Free Web NovelChapter 237: Chapter 237: Striking up a Conversation
The Li Family went to handle the divorce between Zhou Mazi and Li Hua, and Gu’er checked in on their progress daily. It was only then that she learned Zhou Mazi and Li Hua had never obtained a marriage certificate. This situation wasn’t uncommon, especially in rural areas and small villages where many couples married underage and thus never had official papers. In her past life, she hadn’t gotten a marriage certificate when she married Zhang Da, either. It was considered a common-law marriage, which required a certificate from the village committee and the signing of some sort of agreement. In any case, the Li Family was negotiating with the Zhou family, so she didn’t have to worry.
But Gu’er now found herself in a difficult position. Li Hua’s condition had improved considerably, but she hadn’t been discharged from the hospital. The doctor recommended she stay for a few more days, and even after she got out, she would still need someone to look after her for a while. Meanwhile, Li Zhi and Dingzi had already purchased their goods and were ready to head to the Soviet Union. They asked Gu’er what to do.
Gu’er hadn’t planned on going this time. She wanted to let Sun Jiaming, Li Zhi, and Dingzi go as a trio. But Li Zhi said that the three of them knew nothing about cosmetics. If they were going to approach an official’s daughter, it would be much better for a woman to make contact. If three men showed up, people might even think they were human traffickers.
’Li Zhi is right,’ Gu’er thought. ’But I can’t rest easy leaving Li Hua. Someone has to take care of her. I can’t just abandon my adoptive mother for the sake of business.’ She also knew she wouldn’t be able to find a suitable caregiver for Li Hua on such short notice.
"Gu’er, you go with Li Zhi and Brother Dingzi," Sun Jiaming said. "Leave things at home to me. You can leave Auntie in my care, too. Don’t worry. By the time you get back, everything will be settled. Auntie, Grandma, and I will be here waiting for you."
Sun Jiaming could see Gu’er’s dilemma. If there was any danger involved, he would have charged ahead without a second thought. But when it came to interacting with women and dealing with things like cosmetics, he could only entrust the task to Gu’er.
Gu’er understood his intentions, but he was a man. ’Men work outside, and women manage the home,’ she thought. ’Should I really just dump all this on him?’
"Gu’er, people should do what they’re best at. Running a home isn’t about one person’s fixed responsibilities; we have to share the burden. If this involved hard labor or schmoozing clients, I’d be the one going and leaving the house to you. But for this particular task, you’re a better fit than I am. So leave the house to me and go without worry. Don’t mind what other people might think or say. As long as we do what’s right for us, that’s all that matters. Do we really need to draw such lines between us?"
Sun Jiaming looked at Gu’er. Her way of thinking was still a bit traditional.
"Okay."
Gu’er nodded at Sun Jiaming. ’With Brother Jia Ming supporting me like this,’ she thought, ’I’d be truly useless if I still can’t pull this off.’
After speaking with Li Hua, Gu’er made a trip back to the Lin Family residence and then left with Li Zhi and the others.
Chen Fengjiao couldn’t help but sigh. She had only just seen her daughter for a moment, and now she was leaving again.
Once they arrived in the Soviet Union, they didn’t rush to sell their goods. First, they sought out Ruan Huang Wenbin and his crew, asking for their help in finding out who the highest-ranking official in charge of that particular street was and learning about his family situation. They could only make their move after they had clear information.
Ruan Huang Wenbin sent his men to investigate. In the meantime, Gu’er’s group sold their merchandise alongside Wen Bin and his crew. With their guidance, things went much more smoothly, and their goods sold out quickly.
Two days later, one of Ruan Huang Wenbin’s men returned with news. There were three high-ranking officials in that area, but only one, a senior inspector, had two daughters—one fifteen and the other thirteen. The other two officials only had sons.
Gu’er decided to target the senior inspector’s daughters. ’People overseas tend to look more mature than people back in China,’ she reasoned. ’Fifteen and thirteen are practically young women already. They’re old enough to use cosmetics.’
Ruan Huang Wenbin had already found out that the senior inspector’s older daughter went out every afternoon at four o’clock to meet up with friends.
"So, Gu’er, how are we supposed to approach them?" Li Zhi asked.
"Aren’t you good at chatting up girls? Just go over and say, ’Hey, beautiful, how are you? Let’s be friends,’" Gu’er teased with a smile.
"Get outta here! The last thing I need is a foreign girlfriend. I’d be investigated the moment I got back to China. They’d probably think I was some kind of secret agent or a spy. My dad would kill me."
Li Zhi shot Gu’er a glare, thinking she was just fooling around.
Gu’er laughed, and a faint smile touched Dingzi’s eyes as well.
"Don’t worry," Gu’er said. "Just watch me."
Gu’er already had a plan to approach the Soviet girls.
Shortly after three o’clock, Gu’er and the others arrived on the street where Ruan Huang Wenbin had told them the senior inspector lived.
The street wasn’t crowded, and the buildings on either side were quite stylish.
Gu’er took out her cosmetics. She didn’t use face powder; her skin wasn’t naturally fair, so powder would just look unnatural. Besides, she had been using pearl powder for the past few days and felt her complexion had already lightened a bit. Being young, her skin was still soft and smooth.
Gu’er had nicely shaped eyebrows to begin with, and she had groomed them specially before this trip. Now, she used an eyebrow pencil to lightly define the arch—a technique she had been practicing in her room for several days.
Next, Gu’er applied eyeshadow, keeping it light and subtle.
Then she dusted a tiny bit of rouge onto her cheeks. freewebnσvel.cøm
Finally, she put on lipstick. It was a pale pink, a color that suited Gu’er’s youthfulness perfectly. She was already pretty, but with this touch of light makeup, she instantly looked much more radiant.
A spark ignited in Li Zhi’s eyes. At that moment, Gu’er looked so stunning it made his heart race.
"You’re so beautiful," Li Zhi couldn’t help but say.
Seeing the look in Li Zhi’s eyes, Gu’er blushed faintly, making her appear even more captivating.
"They’re here."
Just then, Dingzi suddenly murmured.
Gu’er glanced over and saw two girls emerging from a large gate down the street.
"Let’s go," Gu’er said.
As she started walking with Li Zhi and Dingzi, she "accidentally" dropped an eyeshadow case she was holding.
"Oh no, I dropped something!"
Gu’er cried out, quickly turning back to find it.
Just then, two blonde girls approached, walking right up to the spot where Gu’er had dropped the eyeshadow case.
Gu’er called out a couple of phrases in Russian. She had been learning from Dingzi over the past few days and could now manage a few simple sentences.
The two Soviet girls were startled by her voice. They then saw Gu’er rush up to them, bend down, and pick a small box up off the ground.
"Oh, thank goodness, thank goodness! I’m so glad I didn’t lose it."
Gu’er clutched the box, her face a mask of relief, as if a precious treasure had just been recovered.
The two Soviet girls watched Gu’er, confused. ’This Chinese girl is so strange,’ they thought. ’What’s the big deal about a little box? But she’s so pretty... Her eyelids have a hint of color, her cheeks are faintly red, and her lips are a soft pink. She looks absolutely radiant.’
Then they saw the Chinese girl open the small case. Inside were several colors: pink, blue, and brown. ’What is that?’ they wondered. ’How can such a tiny box hold all those colors? What is it used for?’
——————
Thank you to 6763hs for the peace charm, thank you to book friend 160511050411580 for the monthly ticket, and thank you all for your support. There will be three updates tomorrow.
