"In order to threaten and frighten my mother and the tea plantation workers, my father's body was hung on the tea mountain. For three days, my mother went crazy and started talking nonsense and giggling like crazy, but she still didn't say a word."
"In our family, I was the only child who didn't understand anything. Those workers were only responsible for picking tea, and they didn't know anything about the rest. Those beasts didn't get what they wanted, so they burned it in anger. The entire tea garden was covered in fire, and the sky turned red."
"The workers fled in all directions, and they wanted to kill me and my mother. My mother...my mother saved me with her own life. I escaped with the notebook left by my father and took a boat alone. Suhang, my maternal grandfather’s home, now that I think about it, I don’t know how I got there safely, maybe it’s because I am really lucky.”
Qin Xun didn't speak. The air in the room seemed to have stopped flowing, and there was only the sound of Yu Wan's slow narration.
"My grandma is a famous embroidery master in Suzhou and Hangzhou. She has spent her whole life making clothes for others, whether they are high-ranking officials or nobles, as well as traffickers and mediocre people. She just wants to study embroidery skills."
"I ran to my grandfather's house to ask for help, but I forgot one thing. Su embroidery is a world-famous stunt. How could it not be targeted by those beasts?" Yuwan's eyes turned red as she recalled the past, "A An officer in Fusang asked my grandma to make him a piece of clothing. He had to wear that piece of clothing when speaking to the people in Suzhou and Hangzhou. That is to say, as long as my grandma made that piece of clothing for him, the whole Suzhou and Hangzhou would wear it. Everyone in Hangzhou will know that the Ning family has taken refuge with the Fusang people."
"My grandma has made clothes all her life and has never refused anyone. But she didn't make this one."
"What's the price of not doing it?" Yu Wan smiled sadly, "Her hands, which are still as well-maintained as a young girl after she is over fifty, have her fingernails pulled out one by one and her fingers cut off one by one."
"My grandma, who has been embroidering Su embroidery all her life, lost her proud hands forever. She didn't shed a single tear. Instead, she told me in a gentle voice to keep the inheritance of Su embroidery from the Ning family and let me take it with me. Take the money and leave quickly, and live well.”
"Then she, on the third day after losing her hand, committed suicide."
"In less than a year, I lost all my close relatives, and I only had a few thin books with me. Those were the things they exchanged for their lives. I must keep them, even if it means using my own life."
"I went to Shanghai again. I was seven years old at that time. In order to survive, I stole, robbed, begged... I did everything. Later, because of my good looks, I was taken in by the owner of a dance hall and trained me to sing. Dancing, she said she expected me to make money for her.”
"Actually, I know that if a teenage girl is expected to make money, I don't know how many years and months it will take for her to make money, and she may not be able to get back the money she paid. And where did she teach me how to sing and dance? She didn't teach me anything. It’s knowledge from textbooks. The owner of that dance hall was just kind-hearted and took me in because of my pity. I’m very grateful to her. I spent a very relaxed and happy few years there.”
"When I was fourteen years old, the country finally ushered in the light, the darkness was gone, people also ushered in a new life, and I also started a new wandering, because the owner of the dance hall died, died in The night before dawn.”
"Actually, I have heard that the sisters in the song and dance hall, every time they accompany the guests to drink, they are inquiring about what is going on. I have also seen strange faces entering and exiting the song and dance hall with caution. They are not A singer, not a dancer, but a hero, a warrior!"
Qin Xun's body trembled, and his heart trembled when he looked at Yu Wan's impassioned face.
At this moment, he felt extremely sorry for the woman in front of him. At such a young age, she had already experienced too many things.
"Before she died, the owner of the dance hall left me a sum of money. She only said one thing to me, asking me to find a way to survive." Yuwan continued.
"People around me left me one after another. They only stayed in my life for a short time. I thought for a long time, what can I do?"
"I thought of my father's body hanging on the tea mountain. I thought of my mother's desperate cry. I thought of my grandmother who had broken her hand and asked me to live well. I finally remembered what I wanted to do."
"I planted tea leaves again on the mountain bit by bit, and I began to learn Suzhou embroidery stitch by stitch. I was walking the path that my elders had walked, and I was inheriting their unfinished business. In this way, I have spent many years .”
"later……"
At this point, Yuwan stopped, and she showed a complicated expression.
"Later, the tea mountain was given to the country, and Su embroidery became what others called 'dregs.'" Yuwan smiled bitterly, "Suddenly, I had nothing."
When Qin Xun heard this, she couldn't bear it. The pain was unbearable for ordinary people. She had endured it countless times. How strong her psychology was that allowed her to speak out in such a calm tone at this time.
"I was assigned to work in a remote village. The people in the village liked scholars and treated me well. I became a teacher there, day after day, and so on for many years."
"Then things changed again."
"Su embroidery is a skill that the country must vigorously protect and inherit. My grandfather's ancestral home has been returned to me, and all the property that was previously confiscated has been returned. But I am at a loss. What can I do?"
"The tea mountain no longer belongs to our Yu family, but the tea-making skills are still there, and the Ning family's Su embroidery is no longer in the Ning family. But the Ning family's Su embroidery will be passed down forever. What about me? What can I do? From that time on, I Really start thinking about what you want to do instead of what you should do?"
"I wanted to open a store that retains customers with its taste, so I established Yashe."
Yuwan finally finished telling her story. Her story was like the cup of tea in front of her, clear, fragrant and with a long aftertaste.
Qin Xun handed her a cup of tea at the right time and asked her to moisten her throat.
"Thanks."
After Yuwan took a sip, she looked at him with a smile.
"Mr. Qin, I have finished telling my story. Now, are you still willing to bet with me that it will bear fruit?"
"Of course, why not?" Qin Xun replied without hesitation, without any hesitation at all.
"You said you have been wandering all your life, then let me be your harbor." Qin Xun looked at her with the same smile, "Are you willing? Miss Yu."
He held out his hand, waiting for her answer.
"certainly."
This time, Yuwan didn't hesitate at all, stretched out her plain white hand and gently put it into his palm.
