Chapter 106: Lao Zhou’s Story (Part 1)
The next day, Master's cold was cured.
As soon as I got to work, a room full of customers came to choose dates and give names.
My master and I had to divide the work. He said, "Shanhong, go to the study. We'll come to you to pick the names." I knew what he meant. Naming is all about fashion these days. I was more exposed to new things.
I sat down in my study when a couple came in and told me their child's birthdate. I said, "The Five Elements are missing Earth."
The woman said, "Please help us choose a name. Our last name is Zhou."
I wrote the character "Zhou" on a piece of paper, then slowly wrote a string of characters with the character "Tu" next to them. Men and women gathered together to look. I said, "Zhou Chuncheng."
The man asked, "What does this name mean?"
I pointed to the character "城" (city) and said, "It contains the character '土' (earth), which refers to the moist and fertile soil of spring. These two characters also come from a famous poem: 'Spring City, where flowers are everywhere flying.' It depicts a scene full of spring."
The woman said quickly, "This has a good meaning."
I glanced at the woman. She had double eyelids, large eyes, a large nose, and a wide mouth. This wasn't a beautiful face for a woman. But if it were a man, he would have the aura of great wealth and status. He looked kind and gentle, yet commanding.
Generally speaking, if a child resembles his mother, he will have great potential when he grows up. I smiled and said to the man, "This name has another meaning."
The man asked, "What does it mean?"
"In the future, he will look like a male god. There will be flowers flying everywhere in Chuncheng. Your Chuncheng will be surrounded by flowers and butterflies. He will find a beautiful girl in the future."
The man blushed, and the woman patted him on the back: "Good thing, the wife is not beautiful, but the daughter-in-law is beautiful."
The man asked, "Master Wan, can you tell fortunes?"
I laughed and said, "Don't tell fortunes. The son looks like his mother. Your wife looks like a girl with a boyish appearance. She is a good-looking woman who will give birth to a son."
The couple was very happy, put down two hundred yuan and left.
Another couple came in, their surname was Chu, they were boys, and they had everything they needed. I said: Chu Muqin.
The man looked bewildered, and the woman was a little dissatisfied: "You named it without even thinking about it?"
I smiled faintly. "As soon as I saw this surname, a line of poetry came to mind: 'One hundred and two Qin passes ultimately belonged to Chu.' 'Mu' means to manage."
The man slapped the table and said, "Well done."
It turns out that he is a Chinese teacher.
His wife asked, "What do you mean? Explain it to me."
My husband joked, "You keep complaining that your house isn't spacious enough, that it's too small. But when your son grows up, he'll be in charge of the hundreds of miles of land. You can build as many houses as you want."
The woman wanted to ask more, but the man gave me five hundred yuan and said with a smile, "A good name is priceless, Master Wan, you've worked hard."
Here is another pair, whose five elements are seriously lacking in "water" and have too much "wood".
The woman said, "Master Wan, our last name is You."
Without thinking, I said, "Swim the ocean."
The man asked, "Why swim in the ocean?"
I explained, "If there's no water at all, then we need to replenish water. Every character contains water, so we can survive even in the desert. Besides, don't think I chose it casually; I thought it through carefully."
The woman said, "Master Wan, please explain. I haven't received much education, and all I know is selling clothes."
I said, "Your son has a lot of wood. If you have a lot of wood, you can build a huge ship. And a huge ship can sail the ocean."
The man asked, "A good or bad name will affect a person's life, right?"
I laughed and said, "If you insist on naming him 'Idle', I agree. He might actually be idle when he grows up, but if you tell him that Duomu can become a giant warship, like Zheng He did, and travel around the world, maybe he will really become a man of great promise."
The woman took out five hundred yuan and said, "I just want to listen for pleasure."
I asked, "What kind of clothing do you sell?"
Ports women's clothing, the woman said.
I thought to myself: The profit is high, I would even accept it if you gave me 10,000.
This morning, I was dedicated to naming. Some people decided on one directly, while others picked three or four and then went back to consider them. In short, when it came to their children, no one was shy about being generous.
