Chapter 463: Chapter 463: I Like Being Exposed to the Sun and Rain
Little did Gu Jiaojiao know that someone wanted to cripple her and leave her to beg on the streets of the Imperial City.
At that moment, she was on the phone with Mrs. Gu. She and her husband had just enjoyed a lovely dinner together and were about to take a post-dinner stroll in the yard when the phone rang.
"Hello, this is Gu Jiaojiao. Who’s calling?"
"Jiaojiao, it’s Mom. Have you eaten yet?"
"We just finished. Mom, if something’s on your mind, just tell me."
Mrs. Gu told Gu Jiaojiao that a neighbor from the next street over, the wife of Vice Director Li, had visited their home several times with her daughter.
Each time, she said she wanted to arrange a match between her daughter, Li Xiulan, and their family’s Jingtai, and Mrs. Gu had actually started to believe her.
Unfortunately, Second Brother Gu was so busy renovating his restaurant that he missed them every time. When he came home at night, he would even get an earful from Mrs. Gu for it.
Mrs. Gu had already arranged with her son to wait at home for them on Saturday, when Li Xiulan had the day off.
The plan was for the two of them to meet, and if neither had any objections, they would finalize the engagement.
Although Eldest Brother Gu wasn’t engaged yet either, he hadn’t called home, and Mrs. Gu didn’t have the phone number for his work unit.
Now that someone had taken an interest in her younger son, Mrs. Gu discussed it with her husband, and they decided to arrange an engagement for their second son first.
But as it turned out, Mrs. Li had only revealed her true purpose today: she wanted to buy skincare products from Mrs. Gu.
She asked how Mrs. Gu took care of her skin to keep it so fair and completely free of wrinkles.
Mrs. Gu told Mrs. Li that they were face masks and creams her own daughter made.
Mrs. Li then asked enthusiastically, "Madam Gu, could you ask your daughter if she’d be willing to make some extra to sell to me?"
"Well, my daughter and son-in-law are coming over for dinner this weekend. I’ll ask her then. If you have time, Mrs. Li, you’re welcome to bring your daughter over and ask her in person."
"Madam Gu, we won’t have time this weekend. Could you please just ask for me? I’ll come by another day for the answer, all right?"
’What Mrs. Gu meant was: My daughter will be home this weekend, so you can bring your daughter over, too. Jiaojiao can meet her while she’s here.’
However, Mrs. Li said she wouldn’t have time, so Mrs. Gu could only reply listlessly, "All right, I’ll ask Jiaojiao this weekend."
"Jiaojiao, what do you think that Mrs. Li is up to?"
"What else could it be? Her daughter probably doesn’t want to marry my Second Brother."
"Hmph! If she wasn’t interested, she shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up! And after I went to all the trouble of convincing your Second Brother... He originally wanted to wait another two years before considering marriage!"
"Mom, Second Brother is so outstanding. Do you really think he’ll have trouble finding a wife? Don’t you worry. I’ll introduce one of my classmates to him."
"Jiaojiao, your classmates are all university students, but your Second Brother only has a primary school education. Will that really work?"
"Mom, you don’t have to worry. Even though Second Brother didn’t have much formal schooling, Grandpa Gu and Mr. Gu tutored him every day. He’s already studied his way through the university curriculum. He’s an exceptional man."
"Haha, I think he’s amazing too. I went to take a look at the restaurant the other day. It’s quite large, and the renovations are very lavish."
"Exactly! My Second Brother deserves a better woman. He’s more than worthy of a university student."
Comforted by her daughter, Mrs. Gu laughed and called for Grandpa Gu and Mr. Gu to come talk on the phone.
In reality, Mrs. Gu and Gu Jiaojiao didn’t know the full story. In the Li family, it wasn’t Mrs. Li who was unwilling, and it certainly wasn’t Li Xiulan.
The one who objected was the Li family’s eldest son. He refused to let his sister get involved with a street vendor, especially when he had plenty of subordinates he could introduce to her.
He was one of the first to graduate from the Worker-Peasant-Soldier university program and was assigned to the Public Security Bureau upon graduation.
