Chapter 25: No Woman Doesn’t Love Beauty

Wu Xiuxiu, filled with guilt, thought to herself: Before she transmigrated here, she had also hoarded a lot of fabric and ready-made clothes for men, women, and children of all ages. She would find an opportunity to take out some fabric and clothes and give them to her mother, sister-in-law, and brother.

Wu Xiuxiu reached out and touched the clothes, pants, and skirt. One outer garment was cotton, one was Dacron, and the undershirt was also Dacron.

As for the pants, one was cotton and one was Dacron.

The flared skirt was also Dacron. Dacron was very popular at this time; everyone wanted to wear Dacron.

Dacron was what modern people knew as polyester. The biggest advantage of this fabric was its excellent wrinkle resistance and shape retention.

Wu Xiuxiu moved her gaze downward, looking at the underwear and underpants. There were only two sets, and one set was even different colors, not matching.

Wu Xiuxiu reached out and touched them. The underwear and underpants were all cotton.

Next to the underwear and underpants were two vests, one white and one floral. She reached out and touched them, and they were also cotton.

After looking at the vests, her gaze continued to move downward. Below was another layer of stacked items, shoes: a pair of white sneakers and a pair of black high-heeled leather shoes.

Wu Xiuxiu looked at the sneakers and leather shoes, then looked at the black cloth shoes she was wearing. These cloth shoes were the common thousand-layer-sole cloth shoes of the time.

Where were the socks? Wu Xiuxiu suddenly remembered that she hadn’t seen any socks. She recalled in her mind and reached out to open the bottom drawer of the wardrobe.

There were two drawers, and she opened the one on the left. In her memory, her socks were kept in the left drawer.

Looking into the open drawer, she found two pairs of socks, one pair of cotton gauze short socks and one pair of long stockings.

Unexpectedly, the female lead had long stockings! Long stockings were rare at this time, very difficult to buy…

She remembered that these long stockings were a birthday gift from her mother when she turned seventeen.

Her mother had gone through a lot of trouble to get these long stockings. She had spent one yuan and fifty cents and five catties of food coupons to buy them from someone she knew.

Normally, long stockings like these could be bought in stores with coupons for only three cents, but it was very difficult to get coupons for long stockings, and they were often out of stock.

The original body was someone who loved to be beautiful and fashionable. Seeing Ye Xiaoli wearing long stockings, she also wanted them, and she really wanted them. She often nagged her mother about it.

So, her mother knew that someone she knew had them and didn’t need coupons, so she gritted her teeth and spent a high price to buy them from that person.

Her mother was really good to this daughter!

Her brother and sister-in-law were also good to her.

She saw Ye Xiaoli wearing a flared skirt and lipstick, and she wanted them too. She often dreamed of wearing a flared skirt and lipstick.

After telling her family, they were all very heartbroken, so on her birthday, her brother and sister-in-law went out of their way to get a flared skirt and lipstick for her.

Although her brother and sister-in-law didn’t say how they got the flared skirt and lipstick or how much they spent, she could guess that they must have gone through a lot of trouble and spent a high price.

The flared skirt her brother gave her wasn’t made from fabric he bought himself, but was a ready-made garment, bought from a department store.

The cheapest flared skirts sold in department stores cost six yuan, and you needed coupons.

Lipstick cost three yuan a piece and also required coupons. Lipstick coupons were harder to get than fabric coupons.

The more Wu Xiuxiu thought about it, the more she sighed about how good her family was to her. She wanted to repay her family, but the most urgent thing now was to go take a bath.

Wu Xiuxiu took a matching set of white underwear and underpants, as well as stockings and a flared skirt. Then she went to find a comb and bathing tools.

After finding everything she needed and making sure she didn’t miss anything, Wu Xiuxiu greeted her mother and sister-in-law and left home for the bathhouse.

…

Fifty meters from the alley entrance was a bathhouse, and Wu Xiuxiu arrived quickly.

It wasn’t yet the time for work or school to end, so there weren’t many customers in the bathhouse.

Wu Xiuxiu paid a dime for the bath and entered the women’s bath, only to find that there was no one else inside.

No one else! Wu Xiuxiu was a little happy. With no one else, she could wash comfortably by herself.

She had never been to a bathhouse in her previous life and bathed with a lot of other people. This was her first time bathing in a bathhouse, and she was a little unaccustomed to it, afraid that there would be a lot of people.

Wu Xiuxiu looked around. The space was quite large, with a large hot spring pool in the middle that could accommodate twenty or more people, and bathing rooms around the perimeter.

