Looking more closely, not only did Miao's hair become shinier, but her face was also smoother and more delicate than before. Unlike her own face, which would become bumpy, red, itchy and painful when winter came, as if she had frostbite. Miao's face seemed to be like this in previous years, but now there was not even a sign of it!
If you eat well and live a happy life, will your hair and face also become better?
Aunt Lian touched her dry and frizzy hair ends, feeling full of envy.
If it were someone else, Miao would have laughed it off. But this was Second Aunt Lian, her best sister, and Miao couldn't help but share her feelings with her best sister: "Your hair is also stained with dirt, it's all dirty. Anyway, it's still early, you can wash it at my house, there's hot water at home." Miao said mysteriously: "Qing Ge'er bought me some good things in the city, I'll give them to you!"
In fact, people of this era, especially ordinary people, did not wash their hair often, especially in winter. Because there were no good ways to keep warm and dry, and it was not convenient to use water. Rich people always had ways to call servants, but it was troublesome for ordinary people to wash their hair at home. If they were not careful, they would catch a cold and get sick. Coupled with the backward medical level at that time, they might lose half their lives.
So in winter, people at this time would use a comb to comb away the dust and dandruff on their heads. Wealthier families would also use some hair oil or even decoction made from herbs to comb their hair. Village women who couldn't afford hair oil would soak some elm bark or cypress leaves in water, which would work. This would achieve the purpose of hygiene, cover up odors, and even have a very good effect on hair care. Combing the hair also massages the scalp.
At Miao's house, because Shen Qing had chopped firewood before, the family had stored a lot of odd and ends firewood that didn't look good. They had been burning the kang all winter, and there was often a brazier in the house, which was very warm, so they didn't have to worry about catching a cold. After hearing what Miao said, even the second aunt was a little moved, and she didn't bother to be polite with her sisters: "Then I'll take advantage of you and try the good things that Brother Qing bought?"
They said they bought it in the city, but it was actually shampoo, conditioner, and essential oil that Shen Qing brought back from the end of the world, packed in a palm-sized ceramic bottle. After using it a few times, Miao fell in love with the feeling of hair being slippery after washing. Although it takes time to maintain hair, it won't be slippery after a while, but it's better than not using it, right? And unlike combing hair, this hair is clean and the scalp is not itchy.
This shampoo was different from the soapberry and elm bark shampoo they usually used. Miao was afraid that Second Aunt Lian wouldn't know how to use it, so she asked her to lie on the kang and she brought hot water and placed it on a stool beside the kang to wash her hair. Second Aunt Lian only smelled a fragrance, and then she felt Miao applying something on her hair and rubbing it slowly: "I've benefited from it for once!"
"Then come often in the future, I'll wash you and you'll wash me, and we'll both benefit from it."
"That's great. I get to enjoy the good things your brother Qing bought for free." Second Aunt Lian joked.
Second Aunt Lian had never used shampoo before. The first time she used it, she came out with a large basin of gray water. She was very surprised: "Why is my hair so dirty?"
"It was the same the first time I used it, but it got better afterwards. After washing with this, my head feels so refreshed!" Miao said, and applied conditioner to her hair. "Just hold it there for now, and go to the fire to dry it for a while. I'll change the water in the basin for you."
So when Shen Qing got up, she found Miao and Aunt Lian were enthusiastically drying their hair and applying essential oils to their hair. Miao also took out something to apply on the face for Aunt Lian to try: sod honey or something else was also squeezed into a ceramic bottle. Miao was still explaining to Aunt Lian one by one: "I always apply it twice. This thin one is moisturizing and doesn't make my face dry or itchy. This thicker one is anti-freezing! My face won't feel cold after applying it."
"Is it so magical? I'll try it too. My face has been itchy these past two days and I keep wanting to scratch it."
"Didn't we say we were going to Shiqu Village today?" Shen Qing looked at the sky. It was almost noon, but the two sisters had no intention of leaving and were chatting excitedly.
"It's nothing serious, just go later." Even tomorrow is fine. Second Aunt Lian is in high spirits right now, and she can go back to her parents' home any day: "Go later and stay at her parents' home for one night. Qing'er, where did you buy this good thing? Is it expensive? When you go to the county town again, bring some back for Auntie!"
"I bought it from a peddler who walks around the streets. I didn't buy it in a store." Shen Qing didn't agree right away, but he didn't say anything final. "He said it was a rare item picked from other places, and I don't know when it will be sold out. I saw that it was indeed rare, so I bought some. It cost about 100 wen. I'll see if I can run into him again next time."
"A hundred or so will do." Second Aunt Lian waved her hands repeatedly. No wonder it was so useful, the price was there. No wonder she had never seen anything like it, the rouge shop in the county town had never seen anything like it. She couldn't help but sigh, "There are still more good things outside, this is probably not something from the city."
"If you like it, just come to my house. I bought a lot for my mother." Shen Qing was not afraid to let Second Aunt Lian touch some things of the end times, nor was he afraid of people asking about the origins of things. The more things he experienced, the more Shen Qing felt that there were always people who were better than him. Many things could be naturally attributed to the fact that there were always things better than him - from other places, from the capital, bought from foreign merchants, and even shipped from overseas by large ships. Could it be that people in the village who had never even been to the capital in their entire lives could verify things overseas?
