Chapter 25: A Little Trick a Day
“This is great, this is great.” Aunt Fu clapped her hands, overjoyed.
She immediately got up and went to ask around at the nearby familiar stalls to see who had cattail mats to use as padding.
Before long, she returned carrying a large bundle of cattails.
“Earlier, there were so many cattails growing outside my door, but I cut them all down and threw them away. If only I had collected them instead,” she said.
Xu Zhaozhao replied, “It’s not too late to start gathering them now.”
“Yes, yes,” Aunt Fu nodded, pulling out a piece of cattail. “Shall we begin now?”
Xu Zhaozhao nodded and began teaching Aunt Fu how to weave the grass mats, step by step.
“First like this... then like this... and then like this...”
[I can’t order cattails online in time now. Where can I get some offline? I want to try weaving too.]
[This looks so vivid, I want one as well.]
[Wow, the dating show suddenly turned into a handicraft program.]
With each step, Xu Zhaozhao carefully demonstrated to Aunt Fu before letting her try.
Whenever Aunt Fu forgot a step, Xu Zhaozhao patiently guided her through it again.
It took nearly an hour before Aunt Fu had mastered every step.
Throughout, several batches of customers came to buy duck eggs, all handled by Shen Mu.
[Did you notice? Actually, it would’ve been easier to have Shen Mu sell the duck eggs from the start. The aunts and older ladies really trust him.]
[You say that, but Shen Mu can only help once. Aunt Fu has to sell the eggs herself eventually, right?]
[Teaching someone to fish is better than giving them fish. Aunt Fu isn’t good at hawking, so Xu Zhaozhao’s little tricks for attracting customers are really practical.]
By the time Aunt Fu could independently weave a small grasshopper, Xu Zhaozhao’s own little woven creations were nearly all given away.
Aunt Fu tied her slightly uneven and somewhat ugly little grasshopper to the edge of the basket.
Looking at her first finished product, she smiled so wide her mouth wouldn’t close.
Xu Zhaozhao gave her a thumbs-up. “For your first time weaving, this is really impressive.”
“Oh, it’s not as good as you say,” Aunt Fu chuckled. “It’s just so-so.”
“You’re too modest!” Xu Zhaozhao hugged her arm. “When I first learned, I only got to this level by the third one.”
“Oh, by the way,” Aunt Fu asked curiously, “Xiao Xu, you’re so young—how do you know how to weave grass mats?”
[Right, as far as I know, grass weaving is something only the older generation knows. Most young people probably don’t even recognize it.]
[When I was a child going to markets, I really saw skilled artisans making this. But now young people don’t like these labor-intensive, low-profit crafts, so the tradition is dying.]
“Aunt Fu, to be honest, I used to support my family by selling these at stalls when I was little.”
“Supporting your family?” Aunt Fu couldn’t believe it.
“Yes,” Xu Zhaozhao said. “My father died early, and my mother was seriously ill. I did whatever I could to raise money for her medical bills.”
“Did you learn to fix bikes then, too?” Shen Mu, who had just sold the last duck egg, suddenly asked.
Xu Zhaozhao was momentarily stunned, then nodded. “Yes, when I was a teenager, I apprenticed at a bike repair shop.”
[My goodness, what a dramatic backstory for Xu Zhaozhao!]
[No wonder she fixed the bike so skillfully and confidently just now.]
[What kind of new script is this? It’s not a singing contest; why does she need a tragic backstory?]
[Her father’s gone, her mother’s seriously ill—who would make up something like that?]
[Exactly. Xu Zhaozhao’s got the villain’s script. She doesn’t need to exploit her family troubles for views; she just needs to defeat everyone fairly.]
[Actually, with that skill, Xu Zhaozhao could charge for bike repairs and get through the dating show.]
[Hey, that’s not a bad idea.]
“All the duck eggs are sold,” Xu Zhaozhao stood up, helped Aunt Fu to her feet, and said, “Let’s go back.”
She waved the car keys in her hand.
“Um...” Aunt Fu looked around. “Aren’t you waiting for your two friends?”
Xu Zhaozhao shook her head. “We just happened to meet them on the way here; we’re not a group. There’s no need to wait.”
[Here comes the villain’s statement.]
[No way, Xu Zhaozhao isn’t really going to ditch the movie king and Chen Sisi, is she?]
[One’s a senior at work, the other her boss. I bet she wouldn’t dare.]
[Don’t forget, she’s the villain with the script. She’s supposed to go against Chen Sisi, right?]
[Let me check where the movie king and the others went.]
Soon, new comments appeared.
“Wow, they’re watching acrobatics at the market’s far end!”
“With only 100 yuan living expenses, Chen Sicheng spent 20 on tickets.”
“Hahaha, did you see the movie king’s face standing outside the circle? So sour!”
At this moment, Xu Zhaozhao handed the car keys to Shen Mu and helped Aunt Fu into the car.
With a rumble, Shen Mu started the engine and drove off without hesitation.
[Since Shen Mu is driving, if the movie king and Chen Sisi pick a fight later, Xu Zhaozhao can blame Shen Mu, right?]
The audience began to see things from the villain’s perspective.
[But everyone, this move definitely hits Chen Sisi right where it hurts.]
[How so?]
[Chen Sisi’s target has always been the movie king. Of course, she wants some alone time. Maybe going to the circus is her little delay tactic.]
[I’m the one who dies five minutes into a palace drama.]
[Suddenly feel sorry for the movie king. What’s going on?]
-------------------------------------
Meanwhile, at Ke Hao’s studio.
Several staff members gathered around the TV, watching the live stream.
“Sister Ge, are we just going to watch Ke Hao get played by Chen Sisi like this?”
“Yeah, Sister Ge, shouldn’t we try to notify Ke Hao somehow?”
“Notify him about what?” Ge Huiyun said. “If he gets caught on the live stream, how will he explain it to Director Sun?”
“But Chen Sisi’s treating our movie king like a monkey!”
Ge Huiyun pounded the table. “He can’t lose his composure!”
“Don’t you guys check the trending searches? Who’s the hottest now?”
Someone pulled out their phone and said, “It’s Chen Sisi and Xu Zhaozhao.”
“Exactly. Ke Hao being with the top trending stars means free exposure. Why refuse?”
Ge Huiyun analyzed the pros and cons for the team. “If Ke Hao gets played by Chen Sisi, netizens will only scold Chen Sisi. Who would blame Ke Hao?”
She sighed again. “We thought Ke Hao would be the show’s main draw, but it looks like the breakout stars are always the last people you expect.”
“Besides, Ke Hao knows what he’s doing. He won’t get tangled up with someone like Chen Sisi. You have to trust Ke Hao on this...”