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◎Day 14 of the control group◎
Shen Xinglian grabbed Jiang Wanzhou's swaying body and said sternly, "Don't talk nonsense! You're confused!"
Jiang Wanzhou closed her eyes and took two deep breaths.
When I opened my eyes again, the panic and pain in them were replaced by an astonishing clarity and calmness.
She gently patted Shen Xinglian's hand, straightened her body, and although her face was still a little pale, her back was ramrod straight.
"Don't panic," she said softly.
The noisy warehouse fell silent instantly, and everyone's eyes were focused on her.
"Now that the things are lost, there are two most important things to do."
"First, we must ensure that when foreign visitors come to visit, we have something to see, and we must make it even more exciting."
"Second, find the mole. But it doesn't necessarily have to be a mole." Jiang Wanzhou spoke steadily and logically.
Shen Xinglian looked at her in surprise, then felt reassured.
Yes, this is Jiang Wanzhou. She may seem gentle, but she has a resilient nature when faced with adversity.
That decisiveness, eroded by the free yet indifferent modern life, seems to be rapidly returning.
"Sister Li, Sister Wang," Jiang Wanzhou looked at the most skilled craftswomen, "Do you have enough backup materials to make a few more identical backpacks?"
"We can only make two more at most; we don't have enough of that newly dyed thread," Sister Li said anxiously.
“Two will do. Let’s use contrasting strips to create a color-blocked effect. Xingxing, you have a talent for color, can you help with the matching?” Jiang Wanzhou’s gaze swept across the warehouse. “Let’s try a different approach.”
"What do foreign visitors come to see? They come to see the novelty, the craftsmanship, and the uniqueness. The backpack is the carrier, but the core is innovation."
She walked quickly to the corner where the clutter was piled up, found a few flat wooden planks left over from painting the walls and a rough canvas, and picked up the charcoal sticks left over from the fire.
"Wanzhou, what's wrong?" Shen Xinglian asked, puzzled.
Jiang Wanzhou did not answer immediately. Instead, he nailed the wooden board together to make a simple drawing board, stretched the canvas on it, and twirled the charcoal stick between his fingers, his gaze calm.
The next second, she twisted her wrist, and the charcoal stick landed on the rough canvas, quickly sketching.
The lines are smooth, unlike the propaganda posters or meticulous brushwork paintings commonly seen today, and also quite different from the heavy layering of Western oil paintings.
With charcoal pencils flying across the canvas, in just over ten minutes, a lifelike, three-dimensional woven backpack design appeared on the "fabric," with the light and shadow perfectly balanced, as if the real object were floating on the canvas.
"This, this is..." The women around her stared wide-eyed. They had never seen such a painting before, so realistic, so lifelike.
Jiang Wanzhou put down the charcoal sticks, patted the dust off her hands, and said calmly, "We didn't have time to make more of the originals, so we'll use these to make up for it. We can demonstrate the weaving process on the spot, and use these three-dimensional drawings as a design and effect demonstration."
She looked at Shen Xinglian: "Xingxing, you're good at English, can you help me prepare the 'design concept story' and make it into small cards with both Chinese and English translations to put next to the painting?"
Shen Xinglian's eyes lit up, and she immediately understood: "I get it! This is called telling the story behind the product!"
“Yes.” Jiang Wanzhou nodded, then turned to the other sisters-in-law, “Now, let’s divide the work. Sister-in-law Li, lead the team to rush out the two backup backpacks. Sister-in-law Zhang, you’re meticulous, take two people and quietly check everyone who entered and left the warehouse this morning. Pay attention to details, but don’t make a fuss yet. Sister-in-law Zhao, you take inventory of all the stock and make a list. From now on, all entry and exit from the warehouse must be strictly registered. The keys will be shared by me, Xingxing, and Sister Hongying.”
The arrangements were carried out in an orderly manner, and the situation was stabilized in an instant.
As if they had found their leader, everyone responded and moved in response.
Jiang Wanzhou then looked at Shen Xinglian, lowered her voice, and her brows were covered with a layer of frost.
"The loss of the items is suspicious, and the timing is perfect. Mother and Second Brother are probably being used as pawns. I'll go back now, check on them, and see if I can get any information out of them. As for Sister Hongying, I'll need you to go and give her a heads-up so she can prepare, but don't alert too many people yet."
“Your body…” Shen Xinglian looked at her hand, which was still protecting her lower abdomen.
"It's okay, I can handle it." Jiang Wanzhou waved her hand. She had just suddenly gotten a stomachache from anger, which was the chance that Xingxing had given them.
Shen Xinglian immediately turned around to find Liu Hongying.
I wonder when Wanzhou learned her amazing 3D drawing skills.
I never knew you could learn so much by running a bed and breakfast.
Even Jiang Wanzhou herself probably hasn't fully realized its value.
Jiang Wanzhou returned to the guesthouse.
She was also carrying a basket with some things inside.
Inside the room, Liu Cuihua was looking at a newly woven cup sleeve with a smug look on her face. When she saw Jiang Wanzhou come in, she hurriedly put it down, but her eyes glanced at a bamboo basket covered with an old cloth in the corner.
Jiang Tiezhu squatted by the door, smoking, his eyes darting around.
"Mother, Second Brother." Jiang Wanzhou placed the red dates on the table, her voice as usual, "I was busy in the warehouse just now and brought you some food. The sea breeze here is strong, so you need to take good care of yourself."
Liu Cuihua sized her up: "I heard your exhibition is quite big? And there are even foreigners coming to see it?" Her tone was more curious than concerned.
