Uncle Hu pointed toward the canal in the distance. A black-sailed boat, hoisted with a gardenia flag, sat quietly at the dock. The red silk tied to its bow fluttered in the wind, beckoning. "Madam, the boat is ready. We've also got preserved bayberries, a Suzhou specialty. They're sweet and sour, perfect for the young master and young lady to relieve their greasy appetite. We've also got loquats fresh from the trees, so they're kept fresh."
Su Jinli nodded, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the mutton-fat jade pendant at her waist. The gardenia on the pendant seemed to come alive in the sunlight, emitting a delicate fragrance that carried her grandfather's care, her mother's tenderness, and her own current sense of relief. She recalled Uncle Hu's stories of her mother's past, and Nianli's clear voice as she sang the children's rhyme. Suddenly, she understood what her grandfather often said, "The people's hearts are like gardenias"—a seemingly fragile flower, yet its fragrance permeates the entire Jiangnan region, just as the voices of the people, though soft, can shake the wheels of greed and let the sunshine of justice fill every corner.
"Let's go!" Nian Li grabbed Si Yan's hand and ran towards the dock. Her little face was filled with excitement, as if she had already seen the colorful silk threads in the Suzhou embroidery workshop. "Let's go to Suzhou to see the embroiderers!" Si Yan was dragged so hard that she staggered, but she still kept muttering: "Dad, the embroidery workshop's account book should use the 'four-pillar inventory' algorithm, right? I've seen it in the 'Algorithm Tongzong'. It's divided into old management, new collection, dismissal, and actual. This way of calculating is the clearest..."
Jiang Yan reached out and smoothed Su Jinli's wind-twisted hair. His fingertips brushed against her warm earlobe, and he whispered, "The Suzhou embroiderers will surely be able to turn Nianli's nursery rhyme into the most gorgeous brocade and hang it in our home in the capital, letting everyone who sees it know the journey our family has taken."
Su Jinli gazed at the canal, where sunlight shattered into a thousand golden scales on the waves, reflecting the blue sky and white clouds, the leaping figures of her children, and the gradually clearing outline of Suzhou in the distance. The dust of the Hu family's downfall had been blown away by the laughter of the people, and their next journey was like an unfurled embroidery frame, waiting to be woven with wisdom, courage, and love, into a world more beautiful than the spring scenery of the south of the Yangtze River. At the dock, Uncle Hu waved, calling on the boatman to prepare tea. His goatee gleamed silver in the sunlight, and the gardenia on his sleeve was in full bloom, as if foreshadowing the beauty of the next stop, and wishing them a smooth journey and sweet years.
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