Chapter 22 Lipstick and Wedding Part 2
These three were not inexperienced, yet they felt a little awkward as if they were facing some formidable demon or monster. Furthermore, after Mrs. Ge had sent the maid away, she continued to apply her remaining two nail polishes without even paying any attention to them.
The three of them stood by the door, not knowing where to put their hands. Chu Wang shuddered, nudged the other two with his arms, and was the first to speak politely, "Good afternoon, auntie!"
Xue Zhenzhen also hurriedly followed Lin Chuwang and shouted "Hello, aunt!" Lin Yunyan looked unhappy. He touched the arms of the two people next to him and then shouted "Aunt" in a loud voice.
Mrs. Ge finally spoke, but she only chuckled softly and slowly turned halfway in her chair. Just as she was about to raise her head to look at them, Lin Chuwang called out in a fawning voice, "Aunt! Be careful your nail polish isn't completely dry."
Mrs. Ge glanced at Lin Chuwang lightly, her hand falling on the rosewood table beside her. She tapped the wood twice with her index fingernail, looked up, and asked, "What? Is this the rule your eldest aunt taught us before we left?"
The other two remained silent. Lin Chuwang didn't know how to answer and could only chuckle.
Mrs. Ge propped herself up, stood up lazily, and straightened her cheongsam. Her every move was like a humming record player, with her own rules and methods, and was exceptionally graceful and charming. She glanced down at Yunyan and Zhenzhen, "What are you afraid of? Will I eat you?"
Yunyan didn't answer, so Zhenzhen whispered, "Of course not."
Mrs. Ge took two steps outside, paused, and turned to say, "Today is your eldest aunt's home day. She has many people to entertain and can't spare time, so she asked me to keep an eye on you. That's why I sent someone to pick you up so I can see clearly how many arms and legs you have, so that I don't return you to her with less weight. Your eldest aunt will hold me accountable if she wants to."
Yun Yan, who had never been compared to pork at the market, was so angry that his face turned pale, but Xue Zhenzhen found this comparison very novel and funny.
Chu Wang replied in a docile manner: "My aunt, it has six arms, six legs, six eyes and three mouths."
Xue Zhenzhen held it in for a long time, and finally burst out laughing.
Mrs. Ge just stared at Chu Wang for a few more seconds, with no discernible expression on her face: "You can count."
The three maids were frightened by her gaze. Mrs. Ge called out to the outside, "Sui Xi!"
The girl who led them in responded hurriedly and waited at the door for Mrs. Ge's instructions.
Chu Wang noticed that Mrs. Ge always paused briefly before speaking, a momentary pause that seemed to be a way to gather her breath, yet it forced the audience to speculate on her emotions. For example, at this moment, the three girls held their breath, not daring to make a sound, feeling as if they would be secretly dragged out and slaughtered in the next second.
Mrs. Ge said casually in English: "Take him to the small reception room to see Mr. Henry."
——
Mr. Henry is a middle-aged British man in a tuxedo. From head to toe, he exudes the expression: I am a serious and solemn butler.
So when Mr. Henry pushed over with a small cart loaded with three layers of sweets, Xue Zhenzhen and Yun Yan were surprised to find that their younger aunt was not secretly torturing them behind their elder aunt's back.
Mr. Henry's manners were very impressive. He poured milk and then tea into their cups, then immediately followed them from a distance. For the first time, Xue Zhenzhen lowered her voice and exclaimed, "I wonder if they really invited British people!"
Yun Yan stared in amazement at the exquisite sandwiches, muffins and fruit tarts on the three-layer dessert plate, unable to utter a word.
For the first time, Chu Wangze indirectly realized that this family was really quite wealthy and well-mannered.
As Zhenzhen gazed around in amazement, beginning to dislike her own maid's "vulgar," "old-fashioned," and "uncouth" demeanor, Chu Wang realized the teahouse had a fantastic view. To the right, she could see the people in the garden, and to the left, the main entrance to the Ge Mansion. As she looked over, a Ford limousine pulled up to the entrance. First, a young blond girl got out, followed by an elderly man in a golden-brown jacket and white hair. As the man stepped out of the car, many people from the mansion gathered around him, like they were gathered around Empress Dowager Cixi; the man's demeanor was more like a gangster movie boss.
