Chapter 8 A Way to Make Money: Ten Yuan is Never Too Little

Just as Wang Xiao's eyes were darting around, trying to figure out how to slip away unnoticed, firecrackers suddenly went off in front of the village. She quickly turned around and asked, "Which house is that? Why are they setting off firecrackers?"

"Oh, you married Xiuyun from Uncle Ping's family. Do you remember her? She's about your age, and you used to play together a lot when you were little."

Wang Xiao had no recollection whatsoever; she doubted the original owner would have much of an impression either, since they were no longer in the same social circle. But without hesitation, she put on her best acting skills, instantly switching to the "long live friendship" card: "Oh dear, Xiuyun is getting married. No, Uncle, I have to go see her off; this is a once-in-a-lifetime event. Uncle, you go to work; don't let it interfere with your work."

Chen Yidong, however, dared not let his niece slip away unnoticed: "I'll take you there, and I'll also give a gift. You can eat lunch at Xiuyun's house. Don't rush to sell the braised dishes; we'll sell them together when we get home tonight. If we sell them separately, they're guaranteed to sell quickly."

He led the group to Brother Heping's house and specifically instructed the hostess, "Sister-in-law, thank you for your trouble. Xiaoxiao doesn't come here often, and she doesn't remember the village roads very well. This child is thinking of coming to see Xiuyun off, so please don't let her go out alone, lest she get lost when she returns."

Although Xiuyun's mother found it strange that there was anything wrong with getting lost in their Qianjia Village, she still happily escorted her to her daughter's room: "Xiuyun, look who's here. Wang Xiao came all the way from the city to see you off."

That's an excuse you can't fool even a ghost; everyone in the village has seen that Chen Yidong's niece has been here for several days. But both the host and the guest are happy.

Who is Wang Xiao? He's a college student! A college student from the provincial capital, a proper city dweller, and now he's a cadre after graduation.

Her arrival is a real boost to Xiuyun's family's reputation. When her in-laws come to pick her up, they will look at Xiuyun with more respect when they see that she has a friend who is a government official accompanying her.

The bride, dressed in red, sat up excitedly from the bed and looked at Wang Xiao with surprise: "You're here! Oh, I'm so glad you made the trip."

She saw Wang Xiao on the street a couple of days ago. But she hadn't even finished junior high school, and she was too embarrassed to talk to a college student, so she didn't say hello.

Wang Xiao immediately stepped forward, reached out and took the bride's hand, as if seeing a long-lost best friend, and said with great enthusiasm: "Of course I came, it's your wedding, what a joyous occasion."

She also took out 10 yuan from her pocket, wrapped in red paper, and stuffed it into his hand, saying, "Take this, may you have a long and happy marriage."

The adults next to her immediately stopped her: "Hey, hey, no, no, you're not married yet... Xiaoxiao, you're married?"

In rural areas, there are specific customs regarding gift-giving, and it is done on a family basis. Unmarried young people, regardless of age, do not give gifts individually; no matter how good their relationship with the person in question, it is sufficient for the adults in their family to give the gifts.

Wang Xiao was so generous precisely because she knew this; her money didn't grow on trees. She quickly shook her head: "No, no, I just felt that this was a big deal for Xiuyun, and I should show my appreciation."

Xiuyun's mother quickly stuffed the money back into her pocket: "Your presence is already the greatest gesture. Please sit down, Auntie will bring some melon seeds and candy, you and your friends can have a good chat."

Wang Xiao readily accepted the money back, then cheerfully turned to greet her uncle: "Uncle, go to work now, we have so much to talk about."

She wasn't just being polite; she genuinely had a lot to ask. The room was packed with seven or eight young women around 20 years old, perfect subjects for her market research.

Just then, everyone was a little intimidated by Wang Xiao, this highly educated, rich, and beautiful woman. She took the initiative to start a conversation, and everyone was overjoyed. Without any prompting, they poured out all the topics that Wang Xiao was interested in.

Just as everyone was chatting enthusiastically, Xiuyun's sister-in-law came over. Seeing her sister-in-law's still plain and unwashed appearance, she immediately felt a headache coming on: "Put on makeup? My dear, you're getting married."

Everyone then realized that it was indeed time to put on makeup. However, the lady who was originally supposed to help with makeup had been temporarily called away on a business trip by the factory, so there was no one available and Xiuyun had to do it herself.

Wang Xiao noticed that the girl's only makeup equipment consisted of rouge, which she applied to both her lips and face, and she was even going to make her face look like a red monster. It was truly an eyesore.

