Return to the 1982 Staff Compound

Chapter 68: Get a Haircut

The older sister and the younger sister have finished their homework.

After dinner, we ran to our friend's house in the compound to watch TV. My little sister's childhood friend's father was a driver. His surname was Chen, and they called him Uncle Chen. His family was the second family in the compound to buy a TV, a 12-inch black and white TV. The conspicuous receiving wire on the roof belonged to their family.

The first family to buy a TV was Zhang Yougen, but he was not popular and few people dared to join in the fun at their house.

If you buy a 12-inch black and white TV now, it costs 440 yuan if you have a ticket.

Qiu Huoming still has more than 600 yuan in his hands, so he can afford it if he really wants to buy it, but a TV is not a necessity, and it is not cost-effective to spend too much money at once.

With the 50 yuan I gave to Chen Suniang last time, she bought a set of clothes for each member of her family, and was waiting for the weather to get warmer so that everyone could change into them.

The little sister was wearing a light red dress with a pair of the most popular pink plastic sandals. She chose the color herself. Qiu Huoming saw it once and thought it was really an eye-catcher.

The eldest sister wore a white shirt, blue pants, and a pair of black leather shoes with buckles. When she entered middle school, the dress code for every sports meet was always the same, so she just went with it.

Qiu Huoming had a pair of Huili sports shoes given by his eldest sister, so this time he bought a set of ready-made clothes, exactly the same as his eldest sister's, a white shirt and blue pants.

Chen Suniang bought a new pair of leather shoes for Qiu Jianshe and a floral dress for herself.

Unfortunately, it is only mid-April and there is still some time before the weather gets hot. From time to time, my sister takes out her beautiful new clothes and sighs at Tiansheng.

After finishing his meal, Qiu Huoming pushed the maintained car into the living room.

Anyway, the cross street was not far away and he could walk there, so he first walked to Dingjia Lane to find Ding Yu.

Ding Yu was squatting in the yard wiping the car, and Qiu Huoming couldn't help but laugh. Sure enough, everyone had the same attitude towards their cars and they all treasured them very much.

When Ding Yu raised his eyes and saw Qiu Huoming, he immediately threw away the rag in his hand and stood up.

"I've made an appointment with Li Ming to take headshots at a photo studio. Let's go together." Qiu Huoming stood at the gate of the yard, too lazy to go in. If he went in, he would have to accept his family's attentive greetings.

"okay."

Ding Yu shouted at the top of his voice: "Mom, Huozi and I are going to take a headshot..."

Before her mother could react, he had already walked out excitedly with his arm around Qiu Huoming's shoulder.

After passing the alley, we arrived at the street. "I'll go back and ask Li Ming for some badges to hang on my schoolbag."

Ding Yu said staggeringly.

"Your schoolbag is already fancy enough, why not hang it on you?" Qiu Huoming glanced at him and said.

"It's not impossible..."

The cross street was not far from his home. The two chatted for a few words before they saw Li Ming at the entrance of the photo studio. There was a small comic book stand at the entrance, and several children were sitting on small benches, reading intently.

He was also bending over the stall, scanning the covers of the picture books.

"Squad leader!" Ding Yu rushed forward a few steps and patted him on the shoulder.

Li Ming said awkwardly: "Don't call me monitor. We are not in school. Just call me by my name."

"Okay, squad leader, let's go."

Li Ming: …

The first floor of the studio is just an entrance to a staircase, with storefronts of other shops on both sides. The actual studio is on the second floor.

I went up the wooden stairs and saw the photographer upstairs organizing the props.

"Comrade, let's take a photo."

The photographer looked up and asked, "Lifestyle photo or headshot?"

"A one-inch headshot, for the college entrance exam."

"I see. There is a mirror and a comb over there. Comb your hair and straighten your collar."

There was indeed a mirror with its four corners no longer clear hanging at the entrance of the corridor, and on the shelf next to it were a comb and a spray bottle.

"If your hair is not smooth, you can spray it with water." The photographer walked to the reflector, adjusted the light, and said casually.

Qiu Huoming hasn't looked in the mirror for a while. Now he looks at himself, his hairstyle is quite similar to that of Nicholas Tse in his early years, wild and unruly. His hair is growing too fast.

He looked at Ding Yu and Li Ming; their hair wasn't that great either.

Looks like I need to go to a barber shop for a good trim.

"Okay, don't close your eyes... take another picture..." The photographer's head was covered with a black cloth behind the camera, and his voice rang out as emotionlessly as an assembly line.

The three of them quickly took the photos, paid 3 cents, and Qiu Huoming kept the receipt.

Come pick it up next week.

"Let's go get a haircut." Qiu Huoming suggested, touching the ends of his hair.

"Okay, my mom just bought me new clothes and a new hairstyle, which is awesome!" Ding Yu was the first to agree.

Qiu Huoming looked at the landlord's stupid son, then shifted his gaze to look at Li Ming.

"That's what I was thinking. Let's go to the shop at the corner of the street to get a haircut. My aunt is inside." Li Ming said with a smile.

He added: "She is really my aunt, my mother's cousin."

Qiu Huoming suddenly thought of what happened in the morning and felt inexplicably implicated.

The barber shop at the corner of the street is state-owned. The barbers inside all wear uniforms, and the name of the barber shop is printed on their white coats.

There was indeed an aunt with wavy hair inside, who looked young, about 30 years old. There was also a middle-aged man with shiny hair in the store.

Li Ming pushed the door open and walked straight towards her, "Auntie, I brought my classmate here to get a haircut."

Qiu Huoming glanced at the price list on the wall. The flat rate for cutting hair was 0.26 yuan regardless of hair length.

"Xiao Ming, your classmate is so handsome, come here, cut his hair, and take a picture to hang at the door..."

As expected, the aunt was not at all shy. She put a few hairpins on her curly hair and waved Qiu Huoming over.

"Auntie, if I take a photo, will you waive the haircut fee?" Qiu Huoming said as he approached.

"No, I don't own this shop. If your photo is hung here, not too many girls will like it." She stretched out her hand and shook open a white cover. "Come on, come on, sit down."

Qiu Huoming sat down and she put the coat around his neck from front to back.

Li Ming came over and said, "Auntie, I want to have my hair cut too."

"Old Zheng, give my nephew a haircut."

The aunt shouted at the top of her voice.

Ding Yu looked left and right, and found that he was the only one left, all alone, with no one paying attention to him.

"It's not a big deal that he's handsome." Ding Yu muttered, found an empty chair and sat down.

His whole body exudes a sense of loneliness, desolation and abandonment.

The auntie is a bit of a talker, but her skills are impeccable. After washing the hair, she starts scissoring directly, quickly, accurately and ruthlessly.

Finally, I used a trimmer to finish it, which only took about ten minutes.

Qiu Huoming touched his graying temples. After his hair was cut short, his whole aura suddenly became refreshed.

"I heard that the Shenhai City Film Studio is recruiting actors. Xiao Ming, I think your classmate can also go and try. Everyone says you are good-looking, but you see, as soon as your classmate comes, he outshines you!"

Master Zheng was also very fast. Li Ming patted the remaining hair stubble on his neck and walked closer to Qiu Huoming.

Auntie is already washing Ding Yu’s hair.

Qiu Huoming lowered his voice and asked, "Hey, Xiao Ming, your aunt is not from here, right?"

"You heard it too? She was transferred from Shenhai City to our area. She was originally going to go to the countryside, but she had good skills, so she stayed in the barber shop."