Wu Xiuxiu wanted to soak in the hot spring pool, but she was afraid that it wouldn’t be clean because so many people had been in it before. In the end, she decided not to soak in the hot spring pool and went directly to the bathing room to wash.

Wu Xiuxiu was always quick at bathing. She entered the bathing room, pulled down the curtain that blocked the bathing room, took out the shampoo and shower gel she had hoarded in her space, and finished washing in just over ten minutes.

Most women take a long time to bathe, generally spending twenty to thirty minutes, and some even take an hour.

After Wu Xiuxiu finished washing and got dressed, she wanted to take out a hairdryer from her space to dry her hair, but she was afraid that it would arouse suspicion if she went out with her hair already dry.

After hesitating for a moment, she gave up the idea and took out a clean towel from her space to dry her hair until it was half-dry before going out.

But she didn’t rush to leave the women’s bath. She saw that there were many mirrors in the women’s bath, so she went to one of the mirrors and looked at herself, her eyes widening in amazement, her mouth slightly open in surprise.

My goodness, she actually looked like a little fairy now!

The girl in the mirror was about five feet six or seven inches tall, with an oval face, skin as white as snow, eyebrows like distant mountains, eyes like autumn waves, a delicate nose, and cherry lips. She looked delicate and watery, like a lotus flower emerging from the water, extremely beautiful. Her face was as beautiful as the best painter could paint.

Her graceful and slender figure, with a hint of ethereal elegance, made her look more and more like a fairy who had stepped out of a painting.

Wu Xiuxiu looked at herself in the mirror, and she was a little mesmerized.

She had heard people at her brother’s factory praise her for being so beautiful, like a little fairy. She already knew in her heart that she was beautiful, and she thought she would find a mirror at home to look at herself and see what she looked like now, but she forgot after she got home.

She only remembered when she saw the mirror just now, so she wanted to take a look. Unexpectedly, she was so beautiful!

So happy…

Wu Xiuxiu couldn’t help but smile, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Every woman wants to be beautiful, to be a stunning beauty.

She gazed at her reflection in the mirror one last time before leaving the women’s bathhouse. As she walked out, everyone she passed stared at her, especially the men. Their eyes practically popped out, their faces filled with admiration, some even drooling.

Wu Xiuxiu had always been blessed with a face that could launch a thousand ships. Now, with her long hair still damp, she wore a beautiful white and purple floral dress that hugged her curves, accentuating her alluring silhouette. Her long, slender, and captivating jade legs were encased in long stockings, peeking out from beneath her high heels. Every step she took exuded charm and allure, captivating hearts and making them itch with desire.

Aware of her beauty and allure, Wu Xiuxiu paid no mind to the stares and admiration she received. She walked straight back to the courtyard.

“Goodness, what a fairy! You’re absolutely stunning!”

Lin, the widowed woman who lived in the courtyard, saw Wu Xiuxiu and exclaimed in astonishment.

Wu Xiuxiu blushed and shook her head, embarrassed. “Aunt Lin, you’re teasing me, making fun of me.”

“I’m not teasing you, I’m not making fun of you! Xiuxiu, you’re so beautiful, it’s unreal. You’re like Chang’e descended from the moon! This is the truth, I’m not trying to flatter you or mock you!”

After showering Wu Xiuxiu with compliments, Lin curiously asked, “By the way, why are you wearing that dress? You usually treasure it so much, you hardly ever wear it.”

“I’m going out to meet with classmates tonight, so…” Wu Xiuxiu thought to herself, this wasn’t exactly a lie. She was going to the Beijing Concert Hall with Ye Xiaoli tonight, which could be considered meeting classmates.

“Oh, I see.” A look of understanding dawned on Lin’s face.

Wu Xiuxiu chatted with Lin for a few more moments before leaving the first courtyard and heading towards the fourth courtyard. As she passed through the second and third courtyards, she encountered more neighbors who showered her with praise. They pulled her aside for small chats, and it was several minutes before she finally reached the fourth courtyard.

Once she entered her home, she was greeted by Ding Hongjuan and Dong Xiaoye, who also showered her with compliments, making her feel quite embarrassed.

“Xiuxiu, your hair isn’t dry yet. Go back to your room and find a towel to dry it completely. Don’t catch a cold,” Ding Hongjuan said, her brow furrowed with concern as she noticed her daughter’s damp hair.

Hearing this, Dong Xiaoye looked at her sister-in-law’s hair, as if she had just noticed it, and quickly nodded in agreement with her mother-in-law.

