201-210

Chapter 201

After another seven or eight days, the boat finally entered the territory of Kyoto when there was a thin layer of brittle ice on the water surface. Most of the boats at the Kyoto Canal had stopped operating. The canal mouth that was bustling about half a month ago was now deserted.

Seeing their boat coming, the clerk who managed the canal mouth hurried over to check the value of the goods on the boat, and then paid the tax silver according to the tax set by the court.

Lin Zhen, Gu Lin, Huang Yuwen and others who had taken a ride thanked Wei San and got off the boat with some gifts in their hands.

As soon as they stepped on the land beside the canal, the handymen working here surrounded them and vigorously recommended themselves: "Boss, I am strong enough. I can help you take your luggage to the city. It's only four cents. It's a good deal!"

Another handyman ran over and said, "Boss, me too. Only four cents is enough. I guarantee that you will be satisfied."

"..."

Seven or eight handymen surrounded them at once, and they were about to help them carry their things.

Lin Zhen looked at these handymen carefully, and after making sure that there was nothing wrong with them and that they were most likely not scammers, he said, "Are you all from Kyoto? Do you often hang around the city?"

Immediately, two people raised their hands, "Boss, my two brothers are from Kyoto. When we are not taking jobs here, we work as laborers in the city. We know the streets and alleys of Kyoto very well."

Lin Zhen called the two of them out, "Then you two can get an extra three cents for your wages. Come and move your things."

They had a lot of luggage, including bedding, clothes, and other small items, especially Huang Yuwen. Huang's mother prepared a lot of things he was used to. When they got on the boat, all the servants in the mansion were used to move everything. Now, seven or eight handymen and the four servants behind him were barely enough.

There were handymen carrying the luggage, so Lin Zhen and his friends walked with empty hands. Lin Zhen asked the two brothers, "Do you live in Kyoto or in the surrounding areas?"

The middle-aged man who was three or four years older said, "In the west of Kyoto, people like us who don't have any skills and no family background live there. People like the boss mostly live in the south."

"Oh, what are we like?"

The elder brother of the two brothers said, "We have money, and there are scholars in our family."

The two brothers made a living outside, and they saw a lot of people. Although they didn't know 100% of who was really rich, who was pretending to be rich, and who they had to avoid, they knew about 60% to 70% of it.

Just like when Lin Zhen and his group just got off the boat, although Huang Yuwen looked more like a young master, they asked Lin Zhen.

Lin Zhen smiled at the two men who had positioned him, and said, "Then you can tell us about the main streets in Kyoto, and find us an inn."

"Okay, Kyoto has four most famous streets..." With an extra three cents, the two brothers were very attentive and introduced several famous streets and districts in Kyoto.

For example, the south is suitable for them to find a house. People who live there are doing business and have a small family background. The houses are cleaner and tidier than those in the west, and life is more convenient.

The north is the area where court officials live. The closer you are to the imperial city, the higher your official position, and ordinary people can't go there.

The east is even more amazing, where all the royal relatives live, such as the Duke of Wei, the eldest princess, and other people who can shake Kyoto with a stomp of their feet.

Although there is no clear regulation on who should live in which place, if you are a court official and say that you live in Xicheng District, everyone will look at you differently.

Lin Zhen listened carefully, and drew a floor plan in his mind, so that he had a general impression of Kyoto. After entering the city, the two brothers found a mid-range inn for them to take their luggage. The

elder brother said, "Boss, this inn has been in the city for decades. The shopkeeper will not overcharge outsiders, and the food is good and the guests like it. But if you want to change to another inn, there is another one about a hundred steps from here."

Lin Zhen said, "Let's go to this one." He took out the copper coins specially exchanged in the capital city, counted out ten coins to the elder brother of the two brothers, and then dozens of coins to the younger brother. The rest of the people gave two more coins on top of the four coins, "Help us take the things to the lobby."

The two brothers and a few others did not expect to get more copper coins, and they bowed to Lin Zhen again and again to thank him.

People in their line of work have suffered from the cold and warmth, and encountered bad guests who treated them like livestock. They piled things on themselves hard, fearing that the four coins would be wasted.

Even a little kindness is precious to them.

They moved their luggage to the inn, and Lin Zhen took Gu Lin and the others to the counter to find the shopkeeper to check in. The weather was cold, there were few outsiders, and the business of the inn was average. The shopkeeper was also a little lazy. He sat on the chair behind the counter, leaning his head in a trance, not knowing what he was thinking.

It was not until Lin Zhen knocked on the counter that he came back to his senses and stood up quickly: "What kind of room do you want, guests? Our inn is swept twice a day and wiped once every three days. It is absolutely clean, and the food tastes good."

Lin Zhen raised his chin, "It was the two brothers who just said that your inn is good, so I stayed here by the way. There are nine of us here in total. Please open a few rooms for us."

When the shopkeeper heard him say this, he looked at the two brothers who were moving things. He thought for a while and remembered that the two brothers often did the work of carrying luggage and leading the way. Sometimes the guests they brought would also stay in his inn. Sometimes he saw that they were thirsty, so he brought them a few bowls of water to drink.

The shopkeeper smiled, not expecting that his momentary kindness would be rewarded. He said to Lin Zhen, "I see that the guests are tired from the journey, why don't you each get a room upstairs and have a good rest."

They were all young people, only Lin Zhen and Grandma Zhong were not convenient to live with them, so they needed to get a new room, and the others could live together.

As for the shopkeeper's suggestion of each person getting a room, he was not sure about the relationship between them, and he would see what Lin Zhen and the others said.

Huang Yuwen said, "Let's do it like on the boat. Chen Xing and I will have a room, Gu Lin and Zhong Yan will have a room, and the four people under me will also have two rooms, and Uncle Lin and Grandma Zhong will have one room each."

Lin Zhen also thought this was a good idea, and immediately booked six medium-sized rooms. The handyman who carried the luggage over there heard that they had settled here, and came over and said, "Boss, let us take your luggage upstairs. It will take you a while to carry so many things."

"Thank you."

"Boss, you are too polite." Several handymen quickly moved the things to their rooms.

"Huh..." Lin Zhen sat in the room of the inn, scanned the simple but clean layout, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Finally got off the boat.

After a night's rest, the next day several people went to the South City to find a house, planning to settle down as soon as possible.

Considering the future, Lin Zhen rented a house in Huaisifang, which has a shop nearby and specializes in business. The front is around the shop and people can live, just like the houses rented in Anyuan Town and Fucheng, combining commercial and domestic use.

As for others, because they have not yet participated in the college entrance examination, they don't know if they will have the opportunity to become a minor official in the future, so they simply rented a house in a residential area not far from him for a short period of time, planning to wait until after the college entrance examination.

In a blink of an eye, it was the New Year. The weather in Kyoto was much colder than that in Anyuan Town, and it was dry and cold enough to make people's skin crack. Lin Zhen's business had not yet started. First, it was difficult to recruit workers in such a cold weather. Second, the two products he was going to make, glass lipstick, could not let outsiders know the inside story, so the choice of address was relatively limited. After a few visits, it was actually until the New Year.

After the Chinese New Year, Gu Lin, Zhong Yan and the other two were studying together every day. Lin Zhen took advantage of the spring breeze to go around Kyoto to learn about the current fashion trends and the patterns that everyone likes.

Then he learned that the most popular goods in Kyoto now are a kind of face wipe called water-glossy powder from the south, and clothes that are lighter and thinner than before.

A box of water-glossy powder costs three taels of silver, and bargaining is not allowed. The clothes are also shockingly expensive.

Lin Zhen bought two boxes of water-glossy powder to study. He is making lipstick now, and he will also make some cosmetics in the future to see what effects the current materials can achieve.

Lin Zhen had just come out of the shop with the gloss powder when a young lady in luxurious clothes and with a somewhat unruly face called him from behind: "Hey, brother, I have something to tell you."

Lin Zhen did not realize that she was calling him at first, and continued to walk forward, and then was suddenly pulled from behind, "Did you not hear our lady calling you? Or are you pretending to be deaf?"

This pull almost made the gloss powder in Lin Zhen's hand fall to the ground. He turned around with the gloss powder and looked at the girl who was obviously dressed as a maid who pulled him: "Your lady called hello, but I didn't say hello, so I naturally have no obligation to stop and listen to her."

While saying this, Lin Zhen pulled her arms off.

The maid was stunned for a moment because of his appearance when he turned around, but soon frowned with more disgust: "The last two boxes of gloss powder are in your hand. Who else can we call if we don't call you?"

The two were right at the door of the store. The maid's voice was still very loud, which attracted the attention of most people at once, and they were dazed when they saw Lin Zhen.

The young lady the maid was talking about came over with small steps: "I'll pay double the money for the two boxes of glossy powder in your hand, give him the money."

Wow, Lin really saw it.

If this lady didn't speak so condescendingly, as if she was sending away a beggar, it would be okay for him to give her one box of the two boxes of glossy powder and keep one box for research, since he didn't need it anyway.

He raised his eyebrows and looked at the young lady: "I'm sorry, these two boxes are my private property since I took them from the second-hand shopkeeper in the store. I have no intention of selling them."

The young lady didn't expect that she paid double the price, but this guy didn't give them to her. Her already unruly expression became even more annoying.

Lin really didn't want to talk to her, so he took the glossy powder and turned to leave.

As soon as he took a step, the young lady said angrily: "Stop!"

Chapter 202

Lin Zhen didn't care about her at all, just walked on his own.

Suddenly, hurried footsteps sounded behind him. Before Lin Zhen could step to the side to avoid the young lady who looked down on him, a voice sounded behind him: "Jiang Tingting, the man has said that he won't sell it to you, and you are still pestering me. I think you should go see your brother quickly. I just saw him being dragged out of the casino on the way here. I'm afraid he's going to be beaten up."

Lin Zhen turned his head and saw a woman who looked familiar standing not far from the young lady who looked down on him.

Jiang Tingting, who was forcing to buy the water-glossy powder, heard what the woman said, and her face turned pale and blue. Seeing that she didn't dare to confront the woman, she glared at Lin Zhen fiercely and left with her sleeves swung.

Lin Zhen didn't even look at her. He looked at the woman who let Jiang Tingting go, nodded and signaled that she was ready to leave.

Suddenly, the woman came over with her skirt lifted up, and said a little embarrassedly: "Actually, I want to buy the water-glossy powder you have just like her. I see you bought two boxes, can you give me one box?"

The woman obviously felt that what she did was no different from Jiang Tingting just now, and her cheeks were a little red.

At such a close distance, Lin Zhen finally knew why he felt that she looked kind. The eyebrows and eyes of the woman in front of him looked very similar to those of the boss of Wei Sanwei, but one was tough and the other was soft.

Lin Zhen handed her one of the boxes of water-glossy powder: "The original price is fine."

"Thank you!" The woman was very happy and quickly asked the maid to give the silver to Lin Zhen.

She looked at Lin Zhen and said, "Brother, are you buying water-glossy powder to participate in the Flower Festival on the first day of February?" "

?" Lin Zhen, who just wanted to buy water-glossy powder to study it, looked at her, "Flower Festival?"

"Brother, don't you know about the Flower Festival?"

"That's a good day for us, girl and boy!" The young girl seemed to like the Flower Festival very much, and said with sparkling eyes, "On the Flower Festival, girl and boy will put on all kinds of makeup with flowers as the symbol, and go to the Flower Goddess Mountain to play. There will also be a flower master recognized by everyone, who will lead everyone to burn incense to the Flower Goddess."

After saying that, the young girl looked at Lin Zhen embarrassedly and apologized, "Brother is so handsome, maybe he can be chosen as the flower master."

And when Lin Zhen thought about the crowds of girls and boys competing for beauty, he felt that it was not good for him to blend in. He could make lipstick, eyebrow pencil and other things, but he couldn't put these things on his face. Let alone meeting people after putting them on, it would be good if he didn't scare himself to death.

He took the silver handed over by the maid and said, "Give the water-glossy powder to the girl, I'll leave first."

"Oh," the young girl stared at his back as he left, and whispered to her maid, "He is so handsome, more beautiful than the ladies in the palace."

The youngest daughter of the Duke of Weiguo had often been in and out of the palace since she was a child, and she had seen most of the concubines in the palace.

But she felt that the ladies in the palace were not as good as the boy just now.

Lin Zhen, who returned home with the remaining box of water-glossy powder, poured out the things he had prepared for the test, water, oil, and a mixture of water and oil, and then took a few small plates and opened the box of water-glossy powder. In

the flat porcelain box, which was only the size of a child's palm, there was a layer of finely ground powder that was a little whiter than the skin color, and it was also equipped with a piece of fine velvet cloth to pat the powder on the face.

