Chapter 41 Beeswax
Now that they had the most important flower for making rouge, Aman went to the market under the scorching sun after lunch to buy the other ingredients she needed. When she returned, she buried herself in her room and started researching, even skipping her afternoon nap.
Fu Yunxiu knew her eagerness to make rouge to sell for money, so he made sure not to bother her these past few days unless it was something urgent.
Not only was he not allowed to go, but even the steamed buns were not allowed to go.
Seeing that Aman had forgotten to make lunch again because she was busy making rouge, Mantou glanced at Fu Yunxiu, sighed, and went out to order food from a small restaurant.
I wonder what the young master is after?
As a maid, it's one thing not to have to serve you personally, but now I don't even have to cook for you.
Even though she didn't really like eating out, she made do with it so as not to bother Aman.
His heart was completely biased, yet he insisted that his feelings for Aman were merely those of a master and servant.
Anyway, he could tell that the young master was just being stubborn.
For several days in a row, the chimneys of Wutongyuan did not emit any smoke during mealtimes.
In the side room, Aman carefully studied the recipe Hongxing had given her, step by step, but no matter how much she tried, she always failed.
Looking at that puddle of something that was neither water nor ointment, Aman began to doubt whether she was really cut out to make rouge, otherwise why did she always fail?
She followed the recipe Hongxing gave her step by step, so how could she have failed?
Not only did it ruin a lot of flowers, but it was also incredibly frustrating.
Could it be that the recipe Hongxing gave us was fake?
Aman picked up the prescription and examined it.
Logically speaking, this shouldn't be the case. Not to mention that the young master checked it and there was no problem, even with Hongxing, I have something on her, so she has no reason to lie to her.
Completely baffled, Aman tossed aside the prescription and walked out the door as if all her energy had been drained. Looking at Fu Yunxiu reading in the pavilion, she called out softly, "Young Master."
Fu Yunxiu looked up from between the books and saw that Aman's delicate little face was all scrunched up like a bun.
"Sigh, looks like someone failed again. I think you should just give up!" Mantou joked.
Normally, Aman might have retorted with a few words, saying that he couldn't possibly say anything nice, but now...
Aman ignored him, returned to her seat and sat down, then said, "You're right, maybe I'm just not cut out to be a rouge maker."
"Sigh..." Mantou's original intention was to say something to cheer Aman up, seeing her looking so dejected. It usually works, so why isn't it working now...?
Mantou turned to look at his young master, only to find that he glared at him.
"I..." Mantou wanted to explain, but for a moment he didn't know what to say, so he could only shut his mouth in embarrassment.
Fu Yunxiu put down his book, pushed his wheelchair over to Aman, and asked, "What happened?"
“I failed again,” Aman said, slumped over the desk, his slightly chubby cheeks flattened by the pressure, his voice muffled. “I followed the recipe exactly…maybe…I’m just destined to be someone who can’t do anything right.”
I couldn't learn embroidery well before, and I can't make rouge well now either.
Aman sighed and buried her face in her arms.
The little girl huddled together, radiating an aura of sadness that made her resemble Fu Bao, who had been bullied by the birds outside.
This made Fu Yunxiu want to pat her head and ruffle her fur.
But the moment he reached out his hand, Fu Yunxiu withdrew it.
He casually smoothed his sleeves, coughed as if to cover something up, and then asked, "So what do you plan to do? Just give up like this?"
"I don't know either." Aman's voice came from the desk, hoarse and full of helplessness.
Fu Yunxiu didn't speak, but simply turned his wheelchair and looked up at the vast sky outside.
After a long while, his voice finally came slowly, "Actually, I once doubted myself just like you."
Aman didn't look up, but Fu Yunxiu knew she was listening.
“I was only eight years old at the time. My father said that I was the eldest son in the family and would have to shoulder the heavy responsibility of the family in the future. I couldn’t just know literature but not martial arts, so he found me a martial arts master. I was physically weak since childhood, so the master didn’t dare to ask too much of me. Apart from practicing the horse stance every day, he had me learn archery.”
