Gods and Magnolias
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Xin Fu, however impetuous and juvenile his tendencies, had just the right combination of intelligence, drive, and greed to make him an ideal businessman. The expenses incurred during the months he spent scouring the Earth Kingdom for its most adroit benders—those who hadn't already been recruited by the army—would be recouped tenfold by the end of Earth Rumble. He took care of his investments, and he only invested in the best.
How fortunate for him that what, by next year, would prove to be his most profitable asset practically waltzed into his arms in the form of the Bei Fong family's nonexistent daughter.
This fact, of course, was to remain a confidential matter between the two of them, a stipulation the girl insisted upon as they discussed her contract. He had to muster humility when they began to determine the ten-year-old's payment, bouncing generous figures back and forth. He searched her face for signs of the faltering uncertainty of a child, but her cloudy gaze and attentive posture, small hands folded neatly on the table, showed nothing but maturity and poise. She listened carefully, accentuating curt nods with small affirmative noises, Mm-hmm, okay, right.
He brought her to his woman who, with pins between her teeth, chided, Stay still, sugar, as she measured the girl and draped fabric over her fidgeting shoulders. For a moment forgetting her company, the seamstress assured the child that the outfit she would create would be just as pretty as the one she had on. The girl's grumbled reply: I hate wearing this dress.
Two months and three consultations later, they had a costume ready for her, and a name.