Lin Zhen used a small spoon to put the powder into the small plate, and then added water, oil, and a mixture of water and oil, and finally put a little on the back of his hand and patted it with the velvet cloth.

Soon, Lin Zhen determined that this box of water-light powder that was popular in Kyoto was not sweat-proof at all, and because the powder was very dry, slightly dry skin would become drier after applying it. However, because the color of the water-light powder was well adjusted, it did have a good whitening effect after applying it on the skin, and it was not as exaggerated as the powder on the market. The skin felt very smooth, and once it appeared, it made the girls and boys who love beauty fall in love with it.

There are not many things that can be entertained now, and the girls and boys at home have nothing to think about except thinking about these things.

Lin Zhen soon had an idea. He could refer to modern foundation liquid and use the extracted water that does not meet the essential oil standard to mix the powder, provide several color numbers, and mix and use it now. Although it is a little more troublesome than dry water-light powder, the water that does not meet the essential oil standard still contains some oil, which can moisturize the skin and make the powder a little waterproof. The effect is definitely good.

With a lot of money in hand, Lin Zhen was bolder than when he was making spicy hot pot milk tea. He immediately went to work as soon as he thought of it. He first went to the kiln to negotiate with the people and asked them to burn two sets of paper according to his drawings. They looked strange in their eyes, but they could actually extract flower water. Then he ordered a batch of porcelain boxes and porcelain bottles for the powder and flower water that he was about to make.

He wanted a lot of things, and they were all delicate objects. Lin Zhen asked the owner of the kiln: "How many days will it take to burn them?"

The owner of the kiln pondered and calculated: "About seven days, or we have not burned much recently, so we can spare two kilns to burn for you. When it's busy, you may not be able to wait for a month."

"Then boss, please hurry up. I'm a little anxious about these things. It will take too long." Lin Zhen planned to make a small batch first, and find a store selling rouge and powder before the flower news to sell them. Imagine that the boys and girls used his things to appear in such a crowded occasion, and the subsequent effect would definitely be huge.

If he can operate it well, maybe he can build a cement road in Liyu Village soon!

This is the voice of Lin Zhen, who is still afraid of horse-drawn carriages.

The kiln owner looked at Lin Zhen, who was obviously a brother, but came to him in person to tell him that he wanted to burn something, and pointed to the first drawing in Lin Zhen's hand: "Other things are easy to say, we burn conventional ones, but this thing is a little uncertain."

The thing he said he was unsure about was actually the simple distillation equipment drawn by Lin Zhen. Since there is no glass now, these things can only be replaced by porcelain. There are a lot of bottles and tubes. The kiln owner has no idea what this thing is used for.

In other words, the knowledge that Lin Zhen needs can be used to extract not-so-pure flower water, so it can be made of porcelain.

Lin Zhen said to the kiln owner, "Boss, just keep firing. As long as you can get two sets of things out in the end, I will bear the losses in the middle."

"But let's be frank. I want to take a look at the lost materials myself."

Porcelain firing is not cheap. Opening a kiln is a lot of money. He will not be a sucker and let others count the other losses on his head.

Seeing that he was so happy, the kiln owner smiled and said, "Don't worry, brother. I have been in this business for decades and I am a famous honest man."

Lin Zhen also smiled and said, "Let's be polite before force. You don't suffer any loss, and I don't suffer any loss. Harmony brings wealth."

"Hahahaha, brother, you are an interesting person. You are right. Harmony brings wealth the best. There is so much money in the world. It is important to make money comfortably."

After returning from firing the kiln, Lin Zhen went to buy the latest and best new rice, soaked it in water, and then ran to a place not far from his rented house to find the shopkeeper who specializes in selling flowers and asked him to collect plum blossoms for him. The only thing that

can be collected in this season and has a relatively high cost performance is plum blossoms.

After discussing with the boss, he gave him a small amount of silver as a commission, and asked the waiter to deliver it to him after receiving it. The flowers must be fresh, and those that were not fresh would not be accepted.

The flower seller readily agreed to make money just by talking, and agreed with Lin Zhen to deliver the first batch of plum blossoms in eight days, and then follow Lin Zhen's instructions to see when to deliver and how many to deliver.

Huang Yuwen and Chen Xing, who came to Gu Lin to review their studies, found that Lin Zhen was very busy recently, either tinkering with a bunch of things in the house or running outside.

That day, they saw Lin Zhen pushing a small mill with his hands. Huang Yuwen, who was a little tired from studying, came over and said, "Uncle Lin, what are you doing?" Lin

Zhen, who had already made a batch of bad things the day before and didn't get the color he wanted, turned the small mill while adding rice to the mill control and said, "Make some powder?"

"Powder?" There is rice powder in Kyoto, Huang Yuwen said, "Are you going to eat powder tonight?"

Lin Zhen smiled and said, "It's powder for applying on the face."

"Uncle Lin, are you going to start a rouge and powder business?" Huang Yuwen had never seen Lin Zhen use these things before, and seeing him make these things, he could only think that he was using them for business. After

adding all the rice in the basin, Lin Zhen used a small brush to sweep all the rice paste into the bucket, then added water to the mill to flush out all the rice paste in the gaps, and then changed to a small mill with finer cracks to continue grinding.

In order to have a good fit, the powder must be fine. The small grinder made a rustling sound, and Lin Zhen said, "The food business is still too tiring. I have to get up early and go to bed late every day of the year, so I want to change my business. As long as the rouge and powder are made, I can put them there and sell them at any time."

"By the way, you can try it for me then and see the effect."

"Ah!" Huang Yuwen didn't expect that he would come here to ask a question. In a few days, he would have to put on rouge and powder. He looked at Lin Zhen, "Uncle Lin, I..."

Lin Zhen was depressed when he said this. His skin was too white and there were no blemishes. The previous powder could not be seen whether it was good or bad, and how whitening it was...

If it was in Liyu Village or Anyuan Town, he could ask acquaintances to try it, but when they came to Kyoto, it was winter, and the neighbors including himself were staying at home for the winter. There were not many acquaintances, and it was not easy to ask others to try something that was used on his body.

Seeing Huang Yuwen's expression of "I'm a man, how can I use rouge and powder", Lin Zhen deliberately looked at Gu Lin and said in a teasing tone: "You three can't escape."

Huang Yuwen looked at Gu Lin: "Gu Lin wants to try it too!"

Gu Lin's appearance with rouge and powder was too scary, Huang Yuwen couldn't imagine it.

No wonder he was so scared. Most of the powders used now are extremely white, with a big color difference from people's original skin color. Using it is like putting on a white mask.

From this, the aesthetic of whitening has also developed, but whether it is beautiful or not can be seen from Huang Yuwen's expression.

Whitening is the current cutting-edge trend of Dayu, and ordinary people can't appreciate it, so the water-glossy powder that is slightly compatible with the skin color will sell so well.

Chapter 203:

The rice slurry that has been ground three times is placed in a bucket. After settling overnight, pour out the water on the surface, shovel out the sediment at the bottom of the bucket, and then add water to filter. This time, three layers of fine cloth should be placed on the bucket to let the dripping rice slurry settle again.

After filtering this time, the solid is placed in a cool place to dry, and then slowly ground in a hand-milled copper bowl, and taken back for the final color adjustment process. The

color adjustment process is a method that Lin Zhen found after many attempts. At first, he used dyes on the market, but it didn't work. He couldn't adjust the texture he wanted. Finally, he thought of a way. The powders from different origins and different varieties of rice have slightly different colors. For example, green stem rice, purple heart rice, glutinous rice, and late rice have different effects when exchanged according to different proportions.

Seven or eight days passed quickly. That morning, when Lin Zhen went to the kiln owner to get porcelain, the flower shop owner called him: "Brother Lin, I'll send you the flowers tomorrow."

Since Lin Zhen told him that he wanted plum blossoms two days ago, he spread the news to the flower suppliers. Because Lin Zhen didn't care about the variety, he also wanted ordinary plum blossoms. Naturally, the flower suppliers couldn't miss this opportunity to make money. Today, they sent some samples to the flower shop owner.

Of course, Lin Zhen couldn't forget the plum blossoms he ordered, so he agreed: "Okay, send them while they are fresh."

"Don't worry, I saw that the flowers sent by the people below are all good flowers that are about to bloom. They are very fresh."

"Then we'll see you tomorrow and talk later." Lin Zhen waved to the flower shop owner and left in the carriage.

There were so many things, so he specially rented a carriage and a driver. Gu Lin, Chen Xing, Huang Yuwen, and Zhong Yan, who also came with him, looked at him and put down his hand after greeting the flower shop owner, and couldn't help but smile.

In their memories, Uncle Lin never seemed to be depressed. Even when he was framed by Cai Jinzhu and scolded by many people, it was almost the same as now.

This is an open-top horse-drawn carriage, specially used to transport goods, so they all sat directly on the cart.

Gu Lin sat next to Lin Zhen, and after he sat down, he said, "When did Uncle Lin go to the kiln to burn the things he ordered?"

"Seven days ago, when I saw that you were studying hard, I came to burn the kiln alone without informing you." The first part refers to you, and the second part refers to you.

Gu Lin's heart seemed to be held tightly by him, and different feelings surged every moment.

He looked at Lin Zhen, "Uncle Lin ordered something for the kiln."

Lin Zhen counted on his fingers and said, "The porcelain box for powder, the porcelain bottle for flower water, and the device for extracting flower water. The porcelain box and the porcelain bottle are nothing, but the device for extracting flower water is the most troublesome thing. I don't know how much material is lost in the kiln."

While talking, Lin Zhen explained the principle inside to them. Huang Yuwen couldn't help but say, "Isn't that the alchemy furnace?"

Lin Zhen gave him a thumbs up. This description was unparalleled. He smiled and said, "That's right, your Uncle Lin, I want to use flowers to make elixirs. When the time comes, I will give you two pills to try."

"Really? Uncle Lin, when did you learn this skill?" Lin Zhen's expression was so real that Huang Yuwen actually believed his lies.

Chen Xing, Zhong Yan looked at Huang Yuwen like this and couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth.

When the carriage arrived outside the kiln, Lin Zhen just took them in and saw the owner of the kiln walking back and forth outside. He hurriedly stepped forward and said, "I haven't seen you for a few days. Is my boss ready?"

The owner of the kiln felt a headache when he saw Lin Zhen, and said with a wrinkled face, "Brother, you are finally here. Let me tell you, your stuff is really hard to make. Several of us masters almost cursed."

"If you can't make it here, I don't know where to find someone to make it in this huge Kyoto." Lin Zhen secretly praised this kiln and the owner of the kiln.

What's more, he was telling the truth. This kiln was the best he could find, apart from its reputation. If it couldn't make what he wanted, the idea of ​​Huashui could only be put aside for the time being.

The kiln owner was secretly pleased by his compliments and flicked his shirt: "Although it was difficult, I finally got the job done for me. Qiangzi, bring the things from the seventh kiln here. Remember to be careful. If they break, I'll still have a way to sell you!"

The worker who was called agreed and took a few people to carry the things over.

Two large wooden boxes, and two larger wooden boxes.

Lin Zhen couldn't wait to squat down and open the largest wooden box. He saw a simple distillation device of white porcelain inside. In the eyes of others, it was just a strange-shaped jar, bottle and tube. Only he knew what these things were used for.

The other two boxes contained porcelain boxes and bottles for powder and floral water. The color was the lighter plum color he wanted, which was particularly colorful when held in his hands.

Lin Zhen was very satisfied. He stood up and asked the kiln owner, "Boss, the kiln masters are really good at craftsmanship. I am very satisfied with the things. How much is the total silver?"

The kiln owner said, "The porcelain boxes and porcelain bottles are a total of thirty taels. The other two sets of things consumed a total of five sets of materials during the firing process. With the two successful sets, it is four hundred and sixty taels, a total of four hundred and ninety taels."

Huang Yuwen, Chen Xing, and Zhong Yan who came with them did not expect that these bottles and jars would be so expensive, especially the strange things that they did not know what to use, which accounted for the absolute majority.

Lin Zhen gave the silver to the kiln owner, and moved the things to the carriage with Gu Lin and Huang Yuwen, and rushed home.

After arriving home, Lin Zhen put the porcelain boxes and porcelain bottles in the room he had specially vacated to store these things, and put the distillation equipment in another room, and assembled them by himself.

In fact, this thing is very simple. It mainly consists of three parts. One is a bottle that is almost the same size as the wooden barrel for the raw materials, a condensation tube that has to be cut into three parts because it is too long, a curved receiving tube, and a bottle for the final product.

