Daily Life in the 70s
Chapter 86: Ideas

Chapter 86: Chapter 86: Ideas

Pan Shuiqin glanced at her and couldn’t help but laugh, "What’s the big deal? Haven’t you ever seen women quarreling? The things they say are unbearable, they could make a young girl die of shame."

Yang PeiMin was speechless.

Fortunately, it was only one or two sentences before they reached Cousin Gong’s house.

She heard the noise and ran out to greet them, "Oh, sister-in-law and cousin are here, come in quickly."

Gong family’s house was a bungalow designed somewhat like a quadrangle courtyard, which stood out among the surrounding mud-brick houses, making the Gong family quite wealthy in the village.

Gong Chenglan was a straightforward person who knew how to handle things, and she hadn’t stopped talking since she entered the door.

"I’ve wanted to meet Cousin for a while now but with all the New Year preparations, I didn’t dare to disturb you arbitrarily."

"I heard my cousin also went out a few days ago, and you’re in the same village as my sister-in-law, I’m really envious that you sisters-in-law can visit and chat more often, isn’t that right, sister-in-law?"

"Our house is simple, forgive us. Please have a seat, I’ll go pour some water for you. Do you want brown sugar water or white sugar water?"

Once inside the main house, the women and children of her family were sitting on the kang.

Gong Chenglan made introductions for them, "Don’t be shy, make yourselves at home; we can go to the room and talk later."

"So this is the makeup artist you mentioned?" Gong Chenglan’s older sister-in-law looked at Yang PeiMin and asked.

"Indeed, Cousin has excellent skills; I’ve seen it myself."

"So Cousin, are you wearing makeup right now?" Gong’s second sister-in-law approached closer as if she wanted to scrutinize her.

Yang PeiMin was a bit embarrassed; this was already the second person to ask that today.

Pan Shuiqin laughed and said, "No, my sister has always looked like this."

Gong’s second sister-in-law who had examined Yang PeiMin nodded, "It doesn’t look like it, but your skin is really nice."

"What do you eat to have skin as smooth as tofu?"

"Or did you apply something?"

The Gong family women suddenly became excited, each speaking one after another.

"Speaking of applying stuff on the face, I also bought some, I had it since I was a girl, although it feels quite good, it only makes the skin slightly more moisturized than others."

"It’s you who are willing to spend that money, a box costs more than three yuan, which could be enough to buy meat for a month."

Moved by the conversation, Yang PeiMin shared a few simple homemade facial masks with everyone, "You have to use them consistently to see effects. Although it won’t be very obvious, it can improve your skin, keep it hydrated, help prevent spots, and even slow down the formation of wrinkles."

Everyone looked at her with bright eyes, but some were still skeptical and kept asking her questions.

Yang PeiMin patiently explained the principles behind them.

By the time she finally managed to make her way to Gong Chenglan’s room, an hour had passed.

"Don’t mind us, Cousin; it’s our first time hearing that it can be done like this," Gong Chenglan led her to a chair.

"It’s okay, just call me by my name; we are all relatives, no need to be so formal." Yang PeiMin saw she was straightforward and opened up more.

"Alright, let’s not bother with formalities, let’s just call each other by name. It looks like I’m two or three years older than you, you can call me sister."

Yang PeiMin smiled and called out, "Sister Chenglan."

The day before yesterday, Xiao Fen and her sister lost her rouge lipstick, and this morning she hastily made some more. Luckily, it was enough to meet Gong Chenglan’s needs for the next couple of days.

"Sister-in-law said the whitening cream is made with Pearl Powder," Gong Chenglan said as she pulled out a bag, which Yang Peimin estimated was about half a pound.

She leaned over to look and saw it was ordinary Pearl Powder with granules larger than 200 mesh. That was acceptable, of course, under the circumstances.

Yang Peimin nodded, relieved, "It’s good you have connections. I was worried about the Pearl Powder before I came."

Gong Chenglan smiled, somewhat proudly, "They have it at the store, sold specifically at the cosmetics counter. It’s just that they don’t carry much. The girls from better-off towns buy it to apply directly on their faces... I had a relative who knows the salesperson there, who helped reserve some for us..."

Pan Shuiqin nudged her and teased, "Don’t tell me it’s your brother-in-law?"

Gong Chenglan blushed slightly, but was bold enough to answer, "No, it’s his sister who works there."

Speaking of which, Pan Shuiqin couldn’t help her curiosity, "Is your job confirmed? When do you start?"

"It’s confirmed. I will start day after tomorrow."

Pan Shuiqin seemed envious, "From now on, you’ll be earning your own salary, walking tall..."

"That’s true. If it weren’t for that job, I wouldn’t have considered him with his being divorced before..." Gong Chenglan admitted openly.

Yang Peimin glanced at her. The other woman’s face showed no embarrassment about this complex marriage.

So, Yang Peimin actually admired Gong Chenglan’s attitude.

Women are natural social beings, constantly chatting wherever they are.

While applying her makeup, Yang Peimin listened to their chatter, occasionally asking a question or two for clarification.

"What counter will you work at? When we go to the county, we’ll have to look you up."

"It’s the fabric counter. Sure, come and find me and I’ll save some good stuff for you."

"That settles it then. We can also boast like others, ’I have a relative working as a salesperson in a store in the county,’" Pan Shuiqin said happily.

Gong Chenglan replied with a laugh.

Gong Chenglan’s eyes were as Pan Shuiqin described, not very large. Yang Peimin tried to make them appear bigger as she applied the makeup.

About half an hour later, she was finished.

Gong Chenglan was delighted and repeatedly said, "This is good, I’ll do it this way tomorrow. Peimin, you’re really skilled."

Yang Peimin explained to her which makeup was used where and how it was applied.

Gong Chenglan looked at the rouge lipstick on the table and exclaimed, "I never thought such small items could have such magical effects. This lipstick is great; my lips are almost always chapped, and this is just wonderful..."

"Sister Cheng Lan, if you have a container, I can make you a couple of boxes. If I have enough raw materials, it’s nice to even give as gifts."

Gong Chenglan’s eyes lit up, "Right, you’re so thoughtful. As gifts, these would indeed be unique. As for the raw materials you mentioned, don’t worry, I’ll find them for you."

Yang Peimin nodded with a smile.

After explaining the makeup techniques in detail and confirming the time for the next day’s session, she was ready to leave.

But Gong Chenglan thought for a moment and then urged her to sit down again, "You really know how to dress. Help all the way to the end, please also take a look at this outfit for me."

Yang Peimin agreed, noticing it was just a new cotton dress with a red base and apricot flowers. All she could do was help adjust her scarf.

While they were talking, the second sister-in-law from the Gong family came in, saying that a soldier claiming to be Yang Peimin’s husband had arrived.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.