomorrow, they all went back to their rooms to rest.

---

The next morning, before dawn, Chen Dashan had already harnessed the mule cart.

Su Xiaoyin and Su Xiaoqing carefully wrapped the Five Relationships diagram, placed it in the innermost layer of the basket, and covered it with several layers of cloth, afraid of getting the embroidery dirty. Chen Xiaohe helped load the goods from the stall onto the cart, and the four of them headed to the county town.

The road was much busier than it had been a few days ago. People going to the market, visiting relatives, and selling goods were coming and going in an endless stream. Most of the snow piled up by the roadside had melted, revealing the dark earth beneath. The mules walked steadily, and soon they reached the county town.

The market was even more lively now. Most of the stalls were set up, selling vegetables, meat, cloth, and groceries, with shouts of vendors rising and falling. Chen Dashan set up his stall in the usual spot, Chen Xiaohe helped arrange the goods, and the Su Xiaoyin sisters also lent a hand.

After selling goods for a while, Chen Dashan looked at the sun and said to Su Xiaoyin, "It's about time, you two should go to the bookstore."

Su Xiaoyin nodded, and she and Su Xiaoqing shouldered their baskets and headed towards Sun's bookstore.

---

The entrance to Sun's Bookstore was bustling with people, more so than usual. The two sisters went inside and saw Manager Sun greeting customers behind the counter. They didn't disturb him, but instead went to the secondhand book section next door and quietly browsed through the books.

There were quite a few old books on the bookshelf, some with yellowed pages. Su Xiaoyin picked one up at random and flipped through it; it was an agricultural book about the cultivation methods of various crops. She then looked at the bookshelf next to her, which held a variety of books, including travelogues, poetry collections, and a few medical books.

Su Xiaoqing suddenly tugged at her sleeve: "Sis, look at this book!"

Su Xiaoyin leaned closer to take a look and saw that it was a book about farmland planting and fruit tree maintenance, with the words "Essentials of Agriculture and Sericulture" written on the cover. She opened it and read it; it was very detailed, explaining what to do in each solar term, how to graft fruit trees, and how to control pests, all clearly written down.

"This is great!" Su Xiaoyin's eyes lit up. "Dad and Dashan were discussing fruit trees yesterday, and now we have a book!"

Su Xiaoqing pulled out another picture book and handed it to her sister: "Sister, look at this one. Many of these patterns can be turned into embroidery designs."

Su Xiaoyin took it and flipped through it. It was a book of flower and bird paintings, the illustrations were incredibly lifelike. She nodded, "This is good too. Let's buy it and study it slowly when we get back."

As the two were talking, Manager Sun's voice came from behind: "Ladies, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting! There were customers earlier, so I didn't have time to serve you. Come on, let's go to the back room to talk."

The two sisters took the two books they had chosen and followed Manager Sun into the back room.

---

The back room was warm and cozy, with a charcoal brazier burning nearby. Manager Sun invited them to sit down and had a waiter bring hot tea before smiling and saying, "Ladies, did you come today because the Five Relationships embroidery is finished?"

Su Xiaoyin nodded, carefully took the embroidery out of the basket, and gently unfolded it.

Manager Sun stepped forward, took one look, and froze.

It was a large embroidered picture, nearly three feet square, with a plain silk background and gold thread covering the entire embroidery. Five kinds of birds soared and flew among the fabric. The phoenix occupied the center, its plumage magnificent and its long tail feathers hanging down; the crane danced gracefully beside it; the mandarin ducks swam in pairs, intimately cuddling; the wagtail hopped on the branches, lively and agile; and the oriole hid among the flowers, appearing and disappearing. The five kinds of birds, each with its own posture, were so lifelike that they seemed ready to fly off the embroidery at any moment.

Around the embroidery, four clusters of auspicious cloud patterns surround a blooming lotus flower, interspersed with peony and lingzhi mushrooms, their branches and leaves lush and their blossoms vibrant. The gold thread glitters under the light, making the entire embroidery magnificent and exquisite.

Manager Sun stared for a long, long time before finally letting out a long sigh.

"Wow...wonderful..." His voice trembled slightly. "I've lived this long and never seen such exquisite embroidery. It's even better than the embroiderers in our city! Ladies, your skills are truly..."

He couldn't continue, he just kept shaking his head, his face full of amazement.

Su Xiaoyin breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "Shopkeeper, you flatter me. Do you see anything that needs changing? If so, we'll take it back and revise it."

Shopkeeper Sun quickly waved his hand, "No need, no need at all! This embroidery is so beautiful, my old lady will definitely love it!" He took out a silver note from his pocket, counted out twenty-five taels and handed it over, "This is the final payment, ladies, please keep it safe."

Su Xiaoyin took the silver note, examined it carefully, and put it into her inner pocket.

Manager Sun picked up the two books again, glanced at them, and said with a smile, "These two books that the two ladies chose are a gift from me. It's just a small token of my appreciation."

Su Xiaoyin quickly thanked them, and Su Xiaoqing happily added, "Thank you, shopkeeper! We just needed it!"

Shopkeeper Sun waved his hand: "Don't be so polite. If you have any new embroidery designs in the future, remember to bring them to me. My old lady likes these, and there are quite a few ladies and young ladies in the prefectural city who also like them. With your skills, you won't have to worry about finding work."

The two sisters nodded repeatedly, chatted for a while, and then said goodbye and left.

---

Stepping out of the bookstore, Su Xiaoqing grabbed her sister's hand, jumping for joy: "Sister! We did it! We earned another twenty-five taels!"

Su Xiaoyin laughed and patted her hand: "Don't jump, or people will laugh at you."