The more knowledge Shen Qing learned, the more comfortable he felt. Thinking of this, and seeing Aunt Lian applying sod honey on her face, Shen Qing said hello to Miao and turned back to the room: "Mom, when you are ready, call me and I will go to Shiqu Village with you."
He picked up a half-burned charcoal from the brazier, took out a piece of oil paper used to wrap snacks, and dug out the emptied sod honey bottle and the face cream bottles with the word "white" from under the bed, and clumsily traced the words on the bottles on the oil paper with the charcoal.
After a long time, Miao's voice finally came from outside the house. Shen Qing carefully put the oil paper into his arms, and went to the kitchen to pick a few sausages and put them in the basket.
At this moment, Miao and Second Aunt Lian had dressed up. They pinned their hair with a wooden hairpin and tied a handkerchief on their heads: firstly to block the wind, and secondly, it was also a common dress in the countryside. It was not easy to wash your hair, so you had to be more careful on a regular basis. Wrapping a handkerchief could prevent dust. Second Aunt Lian's hair was freshly washed, fragrant and smooth, so she naturally didn't want to get it dirty. But the handkerchiefs they tied were particularly bright. Shen Qing recalled that it seemed that Miao had sewn them with curtain cloth.
"Let's go!" Aunt Lian stood up happily.
When they arrived at Shiqu Village, Shen Qing and Miao separated from Aunt Lian Er at the entrance of the village and went to their respective natal families. The Miao family had a prosperous year! With the pig given by Shen Qing, the Miao family had enough to have a prosperous New Year. Miao Xing and Miao Wang also sold the pig's head for some money, and sold some pork to the villagers. The money for Miao Rencheng's house was almost enough, and the construction could start after the New Year!
When they saw Shen Qing and Miao, the whole family welcomed them! They immediately let them into the main room and chatted with Old Lady Miao warmly. This time, Miao did not bring pork, but several packets of snacks that the old lady could chew and digest. She also added two pieces of cloth. At this time, everyone in the room gathered around the two pieces of cloth to look at them.
Shen Qinglue sat for a while, then said, "I'm going to go outside and visit Miao Tongsheng's home. He helped us in Lantang Village before, and I haven't visited him to thank him yet."
"Hey, why are you being polite to him? When we came back from Lantang Village, we treated them to a big meal, which was considered as a return of courtesy. We are from the same village, today he helps me, tomorrow I help him, there is no need to be so formal." Miao Wang said. But then he thought of something and immediately changed his tone: "But if you want to go, go, he is your elder, there is nothing wrong with going to see him."
Shen Qing was a little confused, not understanding why his uncle changed his tone in just a few words. But he still picked up the basket of sausages and said to the people in the room, "I'll be back soon."
Not long after Shen Qing left, Miao Wang asked the other children in the house to go out and play. Xue Niang and Qiao Niang looked at the packages of snacks eagerly and didn't want to leave, but Miao Wang stuffed a piece of cake into their mouths and forcefully drove them out. When only their generation and Old Lady Miao were left in the house, Miao Wang asked Miao: "What's going on with the Wang family in Xiaoji Village? Why are they arranging Qing Ge'er's marriage everywhere?"
"It has spread to our village?" Miao was so annoyed that she was furious when she mentioned the Wang family. She told her family what happened that day, "Tell me, even if it's a marriage, which kid would dare to ask for ten taels of silver? She thought we were easy to bully, so she came to my house to make trouble. Not to mention, Qing'er really didn't like that kid, is that not enough? What kind of golden phoenix egg is his family, so that you have to fall in love with him at first sight?"
"We didn't agree, so the old woman said she would ruin Qing Ge'er's reputation everywhere and threatened us that we had to agree to pay. What's the difference between this and robbery?" Hey, she could have just robbed the ten taels of silver, but she gave it to a kid from her family! Should she thank Old Lady Wang?
"So that's how it is," Liu Yue'e said, "I thought that although Qing Ge'er has some ideas, he is not the kind of rude and unreasonable person. How could he curse others casually? You don't know, the rumors spread very badly. Fortunately, our villagers are united and don't like to listen to the instigation of other villagers, so the rumors were not spread too strongly."
Everyone loves the hustle and bustle, but they all come with good intentions to report the news to the Miao family.
Miao was a little discouraged. It was very annoying to meet such a fool. What should I do? Should I rush to Xiaoji Village and beat her up? "Forget it. Qing Ge'er said he doesn't plan to look for her this year. I guess everyone will have forgotten about it by next year."
Miao Wang was choking on what he was about to say, and he smacked his lips after a long while, looking at Miao's expression: "Qing'er doesn't plan to look for someone this year? Why? Is there something on your mind? I also said, why don't we let Qing'er and Xiaoyu get together, and you can come back to live with us, that would be great."
Let's not talk about how angry Li Yanzi was about her husband's decision to act first and then report to her. She pinched Miao Wang's flesh hard in an invisible place. Miao almost spitted water on her own mother's face: "What?!"
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