Hearing the familiar voice, Cui Shijin instinctively rubbed her forehead.
Even Li Xiangqin couldn’t stop herself from rolling her eyes. However, Lin Shengxia could tell that despite their reactions, both Auntie Li and Sister Shijin had smiles in their eyes.
Curious, she turned around and saw a young woman dressed in ancient-style clothing hurrying toward them.
A huge ornate headdress sat atop her head, and her clothes looked somewhat like traditional Han-style clothing, yet they were different from anything Lin Shengxia had seen in the history books at home.
In short, the outfit looked strange.
But strangely beautiful!
Cui Shizhen immediately noticed Lin Shengxia as well. She didn’t think much of it and simply assumed that her mother had hired a new helper.
“Mom! You haven’t seen me in three months! Hurry up and bring your beloved daughter a steaming basket of beef buns. And make the soy milk sugar-free—I’m trying to lose weight!”
After saying that, she quickly sat down in front of Cui Shijin and stretched out both hands, blinking expectantly.
It was obvious she was asking for a gift.
Of the twenty thousand yuan Xiao Fan had withdrawn earlier, Cui Shijin still had more than fourteen thousand left.
Without hesitation, she handed all of it to Cui Shizhen.
But before Cui Shizhen could even enjoy the feeling of holding the money, her beloved mother, Madam Li Xiangqin, snatched ten thousand yuan right out of her hands!
“You already have a job, yet you’re still constantly asking your sister for money! It’s not like your sister’s money grows on trees!”
As she spoke, Li Xiangqin handed the ten thousand yuan back to Cui Shijin.
“You just keep spoiling her! She’s been working for three years and earns more than ten thousand yuan every month, yet she still spends every cent before the month is over!”
Li Xiangqin might complain, but she still prepared everything her younger daughter had asked for, from the beef buns to the sugar-free soy milk.
It wasn’t that she didn’t love her younger daughter.
She simply didn’t want Cui Shizhen to take spending her older sister’s money for granted.
“Look at Shengxia. She’s only in her early twenties, yet she’s already working hard to support her entire family. And look at you! You’re almost thirty, but you still fool around every day without a care in the world…”
Hearing Li Xiangqin praise her, Lin Shengxia felt so embarrassed that her toes practically curled inside her shoes.
She also realized that this probably wasn’t a good time to ask Cui Shijin her question, so she was about to say goodbye.
Unexpectedly, Cui Shijin suddenly turned toward her.
“Shengxia, what did you want to ask me earlier?”
Lin Shengxia hadn’t expected Cui Shijin to notice her hesitation.
Warmth filled her heart.
She took a deep breath before asking, “Sister Shijin, do you know of anything that can change someone’s appearance? Or perhaps… something that can make a person look uglier?”
The moment those words left her mouth, Cui Shijin froze.
Even Cui Shizhen, who had been happily stuffing herself with meat buns, stopped eating.
Worried, Li Xiangqin grabbed Lin Shengxia’s sleeve.
“Shengxia, is someone harassing you? Listen to me. If something like that happens, don’t be afraid and don’t go easy on them. You need to call the police!”
Lin Shengxia knew that Li Xiangqin was only worried about her.
Unfortunately, her family’s circumstances were completely different from those of people living in 2026.
Calling the police wasn’t even an option.
If something truly happened, her family might not even be able to leave the Maisui Production Brigade.
Cui Shijin studied Lin Shengxia’s beautiful features for a moment before nudging her younger sister.
“Hey, this is your specialty. Don’t hold back. Shengxia is my business partner now!”
Hearing this, Cui Shizhen looked at Lin Shengxia curiously.
The girl was dressed so plainly that Cui Shizhen had automatically assumed she was a helper her mother had hired.
But now that she took a closer look, she realized Lin Shengxia was genuinely beautiful.
Her features were delicate and striking, and she carried a quiet, composed air that was rarely seen in modern society.
“Do you want to learn how to do makeup?”