There's no way around it; she's always been vain and has loved beauty since childhood. She could draw hidden eyeliner before even finishing elementary school, and her skills improved dramatically in middle school. She even worked as a beauty blogger for a while, but unfortunately, her account didn't take off, and she discovered an even faster way to make money, so she put makeup back on a personal hobby. Of course, she's also demonstrated her makeup skills during live-streaming sales to help sell beauty products, and the response has been quite good.

Now, facing a girl who doesn't know how to do makeup, she felt an itch to do it herself and her eyes hurt, so she finally couldn't hold back and blurted out, "I'll do it."

Everyone looked at her in surprise: You're here? You're all bare-faced, do you even know how to put on makeup?

Wang Xiao was speechless. Sisters, what do you know? This is called a subtle, natural makeup look.

She hasn't even put on makeup yet. Can a woman's face be this clear and flawless without makeup? NO. Even big stars known for their good looks rarely dare to go completely bare-faced.

“I’ll give it a try. I studied with my teachers in college.”

The word "university" itself carries immense brilliance, and the girls instantly conceded the battlefield.

Wang Xiao stood up and said, "I'm going home to get something."

She had thought the original owner's makeup kit, consisting of only lipstick, eyeshadow, foundation, eyebrow pencil, mascara, and blush, was already quite meager. But the wealthy were all about comparison; hers was enough to make her stand out in Zhou Town. The girls in the room gasped in surprise; they hadn't realized there were so many intricacies to makeup.

"Of course." Wang Xiao's bad habits from when she was a beauty blogger resurfaced. While applying a hot towel to the bride's eyebrows, she explained, "This is nothing. My makeup bag in my college dorm was overflowing. I had several different types of foundation brushes alone."

Ah, I really miss the old days.

These days, using this set of tools to do makeup is only slightly better than a skilled cook trying to make a meal without ingredients.

Wang Xiao plucked the bride's messy eyebrows, applied moisturizer to her reddened skin, and then began to use foundation to conceal and contour her features. She had no idea what makeup styles were popular in 1990, so she simply went for the "national peace and prosperity" look. After all, Gong Li was very popular then, and a large poster of her was plastered on the bride's room wall.

The room was initially filled with the chatter of girls laughing and talking, but gradually, perhaps influenced by Wang Xiao's serious attitude, they all fell silent. All that could be heard was Wang Xiao explaining, "Look here, lift it up slightly, and your spirit will improve. And here, if you hit it like this, your nose will stand out. Oh, there's no time today, otherwise I would definitely have given you a lip mask so you could apply lipstick."

Now, I have to use concealer first and then apply lipstick.

The room was quiet, and everyone held their breath as they watched the college student from the city give their familiar girlfriends a new face.

Firecrackers went off outside. Xiuyun's mother pushed open the door and came in, urging her daughter, "Are you ready? Xiaoyong is here to pick them up... Oh my god!"

Who is that person sitting in front of the mirror, turning their head? She… I don’t recognize her.

It sounds exaggerated, but in 1990, very few people in Zhouzhen wore makeup, almost none at all. Moreover, color TVs were still a rarity at that time; televisions were mostly black and white, so you would hardly see anyone wearing makeup except when watching movies.

Therefore, the transformation of the village beauty, who was originally plain-faced and unkempt, into a stylish and sophisticated young woman was a huge shock to her mother.

Besides, is it really true that makeup is hailed as one of the greatest magical inventions in human history? Most people can look completely different before and after makeup if they choose the right look.

The girls watching were all stunned, and one even pointed to the poster on the wall and said, "Xiuyun, you look like Gong Li!"

They never noticed it at all before.

Wang Xiao was making final adjustments when she heard the sound and looked up at the poster. To be honest, it really did look quite similar. Before, it was only about 30% similar—mainly the face shape, but the eyes and nose weren't very alike; now, after her efforts, at first glance, it was at least 70-80% similar.

A girl with pigtails standing next to Wang Xiao grabbed her arm, her eyes gleaming: "College student, please do my makeup too, I'm getting married the day after tomorrow."

Before Wang Xiao could react, Xiuyun shoved her hand away: "No, Wang Xiao is my good friend, that's why I came to help. She's a cadre in the provincial capital, she's very busy."

The girl with pigtails retorted, "Fine, I'll give you money! I'll give you 10 yuan!"

A collective gasp rippled through the crowd. Ten yuan! That could buy over four jin (2 kg) of pork, enough for at least two banquets. They worked in a bed sheet factory, earning less than 30 yuan a month.

