Qiuhua worked hard and spent another ten days to complete the embroidery.

Hearing from the villagers that an embroidery master would come to collect the work today, Qiuhua folded the work and put it away early in the morning, waiting for the master to come with great anticipation.

After waiting for a long time, no one showed up. It was almost time to cook, and Qiuhua felt anxious and impatient.

I decided to make lunch anyway, as I was feeling even more anxious just waiting.

That morning, Xu Guoqing brought over a white radish. Freshly pulled from the ground, it was still drenched in mud. The mix of grass and mud smelled quite pleasant. Qiuhua hoisted a bucket of water up into a wooden basin, dropped the radish in, and rubbed it with her hands. The clear water immediately turned cloudy, revealing the radish's snow-white skin.

She took the radish out of the basin, held the big radish in one hand, and used the other hand to carefully scrape off the outer skin with a scraper. The radish flesh was just moist, and she looked very greedy. She took a kitchen knife and cut off a piece, put it in her mouth and chewed it. It was sweet with a hint of spiciness, and she felt very satisfied.

After eating the raw radish, Qiuhua washed the rice, put it in the pot, and lit a fire to cook. From inside the room came the sound of Chunhua crying loudly, followed by the sound of her mother humming a lullaby. Qiuhua stirred the fire in the stove with tongs.

Lunch is rice with braised white radish. Qiuhua also steamed an egg for Mom. It is a bit simple, but it is much better than before when they could only eat porridge. This is mainly thanks to Chunhua. Every relative and friend who comes to visit Chunhua and Mom will bring some rice, flour and eggs. Chunhua is the little lucky star of their family!

However, the rice, flour, and eggs sent as gifts will eventually be eaten, and the more important thing is to consider what to do next. That's why Qiuhua is so excited and restless today. She's about to realize the first step of her plan: to sell this embroidery for a good price! This is her first embroidery. She used to work with her mother, but only after her mother went to work in the team did she start working on her own.

She was feeling uneasy.

The lunch tasted bland. Seeing her absent-mindedness, her mother scooped a spoonful of steamed egg into her bowl.

"What are you thinking about? Why can't you even eat white rice?"

Qiuhua collected her thoughts, ate a mouthful of rice mixed with steamed egg, and asked anxiously, "When will the embroidery master come? I've been waiting all morning, and he hasn't come yet. I'm getting anxious."

Qiu Zhen knew her daughter's temper and that she was sometimes impatient, so she had to comfort her: "She will come. Just be patient. If she doesn't come today, she will come tomorrow. There's no need to rush for one or two days."

Qiuhua thought about it and agreed. As long as the embroidery was finished, it would make no difference whether she collected it today or tomorrow.

"Mom, after I graduate from junior high school, I won't go to work and I can just stay at home and do embroidery, okay?" Qiuhua asked casually.

Qiu Zhen thought for a moment and asked her daughter seriously, "Embroidery requires sitting in front of an embroidery frame for at least eight hours a day. Can you persevere? If you can and want to make a living from it, your current skills are still far from perfect. You need to think about how to improve them."

Mom was right. Actually, she had just casually asked, having not yet considered anything. Zhao Meiying and Zhou Hehua had already made up their minds: one wanted to be a teacher, the other a worker. She felt both envious and anxious. Their words had unconsciously put some pressure on her, urging her to decide on something soon.

"Actually, I'm not very clear about it, I'm just speaking casually."

"That's a good idea, but if you really want to do it, you have to think it through carefully and find a true master. It doesn't matter if you don't know now. You're still young. You can wait and see if you like it and whether it's suitable for you. Then it's not too late to make a decision."

What Mom said was absolutely right. Qiuhua’s impatience found an outlet and slowly flowed out, and she felt much better.

If you don't think about it, people will come.

The master who collects money for embroidery is from another village, a little far away from here. She is a bit old and walks slowly.

Qiuhua took the embroidery outside and spread it out with both hands. Master Qian squinted his eyes and looked at it carefully. She had a kind face, with half-white hair combed into a small bun and a high hairline in front of her forehead.

Just looking was not enough, she reached out and touched it gently, then turned it over and looked at the back, seeming very satisfied.

"Xiao Niangyu, which piece have you embroidered?" She asked Qiuhua with a smile.

“This is the first piece.”

Qiuhua guessed that Master Qian should be satisfied, and felt a little excited.

Master Qian nodded. "It's very well done. The stitches are neither too long nor too short. The entire embroidery is smooth, and the reverse side is also relatively flat. Who did you learn this skill from?"

"I learned it from my mom. I used to watch her when I was little, and sometimes I would do it for a while."

"Little girl, you're pretty good. Are you still in school?" Master Qian carefully folded the embroidery and put it in the pocket he was carrying. He asked, "I'll give you ten yuan. Are you satisfied?"

Qiuhua nodded like pounding garlic, that’s a full ten dollars!

Master Qian, grinning, pulled a small handkerchief from his pocket and slowly unfolded it, corner by corner. Inside were wrinkled bills. He took several of the 1.5 yuan bills and finally gathered together ten yuan to give her.

After finishing, she took out a piece of embroidery from another large cloth bag and handed it to Qiuhua.

"See if you can do this one. It'll cost you twelve bucks."

"I can do it, of course I can!" Qiuhua was naturally happy to accept it. Twelve dollars is not a small amount!

She unfolded a section of the embroidery, which showed two ducks swimming in the water. Master Qian also gave her a pattern diagram, specifying the specific colors of the silk thread: the ducks should be painted in both aqua and red. It was so vibrant!

"These two ducks are embroidered so brightly!" Qiuhua couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

Master Qian was amused by her and said, "Little Lady Fish, this is a mandarin duck, not a duck!"

Qiuhua blushed, but also found it curious and amusing. Master Qian wasn't laughing at her; she simply thought the little girl was young, innocent, and well-behaved. She'd actually wanted to see if Qiuhua had the talent for embroidery, so she gave her another piece. This one was more difficult than the peony piece, since it was a living thing, requiring dexterity and skill to embroider well.

"But I need this one urgently. You have to give it to me within two months at most." Due to the tight time schedule, she had already chosen someone, but the little fish looked like a good material, so she couldn't help but give it to her for a try.

"Okay, no problem, two months is two months!"

As expected, a newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger! Qiuhua agreed without a second thought. Qiu Zhen also came out at this time. This embroidery is not that simple. Two months is indeed too tight for Qiuhua. However, she did not speak to stop it. She thought about what Qiuhua said during the meal. This is a good opportunity to practice.

Well, a new challenge begins!