“Makeup? But… isn’t makeup supposed to make people prettier?”
What Lin Shengxia needed was something that could make both her and her mother look uglier.
Ideally, she wanted them to look so unpleasant that people would instinctively feel frightened or disgusted at first glance!
The last thing she needed was something that would enhance their beauty and put them in even greater danger.
“Who said makeup can only make people look prettier?” Cui Shizhen replied. “You don’t actually think all those actors in TV dramas with faces covered in pimples and frostbite really look like that, do you?”
Lin Shengxia didn’t understand many of the terms Cui Shizhen used.
But she understood one important thing.
Makeup could not only make someone beautiful—it could also make someone ugly!
“I want to learn! But it’s summer right now. Wouldn’t covering my face in frostbite look a little unrealistic?”
Lin Shengxia blinked in confusion, her clear eyes filled with genuine concern.
Her expression immediately made Cui Shizhen burst out laughing.
“You’re such an amusing little girl! Fine. I just finished working with my current production crew, so I’ll have about half a month off anyway. If you want to learn, come find me at my mom’s shop tomorrow!”
With that, she lowered her head and went back to eating her buns.
After spending so long working with the production crew and eating boxed meals every single day, she was thoroughly sick of them!
Lin Shengxia had no idea what working with a production crew meant.
But she clearly understood that Cui Shizhen had agreed to teach her.
Looking at Cui Shizhen’s elaborate costume, curiosity flickered in Lin Shengxia’s heart.
After thinking for a moment, she bowed deeply to her.
“Thank you very much, Sister.”
After bowing, Lin Shengxia quickly hurried toward the boundary that would take her home.
She couldn’t wait to return and share the good news with Dong Wanqiu!
Meanwhile, Cui Shizhen was amused by Lin Shengxia’s reaction.
She couldn’t help asking Li Xiangqin, “Why is that girl so adorable? She’s so innocent and serious. It’s kind of fun teasing her.”
“Shengxia is a girl from the mountains. Something happened to her family, so she came here to sell wild vegetables and fish at our stall. If you’re going to teach her, then teach her properly. Don’t bully her just because she’s innocent, understand?”
Li Xiangqin trusted her daughter’s character.
But when it came to Lin Shengxia, she had to admit that she felt especially protective of the girl.
Hearing her mother’s warning, Cui Shizhen let out a long sigh.
“I could tell from how plainly she was dressed that her family probably wasn’t well-off. Don’t worry, Mom. I won’t charge her tuition, and I promise I’ll teach her properly until she gets the hang of it. Happy now?”
Xiao Zhang smiled as she listened to the conversation between the mother and her two daughters.
As far as she was concerned, she was incredibly fortunate to work for Auntie Li.
This year, Auntie Li had not only enrolled her in all five types of social insurance but had also increased her monthly salary by five hundred yuan!
Xiao Zhang had been saving all of that extra money.
She planned to work for another two years, then use her savings for a down payment on a small apartment nearby.
She wanted a home that truly belonged to her.
By this time, Lin Shengxia had already returned to the ruined temple in high spirits and eagerly shared the good news with her family!
Lin Qizheng’s eyes lit up after hearing her explanation.
“People in that era have already advanced to the point where they can completely alter someone’s appearance with makeup? If it really works the way that young woman described, then I can finally stop worrying so much.”
Dong Wanqiu’s reaction wasn’t quite as strong as Lin Qizheng’s.
After all, she rarely went outside.
Still, knowing that her daughter had met someone capable of such an impressive skill made her happy as well.
“If she’s going to teach you, shouldn’t we prepare a gift for your teacher?”
They knew that ever since Lin Shengxia first arrived in 2026, Li Xiangqin and her family had taken very good care of her.
No matter how they looked at it, it was only proper to prepare a gift to express their gratitude.
Lin Shengxia also thought her mother made sense.
But when she considered the Li family’s standard of living, she immediately found herself troubled.
“But… what could we possibly give Auntie Li and her family?”