In the afternoon, Lin Wei went to see Liu Dan, Yang Yi and Zhao Li respectively, told them that Deng Xiangyun was willing to teach them how to make hats, and asked them if they wanted to learn.
The three were overjoyed after hearing this and readily agreed.
Yang Yi asked: "Should we go and learn from Comrade Deng now?"
Zhao Li was more informed and asked, "Did Xiao Deng have guests? Is she free today?"
Liu Dan also asked: "Should we prepare the fabrics and needles first?"
Lin Wei replied, "That's what Sister Deng thinks. If you want to learn, you can go to her today to look at the styles. After you decide what kind of hat you want, you can prepare the materials. Anyway, if you encounter difficulties when making the hat later, you can also take the time to ask her."
After hearing this, the three of them all thought this was a good idea: "Then shall we go there now?"
Lin Wei said: "Let's go now, the sooner we see, the sooner we decide."
Although Deng Xiangyun said she would teach them for free, the three of them were embarrassed to go empty-handed, so they took a detour to the supply and marketing cooperative, weighed some fruits and brought them over.
The fruits on the island are not expensive and look presentable when brought to your door, making them a perfect choice as gifts.
Before Lin Wei went to look for Liu Dan and the others, she had already told Deng Xiangyun about this matter, so Deng Xiangyun was not surprised to see the four of them coming together. What surprised her was that they did not come empty-handed.
But Deng Xiangyun didn't stay stunned for too long. When she invited people in, she said, "Just come here. What are you going to bring?"
Among the three, Liu Dan was the only one who was more familiar with Deng Xiangyun. She smiled and said, "We bought it when we came here, and we didn't weigh much."
Zhao Li almost burst out laughing when she heard that. She thought that the route from your house to the supply and marketing cooperative and then to Deng's house is almost forming an equilateral triangle. What kind of smooth route is this!
But Zhao Li did not say anything to spoil the show. She just joked, "In the past, people who became apprentices not only had to kowtow and pour tea, but also had to prepare clothes and shoes. We dare not compare with our predecessors, but since we are here to learn something, of course we can't come empty-handed."
Liu Dan smiled and said, "That's right. In ancient times, there was a teacher who had one word. You are our teacher who has one hat."
Deng Xiangyun, who was pouring tea for the four people, trembled and said quickly: "No, no, we are just communicating with each other at most, I can't be considered a teacher."
"Okay, stop making fun of me. Sister Deng is shy. If you keep praising her, she won't know how to teach her." Lin Wei took a sip of tea, looked around and asked, "Isn't my eighth sister at home?"
Deng Xiangyun explained: "Little Stone and the others said they wanted to go to the beach to play. I was worried, so I asked Eighth Sister to go over and watch over them."
"Eighth sister is the new girl in your family?" Zhao Li asked curiously, "Why did she come here alone?"
"Yes, she is my aunt Ahai's cousin. Since she is the eighth child, she is called Chen Bamei." After Deng Xiangyun introduced her, she sighed deeply and said, "This child has a miserable life!" Then she told her about the marriage arranged by Chen Bamei's hometown.
But Deng Xiangyun did not tell the whole truth. She only said that Chen Bamei's parents did not find out clearly, and only after the marriage was settled did they find out that the man was a bad person and had forced his ex-wife to death due to domestic violence.
Although Chen Bamei's parents were a bit patriarchal and greedy for the bride price, they still loved their daughter, so after finding out everything, they wanted to cancel the engagement with that family. However, the parents of that family were both cadres and had great power. They were afraid that the marriage would not be cancelled and would harm their daughter. Thinking that the family probably would not dare to come to the army to make trouble, they asked the brigade to get a letter of introduction and sent Chen Bamei to the Zhou family.
Deng Xiangyun said this not to excuse Chen Bamei's parents, but because she thought that if Chen Bamei's parents were really cruel and came to sue them for kidnapping Chen Bamei, they would also be able to occupy the high ground of public opinion.
After all, you sent your daughter to us and begged us to take her in, but now you come and accuse us of kidnapping her. This... is a bit like repaying kindness with enmity.
As for whether Chen Bamei's parents would admit this matter, Deng Xiangyun was not too worried. After all, Chen Bamei had a letter of introduction.
The brigade where Chen's family worked dared to give her, an unmarried girl, a letter of introduction, asking her to go and live with her relatives. But who would believe it if she said that her parents didn't agree?
If things really got out of hand, we could go to the brigade headquarters where the Chen family was and ask. The answer would definitely be that Chen Bamei's parents knew about the matter and nodded, so they issued the letter of introduction.
As for the fact that Chen Bamei's parents did so many evil things but still had a good reputation for loving their daughter, she must feel uncomfortable about it. Deng Xiangyun also considered this.
Her conclusion is that there is no such thing as the best of both worlds. A bad family is like a quagmire. The more you struggle, the deeper you sink.
