The 1960s: The Story of a Country Girl's Journey to the City

"Wow, buying so much, how much does this cost?"

When Lü Da'e saw the five bottles of face cream in her bag, she exclaimed in surprise.

"Not many. My maternal grandmother, my eldest aunt, my second aunt, my mother, and my younger sister each have one bottle. Auntie, would you like to try some?"

As she spoke, Bao Ya opened a bottle, wiped a bit with her hand, and Aunt Chunhua immediately reached out to take it. She was saying:

"I can't accept this."

Bao Ya pulled her hand back and said:

"Face, bring your face over here."

Upon hearing this, Aunt Chunhua immediately leaned her face over.

Bao Ya applied the face cream in her hand to her forehead, nose, cheeks, and chin.

"Use your fingertips to gently rub it in, don't rub it with your hands, or it will all get on your palms. Aunt Da'e, you can have some too."

As Bao Ya spoke, she wiped another layer of cream, and Lü Da'e obediently extended her face as well. Following Bao Ya's instructions, she gently rubbed the face cream onto her skin with her fingertips.

Bao Ya turned around and applied face cream to Grandma Jiu as well.

"Hey, you silly girl, you're wasting such good stuff on this old woman."

Bao Ya ignored her, closed the lid, put the face cream in her bag, and started applying it to Grandma Jiu's face directly with her hands.

"I heard from my grandmother that you were a famous beauty in the surrounding area when you were young. It wouldn't be a waste to give you this."

Aunt Chunhua and Lü Da'e touched the skin on their faces while laughing along with the old man and the young man.

"That's right. I've also heard my mother-in-law say that Ninth Grandma was a rare beauty when she was young."

"You bunch of brats, you're always making fun of this old woman. If we're talking about who's pretty, it has to be Bao Ya's grandma, she's a real beauty."

The group chatted and laughed, while Granny Rong watched them from the side with a sidelong glance.

Bao Ya glanced at her and then took out the face cream again.

"Aunt Rong, you should try it too. I'm not going to hold it against you, so don't drag it out. We're all neighbors, and if word gets out, people will definitely say you're petty."

Lin Baoya is very straightforward. She didn't suffer any loss herself, so she won't hold a grudge against Granny Rong.

As she spoke, she scooped some out of the bottle and was about to rub it on Granny Rong's face.

Granny Rong felt a lump in her throat. This brat never said a kind word. She complained inwardly, but her body betrayed her, and she still leaned over to ask Bao Ya to apply face cream to her.

Granny Rong also tried to rub the snow cream with her fingertips, but it didn't get any peace and quiet around her.

"Aunt Rong, look, I'm so good to you, so please don't scold me anymore."

If you curse me again, I'll make you grow sores on your head and ooze pus from your feet... um... sigh! I'm soft-hearted, and I can't bring myself to say anything about making you suffer a terrible death. You can decide for yourself.

Bao Ya kept chattering on and on, while Granny Rong silently complained to herself, "If there's something to say, it's Aunt Rong; if there's nothing to say, it's Granny Rong. You always get to say everything yourself."

The others laughed heartily, but Granny Rong pretended not to hear. This Lin Baoya was a tough nut to crack; she couldn't beat her or out-argue her, and now she had no temper left.

They all live in the same village, so there's no deep-seated hatred between them. Even if they fought, it wouldn't lead to a fatal feud. They'd just laugh it off and move on, and as time went by, they wouldn't hold a grudge.

Back home, Su Daqiang and his wife, Su Erqiang and his wife, and Lin Dahai and his wife all gathered in Grandma Su's room to look at the watch Jiang Yuan bought for Bao Ya.

Bao Ya took out the face cream she bought to show everyone.

After looking at the bottles of face cream for a while, Grandma Su's hand itched again. She raised her hand to slap them, but in the end, she didn't.

That unlucky kid, he's such a troublemaker! His hand is so big, how is he going to live in the future?

"I'm too old for this, you can keep it. Don't be so extravagant in the future, Xiao Jiang's money can't withstand your wasteful spending."

Granny Su pushed the face cream back, telling her to put it in her own box. When the old lady said this, her eldest and second aunts also handed back the face cream they were holding.

"Oh dear, Grandma, how could you not need it? It's perfect for you. On the way back, Ninth Grandma even said that you were the prettiest girl in the village back then."

Bao Ya shook the old lady, speaking in a spoiled tone. She then stuffed the face cream that her two aunts had handed her back.

"Take them all. I can make money after I go to the city. I'll buy all your face cream from now on."

"Bao Ya patted her chest and said. Grandma Su stared at her, her eyes widening. She leaned closer mysteriously and whispered to her:"

"Is Jiang Yuan going to find you a job?"

Hearing the old lady say this, everyone in the room stared at Bao Ya with wide eyes, thinking that her taking on so many responsibilities might mean that Jiang Yuan had given her a job.

"No."

Bao Ya looked at everyone blankly. Had Jiang Yuan mentioned it? She hadn't heard of it.

Seeing her like this, Old Mrs. Su sighed. This girl is talking big. What money does she earn? She just wastes things every day.

Seeing the disappointed expressions on everyone's faces, Bao Ya suddenly realized something.

"What kind of looks are those? You have no confidence in me. Don't you know my abilities? It's just a job, what's so great about it? I still need to find a job for Simao later."

Bao Ya wasn't very interested in work; she just wanted to make money. She could live without money, but she had to live a comfortable life.

This job isn't a 9-to-5, it's 8-to-6, six days a week, and there's no holiday even during Chinese New Year. No, no, no, she doesn't like it.

Even if we can't do business, it's not impossible to think of other ways.

"Sis, you really helped me find a job."

Si Mao was delighted when he heard this. His sister was a woman of her word; if she said she would find him a job, she would definitely do it.

"Yes, I'll find you a job, and you can earn money to support me. It's a win-win situation, isn't it?"

"Okay, all the money I earn is yours, haha."

Simao believed Baoya's words without a doubt. Looking at these two daydreaming fools, Grandma Su and Su Daqiang didn't want to say anything. Only Su Erqiang chuckled foolishly along with them.

Grandma Su looked at the face cream in her hand, then at her two daughters-in-law, and simply put the face cream away.

This is the child's way of showing affection. Over the years, her two daughters-in-law have never said a word to her adopted granddaughter, but they have always stood up for her. She has to help the child maintain this bond.

"Take them all back and use them too. They're a gift from Bao Ya to you."

After listening to the old lady's words, the eldest and second aunts put away the face cream. Bao Ya stuffed the last bottle on the kang (heated brick bed) into the second aunt's hand.

"This is for Xiaoyu, Second Aunt, you keep it for her."

Second Aunt Yu Pandi quickly declined:

"This is such a precious thing, one bottle is enough for the two of us, you keep this one."

"One bottle isn't enough, Auntie, please keep it. Xiaoyu will definitely like it."

Without a word, Bao Ya stuffed it directly into her pocket.

"Huh? This bottle is missing. It looks like it's been used. Honey, did the salesperson give you the wrong one?"

Su Ruyi showed the opened face cream to Bao Ya.

"That's right, I ran into Granny Rong on the way back, and she tried it."

Bao Ya said nonchalantly, "Anyway, someone has to get scolded, so I'll choose her today."

"What? That old hag, she's never satisfied with taking advantage of people. She even scoops up a spoonful of manure from the manure carriers to taste its saltiness. I'll teach her a lesson later."

Grandma Su grumbled and cursed. Few old women in the village disliked taking advantage of others, so the old lady just cursed a few times at home.