Considering the amount of floral water he would use, the distillation device naturally had to be enlarged, which looked a bit strange.

Lin Zhen pulled up his sleeves and first closed the three sections of the tube, then wrapped the interface with cloth again and again, and then used a wooden frame to stand the device up. A stove was built directly under the bottle that was as big as the wooden barrel for the raw materials, and the stove hole was left relatively large to facilitate the addition of firewood.

He worked on this for several hours, and before he knew it, it was dark outside. The twilight room suddenly shone with light. Lin Zhen looked up and saw Gu Lin walking in from outside with an oil lamp.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "I forget the time when I'm busy. I'll clean up and go cook."

"The meal is ready. Just wash your hands and face and you can eat." Gu Lin walked up to him and stretched out his hand to him.

Lin Zhen didn't expect that he was so busy that he didn't even know when he cooked the meal. He touched his nose, put his hand on his palm, and stood up following his strength.

Lin Zhen pointed to the almost finished distillation device with some joy, and said to Gu Lin, "Look, this is the strange thing I brought back today. When the flower shop owner brings the flowers tomorrow, he will add water and put them in here."

He pointed to the big bottle stuck on the stove, "Then the water vapor will flow along the thin neck on it to the condenser, and then to the receiving tube here, and finally collected in the bottle over here." His

face, which was a little flushed due to labor, was full of smiles. He came up to Gu Lin and said, "This thing is too simple. It can't achieve a vacuum, that is, an environment without the air we breathe. The quality of the flower water extracted is not high, but it is good enough."

"It's definitely worth the effort I've put in these days."

Gu Lin listened to him talking. Because he had been around him since he was a child, he had heard him say a lot of strange words, so he roughly understood the principle of the distillation device.

He nodded: "Call me if you have something to do tomorrow."

"You want to review your lessons--"

Gu Lin's fingers fell on his nose and twisted off a few strands of hair that were stuck to it because of sweat: "If it's Uncle Lin, it's okay, I'm happy to do it."

I don't know if it's because he has been holding a pen and writing for many years, and has been smoked by ink, but there is also a faint scent of ink on his fingers, which diffuses lightly into Lin Zhen's nose.

Lin Zhen looked at his eyebrows and thought about how he had been busy with powder and other things these days, and there were Huang Yuwen, Chen Xing, Zhong Yan and others. They ate after work every day and went to bed after eating. It has been a long time since I looked at him seriously.

He seemed to have grown up a little bit, and was already half a head taller than him.

Lin Zhen tilted his head, and his slightly plump lips gently kissed the tip of his finger that had just landed on his nose and had not yet been removed, and looked at him with charming eyes at the end of his eyes.

A light red kissed his finger, and the tip of his penis was faintly visible between his open lips and teeth.

Gu Lin didn't expect that he would suddenly kiss him, and kiss his finger, looking at him with such eyes, and his Adam's apple, which became more and more obvious as he grew, slid up and down.

Lin Zhen smiled, grabbed his shoulders, stood on tiptoe and pecked his lips twice, then licked his chun. Gu Lin's lips immediately opened a little, and Lin Zhen's penis slid in.

"Knock--" Gu Lin put the oil lamp in his hand on the windowsill next to him. Perhaps because of his eagerness, he almost didn't put it down steadily and fell off the windowsill.

"Zhenzhen."

"Zhenzhen, can you eat my mouth again?"

"Zhenzhen... I feel uncomfortable here..."

When he came out of the house, Lin Zhen's legs were shaking. He squatted on the ground, looking at himself reflected in the basin, reached out and touched his lips, and gave himself four big words, it's all your fault!

Why tease a teenager for no reason? That's asking for

a lesson, a lesson. Don't be so careless next time.

Chapter 204

After lunch and rest, the waiter sent by the flower shop owner knocked on the door of Lin Zhen's rented house the next morning, "Boss Lin, Boss Lin, I'm here to bring you flowers."

Lin Zhen, who had already woken up, tied her hair up and walked towards the door: "I'm coming!"

"Squeak--" The door opened, and Lin Zhen looked at the waiter in the cold wind, "Come in and have a sip of hot tea, and I'll go to the room to get the money."

"Thank you for your kindness, Boss Lin, I'll stay here. The store just received a batch of flowers and plants today and needs to be taken care of, otherwise they won't be able to bloom on the day of the flower sign." Seeing that Lin Zhen had a good temper, the waiter became more lively and chatted with him.

Lin Zhen put the door panel aside and asked curiously: "Flowers and plants at this time of year? Are they grown in the greenhouse?" There

are still two months of cold weather after the New Year, and there will be light snow recently. Lin Zhen really can't think of where to find flowers and plants except in the greenhouse.

The waiter said, "We bought them from a hot spring village outside the city and kept them in the house behind our shop. We have to keep the charcoal fire going every day and water them at any time. They are difficult to take care of."

"But we can make a lot of money from these flowers, and they are not enough to sell."

This was the second time Lin Zhen heard about the flower festival, which was quite unique to Dayu. He had to make powder and lipstick in time. He had to make a few sets within five days at the latest and take them to the rouge and powder in the city to show them to the shopkeepers, suggesting that they push these goods to the regular customers in the shop, and then hire a few people to set up a small workshop and slowly expand the business.

After putting the door panel in place, Lin Zhen picked up the bundles of plum blossoms tied on the shoulder pole and looked at them. The cuts of the branches were very fresh, and the plum blossoms on them were basically just showing their stamens. The light plum fragrance was refreshing.

He was very satisfied. After giving the silver to the waiter, he was about to carry the branches in, when a pair of long legs suddenly appeared beside him, easily lifting all the branches that were probably more than 200 kilograms, and easily took them to the backyard.

Lin Zhen touched his nose and followed Gu Lin. Young people are very strong.

Gu Lin put the flower branches on the ground and turned to ask him, "Uncle Lin, how do we deal with these flowers?"

"Pick the flowers, wash them, and put them in a cool place to dry the water before distilling them." He bought two large dustpans a few days ago. They were washed and dried and placed by the wall. Lin Zhen rolled the dustpans vertically and went to the house to get two basins. After Gu Lin drew water from the well in the yard, he picked the fresh plum blossoms from the branches and put them in the basins.

The water in the well was not cold. It even had some heat on the cold day. It felt a little warm to the touch, so that Lin Zhen and Gu Lin's hands did not suffer.

Bundles of plum blossoms were picked clean, washed briefly in the basins, and poured into the dustpans. The two wide dustpans were filled to the brim and dripped with water on the stools.

After the water of the plum blossoms was almost dried, Lin Zhen began to extract the flower water.

Plum blossoms were placed in a container that was no longer a porcelain bottle, but a porcelain barrel. Water was added, and then a fire was lit. Because it was not a glass container, he could not see what was going on inside. Lin Zhen could only listen to the sound inside to estimate the time and temperature.

"Gulp." The water in the porcelain barrel was boiling fiercely, and a little bit of heat and the fragrance of plum blossoms leaked out from the places that were not well sealed. Lin Zhen put the firewood into the stove hole to keep the fire strong. Finally

, when the first bundle of firewood in Lin Zhen's hand was mostly burned, there was a sound of water dripping from the porcelain bottle at the end, which was located under the condenser and the receiving tube. It worked! Lin Zhen couldn't help but curl his lips. This device was too simple, and he was only 70% sure. He even thought about finding other substitutes that were not as effective if the distillation method didn't work. Now everything is going smoothly in the direction he wanted. The fragrance of plum blossoms spread, and as more and more distilled liquid dripped into the porcelain bottle, the fragrance became more and more intense. Not only Lin Zhen's yard, but also the neighbors next door could smell this smell. A girl sniffed and looked up at her mother: "Mom, what's that smell? It smells so good!" The woman who was working with her head down also smelled the smell. There were many plum trees in Kyoto, and the woman had smelled the fragrance of plum blossoms when they were in bloom, but it was not so strong. It was like putting a thousand or ten thousand plum blossoms close to her nose and sniffing deeply to smell the smell. The naughty girl raised her nose, wanting to smell where the fragrant smell came from. She quickly ran back and said to the woman: "Mom, it seems that the family next door is doing something, eating or something else!" The woman looked at the courtyard wall and tapped the girl's forehead with her finger: "Mom doesn't know, it's their own business, you little monkey can't disturb them at will." "I know..." The girl sat back on the stool, fiddling with the lip balm and powder boxes at her side, and continued to think about what kind of makeup she would put on on the day of the flower sign. Many of her friends were going to go that day, and they all agreed to dress up beautifully together. When Lin Zhen and others in the room heard the sizzling sound coming from the porcelain barrel, they knew that the water inside was about to dry up, so they quickly asked Gu Lin to remove the firewood from the stove hole, waited for the temperature to dissipate a little, wrapped the boiling hot porcelain barrel with a wet towel, and opened the lid. There was only a little water at the bottom, and the plum blossoms on top had been boiled to the point of losing their original color and turning a little white. He took the flowers out, added water and petals, and started the second pot of distillation. After a busy day, all the petals were used up, and it took a full fifteen porcelain bottles that were custom-made to hold the flower water. Lin Zhen took the flower water under the lamp and took a look. He saw that the liquid in the porcelain bottle was clear, with a little bit of unnoticeable oil, and most of it was water condensed from steam. The originally rich aroma was also diluted during the distillation, but Lin Zhen thought it was just right. After covering the lid of the porcelain bottle, Lin Zhen said to Gu Lin, who had been busy with him all day, "It's done. I'll put those things away when they get cold. Be careful not to burn your hands." "Yeah," Gu Lin said from behind him, seeing the smile on his face, "Have you finished what Uncle Lin wants?" "It's done," Lin Zhen turned around with the porcelain bottle, "When I make a few more tubes of lip balm, I can sell them in major powder and rouge shops in Kyoto." "By the way, didn't I say the other day that I would let Yuwen, Chen Xing, and Zhong Yan..." " Forget Zhong Yan. He has such a conservative personality that I can't bear to put those things on his face." "Only Yuwen, Chen Xing, and you." Gu Lin paused with the things in his hand, and thought of the big white face with powder falling in the wind that he had seen on the street, and pursed his lips. The next day, Huang Yuwen, Chen Xing, and Zhong Yan, who rented a house not far from them, came. Lin Zhen took out the powder and floral water that he had made during this period of time, and asked Huang Yuwen, Chen Xing, and Gu Lin to sit in a row. Huang Yuwen's face was so tense that it was almost like iron. He looked at what Lin Zhen was fiddling with and swallowed his saliva: "Uncle Lin, this, this thing will make your face whiter?" Chen Xing, who was sitting next to him, had the same expression. Only Gu Lin was as calm as usual. Lin Zhen took out an appropriate amount of powder with a small wooden spoon, added powders of other colors while adjusting Huang Yuwen's skin color, and then added the plum blossom water distilled yesterday and mixed it well: "This is a powder mixed according to your skin color. The function is to make your skin shiny and energetic, not too white." "Come on, stretch your face towards me." Lin Zhen found his expression funny, tried hard to recall the makeup skills, and smeared the mixed powder on Huang Yuwen's face. They had all applied the flower water beforehand, and their skin was still a little moisturized. The liquid powder was easily spread once it was applied.

There was no powder puff, and the existing makeup tools could not be used on the liquid powder he mixed, so Lin Zhen could only pat it open little by little with his fingertips.

Huang Yuwen, whose face was being manipulated by him, closed her eyes tightly, while Chen Xing, who was nervous beside her, gradually calmed down and slowly showed a look of surprise.

"You can open your eyes now. Apply powder." Lin Zhen held Huang Yuwen's face and looked around. He was very satisfied and asked Chen Xing and Gu Lin Zhongyan beside him, "How is it?"

Chen Xing looked at Huang Yuwen's face and said, "Amazing, Uncle Lin, this is like changing Yuwen's face."

Lin Zhen smiled and said, "It's not that exaggerated. Yuwen was born with good looks. After applying powder, 70% of her good looks are shown." Applying

powder is just the beginning. Lin Zhen held Huang Yuwen's face and said, "Now I will trim his eyebrows and make the shape of his eyebrows clearer and more suitable for him."

Huang Yuwen, who was being manipulated, was ready to be similar to those people on the street, but seeing Chen Xing's reaction, it seemed that it was not the case. He reached out and touched his face and found that his skin was very smooth, and there was no feeling of tightness and dryness in winter.

Huang Yuwen looked at Lin Zhen and wanted to see what he looked like, but was stopped by Lin Zhen: "Don't move, be careful not to shave your eyebrows off."

