Fan Hua followed Ye Xiulan to her yard. As Ye Xiulan had said before, there were a lot of bamboo baskets piled up in her yard, of various shapes, some well-woven and some not.
Fan Hua looked at it and thought, she had always wanted to talk to Sister Ye about the bamboo basket, but she always forgot when she was busy. Today is a good time to have a good chat.
Before Fan Hua could speak, Ye Xiulan pulled her into the house and asked curiously, "Sister Fan, is Zhang Tao really going to find someone to kill you for Zhou Xue?"
Fan Hua was immediately puzzled. How could this news spread so quickly? She also noticed that Ye Xiulan said "kill" and not "bully" or "torture."
Thinking of what Zhao Yilu had told her before about handing this over to him, Fan Hua couldn't help but ask curiously, "Sister Ye, where did you hear that?"
Ye Xiulan lowered her voice and said, "I heard it from Zhao Xiaoyan this afternoon. Almost all the military wives in the family compound know about this! That Zhang Tao is really hateful, and Zhou Xue is not a good person either!"
Fan Hua felt that she had to get the facts straight first, otherwise it would be troublesome if what she said was inconsistent with the rumors.
So I evaded the main issue and said, "Sister-in-law, I didn't want anyone to know about this, but I didn't expect it to spread so quickly. I was really scared yesterday!"
Her eyes were red as she finished speaking. She even pulled the collar of her sweater open a little and said pitifully, "Look, I was almost strangled to death yesterday. Luckily, Captain Zhao came to pick me up and saved me. Otherwise, what you might have seen today was my corpse!"
Ye Xiulan looked at the obvious purple bruises on Fan Hua's fair neck and couldn't help but feel even more contempt for Zhang Tao and Zhou Xue.
"Tell me, how could Zhang Tao be so cruel? Just because you outshone Zhou Xue at the New Year's Eve party, and Zhou Xue cried in front of him, he sent someone to kill you! He's truly so vicious! I think Zhou Xue is the vixen. I wonder how she ended up crying to Zhang Tao behind his back, otherwise how could Zhang Tao have been so instantly moved to kill you! He's truly so cruel!"
Fan Hua understood how the story was spread in the compound today through Ye Xiulan's words. It was basically the same as the truth, except that Zhang Tao had someone rape her instead of killing her.
I think this was Zhao Yilu's protection for her. After all, people in this era were still relatively traditional and attached great importance to women's reputation. The effect of attempted murder and attempted rape would be different if spread. If it was attempted rape, it might become rape if spread!
But Fan Hua later found out that Zhao Yilu's intentions were more than that.
Fan Hua forced a smile. "Who says not? I never thought that I'd lead a peaceful life, but would be in such trouble just because I sang a song at a cultural evening. She's a daughter-in-law of the military family compound, you really can't mess with her!"
Ye Xiulan's face was filled with disdain. "She brought it upon herself! Oh, and you might not know this, but that day during your rehearsal, when I brought you a basket, Zhou Xue had already been peeking through the crack of the doorway, watching you for quite a while. It seems to me that she sprained her ankle on purpose at the Lantern Festival Gala. She must have wanted to embarrass you, but she didn't expect you to perform so well and steal her limelight. That's why she holds a grudge against you!"
Fan Hua patted Ye Xiulan's hand and said, "Alright, Sister Ye, let's not talk about her anymore. After all, I was lucky enough not to let them succeed. Oh, by the way, I have something else I want to tell you!"
Ye Xiulan immediately asked: "Sister Fan, what is it? Just tell me!"
"I was wondering if you've ever thought of selling all the baskets you've made?"
"Hey, these are all made up for fun, and they don't look very good. How much can I get for them if I sell them?" Ye Xiulan said embarrassedly.
Fan Hua walked into the yard, picked up a few baskets, and examined them carefully. After a while, she said, "Sister Ye, the baskets you wove are of very good quality and very detailed. The only drawback is that the style is too ordinary and the design is too simple. I think since you like weaving baskets, why not go for the high-quality route? Don't rush. Just weave slowly and create something unique. Once you're done, this one can be considered a work of art!"
Ye Xiulan immediately waved her hand and said, "But how can I weave those unique shapes you mentioned? I learned this technique from my grandma when I was a child. I usually only weave these few very practical shapes. I don't know how to weave other shapes!"
Fan Hua recalled a trip to a rural area in the southeast with her friends during college. They had visited a village that specialized in making these fine bamboo baskets.
Their bamboo baskets are exquisitely crafted and have even been applied for intangible cultural heritage status. An exquisite basket can easily sell for thousands of yuan, and some with particularly fine workmanship can even sell for tens of thousands of yuan.
Fan Hua liked them very much at that time and looked at them very carefully, so she still remembers the appearance of many baskets clearly.
So she said, "Sister Ye, I'll draw a few patterns for you first. You can try weaving them first. They are all from books I've seen before. If you can weave them well, you'll be able to make a lot of money with this skill sooner or later!"
When Ye Xiulan heard what Fan Hua said, she immediately became excited. "Okay, then I'll give it a try. I'm free anyway, so I want to weave baskets to pass the time!"
Fan Hua nodded, feeling that she understood the situation more or less and had said what she needed to say, so she prepared to leave. "Sister Ye, I'll be leaving first. I'll bring the design back to you after it's finished!"
"Okay, okay, don't worry, just focus on your own things first, and then help me draw the pattern when you have time!"
Fan Hua waved goodbye and left Ye Xiulan's yard. Whenever she met someone looking at her on the way, she would smile politely.
After returning home, she put all her feelings behind her. It had been so many days, and it was hard for her to come early today. She wanted to spend some time with Yuanxiao and his sister!
Aunt Chu was relieved to see that Fan Hua was in perfect condition today.
When she saw the pinch marks and bite marks on Fan Hua's neck yesterday, she felt so distressed. She could imagine how dangerous it was and how much suffering Fan Hua had endured!
Fan Hua really wanted to relax, but sometimes, things just didn't go as planned. Just as it was time to leave the camp, Zhou Xue came to her door in a rage...
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