"Thank you, Auntie."
"Oh, you are such a polite child. Sit still. I will start cutting your hair."
"I won't move, auntie." Xie Zirui said and sat there obediently without moving, which made Zhang very happy. The children of the Yun family were all naughty, and when had she ever seen such a well-behaved child?
Zhang skillfully cut Xie Zirui's tangled hair and trimmed it slightly. Xie Zirui's hair became much shorter, but the hairstyle was still very nice. Xie Zirui also looked much more energetic.
Zhang often cuts hair for several men in the family, both young and old, and her skills have long been honed.
"Okay, Zirui. I have cut your hair. Now go find your second brother and ask him to help you take a bath." Zhang said as she patted the hair residue on Xie Zirui's body and neck.
"Second brother, Zirui has had his hair cut. Please help him take a bath." Zhang called out to Yun Laoer in a low voice.
"Here I come, mother."
"Zirui, come on, second brother will take you to take a bath." Second Brother Yun led Xie Zirui towards the donkey cart.
Zhang covered the cut hair with dirt so that it wouldn't fly everywhere when the wind blew.
After Xie Zirui took off his dirty clothes, Brother Yun took a clean towel and wiped him. Although Xie Zirui's face was black, the parts of his body covered by his clothes were very white.
By the time Second Brother Yun had wiped Xie Zirui's entire body, the water in the basin had turned black. Xie Zirui blushed in embarrassment.
"Thank you for helping me take a bath, brother."
"What's there to thank me for? Wait, I'll go change the water." Brother Yun poured out the dirty water and replaced half of the basin with clean water. Only hair washing was left. Xie Zirui's hair wasn't long, so it should be enough. Brother Yun looked at the water in the tank and didn't want to add more water.
The water level had been low recently, so everyone was using water sparingly. If Xie Zirui hadn't been so dirty, Zhang wouldn't have been willing to use water like this.
"Zi Rui, lower your head and let me wash your hair."
"Got it, second brother." Xie Zirui lowered his head and asked second brother Yun to help him wash his hair. Soap powder for washing hair can be bought at the grocery store in town. It is more convenient to use.
"Zi Rui, I'll wash your hair again later. Lift your head and I'll wipe your face."
Xie Zirui raised his face obediently, and Brother Yun wiped the towel on Xie Zirui's face. "Oh, the towel is black. How long has it been since I last washed my face? The towel has turned black." Brother Yun secretly guessed.
Yun Erge folded the towel in half and wiped Xie Zirui's face again. This time the towel was not so black. Yun Erge folded the towel in half again and wiped it again. The towel was a little bit black.
"Zirui, just wipe your face again. Wait for me, I'll wash the towel." Brother Yun said as he looked up at Xie Zirui.
Suddenly, he took a step back in surprise. He pointed at Xie Zirui and stammered, "Xie Zirui, what's wrong with your face? Why isn't it black?"
Brother Yun looked at the blackened towel, then turned to look at Xie Zirui's fair face. He was a little overwhelmed.
"Second brother, I wasn't originally black. It was my grandmother who said that when fleeing famine, children with black faces are safer than children with white faces, so my face was smeared black by my grandmother." Xie Zirui explained embarrassedly.
"Yes, your grandma is right. When fleeing famine, babies who are either fatter or fair-skinned and pretty like you are very popular with human traffickers." Second Brother Yun also said in agreement.
"It's a good thing your grandma blackened your face, otherwise you would be really unsafe."
"Brother, can we wash our hair first before we talk? I'm afraid someone might come in and it would be so awkward."
"Okay, wait. I'll wash the towel." Second Brother Yun washed the towel, added half a basin of water, and helped Xie Zirui wash his hair and wipe his face.
Xie Zirui put on the clothes that his second brother Yun wore when he was a child.
Second Brother Yun looked at Xie Zirui wearing his clothes and thought he looked better in them than himself. This was because Xie Zirui was very white. His face, neck, hands, and even his exposed ankles and wrists were all white. Even wearing cotton clothes did not affect Xie Zirui's handsomeness at all.
It really proves the saying that a beautiful woman looks good even in a sack.
"Zi Rui, just leave it like this for now. We'll talk about it after my dad comes back."
"Go play with Yiyi. I'll wash your clothes and you can keep them as a souvenir."
"Thank you, second brother, for helping me take a bath and wash my clothes." Xie Zirui said gratefully.
"It's just a piece of cake. Go and have fun." After saying that, Brother Yun went to wash clothes.
"Aunt, I'm done taking a shower." Xie Zirui came to the dining table and said to Zhang who was busy putting away the dishes and chopsticks.
"So fast, it seems your second brother is quite skillful. Let your second brother help you wash your dirty clothes. Go and play with Yiyi. Wait for your uncle to come back and when everyone is together, we will have dinner." Zhang said without raising her head.
"Aunt, let me help you." Xie Zirui reached out and picked up the bowl in the basket and handed it to Zhang.
Zhang took the bowl and placed it on the table. Suddenly, she felt something was wrong. How come the hand that had just handed the bowl was whiter than the bowl? Whiter than the bowl? That's not right. Everyone in the family is tanned, and the newcomer Xie Zirui is also a little dark-skinned.
Could it be that the other kid went to the wrong place? Zhang wondered.
That's not right. It was Zirui who spoke just now. Zhang thought of this and straightened up, looking up at Xie Zirui. As a result, she was dumbfounded.
The child standing in front of me has a snow-white face and delicate eyebrows and eyes. If her hair was longer, people would probably believe that she is a beautiful girl.
The child was wearing Yun Lao Er's clothes. Zhang asked in disbelief, "Are you Xie Zirui?"
"Aunt, yes I am. I was just talking to you. Second Brother Yun helped me take a bath. He is helping me wash my clothes now, and then he asked me to play with Yiyi."
After hearing what the child said, Zhang finally believed that the extremely beautiful child in front of her was Xie Zirui. Unexpectedly, after taking a bath, the child changed drastically.
"Zirui, I saw you were very dark before. Why are you so white now?" Zhang asked curiously.
"Aunt, I'm sorry. It was my grandma who said that it's unsafe for children to be too white. That's why she slandered me." Xie Zirui explained in an embarrassed voice.
"Oh, so that's how it is. She's still so beautiful. Look at Yiyi, she's so tanned now. I wonder when she'll be able to whiten her skin."
"Aunt, when the weather is not so hot, you can go to the pharmacy to buy ointment for sister Yiyi to apply. That way she will become whiter faster."
"Yes, yes, you see, I had forgotten all about this. I still have the ointment recipe I prescribed before." Zhang patted her head in frustration.
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