So Deng Xiangyun felt that if you encounter such a family, you should run away as soon as possible and don't think about arguing about who is better. Living a good life is more important than anything else.
If they could let Chen Bamei go by saying a few words about the good and bad of her parents, it would be totally worth it.
And if they are unwilling to let Chen Bamei go and come to them, their existing good reputation will naturally collapse. On the contrary, after being sold by her parents, Chen Bamei still wants to compensate them, everyone will naturally sympathize with her more, and it will be easier to sever ties with her at that time.
From now on, it is Chen Bamei's parents who have gained a good reputation, but in the long run, it is they who have paved the way for Chen Bamei.
It's worth it.
Moreover, Deng Xiangyun did not keep saying good things about Chen Bamei's parents, and specifically mentioned that they favored boys over girls and would only marry their daughter off for a high amount.
Therefore, after hearing this, everyone had mixed feelings towards Chen Bamei's parents. They thought that although they had made amends, if they had not been greedy for the bride price, Chen Bamei would not have had to leave her hometown and come to Yazhou Island.
As for Chen Bamei, everyone felt that this girl was quite pitiful.
As they were chatting, Chen Bamei came back with the children.
Chen Bamei is not tall, just over 1.5 meters tall. Her height is not considered tall in the south, but it is not particularly short either. It's just because of long-term malnutrition that she looks a little skinny. She doesn't look like seventeen years old, but more like a girl of fourteen or fifteen.
Although she looked young, she had been through a lot after all. She did not seem nervous when she suddenly saw so many strangers when she returned home. Since she did not know everyone's name, she just smiled and nodded to everyone.
Zhao Li reacted the fastest, and smiled when she saw her: "This is Eighth Sister, she looks so energetic!"
Because the children had just returned from the beach, Deng Xiangyun asked them to go to the bathroom to wash their hands first, and then introduced them to everyone one by one. Following everyone's introduction, Chen Bamei called people one by one.
The pronunciation of southern dialects varies from place to place, and the dialects in many places sound completely different from Mandarin. City dwellers may be better because the population is mostly mixed and Mandarin is often used in daily life. But people from the country may not have the opportunity to speak Mandarin in their entire lives, so when they do speak it, their pronunciation is a bit awkward.
Chen Bamei is like this. She doesn’t speak Mandarin word by word, but it is definitely not standard. You can see that she is a little embarrassed when she speaks it, and her cheeks are slightly flushed.
But her eyes were clear, and she looked at everyone while speaking without avoiding them, which seemed very generous.
As the old saying goes, birds of a feather flock together. Lin Wei has a kind personality and her friends are basically the same. Although Liu Dan and others have different personalities, they are all very kind to others.
They did not look down on Chen Bamei because she did not speak Mandarin well. Instead, they admired her elegance and grace. They all greeted her with a smile and made room for her to sit down.
After sitting down, the few people did not keep asking Chen Bamei questions, but just smiled and asked her if she was used to the island after just arriving.
It’s actually easy to get to the island. Yazhou Island belongs to the Lingnan region, and Chen Bamei’s hometown is across the sea from here, and the climate is similar.
However, although Chen Bamei's hometown is near the sea, the brigade where her family lives is actually a bit far from the sea and is an agricultural brigade. So she had never been on a boat before, and she started feeling dizzy after getting on the boat in Yangcheng. When she got off the boat this morning, she thought the road was slanted, and she only recovered after taking a nap at noon.
Everyone present could relate to the issue of seasickness, not to mention Lin Wei, who lay on the boat for two days.
Liu Dan, Yang Yi and Lin Wei were in a similar situation. Their hometowns were all along the Yangtze River and they had taken a boat before joining the army. But the river is usually calm, and the feeling of riding a boat is completely different from that on the sea, so they are more or less a little dizzy when they come.
The worst off is Zhao Li. She not only suffers from seasickness, but also carsickness. She gets sick on trains and in cars. But her hometown happened to be in Liaoning Province, and she followed the army from the northernmost part of the motherland to the southernmost part.
It took more than a week to travel from Liaoning Province to Yangcheng by bus and train, and she was dizzy for almost a week. I thought I would feel better after getting on the boat, but I ended up vomiting even more.
Because of seasickness and motion sickness, Zhao Li has never returned since she came to the island with the army.
Zhao Li said that unless her husband was transferred away from Yazhou Island, she would stay here for the rest of her life.
Lin Wei smiled and said, "Don't speak too soon. If the means of transportation in the future are faster and more comfortable, and you don't feel dizzy when sitting, don't you want to go out and see the world outside?"
"It's faster, more comfortable and I won't feel dizzy. Is there such a good means of transportation in the world?" Zhao Li couldn't imagine it.
