Chapter 128 Can I Buy a Rubber Band? This Person Isn't Worth Saving
The interior of the clean women's bathhouse was not much different from a modern bath center. After Yao Xiaoyu paid, someone helped her put her belongings in a special locker and then led her to change into a bathrobe and slippers.
Yao Xiaoyu noticed that someone had brought their own bathrobe, but since her trip was impulsive, she could only rent one temporarily. She had originally wanted to buy it, but the wardrobe in the room was only so big, and she had just taken a few summer dresses from Tao Jingu, so she decided not to put any more pressure on the wardrobe.
"The yukata and slippers are new, please take a look."
The waitress handed over the clothes. Clothing in this era mostly used plant-based dyes, and after a few washes, the color would noticeably fade. Unlike modern clothes, it wasn't difficult to tell if something was new or old. But that's a bit of a stretch…
Do you still have any old ones here?
Yao Xiaoyu asked curiously, "Modern bathhouses reuse bathrobes, and this place is almost one person per customer, is it still like this?"
"some."
This wasn't something that couldn't be said, and the waitress answered naturally. As a result, Yao Xiaoyu unlocked a new piece of knowledge: in addition to renting out old items, the women's bathhouse also sold second-hand goods.
The consumer groups for second-hand items such as old yukatas can be mainly divided into two categories: one is customers who prioritize saving money and hope to get the best value for money.
While the clean women's bathhouse is indeed positioned as high-end, the services offered are tailored to different budgets. If you don't buy any additional services and just want the simplest body scrub, many people can afford it by gritting their teeth and saving up for a while.
In their consumption view, it is inappropriate to purchase bath-related items specifically for a limited number of enjoyments, and even renting new ones is not cost-effective. Although the old bathrobes have been worn by others, the previous wearers were also women, and the bathhouses are very clean, so it is not difficult to accept them.
Another type of customer chooses second-hand yukatas and other items because they prioritize comfort.
Many clothes from this era become softer and more comfortable to wear the more they are washed. Newborn babies are often swaddled with old clothes, which not only saves resources through recycling but also makes the fabric softer and less likely to hurt the baby's skin after being washed multiple times.
The yukata, washed many times, looks unattractive and lacks style, but it's so comfortable it's captivating. Bathhouses are places to let loose, so no one will criticize your clothes for looking like pickled vegetables. Many people completely abandon any concern for their image and just enjoy themselves.
The waitress was rather vague about this, but the women who came and went were all kinds of people. When faced with a real-life case, Yao Xiaoyu understood everything. The waitress, caught up in the situation, was completely oblivious and continued to explain dutifully.
This wasn't the first time Yao Xiaoyu had asked these questions. Bathhouses were all-female establishments, and while women spent large sums of money there, they were also extremely concerned about what to do with their belongings—old items and broken items were two completely different things! The former could be called thrift, but the latter was seen as disrespectful!
If you dare to rent out clothes with holes today, will you be able to skip changing the water tomorrow to save money? And the day after tomorrow, will you be able to sell counterfeit French cosmetics?
During the training, the instructors repeatedly emphasized this aspect, so when Yao Xiaoyu asked about used clothes, the waitress cleverly provided a thorough answer to ensure the customer's satisfaction and peace of mind.
"Selling used items is not about selling individual items..."
While there are many renters of secondhand yukatas, most people still prefer new clothes. In addition, customers are more interested in renting old yukatas and other items than buying them. To satisfy customers, many secondhand items are collected when they are worn out or nearly worn out in the bathhouse and sold in bulk on fixed dates.
Everything in this era is useful. A tattered yukata might lower a customer's opinion in a bathhouse, but outside, there are plenty of people who can't afford clothes. These are considered top-quality items, and there's never a shortage of them.
Originally, these old items were meant for pawnshop clerks and secondhand dealers to select and dispose of. But once people in the neighborhood found out and confirmed that they were all good items, they spontaneously developed a group-buying model, buying them and then distributing them gradually. Now, people are even coming to their door to buy them.
"It's a pity. When I was selling things outside, there were always many vendors around here. It was easy to find cheap and good food. Now they're all gone."
The bathhouse originally had a rule of selling on the 7th, that is, the 7th, 17th and 27th of each month. After a few times, the vendors came by the smell of the bathhouse. When the bathhouse stopped selling clothes, the vendors who made a living by selling these goods naturally ran out of money and left, leaving the wide and clean road behind.
...
Can I buy this separately?
Yao Xiaoyu pointed to the hair tie in her hand and asked, "This is a common brown-yellow old-fashioned rubber band. It was delivered along with the new bathrobe. The waitress explained that it could be used to tie hair and was about to demonstrate how to use it. Yao Xiaoyu symbolically learned how to use it and then couldn't wait to ask about the possibility of bulk purchase." [1]
Because these rubber bands easily get tangled in hair, they were long replaced by various hair ties after Yao Xiaoyu grew up. Nowadays, they are mostly used to tie up small things, but this is the first time Yao Xiaoyu has ever seen one in this era.
