Qin Xiaoyu's words made the landlord break out in a cold sweat. Master Wang almost clapped his hands, saying, "Well said! She never thought of that."

"But it's true that we use a lot of electricity. How about this, ma'am, we'll cover all your electricity bills from now on, okay?"

"You paid for everything?" The landlord's eyes lit up, and he said in disbelief.

"This is too much." Although it was agreed that Qin Xiaoyu would pay for the electricity herself, Master Wang felt sorry for her spending the money and immediately objected.

“It’s not much, Master. We can’t let Sister suffer a loss. Let’s settle it like this. From now on, no matter how much the electricity bill is, just give me the receipt and I’ll pay.”

"Okay, it's settled then!" The landlord ran off happily.

"You're too honest. You've taken all her electricity bills. Aren't you afraid she'll overuse electricity and cause you trouble?" Master Wang complained.

"There aren't many appliances right now. She only has a TV. At worst, she can just replace all the light bulbs in the house with 200-degree bulbs. If she doesn't mind the glare, she can change them. I'm not afraid at all! If there were air conditioning, I would never agree to it, hehe." Qin Xiaoyu laughed.

"Air conditioner? What's that?" Mr. Wang had never heard of this new term before.

"It's an appliance used for cooling in the summer and heating in the winter," Qin Xiaoyu explained. Seeing that Master Wang still looked confused, she didn't say anything more.

"Little Fish, the more I look at you, the stranger you seem! How do you know so much?" Master Wang muttered to himself, then asked, "Sister Wang said your first two children weren't your biological children. Are you going to find someone who's been married before and has two kids?"

"Pfft!" Qin Xiaoyu sprayed a mouthful of water all over her master, she was completely speechless.

The door opened, and a tall woman walked in. She had broad bones, thick eyebrows, and a square face. If it weren't for her permed hair, she would have been mistaken for a man.

"Big Liu?" Master Wang blurted out.

"Da Liu?" Qin Xiaoyu was a little surprised. If she wasn't mistaken, this was the legendary expert from Dongfeng Barber Shop. What was she doing here?

"Master Wang, I'm here to take care of some business. I just wanted to drop by and see you. This must be Master Qin, right? He looks very young." Da Liu extended his hand to Qin Xiaoyu.

Qin Xiaoyu wasn't used to this kind of etiquette, so she could only bite the bullet and extend her hand. Her small hand was pinched hard by Da Liu's big hand, and it hurt slightly. Was this a contest of internal strength between masters meeting for the first time?

"You guys chat, I'll go out for a bit." Qin Xiaoyu could tell that Da Liu had something to say to Master Wang, and since there were no customers in the shop, she decided to leave for a while.

She rode her bicycle to the neighborhood and bought some groceries. Since they didn't have a refrigerator, she used to buy things sparingly, but now that the weather was getting cooler and things could be stored, she wanted to stock up in case Hanhan needed anything. In those days, there was no concept of transporting vegetables from the south to the north. In winter, people in the north mostly ate stored cabbage, potatoes, and radishes, and every household made sauerkraut. She didn't know how to make these, and although her cousin-in-law offered to help, there was only one jar of vegetables, which probably wouldn't be enough for both families. She was worried about giving her two children plenty of green vegetables in the winter, so she had to find a way herself.

She wandered around for about half an hour, and when she figured it was about time, she worried that if customers came in, Mr. Wang wouldn't be able to handle it all, so she returned to the shop.

Da Liu was still there, but Master Wang's face was no longer as bright as before; it was now shrouded in worry.

"This is strange, there isn't a single customer today," Qin Xiaoyu said with a self-deprecating laugh, as she went to tidy up the things she had just bought.

"Little Qin, is it alright if I call you that? I'm also Master Wang's apprentice, so you're my junior sister in a way." Da Liu tried to get closer to her.

"Look at what you're saying, calling me Xiao Qin is just right." Qin Xiaoyu used the formal "you" to widen the distance between them again.

"I just talked to my mentor. Dongfeng Barbershop has a batch of openings for experienced barbers to rehire. What do you think?"

"Re-hiring?" Qin Xiaoyu didn't understand what that meant and looked to Master Wang for help.

Master Wang hesitated and opened her mouth, but before she could speak, Da Liu interrupted, saying, "It means going back to work, with the salary still calculated at the original maximum wage, so that the veterans can continue to contribute their remaining energy."

"Oh." Qin Xiaoyu didn't give a direct answer. It was up to Master Wang to decide. If she wanted to go back, she'd just refund her investment. But she doubted Master Wang intended to go back. Who would be foolish? Going back to work would only earn a few dozen yuan a month, and he'd be subject to management. She could earn a month's salary in just a few days; only a fool would go back.

"There's something else. Your master said he's worried about you, so I'm thinking of going back to ask for a spot for you and try to transfer your file from the textile factory. You'll still be a formal state-owned employee. How about that?" Da Liu was quite thoughtful. He could preserve Qin Xiaoyu's status as a state-owned employee and also get her a job at Dongfeng Barber Shop. If it were in the past, Qin Xiaoyu might have been tempted, but right now, she has no interest in any of these things.

"I'm used to being a carefree person, and I'm afraid of being managed at work. As for my mentor's matter, I'll let her make her own decisions; I'm fine with whatever she says."

Hearing Qin Xiaoyu say this, Da Liu was a little disappointed. He got up to say goodbye and left, telling her before he left that if she changed her mind, she should come and find him.

"Master, what are you thinking?" Qin Xiaoyu asked quickly when she saw her master looking sullen.

"I'm in a difficult position," Master Wang stammered, his usual decisiveness completely gone.

"Master, you're not thinking of going back to be rehired, are you? What's the point? Not only would you earn less, but you'd be managed every day, divided into factions, scheming against each other. It's not as easy as what we have outside."

"That's what they say, but Da Liu said that if I go back, he'll transfer you there too..."

"So it was the master who negotiated the terms for transferring me there? What are the benefits? Master, is a formal job really that important?" Qin Xiaoyu said, both amused and exasperated.

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