Chapter 19: Must Buy a Razor

Ning Weidong left the courtyard and followed the hutong to the intersection of Fuchengmen Street.

The third storefront on the left was the State-owned barbershop; it had a blue wooden door with glass on the upper half, and the characters for "Haircut" and "Shave" were written in red ink on the left and right sides respectively.

Ning Weidong pushed the door open and entered.

Inside were four heavy-looking cast-iron chairs, facing a row of wooden cabinets inlaid with a long mirror.

There was only one customer inside, and the other three people were idle.

Seeing someone enter, a thin, elderly woman who had been drinking water immediately put down her cup and said, "Comrade, please take a seat here."

Ning Weidong blinked; he reckoned this person was probably over sixty.

He had a mind to switch to another, but a glance at the other two showed they weren't much younger.

Forget it, he would just go with her, so he walked straight over and sat down: "Auntie, give me a crew cut, keep it short, make it look sharp, and give me a shave too."

The old woman listened while scrutinizing Ning Weidong's features and head shape in the mirror in front of her.

Once he finished, she nodded and said, "Your head shape is well-proportioned, a crew cut is most suitable..."

As she spoke, she took a white cape, gave it a shake, and draped it over Ning Weidong.

She picked up the shiny silver manual clippers, *clack-clack*, and after just a few strokes, a tuft of hair fell to the floor.

About twenty minutes later, the haircut was finished; looking in the mirror, sure enough, not a single stubble was sticking out.

The little old woman then lifted her foot and expertly kicked the lever on the side of the chair, which let out a "bang" sound.

Ning Weidong felt his back lighten as he suddenly tilted backward.

The old woman picked up an enamel tea mug from the side with a brush leaning inside, swirled it quickly, and rapidly whipped up a lather.

There was no such thing as aerosol shaving foam back then; they used nothing but soap.

The soap was heated beforehand to soften it, then whipped into a foam.

Then came a sound of friction.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the old woman open a folding razor, hone it on a leather strop a few times, hold it up to her eyes to inspect it for two seconds, then hone it a few more times.

Lying there, Ning Weidong couldn't help but swallow hard, his Adam's apple bobbing.

It wasn't for any other reason; he had noticed that the old woman's hand holding the blade was actually trembling.

He blinked, just about to say something, when the blade landed on his face; he could clearly feel that icy coldness, followed by the "shhh" sound of hair being cut...

The words on the tip of Ning Weidong's tongue were instantly swallowed back.

After another ten minutes or so, Ning Weidong let out a long breath and stood up from the barber chair.

Strangely enough, once the old woman's hand holding the blade touched his skin, it stopped trembling, and after the shave, not a single patch of skin was broken.

Ning Weidong looked in the mirror; with his new hairstyle and his beard shaved off, his entire demeanor was different.

Although Ning Weidong had a good foundation before—tall, sturdy, with thick eyebrows and big eyes—he had given off a sloppy impression.

His hair had been long, greasy, and full of dandruff, and his face had been covered in stubble.

Now, it was as if he were a different person.

He paid two mao and walked out of the barbershop.

Ning Weidong calculated in his heart that he must go to the store later to buy a razor.

By now, the sun was directly overhead.

At noon, the streets became crowded, and Ning Weidong walked west along Fuchengmen Street, intending to go check out Xisi.

A couple of days ago, he had only one mao and two fen in his pocket, so he hadn't dared to spend anything at all.

Now, excluding the Black Signature Society's money, he had fifty yuan on hand; he really ought to buy some things.

Besides the razor he had just thought of, he needed a change of clothes and, while he was at it, two packs of cigarettes.

Ning Weidong didn't have a heavy smoking habit, but he didn't have a single cigarette in his pocket, and it was miserable whenever he felt like having one.

By the time he returned from Xisi Street, it was already past one in the afternoon.

It would be a few years before the ration coupon system was gradually abolished, so for now, one still had to rely on coupons to buy things.

