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

Su Xiaoyin felt relieved and quickly said, "You flatter me, Madam. Is there anything else that needs to be revised?"

Madam Qian waved her hand: "No need to change it, not at all. I want this painting." She turned to her maid and said, "Go and get fifty taels of silver."

The maid responded and turned to leave.

Madam Qian looked at the embroidery again, becoming more and more satisfied: "You sisters have improved your embroidery skills very quickly. I remember Madam Yu's Guanyin giving a child painting wasn't as exquisite as this one. This Qilin giving a child painting is much better than before in terms of color matching, stitching, and composition."

Su Xiaoqing couldn't help but laugh: "Madam has a good eye. This is indeed the one we put the most effort into embroidering; it took us more than half a year to complete."

Madam Qian nodded: "I can see that. Such fine embroidery, I feel fifty taels of silver is too little. But I won't change what we agreed on before. In that case, I'll give you another bolt of cloth as an extra token of my appreciation."

The maidservant brought in the silver and the cloth. The fifty taels of silver were in a heavy purse. The cloth was fine plain silk, with a fine texture and elegant color; it was clearly not cheap.

Su Xiaoyin accepted the silver and cloth and quickly thanked them.

Madam Qian then said, "Embroider another Five Relationships picture for me. As long as it's well done, you'll be well rewarded. Same as before, bring it over when it's finished, and I'll keep it if I'm satisfied."

Su Xiaoyin nodded: "Don't worry, Madam, we will definitely do our best to embroider it. It will probably take three or four months, and we will send it to you as soon as it is finished."

Madam Qian nodded in satisfaction, and after exchanging a few more words with them, she had her maid escort them out.

---

Stepping out of the Qian residence, Su Xiaoqing gripped her sister's arm tightly, her voice trembling slightly: "Sister, pinch me, see if this is real. Fifty taels of silver, and a bolt of cloth... Did we really sell that much?"

Su Xiaoyin chuckled and gently pinched her: "It's true. Don't stand here, let's take the things back first."

The two hurried back to the general store. Chen Xiaohe was attending to customers when he saw them return and quickly came to greet them: "How was it? Was Mrs. Qian satisfied?"

Su Xiaoqing handed him the purse and whispered, "Fifty taels. And a bolt of cloth as a reward."

Chen Xiaohe took the purse, his hands trembling: "Fifty taels! Sister-in-law, Xiaoqing, you're amazing!"

Su Xiaoyin said, "Xiaohe, keep the silver notes safe. Take them back with you later. Let's use some of the loose silver to buy embroidery thread and cloth, and some meat. We'll make dumplings tonight to celebrate."

Chen Xiaohe nodded repeatedly: "Okay, you guys go ahead. I'll stay at the shop."

Su Xiaoyin took out a few pieces of silver from her purse and handed the silver notes to Chen Xiaohe to keep safe. The two sisters carried their baskets and headed towards the cloth shop.

---

The shopkeeper, recognizing them as regular customers, greeted them warmly: "Ladies, you've arrived! What would you like to order this time?"

Su Xiaoyin listed what she needed—the finest silk fabric, various colored silk threads, and gold thread. The Five Relationships illustration needed a gold thread base, so she had to buy the best quality.

The shopkeeper brought out items one by one for them to choose from, praising them as he did so: "Ladies, you must have taken on another big job, right? Your skills are truly exceptional. As regular customers, I'll definitely pick the best for you."

As Su Xiaoqing picked out the silk threads, she smiled and said, "Shopkeeper, could you give us some more scraps of cloth? You see, we're regular customers."

The shopkeeper laughed, "Alright, alright, I'll give you two bundles of fine cotton cloth scraps first. The rest are all coarse cloth scraps, do you want them?"

Su Xiaoyin said, "Yes, bring them all. We don't have that much fine cotton cloth, but coarse linen will do. We can use it to patch shoe soles and mend clothes when we get back."

The shopkeeper pulled out another bundle of cloth from under the counter and said, "Oh, right, I also have some flawed cloth. Would you two ladies like it? It got a little stained when I was storing it, but it doesn't affect its use. The colors are fine too, all bright and vibrant."

Su Xiaoyin took it and looked at it. Sure enough, there were a few small stains on the fabric, but they weren't big and could be cut off. The colors were indeed beautiful, with peach, emerald green, and light blue, perfect for making children's clothes.

"I'll take them. Shopkeeper, how much are these?"

The shopkeeper did the math and said, "These flawed fabrics aren't expensive to begin with. You're regular customers, so fifty coins will do."

Su Xiaoyin paid the money and put the scraps and flawed fabrics into her basket. The silk thread and brocade cost more than four taels of silver, and the shopkeeper, as usual, gave her some extra scraps of fabric.

After leaving the fabric shop, Su Xiaoqing pulled her sister towards the meat stall: "Sis, let's buy meat! We'll make dumplings tonight!"

There were only a few pieces of pork belly left at the butcher's stall. Su Xiaoyin picked out a piece with a good balance of fat and lean meat and had the butcher weigh two jin (approximately 1 kg). Just as she was about to leave, Su Xiaoqing stopped her again: "Sister, let's buy a roast duck too! I heard that old-established place in town is especially delicious!"

Su Xiaoyin hesitated for a moment: "It's so expensive! A roast duck can buy several pounds of pork."

Su Xiaoqing protested, shaking her arm and saying, "Sister, let's buy it! To celebrate selling at a high price, we should eat something good. Besides, you can try their food, and we can learn from them and sell roast chicken or roast duck in the shop, wouldn't that be great?"

Su Xiaoyin was amused by her: "Your mind works fast. Okay, I'll buy one."

The two went around to the roast duck shop and waited in line for quite a while before finally buying one. It was wrapped in oil paper, still warm, and the aroma filled their nostrils. Su Xiaoqing hugged the roast duck, wishing she could take a bite right then and there.

"Sis, it smells amazing! Everyone will love it when we get back!"

Su Xiaoyin laughed too: "Alright, let's go. Xiaohe must be getting impatient."

---

Back at the general store, Chen Xiaohe had almost finished packing. Seeing them return, she quickly asked, "Did you buy everything?"

Su Xiaoyin nodded and showed him the contents of her basket. Chen Xiaohe's eyes lit up when he saw the package of roast duck: "Roast duck! Everyone says the roast duck in the county town is delicious, but we've never had it before!"

Su Xiaoqing said with a smile, "I bought these especially to celebrate the high price our embroidery sold for! Let's pack up and go home."

Chen Xiaohe quickly locked the shop, and the three of them drove the oxcart back. Su Xiaoqing sat on the cart, holding the bag of roast duck, grinning from ear to ear the whole way.

----

When I got home, it wasn't dark yet.

Father Chen was chopping firewood in the yard, Mother Chen was busy in the kitchen, and Chen Dashan was working in the carpentry workshop. Hearing the sound of the oxcart, the whole family came out to greet them.

Chen Xiaohe jumped out of the car and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Dad! Mom! Big Brother! Sister-in-law and Xiaoqing bought pork and roast duck. We're having a nice meal tonight!"

Mr. Chen was taken aback: "Wow, you bought so many nice things!"

Chen Xiaohe handed over the purse: "Father, these are the silver notes from my sister-in-law and Xiaoqing's embroidery sale—fifty taels! Madam Qian also said they should embroider another Five Relationships picture and send it over when it's finished!"