Wang Xiao didn't find the price particularly surprising, because before she transmigrated into the book, when a monthly income of 3,000 was considered middle-class, it was the standard market price for a bride to spend 1,000 yuan a day to hire a makeup artist. Besides, given Zhou Zhen's situation, it was difficult for her to even afford cosmetics; this was a business opportunity she was taking seriously.

She grinned: "Really giving me 10 yuan?"

Xiuyun was anxious, afraid that she would get angry and someone would use money to insult her: "Don't pay attention to her. You are a dignified state cadre. Do you need this little bit of money? She's just making a fuss."

Wang Xiao thought to herself, "Even when I was making a million a month, I still wanted to earn ten million. I'm always short of money. How could she possibly complain about 10 yuan now?" She readily nodded, "Sure, 10 yuan it is. Give me your address and time the day after tomorrow, and I'll be there right away."

The room full of young women were dumbfounded, completely unable to keep up with Wang Xiao's pace. She...she...she's a college student, and a government official at that, how could she be charging money for makeup? Shouldn't college students only love books and hate money?

Xiuyun struggled to find her tongue for a while before stammering, "Then...then you're not going to work the day after tomorrow?"

Right, it's not a holiday, surely the city wouldn't have a break for the busy farming season, so why is she staying in Zhou Town?

Wang Xiao lied without batting an eye: "My boss assigned me to come here to conduct research on the economic development of townships." She smiled and looked up at the girl with pigtails who had just asked for 10 yuan. "Wedding expenses are also part of the township economy, so I have to take your money, otherwise the research data won't be convincing."

Actually, the girl with pigtails regretted asking for 10 yuan. Her family was well-off; her father was a factory manager. After all, it was 10 yuan. But since Wang Xiao had said so, she naturally insisted, "You can take it. I'm happy to pay for something pretty."

Wang Xiao smiled and said, "Okay, you're my first customer. Um, Xiuyun, wait a minute, I'll go get some clothes."

Sigh, aesthetics are universal. If someone is going to use rouge to make themselves look like a red-faced monster, how good do you expect the wedding dress they choose for themselves to be?

A red sweater! A red sweater that's this ugly is the eighth wonder of the world.

Wang Xiao rushed back to his uncle's house and pulled out a thin red sweater with a turn-down collar from his suitcase.

When she transmigrated, the original owner was about to get married. Her suitcase was filled mostly with festive new clothes, including a red overcoat, which she planned to take to her husband's home. Even by the standards of thirty years later, the cashmere overcoat was still stylish, though it wasn't the right season to wear it now. She did, however, take out a nice red cheongsam as well.

Wang Xiao rushed back to Xiuyun's house and had Xiuyun try on all the clothes. She couldn't fit into the cheongsam because it was a bit tight around her stomach; however, the red sweater looked great on her and made her look very stylish.

“Okay, you can wear this for today,” Wang Xiao said generously. “Sit down, I’ll redo your hair.”

Since she's already dressed up like this, it would be more appropriate to put her hair up in a bun. Unfortunately, not only did Xiuyun not have any hairpins, but all the girls present could offer were rubber bands and small black hair clips.

Wang Xiao was truly having a terrible headache, so she had to settle for second best. She started by braiding a low three-pronged braid, then flipped it up halfway through and secured it with a clip. Next, she took the outermost section of the flipped-up hair and braided it into a loop, constantly bringing the remaining hair from the inside in. In the end, everyone was surprised to find that the hair had been braided into an oval shape, which perfectly matched the lower half of the ponytail.

Wang Xiao secured it with a clip, then found a bow hair clip and placed it in the middle, and the scent immediately came out.

Upon seeing this, the girl with pigtails murmured, "It was worth 10 yuan."

Of course it's worth it. I'm over 20 years old and this is the first time I've known I can be this good-looking. How could it not be worth it?

As the people inside gasped in shock, the door suddenly burst open with a thud, and cheers erupted: "We're here to pick up the bride!"

It turned out that the girls were so busy watching Wang Xiao dress up the bride that they forgot about the most important task of the day: blocking the bride's room door and stopping the groom.

The girls screamed, "Get out!"

The bride also turned pale and pointed to the door: "Get out!"

The groom, who had been beaming with joy, suddenly looked like he'd lost his soul, and replied with a silly grin, "Okay, I'll go out."

Then they stumbled backward, reluctant to turn back, afraid of missing a single glance at the bride.

So this is his wife. He had no idea she was so beautiful.