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In Qingxi Town, Jiangnan, everyone says that the Ye family’s young lady is a bamboo-carving prodigy unseen in a century.
On the very first day Ye Jianchun arrived in this world, a merchant came to her door and demanded, “Since you carved it yourself, why not add one more cut in front of everyone?”
She looked at the carving knife, then at the account book.
Her predecessor was good at drawing designs, but it was her father who actually wielded the knife. Now her father had injured his hand, their old pieces were being returned, and the shop was on the verge of being seized to pay its debts.
The good news was that in her previous life, she had designed bamboo and wooden goods. She knew shapes and materials, and she was pretty good at business, too.
The bad news was that she really couldn’t carve.
To save the family business, she sought out Cheng Ji’an, a young bamboo craftsman in West Alley with excellent knife skills but barely any work.
*
At first, she thought he knew nothing about business, while he thought she had lofty ideas and no real skill. They could start arguing after three sentences, yet somehow they worked well together.
From a bamboo tea tray at the spring tea market to the lantern-lit lanes of the autumn lantern festival, business at the Ye family shop gradually began to pick up.
By day, she drew designs, kept the books, and learned to carve from him. At night, he sharpened her knife handles and casually rescued the bamboo scraps she had ruined.
Gradually, more artisans joined the shop. The clacking of the abacus mingled with the sound of carving knives. The scent of bamboo drifted over the river, and tea steam veiled the windows facing the street.
Then rival shops began copying their wares, suppliers cut off their materials, and the whole town waited to see the little shop close.
Instead, she resolved to join forces with independent artisans and forge a new path.
From the spring tea market to the autumn lantern festival, from an old shop on the verge of being seized for its debts to the lights of a hundred shops along the waterways, Ye Jianchun’s abacus rang louder and louder.
*
All Ye Jianchun had wanted was to earn enough money, keep a little shop, and live the life she wanted.
Later, more and more artisans joined the shop, and every piece they made bore its own maker’s mark.
And at last, she was able to carve her own name with her own hands.
Content notes: A fictional ancient setting, one-on-one romance, both leads’ first relationship, happy ending. The business storyline takes center stage, with a slow-burn romance and everyday life in a Jiangnan market town.
Theme: Be steadfast as bamboo, pass on the craft with heart, and let women stand on their own.
