Chapter 100 Handwashing and Skincare Activities

The next afternoon, after school, Shu Ran did not go straight back to her own little house, but went to the dugout where Sister Wang and Li Xiulan lived.

Sister Wang was sewing shoe soles at her doorstep when she saw her arrive. She greeted her warmly, "Teacher Shu is here! Please have a seat."

"Big sister, please don't sit down. I came to discuss something with you." Shu Ran took out a small cloth bag, opened it, and inside were two brand-new bars of soap and two boxes of face cream.

When Sister Wang saw it, she exclaimed in surprise, "Oh my! Didn't you already use this rare item to exchange for favors? Where did you get this from?"

"I brought these from the division headquarters, and I haven't used them yet," Shu Ran said with a smile. "Big sister, I'd like to borrow your position as a women's representative to organize a small activity for the women comrades in our company."

"An event? What kind of event?" Sister Wang asked curiously.

"I'll teach you how to wash your hands properly and how to protect your skin." Shu Ran picked up a bar of soap. "Look at this place, the wind and sand are strong, the sun is scorching, and we work all day long. Our hands get so rough, cracked, painful, and prone to infection. Especially when cooking and feeding the children, our hands are unclean and unhygienic. I thought, even in the Gobi Desert, we women shouldn't forget to take care of ourselves. Living cleanly and decently can't hurt."

Looking at the soap and face cream, and then at her own rough, cracked hands, Sister Wang had an idea.

She certainly wanted to look more presentable, but circumstances didn't allow it, and she wasn't even aware of it.

"Is your idea... feasible? Won't people say we're acting like bourgeois people?" Sister Wang asked with some concern.

Shu Ran was prepared: "Big sister, this has nothing to do with the bourgeoisie. Hygiene and disease prevention are scientific. Doesn't Medic Xu emphasize washing hands every day? We're just responding to the health call. Besides, keeping ourselves clean makes us more energetic at work, and it's more pleasant to see when we get home, which is good for family harmony. This also promotes unity and stability in the company."

Her words struck a chord with Sister Wang. As a women's representative, she was worried about not having any practical and effective means to unite women.

"Great!" Sister Wang slapped her thigh. "I think this is a good idea! Let's do it in my yard! I'll go and inform them tomorrow!"

As expected, the news caused quite a stir among women. Some were curious, some were expectant, and some, like Wang Honghua, scoffed at it.

"What are you doing, making such a fuss? Do you need to teach me how to wash my hands?"

"Exactly, using face cream? That's something we can afford!"

"I think she's just throwing money away and showing off!"

But many more women, especially the younger ones, had their own yearning for beauty stirred. With Sister Wang acting as a women's representative and using "hygiene and disease prevention" as a pretext, the next afternoon, twenty or thirty women gradually gathered at the entrance of Sister Wang and Li Xiulan's dugout, chatting and making quite a scene.

Looking at the people present, Shu Ran felt reassured. She asked Sister Wang to boil a large pot of warm water and prepare several clean basins.

At the start of the activity, Shu Ran didn't preach any grand principles; instead, she first showed everyone their hands.

"Aunties, sisters-in-law, let's look at each other first. How much work do our hands do every day? Farming, washing clothes, cooking, feeding chickens, taking care of children... Without these hands, there would be no bumper harvest in our company, and no warm kang beds in every household. These hands are the glorious testament to our labor!"

“But,” she changed the subject, picking up a bar of soap, “our glorious hands also need to be taken care of. Dirty hands easily carry germs, and getting sick not only makes you suffer but also delays your work, and it’s even more troublesome if you spread it to your family and children. Today, let’s learn how to wash these glorious hands clean without damaging the skin.”

She demonstrated by wetting her hands with warm water, applying soap, and carefully lathering them, even cleaning under her fingernails: "This way of scrubbing will wash away all the dirt." Then she rinsed them clean and dried them with a clean cloth.

She opened another box of face cream, scooped out a little, and gently spread it on the back of her hand: "This place is dry, and washing our hands makes them even drier. Applying this can protect the skin and prevent it from cracking. Although this stuff is rare, a little bit can last a long time, and we don't necessarily have to buy it. We can try making it ourselves using traditional remedies in the future."

Her explanation was easy to understand, and her movements were composed. My hands did look clean and refreshed after washing, and after applying the face cream, they felt even more delicate and moisturized.

