Chapter 29: 028: Beauty Ingredients i
Translator: 549690339
Ni Yang looked at Ni Cuihua, her eyes suddenly feeling a bit sour.
If only she had been braver in her previous life and escaped from that cage earlier, her mother wouldn’t have had to suffer so much, even losing her life.
Regrettably, her awakening came too late.
She also found her strength too late.
Even though she eventually became a billionaire, she never found real happiness.
On the screen, she was the glamorous Boss Ni, but no one ever knew just how much she had given up to earn that title of ‘Boss Ni’.
Actually, the old bachelor didn’t die of illness.
It was she who killed him with her own hands.
In order to murder that old bachelor, she planned it for a whole ten years.
This delayed her prime years by a full decade.
These ten years of experience left a heavy shadow in her heart.
Even after becoming Boss Ni, she couldn’t get close to a man, lost faith in love… and even began to fear men.
For the next thirty years, she lived alone until her accidental death.
After escaping from the village, she worked in a factory, served as a waitress, and finally met a couple who practiced traditional Chinese medicine and had lost their only child.
The couple, seeing that she was pitiful, took her in as their adopted daughter. They taught her the medical skills she had.
Later, she worked part-time whilst attending university.
Then, she managed to own her own store.
Then her business grew and she became Beijing’s wealthiest person, a well-known entrepreneur, frequently appearing on TV screens and financial newspapers.
She became Boss Ni, but didn’t obtain everything she wanted.
This time around, she was determined to live a more brilliant life! Everything she hadn’t had in her previous life, she vowed to have this time: family, friendships, love…
For a moment, Ni Yang’s eyes felt a bit sour.
Seeing this, Ni Cuihua was panicked and grabbed Ni Yang’s hand, “Yangyang, mom is really fine. Don’t all the women in our village go through this? It really doesn’t matter if I sit the month or not.”
Ni Yang was only sixteen after all, and Ni Cuihua wouldn’t bear to see all the burdens fall on her shoulders alone.
Ni Cuihua looked at Ni Yang, her eyes full of concern.
She must have accumulated a lot of blessings in her past lives to have a good daughter like Ni Yang…
Ni Yang recovered, wiped her eyes, and said, “Mom, the body is yours. If you don’t want to sit the month I won’t force you. But you need to remember, don’t touch anything cold. Just leave the housework to me. After you’ve finished sitting the month, you can work as much as you want.”
Having been a traditional Chinese doctor in her past life, Ni Yang naturally knew how important postpartum care was for a woman. But since her mother didn’t want to stay in bed, she wouldn’t force her. She would just take extra care with her mother’s diet.
Ni Cuihua nodded, “Okay, I’ll listen to Yangyang.”
“Then go back to your room and see your sister.” Ni Yang pushed Ni Cuihua towards the house, “There’s not much work here, just leave it to me.”
Having no other choice, Ni Cuihua returned to her room.
Ni Yang started cooking pickled cabbage fish soup for tomorrow morning’s breakfast in the kitchen.
Today, Ni Yang added pig’s trotters to the fish soup, resulting in a white and richly flavored soup that was incredibly delicious.
People in this era, due to their meager diets, loved fatty meat. No one bought bones, allowing Ni Yang to purchase ten kilograms of bones for only three yuan.
After cooking the soup, Ni Yang carried a plastic bucket to the river.
It was already past five at this point, the sun was gradually setting. The golden sunset reflected on the river, like an exquisite natural oil painting. Even the clear water of the lake seemed lively, filled with texture, it seemed like a fairyland on earth.
The remaining sun shone on the water, half of the river was calm, half of the river was painted red.
There were a few shirtless little boys playing and bathing by the river.
A few water buffalos were leisurely grazing near the river.
Everything seemed exceptionally serene and harmonious, a kind of contentment that was lost in the later generations.
Ni Yang walked to the river, rolled up her trouser legs, took off her shoes, and headed in the direction where she had set her fish trap that morning.
The little boys by the river were shy when they saw Ni Yang step into the water, diving quickly and disappearing under the surface, transforming into agile fishes lurking beneath the water.
Ni Yang, carrying the fish trap upon returning, had a slight smile on her face.
The trap was heavy with quite a few fish.
On reaching the shore, Ni Yang poured all the fish from the trap into a plastic bucket.
The bucket was filled with fish of various kinds such as carp, crucian carp, mullet, grass carp, and many small river shrimps.
This was a sight unseen in later generations.
Only in this pure, unpolluted era could one find such an abundance of wild fish and shrimp.
After pouring out all the fish, Ni Yang put the trap back in its original place.
A little boy who was swimming approached cautiously and asked, “Sister, is your name Ni Yang?”
“Yes,” Ni Yang replied with a smile, “What’s your name?”
The little boy tilted his head looking at Ni Yang, “Sister Ni Yang, you are really pretty, even prettier than Sister Xiuhong.”
Regardless of the era, beauty always commands attention.
Ni Yang finished placing the trap, “Thank you for your compliment, be careful when you swim alone.”
The little boy continued, “Sister Ni Yang, my name is Li Changshou, but you can call me by my nickname, Goudan. I am not here alone. I came here with my brother Li Fugui, and 1 also have an older sister called Li Ronghua.”
Goudan…
Ni Yang laughed without replying.
Goudan continued, “However, my sister is not as pretty as you and she has a terrible temper, always ready to hit people.”
Only a real younger brother would dare to diss his sister this way…
Ni Yang laughingly said, “You’re too young to judge people by their looks, watch out your sister doesn’t overhear you and give you a good beating.”
Hearing this, Goudan arrogantly raised his adorable little head, “Pfft, she wouldn’t dare.”
Ni Yang smiled faintly, “Alright, 1 need to go home and cook now, 1 won’t chat anymore, bye.”
“Bye,” Goudan waved to Ni Yang.
After Ni Yang left, Goudan quickly swam to his brother Li Fugui, “Brother, Sister Ni Yang is such a nice person, she’s nothing like what Uncle Two and Auntie Three said. Anyway, I really like her.”
Li Fugui, six years older and more mature than Goudan, replied, “A gentleman doesn’t judge someone by rumors, nor does he spread rumors about others. If she really is as everyone say, we’ll find out with time.”
After Ni Yang returned home, she placed all the fish and shrimp from the bucket into a large basin. She then removed the river shrimps, planning to make a dish of fried river shrimp for dinner.
Next, she cleaned a carp, planning to use it with food purchased today to make a dish for beauty and breast enhancement, stewed carp with kelp and pork feet.
Just having a pretty face isn’t enough for a woman, she must also have a perfect figure.
Wanting fair skin, a perfect figure, rosy lips, sparkling eyes can all be achieved through dietary therapy.
In later generations, many people neglected their eating habits, had irregular meals, craved sweet and spicy foods, and were addicted to internet famous foods and fast foods, leading to obesity, dark skin, spots and acne…
Their looks would gradually deteriorate.
Hence, Ni Yang decided to start now and use the knowledge of Traditional Chinese Medicine she learned in her previous life to improve herself, both externally and internally.
Not just herself, but also Ni Cuihua.
Ni Cuihua, now only 36 years old, already had wrinkles on her face. Her skin was extremely dull, and her figure had lost its shape. Ni Yang wanted to help her regain her youth and find her happiness again.
After prepping the ingredients for stewed carp with kelp and pork feet, Ni Yang fetched a casserole and put all the ingredients in it to stew. Soon, delicious fragrance filled the small kitchen..