Chapter 19: Must Buy a Razor Ning Weidong left the yard and followed the alley to the intersection of Fuchengmen Street. The third shop on the left is a state-owned barber shop. It has a blue wooden door with the upper half made of glass. On the left and right sides are written the four big words "Haircut" and "Shave" in red pen. Ning Weidong pushed the door open and went in. There were four particularly heavy-looking cast iron chairs inside, facing a row of wooden cabinets with a row of mirrors. There was only one guest inside, and the other three were idle. Seeing someone coming in, a thin old lady who was drinking water immediately put down her cup and said, "Comrade, please sit here." Ning Weidong blinked his eyes and saw that this person must be over sixty years old. I wanted to change one, but when I looked at those two, they weren't much younger either. Come on, let's go with this one. He went over and sat down: "Auntie, give me a round head, cut it short, make it more lively, and shave my face." While listening, the old lady looked at Ning Weidong's appearance and head shape in the mirror in front of her.
After he finished speaking, he nodded and said, "You have a regular head shape, so a round head is the most suitable..." As he spoke, he shook the white cloth and held it in front of Ning Weidong. He picked up the bright silver manual clipper and with just a few clicks, he had already thrown a clump of hair to the ground. After about twenty minutes, my hair was cut. I looked in the mirror and found that there was no stubble left. Then the little old lady raised her foot and kicked the handle on the side of the seat with a familiar movement, making a "bang" sound. Ning Weidong felt a lightness on his back and fell backwards. The old lady picked up an enamel teacup from the side, with a brush tilted inside. She turned it quickly a few times to quickly create foam. There was no aerated shaving foam at that time, only soap was used. Heat the soap in advance, steam it until it is soft, and then make foam. Then there was a friction sound. From the corner of my eye, I could see the old lady opening the folding scraper, rubbing it on the leather strip a few times, then holding it in front of her eyes, looking at it for two seconds, and rubbing it a few more times. Ning Weidong lay there, his Adam's apple rolling as he swallowed a mouthful of saliva. Not for any other reason, he noticed that the old lady's hand holding the knife was shaking a little. He blinked his eyes and was about to say something when the blade had already landed on his face. He could clearly feel the coldness, followed by a "sizzling" sound of hair being cut... Ning Weidong swallowed back the words that were about to come out of his mouth. More than ten minutes later, Ning Weidong let out a long sigh and stood up from the hairdressing chair. But strangely enough, the old lady's hand holding the knife did not shake when it touched the skin, and after she shaved, not a single hair was broken. Ning Weidong looked in the mirror, changed his hairstyle, shaved his beard, and his whole mental state was different. Although Ning Weidong had a good foundation, was tall and strong, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, he gave people a sloppy feeling.
He had a half-long slicked-back hair, dandruff, and an untidy beard. Now he's like a different person. I paid two cents and left the barber shop. Ning Weidong thought to himself that he must go to the store to buy a razor later. By this time the sun was already high in the sky. At noon, there were more people on the street. Ning Weidong walked west along Fuchengmen Street, intending to go to Xisi. A few days ago, I had only one or two cents in my pocket and I didn't dare spend anything. Now, apart from the money from the Black Signature Club, I still have fifty dollars left, so I should buy some things. In addition to the shaving supplies I just wanted to buy, I also bought some change of clothes and two more packs of cigarettes. Ning Weidong doesn't have a heavy smoking habit, but if he doesn't have a cigarette in his pocket, he will feel uncomfortable when he wants to smoke. When we returned from West Fourth Street, it was already past one in the afternoon. It will take a few years for coupons to be gradually abolished, but for now you still need coupons to buy things. However, with the change in the relationship with America in the past few years, China has introduced billions of dollars of foreign investment in the form of debt, which has greatly alleviated the shortage of supplies. Although you still need to use coupons, buying things is far less difficult than in previous years. Ning Weidong took a look around, bought a variety of things, spent a total of six dollars, and walked back with the money. When we arrived at the west fork of the palace gate, we saw that the excavators and trucks were still there, and a group of people were still gathered nearby to watch the fun. Ning Weidong looked across the street and found Ning Lei was there too. There were two teenagers of similar age beside him. The three of them stretched their necks and moved their heads along with the shovel head of the excavator. Ning Weidong didn't call him and went straight home. Although they had agreed before that they would work together to find those things that Qi Jia hid, the two families would split them equally after finding them. But Ning Weidong knew very well that this agreement was completely invalid. After providing the information about Minkang Hutong, he was no longer valuable to Wang Jingsheng. There is a high probability that Wang Jingsheng will cross the river and then demolish the bridge. This is human nature, there is no need to criticize it on a moral level. The original owner had a friendship with Wang Jingsheng, but that didn’t mean Ning Weidong trusted him. Carrying the things I bought back to the yard. As soon as I entered the door, I saw an old lady in her fifties with gray hair hanging clothes. Ning Weidong smiled and said hello: "Auntie Wang, come and do the laundry~" This person is Wang Kai’s mother, Shi Xiaonan’s mother-in-law.
Aunt Wang saw Ning Weidong, put down her dripping clothes, waved her hands and came over to him: "Weidong~ Auntie wants to ask you something." Ning Weidong knew without thinking that it was most likely what happened last night. I don’t know what Wang Kai and Shi Xiaonan said when they got home. According to the original owner's memory, Aunt Wang was a nice person who was always willing to lend a hand to anyone in the compound who had big or small problems. It is best not to offend such people, because they are usually popular, but if there is any conflict, public opinion will be very unfavorable. Ning Weidong didn't play dumb, and said with a smile: "You want to ask if Sister Shi sprained her ankle last night?" Aunt Wang nodded quickly and lowered her voice and said, "Tell me what's going on." When they came back last night, Shi Xiaonan and Wang Kai both had sullen faces and ignored each other. Aunt Wang didn't dare ask any more questions until it was almost midnight, when she heard her son and daughter-in-law arguing again. Shi Xiaonan was concerned about her reputation and didn't want to be laughed at by her neighbors, so she kept her voice down even when they were arguing. The same is true for Wang Kai. Aunt Wang put her ear against the wall and listened for a long time but was still confused. She only heard Ning Weidong's name. Ning Weidong told me about how he saw Shi Xiaonan injured last night and how he rode his bicycle to carry her back. After he was done, he slapped his thigh and said, "Auntie Wang, you said this is a big deal. I was thinking, we are all neighbors, but who knows... Where can I go to seek justice?" Aunt Wang suddenly realized and quickly apologized: "Oh, your brother Wang has a bad temper. Auntie apologizes to you on his behalf..." She said a lot of things and finally said: "Weidong, please don't spread this." Ning Weidong understood Aunt Wang’s concerns. This kind of thing is hard to deal with. No matter what, Shi Xiaonan is his daughter-in-law. If any rumors spread, it would be her son who would be embarrassed. After Aunt Wang finished entrusting her with the task, she felt it was not yet safe, so she said, "Wait a minute," and went back to the house. When he came out again, he stuffed a pack of cigarettes into Ning Weidong's hand and said, "Thank you, Auntie." Ning Weidong took a look and saw that it was Daqianmen, 30 cents a pack, which was quite presentable. He smiled and said, "Don't worry, Auntie. I know the seriousness of this matter. I'll go back first." After getting the guarantee, Aunt Wang breathed a sigh of relief, but her face darkened as she watched Ning Weidong enter the Moon Gate. I had a feeling that the relationship between my second brother and Shi Xiaonan might really be coming to an end. (End of this chapter)