The girl first supported the old man, and when the crowd gathered, she took the opportunity to slip out of the crowd and ran away - this person was Xie Miya herself. She looked around, caught a passing maid and asked something, then hurried upstairs.
After a while, Xie Miya was ushered into the house by Sui Xi. As soon as she entered, she laughed and said, "I knew I'd see you here!"
Xue Zhenzhen had her back to her and rolled her eyes when she heard the voice.
After Xie Miya sat down, she said naturally in English, "Mr. Henry, please give me a cup of black tea with more milk, thank you." Then she stirred the cup and looked out the window and said, "Is that tall guy in black your brother?"
After not seeing him for over a year, Lin Zitong had shed his youthful immaturity. Perhaps it was the months of training at the military academy that had made him more composed and upright. Add to that the Lin family's impressive appearance, and all these factors made Lin Zitong stand out against the aristocratic sons of the Xie, Huang, and Qiao families. And that semi-military aura made him truly exceptional.
Xie Miya continued, "One of my sisters came here from Guangzhou on the same ship as him. She couldn't stop thinking about him when she got home. I wanted to see who he was! I heard his last name was Lin, so I thought it couldn't be such a coincidence, could it?"
With Yunyan around, it was impossible for Lin Chuwang to be proud first. Everyone was waiting for her to brag first, but Lin Yunyan remained silent, her brows furrowed, her face pale. A closer look revealed beads of sweat on her forehead. Xue Zhenzhen asked with rare concern, "Are you allergic to milk and have an upset stomach?"
Xie Miya immediately called Suixi and said in English, "Hurry and take the girl to the bathroom."
She was very adept at commanding the servants of the Ge Mansion, and she also used the bathroom in a very elegant manner.
There was a restroom inside the tea room, just two or three steps away, but Xue Zhenzhen insisted on going with Lin Yunyan. The two people who had been spitting at each other just two or three minutes ago, Lin Chuwang had no idea when their relationship had become so close—perhaps they just didn't want to see Xie Miya.
As soon as the two left, Xie Miya immediately put down her airs and clung to Lin Chuwang's neck like a clingy person: "I only made pancakes for you at Christmas, but I heard that you made fashionable vests for Leonie and Lina. So biased Miss Linzy, where is my New Year's gift?"
Chu Wang blinked, sighed, and pulled from his pocket a thin copper chain. At the end of the chain was an intricately carved copper box. Xie Miya opened the box with a click, revealing a small, delicate rouge box nestled within, emitting the delicate scent of osmanthus. The color of the rouge was exactly what she liked, and so was its scent.
Chu Wang put it around her neck and explained, "When not in use, hide it inside your clothes like a sachet. When you go to the dressing room, take it out and apply it to your lips. It will be a convenient and easy-to-use rouge and lipstick."
Xie Miya's smile spread across her face, her eyes growing brighter. "I'm really afraid of you. You're becoming more and more likable."
Just as Xie Miya's unreserved praise was giving Chu Wang goosebumps, a scream suddenly rang out from the bathroom. Then came Yun Yan's weak "Put me down!" and Xue Zhenzhen's horrified "You're going to die!"
Mr. Henry rushed to the bathroom very quickly, but a group of figures rushed out first. Seeing the group of figures, everyone in the room was stunned - Xue Zhenzhen didn't know where she got the strength from, and carried Yun Yan on her back. Yun Yan, as if he was too embarrassed to face anyone, buried his face in her shoulder.
Sui Xi was startled and went into the bathroom before Mr. Henry to check. She hurriedly stopped Xue Zhenzhen and said, "Miss, please...put her down first."
Xue Zhenzhen stumbled while carrying Yun Yan on her back and almost fell to the ground. Mr. Henry hurried over to support her.
Xue Zhenzhen, however, somehow managed to find the brute force to push Sui Xi aside and then Mr. Henry, rushing towards the door. She cried out in a heartbreaking voice, "Yun Yan is almost dead—come and help me!"