Huang Yuwen didn't dare to move when he heard that his eyebrows would be shaved off, and sat on the stool obediently.

Soon, Lin Zhen, who was just trimming his messy eyebrows, took the eyebrow pencil bought from the store outside and added some along his eyebrows, and then put some colorless, moisturizing lip balm on his slightly dry lips.

"Okay, take a look for yourself." Lin Zhen let go of his face, moved the stool back to where he sat, and handed the bronze mirror to him.

Huang Yuwen held the bronze mirror and saw that the figure in the bronze mirror was not the pale face and red lips he thought, but a very handsome appearance. He used to feel that his eyebrows were a little drooping and looked a little bit listless, but now they are in line with his expectations.

And his face looks better than before, and the whole person looks different.

"It's still pretty good." Huang Yuwen took the bronze mirror and looked up and down.

"Looks good, right? The floral water and powder I just used are the best ratios I found after many attempts. Not only does it fit your skin, but it also pursues your natural beauty." Chen Xing and Huang Yuwen's skin is different, it's yellowish and rougher, so Lin Zhen added purple rice powder to the ordinary powder and asked him to apply another layer of floral water, and applied it to him while talking to Huang Yuwen.

Don't say it, his triangular cat skills are pretty good.

Chapter 205

Because Chen Xing had an ordinary, slightly delicate appearance, and his skin was a little yellow and rough, the change after using Lin Zhen's powder was amazing, and he looked three or four points better in an instant.

Huang Yuwen held the bronze mirror in his hand in front of him and let him see what he looked like now.

Finally, it was Gu Lin. When Lin Zhen mixed the powder and flower water suitable for Gu Lin and watched him close his eyes obediently under his instructions, he gritted his teeth.

This kid is only obedient on the surface!

In fact, he is very fierce!

Lin Zhen's fingers were filled with liquid powder, and he gently patted it on Gu Lin's face. Although Gu Lin's skin color could not reach his whiteness, it was not dark or yellow. Perhaps because of frequent martial arts training and fast metabolism, his skin was very elastic and almost flawless. There was no acne on his face that was inevitable for young people.

So just apply a thin layer and do some modification.

Even the eyebrows don't need to be trimmed, his eyebrows are very beautiful.

Suddenly, when Lin Zhen was looking at his facial features, Gu Lin, whose face was held by him, opened his eyes and looked at him with dark eyes.

They had never been so close in front of outsiders, especially in front of Huang Yuwen and others who knew their previous relationship, and they had always kept the distance between elders and juniors.

But now in front of the three people, Lin Zhen held his face, and unconsciously moved his body closer to him, as if he was nestling in Gu Lin's arms.

Lin Zhen blinked, straightened up calmly, moved the stool away a little, and asked the only audience Zhong Yan: "How about it, can we do this business?"

"Uncle Lin always has ingenuity, and whatever business he does makes people's eyes light up." Zhong Yan said sincerely.

Lin Zhen was also very satisfied with what he made, and put away the powder and flower water.

In addition to flower water and powder, Lin Zhen's plan also includes lipstick. The production of lipstick is much simpler than powder and flower water. Buy some natural pigments, beeswax and other things that can be seen on the market, and it can be made in half a day.

So once the distillation and powdering of the flower water was completed, Lin Zhen felt relieved.

Two days later, Lin Zhen packed the packaged powder, flower water, and four tubes of lipstick in different colors into a small box filled with cotton, said hello to Gu Lin, and walked towards the largest rouge and powder shops in Kyoto.

The first rouge and powder shop that Lin Zhen chose was in the center of the south city. From the information he had heard, it was opened in the past three or four years. It specializes in selling rouge and powder in the south and has a certain reputation.

They also sell the water-glowing powder this time, and the quantity is quite large.

Lin Zhen walked into the store called Furong Pavilion with the things he made. He looked around and saw that the rouge and powder shop covered a very large area and was divided into two floors. There were all kinds of rouge and powder, ointments and lip balms on the neatly arranged cabinets. It was still early and there were no customers in the store.

So as soon as he entered, the waiter came up and said, "Mr. Husband, what do you want?"

Lin Zhen retracted his gaze and said, "I'm not here to buy anything, I want to do business with your store."

The waiter was obviously not the first time he encountered such a thing, and said, "Mr. Husband also knows the craft of making rouge and powder, and wants to sell things in our store?"

Lin Zhen nodded, "Yes."

The waiter said in a normal way, "Then waiter, wait a moment, I'll go and tell our shopkeeper."

So Lin Zhen waited here, smelling some messy fragrance in the air.

"Shopkeeper, it's this man, who wants to sell things in our store." The waiter came back soon, and Lin Zhen turned around and saw a middle-aged man of medium build coming down from upstairs.

When he saw Lin Zhen, his eyes flashed with surprise, and his tone softened: "Does my husband make rouge, powder, or something else?"

Lin Zhen carried the box: "Powder, face lotion, and lip balm."

"My husband knows a lot."

Lin Zhen thought he would let him show him something, but he didn't expect that the shopkeeper just looked at him straight and said: "I wonder if my husband knew the rules of our store before entering our store. No matter what goods, powder and rouge are ten cents, and lip balm is slightly cheaper, eight cents." My goodness

, Lin Zhen was so shocked by the price that he thought he had heard it wrong. The rouge and powder in the store were almost sold to customers for more than one or two taels of silver.

And this shopkeeper didn't even look at the goods and gave such an outrageous price, which was really unacceptable.

He looked at the shopkeeper: "Is there no room for negotiation?"

The shopkeeper looked at him with a strange expression: "Once you leave our Furong Pavilion, no matter which shop you go to, the price is the same."

"In fact, if you are really skilled, you can sign a contract with our Furong Pavilion and make rouge and powder exclusively for us. The money you earn will be higher than this."

Lin Zhen didn't even think about opening his box. He said no and walked out with the box.

The shopkeeper was not angry at being rejected. He smiled and said: "If you change your mind at any time, you can come back. The price is still the same as we agreed before."

Lin Zhen had already walked out of Furong Pavilion. He frowned slightly, thinking about the shopkeeper's words, and walked slowly to the second shop that also sold rouge and powder.

After entering, the waiter also entertained him. When he heard that he wanted to bring his own products to their shop to sell, he didn't call the shopkeeper down, but directly quoted the same price as the shopkeeper of Furong Pavilion, and the lip balm was one penny cheaper.

Lin Zhen turned around and left without saying anything. He did the same thing when he arrived at the third and fourth shops.

Suddenly, just when he understood some of the tricks, an old woman in shabby clothes called him: "Brother, I saw you come out of the Misty Rain Tower, are you also a craftsman who makes rouge and powder?"

In fact, the old woman didn't think about it at first, but the rouge and powder shop that Lin Zhen just came out of was very close to the shop he entered before, and he was holding something in his hand, so the old woman guessed something.

Lin Zhen stopped and looked at the old woman.

The old woman sighed and said, "My family used to make a living from this, but now... Sigh..."

Lin Zhen said, "The boss behind these rouge and powder shops in Kyoto should be the same person."

"What boss? He is a..." When the old woman talked about this, she almost couldn't hold back her resentment and grievance, but in front of Lin Zhen, a stranger, she finally endured it.

She said, "It's not the boss. The original owners of these rouge and powder shops either had to work for that person and just managed the things inside, or they were like us, squeezed out and had no place to live."

From the woman's mouth, Lin Zhen learned that there were many rouge and powder shops of all sizes in Kyoto before, but a powerful person intervened and relied on the power behind him to suppress and buy, and took all the rouge and powder recipes that were easy to sell in these shops into his hands, and then opened several large rouge and powder shops now, lowering the purchase price to the people below and raising the selling price to the customers.

When they met those who were stubborn and wanted to confront them head-on, they used all kinds of shameful means to force them to stop doing business. After a few years, they have monopolized the rouge and powder business in Kyoto.

Lin Zhen frowned and didn't ask why no one cared. There were so many dignitaries in Kyoto. If their family members intervened, it was not something that ordinary people could compete with.

It seemed that he had to find another way to do this business.

Lin Zhen said goodbye to the old woman who used to make a living by selling rouge and powder but now was doing nothing. He did not go shopping in other shops and went home with his things.

Gu Lin saw his expression when he came back and stopped what he was doing. He wiped his hands with a handkerchief and walked over: "It's not going well."

There was no need for Lin Zhen to hide anything in front of him. He told the old woman and what he guessed: "The rouge and powder business in Kyoto is monopolized by someone. The consignment price of our products is really low. We can't even get back our capital."

"I'll think of other ways."

Gu Lin looked at him, who was not discouraged or depressed even though he was not doing well, and remembered the powerful person whose name he did not know.

Lin Zhen knew him very well. He knew what he was thinking at the first sight of his expression. He put the box with things on the table: "Such things happen everywhere, just more or less. Even if you and I expose this matter now, it may be just a trivial matter for that person, but it will be a disaster for us."

"Gu Lin, if you are not sure what the consequences of doing something are, you should keep moving forward, go to a higher and farther place, look him in the eye, or gaze at him from a high place." Gu Lin

: "I know, Uncle Lin."

He just didn't like himself who couldn't help Uncle Lin solve his problems at this moment. He wanted Uncle Lin to do what he wanted.

Lin Zhen knew that he was smart, maybe smarter than himself, so he didn't dwell on this matter.

He just felt a little sorry for the distilled plum blossom water. Without modern antiseptic technology and sealing technology, these flower waters can only be preserved for about nine days at this time of year, and the flower sign still has 24 days, so they can only be thrown away.

Powder and tube lipstick are fine, especially powder. As long as it is kept in a dry place, it can be used for several months.

"Looks like we have to think of a solution from somewhere else." Lin Zhen took out the things in the box and put them together with the inventory in the house.

Huang Yuwen and Chen Xingzhongyan, who often came to the house, knew about Lin Zhen's business problems in just two days. They were worried about Lin Zhen, and the person behind the scenes was obviously someone they couldn't afford to offend, so no matter what they thought of, it was useless.

Lin Zhen also put the matter behind him for the time being and wandered around Kyoto from time to time. As the weather gradually warmed up, the flower season was getting closer and closer, and there were more flowers and plants on the street.

The flower shopkeeper who had sent him plum blossoms saw the pork belly in Lin Zhen's hand and greeted him, "Husband, buy two flowers and take them home to smell them. The newly bloomed evening jasmine can make the house fragrant."

The flower seller had a greenhouse at home, and he looked after the flowers in the greenhouse all day and night for the business during the flower season. His face looked a little haggard, but he was in good spirits.

Lin Zhen suddenly remembered something and walked over: "Then bring me two evening incense sticks. By the way, shopkeeper, can you also get me some plum blossoms? The quantity I want is the same as last time."

"Yes, this is the last batch of plum blossoms this year. Although the flowers are not so dense, they are not bad."

"Does your husband take so many flowers to make food?" Because Lin Zhen's face is so eye-catching, in fact, many people on this street have noticed him.

He rented a shop with a backyard, but he hasn't opened the door for business for so long. Everyone is guessing what business he is in.

Lin Zhen smiled and said nothing, just said: "Then please send the flowers to me tomorrow morning as soon as possible." The shopkeeper

nodded: "Okay, I will send it to you tomorrow morning."

Lin Zhen's mood suddenly became clear. He thought of a way to do this business. He didn't sell his products in the rouge and powder shop. He specialized in high-end customization and had some room for maneuver.

As long as my stuff is good enough and people who use it can't give it up, even if the people behind the shop want to make trouble for me, they will still have some concerns about my customers. They won't kill me with one blow. At most, they will give me two blows to intimidate me. After I can get through the first period and slowly stabilize the business, I can still make efforts from other places.

The most important thing now is how to find customers.

Those noble ladies and young ladies are not cabbages on the street. You can just pick two of them.

In fact, it's also because the authorities are confused. He had thought of opening a workshop to supply the shops outside. If that doesn't work, he will open a shop directly and confine himself there. He didn't expect to cut off the firewood from the bottom of the pot and do business behind the scenes.

Now I finally figured it out. My steps are lighter. I carry pork in one hand and evening fragrance bought from the flower seller in the other hand. I returned home with the smell of meat and flowers mixed together.

There were only five or six days until the flower sign, and on the first day of February, it was only two months away from Gu Lin's college entrance examination. Gu Lin spent more and more time in the study these days.

Lin Zhen moved a little more slowly, put the pork belly he bought in the pot, scalded the pork skin, soaked it in warm water for a few minutes, washed it, boiled it, fished it out, cut it into pieces and stir-fried it -

soon, the braised pork was stewed in the casserole, and when it was half cooked, he added the diced radish and continued to stew.

