“Xiao Qin’s wife is back! I heard from everyone that the two of you borrowed a pair of bicycles from some friends. What kind of friends are they? Men or women? They must be pretty well-off.”
Aunt Liu’s envious voice came from the doorway.
Li Yingtang paused while removing her scarf, then turned to open the door with a smile.
“Aunt Liu, come in and have a seat. Ah Xian’s bicycle was provided by his friend’s workplace. Mine is the one I borrowed.”
Qin Xian had told her that the village committee only owned two bicycles, and anyone who wanted to use one had to pay a fee.
To the villagers, bicycles were luxury items.
To avoid making people unnecessarily jealous, she decided to use that as an excuse.
It might not help much, but it was better than nothing.
Aunt Liu leaned back slightly and looked her over with a grin.
“My, my. Everyone said you came back dressed so fashionably. I wondered just how fashionable you could be. Seeing you in person, I think even city girls can’t compare.”
Li Yingtang smiled back.
“You’re too kind. Please don’t compare me to anyone else. Would you like something to drink?”
“No need. I came because I have something to ask.”
Aunt Liu reached out and stroked Li Yingtang’s overcoat. The greed on her face didn’t escape Li Yingtang’s notice.
Li Yingtang gently brushed her hand away while smiling.
“What is it?”
“It’s my useless niece again,” Aunt Liu sighed. “Every blind date ends in failure. This one doesn’t work, that one doesn’t work. The men all reject her. I figured maybe it’s because she dresses too poorly. Everyone said you came back with such nice clothes, so I wanted to borrow them for her to wear.”
Li Yingtang had always been grateful that Aunt Liu had helped her when she first arrived.
But that didn’t mean she would let the woman take whatever she wanted.
The last time, Aunt Liu had traded wild vegetables for fish, which had already left a bad taste in her mouth.
Now she was directly asking to borrow the clothes off her back.
What would she ask for next time?
Still, refusing outright would offend her.
After a moment’s thought, Li Yingtang smiled.
“Of course. When is your niece’s blind date? Just have her come here. I’ll help her get ready.”
“Great! Tonight.”
“Tonight?”
“The young man works in the township during the day. I heard he earns over thirty yuan a month and even gets two catties of grain. This time, Lirong has to seize the opportunity.”
Aunt Liu left happily.
Li Yingtang changed back into her thick cotton jacket and pants.
Soon, Aunt Liu’s niece, Liu Lirong, arrived.
Standing timidly at the doorway, she stammered,
“D-Dr. Qin’s wife… my aunt told me to come.”
“Come in.”
Li Yingtang pointed toward the washstand.
“I prepared some warm water. Wash your face first.”
“Wash my face? Do you think I’m dirty?”
Liu Lirong bit her lip accusingly.
Li Yingtang blinked in confusion.
“Huh? I just wanted to help you put on some makeup. Washing your face first is better for skincare and makeup application. What were you thinking?”
“Oh.”
After washing up, Liu Lirong sat in front of the desk as instructed.
Li Yingtang loosened her hair and redid the style, replacing the ordinary braids with neat French braids. After tying off the ends with rubber bands, she wrapped them with red ribbons.
Then she opened her makeup bag.
After applying skincare products, she gave Liu Lirong a natural-looking makeup look.
“Take a look. What do you think?”
Li Yingtang stepped back to avoid standing beside her in the mirror.
Liu Lirong stared blankly at her reflection.
The woman in the mirror had glossy black braids, bright sparkling eyes, fair skin, and soft rosy lips.
Was that really her?
“No wonder you’re so fair. So it’s because you put stuff on your face.”
Li Yingtang was speechless.
Shouldn’t she at least say thank you?
After waiting for a while and seeing no further movement, Liu Lirong couldn’t help asking,
“Aren’t you going to let me wear your coat and leather boots too?”
“Oh, I forgot.”
Li Yingtang took out the coat and boots.
“Go ahead.”
