Three years of Great Summer, midsummer.

A solid farmhouse in Michigan.

In the early morning, the sun just rises and feels hot and dry.

Ruan Jiao squatted by the well platform to wash her face, eager to peel off a layer of skin off her face, she was afraid of heat since she was a child, when her father and mother were alive, since she could remember, every midsummer, the ice cubes in the house were always constant, and the two girls followed her with fans in their hands, for fear that she would suffer a trace of heat.

Now is different from the past, since her father died three years ago, she was brought back to her home by her father's classmate Gu Yunian, and became an orphan living here.

Although the Gu family also has a son who is an official in the capital, it is not a rich and noble family, and they only live an ordinary life like a countryman.

Ruan Jiao also knew that she was sending people under the fence, and she always had to act according to people's eyes, so she didn't take any money from the young lady, and she also helped to do some work, and the people of the Gu family also turned a blind eye and just didn't see it, so she went.

Fortunately, thanks to the care of her aunt Gu Xiaofeng, who has been widowed in her mother's family, Ruan Jiao can live smoothly.

Ruan Jiao was washing her face with water, dissipating the heat, and a soft greeting came from behind her: "Miss Ruan." ”

The person who called her was the second grandmother of the Gu family, Feng Shi.

"What do you command, second grandmother?" Ruan Jiao stretched her sleeves to wipe her face, looked up and asked her.

Feng Shi hurriedly handed over his silk handkerchief, smiled all over his face, and said: "Girl, wipe this handkerchief, new one, I just got started, and I haven't used it once." ”

"Thank you, second grandmother." Ruan Jiao was not polite to her, took her handkerchief, and continued to wipe the water stains on her face.

Feng Shi grinned, his eyes were distressed, of course he felt sorry for her novice handkerchief, he couldn't say it, sighed slightly, and then spoke again: "Miss Ruan, is it okay to drink the bowl of tofu flower that I gave you yesterday?" ”

"Look at my memory, I wanted to go over and thank you, but my aunt and grandmother kept pulling me to let me paint her shoes, but I forgot about it, but it was delicious, thank you for the second grandmother for remembering." Ruan Jiao bent down and bowed and smiled.

"If the girl likes it, I'll let Qiu Tao send it to you tomorrow." The second grandmother smiled.

"Keep it for Miss Ping to drink, I heard Aunt Liu say that this year's harvest is not good, the beans are expensive, and it is not easy to make a bowl of tofu flowers." Ruan Jiao excused herself.

She knows the temperament of these two grandmothers, she doesn't ask for anything to do, and she asks for a salute first, which means that she has something to ask her for, so she sends things and puts on such a low-level begging appearance.

Normally, she didn't care so much about her as a host.

Sure enough, after the second grandmother said a few flattering words, she got to the point, twisted her body and smiled: "Miss Ruan, can you work hard again and put on makeup for Ping'er?" ”

Ruan Jiao laughed "poof", nodded and said: "What can't be done, it's worth the second grandmother like this, what should I do." ”

The second grandmother blushed, and said with a shy: "I'm tired of Miss Ruan painting for her, my family is born well, but it's a pity that the pockmarked face is unbearable, only those things in your hands and your skillful hands can draw her, and I can't help but let you, a sister, hurt her a lot, and I am grateful." ”

Ruan Jiao didn't want to listen to her any more nonsense, so she went into the house and got makeup tools and rouge gouache to find Ping'er to put on makeup.

But she knew in her heart that the freedom she could still live in the Gu family had a lot to do with this ability.

On the way to Mizhou, when the Gu family uncle picked her up, she was sad because of the new funeral of her parents, and when she was halfway there, she became seriously ill and couldn't walk in an inn.

Uncle Gu asked for medical medicine every day, and several grandmothers and girls who had followed her since she was a child also took good care of her, but her illness only sank day by day, and she did not get better at all.