Needless to say, Lin Zhen's cooking skills have been unmatched in the Lin family for many years. When the lid of the pot was opened, the rich meaty aroma rushed out domineeringly, causing Gu Lin, who was reading in the study, to pause for a moment.

He put down his book and walked out, and saw Lin Zhen carrying a short and fat casserole to the dining table, walked to the kitchen to get two small bowls and two pairs of chopsticks, and brought another dish of stir-fried vegetables on the stove.

"Gu Lin, try this braised pork I made today. I added a handful of dogwood to it and it tastes better." Lin Zhen picked up a piece of braised pork and handed it to Gu Lin.

Gu Lin saw that Lin Zhen was in a good mood. He opened his mouth and ate the braised pork and said, "Did Uncle Lin encounter good things?"

"Is it so obvious?"

Gu Lin nodded.

Lin Zhen told him what he thought of. As he was talking, Lin Zhen suddenly had an idea when talking about the source of customers.

He could be the first person to try it. On the day of the flower sign, all the girls and boys in Kyoto would be there. He didn't believe that there wouldn't be one or two who would not be tempted by the actual effect!

Chapter 206

Decided to go to Huaxin to be a salesman for his own products. Knowing that clothes make the man, Lin Zhen found his own clothes after dinner. He wore short brown clothes that were convenient for work in Anyuan Town. The only clothes he could wear in Huaxin were those that Gu Lin bought in Fucheng.

In addition to the indigo collar he wore, the main body of the clothes was jade-colored, and there was also a grass green, a black, and a milky white.

Because Fucheng was not as cold as Kyoto, the clothes sold were not as thick as here, but it was just right to wear at this time. A thin layer of cotton clothes, and a casual middle coat inside would do.

Lin Zhen compared several clothes and finally chose the milky white one. This clothes had not been worn because Lin Zhen felt it was a bit troublesome to wear. Its collar, cuffs, and hem were all sewn with a circle of pure white fur that was whiter and brighter than milky white. The buttons were pearls, from the first button at the collar to the end of the hem.

This dress is the most expensive among the several pieces, and it has been put away since it was obtained.

Lin Zhen took out the dress, ironed it, and hung it on the rack.

When the waiter delivered the flowers the next morning, he and Gu Lin were busy doing the same thing as last time, picking the flowers, washing them, and then putting them into the distillation device for processing. The collected flower water was put into the clean porcelain bottle.

Lin Zhen poured out all the previous flower water before it went bad.

In the blink of an eye, the flower message arrived. Before dawn, Lin Zhen, who was planning to sleep for a while, heard the sounds of girls and boys in the neighboring homes dressing up.

Especially the girl on the left, who should be a favorite of the family. The lively voice kept coming, washing her face, drawing eyebrows, and busying herself.

Lin Zhen thought about the crowded scene at that time, and felt that if he didn't hurry up, he might not even have a crack to walk in, so he lifted the quilt and got up to wash.

"Gululu..." Lin Zhen rinsed the tooth powder in his mouth with water. He laughed dumbly because of the noise around him. In the past, he would never have thought that he would wear makeup to attend such a grand event. He might just listen to the excitement. If he had planned to make glass instead of powder and lipstick at the beginning...

Lin Zhen shook his head. He felt that the glass business would not be better than it is now. The small rouge and powder business was monopolized by someone. Glass, a more high-end luxury product, would receive greater pressure. It

was also because of his personality. He had to finish what he had to do. He didn't like to pile up. It was too uncomfortable to give up halfway.

Washing his face and brushing his teeth, Lin Zhen specially lit two oil lamps and placed them next to the bronze mirror. Today, this face was covered with makeup, but it was what he wanted to sell, so he had to work hard.

First, pour some plum blossom water on his hands and soak his face. Then, while waiting for the flower water to dry, he picked out some powder from the porcelain box and mixed it with the flower water.

His skin was very white and there were no flaws, so he only needed to brighten it slightly, and didn't need to put on too much powder.

These were all things that had been tried on Gu Lin and the others beforehand. Although Lin Zhen's technique was a little clumsy, he was able to apply the powder to his face fairly smoothly.

As soon as it was applied, Lin Zhen could clearly feel the difference. Although his original face could still be concealed a little, it was simply radiant after being brightened, just like a night pearl placed in the dark night, extremely eye-catching.

"..." Lin Zhen looked at himself in the bronze mirror, and he loved his face a little.

He quickly put down the hand that was applying the powder, found a small eyebrow razor blade to shave off the few eyebrows that grew above his eyelids, and took the eyebrow pencil to darken the color of his eyebrows. Without eyebrow

drawing, it is almost difficult for the color of a person's own eyebrows to achieve the effect of makeup. Lin Zhen's eyebrows are very beautiful, somewhat like willow-leaf eyebrows, and a little eyebrow peak, adding a bit of heroism, making him look not too soft, and also diluting the charm between his eyebrows.

Lin Zhen took the black brush and moved closer to the bronze mirror. He filled in the color of his eyebrows, and then applied a thin layer of relatively light lipstick on his slightly plump lips.

The next step was to draw the flower mark on the forehead that every boy and girl had to have on the Flower Festival, but Lin Zhen held his hand for a long time and didn't know what to draw.

What should he draw with his mediocre painting skills?

Not wanting to embarrass himself, Lin Zhen focused on the flowers that had been bought for so many days and had not withered because they were kept in water. There were still a few scattered flowers at the end, white and fragrant, just the blooming evening osmanthus.

He pinched a flower of evening osmanthus and stuck it between his eyebrows.

Lin Zhen stood up, changed into ironed and neat clothes, tied a silver silk ribbon, tied his hair into a high ponytail, and then braided the ponytail into a braid.

Looking at the neatly dressed figure in the bronze mirror, Lin Zhen looked at the still dark sky outside the window, left a note for Gu Lin, and took the lantern to go out.

Who would have thought that he had just gone out, and Gu Lin, who had woken up at some point, was holding a toothbrush and a cup in his hand, preparing to wash up.

He held up a lantern and said, "It's not time for you to get up yet, why are you up?"

"I'm sending Uncle Lin to Huashen Mountain."

Lin Zhen looked at him and said, "Men are not allowed to go in at that time. You will send me to the outside of Huashen Mountain and then turn back. The weather is still cold, so sleep a little longer." As

he spoke, Gu Lin listened, but his hands did not stop moving.

Lin Zhen knew that he was going to send him off, so he didn't continue talking and waited in the yard. When he finished washing up, changed into a clean robe, and walked out of the shop shoulder to shoulder.

As soon as he went out, he saw many girls and boys holding lanterns like him, happily walking out of the city, and in the distance, the light of the lanterns almost illuminated the sky, and there was a lot of noise.

"It's so lively." Lin Zhen looked at the girls and boys walking on the street, and couldn't help but sighed. The prosperity of Kyoto can only be seen in this flower festival.

Gu Lin took the lantern in his hand and walked with him in the direction where the brides and grooms were walking. This was not only a festival for unmarried brides and grooms, but also a festival for married women and grooms. Anyone who wanted to go could go.

"Candy!"

"Fragrant and sweet candy."

"Cooked cakes, delicious cooked cakes!"

"Brother, buy a bunch of flowers. Look, they are tied with a string here. They look very beautiful when hung on the waist. They also smell good." "

Or take a look at this bracelet made of flowers. It's very beautiful."

Before reaching Huashen Mountain, the vendors in the city were doing business while carrying their loads on their shoulders. The business was very hot. Lin Zhen saw that the stall of the person selling bouquets and flower bracelets was surrounded by many people. When they dispersed, all the things on the stall were sold out.

The seller of flowers and bracelets immediately carried his load back, apparently going home to get more goods.

Lin Zhen got up early and ate two baked glutinous rice cakes, but Gu Lin didn't eat any.

Lin Zhen looked at the candy cake stall surrounded by several girls and boys and asked Gu Lin, "What do you want to eat? I'll buy you some."

Everyone was holding lanterns, and the street was bright. Gu Lin looked at those eyes that were looking at Lin Zhen directly or implicitly, and lowered his eyes to look at the extremely beautiful Lin Zhen, "Cake."

"Then I'll buy you two," the cake stall was right next to them. Lin Zhen said to the cake vendor across several girls and boys, "Young man, take two cakes."

Those girls and boys had actually seen Lin Zhen a long time ago. He looked so different from them, with fair skin, long eyebrows, and moist lips. He could only be described as naturally beautiful.

They used to dress up and were very satisfied with their makeup at home, but they all felt that their makeup didn't seem beautiful at all, and even wondered if they would look as good as this husband without a plain face.

Seeing that he also wanted to buy a steamed pancake, they could not help but move aside to leave a path for Lin Zhen.

Lin Zhen was not a wooden stake, and he was very aware of their gazes on him. He took the steamed pancake handed to him by the vendor, said thank you, and turned to walk towards Gu Lin.

As soon as he left, the girls and boys who had seen him closely could not wait to chatter: "How come that man is so handsome, as white as tender tofu!"

"His eyebrows are beautiful." "His nose

is beautiful." "His mouth is

also beautiful!"

"Wow, his hair is also well-tied, and his clothes are also beautiful."

Seeing Lin Zhen and Gu Lin walking away, several people could not help but tiptoe to look hard, and then went to buy fresh flowers and imitate Lin Zhen to stick fresh flowers between their eyebrows.

Not only them, but also those who had just seen Lin Zhen were almost the same. If they had not had time to buy a new set of clothes, they would also learn to dress like Lin Zhen.

From the city to Huashen Mountain, Lin Zhen and his friends didn't need to know the way. They just followed the crowd and arrived in about half an hour.

There were already people wearing official robes there to maintain order. Brothers and fathers who were sending their daughters and sons were told not to enter. Only daughters and sons, wives and husbands could enter.

Brothers and daughters who usually stayed at home could only dress up and come here to play on this day, so the place was already crowded.

Lin Zhen took the lantern from Gu Lin, said a few words to him, and walked towards the intersection that must be passed to enter Huashen Mountain. Suddenly, a hand grabbed his sleeve. He looked in the direction he was being pulled. It was a girl about thirteen or fourteen years old, with a woman beside her.

The woman didn't expect her daughter to hold Lin Zhen. She was stunned for a moment and apologized repeatedly: "I'm sorry, my little monkey grandson is naughty, please don't blame me."

"My husband, my family lives next door to yours. I've seen you!" As soon as the girl's voice came out, Lin Zhen recognized her as the girl from his neighbor on the left who was loved by her family and had a lively temperament. From time to time, he could hear her laughter and talking.

Lin Zhen waved his hand: "It's okay, I often hear your daughter's voice in the yard, and we are already familiar with each other."

The girl heard him say that they were already familiar with each other, her tail was high, and she moved closer to him, her arm almost touching his arm: "My husband, if I had known you were coming, I would have come with you."

While speaking, the girl kept looking at him eagerly. Although her childish face with makeup on could be seen to have a good foundation, because the powder did not match her skin color, it looked like she was wearing a pale mask, and the lip balm on her lips was a little dry, revealing some lip wrinkles.

Lin Zhen was confused by the name of Immortal Husband, and quickly said, "Just call me uncle."

Chapter 207

The girl shook her head: "My Immortal Husband, you don't look like my uncle at all. You're just like the immortal in the storybook. I think it's a bit inappropriate to call you uncle."

This was the most eccentric girl Lin Zhen had ever met. She was very talkative and good at praising people.

Lin Zhen looked at the woman next to her who was holding her forehead and had no idea what to do with her daughter, and slapped her on the head: "Call me uncle."

The girl covered her slapped forehead, looked at Lin Zhen who was very close to her, and said blankly: "Uncle."

"That's right," because he often heard the voices of this family, Lin Zhen knew roughly that this family was very harmonious, and he didn't mind the approach of this girl. He said to the girl and the woman, "If you don't mind, let's go together. My family and I came to Kyoto at the end of last year, and we don't know the situation in Mount Huashen yet. I'd like to trouble you to lead the way for me."

When the girl heard Lin Zhen invite them to go together, she was so happy that she almost jumped up. Without waiting for her mother to reply, she nodded like a chicken pecking at rice: "Okay, okay, uncle, let me tell you, I come to Mount Huashen every year, I know everything, you can go right by following me."

The woman took her other hand: "My little ancestor, just say less. Only your mother is willing to follow you. Your two sisters-in-law are afraid of you."

"Mother, your mouth is born to eat and talk. Now that I have no food to eat, I can only talk. Otherwise, what is the point of having a mouth?"