When we walked out to the living room, the master was still choosing a date for the last person. After choosing, the master stood up, raised his hands, yawned deeply, and stretched.
I said, "Let me give you a back rub."
He nodded: "It's good to beat it."
I pounded him slowly, and he said with some sadness, "Old Zhou from Shangjie died, and we're here to ask for a date for the funeral. I'll take you to see the grave this afternoon."
I asked, "Which street is Shangjie?"
My master told me that Shangjie is an old name. We call it Xiajie here, and Shangjie to the east. They are actually one street. Lao Zhou is a barber.
I hesitated for a moment and asked, "How come I don't know about Lao Zhou?"
The master sighed, "He passed away five or six years ago, and he used to sit here often. Later, he became ill and couldn't move, so he never left the house. His life was a legend."
I became interested and begged Master: "Then tell me about Lao Zhou."
The master waved his hand, indicating that he should stop beating me and asked me to sit opposite him.
I refilled Master's tea and listened to him tell the story between him and Lao Zhou.
The following is Master's account:
Lao Zhou's skills were superb. He was quick and efficient. He could shave people's beards and clean their ears, making them feel very comfortable. He could support his entire family. But his business eventually failed because there were so many hair salons everywhere.
Old Zhou was depressed for a while, and he would come to sit with me and complain, saying that he couldn't make any money even though he had good skills, and that the world had changed.
I advised Lao Zhou that the world was becoming less and less reliant on skills. He lamented that carpenters, bamboo weavers, blacksmiths, and tailor shops were all out of business. He grew increasingly depressed.
Seeing Lao Zhou often sitting around and sighing, I felt a pity for him. I wanted to give him some advice. It just so happened that my daughter took me to Shanghai for a trip and insisted I try something foreign. She took me to a very high-end barber shop and got me a haircut for 800 yuan.
I said: It’s too expensive.
My daughter Xiaoli said: The master is very famous.
I said: I don’t dare to be very famous, and my skills are not as good as Lao Zhou’s.
Xiaoli said: Dad, let’s become famous now.
After I came back, I had my own ideas and gave Lao Zhou an idea: to specialize in the business of veteran cadres. Lao Zhou looked bewildered.
I asked Lao Zhou: Think about those old cadres who have been officials for their entire lives, what do they want?
Lao Zhou said: Respect.
I enlightened him: And, keep talking.
Old Zhou touched his head and said: I will be a hairdresser for the rest of my life, I have a wooden head.
I enlightened him again: Why are there wards for high-ranking officials?
Lao Zhou slapped his thigh and said: What a treatment.
I explained my idea to Lao Zhou in detail.
Lao Zhou said: You are really a Zhuge Liang.
Half a month later, Lao Zhou's shop opened with a sign hanging on it: Zhou Gong Barber Shop.
The shop is decorated in a very high-end style. Other barber chairs are either swivel chairs or armchairs, but Lao Zhou's is a specially made mahogany armchair that can be turned and raised.
There's a recliner for shaving. Inside, there's a pair of high-end sofas, and paintings hang on the walls. Another hair salon has a young woman who offers a haircut and a massage.
After this incident, Lao Zhou's barber shop became famous.
When the shop opened, the fees were very high, 200 yuan per session, and they only cut five haircuts a day. He would cut the hair first, and then the girl would loosen the hair. And you had to make an appointment. Once you made an appointment, he would call you at the time and minute to show up.
This is obviously a place for rich people to get their hair cut.
If you bid high, I will slowly provide you with refined services.
At this point, the master stood up and said, "You can have lunch here. After lunch, we will go over and help you."
During the meal, the Master's wife said to the Master, "You have to make the decision for Old Zhou. If he doesn't have a son, he will only have a grandson."
I asked, "His son..."
The master replied, "He passed away several years earlier and died saving two children who fell into the water."
The Master's wife said, "It's so pitiful. Old Zhou's wife died two years after their son died. Our neighbors all said she died of anxiety. And their daughter-in-law married someone else."
The master said, "Let's not talk about this anymore."
Everyone ate in silence.
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