“My master was a skilled archer. His archery skills, which allowed him to hit the bullseye from ten paces away, impressed my father greatly. Unfortunately, I was not cut out for archery. For me, it was impossible to even hit the bullseye, let alone shoot an arrow at the target. Gradually, my father became disappointed in me, and my master was no longer as enthusiastic as he had been at the beginning.”
His voice was lukewarm, carrying a hint of past desolation.
"And then?" Aman had already looked up at him without him noticing.
Fu Yunxiu looked at her cautious appearance and couldn't help but find it a little funny. "Later, later I also started to doubt myself, just like you, feeling that I wasn't cut out for this. But I didn't want to disappoint my father, even though I've disappointed him several times already. But this time, I think I can do it. It's just archery, as long as the direction is right, one day I'll hit the target."
"From then on, whenever I had free time, I would secretly run to the backyard to practice archery. Without the supervision of my teacher and father, my mindset became more peaceful, and gradually, I did make some progress. Although the progress was not great, at least I was able to hit the target."
"Do you know how long I've persisted?" Fu Yunxiu suddenly turned and asked.
Aman shook his head.
"Six months, a full six months. So you're saying you're going to give up so easily after only half a month?"
“But…” Aman wanted to argue.
She felt that the two things were not equivalent.
If you miss the arrow once, or twice, but you shoot a hundred times, you're bound to hit the target once.
Making rouge is different; if you fail once, you'll fail a hundred times.
But Fu Yunxiu didn't give her a chance to speak at all. "Have you forgotten what I just said? As long as the direction is right, keep trying and you will eventually succeed. What you need to do most now is to calm down and try slowly."
Actually, after Aman's first failure, he had Mantou take the recipe to someone for advice, and the person said that the recipe was fine.
As for why Aman failed, Fu Yunxiu felt that apart from Aman being reluctant to use materials in order to save money, the most likely reason was that she was too eager for quick success.
The more anxious you are about something, the more likely things are to go wrong.
"So from now on, calm down, treat this matter with a normal mindset, and take it slowly."
Take your time?
Can success be achieved by taking things slowly?
Aman didn't believe it.
But Fu Yunxiu's words were like a stabilizing force, firmly anchored in her heart, leaving her with no room for doubt.
In the end, Aman nodded and said, "Okay."
“Hmm,” Fu Yunxiu nodded in satisfaction, pushed his wheelchair back to the table, took out a sheet of Xuan paper and handed it to Aman, “Since you want to calm your mind, write a calligraphy piece first.”
"Mmm." Aman nodded vigorously, took the paper, spread it out on the desk, opened the box next to her, and took out her long-forgotten writing materials.
Looking at Aman's energetic enthusiasm, Mantou couldn't help but admire his young master's ability to lie. If he hadn't grown up with his young master since childhood, he would have almost believed him.
The reason why your archery skills are poor and you can't hit the target is clearly because the young master has been ill for many years and is physically weak.
He did indeed practice archery in secret, but not for half a year, but for a month. As for the claim that he barely hit the target, that was nonsense. When the young master shoots, every arrow hits the bullseye.
But what could he do when the young master was willing to lie through his teeth to appease Aman?
At least now, someone is writing with him again.
With Fu Yunxiu's encouragement, Aman seemed to have truly come to terms with it.
He no longer spent all his time staring at her rouge, but instead focused more on learning to read and paint.
Even if I fail again, I don't get anxious. I just calmly pack up my tools, adjust the amount of materials, and try again.
A few days passed, and one morning, when Aman went out to buy groceries, she bumped into Hongxing, who had come looking for her.
As soon as Hongxing saw her from afar, she pointed her finger at her and started cursing, "Lin Aman, tell me, was it you? Was it you who did this?"
Hongxing strode forward, her face full of anger, and shoved Aman, saying, "I thought you were an honest person, but I never expected you to be two-faced and do such despicable things."
Aman was caught off guard and was pushed so hard that she stumbled and hit the door latch. The pain brought tears to her eyes instantly.