The two mother and daughter are very funny. Although the daughter is naughty, she will feed her mother candy and love potion from time to time. She is very skilled.

Suddenly, the daughter who had just finished giving her mother love potion looked up and said to Lin Zhen: "Uncle, do you feel that many people are looking at you? They are like me. They think you are very beautiful and want to walk with you like me."

As she spoke, her hand gently pulled Lin Zhen's sleeve, like a little mouse stealing oil residue. If she didn't want to look at the road under her feet, she would not want to move her eyes away from Lin Zhen's face for a moment.

And in the crowd, a middle-aged noble woman who was carried by the women and sat high on the sedan chair looked at Lin Zhen, who stood out among the group of women and boys and whose makeup was different from everyone else, and looked at him several times.

The maid who was always paying attention to her said immediately: "Madam, is there anything you want to tell me?" The

elegantly dressed lady said: "I see a pretty girl."

The maid knew her own lady well. She had a very high standard. In her eyes, there were few good treasures in the world. When she heard her praise someone for being pretty, she was stunned for a moment and looked in the direction the lady was looking.

But she was of average height, so her sight was naturally not as good as the young woman sitting in the sedan chair. In her eyes, there were only heads.

The lady looked at the man in the crowd who could only be described in two words, and asked the maid: "Who was the flower god last year?"

The maid said: "It was the granddaughter of Lu Ge Lao."

"Oh, then it's not her this year." According to the rules of the Flower Festival, the person who was elected as the flower master in the previous year cannot be elected, and must wait until the next year.

The lady had seen the granddaughter of Lu Ge Lao. She was petite and beautiful, with a decent temperament, and barely caught her eye.

Every year, the flower hosts are assumed to be unmarried girls and boys, and married people just come to watch the fun.

The noble lady had been the flower host several times before she got married, but she felt that she had not seen anyone in Kyoto who could bear this title in recent years.

She couldn't help but look at the husband again, and pointed in the direction of Lin Zhen in the crowd: "Go and call the husband over, the one wearing a white shirt, with his hair tied into a braid, and a flower stuck between his eyebrows."

"You will know who it is when you see him."

The old woman naturally did not dare to delay, and took the maid who followed behind to look for the person in the direction pointed by the noble lady.

Suddenly, the crowd suddenly squeezed, and screams and panicked cries for help suddenly burst out. Many people didn't know what happened, and they were so scared that they grabbed the people who were washing and combing their hair around them, and panicked and didn't know where to go.

The noble lady sitting in the sedan chair was also shaken. She grabbed the crossbar of the sedan chair and frowned her slightly heroic eyebrows. "Go and see who is making trouble here!"

The servant immediately took the order and ran to the place where the sound was first made. After a while, he came back and said, "Madam, it's the daughter and son of Duke He's mansion. They drove in the carriage. The horse was startled by the suddenly lit lantern and injured many people."

When she heard the reason, the noble lady snorted coldly, "Ugly people are often making trouble. I will send someone to Duke He's mansion to tell him that his young people are too polite and offended me."

Then the noble lady said, "A mere concubine's mother's family is so arrogant. They don't even consider whether they are worthy or not."

The servant didn't dare to say anything, but just answered yes.

In fact, Concubine He is now in the emperor's favor and has given birth to the fifteenth prince, the emperor's favorite. It is a situation of boiling oil on a hot fire and blooming flowers. I don't know how many people want to get close to her.

As a result, the servants in Heguogong's mansion were more ruthless than those in other mansions, and no one reported them to the higher-ups for their misdeeds.

But who was the noblewoman in front of him? She was the only descendant of the hereditary King of Side by Side who had conquered this vast country together with Taizu. Her family also had a personal sword granted by Taizu that could behead tyrants and corrupt officials.

It was said that the emperor wanted her to enter the palace, but she resisted and ended up marrying the third place winner of the imperial examination that year.

Now the third place winner is the Minister of Works of the second rank, but they have not had a child for many years. Otherwise, the child would be the future King of Side by Side.

The maid who went to look for Lin Zhen also failed to find him because of the sudden chaos. The noblewoman was just in the mood for the moment, so since she couldn't find him, she let it go and continued to walk forward with the maids.

Lin Zhen didn't know that he was being remembered for a while. When the chaos came just now, he subconsciously pulled the woman who was pulling his sleeve and stumbled a long distance away with the panicked crowd.

When he stopped, his clothes were a little wrinkled. He looked down at the girl he was holding tightly and said, "How are you? Are you okay?"

The girl was not weak and shook her head, "Uncle, I'm fine, but my mother seems to be gone."

Suddenly, everything became chaotic. She was about one meter away from her mother at that time, and was instantly squeezed away by the crowd. Now, no matter how hard she looked, she could not see her mother.

There was already a hint of whiteness on the horizon, and it would be dawn soon.

Lin Zhen said to the girl, "Where did you like to go the most when you came to Huashen Mountain in previous years? Maybe your mother will go to those places to find you."

The girl's eyes lit up. Although she was lively, she was still a little confused when she suddenly left her family. When she heard Lin Zhen's words, she hurriedly said, "I like to go to the north slope of Huashen Mountain the most. There are day primroses there. Now is the time when the flowers are in full bloom. When I came here, I also told my mother that I wanted to go and see it."

"Okay, let's go there first."

It was still a little early, and the people who came to Huashen Mountain had not all come in. Lin Zhen couldn't rush what he wanted to do, so he simply sent the girl to the place she wanted to go and let her stay with her mother.

The vendors who set up stalls came earlier. They were all stalls taken care of by the girl and her brother, selling food, toys, and various small items. There were

also special stalls for playing games, such as throwing pots, smashing sandbags, guessing riddles...

There were only unexpected things.

Not only the two of them were going there, there were other people around, and when they saw Lin Zhen, they couldn't help but look at him several times. The girl said to Lin Zhen, "Uncle, you are prettier than last year's flower host. Do you want to choose the flower host? My mother said that the flower hosts are all the prettiest, and there must be no one prettier than you today."

Lin Zhen had inquired about it since he decided to come to Huaxin. He said, "Uncle is already a married man, so he can't be the owner of the flower."

"Oh~ Is it that fierce brother?"

Lin Zhen paused, "How come you, a little girl, know so many things every day?"

The girl laughed, "The way that fierce brother looks at you, uncle, is the same as my father looks at my mother. I can see it at a glance."

"Little brat."

Lin Zhen looked at her and said, "The one who married uncle is no longer alive. The fierce brother is... uncle's relative..."

The girl was smart and could naturally see that the fierce brother was not very old, only two or three years older than herself. When she heard what Lin Zhen said, she said, "I know, my father often said that mother is his relative."

"Uncle, you and the fierce brother are both good-looking, and the children in the future will definitely be very good-looking. I will definitely visit your house often."

"..." It's over, there's no hope.

Lin Zhen understood the feelings of the child's mother. How could they talk about children? With this pregnancy mole, it was a miracle that she could get pregnant.

Suddenly, realizing that he was actually thinking about the child, Lin Zhen patted his head and hit the girl's forehead with his head: "Let's go, you little chatterbox."

Soon, Lin Zhen took the girl to the northern slope of Huashen Mountain. In the dim morning light, a large area of ​​blue flowers bloomed, not afraid of the remaining cold wind.

The girl pointed to the blue flowers that seemed to stretch to the horizon and said: "This is the day primrose. It only blooms for a short while and then withers."

Suddenly, the girl waved to the familiar figure opposite: "Mom, I'm here!"

As she said this, she ran out like a monkey and hung on the woman who came here.

The woman who separated from her in the chaos and was worried to death patted her on the back: "Mom is almost scared to death by you. I will tie you up with a rope in the future to prevent you from disappearing."

The girl was very happy to see her and told her about Lin Zhen bringing her here.

The woman pulled her over to Lin Zhen and expressed her gratitude to him: "Luckily, my husband is here, otherwise I don't know what would happen to my child. I will cook a delicious meal when I go back, and my husband will bring his family to visit us."

Lin Zhen was happy that he could wait for her so soon. After he couldn't refuse her kindness, he could only agree and said, "Then you guys take a look at the scenery here, and I'll walk around."

The makeup on his face looked like he had played with it. How could he find suitable customers without walking around?

Chapter 208

After bidding farewell to the mother and daughter, Lin Zhen smoothed his clothes and walked down the slope onto the gentle grass. As the sky got brighter and brighter, and after completely getting rid of the darkness, everything around him came into view clearly.

The so-called Huashen Mountain is actually an area where several peaks are connected together, with peaks, plains, and rivers.

Beautifully dressed girls and boys walked around in groups, and the most discussed topic was where did you buy your clothes today and how much money did you spend.

Lin Zhen quickly became a scenic spot, and wherever he went, boys and girls stared at him and whispered.

Suddenly, when Lin Zhen walked to the river, a voice called him with a little uncertainty: "Boss Lin..."

Lin Zhen, who was called, felt that he should be lucky today. He met people who knew him one after another. He looked to the side and said after a moment: "Old troupe owner?"

The owner of Qianhong Opera Troupe, who had never seen him put on makeup, said with surprise: "It's really Boss Lin. I'm honored to meet you."

Lin Zhen couldn't help but sigh that it really fulfilled the saying that the world is not big, but it's not small either. He could actually meet an acquaintance in Kyoto, thousands of miles away.

This person was the old troupe owner of Qianhong Opera Troupe who bought Lin Zhen's "Mei Niang" storybook and adapted it into a drama. But now the old troupe owner was wearing a skirt and a bun, dressed like an old woman.

The owner of the Qianhong Opera Troupe also thought about what he looked like now, and his old face turned slightly red: "I'm sorry to make you laugh, Boss Lin. On a day like today, men are not allowed to come in, so I can only sneak in like this."

But if a man sneaks in and is discovered, he will be punished, and the punishment will be severe, and he will also have a bad reputation, so few people sneak in.

The owner of the Qianhong Opera Troupe sighed and said to Lin Zhen: "I was forced to make this money. I won't say more. But Boss Lin, you actually came to Kyoto. Are you still doing the malatang and milk tea business now?" "I

miss that. If Boss Lin is still doing this business, please tell me where the store is, and I will go to try it some other day."

Lin Zhen replied: "I just came here at the end of last year. I'm not doing the food business now. I'm still waiting and watching."

"I think the old troupe owner has made a lot of money over the years. Why can't he refuse a business he doesn't want to do?"

Anyway, there was nothing wrong with talking about it, so the old troupe owner said directly: "A nobleman ordered the play "Mei Niang" and asked us to sing it in Huashen Mountain. Qianhong Opera Troupe has many drama friends now, and we won't lose much if we don't make this money. But the bad thing is that the person who ordered this play is powerful. If we refuse, I'm afraid it will breed a lot of trouble. We have to come."

That year, he bought the script of "Mei Niang" from Lin Zhen, took it back and revised it into a play script. After rehearsing hard, he went to Kyoto to celebrate the birthday of that big shot. It became a hit and he immediately received many rewards.

Then, relying on the title awarded by the big shot, "Mei Niang" became the most popular play in Kyoto in just one month, and Qianhong Opera Troupe also rose.

Until now, although Qianhong Opera Troupe is not as prosperous as it was at the beginning, there are still a group of drama friends who have accumulated because of "Mei Niang", and they earn a lot of money a month.

If it was an ordinary person who invited him here, it would be fine. But it happened to be the sister-in-law of Concubine He, who was very popular now. He wanted to refuse, but he had to see if he had the life to do so.

Hearing that it was such a person who invited him, Lin Zhen's heart became lively. If he wandered around here, he didn't know when he would find someone interested in his powder and lip balm. The place where Qianhong Opera Troupe was going was the most suitable. If one or two customers took the bait, he would be sure to push his things.

Lin Zhen did not hide it. He told the owner of Qianhong Opera Troupe that he was now doing rouge and powder business, but the rouge and powder were expensive. If he sold them cheaply, he would lose a lot. So he wanted the owner of Qianhong Opera Troupe to take him there to have a look.

But he also told him not to worry, and he would never do anything to embarrass him.

The first time the owner of Qianhong Opera Troupe saw Lin Zhen, he thought Lin Zhen's face was unbelievably good, white and moist, and naturally beautiful.

Of course, Lin Zhen was also good-looking before, but now it was like a beam of light shining on her face, with a sense of overwhelming brilliance that would attract everyone's attention.

The owner of the Qianhong Opera Troupe thought about it and felt that with Lin Zhen's temperament and intelligence, he would not cause any trouble to himself, so he agreed without much hesitation.