She deliberately walked over to the washstand, picked up the kettle, and gave it a shake.
“Oh no, we’re out of hot water. Ah Xian, there’s no hot water left. Are you busy? If not, could you pour me a cup?”
Liu Lirong stared in disbelief.
“You even make your husband pour water for you?”
Li Yingtang shrugged.
“If I don’t ask him, who else should I ask? Nobody else listens to me.”
Just then, the bedroom door opened.
Qin Xian walked in carrying a steaming cup of tea.
The moment Liu Lirong saw him, her face flushed red.
She lowered her head and hurriedly tried to put on the leather boots.
Li Yingtang was about the same height as her.
So why were her feet so much smaller?
She squeezed with all her strength but still couldn’t get the boots on.
Did she purposely hide the larger pair and give me smaller ones?
Qin Xian frowned.
“Do you really think those shoes look good on your feet?”
That single question made Liu Lirong’s face burn with embarrassment.
If they didn’t want to lend them to her, they could’ve just said so.
Why humiliate her?
Proudly, she pulled the boots off and put her own shoes back on.
“I’m leaving.”
She ran out the door.
“Lirong!”
Li Yingtang chased after her to the entrance, but she had already disappeared.
Turning back, she looked at Qin Xian with innocent confusion.
“Do you think she’s angry because of what you said? What if she goes back and complains to Aunt Liu? Aunt Liu might blame you. You should go explain.”
Qin Xian let out a cold laugh.
“If she dares come looking for me, I’ll be the one asking her why she tried forcing her feet into your shoes.”
Li Yingtang instantly felt satisfied.
Now that’s more like it.
Meanwhile…
Seeing Liu Lirong return wearing her own clothes, Aunt Liu frowned.
“Why are you still wearing your old clothes?”
“She wouldn’t let me wear hers.”
Liu Lirong looked furious.
Aunt Liu didn’t believe it.
“How is that possible? Xiao Qin’s wife already agreed. I’ll go ask her.”
Liu Lirong stopped her.
“Aunt, forget it. I’ll just wear my own clothes. Look at my face—even without nice clothes, I think it’ll be enough this time.”
Aunt Liu looked closely before smiling broadly.
“You’re fairer. Your eyebrows look nicer, your eyelashes are longer, and your lips are red. You’re beautiful! How’d you do it?”
“Dr. Qin’s wife did it.”
“You know why she’s so fair? She puts on a thick layer of powder. Who knows how dark she really is underneath?
“There was a cloth bag on her table full of things I’d never seen before.
“When I asked, she said they were hair oil, face cream, and all kinds of skincare products.
“She trimmed my eyebrows, put something called mascara on my eyelashes, and she even has fake eyelashes that make your eyes look bigger. But she wouldn’t use them on me.
“She has seven or eight tubes of lipstick too, but she wouldn’t let me use them. She only rubbed a tiny bit onto my lips with her finger.
“She’s so stingy!”
Aunt Liu clicked her tongue.
“You’d never guess she was that kind of person! She’s already so well-off but still so miserly. With that many lipsticks and makeup things, what would it hurt to give you a little?”
“Exactly! And she’s lazy too. She won’t even pour herself a drink, always ordering her husband around. The way she talks to him… goodness, it’s all soft and syrupy.”
Aunt Liu burst into laughter.
“You should learn from her. I’m not asking you to marry a college graduate like Dr. Qin, but at least find someone like Gangzi. You’ll have a bicycle, a television at home, and meat every few days.”
“I’d never learn from her.”
Liu Lirong looked at Li Yingtang with utter contempt.
A wife should serve her husband properly, not spend all day thinking about dressing herself up. She has no sense of a wife’s duties.
Aunt Liu’s face darkened.
“If you won’t learn, then prepare to live a hard life. She was willing to learn, and she married a college graduate who earns a state salary. I’ll go ask her to come with you to your blind date and help you.”
Liu Lirong pursed her lips.
“The last time I went on a blind date with Qian Gang, it failed because of her.”