Xia Qiao is a wheat straw hand-weaver in Hexi Village, specializing in bottom-locking wrapping of storage baskets. Seven years ago, she fell in love with Shen Yan, a supporting teacher, but was too timid to confess her love and watched him leave. Seven years later, Shen Yan returned to his hometown to open a ceramics studio, and the two met again at a rural handicraft market. He ordered six storage baskets, "the bottom of which can hold ten kilograms of clay." Xia Qiao accepted the order, only to find that her craftsmanship was completely messed up - if the bottom of the lock was too tight, the bottom of the basket would be deformed, and if the winding was loose, the thread would fall apart. Just like her intention that she had hidden for seven years, it would become distorted if she applied too much force, and it would fall apart if she let go. The humidity during the rainy season causes the wheat straw to soften and move, and the uneven density of the hand-wrapped circles causes the force on the bottom of the basket to become unbalanced. When the bottom of a basket with even weight was finally woven, she finally understood: some love is like the bottom of a straw lock, which is too tight or too loose to hold anything in. The timidity in youth trapped not only the confession, but also all the "could have been" moments in the long years to come.