"Then I will say that Boss Lin is my old friend later, and the rest depends on Boss Lin's own ability."

"Thank you, troupe owner." Lin Zhen had already planned that no matter whether this matter was successful or not, he would give the troupe owner a gift. It was rare that the troupe owner gave him this opportunity after so many years. After all, the two of them had only met a few times in the snack restaurant and made a deal.

Go back and forth, only when there is a give and take is there a go.

Lin Zhen followed the owner of the Qianhong Opera Troupe and walked into the crowd of the Qianhong Opera Troupe. He saw that the young woman served by two little girls was very beautiful and slender. She was wearing the most popular dress and the most popular white makeup.

Well, there is a kind of gloomy beauty.

Lin Zhen said in his heart.

The beautiful girl was stunned when she saw him, and she felt a little uneasy, thinking that maybe she had become too arrogant because of her popularity in recent years, and the troupe owner found someone to replace her.

But after taking a look, she felt relieved. They, the experts, could tell at a glance whether the beautiful boy in front of her had practiced or not. It was obvious that he had never practiced.

The girl couldn't help but look at this boy a few times, and her heart was a little sour. With such beauty, even if he couldn't sing, there would be a lot of people praising him. Unlike them, they smiled every day and made a fool of themselves, and they might offend people if they were not careful.

The troupe owner casually said to everyone that Lin Zhen was his old friend and they met him on Huaxin. He looked around their troupe and there was nothing else. When

the people in the troupe saw Lin Zhen, they nodded and greeted him.

In order to perform for the noble, the Qianhong Opera Troupe was not as leisurely as the people who came here for fun.

Instead, they were heading to a flat place with abundant water and grass at the foot of Huashen Mountain. There were many gorgeous tents set up there, and maids and servants were walking around with all kinds of things.

When they arrived, they explained their purpose. The arrogant maid said, "Wait here, I'll ask my wife how to deal with you."

The owner of the Qianhong Opera Troupe smiled and stuffed a full purse into the maid's hand: "Thank you for your trouble."

The maid seemed to dislike him for being dirty or something, so she just wrapped the purse in a handkerchief and put it in her arms, then turned and left. The

old owner's face twitched. In the past few years, he had performed in the homes of dignitaries, but this was the first time he was so disliked. He felt suffocated in his chest.

Lin Zhen, who was standing behind him, felt that it was really hard to earn this money. At the same time, he had a bad impression of Concubine He's maternal family. A little maid was so domineering and looked down on others. I think the master would not be very kind.

The saying that superiors lead to inferiors is still true.

They waited and waited here for more than an hour, two hours.

The faces of the group of people were not good. What kind of thing did the Heguogong Mansion do?

Finally, when the people of Qianhong Opera Troupe were almost standing up straight, the maid who took the money from the old troupe came over with her waist and hips swaying: "Oh, I accidentally forgot about you. Our lady wants you to come in."

...

Everyone looked at her, wishing to strangle her to death here.

But they couldn't show it on the surface. The old troupe owner had to pretend to be grateful and talk to her.

The maid swung a new handkerchief, covered her mouth and nose, and leaned sideways: "Don't talk about these nonsense. Come with me quickly. If our lady is angry, you will suffer the consequences."

If she hadn't forgotten that sentence, how could they have waited here for an hour, and they didn't even know what the daughter-in-law of Lord He looked like.

The people in Qianhong Opera Troupe were a little nervous. They followed her into the tents. After a while, they came to an area that was obviously larger and more luxurious than the other tents. The tents were set up in a T-shape on the wide grass, and the side facing the river was left empty, so they could enjoy the scenery of the riverside and the other side of the river.

The maid walked to the side of the wife of He Guifei's brother and knelt down to salute, "Madam, I have brought the people from Qianhong Opera Troupe."

At this time, many noble ladies and ladies dressed in luxurious and gorgeous clothes were already sitting in the tents in front and on the side. In response to the flowers, they either tied their hair into the shape of flowers, or wore flowers of various colors, and painted various flowers on their foreheads. The sister-in-law

of He Guifei, the most favored concubine in the world, who asked Qianhong Opera Troupe to perform here, was not very beautiful, but she looked very imposing. She had a high bun and wore a set of gold and ruby ​​hairpins. In the middle of her bun were two palm-sized pink flowers in full bloom.

Hearing the maid's words, she slowly looked towards the Qianhong Troupe, her gaze lingering on Lin Zhen behind the old troupe owner for a few seconds, "The flower banquet has already begun, and you, the Qianhong Troupe, have just arrived. Are you asking us to wait for you?"

The people in the Qianhong Troupe were frightened and the old troupe owner even knelt on the ground, and said in a dry voice, "Please forgive me, madam. How dare a humble person like me make you wait? I was delayed on the road and missed the hour. Please calm down, madam."

"Humph," Madam He looked at them and pointed her nail-painted finger at Lin Zhen, "Did you change the cast of the Qianhong Troupe?"

The old troupe owner hurriedly said, "Madam, this man is an old acquaintance of mine. I met him on the road and reminisced about the past."

"Reminisce about the past?" Madam He looked at Lin Zhen, "I don't think he does."

Hearing what she meant, the old troupe owner's heart sank.

Lin Zhen took a step forward and said with lowered brows, "Madam, I am indeed an old friend of the owner, and I'm here to give you a script."

The old owner hurriedly said, "Madam, my old friend is here to give me a script. The previous play "Mei Niang" was written by my old friend."

Almost all the ladies present had heard the play "Mei Niang", and many of them had cried for Mei Niang many times. When they heard that Lin Zhen was the one who wrote "Mei Niang", they couldn't help but look at him.

Chapter 209

"Did you write "Mei Niang"?" a lady with a melon-seed face asked immediately, and another lady next to her also said, "I thought before that the person who could write "Mei Niang" must be a talented person, but I didn't expect that she also had such a good face. It's a pity that she is a boy."

Boys are not valued nowadays. The ladies and ladies present are all the families of high-ranking officials, but they don't even have a boy. It can be seen to what extent the discrimination against boys has reached.

But even if he is a boy, Lin Zhen has attracted everyone's attention.

The milky white clothes he wore, with pure white fur on the collar and cuffs, and buttons made of pearls, were not worth mentioning in the eyes of the ladies and ladies. In terms of gorgeous clothes, they are at the top of Dayu.

But the silk ribbon around the waist is really used well, showing elegance and heroic spirit.

Not to mention Lin Zhen's eyebrows, which can only be called enchanting, with a thumb-sized white flower attached between his eyebrows, white skin, charming eyes, and slightly plump lips.

The ladies and nobles present all understood that he was outshining the others.

Lin Zhen bowed to the two ladies and said, "It is my great honor to be liked by you, young lady."

Someone else asked impatiently, "You said you were here to give the troupe owner a script, but you brought it with you. Give it to us to satisfy our craving for the opera first."

The old troupe owner of the Qianhong Opera Troupe broke out in a cold sweat, his heart trembling. He and Lin Zhen had not seen each other for several years. How could Lin Zhen give him a script? He and Lin Zhen both knew that this was just a lie to Madam He.

If he was exposed on the spot...

the old troupe owner didn't even dare to think about what would happen to him.

Lin Zhen replied to the noble lady who asked the question: "Madam, there is an interesting saying in our hometown, good food should be saved for later, good things will happen later, just like the first time madam watched the play "Mei Niang", at first she did not know that the plum monster and the scholar had a past life entanglement, she just thought that the plum monster had taken a fancy to him and wanted to spend these empty days with him. Later she learned that they were lovers in their previous life, loved each other but could not be together, and could not see each other until they died."

"This new play script will only be interesting if you see the rehearsed play as soon as you receive it, otherwise it will be disappointing and not so fascinating." Lin Zhen spoke clearly and concisely, and he broke down the words without flattery.

The noble lady who had said that he was talented at the beginning said to the noble lady who wanted to read the script: "Madam Xi, I think this husband is right. When we watched "Mei Niang" together, we were always nervous. After watching it, my heart is broken."

Madam Xi thought that it was indeed the case, so she said to Lin Zhen and the old troupe owner: "Then you must quickly rehearse

the play. I'm waiting." Lin Zhen said: "Yes, I will definitely hand the script to the troupe owner as soon as possible, so that they can rehearse the play as soon as possible."

Madam He, who was ordinary in appearance and did not like Lin Zhen's extremely beautiful face, looked at the noble ladies and noble ladies who praised "Mei Niang" with great respect, and glanced at Lin Zhen in a yin-yang manner, but did not mention that they were late. She

just said: "Then let's start, and perform your Qianhong Troupe's specialty, "Mei Niang."

"Yes." Having escaped a disaster, the old troupe owner was sweating on his back and hurriedly took people downstairs to change clothes and dress up. Lin Zhen naturally followed him downstairs.

The people in the troupe were all frightened. As soon as they left there, some people's legs went weak and they almost fell to the ground. Lin Zhen supported them and said, "Mrs. He is not easy to deal with. There must be no mistakes in the play later."

The old troupe owner wiped the cold sweat from his face and said, "Thanks to Boss Lin today, otherwise, I'm afraid I would have to give up my life here."

The source of everything was the maid who took the money but did not do the work. But that was the maid next to Mrs. He. Even if they said it, the maid who didn't want to take responsibility would naturally put all the reasons on them, and might even add fuel to the fire and say something unfavorable to them.

But if they were going to die either way, the old troupe owner would definitely bite the maid.

"Fortunately, Boss Lin, your play script for "Mei Niang" is good enough. We have been performing it for so many years and people like it. With you, the writer, here, Mrs. He, who always cares about her reputation, let go of the fact that we were late."

Today, if there is one less link, they will suffer.

It is impossible to say that Lin Zhen was not nervous, but nervousness was useless at that time, so he gave it up. Fortunately, the result was good.

The people in the troupe did not dare to delay and dressed up as quickly as possible to go on stage. Lin Zhen, who stayed outside, only heard the tinkling of various instruments for a while, and then the lyrics of Mei Niang came out.

"Mei Niang" is a bit long, so it is naturally impossible to sing it all here. The beginning is chosen, the part where Mei Niang and the scholar get along and get to know each other in the rented house.

Lin Zhen was really thinking about it, and a maid in green came to his side and said very politely: "Husband, our lady invites you."

Here she comes.

In the seven or eight minutes at the banquet just now, Lin Zhen had already glanced around with the corner of his eye and found that although the makeup of the ladies and ladies in the venue was popular, it was not in the same line as the makeup he was using now.

He really didn't believe that anyone would not be tempted.

The first potential customer finally came.

Lin Zhen stood up and said to the maid, "Excuse me."

"You're welcome, my dear." The maid in green did not walk in front, but stood one step behind Lin Zhen, holding out her hand to lead the way for him. She soon brought Lin Zhen to the banquet, which was in the middle row of tents, where three noble ladies were sitting.

One was Madam He, one had a slightly heroic look, and one could tell from her upper body sitting on the stool that she was a tall noble lady, and the other was a noble lady who looked a little sick.

Lin Zhen's expression did not change at all, and he couldn't help but think in his heart, "Madam He is definitely a very difficult customer to serve. If she is not careful, she might get into trouble. How should she deal with it herself?" However,

the maid in green did not take him to Madam He's side, but to the side of the heroic noble lady.

"Sit down." Madam He casually pointed to a short, round stool placed next to his chair and said to Lin Zhen.

Lin Zhen looked at the small stool and sat down. Because the stool was too low, his sight became shorter all of a sudden. His height of 1.7 meters only reached the waist of the noble lady when he sat down.

The noble lady's delicate white hand touched his face, as if attracted by the smooth touch of his face. Her eyes fell on him as she watched the play: "Your face is so smooth. Is it true that people with good appearance have better skin?"

Skin...

Lin Zhen was almost convinced by what the noble lady said that his face was edible pig skin. He said: "Madam, it's because I put on powder and floral dew."

The noble lady leaned closer to his face and looked at it. She really found the almost invisible powder. Suddenly, she gently pinched Lin Zhen's cheek flesh: "This face is really..." It's so lovely.

The Lvyi maid next to him held back her laughter. Their lady's little problem of not being able to walk when seeing a good-looking person was aroused again. This husband was born with such a good appearance. The lady must love him to death now.

The author has something to say:

Lin Jiaojiao, Lin Yanya, she is the most beautiful girl wherever she goes and she never loses.

Chapter 210

The noble lady's hand lingered on Lin Zhen's face for a while, and she said to the maid behind her: "Put a small table in front of him, bring a bowl of hot drink, and some food that won't dirty your hands."

"Yes." The maid took the order and went to do the work.

