Era-C55

Chapter 55: Lip Balm for My Wife

The jar of camellia oil filled with flower petals quickly shrank and melted in the boiling water. The pigments and the natural fragrance from the flowers merged with the camellia oil.

When it seemed ready, Lin Heng scooped out the flower residue from the jar and added fresh petals again. After repeating this process several times, the half jar of camellia oil turned a deep red and emitted a faint floral scent.

For the final time, Lin Heng added a large amount of fresh flowers and let it sit to cool.

“Lunch is ready,” Lin Heng’s mother said when she saw that he was almost done.

Lunch consisted of rice and stir-fried sour beans with wild boar meat, a delicious dish that went well with the rice. Lin Heng ate two large bowls.

After the meal, he returned to working on his flower oil, pouring out half of the infused oil and mixing it with beeswax in a 4:1.5 ratio, heating it in a water bath.

As the beeswax melted, it blended with the oil into a thicker, light red liquid. Lin Heng then poured the liquid into bamboo tubes he had prepared, allowing them to cool. The lip balm was now ready.

It was his first attempt, so he made a small batch of eight tubes.

Looking at the eight bamboo tubes, each about the size of a thumb, Caiyun curiously asked, “Is it done already?”

“Yes,” Lin Heng nodded.

“What is it for?” Caiyun asked again.

“You’ll see when it’s ready. I can’t tell you now,” Lin Heng replied, shaking his head. He wasn’t sure if it had turned out well, and it would be embarrassing if it failed.

“Can you help me wash my hair?” At this point, Xiulan called out.

“Sure,” Caiyun responded, walking over.

“I’ll do it,” Lin Heng said.

“It’s hard to wash with long hair. Watch me do it first,” Xiulan replied.

“Okay then,” Lin Heng agreed, not insisting. He hadn’t washed hair much before.

In those days, there was no convenient shampoo. They used the water from washing rice and mashed soap pods. Soap was too expensive for farmers, with the cheapest bar costing 70 or 80 cents, and good sulfur soap costing one and a half yuan.

Lin Heng’s family didn’t have soap, just some tooth powder for brushing teeth, and soap pods for washing clothes.

Lin Heng remembered that, in his past life, he had watched videos on how to make ancient soap. In this time, communication was difficult, and people kept their methods secret, afraid of sharing knowledge.

Becoming a carpenter required years of apprenticeship and learning only when the master felt like teaching. Unlike in later times when people posted tutorials online, making it easy to learn.

The lip balm Lin Heng made was based on the knowledge he had gained from ancient soap-making videos he’d watched in his previous life. He had tried it himself before.

Lin Heng thought about it and decided that next time, he would gather some animal fat to make soap. Once successful, he could teach Xiulan and have her sell it on the street. In the future, he might even open a small workshop to make extra money.

Knowledge from later times was a powerful asset in this era.

Once Xiulan finished washing her hair, Lin Heng noticed the lip balm had solidified, confirming that he had used the right proportions.

He opened the bamboo tubes and found that eight small tubes of lip balm, each about 3-4 cm long, were ready. There were no modern twist-up tubes, so they would have to be wrapped in cloth for now.

“Xiulan, try it out!” Lin Heng first tested it on his own hand to make sure it was fine before handing it to her.

“Is this for your lips?” Xiulan blinked in surprise.

“Yes, it’s a lip balm I made myself. Try it,” Lin Heng smiled.

Xiulan understood, and her heart warmed. It felt like when they first met.

“Here, let me put it on you,” Lin Heng said, seeing her in a daze. He decided to apply it for her.

Xiulan’s lips were full and plump, with a natural M shape, though slightly cracked and dry. After applying the lip balm, they became a rich vermilion color, smooth and shiny with the beeswax and oil mixture.

The transformation made her look much more beautiful, leaving Lin Heng in awe. If she wore some makeup and a qipao, he could only imagine how stunning she would be.

“Wow, it looks great!” Caiyun couldn’t help but compliment.

She then turned to Lin Heng with a jealous tone, saying, “So, my dear brother, you’ve been busy making lip balm for Sister-in-law, but what about your poor sister who’s been taking care of the kids?”

“Yeah, my lips are cracked too, and you didn’t even give me one,” Lin Heng’s mother joked, happy to see her son being so kind to Xiulan.

“Lin Heng, how did you learn to make lip balm?” Liu Juan, Lin Heng’s sister-in-law, asked enviously. Xiulan was already more beautiful than her, and with the lip balm, she looked like a bride.

“You’re really talented! The lip balm you made could be sold,” Liu Juan’s husband, Lin Heng’s older brother, and the carpenter all looked surprised.

They had only seen rich women use such things, so it amazed them that Lin Heng could make it himself.

“Of course, I learned it from books. I went to the library in the city and read a lot of ancient texts. They had instructions on how to make it,” Lin Heng smiled. This wasn’t a lie; the books did indeed contain such information.

“As for the lip balm, of course, there’s enough for all of you,” Lin Heng said, handing out tubes to Caiyun, his mother, and his sister-in-law, leaving the rest for Xiulan.

Xiulan felt shy as everyone stared at her. She took the lip balm and went inside, her heart full of sweetness.

After Caiyun and the others tried it, they couldn’t help but admire how beautiful it made them look.

Caiyun was already pretty with fair skin, and the lip balm made her appear even more stunning, though her figure couldn’t compare to Xiulan’s.

There were many beautiful women and handsome men in the countryside, but they didn’t know how to dress up, which made them seem plain.

“This is too red. You young ones can use it, but it’s not quite right for me,” Lin Heng’s mother said, wiping it off.

She wanted to use it but was worried about what the other women in the village would say, given her age.

“Don’t worry, next time I’ll make one without color for you,” Lin Heng quickly reassured her.

He had forgotten about this, and it was his mistake.

“Unbelievable, Lin Heng knows how to make this,” Liu Juan marveled, looking at her reflection in the mirror. She felt that maybe the family had split up too early.

Before they separated, Lin Heng had seemed like a hopeless case, but now he was hunting and making things like this.

(End of Chapter)