Hearing that Li Sui made a living from face threading, the child looked delighted.
"Really? You know how to thread faces? My elder sister is getting married. My mother said she needs face threading. Help my sister with it, and once she's done, she can get into the bridal sedan chair. Then I can eat wedding candy too."
"Sure, but my skills don't come cheap. At the very least, half a dou of fresh rice." Li Sui put on a fussy, penny-pinching air.
"We have rice! My brother-in-law's family are landlords; they have loads of rice. Come with me!" Hugging his ball, the child led the way.
After casually probing him a few times, Li Sui easily learned some things about the village. The child was called Chen Junyu, this place was Chen Family Village, and the nearest county town was over a hundred li away. It was fairly remote.
From what Li Sui had learned these past few days, she judged that the Celestial Surveillance Division's spies had probably not yet cast their net this far. Her heart, like a startled bird that dreaded the mere twang of a bowstring, eased a little.
"Miss, sit on the stool. How am I supposed to thread your face while you're standing?" Li Sui complained playfully to the thin young girl before her.
The dark-skinned woman behind her gave her daughter's arm a hard pinch. "She told you to go over there! Are you deaf?"
When the girl sat down before her, Li Sui took a small bundle from her robes. She dipped a little wad of cotton into some powder within and carefully patted it over the girl's face.
Then Li Sui took out a fine thread and crossed it. Her thumb and forefinger held one end, her left hand pulled