Wu Xiuxiu returned to her room and closed the door behind her. She then entered her space and retrieved a hairdryer, using it to dry her hair within the confines of her space.

She had bought everything she could before transmigrating, including hundreds of hairdryers.

Her space had electricity and outlets, allowing her to use electrical appliances. This was a discovery she made earlier today when she forgot to bring toilet paper and went into her space to grab some.

She wasn’t sure if her space had been upgraded overnight, but it had been a silent upgrade, without any notification.

Wu Xiuxiu chose to use a hairdryer within her space because it made noise when turned on.

The old house Wu’s family lived in wasn’t very soundproof. Wu Xiuxiu was afraid that if she used a hairdryer to dry her hair, her mother and sister-in-law next door would hear the noise, find it strange, and come knocking to see what was going on. Then she wouldn’t be able to explain the existence of the hairdryer.

Wu Xiuxiu quickly dried her hair and put the hairdryer back in its place before leaving her space and returning to her room. She sat down in front of the mirror and brushed her hair. She initially wanted to braid it like she used to, but after looking in the mirror, she decided that it looked better down, so she left it loose.

She glanced around and saw the dirty clothes she had taken off in the bathhouse earlier lying on the floor. She decided to wash them now.

She wanted to do what the original owner used to do and wash her clothes with everyone else in the courtyard by drawing water from the well, but then she remembered the washing machine in her space.

She had also stocked up on washing machines before transmigrating. It would be foolish to have a washing machine and still wash clothes by hand.

Wu Xiuxiu decided to use the washing machine in her space. She immediately brought the clothes she needed to wash into her space, took out the washing machine, plugged it in, and then realized a problem: there was no water in her space to wash the clothes.

Although her space had spiritual spring water and plenty of bottled water, it felt extravagant and wasteful to wash clothes with spiritual spring water, especially since it was the most precious resource.

Wu Xiuxiu quickly came up with a solution: if there wasn’t any in her space, there was plenty outside.

She immediately left her space and saw a bucket in her room. She grabbed the bucket and went outside to draw water from the well.

Each courtyard in this mixed-use building had its own well. Although this was the capital city, and every household had running water, including this old courtyard, people still preferred to use water from the well. The well water was sweet and refreshing, and it didn’t have the taste of disinfectant, which sometimes was a bit strong in the tap water, leaving a faint smell of disinfectant.

So, except during the winter when the well water froze and couldn’t be used, people living in the courtyard used well water for drinking, washing, and even laundry.

Ding Hongjuan, who was sitting in the room, saw her daughter drawing water from the well and immediately asked, “Xiuxiu, what are you doing drawing water?”

“…I want to wash clothes.” Wu Xiuxiu hesitated before answering truthfully.

“You just got out of the hospital, you need to rest properly, you can’t do any work. What clothes are you washing? I’ll wash them for you,” Ding Hongjuan said, standing up.

“No need, I’m completely recovered, I can wash them myself. Mom, don’t worry, you don’t have to wash my clothes.” Wu Xiuxiu quickly shook her head, refusing, her heart filled with warmth.

Mom really spoiled her. Even though she was grown up, she still wanted to wash her clothes.

“Mom, sit down and rest. I’ll wash Xiuxiu’s clothes. Xiuxiu, where are your clothes? Go get them, I’ll wash them for you,” Dong Xiaoye said immediately, with a warm smile.

Another wave of warmth flowed through Wu Xiuxiu’s heart. Her sister-in-law spoiled her too.

“Thank you, sister-in-law, but no need. I’m really completely recovered, I can wash them myself, you don’t have to help.” Wu Xiuxiu waved her hand. “I’m a grown woman, still having you wash my clothes, what would people think? They would laugh at me.”

With that, Wu Xiuxiu carried the bucket of water back to her room.

Seeing Wu Xiuxiu carrying a full bucket of water so easily, Ding Hongjuan and Dong Xiaoye thought she should be fine washing her clothes and didn’t say anything more, abandoning the idea of helping her.

After all, as she said, she was a grown woman, still having them wash her clothes, what would people think? They would laugh at her and make her feel embarrassed.

Once Wu Xiuxiu entered her room, she closed the door and then carried the water into her space. She poured the water into the washing machine, turned it on, and then sat down on the sofa to rest.

She had bought all the furniture in the furniture mall before transmigrating, so she had several sets of sofas in her space.

Sitting on the sofa, Wu Xiuxiu sighed, it was so much more comfortable than sitting on the hard benches outside. Her butt would hurt after sitting on them for too long.

She really wanted to take the sofa out and sit on it, but she couldn’t explain to her family where it came from.

She could only give up.