"Yes, the organization values this; it's an opportunity for us women to showcase our abilities." Jiang Wanzhou sat down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), rubbed her temples, and revealed just the right amount of worry. "It's just that there's a lot to do, and things are prone to going wrong. This morning, we discovered that a few of the new ideas we came up with seem to have been copied by others."
As she spoke, her gaze seemingly unintentionally swept over Liu Cuihua and Jiang Tiezhu.
Liu Cuihua's fingers twitched slightly, while Jiang Tiezhu coughed twice suddenly.
"So what if they learned it? What's the point of a few tricks?" Liu Cuihua pouted, but dared not look at Jiang Wanzhou. "We ordinary people don't understand your government affairs."
“Mother, you can’t say that.” Jiang Wanzhou sighed, her tone gentle but with a barely perceptible probing. “This idea was devised by dozens of us sisters-in-law who stayed up all night to come up with it. It’s meant to bring honor to the country. If some unrelated person steals it first and sells it for money or does something else, that would be undermining socialism, that’s wrong. Sister Hongying is so worried about this that she’s developed blisters on her lips. I’m afraid the leaders already know about it.”
She emphasized the words "mistake" and "chief" slightly.
Liu Cuihua's expression changed, and her fingers clenched the hem of her clothes.
Jiang Tiezhu jumped to his feet, somewhat flustered: "Sister, sister, you're being too serious. What do you mean? We're all honest people..."
"Second brother, don't worry. Of course I know what our family should do." Jiang Wanzhou looked at him reassuringly, then frowned as if talking to herself, "Sister Hongying said that this matter probably needs to be reported and investigated. If we can't find the person, my sister-in-law and I will probably be punished, and it will also implicate my eldest brother. Mother, second brother, why don't you go back first?"
Liu Cuihua paused for a moment: "You're probably not lying to me."
Jiang Wanzhou smiled and said, "If Mother is willing to stay and share the risks with her children, then of course I am willing too."
She looked at Liu Cuihua with clear eyes, carrying the natural trust a daughter has for her mother. "Mother, have you and my second brother seen any unfamiliar faces or heard anyone talk about any new styles of backpacks in the neighborhood these past few days?"
Liu Cuihua felt a chill run down her spine when she saw her, and the words "report it for a thorough investigation" sent a shiver down her spine.
She recalled the well-dressed, polite, yet shrewd young woman who had given her and Tiezhu a roll of money and a few remittance certificates, asking them to "do a small favor" by "taking" a few new items from the warehouse to look at, and promising to "keep it a secret" and cover for them even if something went wrong.
Now that I think about it, could I really have believed what that woman said?
Liu Cuihua's eyes darted around, and she said vaguely, "There are so many people coming and going on this island, I can't remember clearly. It seems like, it seems like there was a woman who spoke to your sister-in-law? Or maybe she was a member of your son-in-law's family."
Jiang Wanzhou's heart sank.
She suppressed her emotions and continued to guide the conversation: "Looking for my sister-in-law? What did she say?"
"How could I hear clearly..." Liu Cuihua muttered, but her eyes involuntarily glanced at the bamboo basket again.
Jiang Wanzhou followed her gaze and understood.
Mei Zixian?
She didn't press further, but instead brought up the exhibition, her tone tinged with pride: "But Mother, don't worry too much. Even if we lose the trick, we have new ways! We've overcome this hurdle."
Liu Cuihua and Jiang Tiezhu were stunned.
Jiang Wanzhou's mind raced, but he didn't show it on his face. He simply followed Liu Cuihua's guilty glance, chatted for a few more minutes, and then got up to take his leave.
The moment the door closed, the gentleness on her face vanished, leaving only coldness.
Mei Zixian? Zhou Qingyu's proud and arrogant neighbor who always looked down on her?
Why would she get involved in something like this? What would her motive be?
Was he simply trying to embarrass them, or did he have ulterior motives?
Shen Xinglian was already waiting downstairs, her expression equally unpleasant.
"Did you get the answer?" Shen Xinglian asked in a low voice.
"It's pretty much true, and they've even dragged Mei Zixian into it," Jiang Wanzhou said quickly. "What do you think?"
Shen Xinglian frowned: "Mei Zixian? Would a high-minded intellectual like her even care about a few knitting patterns? And would she risk instructing someone to steal them? It doesn't make sense. Unless she's after us, not the patterns themselves."
"That's not right, she looks down on us."
"They're after this women's group. They want to embarrass us in front of important foreign affairs events and ruin the business that Sister Hongying has worked so hard to build up."
Jiang Wanzhou and Shen Xinglian exchanged a glance: "Sister Hongying!"
“Just as I thought,” Jiang Wanzhou continued. “And she probably already knows our remedy.”
Shen Xinglian came up with an idea: "Wanzhou, can you paint on the spot? A portrait."
Jiang Wanzhou nodded.
The two exchanged a glance and both saw the urgency in each other's eyes.
"We also need to take care of our own family members," Shen Xinglian said.
“Yes, Mother and Second Brother…” Jiang Wanzhou’s thoughts became clearer. “They are greedy for small gains and are being used by others. We need to make them afraid and turn against us on their own.”
The plan was quickly agreed upon.
Jiang Wanzhou went to find Liu Hongying, concealing Mei Zixian's name, and revealed her idea of "educating and saving her relatives, while also exposing the mastermind behind it all".
After listening, Liu Hongying gave Jiang Wanzhou a deep look.
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