The women's eyes lit up as they watched her movements and smelled the faint fragrance in the air.

"Come on, everyone, try it." Shu Ran and Sister Wang invited everyone to take turns washing their hands and applied a little bit of face cream to each person.

At first, everyone was a little reserved and embarrassed, but with the encouragement of Shu Ran and Sister Wang, they all cautiously extended their hands.

"Oh, it's so smooth and slippery, it feels so good!"

"Hey, my hands are so much cleaner after washing them!"

"This fragrance is so wonderful..."

"After applying this, my hands feel less tight..."

The courtyard gradually filled with laughter and cheerful chatter. Even the women who had initially come out to watch the spectacle softened considerably after experiencing it for themselves.

Wang Honghua was also pulled over by several women she knew. She stood on the periphery of the crowd, watching Shu Ran patiently teach a young woman how to clean her fingernails, her eyes filled with mixed emotions.

When Shu Ran saw Wang Honghua, she didn't deliberately avoid her. Instead, she picked up another bar of soap and walked over, smiling gently: "Sister-in-law Honghua, why don't you try it? You cook all day, so you need to pay more attention to the hygiene of your hands."

Wang Honghua looked at the soap handed to her, then at Shu Ran's smile, feeling a little embarrassed. She awkwardly took it, muttering, "I'll give it a try..."

Shu Ran took her hand and, using the water in the basin, taught her how to make foam while saying softly, "Sister-in-law, I know you might be a little upset about the room allocation a few days ago. But why should we women make things difficult for each other? In this Gobi Desert, we should help each other out. Look, when you're all tidied up, you're in a better mood, aren't you? And the men and children at home will be happy to see that."

Hearing this, Wang Honghua felt the smooth touch of Shu Ran's palm and the warmth of her fingertips, and smelled the pleasant fragrance. Her tense expression unconsciously relaxed a little. She didn't speak, but she didn't shake off Shu Ran's hand either.

Shu Ran knew that as long as a crack was pried open, that would be enough.

At the end of the event, Shu Ran handed the two bars of soap and the remaining face cream to Sister Wang: "Sister, keep these here. In the future, when we women have activities, or if anyone really needs them, such as if their hands are cracked so badly that it affects their work, we can borrow some from you. Let's take it slowly, and when conditions improve, we'll try to make sure that every woman in our company can use them."

Sister Wang excitedly accepted it: "Teacher Shu, you...you really think of what we need to know!"

The women present looked at Shu Ran, and the initial rejection and jealousy in their eyes mostly turned into gratitude and admiration. They realized that this teacher, Shu, who came from a capitalist family, understood their hardships, was willing to share good things, and truly cared about them.

"Teacher Shu, if you need anything in the future, just let me know!"

"Yes, we'll do our best to help the school with anything!"

"Teacher Shu, your face cream is really great..."

Shu Ran smiled and agreed, knowing that she had made the right move.

Looking at the women in the courtyard, she felt a great sense of accomplishment.

The handwashing and skincare activity initiated by Shu Ran has yielded obvious results. When people go to wash clothes by the ditch now, the previous avoidance and whispers have significantly decreased. Instead, there are slightly shy greetings and curious glances.

"Teacher Shu, are you doing laundry?"

"Teacher Shu, your method last time really worked. My cracked hand doesn't seem to hurt as much anymore."

Some people even approached her and whispered, "Teacher Shu, besides the face cream from Shanghai, is there any other way to get it? Even if it doesn't taste as good..."

Shu Ran patiently responded to each question, sharing some feasible alternatives, such as applying slightly cooled heated mutton fat, which could also provide some moisturizing effect. She knew that a little soap and face cream could only temporarily shorten the distance; to truly earn respect and solidify her position, she had to rely on her own strength.

She devoted more of her energy to her work. Having her own small house greatly improved her work efficiency.

After collaborating on the stargazing activity, Lin Xuezhou's attitude towards Shu Ran changed noticeably. He still insisted on the importance of systematic teaching, but no longer forced practical knowledge onto her. Instead, he began to assist Shu Ran in organizing and standardizing teaching materials derived from real life, using his solid literary foundation to refine the colloquial content into something more accurate and concise. The two, one down-to-earth and the other rigorous and systematic, complemented each other perfectly.

"Teacher Shu, could you use a more concise parallel sentence structure for this part describing common livestock diseases? It would be easier to remember," Lin Xuezhou suggested earnestly, holding the draft written by Shu Ran.

