Wind in the Sleeve

Su Nian, a Suzhou embroidery inheritor, returns to the old streets of Zhenhu with the split-silk shadow embroidery passed down from her grandmother, single-handedly keeping alive a workshop on the brink of closure. Jiang Che, head of a machine-embroidery conglomerate, declares hand embroidery obsolete, publicly mocks Su Nian's grandmother, and then sets an exhibition trap to block Su Nian from competing. Su Nian organizes her grandmother's teaching notes, breaks the split-silk shadow embroidery technique down into documentable steps, completes her piece within three months, and successfully exhibits it. At the international expo, foreign judges praise her work as showing the limits of craftsmanship. Jiang Che stands silent before the display for a long while, then admits in a low voice that he finally understands. Su Nian returns to the workshop, wipes clean her grandmother's photograph, and threads her needle to begin the next piece.