They ran into Zhou Dongmei as soon as they left their home.
"My goodness, what are you all dressed up for?"
"Let's go out for a stroll," Jiang Xuan said with a smile. "Sister Mei, what have you been doing these past two days? I haven't seen you at all."
“Oh, my son is going to college, right? I’ll take him to register.”
"Which university did he apply to? We haven't seen him come here."
"Ningzhou University of Technology is far from here. He only came from his hometown the day before yesterday and hasn't been here yet. By the way, has Platoon Leader Lu returned?"
"Yes, I'm back."
“My husband is back too. See, I told you nothing would happen.”
"Thank you, Sister Mei. How about we go shopping together?"
Zhou Dongmei waved her hand, "I won't go. Lao Liu just got back and has a huge pile of dirty clothes. I need to take advantage of the good weather today and wash them quickly."
"Okay, then Sister Mei, you go ahead and get busy."
"Why."
Ma Xiaolan glanced at Zhou Dongmei's retreating figure and said, "It seems this comrade treats you quite well."
"Yes, we came to Ningzhou together, in the same carriage, no, in the same row. She's very helpful; last time she even took me to Xiguan Road to buy furniture. This time her husband and Sheng Ye are on a mission together. I was planning to ask her to go to Baitashan with me that day, but she wasn't home."
Ma Xiaolan breathed a sigh of relief. "I envy people like her now. Her son has been admitted to university, and she doesn't need to worry about anything anymore."
"Sister Lan, don't think like that. Everyone has their own troubles at every stage of life. Sister Mei seems to be all smiles and doesn't seem to have any worries, but she must have her own troubles too. Not to mention anything else, just her son going to college, she must be worried about his future job, and then there's marriage and having children."
Sometimes, Ma Xiaolan felt that Jiang Xuan was several years older than her.
Otherwise, she couldn't imagine a 19-year-old girl saying something so insightful.
"Sister Lan, where are the more bustling areas around here?" Jiang Xuan wasn't familiar with the area.
"The most bustling place is Xiguan Road."
"I've been there before. I bought furniture there last time. But is there a shuttle bus at this time?"
"There's no shuttle bus, but you can take bus number 82. Let's walk to the military area first, and there's a bus stop there."
It's a two-kilometer walk to the military region.
However, the two of them chatted and weren't bored at all.
They were quite lucky; just as they reached the bus stop, a No. 82 bus pulled up.
At that time, tickets were still sold manually.
Xiguan Road is the final stop. It costs 20 cents per person, and half price for children.
Before Jiang Xuan could even take out her money, Ma Xiaolan rushed to pay for the tickets for all three of them.
Because it wasn't the weekend, there were very few people waiting at the bus stops we passed, and some were even empty. The driver didn't need to stop specifically, and we arrived at Xiguan Road in twenty minutes.
Ma Xiaolan rarely comes to Xiguan Road; sometimes she doesn't come even once a year.
Xiuxiu is the same.
In Gu Ning District, Xiguan Road is considered a very bustling commercial street.
There was one selling them near the bus stop; it was run by an old man.
Xiuxiu stood there and looked around, then couldn't help but lick her lips.
"Come on, Xiuxiu, let's buy one. Grandpa, we want three."
"Okay, one for 10 cents, 30 cents in total."
Ma Xiaolan tugged at Jiang Xuan and whispered, "Forget it, it's too expensive."
"It's not expensive, let's try it." Jiang Xuan handed over the money.
After walking a few steps, I came across another stall selling lamb skewers. How could I resist?
Jiang Xuan bought 10 more skewers, Xiu Xiu bought 4 skewers, and she and Ma Xiaolan each bought 3 skewers.
After finishing her meal, she felt a bit thirsty, so she bought three large ice creams.
At that time, eating popsicles and drinking soda were considered relatively luxurious. Very few people bought ice cream, and ice cream was not cheap either, costing 50 cents each.
After all, she was a time traveler, and given that her family was quite well-off in her previous life, Jiang Xuan's views were somewhat different from those of people in this era.
She always felt there was no need to mistreat herself.
But she's not the kind of person who likes to just lie flat.
She has always believed that she should spend the money she earns herself.
Therefore, even though her businessman father could have provided her with a better platform in her previous life, she refused to study management and chose fashion design, which she loved.
Of course, she learned it well.
With a solid foundation in art, unique creativity, and outstanding academic performance, she entered that top-tier university with the highest score.
"Hey, isn't there a hair salon here? It looks nice, let's go in and take a look."
Ma Xiaolan looked at the renovation and hesitated: "It looks very expensive, maybe we should just forget about it."
"Sister Lan, please don't do this. Let's go in and take a look."
Ma Xiaolan guessed correctly; it was indeed very expensive, costing 5 yuan.
However, this is not the store's usual price; it's usually only 3 yuan.
The shop owner was a middle-aged man with neatly combed hair and a small mustache.
Seeing how well the three of them were dressed, I guessed they must be rich, which is why they asked for such a high price.
Jiang Xuan had never had her hair done before and wasn't sure if the price was reasonable, so she said to Ma Xiaolan, "Sister Lan, why don't we go check out other shops?"
"good."
Seeing that they were about to leave, the shop owner got anxious, "The prices are all about the same around here. If you're serious about making this, I'll give you a 50-cent discount."
"It's okay, let's go check again. If other stores have promotions or something, they'll definitely be cheaper than yours."
"Alright, I just opened today, and you're my first customers, so it'll be 4 yuan. Please help me spread the word later."
Jiang Xuan smiled and said, "If your hair is permed well, Master, people will naturally ask without us having to say anything."
"Don't worry, I specifically learned how to do it on the coast. If it's not done well, you don't have to pay."
"I trust your skills, but the price is still beyond our budget. Let's go check out other shops."
So what's your budget?
"Two pieces."
Ma Xiaolan was also surprised; she had no idea that people could bargain like that.
Sure enough, the shop owner got angry. "I was trying to talk to you sincerely, but you were just playing me. My shop is so big, do you think the rent and utilities are free? And then there are the staff who haven't even started working yet. Besides, I use good medicine that won't even leave a smell after a burn. Do you think these things are cheap?"
"Master, don't be angry. As I just said, if we can't reach an agreement here, we can go to other stores. It won't affect you in any way."
After saying that, Jiang Xuan pulled Ma Xiaolan away.
"Wait, I'll compromise again, 3 yuan. If you think that's reasonable, we can get your hair washed first. If not, you can go look for something else."
Jiang Xuan readily agreed, "Okay, but I'm making it clear that if the perm isn't done well or damages the hair, we won't pay you."
"Leave it to me."
Shop owner: What I'm most confident in is my craftsmanship.
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