"Okay, you can revise it." Shu Ran didn't even look up, she was drawing a simple diagram of the bandaging steps, "As long as the meaning is right, just make it sound natural."

This focused work atmosphere dispelled the rumors that circulated when the cabin was first assigned.

That day, in the literacy class, since Li Xiulan and Sister Wang were busy with work and couldn't leave, Shu Ran had to continue to fill in.

Several more women came to the class than usual, including Wang Honghua. Although she was still a little awkward, she was pulled along by her friends and sat in a corner. Shu Ran was teaching everyone to recognize and write the names and key information of the most frequently encountered documents.

When it was time to practice writing characters, Wang Honghua stared at the notebook, almost breaking the pencil in her hand, but the characters she wrote were still crooked and messy, like earthworms crawling. The more anxious she became, the worse she wrote, and sweat beaded on her forehead. Someone next to her couldn't help but chuckle softly.

Wang Honghua's face flushed red instantly. She slammed down her pencil and raised her voice, "What's the use of learning these lousy characters! Can they feed me or clothe me? I'm not learning anymore!" With that, she got up and left.

The classroom atmosphere suddenly froze.

Shu Ran sighed inwardly, walked over to Wang Honghua, picked up the pencil, looked at the crooked writing in her notebook, and calmly said, "Sister-in-law Guihua, do you think it's useless to be literate?"

“It’s no use!” Wang Honghua said stiffly, but her eyes flickered.

“Then let me ask you,” Shu Ran picked up a mock collection notice, “how much effort have you wasted in life, and how many losses have you suffered because of your illiteracy?”

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Honghua was stunned, opened her mouth, but couldn't say anything. This had indeed happened, and she had complained about it for a long time afterward.

"Also," Shu Ran picked up another simulated "work point ticket," "have you had any problems with your work points because you can't read?"

Wang Honghua's face turned from red to white, and her momentum clearly weakened. Several women around her also recalled similar incidents and nodded in agreement, whispering among themselves.

"Yes, not being able to read is a disadvantage..."

"Last time I brought home alkaline flour thinking it was starch, and it almost made my teeth fall out from the staleness..."

Shu Ran looked at Wang Honghua and softened her tone: "Sister-in-law, learning to read isn't about showing off, it's about ensuring we don't suffer losses or get cheated, and that we can live a more sensible life. If you find it difficult now and can't write well, that's okay, we'll take it slowly. Look at Chuncao's mother, she couldn't even write her own name at first, but now she can read a simple IOU, right?"

Chuncao's mother, who was called out, smiled shyly.

Wang Honghua stood there, unsure whether to leave or stay, her face alternating between pale and flushed.

Shu Ran handed the pencil back to her, her voice softening even more: "Sister-in-law, why don't you try again? Let's start by writing your own name. From now on, when you get things or record work points, you won't need to leave your fingerprints. Just sign your name clearly and proudly, wouldn't that be more impressive?"

These words struck a chord with Wang Honghua. She always felt inferior when she pressed her fingerprint. She hesitated for a moment, then slowly sat down, picked up her pen again, and became much more serious.

Shu Ran secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She knew that with someone like Wang Honghua, it was better to present practical benefits than to preach grand principles. She returned to the podium and continued teaching, as if the little incident had never happened.

After class, the women left one after another. Wang Honghua lingered at the back, and only after everyone had left did she quickly stuff a small cloth bag into Shu Ran's hand, her voice so low it was barely audible: "Homemade pickled radish, it's worthless... just eat it."

After saying that, he walked away quickly without waiting for Shu Ran's reaction.

Shu Ran held the bag of dried radish, watching Wang Honghua's somewhat hurried retreating figure, a slight smile playing on her lips. This might not be considered a complete reconciliation, but at least it was a good start.

After packing her things and locking the classroom door, Shu Ran walked back under the moonlight. The night in the Gobi Desert was completely silent, except for the rustling sound of the wind blowing through the red willow bushes.

She enjoyed the tranquility of being alone, her mind still preoccupied with tomorrow's work.

As she approached her little house, she vaguely saw what appeared to be a dark figure at the doorway.

Shu Ran immediately stopped alertly, her hand instinctively reaching into her pocket—where she always carried the small dagger that Adil had given her.

"Who?" she whispered, her heart pounding.

The dark figure moved slightly, and a familiar voice rang out: "It's me."