Suixi whispered something to Mr. Henry, and the two of them went to stop the frantic Xue Zhenzhen. Chu Wang and Miya rushed forward to see what was wrong with Yunyan, while Suixi sent a maid to call Mrs. Ge.
It wasn't until Chu Wang saw the mess of blood on Yunyan's white stockings that he finally understood what had happened. Miya, of course, knew this too, and couldn't help but laugh. Xue Zhenzhen's eyes widened, tears welling up in her eyes, and she angrily asked like a little lion, "She's lost so much blood, and you're still laughing?!"
Sui Xi comforted Xue Zhenzhen and took Yun Yan back to the bathroom. Miya was so happy that she almost cried and almost didn't have the strength to answer Xue Zhenzhen's question: "Don't worry, Lina won't die!"
Chu Wangze looked up at the sky in silence, wondering why, in this day and age, Xue Zhenzhen's gender awakening education is so backward?
Soon, Mrs. Ge hurriedly brought Mrs. Qiao to the tea room to check on Yunyan's "injury." Through the bathroom door, Mrs. Lin Si angrily taunted Mrs. Qiao in Shaoxing dialect about her serious educational negligence: "Why did my brother entrust these girls to you for help in educating them? It's because the girls are grown up and can't live without a mother! As a father, he has to teach his daughters, but there are always some things he can't guide. You taught them well, but these girls are still ignorant even at this age!"
Amidst Mrs. Qiao's sigh of shame and self-blame, Chu Wang couldn't help but glance at Zhenzhen, who was still sobbing and trembling from the bloody incident.
No wonder Mr. Lin and Mr. Xue decided to send their daughters to Mrs. Qiao's home for foster care. It turns out it was because they were both unlucky with their wives!
During the second half of the banquet, Mrs. Qiao continued to attend to the guests. Mrs. Ge, on the orders of the eldest wife, dismissed Mr. Henry, closed the door, and gave a simple physiology and hygiene lesson to the maids in the tea room. During the lesson, Xue Zhenzhen felt as if she had opened the door to a new world, her eyes wide as bells. After hearing that she would bleed for several days every month until she was in her fifties or sixties, Zhenzhen exclaimed in horror, "No wonder my mother died so early. It turned out she bled so much!"
Seeing Zhenzhen in such agony, Chu Wang several times felt the urge to draw her a cross-section of the human body and explain: We are all primates. This is the uterus, this is the ovary, and this is the vagina. The uterine wall thickens every month. If no fertilized egg is attached that month, the thickened uterine wall will automatically slough off, causing bleeding. It's less than 50 milliliters in total, not fatal.
Mrs. Ge encountered some obstacles in this class, but Miya's attention was on Zhenzhen the whole time, with a smile on her face as if she was exploring a new species.
The most pitiful one was Yunyan: in front of her classmates and her aunt's servants, she was humiliated by Xue Zhenzhen. Xue Zhenzhen's good intentions were to show concern for Yunyan, but it deeply offended Yunyan. From that day on, Yunyan never gave Xue Zhenzhen a good face for more than half a year, and Zhenzhen naturally didn't care about Miss Lin's good face. From then on, the sisterhood between the two, which had existed for less than an hour, collapsed completely.
The author has something to say: This chapter shocked me == I felt so nervous, but I still have to say this: Three girls who grew up without a mother always lack something in education compared to others.
Friends who don’t have the patience to wait can start from 1927. The important events will all take place from this year... It will be marked with 1927←←I don’t know why I have to spoil this, but it will be soon!
I'm going on a long trip from the 16th to the 21st, so I have about 3-4 chapters backlogged. I'm expecting a chapter to be missing in the next day or two. I'll be moving around a lot after I get back, but I'll try to keep up with daily updates during this time! Once everything is settled, I might be able to add more chapters to catch up. (If I'm still alive.)
I thought of a title: "Female Doctor Farming in the Republic of China"
The next chapter will mainly describe weddings of that era. If you don't like it, you can skip it. After the wedding, the progress bar will be drawn.
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