Lice are the kind of pests that must be eradicated completely—otherwise, they’ll multiply like weeds, and before you know it, you’ll have a whole new nest of the little critters.  

Just thinking about that infamous scene made Lin Wanwan feel as though thousands of lice were crawling all over her body.  

And so, as she watched the squirming lice on Lin Hongxiang’s head, Lin Wanwan decided to take drastic measures to prevent future infestations. She negotiated with the little girl: “How about I shave your head, and when winter comes, I’ll ask your grandma to buy you a red hat? Sound good?”  

But a shaved head would look so ugly!  

Lin Hongxiang, who loved looking pretty, was about to refuse outright—until she heard her aunt mention the red hat. That made her hesitate. None of the other kids in the village had one. If she got a red hat, Xiaohua and the others would definitely be jealous.  

Tentatively, she asked, “Auntie, you’re not lying to me, are you?”  

Lin Wanwan looked at her clever little niece, tapped her nose, and smiled. “Your auntie never lies.”  

But her aunt had lied to her plenty of times before! Still… yesterday, Auntie had given her those delicious candies and hadn’t tattled to Grandma. Neither she nor Hongni had gotten beaten.  

Had her aunt changed for the better?  

Maybe… she could try trusting her this once?  

Even so, Lin Hongxiang had another concern. “Grandma always calls me a ‘money-losing burden.’ What if she refuses to buy it for me?”  

Hearing the term “money-losing burden,” Lin Wanwan frowned. She hated those words more than anything.  

But she still answered seriously, “Your grandma listens to me the most. If I say it, she’ll definitely buy it for you. And if she doesn’t, I’ll use my own savings to get you one.”  

No matter what, she was determined to wipe out those lice today.  

“Okay, Auntie. I’ll listen to you. Go ahead and cut it.”  

Once she had Lin Hongxiang’s full consent, Lin Wanwan picked up the scissors and got to work.  

Before long, the job was done—Lin Hongxiang was now a little baldy.  

Lin Wanwan put away the scissors and said, “Go to the kitchen and boil some water. After I finish cutting Hongni’s hair, I’ll give both of you a bath.”  

Even though it was summer, children’s immune systems were weak. If they bathed in cold water and caught a cold, it could be serious.  

In these times, medical conditions and resources were poor. Even a minor fever or headache could be life-threatening.  

Lin Wanwan wasn’t willing to take that risk.  

Lin Hongxiang was stunned when she heard her aunt was going to bathe her and Hongni.  

Was this really her lazy aunt? She seemed less and less like the person she used to be.  

That said… she liked this version of her aunt much better. She didn’t scold them and even gave them candy.  

Lin Hongxiang obediently ran off to boil water.  

Once she was gone, Lin Wanwan waved Lin Hongni over. The little girl immediately snuggled into her arms, behaving like an absolute angel.  

So, Lin Wanwan gave her the same treatment—another little baldy, just like her sister.  

Outwardly, Lin Wanwan’s figure looked the same as before, but she could feel her body becoming much lighter—likely an effect of the medicine the system had given her.  

Taking advantage of the sunny weather, she went back inside to haul out the washtub and fetched the soap Wang Xiu’e had bought for her.  

In these times, even soap required ration coupons. Without them, the supply cooperative wouldn’t sell it to you.  

Besides, soap wasn’t edible and was a waste of money. Most folks in the countryside couldn’t justify spending cash on something like that.

But Wang Xiu’e doted on her daughter. Since childhood, she had raised her like a city girl—whatever city girls had, her daughter must have too.  

So, in the entire family, Lin Wanwan was the only one who could use soap. Everyone else made do with soapberries for washing their hair and bodies.  

When Lin Hongxiang saw the bar of soap in her aunt’s hands, her jaw dropped in shock. She stammered, “A-Auntie… you’re really gonna let us use this? Aren’t you… worried? This stuff is expensive…”  

“Little chatterbox, you talk too much,” Lin Wanwan said with a laugh. “If I’ve already taken it out, who else would I give it to?” With that, she wet the towel and started scrubbing the grime off her two nieces.  

Who knew how long it had been since they last bathed? The dirt rolled off them in thick clumps.  

Lin Wanwan had to change the water three times before the girls were finally clean. Then, she went into their parents’ rooms, dug out two patched but clean sets of clothes, and had them change.  

Freshly bathed and smelling sweet, Lin Hongxiang felt like she was dreaming. On instinct, she pinched the soft flesh of her thigh—hard.  

“Ow—!”  

It hurt! So, she wasn’t dreaming. Her aunt really had changed.  

She liked this version of her aunt.  

After dealing with her nieces, Lin Wanwan was drenched in sweat, her clothes sticking uncomfortably to her skin.  

In the original host’s memories, she had never once stepped into the kitchen—meals were always prepared and brought to her by the family. And in her modern life as a CEO, she had never even encountered a traditional stove like this before.  

Afraid she might accidentally burn the kitchen down, Lin Wanwan reluctantly asked Lin Hongxiang to boil another pot of water for her bath.  

Since transmigrating, she hadn’t had a proper wash, and by now, she probably smelled.  

But just as she was about to undo her hair and wash it, a horrifying realization struck her.  

Lice were contagious.  

Did… she have lice in her hair too?  

Lin Wanwan combed through her locks with her fingers—and sure enough, she found a few of the tiny pests lurking in her strands.  

Instantly, she felt sick to her stomach.  

There was no way she could tolerate this for even a second longer. She yelled toward the door, where Lin Hongxiang was standing guard:  

“Hongxiang! Bring me the scissors!”  

Hearing her aunt’s order, Lin Hongxiang dashed back to her parents’ room, grabbed the scissors they had just used, and handed them to her bathing aunt.  

As she passed them over, she accidentally caught a glimpse of her aunt’s plump, milky-white belly.  

So white—just like the New Year’s pig the village had slaughtered last year.  

Speaking of pigs… Lin Hongxiang’s mouth watered.  

Lin Wanwan’s hair was thick and long, glossy and dark as if meticulously cared for—a rare sight in these times, likely something she was born with.  

Without hesitation, Lin Wanwan chopped it all off into a neat bob. The moment she finished, she felt an instant lightness at the back of her head.  

With no mirror around, she could only rely on feel to tidy up the uneven ends.  

Two hours later, Lin Wanwan finally stepped out of the room, freshly bathed.  

By then, Wang Xiu’e and the others had returned from work—only to be shocked by the three new hairstyles in the courtyard.  

Liu Yulan walked up to Lin Hongxiang and touched her bare scalp with trembling fingers.  

“…Erni… where’s your hair?”  

“Auntie cut it off.”  

Hearing that her daughter’s hair had been shaved by her sister-in-law, Liu Yulan opened her mouth—then closed it again.  

Her sister-in-law was the apple of her in-laws’ eyes. She couldn’t afford to offend her.  

But her poor daughter… her lovely hair, gone.  

That already plain little face now looked even plainer.