Hairbands, ribbons, and silk ribbons are all very pretty, but using them to tie your hair is something you have to experience to know, especially for Yao Xiaoyu who is not very good at it.
"It doesn't matter if it's expensive, I have money!"
Yao Xiaoyu looked at the waitress with longing. Some things are only valued when they are lost. No matter how expensive rubber bands are, they are definitely not as valuable as gold of equal value. She wanted to buy a hundred or two to keep on hand so she could wear her hair in a high ponytail all summer long.
"This is not for sale."
The waitress refused Yao Xiaoyu's offer. The boss had only received the rubber bands from the cargo ship a few months ago. It was said that it had taken several years just to establish the shipping route, and another few years for each round trip of the cargo ship. The number of rubber bands had been calculated and was to be used until the next batch arrived.
Because of their scarcity and difficulty in obtaining them, the owner had already stated in advance that they would only be provided to bathhouses and not sold separately, at least not openly.
However, it is said that the boss is in talks with foreign countries to buy a batch of machines that can make rubber bands. Once the factory is built, it should be able to start selling them.
After confirming that she couldn't buy it directly, Yao Xiaoyu was somewhat disappointed, but she didn't give up. Once she found out that the rubber band was a free gift with the rental of the new bathrobe, she decisively decided to go back and drag all three women from the Yao family over. She would offer them a free bath, in exchange for the rubber band.
She wasn't worried about breaking the rules. Tao Xiaoxiao had noticed her interest in the rubber band and offered her hers. The waiter had only glanced at it and hadn't said anything.
It's summer now, so taking a shower twice a week isn't excessive, right? Five people would be ten rubber bands. If she brings a few more people over, she can gather quite a few rubber bands.
Yao Xiaoyu's mind raced with calculations, and as she thought about it, she sighed inwardly: she really had a lot on her mind to rack her brains over a thousand rubber bands that cost a few dollars these days.
But since the rubber band has already appeared, could her hair dryer be brought out by the butterfly beforehand?
The thought only flashed through Yao Xiaoyu's mind. She quickly changed her clothes and went to a private room to take a bath. The large ceramic tub was filled with hot water, which was comfortable, but it always made Yao Xiaoyu hallucinate that she was a lamb being boiled on the Green Green Grassland.
When Yao Xiaoyu had soaked for a while, she submerged her head underwater, mimicking a little fish blowing bubbles. Then she got up to wash her hair. The female staff here are specially trained, and as long as you are willing to pay, they can not only wash your hair, but also cut your hair, give you a bath, and massage. When Yao Xiaoyu came out with her wet hair, she felt light and airy all over.
Then look at Tao Xiaoxiao, who received the same service; she's still in a daze.
Yao Xiaoyu sat in the rest area, picked up a book and flipped through it for a while. She got a headache from the fox spirit in the book who poured her heart out to the scholar, so she simply stopped reading and ordered two plates of iced watermelon and some wontons to fill her stomach. She then invited Tao Xiaoxiao to eat with her.
She planned to wait until her hair was dry before going out, but apart from the lights, there weren't many activities that interested Yao Xiaoyu in this place, so it would be better to eat something to pass the time.
After eating watermelon and red dates, cracking walnuts and chewing pine nuts, and hearing the news that she wanted several servings of pan-fried buns, Yao Xiaoyu was so full that she didn't want to move until her hair was almost dry.
The day went smoothly until the very end when an accident occurred. The driver started swaying and the rickshaw became unsteady, as if it were drunk. Yao Xiaoyu called for the driver to stop and rest, but the driver plunged into a ditch, and the rickshaw fell down with him. Fortunately, Yao Xiaoyu and the other driver jumped off the rickshaw in time and were not injured except for getting their clothes dirty.
The driver was mumbling something in the ditch, then started shouting, then wailing. He didn't seem like a normal person at all. Yao Xiaoyu felt uneasy watching him, but the few idle men who were originally going to help rescue him were not surprised, since she had used her money to bring him over.
"He's having an opium addiction. You're kind-hearted, miss, but this man isn't worth saving."
The leader of the idlers rolled his eyes at the man. They had seen everything on the street. Don't be fooled by his pitiful crying now. If anyone went over, he would be taken advantage of.
Upon hearing this, Yao Xiaoyu turned and left. If he was crushed by life, she could still help him. But someone addicted to this stuff was no longer human. Not demanding compensation from him was the greatest kindness Yao Xiaoyu could show.
Yao Xiaoyu went home in a huff and wrote several unusual articles in succession—she wrote them in the style of letters, each one about several thousand words long, with different times, places, and people involved. She would stuff them into an envelope and seal it, and they would become impeccable family letters from all directions, with similar themes: the once happy family had been ruined by opium addiction.
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The author says: [1] The main raw material of rubber bands is rubber. Rubber factories in Shanghai were not established until after 1920.
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