Chapter 90 The Barber
Ren Bingxin poked her head in and asked, "How do I collect it?"
After saying this, she lifted up her braid and asked:
"Old man, you buy hair, so how much is my hair worth?"
The barber glanced at Ren Bingxin cheerfully and said, "Girl, take off your hat and let me see it."
Ren Bingxin took off her hat. The barber looked at her and thought:
"I can give you four cents, how about that, girl? Is that okay?"
Ren Bingxin's lips moved, and she was about to nod in response when Lu Miao pulled her:
"Do you really want to cut it?"
Ren Bingxin nodded seriously, "It's not easy to take care of them normally, but today is the right time, so I can sell them for some money."
It was fine when I was at home, but after I went to the countryside, I was racing against time every day going to and from work, and I really didn’t have much time to take care of it.
Ren Bingxin said so, Lu Miao did not stop him, but when the barber lifted up Ren Bingxin's braid and was about to cut it, she reached out and took it:
"Uncle, try to cut it close to her ears. It's okay if it's a little shorter, but don't cut it too short here and too long there. It won't look good on a girl."
The barber was stunned for a moment, then reluctantly withdrew his scissors.
"I'll try my best... But then again, girl, I have a mission to complete when I take the hair back. I can't be too lenient, or I won't be able to give you the 40 cents."
Lu Miao's eyes curved, and his expression remained unchanged:
"We know, but uncle, it's not easy for a girl to have such a long braid. Just cut it off. Just make sure the remaining braid isn't too ugly. I don't ask for anything else."
Lu Miao was just worried. Although she had never sold her hair, she had seen a documentary before.
The content recorded there was much more cruel than what was seen before. The hair collectors would just use blades and scrapers to scrape the girls' scalps. The long hair would be gone, and the remaining stubble would be one inch long, and the short ones would barely reveal the white of the scalp, and the length would be like stubble.
To put it bluntly, the overall look is as if it was chewed by a dog. Although girls nowadays don't care so much about "beauty", they still have to look presentable when they go out.
Lu Miao spoke tactfully, and the barber understood what she meant. He wanted to bargain again, but he was afraid that these girls would be reluctant to sell their hair again, so he had to compromise, laughed twice, and said "I understand."
With Lu Miao watching, the barber didn't dare to cut Ren Bingxin's braids too harshly.
Because the barber had said before that he would give a free haircut to anyone who sold hair, Lu Miao did not waste the opportunity and acted as a "hairdressing consultant" by the side, picking out the bangs, trimming the sideburns, shaving the hair on the back of the neck, and so on.
The barber was in a panic. He had never seen such a haircutting technique before. For a moment, he almost thought that he could no longer cut or shave people's hair.
But when he pulled the towel off Ren Bingxin's neck and Ren Bingxin stood up, the barber's eyes lit up, "What a spirit!"
Geng Xiaoyun and the other male educated youth also nodded, "This hairstyle is good. It looks energetic and capable."
Lu Miao nodded.
really.
Ren Bingxin has an extroverted and lively personality, and her appearance is sweet and charming. Having long braids actually weakens her temperament, making her look ordinary and unremarkable.
Now the dry parts of the hair have all been cut off along with the braids, and the remaining short hair is black and soft. The lowest circle at the neck has also been shaved short according to Lu Miao's wishes.
In this way, the outer hair will naturally form an inward curling shape.
The short inward-curling bob perfectly magnifies all the advantages of Ren Bingxin's appearance and temperament, making her look brand new. Although her clothes and makeup don't keep up, and her sweetness is greatly reduced, her intelligence, cleverness, and efficiency cannot be ignored.
Everyone praised Ren Bingxin for her good haircut. When the barber thought about the fact that he had cut this hairstyle himself, his previous doubts about life disappeared and he gradually felt very pleased.
After collecting the braid, the barber handed the money to Ren Bingxin and said with a smile to Gu Ying and the others:
"You've seen the old man's craftsmanship. Is there anyone else who wants to sell his braids?"
Gu Ying didn't plan to sell her braids, and Lu Miao was even less likely to sell them. As for Yang Xiaojing and Geng Xiaoyun, they both had short hair, so they couldn't sell them even if they wanted to.
Having said that, Geng Xiaoyun still feels quite annoyed about selling her hair:
"Who knew there was a hair collector here? If I had known earlier, wouldn't I have kept my hair?"
Geng Xiaoyun has had short hair since she came to the countryside. Her hair has grown a lot in the past two months, but she finds it troublesome and hot to work with, so every time her hair grows a little longer, she borrows a pair of scissors and cuts it short herself.
Anyway, I just do whatever makes me feel comfortable and I don’t really care whether the cut is neat or not.
But this was just an old thought. Now that Ren Bingxin had a nice haircut and received some real money, Geng Xiaoyun felt really envious.
While Gu Ying and Lu Miao shook their heads, Geng Xiaoyun chatted and joked with the barber familiarly:
"Uncle, let's wait until next time! Next time, when our hair grows longer, we will definitely come to you to sell our hair!"
The barber laughed heartily: "Haha, good, good!"
After bidding farewell to the barber, everyone continued on their way to the Yanji Department Store. They soon arrived at the place. The male and female educated youth agreed on a time for lunch and gathered at the state-owned restaurant on the way. After lunch, everyone rushed to catch the 2 pm ferry back together.
After the agreement was reached, the group dispersed and moved around the department store.
The department store in Nanguzhen has two floors, while the one in Yanji has three floors. They sell everything from small items like hair ornaments and trouser waistbands to large items like bicycles and sewing machines.
Having adapted to the previous poor conditions, Lu Miao now saw so many dazzling things, his eyes widened and he looked around, looking as useless as Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden.
Ren Bingxin and the others were picking and choosing things in front of the glass counter at the entrance on the first floor, while Lu Miao had already moved to a counter further inside.
Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Lu Miao quickly adapted to the situation.
When she opened her eyes again, her gaze was sharp and determined. She clenched her fists and ran towards the nearest counter, starting to kill everyone.
"Toothpaste, soap, clam oil, any? Any?"
There were not many customers in the department store, and most of them were just looking and not buying. The business at the counter was slow. The salesperson with the Ma Dajie hairstyle was originally sorting out the invoices with her head down when Lu Miao suddenly pounced on her. The salesperson shuddered and jumped more than ten centimeters high in fright.
"Oh comrade, you scared me!"
The salesperson patted his chest, and Lu Miao laughed embarrassedly.
The salesperson recovered his composure and, seeing that she was a young girl, he did not get angry. Instead, he asked in a friendly manner:
"What did you order? Soap and clam oil, right? Yes, we have them all. Wait a minute, I'll get them."
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com