Chapter 27

Xu Niannian's prickly heat issue caused Yang Cuihua and Xu Dawei much distress; they even thought it affected Niannian's appearance.

Their daughter always cared most about her looks, and they worried she wouldn't withstand the blow. Yang Cuihua and Xu Dawei took great pains to console her.

Appearance is secondary; what matters most is to be healthy, they comforted her in various ways.

Even to take care of Xu Niannian's emotions, Yang Cuihua decided to take a day off from work.

Not only would she not go to work, but she also forbade Xu Zhiqiang from going, keeping the whole family at home, fearing that Niannian, in her sadness, might do something regrettable.

Xu Niannian didn't know whether to laugh or cry at this.

No matter what she said, Yang Cuihua and Xu Dawei looked at her with such pain in their faces, thinking she was only forcing a smile to comfort them.

Helpless, Xu Niannian could only say, "We've run out of oil at home; I'm going to the county to buy some fat to render into oil."

She could have bought it in the town, but Niannian also wanted to do some business and planned to go to the county to figure out the lay of the land.

Upon hearing that Niannian wanted to go to the county, Yang Cuihua and Xu Dawei were even more convinced she was surely affected by the prickly heat and intended to seek treatment in the county.

Their daughter had always been proud and disliked sharing her concerns with them.

Yang Cuihua and Xu Dawei considerately suggested, "Let Zhiqiang go with you then."

Xu Niannian knew that given Yang Cuihua and Xu Dawei's level of concern for her, they would never feel at ease letting her go to the county alone, so she reluctantly agreed.

In the morning, Xu Niannian boiled all the remaining eggs at home; if she didn't buy some food soon, they'd be reduced to eating rice bran.

And that was something she could not stomach.

Arriving in the county with Xu Zhiqiang, Xu Niannian planned to buy some fatty pork first, to render oil when back home, and also to purchase some rice.

On their way, Xu Zhiqiang kept glancing at Niannian unconsciously.

Unable to resist, Niannian asked, "What are you looking at?"

Xu Zhiqiang hesitated but eventually said only one sentence, "Sister, you'll definitely get better."

Xu Niannian: "..."

With a somewhat helpless, wry smile, Niannian thought if they saw her face now, they probably wouldn't speak like that.

That morning, Niannian couldn't help but return to her room to look in the mirror again.

The woman in the mirror had skin as lustrous as ice and as white as coagulated grease, smooth and delicate to the touch.

The original Niannian was already a great beauty, but after drinking the water from the spring, she underwent a drastic transformation.

Her original pale-cherry lips were now tender and pinkish, softly colored, plump, and glossy.

The greatest change besides her skin color had to do with her eyes.

Niannian's eyes were the standard almond shape.

Big and bright, with long and curly lashes. While their shape hadn't changed after drinking the spring water, the expression in them had.

Now, when she opened her eyes, they seemed filled with a shimmering light, giving people a seductive look even with a normal gaze.

A single playful glance at someone might captivate their soul.

Even as a woman herself, Niannian's heartbeat quickened when she looked at herself in the mirror, let alone others.

Beyond the changes in her face, she also noticed that her voice had changed.

Her voice was once crisp, but now it had a deeper, more enchanting tone; hearing it herself made her feel weak.

If she didn't deliberately suppress her voice when speaking, she might give herself away.

But she couldn't keep her face covered and her voice lowered forever.

Since Yang Cuihua and the others thought she was here to buy medicine, she might as well use this as an excuse to gradually change.

"Sister, what are you thinking about?" Xu Zhiqiang, seeing Niannian silent for so long, couldn't help but ask.

Niannian hurriedly responded, "Let's go, we'll buy the fatty pork."

```

When she set her mind on something, she did it.

Xu Niannian dragged Xu Zhiqiang to the Department Store first.

Things were indeed better in the county compared to the town.

In the town, there was only the supply and marketing cooperative with a limited variety of goods.

The county's Department Store had many things available.

Seeing the Butterfly brand sewing machines displayed in the front, Xu Niannian felt a pang of envy and thought, once she had saved enough money, she would definitely buy a sewing machine and make her own clothes.

On her way there, she noticed a stark difference between the county and the towns and villages.

The women in the village pretty much stuck to three color tones for their clothes.

Black, blue, grey!

But it wasn't the same for the women of the county.

Two years had passed since the reform and opening-up, and many county women had started wearing clothes in other colors.

Such as tender yellow, water blue, and light pink.

Bold colors like bright red, though, were still not worn by anyone.

After purchasing the fatty meat, she bought some basic cooking seasonings and rice and wheat flour.

From the money she had earned doing business, Xu Niannian had given Yang Cuihua 19 yuan and 40 cents, keeping 30 yuan for herself.

She spent 12 yuan in total on the ten jin of rice and flour, along with the meat and seasonings, which made Xu Niannian wince at the expense.

The money seemed to fly away too quickly.

Xu Zhiqiang followed Xu Niannian around, and watching her buy not just fatty meat but also fine grains like rice and flour, he had to restrain himself several times from advising her against it.

In the end, he didn't say anything.

After all, it was her own money, and she could spend it however she wanted; he just felt a bit pained about the spending.

Xu Niannian picked out a good variety of cooking seasonings. When it came to food, she never shortchanged herself—if she was going to eat, she would eat well.

Of course, that was predicated on having the financial means to do so, which meant she needed to earn more money.

Selling water that day, she made 49 yuan on the very first try, which looked promising, but Xu Niannian knew that was largely because of the once-a-year dragon boat race drawing a large crowd, and she was the only one selling water, which led to that successful outcome.

To make real money, she had to carefully plan a business she could maintain over the long haul.

Having purchased what she needed, Xu Niannian brought Xu Zhiqiang to a traditional medicine clinic situated deep in an alleyway,

which she had found only after asking many people for directions.

At the end of the alley, there stood a moderately sized courtyard, an independent old-style residence.

There was even a military jeep parked inside. Xu Niannian had no concerns about herself being recognized, but she worried that Xu Zhiqiang might give them away if he accompanied her in. She quickly said, "Zhiqiang, wait for me outside. I'll be back in a moment."

Xu Zhiqiang thought Xu Niannian was concerned he'd see her current state, and considerately responded, "Alright, you go ahead, sis."

With that, Xu Niannian entered the courtyard.

"Old Wu, what do you think about my condition?" Jin Yu asked the elder across from him with a calm demeanor, his handsome face serious.

Old Wu withdrew his hand: "I know it's unlikely to ask you to leave your current position, but you still need at least a month or two to recuperate. Let me take good care of you."

"That long?" Jin Yu frowned, not one to sit idle.

Just as Old Wu was about to speak, a brisk set of footsteps approached from outside, and Jin Yu quickly raised his hand to stop Old Wu from continuing.

Soon after, a soft and delicate voice came from outside: "Excuse me, is anyone there?"

The voice was tender and intriguing, and Jin Yu, hearing just a phrase, immediately furrowed his brows deeply, wondering who this improver woman was.

Speaking in such a seductively soft tone, was she trying to entice someone?

```