Chapter Eighty-Seven: The Explosive Haircut

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After all the cold-perm solution had been applied, Hong Tao told Third Cousin everything she needed to do. Cover it with a towel, pour boiling water over another towel to make it hot, lay it on top, then put on the plastic cap. After thirty minutes, open one curl to check the result. If it has already taken shape, apply the setting lotion again. If the wave is still not clear, replace the hot towel and wait another ten minutes.

“Can I move now?” Han Xue suddenly interjected.

“Yes. What do you need to do? Oh... the toilet is on the left, all the way to the end...” Hong Tao had barely answered yes when Han Xue sprang from the chair. He blinked, immediately realizing why she was in such a hurry, and called after her to point her in the right direction.

“Xiao Tao, I don’t think this girl is any good. She’s like those little hussies on the street. Auntie said she wasn’t her classmate, so who is she?” Seeing Han Xue run off, Third Cousin asked Hong Tao in a whisper.

“Stop worrying about that. The important thing is learning what I’ve taught you. When your little uncle gets back from school later, I’ll teach you how to use the clippers!” Hong Tao was thoroughly annoyed by her curiosity and gossiping. She was as stupid as a pig when it came to learning, yet so keen to pry into other people’s business.

“See? A curl like this is about right. Everyone’s hair is different, so it’s best to pull the curl open by hand, then let go and check the effect before deciding. Go bring over the basin. Wash Han Xue’s hair first, and wash it several times—the solution can sting the skin.” After a while, Han Xue returned with a swaying gait. After half an hour of waiting, they applied the setting lotion again and waited another ten minutes. At last, the first perm Hong Tao had ever given anyone in his life was finally finished.

“Why are the curls all pressed right against the scalp? That’s so ugly!” After washing her hair, Han Xue pulled a small round mirror from her pocket, eager to see what her hair looked like. But after only one glance, her face fell miserably.

“It’s not done yet. Sit still!” Hong Tao pressed Han Xue back into the chair, picked up the scissors, and continued shaping her hair. Only then did he draw out a length of wire from the kitchen window and plug the hair dryer into the lonely wall socket, beginning to blow-dry Han Xue’s hair.

“My goodness, whose girl is this? Her head is just too interesting!”

“Well, now, you startled me! I thought it was some sort of spirit-medium ceremony!”

“Xiao Tao, you did this? Wasn’t it troublesome? Do one for me too!”

By then it was nearly noon, and many people from nearby workplaces had come home for lunch. Seeing Han Xue’s woolly curls in the middle of the courtyard, some praised them, some mocked them, and some made sly remarks. Coupled with the neighbors passing through the alley, a crowd soon gathered in the courtyard. Everyone chattered away, commenting on the hairstyle, and little by little the topic shifted from her hair to Han Xue’s clothes and trousers.

“All right, go inside and take a look. See how it looks!” At last, Hong Tao pulled out a few wisps of fringe at the front of Han Xue’s hair and used the blow dryer to curl them inward. Then he announced proudly to Han Xue that the great work was complete.

“What do you think?” Han Xue stood up but did not rush into the house. Instead, she asked Hong Tao’s Third Cousin anxiously.

“It’s beyond saving! Exactly like it is on television, even prettier than on television. Xiao Tao, do one for me too!” Third Cousin’s eyes were nearly bulging out of their sockets. She grabbed Hong Tao, who was still standing on the little stool, and shook him as if her life depended on it.

“Hey, hey, hey... don’t shake me, don’t shake me! I’m going to fall! Yours won’t do. Believe me, your aunt’s husband would dare shave you bald if he wanted to. Hurry and learn the trade. Once you’ve learned it and earned some money, your aunt’s husband won’t interfere with you anymore. Understand?” Hong Tao nearly let her shake him off the stool. Seeing her like this, he seized the chance to paint a rosy future for her, so she would willingly learn hairdressing from him.

“Mhm, mhm, mhm, I’m going to take a look inside first!” This time Third Cousin truly seemed eager to learn. She nodded like a pecking chicken and then darted into Auntie’s room as fast as she could. Immediately, several girls’ shrieks came from inside.

At lunch, Uncle-in-Law’s face was so dark it could have been the bottom of a pot. He ate hurriedly, glanced at Han Xue’s head of curls, then at Hong Tao, then at his own third daughter, shook his head, and left. Grandmother said nothing, only remarked that such hair was hard to manage and would take heaven only knew how much shampoo. Little Uncle, Auntie, and Third Cousin had not dared say a word. As soon as Uncle-in-Law left, they relaxed at once, gathering around Han Xue’s head from every side, looking left and right and even reaching out to tug at it, as though trying to pick lice.

“Xiao Tao, why not give me a head like this too, like Michael Harrison’s! And let my sister make me a pair of bell-bottoms. I’m going out to a movie with my classmates the day after tomorrow—will I make it in time?” Soon after, Auntie, Han Xue, and Third Cousin slipped back into Auntie’s room to whisper among themselves, leaving Little Uncle stranded outside the door. Seeing that there was no hope of satisfying his curiosity by looking on, Little Uncle simply came to Hong Tao and decided to try his luck.

