A Jiu’s heart sank. She calculated that three waterskins wouldn’t be enough if she used the spiritual spring water for bathing and washing her face.
And then there was this long, greasy hair.
“I have a comb, I’ll comb your hair for you, girl,” Mao Junlan pulled out a crooked comb from her sleeve.
Appearing finally able to offer some help, she happily pulled A Jiu into the house.
“Girl, do your best to tidy up. It’s almost dawn. Even if we rush to the city, I might not be able to get any water.”
Grandpa Niu gritted his teeth and entered the cowshed.
He also hoped the girl could tidy herself up. By helping her, he might learn the whereabouts of his granddaughter.
All along, he had believed his child had been kidnapped. Those human traffickers were utterly heartless, and he had thought she died more than a decade ago.
In the east room.
A Jiu’s shoulders were pressed down by Xiao Yan Yan. “Sister A Jiu, please bear with it.”
It hurt, it hurt so much. She hadn't washed her hair in so long, it had all matted together.
As it was combed open, she felt as if her scalp were being ripped off.
But Aunt Li would periodically tap the combed-out lice and nits onto the wooden plank at the foot of the bed.
A Jiu looked at them, all lice, and imagined how filthy she must be.
“Bear with it. This part is the hardest. Sigh… this is actually not too bad. With this drought lasting for years and water scarce, I haven’t bathed in three to five years, I’ve forgotten exactly how long.”
Aunt Li herself wasn't much cleaner. Her hair was all frizzy and held up with a wooden hairpin, which was so dirty it had developed a patina.
“Auntie, be gentler, it hurts,” A Jiu’s eyes welled up with tears.
“What if we used a little bit of water, would it be better?” Tuoba Yan looked at Sister Jiu’er, her face contorted in pain, and felt a pang of sympathy.
“Let’s use a little bit then,” A Jiu took out a waterskin. The pain in her scalp was becoming unbearable.
Xiao Yan Yan carefully poured some water onto A Jiu’s head.
A trace of coolness passed over her, and A Jiu’s burning scalp immediately felt much more comfortable.
Moistened by the water, her hair finally became smooth.
“Girl, if you don’t have any clothes to wear, I have my daughter-in-law’s clothes from back then. Please don’t mind that they belonged to someone deceased. My daughter-in-law was a very good person.”
Outside, Grandpa Niu brought over clothes.
A Jiu never fussed over such things. Nowadays, they were lucky to eat one meal a day. Clothes from people who died of starvation on the road were also scavenged.
With everything prepared, Mao Junlan took off her only wooden hairpin and placed it in A Jiu’s hair.
Admiringly, she circled A Jiu, looking at her hair. “She looks much neater now. And her face… at least her face needs washing.”
“This… it’s such a waste of water!” A Jiu said, her heart aching. She had Xiao Yan Yan take out another waterskin and pour it onto her ragged clothes to wash them the first time.
Although the clothes were dirty, they now had another layer of soot.
She cupped her hands and washed them three times before she reluctantly wiped them with the silk handkerchief given by Aunt Wu.
The moment she looked up, Xiao Yan Yan lost his grip, and water streamed down.
It was Mao Junlan who jolted him awake. “You silly boy, you’re staring blankly, and you’re pouring the water on the ground.”
“Oh, oh, oh, I… I didn’t mean to,” Tuoba Yan stammered in explanation.
Mao Junlan gazed with delight at Jiu’er’s clean face.
“Jiu’er, you are truly beautiful.”
A Jiu didn’t know what she looked like. Her family had never even had a bronze mirror.
She just instinctively touched her face.
Tuoba Yan was mesmerized. He had never seen such a beautiful girl. Although her face was thin, her skin was as white as jade.
“Sister A Jiu, I really didn’t realize you were so fair.”
A Jiu felt shy at his words. “It’s just that you’re used to my dirty face, so you think I look white all of a sudden.”
She had done manual labor since she was young, exposed to the sun, wind, and rain. She felt she wasn’t even as fair as Xiao Yan Yan.
“You go out. I’ll help Jiu’er change,” Aunt Li.
Aunt Li shooed Tuoba Yan and the other person out.
Grandpa Niu’s daughter-in-law was an adult, and her clothes were so large they could be used for opera.
A Jiu helplessly flicked the sleeves. “This… this is too long.”
Mao Junlan’s eyebrows shot up. Everything was ready, and although the clothes were also beautiful, but…
“Oh, this…” Mao Junlan clucked her tongue, looking at it.
Everything was ready, but the easterly wind had ruined it all.
“Why don’t we just cut it…” A Jiu said, picking up the ox horn knife, intending to cut open the excess fabric.