However, following the shift in relations with America a few years prior, the country had introduced billions of dollars in foreign capital in the form of debt, which had greatly eased the shortage of supplies. Although coupons were still required, buying things was far less strenuous than it had been a few years ago.

Ning Weidong made a round, spent a total of six yuan on various odds and ends, and carried them back.

When he arrived at Gongmenkou West Fork, he saw the excavator and trucks were still there, and a circle of bored onlookers was still gathered nearby to watch the excitement.

Ning Weidong searched across the road, and sure enough, Ning Lei was there too.

Beside him were two other boys of similar age; the three of them were craning their necks, their heads following the movement of the excavator's bucket.

Ning Weidong didn't call out to him and went straight home.

Although it had been agreed upon that they would cooperate to find the things Qi Jiazui had hidden, and that the two families would split them equally once found.

But Ning Weidong knew very well that such an agreement meant nothing at all.

After providing the information about Minkang Hutong, he had no more value to Wang Jingsheng.

Next, Wang Jingsheng would most likely burn the bridge after crossing it.

This was human nature; there was no need to criticize it from a moral standpoint.

The original owner had a friendship with Wang Jingsheng, but that didn't mean Ning Weidong trusted him.

He carried his purchases back into the courtyard.

As soon as he entered the gate, he saw a woman in her fifties with graying hair hanging up laundry.

Ning Weidong greeted her with a smile: "Auntie Wang, doing the laundry?"

This person was none other than Wang Kai's mother, Shi Xiaonan's mother-in-law.

Seeing Ning Weidong, Auntie Wang hurriedly put down the dripping clothes, shook her hands, and came to meet him: "Weidong, Auntie wants to ask you something."

Ning Weidong didn't need to think to know it was likely about what happened last night.

He didn't know what Wang Kai and Shi Xiaonan had said when they got home.

According to the original owner's memories, Wang Dama is a decent person, always happy to lend a hand whenever anyone in the courtyard has a major or minor issue.

It is best not to offend such a person, because she is well-liked, and if there were ever any conflict, public opinion would be very unfavorable.

Ning Weidong did not play dumb, smiling as he said, "Are you asking about Sister Shi spraining her ankle last night?"

Wang Dama nodded quickly, lowering her voice to say, "Tell me, what exactly happened?"

When they returned last night, Shi Xiaonan and Wang Kai were both pulling long faces, neither speaking to the other.

Wang Dama did not dare to ask too much, waiting until nearly midnight when she heard her son and daughter-in-law arguing again.

Shi Xiaonan cares about her reputation and does not want the neighbors to laugh at her, so she kept her voice down while arguing.

Wang Kai was the same.

Wang Dama pressed her ear against the wall, listening for a long time but still confused, only hearing the name Ning Weidong.

Ning Weidong explained the situation of meeting the injured Shi Xiaonan last night and riding his bicycle to bring her back, then slapped his thigh and said, "Wang Dama, look at the mess this caused. I just thought, we're all neighbors, but who knew... where am I supposed to go to reason this out?"

Wang Dama suddenly understood and quickly apologized, "Oh my, your Brother Wang has that stubborn mule temper; Dama will apologize to you on his behalf..." She rambled on for a while, finally saying, "Weidong, don't go spreading this around."

Ning Weidong understood Wang Dama's concern; this kind of thing is hard to talk about and doesn't sound good.

No matter what, Shi Xiaonan is her daughter-in-law, and if any rumors spread, it is her son who loses face.

After making her request, Wang Dama still felt uneasy, so she said "wait here" and turned to go back into her room.

When she came back out, she had a pack of cigarettes in her hand and shoved them at Ning Weidong, saying, "Dama thanks you."

Ning Weidong took a look; it was Great Front Gate, thirty cents a pack, which was a decent gift.

He chuckled, "Don't worry, Dama, I know the gravity of the situation. I'll be heading back now."

Having received his assurance, Wang Dama breathed a slight sigh of relief, but as she watched Ning Weidong enter the Moon Gate, her expression darkened.

She had a premonition that her second son and Shi Xiaonan were likely coming to the end of their road.

(End of chapter)