Daily Life in the 70s-Chapter 114 Qiao Ying

Shen Yiyue’s school’s cultural performance stood out among many schools and soon made it to the city stage.

Yang PeiMin also followed to tidy up makeup and costumes, taking the opportunity to join in on the fun.

The performers were not only middle school students, but also representatives from other units and factories.

The higher-ups highly valued this event, expressing importance and thanks for the contributions of the women comrades.

The backstage of the performance could be described as simple; there weren’t many rooms. A large tent was set up, providing a space that could accommodate three to four hundred people.

The performers claimed their own little corner to organize their clothes, separated by curtains.

Yang PeiMin brought her own makeup tools and hung a mirror on the wall, where she quickly started applying makeup to people sitting down. They had arrived two hours early, and their performance was the eighth in the lineup, with seven participants from Da’an Town’s school.

Besides a few girls who appeared as themselves, Yang PeiMin simply made their natural features a bit more dazzling on the basis of what they already had—just adding some highlight and shading powder to give their features more definition since time was limited. She finished the simple makeup applications swiftly.

Because the play also involved cross-dressing and middle-aged and elderly characters, it required more time for detailed makeup.

This type of theatrical makeup skill was something she had specifically trained for in her previous life. She was the type of person who sprang into action whenever she took an interest in something, not allowing her initial enthusiasm to diminish over time.

Her mother had owned a cosmetics company in her previous life, and she loved sneaking off there whenever she had time off, especially to the production workshop, to experiment with the combination and extraction of raw materials. Her mother even joked that there was someone to carry on her legacy, saying that Yang PeiMin would inherit her company one day.

Back then, how had she responded? "I don’t need yours. I want to establish my own brand. Your production theories don’t align with mine."

While at home, Yang PeiMin had put together a makeshift set of makeup specifically for this performance, including highlight and contour powders, concealer, various colors of eyeshadow, and brow powders. She had nearly scoured the fields and hills outside the door for materials, substituting the ones she couldn’t find with other substances and tirelessly asking her great-uncle to improve the instruments. After repeated tests, she managed to create only a few varieties.

Yang PeiMin did the makeup for two female classmates in male roles and one male classmate as an elderly man. From a distance, they really looked the part. The finishing touch was the hair; without wigs, they simply powdered it, which looked somewhat rough but convincingly transformed them once they changed into elderly costumes.

One of Shen Yiyue’s classmates quietly pulled her aside and whispered, "Yiyue, is your sister-in-law trained in theatrical makeup?"

Shen Yiyue smiled slightly, with a hint of pride, and shook her head. "Not at all. Don’t ask, my sister-in-law is just amazing!" Although she was curious about how her sister-in-law acquired such knowledge and skills, she thought that with her sister-in-law’s intelligence and extensive reading, she could have been self-taught.

So Shen Yiyue didn’t dwell on it.

Yang PeiMin finished everyone’s makeup right on time before they went on stage.

Just as they were queuing to go on, their appearance gathered a unanimous crowd from the other performing groups, sparking surprise and a whirlwind of discussion.

"Is this all makeup?"

"This is my first time seeing this, it’s incredible."

"How was this done?"

"Isn’t this a bit too much?" This comment had a tinge of jealousy from not wanting to be outshined.

Hao Qinghui stepped in to reassure their somewhat affected classmates, "Our dedication to the performance is what matters. Who else can do what we did? We should be even more confident!"

Hao Qinghui’s calm and steady voice was like a refreshing spring, soothing everyone’s hearts and giving the Da’an School participants a dose of comfort. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com

Yang PeiMin looked at him and nodded in agreement.

The students felt their spirits revive upon hearing this.

While they were talking, it was quickly time for their performance, with Hao Qinghui handling the background music on the side. Yang PeiMin joined Shen Yiyue and their accompanying school teacher, settling to the side of the stage to watch.

The play, adapted from a popular contemporary movie, was performed standardly. The students took their roles seriously and appeared quite open and uninhibited, at least not showing stage fright. Their lines were clear and loud, and the music’s intended meaning came across completely.

As they went on stage, their makeup caused a sensation. When the performance concluded, it was uncertain if the makeup had contributed to their score, but Yang PeiMin observed the nodding from the officials in front and felt a sigh of relief.

As her teammates prepared to take their bows, Yang PeiMin hurried backstage to greet the performers coming off, "Congratulations on a successful performance."

The students’ faces were flushed with the excitement of an accomplished youth.

Meanwhile, they sat back down at the makeshift makeup area while Yang PeiMin started to remove their makeup as they waited for the rest of the program to finish.

She handed out winter melon water for everyone to wipe their faces with. Shen Yiyue, engaging her in conversation, said, "Sister-in-law, I was so nervous getting on stage earlier. Later, when the performance started, I was too busy focusing on my lines to be nervous. I didn’t expect it to end so fast. It feels amazing to achieve something like this."

Yang PeiMin smiled gently in response.

As they spoke, a young man in military attire came over, nodded to them, and asked with a serious tone, "May I ask who did the makeup for the performance earlier?"

Everyone turned their gaze to Yang PeiMin, the implication clear.

Yang PeiMin nodded towards him, "Yes, it was me. Do you have any concerns, comrade?"

The young man, wearing an expression of obvious curiosity, said, "It’s like this; our Cultural Troupe’s Deputy Team Leader Qiao is very interested in learning from you."

Hao Qinghui asked, "May I know which one is Mr. Qiao, and where is he?"

If he was genuinely interested in learning, why didn’t he come over himself? Hao Qinghui frowned inwardly.

The young man replied in a matter-of-fact manner, "Deputy Team Leader Qiao is busy and can’t step away at the moment..."

"Xiao Liu, there’s nothing for you to do here, you may leave."

Xiao Liu saluted the tall, athletic girl in military uniform behind him, "Yes."

Yang PeiMin and the others guessed that she must be Deputy Team Leader Qiao.

Indeed, she approached Yang PeiMin the next second and said, "Hello Mr. Yang, I’m Qiao Ying from the city’s Cultural Troupe. I admire your makeup skills and would like to learn from you."

Qiao Ying’s face was smiling, and her demeanor was kind and sincere, which made it apparent that she had come with genuine interest.

Yang PeiMin nodded, not minding at all, and replied with a smile, "I wouldn’t dare say it’s teaching. If Deputy Qiao doesn’t mind, we can certainly have a discussion."

Qiao Ying led her aside, saying, "Let’s not be so formal with the titles, you are younger than me, you can call me Qiao Ying or Sister Qiao."