“You can’t. Whether Grandfather agrees is one thing, but in another half-month school will start. Do you think your teachers will let you off? Better endure it quietly. If nothing else, let Auntie make you a pair of narrow flared trousers. Keep it subtle and see whether the teachers care.” Hong Tao shook his head again and again.

He could not agree to Little Uncle’s request. Back when explosive hair and bell-bottoms had first come into fashion, there had been more than a few students whose hair was cut and trousers slit into strips on the spot by teachers from the discipline office standing right at the school gate. When you already knew you could not escape it, why go and invite disaster? You might even end up with a punishment on your record. It simply was not worth it.

“Then make me a patterned shirt, like your classmate’s. By the way, is she really your classmate? Why have I never seen her at school? She isn’t from school, is she?” Little Uncle still would not give up. Now he was thinking about getting himself a plaid shirt. In this era, a plaid shirt was basically a flashy shirt, and anyone who wore one was seen as a street loafer by nearly everyone.

“She’s someone I know from the street. And forget about the shirt. Wait until next year. I figure when more people are wearing them then, the school won’t bother with it.” Hong Tao’s words were pure nonsense. Even if more people wore them next year, it would be out in society, not at school. There was still no chance there.

Hong Tao still underestimated Han Xue’s influence, and even more, he underestimated the reckless courage of young people in that age. Starting the next day, he became a full-time barber. At the Grandmother’s house, there were as many as four or five people crouching or standing in line in the courtyard at any given moment, men and women alike, all waiting for perms. It was also the first time Hong Tao saw the little hooligan who hung around with Han Xue.

The fellow was only in his early twenties, tall and lanky, with slanted eyes and high cheekbones. Though he had little flesh on his face, he still gave off a hard, vicious air—clearly not someone easy to provoke. He came in with one arm wrapped around Han Xue’s waist. From the way the two of them exchanged looks, their relationship was certainly not ordinary. Yet he was quite polite to Hong Tao, not treating him like a child at all. He even took out a cigarette and asked Hong Tao whether he smoked. Grandmother saw it and scolded him roundly, but from start to finish he kept smiling, never arguing with the old lady.

Grandmother could let it go, but the neighbors in the alley and the courtyard would not. The once quiet alley now had all kinds of dubious idlers coming and going in groups every day. They were not stealing chickens or dogs, nor starting fights, but they still looked wrong somehow. The neighbors did not go directly to Hong Tao’s grandfather about it. Instead, they went to the neighborhood committee. In the end, the committee director came to speak with Hong Tao’s grandfather, who in turn tactfully relayed the neighbors’ concerns.

This time Grandfather did not shield Hong Tao. That very evening he told Hong Tao that things could not go on like this. The old man’s exact words were: rabbits do not eat the grass by their own burrows; even if you are going to make trouble, you cannot do it right at your own doorstep. He was also deeply worried that Hong Tao, at such a young age, was mixing with those social loafers. Only after Hong Tao repeatedly promised did he agree not to interfere for the moment, and to wait and see how matters developed.

Hong Tao thought Grandfather made a great deal of sense. In this age, when nobody was much better than anybody else, being the first bird out of the nest was not always wise. It was still better to keep a low profile. Han Xue’s gang of disreputable friends certainly could not keep coming to Grandmother’s courtyard for perms. If they wanted clothes or trousers, Han Xue would have to buy them on their behalf. As for where to practice Sister Da Ling’s hairdressing skills, they would have to start with their own family and the neighbors.

Since you won’t let me entertain outsiders, then just wait and suffer. Whenever someone came to ask Hong Tao for a haircut or perm, he had Sister Da Ling do the work while he watched from the side. Haircutting, like learning to drive, is not something you master by watching for a year; an hour of hands-on practice is better than anything. As for whether those people liked it or not, Hong Tao did not care. They came to him to save money and effort, and he was training an apprentice, so he had to use them as practice. It was six of one and half a dozen of the other—no one had room to complain.

By mid-August, both the tailor shop and the hair salon were finally completed. The two places were decorated in almost identical styles, each with a facade assembled from wooden strips. The doors and windows had been fitted with as much glass as possible. There were no especially garish colors, but compared with the other storefronts on the street, they stood out no matter how you looked at them; one could spot the two little shops from far away.

At night, the effect was even more striking. The two large glass characters above the hair salon reflected a strange light under the illumination, and whether one was riding in a car, on a bicycle, or simply walking, one would inevitably notice something flashing there. There was no way to miss it even if one wanted to.

Though the renovation was finished, they still could not open at once. Equipment and supplies had to be arranged inside. This time Grandfather could not sit still. He brought both the elder uncle and the younger uncle over, even calling in the elder aunt, who rarely came by. Even he himself was put under Hong Tao’s command: if told to move something, he moved it; if told to wipe glass, he wiped glass; if told to mop the floor, he mopped the floor. No complaints were allowed. If anyone said a single word, the old man would curse them out on the spot.