"Qiqi, you're awesome!" Lu Qing's voice was low and gentle, like the bass of a cello, echoing in Shen Qiqi's ears.
Shen Qiqi winked playfully, "Of course, don't you see who I am!"
The two smiled at each other, and everything was said without words.
This wave of dog food was so sudden that the onlookers all smiled like aunties. This young couple is so sweet!
At this moment, Zhao Tongxing's sarcastic voice sounded again: "Humph, so what if the craftsmanship is good? The price is so expensive, who can afford it?" He deliberately raised his voice, trying to use this to undermine Shen Qiqi's morale.
Shen Qiqi curled her lips and said to herself: I expected you to do this!
"Uncle, you're right. The price is indeed a bit high, but—" She deliberately dragged out her voice to whet everyone's appetite. "Today, we're running a limited-time promotion: buy one, get one free! Buy a straw hat, and get a mini straw hat of the same design for free. You can hang it on a keychain or give it to a child. Isn't it a great deal?"
"Wow! Really? That's such a good deal!"
"I want to buy it! I want to buy it!"
The villagers were instantly excited and rushed to buy the goods, fearing that they would miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Shen Qiqi was extremely busy, with a joyful smile on her face, and she was monologue in her heart: Humph, fighting with me?
You are still young!
Zhao Tongxing stood aside, his face livid, watching the customers being attracted to Shen Qiqi, his heart felt like a pot of mixed feelings had been overturned, bubbling with sourness.
He never thought that Shen Qiqi would do this. It really pissed him off!
"Qiqi, your trick is amazing!" Lu Qing gave a thumbs up, his eyes full of admiration.
"Hehe, it's no big deal!" Shen Qiqi raised her chin proudly, her heart filled with a sense of accomplishment.
At this moment, a furtive figure appeared at the edge of the crowd. It was the daughter of Lu Ersao.
She looked at Shen Qiqi's bustling stall, a hint of viciousness flashed in her eyes, and a sneer curled up the corner of her mouth. She muttered in a low voice: "Humph, what are you so proud of? I wonder how long you can be so proud..." The daughter of Lu Ersao squeezed into the crowd with a sinister look, pretending to talk to the villagers around her casually: "Hey, do you know? This straw hat weaving method of Shen Qiqi is actually plagiarized from others! I heard that Wang Po from the next village is the original creator. Shen Qiqi just stole her skills and pretended to come up with it herself!"
This rumor was like a bomb, instantly exploding among the crowd.
"Is this true? No way?" "I knew it, this weaving method looks familiar, it turns out it was plagiarized!" For a moment, voices of doubt and discussion came one after another, and the stall that was bustling just now became deserted in an instant.
The smile on Shen Qiqi's face froze. She had never expected that the daughter of Mrs. Lu would resort to such despicable means!
But she quickly calmed down, took a deep breath, and said loudly: "My dear sister, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want! You say I plagiarized, what evidence do you have?"
Mrs. Lu's daughter didn't expect Shen Qiqi to refute her so directly. She was stunned for a moment before she stammered, "I... I heard it from others..."
"Did you hear it from someone else? Who was it? Let him stand up and confront me!" Shen Qiqi pressed on step by step, her eyes sharp, as if she could see through people's hearts.
Mrs. Lu's daughter felt frightened by her stare, her eyes flickered and she didn't dare to look her in the eye.
At this time, an old lady stood up, holding a tattered straw hat in her hand: "Qiqi girl, I knitted this straw hat more than ten years ago. Take a look, is it very similar to yours?"
Shen Qiqi took the straw hat and looked at it carefully. Indeed, the weaving method of this straw hat was somewhat similar to hers, but if you look closely, you can find that there are still subtle differences between the two.
Pointing to a detail on the hat, she explained, "Grandma, look, your hat is sewn with a flat needle, while mine is sewn with a twill needle. Although they look similar, the actual operations are completely different. Also, my hat has some new elements, like this spiral pattern, which I created myself."
The old lady compared them carefully and found that Shen Qiqi was right. Although the two straw hats were similar, there were indeed differences.
She nodded and gave Shen Qiqi a thumbs up: "Qiqi girl, your craftsmanship is really good! Don't listen to those gossipers, I believe you!"
With the old lady's affirmation, other villagers also expressed their belief in Shen Qiqi, and the original doubting voices gradually subsided.
Seeing this, Lu Ersao's daughter left the crowd in shame, and Zhao Tongxing also walked away with a grim expression.
Shen Qiqi looked at the stall that was bustling again, her heart filled with pride.
She knew that she had not only won the competition, but also won the respect of the villagers.
Lu Qing held her hand and said gently, "Qiqi, you are awesome!"
Shen Qiqi smiled sweetly: "Of course!"
At this moment, a villager came running over, panting and saying, "Qiqi, this is bad! There are a lot of people selling straw hats in the city, and their prices are cheaper than yours..."
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