Just when everyone was discouraged, and Ruan Jiao thought that she was going to go with her father, an old woman with a childish face appeared, she didn't know what medicine Ruan Jiao took, Ruan Jiao's condition was actually improved, and she was able to get out of bed slowly.

In the inn for half a year, the old woman not only saved her life, but also taught her makeup and various methods of making rouge gouache, which opened the eyes of Ruan Jiao, who has been living in the boudoir, it turns out that these ordinary flowers and plants have been researched and developed, and they can create all kinds of spices and gouache!

Suddenly, one day, a splendid carriage came from outside the inn, and several strangely dressed servants said that they had come to take her mother-in-law home.

Ruan Jiao was reluctant to let her mother-in-law leave, so she kept dragging her mother-in-law to cry and cry, asking her mother-in-law to take her with her, so her mother-in-law gave her a box of makeup tools and more than a dozen books on making rouge gouache and makeup, and left quietly when Ruan Jiao was asleep at night.

All along, Ruan Jiao felt that she had met a mortal immortal in the world, and she was pitiful, so she taught her a skill, so that she could gain a foothold in this world and live a good life.

It's a pity that in the past few years of coming to the Gu family, there has been no opportunity for her to show her talents, firstly, because she and Gu Xiaofeng live in the same room and it is inconvenient to do things, and secondly, because in this rural place, everyone is running around for food and clothing, and there is no leisure to make these rouge gouaches, Ruan Jiao really has no big opportunity to show her talents, so she can only practice her hands with a few maids in the family and the young lady Ping'er in the second room, and give them makeup and have fun.

Because the rouge gouache she uses is surprisingly good, and her makeup skills are really amazing, the Gu family, from the old lady to a few maids, will ask her to help put on makeup whenever there is an opportunity to show up.

The second grandmother is also because of this, so she begged her so much.

To get back to the point, and said that Ruan Jiao finished putting on Ping'er's makeup, covered the pockmarks on Ping'er's face with homemade rouge cream, and put on Ping'er's makeup according to the techniques that the old woman taught her that day.

The second grandmother looked at her beautiful daughter, couldn't close her mouth happily, and thanked Ruan Jiao again and again.

Ruan Jiao packed up her makeup tools and got up, and asked casually, "Where are you going, Miss Ping?" ”

"Sister Ruan, let's go to the county seat to listen to the drama today, what you want, I'll bring it to you." Gu Ping twisted around at the bronze mirror and said with a smile.

"Ah, it's just to follow my second master to socialize the next scene, where is to listen to the play carefully, Miss Ruan, if you listen to the play carefully, how can there be a Li'er who doesn't take the old lady, aunt and grandmother and you together, don't you say?" Feng Shi saw that Ping'er was about to say it, and hurriedly laughed in the round.

Ruan Jiao responded slightly and walked out with the box.

The second grandmother doesn't have to hide it, she also knows what's going on.

There is a draft event in this rural place every year, not for the emperor's draft girls, but for ten miles and eight towns to select ten twelve to fourteen-year-old show girls to go to the county seat to participate in the banquet held by the county lady.

If she is favored by the county lady, she is expected to stay by her side as an errand, and the show girls who stayed with her in the previous sessions have all married good husbands, either rich or expensive.

Therefore, the people are boiling, and in order to be elected as a show girl, all kinds of methods are exhausted.

The Gu family is no exception, Gu Ping is twelve years old this year, and with the qualifications to run, in order for Gu Ping to be elected as a show girl, the Gu family has also tried their best.

At the beginning of the year, the old lady who is now in charge of the Gu family sent someone to find her eldest son, who was an official in the capital, and asked for some good head jewelry and satin of good colors to come back, which was bound to make Gu Ping come out on top.

This dress and jewelry are available, but only beauty makeup is missing, so this Feng family begged Ruan Jiao for help from time to time.

