Chapter 1 Dragon And Phoenix Quilt

Early mornings in March were sometimes warm or cold.
From a small dilapidated building, sounds of cutting vegetables, frying oil cakes*, and a mother shrilly scolding her child could be heard.

*Note: A sort of pancake, very similar to roti or chapati.

Hua Jin pushed open her door to see a boy, in a blue school uniform wearing a backpack, standing in the corridor with his head down.
He didn’t even bother to look at her when she opened her door.
When his mother saw Hua Jin come out, she tried to tidy her curly hair, before asking, “ Xiao Hua, are you going to work so early?”

While Hua Jin returned her greetings, Sister Qin would fidget with her hair or sleeves, all the while, her son just stood there silently, like a potato. 

When Sister Qin noticed Hua Jin had shifted her eyes from her to her son, she stopped with all her fidgeting and began to recount her son’s many shortcomings.

“Sister Qin.” Hua Jin had to interrupt the tirading as she checked the time on her phone.
“I might miss my train, so let’s talk again tomorrow.” She bade farewell then raced down the stairs, silent enough to not trigger the sound-activated lights. 

When she arrived downstairs, she could hear Sister Qin scolding her son once again. 

After Hua Jin ate her breakfast at a roadside shop, when she exited the store, she saw Sister Qin’s son waddling along the street, crestfallen.
He was walking at a snail’s pace.

The streets were already crowded with cars even in the early morning, though there was still a bit of dull sleepiness in the air, it didn’t dampen the feeling of the day’s fight to life. 

“Be careful!” Hua Jin took two quick steps to grab the boy’s school bag to pull him to safety as a car raced past the intersection he was about to cross on.
It was quite a close call.

The little boy looked up at Hua Jin, still looking a bit dull.
After a bit, he managed to whisper, “Thank you, Sister Hua Jin.”

“Don’t mention it~” Hua Jin was pleased.
What woman in her twenties didn’t like children calling them ‘sister’?

“Be attentive when you’re walking on the road, and be mindful of vehicles! Safety is important!” Hua Jin couldn’t help but advise the child as she tidied up his collar.
After she saw the child safely go, she rubbed her faintly aching knees, then proceeded to get on her way.

In a bustling city, one cannot afford to stop too long if you want to survive, thrive, or have a better life.
People will come and go, but the city will remain.
It’ll continue to prosper, along with the many dreamers that call it home. 

When she got off the crowded subway, Hua Jin saw a street performer busking away while pedestrians hurried along, apparently too busy to pay her any mind.
Hua Jin fished through her coat for some change, before placing them into the collection box in front of the performer.

“Thank you~” whispered the busker, who was only a little girl.

She still had her baby fat on her face and her eyes were still clear and filled with hope.
Hua Jin put her hands into her coat and smiled, “You’re welcome.
A lot of people are rushing to work in the morning, so they really can’t afford to stop to take a look.” 

As she was saying this, she pointed to a train station staff walking towards them.
“It seems talent shows aren’t allowed here, so why not relocate somewhere else?”

Obviously, the little girl was performing to make a living, but she phrased it as a ‘talent show’ to make it seem less offensive.
The girl smiled gratefully at Hua Jin.

Hua Jin smiled back and walked out of the subway station following the flow of people.

Outside, she shivered, as a cold breeze blew.
She decided to walk quickly to her place of work. 

“Xiao Huahua.” When Tan Yuan saw Hua Jin coming in, she opened the door from the inside to quickly get her out of the cold.
“It’s really windy today.
Are you cold?”

“I’m okay.” Hua Jin rubbed her hands together as she took off her coat, folded it, and put it away in her locker.
Then she started to prepare the store for opening.
The store’s decor were all either embroideries or lacquerware handmade by Tan Yuan’s parents.
They were signature pieces displayed to attract customers.

The old couple didn’t really bother with the store’s affairs nowadays, so Tan Yuan became the big boss.
On the other hand, Hua Jin could also be considered as the second boss of the store, so they got along quite nicely. 

“We received a custom carp embroidery order last night.
As you know, I’ve never been any good at carp embroidering, so I’ll have to trouble you about doing it.” Tan Yuan laid on her table and yawned lazily.
“Young people these days! Don’t they have anything better to do than going crazy for kois and pandas? We’ve got so many other embroidery designs, but these two are always the most popular ones!” 

After speaking her mind, she turned to look at Hua Jin who was carefully cleaning the koi lotus screen, as if it had mysterious powers that could make people successful everyday. 

“Shush~” after carefully cleaning the screen, Hua Jin turned towards Tan Yuan, “Xiao Tan Yuan, a lowly vagrant like you will never understand the mysterious power of koi!” 

“Yes yes yes,” Tan Yuan exasperatedly nodded.
“Should I start calling you Hua Koi instead of Hua Jin then?” 

“If the law would allow it, I’d even go so far as changing my name to Hua Koi Panda! Cats* and kois are both auspicious!” Hua Jin hunkered down on her chair as she prepared to receive customers.
Their store may be a bit small, but it was exquisitely decorated and was quite stylish as well. 

*Note: Pandas (熊猫) in Chinese can be literally translated as “bear cats”, hence the statement. 

Custom orders were expensive as they were all embroidered by hand, and the best colored threads and Shu brocade were used.
It’s a pity though that in our fast-paced modern society, very few people would even consider paying the high price of custom pieces.
In order to adapt, survive, and thrive with the changing of the times, the shop also sells small smaller items like pendants, purses, scarves and shawls, all featuring Shu embroidery*. 

*Note: Shu Embroidery is a traditional embroidery style.
Google it for samples. 
Only literary or artsy youths were still willing to dole out their spare money to buy traditional fashion and accessories from shops like theirs. 

For ordinary people, they really couldn’t care less if the work was Shu, Xiang, Su, or Yue embroidery, etc.