Meanwhile, inside the Pan family’s house, Mother Pan, Bai Xue’er, and the other female relatives eagerly inspected the items Lu Jueyu had brought. None of them noticed the blush lingering on Pan Meijia’s face as she hurried to the kitchen.
Once in the kitchen, she brewed tea for her guests and brought out dried fruits and vegetables from her cabinets. The dried vegetables, however, weren’t the typical preserved ones—they were roasted and seasoned snacks, crunchy and full of flavor.
When she had first tried the vegetable chips, Pan Meijia couldn’t stop eating them, finishing an entire basket of dried potatoes.
Today, she and her sister-in-law wanted to showcase these unique snacks, hoping her relatives might place orders. If successful, this could pave the way for a profitable partnership between them and Lu Jueyu.
Back in the living room, Lu Jueyu brought out several cotton face masks wrapped in clean cloth. The women stared at the strange masks, puzzled by their shape and the holes cut into them.
Recognizing the masks, Bai Xue’er exclaimed, "Third Sister-in-law, I didn’t expect you to bring these today!"
Since both families had hosted a wedding banquet, everyone had started calling Lu Jueyu by the same title Pan Meijia used. To them, Pan Meijia and Li Lingyun were as good as married.
Smiling at her words, Lu Jueyu said, "Sister-in-law, I see you have already used the face mask. Your skin looks much better today."
Bai Xue’er blushed and touched her face. She nodded and said, "It’s all thanks to your night cream and face mask. My husband even told me this morning that I look as young as I did at seventeen!"
Gasps of surprise echoed through the room. None of the other women had opened the mask yet, let alone tried it—they didn’t even know how to use them. Now, they were eager to see if they could achieve the same results as Bai Xue’er.
The second aunt chimed in, "No wonder you and Jiajia look younger today. Your skin is brighter, and you have fewer pores and black spots!"
Eager to try it herself, the third aunt said, "Jueyu, can you teach us how to use the face mask? Jiajia gave us each one to try yesterday."
Taken aback by her words, Lu Jueyu asked, "Third Aunt, do you also have the essence?"
"What essence?" a cousin blurted out and continued, "We just took the cotton masks."
At that moment, the truth dawned on Lu Jueyu. They hadn’t been given the masks—they had taken them without permission.
The atmosphere grew tense. Everyone realized the face masks were meant as a wedding gift for Pan Meijia, not to be taken by her relatives. Those who hadn’t stolen the masks looked at the guilty parties with thinly veiled disdain.
At that moment, Pan Meijia emerged with a tray and said, "Jueyu, have some tea."
Hearing this, Mother Pan scolded her, "What Jueyu? You must call her Third Sister-in-law now."
"Aunt Pan, I have added mint to the essence. Mint has many benefits for the skin. It can tone and improve texture, tighten pores, boost circulation to slow aging, and even help with dark circles, acne, redness, and inflammation," Lu Jueyu explained patiently. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
"If you grow mint at home, you can also use it to treat minor cuts," she added.
Everyone nodded, trying to remember her words. However, since they weren’t well-versed in medicinal knowledge, it was a bit overwhelming.
The second aunt looked at Lu Jueyu thoughtfully before asking, "Jueyu, have you been to school before?"
"My family was too poor to afford schooling," Lu Jueyu replied with a sigh.
"But as a child, I used to eavesdrop outside the classroom. I also learned some herbal medicine from an old doctor. Unfortunately, my teacher passed away before I could learn more," she added with a sad smile.
Hearing this, the second aunt didn’t press further. She understood the difficulties poor families faced in educating their children and didn’t want to bring up sad memories of the loss of someone dear to Lu Jueyu.
The group now looked at Lu Jueyu with both pity and admiration. Though guilt stirred in her heart, Lu Jueyu kept her expression neutral, knowing the story she had just shared was entirely fabricated.
Thankfully, no one was impolite enough to question her further about her "teacher." Otherwise, she might have to make up more lies to cover up her lies.
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