For several days in a row, no one in the small depression saw Lu Cijian. Only Song Er went up the mountain to help with the farming. Although everyone was curious, they all knew that Lu Cijian probably had other things to do, so they didn't pay much attention.
Jiang Yimian felt something was off. After she told the other person about being drunk that day, the person acted strangely.
She was thinking of giving him some advice when he suddenly disappeared.
She felt that Lu Cijian had been avoiding her these past few days, but she had no evidence. When she asked Song Er, he said that Lu Cijian had something very important to do and would not be back for some time.
She had no choice but to give up, but fortunately, the spring plowing in the small depression was soon over.
While Zhao Dashu and the other two were busy with opening the shop, she started making lipsticks.
The cochineal insects have all dried out after these days of drying, and the original baskets full of insects have shrunk by more than half.
She directly ground all the cochineal insects into powder, then put most of the powder into a ceramic jar and sealed it. She only took out a small portion, dissolved it in water to extract the pigment, and planned to make a few to test the color.
Chen Xiaoqing watched from the side, her eyes full of curiosity. As she watched Jiang add more water to the reddish-purple liquid, she asked curiously, "Sister Jiang, is there not enough water? I can help."
As she spoke, she reached out to fetch water.
Jiang Yimian quickly stopped her, smiling and saying, "No, this isn't ordinary water. It has alum, tartaric acid, and baking soda added."
Because cochineal is water-soluble, it can only dissolve in water and cannot dissolve in oil. Only by adding these things can the cochineal powder undergo some changes.
Although Chen Xiaoqing didn't understand, she still responded. Seeing that there was nothing she could do to help, she obediently watched from the side.
Jiang Yimian poured the reddish-purple cochineal water into a small pot and began to simmer it over a low flame.
She kept stirring the pot with chopsticks until the solution became thick before pouring it into a small bowl and drying it.
During this time, she put a large piece of beeswax into a clean small pot, and poured in camellia oil and olive oil, all of which she had taken out of her space earlier that morning.
Chen Xiaoqing assumed it was kitchen oil and didn't think much of it. She waited until the cochineal solution had completely dried before handing it to her.
Jiang Yimian then ground the clumps into a fine powder, poured it into the oil in the basin, and stirred it slowly over low heat.
After the cochineal powder had completely dissolved in the beeswax and cooled, she poured it directly into the lipstick molds that Gou Sheng had made for her a few days earlier.
In the end, she made a total of ten lipsticks, and poured the remaining unused solution into a rouge porcelain bottle.
It can be used as lip balm or blush.
Chen Xiaoqing's eyes lit up as she looked at the solidified paste. "Sister Jiang, this lip rouge looks even better than the colors sold in the rouge and powder shops in the county town."
If this were actually sold in a shop, it would definitely be popular with the ladies and young women there.
Jiang Yimian just smiled, took out a lipstick and tried the color. She was quite satisfied with it. She left three lipsticks for Lin Zhaozhao and Xie Yu each, and also left three bottles of lip balm.
She kept one for herself and gave the rest to Wang Fengqin and the three women in Xiaowadi.
Making lipsticks is simple; once she decides how to sell them, she can start mass production.
She was confident that she could sell it at a high price and make a fortune, but she didn't know whether to continue cooperating with the Lin family or start her own lipstick business.
After thinking for a while without deciding how to start a lipstick business, she simply gave up and went to town to prepare for the opening.
*
Lu Cijian wasn't just avoiding Jiang Yimian these past few days; Song Bingcheng had received news about Jiang Dazhuang.
In recent days, he has stayed in town to inquire about the details and wait for the villager who disappeared with Jiang Dazhuang to wake up.
Although he mostly just sits in the house or in the yard, he feels that this is better than seeing Mianmian.
He couldn't tell whether the dream that night was real or just a dream, and the more he thought about it, the more his head ached.
While he worried that Mianmian would hate him, he also felt a little excited, and the softness from his dream seemed to linger on his lips.
He subconsciously touched his lips, unable to suppress the joy on his face, but the next second, he frowned and felt a pang of sadness in his heart.
It seemed as if two voices were constantly speaking in his mind.
The one on the left said, "You're finished. How could you take liberties with such a nice girl just because you were drunk, and even have such a dream? How can you continue to appear in front of her? That's wrong."
The one on the right said that as long as Mianmian likes you and is willing to forgive you, you can still care for and take care of her as before, even if it's just being by her side.
Moreover, Mianmian doesn't seem to dislike your approach. That time you impulsively hooked your finger with hers, and Mianmian didn't seem angry.
The voice from the left appeared again. Could it be the same as this time? Mianmian definitely didn't notice it that time, but this time she really noticed it.
The voice on the right seems angry too. It was just a dream. How could Mianmian know what happened in the dream? You can still get along with Mianmian as before.
Lu Cijian was only annoyed by the two voices in his mind. He shook his head vigorously and finally shook the two voices out of his mind.
He already knew the answer in his heart. Although it was just a dream, and Mianmian treated him the same as before, he knew that things were different.
When he woke up from that dream, he knew, and confirmed, his feelings.
He never thought of himself as a conflicted person, nor did he have many things to worry about. He just focused on practicing martial arts every day, like a heartless killing machine.
But ever since leaving that awful place and unexpectedly hiding in the mountains where she met Jiang Yimian, everything seems to have changed.
At first, he thought he was just reluctant to part with the warmth of the small depression, after all, those beautiful things were something he had never experienced before.
But when he returned and saw Jiang Yimian in the bandit's den, he realized that he couldn't bear to part with the warmth of the small valley, but also with this person.
So, disregarding the old man's objections, he used various excuses to disrupt his initial plans and went to Qing Shi Village.
Then, it got out of control, and he couldn't help but be nice to Jiang Yimian, wanting to do everything for her.
His gaze would inadvertently fall on her, and every time he got close to her unintentionally, his heart would race.
He wanted more, but he never considered whether Mianmian felt the same way.
Did some of his actions cause her any trouble?
These days he seems to be acting solely on his emotional instincts, even though he was warned since childhood that emotions are the most unreliable thing, and how could he act based on such an ethereal instinct?
His usual calm and composure seemed to have vanished in front of Mianmian.
He's become unlike himself.
He enjoyed the change, but now that he's had enough of the warmth, it seems time to return to his original life.
It's good for both him and Mianmian.
Leaving now leaves you with a way out.
He can calm down and suppress those feelings in his heart, and Mianmian may still occasionally remember him as a friend.
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