But Hongxing wouldn't let it go, grabbing her clothes and refusing to let go, "Stop pretending with me, tell me, was it you who did this?"
"Are you crazy? What did I do?" Even a clay figure has some temper. Aman couldn't take it anymore and pushed Hongxing away with all her might.
Hongxing took a few steps back to steady herself, still glaring at Aman with eyes that seemed to want to devour her. "You're still pretending. If it weren't for you, how could that guy surnamed Hu not have come looking for me? It must be you who blocked my path to wealth."
As she spoke, Hongxing became angry and embarrassed, and reached out to hit Aman, but Aman grabbed her hand first and pushed her away.
"Are you a mad dog, biting people randomly? Can't you get the facts straight before you speak?" Although Hongxing was emotional and her words were somewhat incoherent, Aman still roughly understood the ins and outs of the matter.
It seems that the rouge dealer surnamed Hu stopped contacting her, and when he couldn't reach her, she began to suspect her.
Honestly, she's never even seen Rouge's face yet, so what can possibly stop her from making money?
"I'm telling you, I haven't even figured out how to make rouge yet, so how am I supposed to steal your business? I even suspect you're deliberately trying to cheat me and fool me with a fake formula. I haven't even come looking for you yet, and you've already come to my door."
“You’re talking nonsense,” Hongxing retorted instinctively when she heard Aman say that her recipe was fake. “If you can’t make it, it’s because you’re incompetent. Don’t slander people for no reason.”
It was because of Aman's words that Hongxing finally calmed down and looked at Aman with suspicion, "So, you really haven't met that guy surnamed Hu?"
"What's the point of meeting? I haven't even finished making rouge yet," Aman said irritably.
"This has nothing to do with me. The recipes I gave you are all genuine. If you can't make it, it's not my fault." Hongxing quickly distanced herself, afraid that Aman might get angry and report her to the Madam about secretly making and selling rouge.
She's already lost her income from rouge, so she can't afford to lose this job too, or her mother will definitely beat her to death.
Seeing her expression, Aman knew what she was thinking and said, "Don't worry, since I promised you, I won't go back on my word."
Seeing Ah Man rubbing his arm, Hongxing realized that she had been a bit too rough with him.
She was angry at the time, and she did use a bit too much force.
“I…” Hongxing pursed her lips, the words of apology were on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t say them. “Anyway, the recipe I gave you is real. As long as you follow the ingredients and dosages in the recipe, there will definitely be no problem.”
“That’s exactly what I did. I bought the same materials from Cuihetang, just like you mentioned.” As soon as she finished speaking, Aman immediately remembered something else.
The recipe Hongxing mentioned requires top-quality beeswax.
However, the best beeswax was too expensive, and the shopkeeper noticed that she was short of money, so he suggested that she take a slightly lower grade of beeswax.
He said the two types of beeswax are only different in color, and have the same other effects.
Later, when she failed, she only thought it was her own fault and forgot about the incident.
"What can I say about you? You're so stingy, trying to save even this little bit of money." Hongxing was speechless after hearing this.
Since she couldn't sell any more rouge anyway, she decided to go all the way and say, "Beeswax is the most important ingredient for making rouge. It has to be top quality to work properly. Otherwise, it will just be watery and not quite ointment."
Actually, she made the same mistake at first, only thinking about the price, but not realizing that the medicine boy said the medicine had the same effect, not something else.
"I see." Aman suddenly understood.
Isn't this the problem she's facing right now?
So the problem really is with the beeswax.
"Alright, since it's not you, I'm leaving." Hongxing was too lazy to look at her silly face and turned to leave, but was stopped by Aman.
"Actually, if you can, you can go to the Lirenfang area on Changqing Street and see if you can run into that guy surnamed Hu."
She's been going to Lirenfang a lot lately to watch their makeup artists try on makeup, and she's run into quite a few people selling rouge, so maybe one of them is that guy surnamed Hu.
Hongxing paused for a moment, then waved her hand at her, "Okay!"
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