Su Lin had a good idea, but Su Hua didn't have any bath tickets.
"My father was assigned abroad, and his food supply and other matters were transferred to western Sichuan. I also lost the family benefits that my regular unit provided me." Su Hua explained.
"Is it true?" Su Lin was a little unconvinced.
"It's true." Su Hua said, "But it doesn't matter if you don't have a bath ticket. A bath at the company bathhouse is only two yuan. You can buy a ticket there."
Although two taels of silver was not a lot, Su Lin was reluctant to spend it. After all, she only had a few dollars left. She had to meet Pan Zhiyuan tomorrow, so she had to dress up nicely and spend every penny carefully.
Su Lin glanced at Su Hua and asked, "Do you also buy a ticket to take a bath in the workplace bathhouse?"
Su Hua shook his head and said, "I don't go to the bathhouse. Two yuan is enough for me to eat in the school cafeteria for a day. I always get hot water to wash at home."
There is free hot water in the water room of the Railway Bureau's staff quarters. You can bring a thermos home, and taking a bath is just a matter of taking a few more trips. Su Hua was reluctant to spend money to go to the bathhouse.
Su Hua asked her, "Sister, do you want me to clean up the house? If so, we'll have to go downstairs to get hot water right away. Otherwise, there will be a long queue for hot water in the evening, and we might not be able to get a number."
Su Lin sighed and said, "No, I'd rather go to the bathhouse."
It seems that the two taels of money spent at the bathhouse cannot be saved.
After all, if she wanted to change her appearance, she must wash herself thoroughly from head to toe. Home scrubbing would not produce such an effect.
Su Lin opened her suitcase, found a set of clean clothes, turned to Su Hua and said, "By the way, Xiaohua, can you lend me some of your vanishing cream? I came here in a hurry and left my things in Gansu."
Su Huayu: "Sister, I don't have any vanishing cream."
"No way?" Su Lin looked at her suspiciously. "You don't have any vanishing cream, so what do you use to apply to your face?"
"I'm a child, I don't wipe my face." Su Hua said.
Su Lin heard this and thought for a moment. She seemed to have never seen Su Hua use any facial oil in her life. He always washed his face with clean water and wiped it with a towel.
"Okay, okay, forget it if you don't have any. I'll buy one from the bathhouse later."
The bathhouse also sells toiletries such as vanishing cream, shampoo, towels, combs, etc.
That night, taking advantage of the darkness, Su Lin sneaked into the workplace bathhouse like a thief and took a refreshing hot bath. Fortunately, God was still kind to her. She didn't run into any familiar people along the way. She just turned around and lowered her head to avoid them, and successfully reached the attic where she was staying.
In the attic, Su Hua lit an oil lamp and was lying on the paper-pasting box under the lamp.
The oil lamp had a limited range of illumination and the light was dim. Su Lin pushed open the door and saw a dark room. She subconsciously frowned, "Xiaohua, the room is so dark, why don't you turn on the light?"
She reached out and untangled the light switch cord, pulling the bulb out.
The lights came on, illuminating the dimness of the room with a warm yellow glow.
Su Lin closed the door and walked into the house carrying the dirty clothes in the basket.
After Su Hua finished pasting the paper boxes in his hand, he raised his head and rubbed his aching neck, saying, "The electricity bill is expensive, and I don't read books. It's just pasting a few paper boxes and lighting an oil lamp is enough."
Su Lin admired Su Hua a little bit in her heart. Although he was young, he was very tenacious.
"You're too frugal. Be careful not to damage your eyes."
"I only paste paper boxes for an hour every day, it's okay." Su Hua smiled and asked, "How about you? Did you meet anyone on the road?"
Su Lin: "It's dark, I can't see clearly even if I meet you."
Su Hua nodded: "That's good."
After this awkward conversation, the two sisters who were not related by blood had nothing more to say to each other.
It was Su Lin's first day, and Su Hua didn't feel comfortable asking to turn off the lights. She blew out the oil lamp and lowered her head to continue pasting her paper boxes. Su Lin opened her suitcase and began to choose clothes that Tian Tian and Pan Zhiyuan could wear on their date.
Su Lin's face was worn by the northwest wind and sand, but her clothes were still fashionable.
When she went to the countryside that year, she packed up all her favorite clothes and took them with her. However, the work in the countryside was hard. The first time she went to the fields to work was to pick corn. In just one morning, her favorite light blue dress was covered with broken corn leaves, and the sleeves on both sides were torn by the corn stalks, leaving several large holes.
From then on, she was reluctant to wear the good clothes she brought from the city anymore. She spent money to ask her fellow villagers to make a few sets of coarse cloth clothes for her to wear when she went to work.
More than a year later, Su Lin still thinks her old clothes are good-looking when she looks at them again.
Every piece was bought for her by Wang Chunhua.
Thinking of this, Su Lin felt a little complicated. She lowered her eyes and sighed softly.
*
The next morning, after Su Lin finished washing up, she carefully changed into the clothes she had carefully selected last night, sat in front of the mirror, and looked around.
The sandstorms and scorching sun from the northwest wrinkled her smooth skin and tanned her fair complexion. Even though she had urgently taken remedies last night and applied a thick layer of vanishing cream on her face, it only made her dry skin more moisturized, but it still looked rough and dull to the naked eye.
Wearing the same clothes, she used to be exquisite and beautiful, but now it looks like she is wearing someone else’s clothes. The clothes look good, but she looks rustic.
When Su Hua came back from the cafeteria after buying breakfast, he found Su Lin still sitting in front of the mirror.
Su Lin looked in the mirror every time she went out. Now that she had bought breakfast and came back, she was still looking in the mirror. Su Hua didn't understand. What on earth was she looking in the mirror for? She looked like that. Wouldn't she be able to look even better if she looked in the mirror again?
Su Hua called out to her helplessly, "Sister, stop taking pictures. I bought breakfast, would you like to come and eat?"
Su Lin touched her flat belly and then put down the mirror dejectedly.
"Xiaohua, am I really that ugly now?"
Su Hua didn't dare to tell the truth. She lowered her head and put the buns she bought on her plate, pretending to be busy. "Sister, you're not ugly, it's just that your skin is a little dark from the sun. It will be fine after a while."
Women are all sensitive. Su Lin could tell that Su Hua was just trying to get by with her. She sighed and couldn't even eat.
Su Hua didn't go to school during the winter vacation, but she never let herself be idle. She went out to work after dinner.
With the Lunar New Year approaching, every household needs to buy New Year's goods. The market is packed with people, and the sales staff at each stall are overwhelmed. Su Hua found a job helping sell vegetables at the Danshui Road market, selling from 8 a.m. to around 3 or 4 p.m. for 5 yuan and a free lunch.
Although the vegetable market only asked her to help during the period before the New Year, she could still earn seven or eight yuan in more than ten days, and Su Hua was already satisfied.
After dinner, Su Hua hurried to the vegetable market and left a key to his house for Su Lin.
After Su Hua left, Su Lin did not stay at home for long. She locked the door and went to Cai Zhuhua's house.
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