The noble lady finally asked about the things he used for his makeup: "The famous powders in Kyoto are sent to me every month, why don't I see the ones you use? Is it famous?"

Lin Zhen's heart moved slightly, and he said slowly: "Madam, the powder and flower water I use are made by my own family craftsmanship, and have never been sold on the market before."

"I carry two small makeup touch-ups with me, why don't I show them to you, madam?"

The noble lady Shi Qiuling felt that the husband in front of her really suited her taste. He was talented, and he could write "Mei Niang" which she also liked. He had backbone, and he didn't fawn on her and others, and he didn't buzz around like a fly. The most important thing was how he was born so beautiful, his eyebrows, nose, eyes and mouth, there was nothing ugly.

Mrs. Shi said, "Let me take a look."

Hearing this, Lin Zhen took out the powder and floral water that he had specially put into a small porcelain box two sizes smaller when he came out from his purse, and held it in his hand to show Mrs. Shi: "This powder is called Jade Face Powder. Different raw materials are used, and the makeup effects are also different. For example, my original skin color is neither yellow nor red, so it only needs to be slightly brightened, just like putting a bright light on the face, so that people can see it at a glance."

"If the skin color is yellow or red, you need to use powder with other functions to correct the skin color."

"And because this powder needs to be mixed with floral water before use, it is liquid and will fit the skin better. It will not fall off when the wind blows on the face like some powders on the market."

Mrs. Shi herself uses rouge and powder all year round, and they are all the best. When she heard what Lin Zhen said, she became interested and raised her eyebrows and said, "Why are there so many lines in it?"

Her skin is fair, but there are some red bloodshot, which can only be covered up by a thick layer of powder.

"Try it now. If it works, I'll make my rouge and powder here from now on."

At this moment, the people from the Qianhong Opera Troupe were performing. Although everyone loved the play "Mei Niang", they had watched it many times, and some of them could even recite the next part of the play word for word. Naturally, they were not as focused as when they first started watching it.

When Lin Zhen was called over by Madam Shi, they all noticed it, but they were a little surprised that Madam Shi actually let Lin Zhen sit next to her. Then they saw Lin Zhen said something to Madam Shi. Madam Shi's maid held a hot towel to clean her hands, and then handed her hand to Lin Zhen.

Lin Zhen gently held Madam Shi's hand, and couldn't help but sighed, worthy of being the hand of a noble lady who had been pampered since childhood, there was really not a single callus to be found, and the skin of the whole hand was as soft as silk.

Lin Zhen put the powder and plum blossom dew on the small table brought by the maid, dripped a few drops of plum blossom dew on the back of Mrs. Shi's hand and spread it: "This is flower dew. It can be used on any part of the skin after cleansing in the morning and evening. It can not only moisturize the skin and reduce fine lines on the skin, but its own fragrance can also soothe the spirit."

"The powder I use is also mixed with flower dew." As he said, Lin Zhen picked out some white and light purple powder from the porcelain box, mixed it with flower dew, and then patted it on the back of Mrs. Shi's hand with his fingers. After applying the powder, he used a cloth ball made of extremely fine flannel, dipped a thin layer of white powder and gently pressed it on the back of the hand that had just been rubbed with liquid powder.

Good-looking people are also pleasing to the eye when doing things. Mrs. Shi waited for Lin Zhen to say that it was okay, and raised her hand slightly to look at it. She saw that the back of her hand, which was originally white, was now incredibly delicate and very similar to the makeup on Lin Zhen's face. It looked very natural, just like her original skin was like this.

She couldn't help but raise her other hand for comparison, and the effect was more obvious in comparison.

Mrs. Shi initially listened to him because of Lin Zhen's beautiful face, but now she was attracted by the powder and flower dew he used: "Your family's craftsmanship is really good. Send some to the Shi family when you return to Kyoto."

"By the way, besides powder and flower dew, do you have anything else?"

Lin Zhen was very happy to get his first business today, but he did not show it in front of Mrs. Shi. He replied to Mrs. Shi: "I also have a tube of lipstick with me."

Mrs. Shi said the word "lipstick" and thought it was interesting. She asked Lin Zhen to show it to her.

Lin Zhen naturally would not hide it. He took out the lipstick from his purse and demonstrated to Mrs. Shi how to use it.

He took off the porcelain lid of the rectangular shape with rounded edges, rotated his fingers on the wooden base below twice, and a solid red object spun out of the tube.

Lin Zhen took the lipstick and spread some on his wrist. In an instant, the same light color as on his lips appeared on his wrist.

"What a clever idea." No woman can resist beautiful rouge and powder. Mrs. Shi took the lipstick from Lin Zhen and personally rotated the wooden base below a few times. "I want this too, but this color doesn't suit me. My husband should make some other colors."

"Okay, madam."

After all, it was something Lin Zhen had used. Shi Qiuling couldn't use it on herself, so she returned the lipstick to him.

The noble ladies nearby, who had paid some attention to Lin Zhen because of Mrs. Shi's identity and Lin Zhen's appearance, also saw what Mrs. Shi and Lin Zhen were fiddling with. After a little thought, they realized that those things might be what the beautiful Lin Zhen used.

When thinking of Lin Zhen's appearance, many people were tempted. After the performance of "Mei Niang" was finished, while drinking tea and chatting, two noble ladies walked directly to Mrs. Shi and said to her innocently, "Aunt just got something good, why didn't she invite us two young ones?"

Mrs. Shi leaned back in her chair and looked at the two juniors with a smile on her face, "If I didn't invite you, you would have come too?"

Then she turned to Lin Zhen and said, "Go and send two more copies of what I want to the residence of the Minister of Works and the residence of the Marquis of Yong'an."

Lin Zhen had a good impression of the two noble ladies. They were the two who had just praised themselves for their talent and indirectly helped him and the old troupe owner out of trouble. The two noble ladies couldn't help but smile at the two noble ladies.

The two noble ladies were super friends of "Mei Niang". They would go to see this play every once in a while. They also met because they liked this play and became close friends.

Seeing Lin Zhen smiling at them, the two looked at each other and had the same idea.

The person who could write "Mei Niang" must be this kind of person!

Seeing that the two young people liked Lin Zhen very much, Madam Shi said to them, "You two take him to the riverside for a walk. There is no need to accompany us old bones to sit here boringly." As she said that, Madam Shi yawned and leaned back in her chair.

Madam He, who was sitting next to her, was the organizer of this flower banquet. When she heard Madam Shi say that it was boring, she gritted her teeth and felt that Shi Qiuling was just going against her.

But she couldn't show much on her face. She said gently to the maid beside her, "Go and make some cool drinks for the ladies to relieve their fatigue."

The others looked at her nose and looked at her heart, as if they didn't see that Madam Shi clearly looked down on Madam He, nor did they see the anger in Madam He's eyes that could not be suppressed.

Many of them knew what happened this morning. Madam He's daughter's horse was startled by the lantern, injuring many people and bumping into Madam Shi's carriage. Madam Shi's first words at the flower banquet were directed at Madam He and the girl from the He family, and she almost made the girl from the He family cry.

The two noble ladies were usually close to Madam Shi. Seeing that the atmosphere was a little strange at the moment, they smiled and said that they really wanted to go outside for a walk and didn't want to miss the beautiful scenery, so they asked their maid to call Lin Zhen to go with them.

It was already noon, and the entire Huashen Mountain was filled with people having fun. Stalls set up by girls and boys could be seen everywhere, and the air was filled with the fragrance of flowers, powder, and food.

The two ladies walked to the riverside, and the maid who followed them was very considerate and spread a piece of silk cloth on the ground, put a soft cushion on it, and the two sat down gracefully. The

slightly younger lady looked at Lin Zhen, "The things my aunt asked you to send to our house, are they the ones you just tinkered with?"

"Yes, young lady."

"We both looked at it for a while, is it rouge and powder? Exactly the same as what you are using now?" There were only two things about Lin Zhen that interested them. One was that he wrote "Mei Niang", and the other was his unforgettable beauty.

There were so many ladies and noble ladies present, but a humble boy actually took the limelight. Many people were jealous.

The two girls couldn't help but look at his fair face, which seemed to have its own attractive magic. They couldn't wait to ask Lin Zhen to show them the things he had just shown to Mrs. Shi.

Seeing that he was about to gain two more customers, Lin Zhen was of course very happy. According to the procedure, he let the two try the powder and plum blossom dew. He also gave them a lipstick with a clever design that was very different from the current lipstick that needed to be dipped with fingers.

The two young girls were very lively and discussed with Lin Zhen what color lipstick they wanted and what flavor of dew they liked.

After the Qianhong Opera Troupe finished the show and received Mrs. He's reward, they were going to leave. Lin Zhen, an old friend of the owner of the Qianhong Opera Troupe, naturally had to leave as well.

While the old boss was performing the opera, he saw Lin Zhen sitting next to Madam Shi, who was of similar status to Madam He and was sitting in the middle. While waiting for his men to collect the things, he said, "It seems that Boss Lin has gained something. Congratulations."

Lin Zhen clasped his fists and said, "If the old boss hadn't brought me here, I still wouldn't have a clue. I should say thank you."

The old boss hurriedly said, "What are you talking about, Boss Lin? We all know what happened today."

"Alas, you can make money in Kyoto, but there are also many things to worry about, just like today. If you say the wrong thing, everyone will suffer."

"In the future, I will try my best to postpone such business. My life is the most important."

Lin Zhen nodded, thinking that the old boss's decision was right. In the eyes of those powerful people, the Qianhong Troupe was just a thing to entertain them and relieve their boredom. There was no need to accidentally lose their lives for such a small amount of money.

After leaving the gathering place of the noble ladies, the old troupe owner and several men who were also dressed as women did not dare to stay in crowded places. They planned to find a secluded place to wait until the crowds dispersed and then sneak out.

Lin Zhen also joined them. Suddenly, when they were walking to a place with few people, the girls and boys who were dressed up in costumes exclaimed. No one knew what they were doing.

The role of Mei Niang in Qianhong Opera Troupe saw Lin Zhen's confusion and said, "It's time to choose the flower owner. The girls and boys are throwing flowers to the person they think is the most suitable to be the flower owner."

"At the end, count the flowers, and whoever gets the most flowers will be the flower owner of this year."

Before she finished speaking, the tightly packed crowd not far from them cheered violently, and colorful flowers flew everywhere.

As the actor spoke, he looked at Lin Zhen: "If Boss Lin goes, the flower owners of previous years will be eclipsed."

Lin Zhen shook his head: "I won't join in the fun. How about we go there?"

He pointed to a slightly flatter slope in front. Because the scenery was ordinary, everyone went to choose the flower owner again, and there were not many people around.

The people from the Qianhong Opera Troupe nodded, and they walked there.

It took two hours to choose the flower owner. Then the flower owner, dressed in gorgeous clothes, led the girls and brothers to the Flower God Mountain to worship the flower god and gave the blessed spring water to the people.

The day's excitement ended like this. The girls and boys who had a great time followed their families or acquaintances, talking and laughing on the way back. The vendors who had almost sold all their things were also happy and carried their empty shoulder poles back to the city.

Lin Zhen was also saying goodbye to the old troupe owner. He said, "The new script, the troupe owner, go to the left side of Huai Sifang in five or six days, a shop that specializes in selling flowers, about 300 meters in front of the shop that has not yet opened, to pick it up."

The old troupe owner could not suppress the excitement on his face. Back then, with "Mei Niang", his troupe became the most popular troupe at the time, and now he is living on the old capital.

Now he has got Lin Zhen's script again.

Lin Zhen said, "Since you said that there is a new play in front of those noble ladies, you can't break your promise, otherwise it will definitely be a troublesome matter when they ask about it in the future."

"Old troupe owner, you have to prepare the money. This time the script is not cheaper than last time."

Business is business, and favors are favors. Lin Zhen originally planned to give the old troupe owner a gift, but that had nothing to do with the business between the two.

The old troupe owner smiled contentedly and said, "Boss Lin, rest assured, I will give you a satisfactory price."

"Then I will leave first, see you another day." Lin Zhen saluted the people of Qianhong Troupe, merged into the crowd, and soon disappeared.

The old troupe owner of Qianhong Troupe looked at Lin Zhen's back and said to the troupe behind him, "Our troupe can be what it is today, all thanks to Boss Lin's "Mei Niang". With a new play, it is not long before we become the number one troupe in Kyoto."

Lin Zhen just appeared in the troupe, and said to the character who was still somewhat hostile to him, "This Boss Lin... has a really good temper..."

The old troupe owner nodded, "He has always been this open-minded, and it has not changed in all these years."