Lin Wei asked back, "Why not? A hundred years ago, people traveled mainly on foot, or in a mule cart or horse carriage. Now we have cars, trains, ships, and even airplanes. How can you be sure that in another fifty years, we won't be able to take a faster and more comfortable means of transportation?"
"We have to take a boat to get out of the island, right?" Zhao Li asked, then shook her head and said, "I get seasick."
"If technology develops, we may not need to take a boat to leave the island."
Yang Yi asked curiously: "If not by boat, how else can we get off the island?"
Lin Wei thought of the world described in the original novel decades later, blinked her eyes and said, "Maybe one day we will build an airport here, and we can all fly out."
Zhao Li widened her eyes and said, "Take a plane? I wouldn't even dare to do that in my dreams. You really dare to think of it!"
Lin Wei didn't argue with Zhao Li. She just smiled and said, "Then let's wait and see if that day comes."
After the greetings, Deng Xiangyun went upstairs and took down the notebook with the pattern drawn on it.
The notebook Deng Xiangyun took down was not the one she had been using, but an empty notebook she found after discussing with Lin Wei. She copied six hat patterns on it for everyone to see.
Because it is for teaching purposes, she drew two more angles for each model and went into more detail. This way, even people who don’t understand design can understand it after looking at the pictures.
Although no one present had ever studied design formally, everyone knew how to make clothes and shoes and could understand simple patterns, so when they saw the pictures, they understood almost everything without Deng Xiangyun explaining much.
After understanding it, I couldn't stop praising you: "You are so amazing? Have you studied it professionally?"
Deng Xiangyun did not hide it and said, "I studied painting for a few years before."
Zhao Li asked: "Why don't you paint anymore?"
As soon as the old shígG Dujia said this, Liu Dan bumped him with his elbow. Zhao Li reacted quickly and said, "Sorry, I..."
"It's okay, it's all in the past," Deng Xiangyun smiled and asked, "Which one do you want to make? Eighth sister, take a look too. If you like any, I'll make one for you."
Chen Bamei waved her hands quickly: "No, no need, I never wear a hat when I work."
"Just because you haven't worn one before doesn't mean you can't wear one in the future," Deng Xiangyun said. "Pick one and say goodbye to the past."
Chen Bamei was not the kind of person who would be shy. After hearing this, she thought about it seriously and asked, "Cousin, I want to make this hat myself, is that okay?"
Deng Xiangyun smiled: "Of course."
Although Deng Xiangyun gave six styles for everyone to choose from, only Liu Dan chose a different style. Yang Yi and Zhao Li thought the hat that Lin Wei had worn before looked good, so they chose the same style.
Chen Bamei originally wanted to follow everyone's selection, but Deng Xiangyun thought that another style was more suitable for a girl of her age, so she followed the advice and changed to a separate style.
After deciding on the style, everyone has to prepare the materials.
Although making a hat only requires three materials: cloth, needle and thread, and thin iron wire, except for needle and thread which are available in every household and can be purchased at the base supply and marketing cooperative, cloth and iron wire must be purchased in the county.
It was already late and it would definitely be too late to go to the county, so after a discussion, they decided on the itinerary for next Sunday.
…
Because Deng Xiangyun intentionally used a few people to spread the word about the reason why Chen Bamei came to seek refuge, everyone did not hide anything when they heard the related discussions after returning, and told everyone everything they knew.
With more efforts, in less than a day, the entire family area of the base knew about Chen Bamei's experience and felt quite sympathetic towards her.
There are those who sympathize with her, and naturally there are also those who are self-righteous and stand on the moral high ground to accuse Chen Bamei of running away from her marriage. Gao Xiu Lian is a typical example.
When Lin Wei heard Gao Xiulian's long speech, she was talking to Chen Bamei in the yard.
Chen Bamei is a hard-working person. After she moved into Zhou's house, she took the initiative to take on the tasks of washing clothes, cooking and taking care of Xiao Shitou.
Since Chen Bamei was willing to do it, Deng Xiangyun let her do it. Although she was willing to take Chen Bamei in, she had no intention of finding a Bodhisattva to worship. She is too nice to people and tends to be ungrateful. It is easy for her to make people suspicious. It is better for her to treat them with a normal attitude.
Deng Xiangyun did not let her work in vain, and paid her as a nanny. These days the monthly fee for hiring a nanny ranges from ten to fifteen yuan. She gave Chen Bamei the higher rate of fifteen yuan a month and also made her a set of clothes a year, which was considered very generous.
Of course, Deng Xiangyun also told Chen Bamei that if anyone asked, she could not say that the money was her salary, but could only say that it was pocket money given by her brother and sister-in-law, and that she was just a relative who came to stay with her.
After all, with Deng Xiangyun's background, we have to be extra careful in everything.
Chen Bamei agreed to everything except money. She felt that Deng Xiangyun and his wife were willing to take the risk to take her in, so if she asked for money for doing such a small job, she would be too ungrateful.