Because she only lives here, she is not a serious local, so she can't participate in such a selection, and the Gu family is probably afraid that Ruan Jiao will be sad and sad because of this, so this Gu Ping's participation in the draft is always hidden from Ruan Jiao.

How did they know that Ruan Jiao had no intention of these things at all, and she didn't care about not being able to run for election at all.

Ruan Jiao sent the box back to the house, walked out to enjoy the cool under the eaves, met Aunt Liu for breakfast, saw her, called her into the kitchen, and whispered in her ear: "You just don't have a long memory, the two of you are in front when they use you, and back when they don't need you, you go to serve them!" When I went to the theater today, didn't I have your share? ”

"I'm not rare." Ruan Jiao fiddled with the spatula and said with a smile.

Aunt Liu rolled her eyes: "You are also not young, one year older than Miss Ping, is it possible that you will not marry in this life?" Always find a way out for yourself, can't you stay in the Gu family and be a girl for the rest of your life? ”

Ruan Jiao peeled a cooked sweet potato, pinched a piece and stuffed it into Aunt Liu's mouth, and gagged her mouth, she really didn't want to listen to her verbosity.

She didn't know these things, she didn't want to stay here for the rest of her life to be an embarrassing person who was not a guest or a host, but she had to have the opportunity to go out to show her ambitions, but looking around, as far as she knew, there was no single female household in this town, which made her helpless. If she proposes to go out alone, it will be too ostentatious, and she will not be immersed in the pig cage! It doesn't end well!

"If you talk about it, you didn't live in their house for nothing, you were also a young lady at the beginning, and when you came, the nurse girl alone brought seven or eight, and they were all found and sold, anyway, I don't believe you didn't bring a penny, when did his Gu family get better? Not after you came? Buying a house and buying land, who can't look at it, just bullying you as an orphan girl, but unfortunately your whole family is dead, and you don't even have someone to help you speak. ”

After Aunt Liu finished eating the sweet potato, she chattered again, looking angry.

Ruan Jiao smiled bitterly in her heart, she was young when she came, and the money was not in her hands, what could she know? Even if she is put on the table by the Gu family, there is nothing to do, what do you want her to do? I tore my face, and I am afraid that I will not even have a place to live.

"What are you doing, go up and eat." Aunt Liu walked out with the porridge, and saw that Ruan Jiao was still standing by the pot and did not move, so she urged.

"If you're lazy to eat, you go and tell them that I'm not going to eat." Ruan Jiao said with a smile.

"Well, it's better to eat with me in the kitchen for a while than to look at their family's faces! Where to treat you as a guest! Aunt Liu muttered to herself and walked away with the porridge bowl.

Ruan Jiao sat on the maza, thinking about her life, but she was finally upset and worried, only to hear the sound of the door outside, and walked in with a smile on her face.

"Young Master, is there something wrong?" Ruan Jiao hurriedly stood up and asked.

"My father's hands are itchy, I think he was bitten by mosquitoes, let me find a piece of ginger and go back and wipe it, it's troublesome Miss Ruan." As the name suggests, make a series of it to her.

Ruan Jiao got up and picked up a piece of ginger from the basket and handed it to him, he took it, turned around and left.

It wasn't until he walked out of the kitchen that Ruan Jiao found that there was a tightly sealed oiled paper bag on the pot.

She picked it up and opened it, and it was a hot meatloaf, and only a small lock was torn off, and most of it was left.

Although the Gu family is also a solid family, not all of them can eat this pure meat patty, this is a small stove for the two young masters who are going to school.

Aunt Liu walked back, and Ruan Jiao was still holding the meatloaf in her hand.

"Young Master Sun has a heart, but it's a pity that he can't be the master." Aunt Liu sighed and shook her head.

Ruan Jiao tore open the meatloaf and handed her more than half of it, she blocked it back with her hand: "You will eat it, I wish you should eat it, you two have made a marriage book at the beginning, and I was still present when your father and the eldest master wrote the marriage book!" ”