After years of hard work, and with help from his granduncle’s connections, he had now become a vice director.
Mrs. Li’s eldest son was twenty-seven. He had gotten married and had children four years ago. Her second daughter was also long married with a family of her own.
Her youngest daughter, Li Xiulan, was now twenty and still single. Her eldest brother had brought many colleagues home, hoping to introduce them to her.
But Li Xiulan always used the excuse that she was still in school and didn’t want a relationship, so her brother couldn’t very well force her.
Who would have thought she would fall for Second Brother Gu, the street vendor? Even Mr. Li had relented and given his consent.
That was why Mrs. Li had taken her daughter to the Gu residence—to sound out Mrs. Gu and see if the Gu Family had any objections.
Learning they were agreeable, Mrs. Li had returned home happily to announce that they would soon arrange a dinner for both families to finalize the engagement between her daughter and Second Brother Gu.
However, she was met with fierce opposition from her son, who did everything he could to persuade his parents to change their minds.
Mr. Li and Mrs. Li were already hesitant, so they were easily swayed by their son.
And so, the next time Mrs. Li visited the Gu Family to ask about the face masks and creams, she made no mention of her daughter.
Mrs. Gu was perceptive enough to quickly guess that Mrs. Li no longer intended to marry her daughter into the Gu Family.
That’s why she had called Gu Jiaojiao, fuming, to vent her frustrations. Her call hadn’t really been about the face masks at all.
Gu Jiaojiao was, in fact, already planning to produce and sell face masks and creams. The medical books her grandfather had given her contained several traditional herbal beauty formulas.
The masks and creams made from these formulas could make one’s skin as smooth as jade—fair, delicate, and utterly flawless.
With the addition of a little spiritual spring water, the effects were even more pronounced. Whether it was crow’s feet around the eyes or dark spots on the face, results were visible after just a few applications.
In any era, women have always cared about their appearance. With such an effective beauty product, she had no doubt there would be a market for it.
Mrs. Gu had been the first person to try them. Her skin had been damaged by the sun at the farm; her face was covered in not just spots, but also many wrinkles.
After using the masks and creams Gu Jiaojiao made, she looked more than ten years younger in just half a month.
Gu Jiaojiao had carefully examined Mrs. Gu’s skin. The first step was to rejuvenate it, then focus on whitening.
The results were remarkable. Because of this, Gu Jiaojiao was preparing to hire people for mass production. Having a customer like Mrs. Li was, of course, a welcome development.
As for Mrs. Li’s daughter—Lan-something-or-other—whether she wanted to marry Second Brother Gu or not, Gu Jiaojiao truly couldn’t care less.
Gu Jiaojiao decided she would go to her university the next day and start looking for a potential match for her Second Brother, just to put her mother’s mind at ease.
Meanwhile, at the Li family’s home, Li Xiulan was adamant about marrying Second Brother Gu, and she spent every day trying to make her position and determination clear.
"Dad, Mom, Eldest Brother, I took a liking to him months ago. I didn’t know which family he belonged to back then, so I didn’t dare to hope. Now that his family has agreed, I’m even more determined."
"Lanlan, I’m not trying to make things difficult for you," her brother said. "But since ancient times, the social order has been scholars, farmers, artisans, and then merchants at the very bottom. You actually want to marry a street vendor? Aren’t you afraid of the disgrace?"
Li Xiulan corrected him with a serious expression. "No, Brother, you’re mistaken. That whole ’scholars, farmers, artisans, merchants’ hierarchy is nonsense. He makes an honest living. He doesn’t steal or rob. Being a person of integrity is the noblest thing of all!"
Mr. Li and Mrs. Li were speechless.
’Their daughter’s words seemed to make a lot of sense.’
"Lanlan, even if it’s an honest living, what’s so great about being a street vendor? You’re exposed to the sun and rain all day."
"I happen to like being out in the sun and rain. When I graduate, I’ll get a small shopfront with him and we’ll sell jianbing together," Li Xiulan declared, her voice ringing with conviction.