Seeing that the little girl was quite obedient in other aspects but stubborn in this aspect, Deng Xiangyun had no choice but to take the money and said, "Then I will save this money for you first, and when you have settled your business next year, I will give it to you in one lump sum."
Chen Bamei was not happy and said, "Even if you give me the money, I will still return it to you."
"Then I'll prepare your dowry when you get married!" After saying that, seeing that Chen Bamei was about to retort, Deng Xiangyun's face turned serious and she said, "It's settled. If you say anything more, I'll get angry."
Chen Bamei had no choice but to lower her head, but she couldn't help muttering, "I've never seen a person like you who is so eager to give money to others."
Deng Xiangyun: “…” What unlucky child!
…
Although Lin Wei has resigned and the job has been taken over by Chen Bamei, Xiao Shitou still lives in her house. And Xiao Shitou didn't come alone, he was followed by a big figure, Chen Bamei.
There was no way. There were so many children in the family area, but Xiao Shitou’s only good friends were the brothers Mingming and Ruirui.
The same goes for Mingming and Ruirui. They are identical twins and look almost exactly the same. When they first arrived on the island, there were children coming to see them every day.
But people don't play with them for fun, but treat them as rare animals, just look at them and touch them. Not many people are willing to take them with them when playing games seriously.
The two brothers were still a bit arrogant in their bones, especially Mingming. When they were in Shicheng, he had always been the eldest among the kids of the same age. Even if his words were not so powerful that everyone would follow him, he still had at least a dozen younger brothers behind him.
As a result, after they got to the island, they looked and touched the animals, but when it came to playing games, they despised his young age and refused to take him with them.
What a shame!
Because his dignity was hurt, Mingming made up his mind that even if those people came to him in the future, he would not play with them.
Ruirui didn't feel that his dignity was hurt, he just didn't like others looking at him as if he was a curiosity, and they also liked to touch him, which was very annoying.
In short, no matter what the reason is, the three-person group consisting of Ming Ruirui and Xiao Shitou is still very stable at present.
So when Chen Bamei wasn't watching, Xiao Shitou ran to Lin Wei's house. The same thing happened to Lin Wei. Before they knew it, the two brothers went to visit the neighbor behind.
Because of the interaction between the children, Lin Wei and Chen Bamei quickly became familiar with each other.
After getting to know her, Lin Wei felt that Chen Bamei was a really good person. She might not be smart enough or smooth enough, but her heart was upright.
After being abandoned by her parents and forced to leave her hometown to live with relatives, she did not remain muddle-headed and complain about her fate, but quickly ignited her desire for a new life. Deng Xiangyun’s deliberate guidance certainly played a role in this, but her personal character was also very important.
Lin Wei thought that if Chen Bamei could maintain this kind of mentality, she would have a good life in the future.
Just as she was thinking, Lin Wei heard Gao Xiulian in the next yard saying, "Some people are so shameless at such a young age. They just don't want to get married after their parents have arranged a marriage for them. I'm surprised. If you didn't want to get married, why didn't you do it? If you have the guts to do it, you shouldn't have agreed to it!"
No matter how much Chen Bamei had been through, she was still just a 17-year-old girl. When she heard Gao Xiulian's words, she couldn't help but tear up.
The other military wives sitting in the next yard were also stunned. They didn't expect Gao Xiu Lian to say such a shocking thing.
You have to know that when you live in the family quarters, you see each other all the time, so you have to be a little cautious when speaking. Although Chen Bamei is not a military wife, Zhou Jianhai is still her cousin, so she should give him some consideration.
Gao Xiulian saw Chen Bamei's red eyes and smiled. She raised her voice and continued, "Since she's engaged, she belongs to that family. No matter what the other party is like, she should marry him! It's because the times have changed. Otherwise, if she ran away after getting engaged a few decades ago, she would have been caught and either thrown into a pig cage or drowned in spit!"
Lin Wei couldn't help it. She reached out and patted Chen Bamei's shoulder, who was biting her lips for fear of crying. She stood up and said, "Some people have eighteen layers of foot bindings in their heads, and they think others should be like them and become saints!"
Gao Xiulian's face darkened: "Did I say anything about you? What does it have to do with you that I'm chatting with someone?"
"How come I have nothing to do with it? Listen to what you just said, about being put into a pig cage and being drowned by spit. If you don't know, you would think that the laws of our country are just for show and you can kill anyone you want!" Lin Wei said sarcastically, "You are a military wife, and you dare to speak nonsense here without even this little bit of ideological awareness! I am afraid that you will smear our group of military wives!"
Gao Xiulian was furious and didn't bother pretending anymore. She pointed at Chen Bamei and asked, "You've been colluding with this bitch who ran away from marriage before she wanted to, and you still have the nerve to say that I'm bringing shame to the military wives community?"
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