Chapter 32: The More Perms, the More Money

Yì Ān’ān quickly waved her hand. “No, he’s like a younger brother to me!”

Táng Ārén also said in a low voice, “I’m not her boyfriend. I just stayed in case big sis needed my help.”

Sister Lán continued to laugh. “Oh my, the way you two care about each other is so touching. Ān’ān, why didn’t you marry him back then?”

Yì Ān’ān gave a helpless smile—this Sister Lán was such a gossip!

Táng Ārén snuck a glance at Yì Ān’ān.

Táng Ārén was an orphan who often got bullied at the educated youth camp. At first, he felt he wasn’t worthy of Yì Ān’ān. But the day he went to Yánjiā Village to find out where she lived, he heard some troubling rumors—he hadn’t expected Yì Ān’ān to marry one of the village’s worst men, someone even lower than himself!

He turned to look at Yì Ān’ān, his eyes full of pain.

That Zhan Nánhuī, with his cold face and harsh tone, obviously had a bad temper—maybe even hit people. Yì Ān’ān must have been forced to marry him. The villagers had even said her stepmother took a large bride price to marry Yì Ān’ān off, just to get money to marry off her own son.

The more Táng Ārén thought about it, the more pity he felt for her. At lunch, he was busy running around, fetching chopsticks and bowls for her.

Yì Ān’ān had given six perms that morning. She was exhausted—her arms felt too weak to lift properly. But Táng Ārén, trying to save money, had ordered the cheapest noodles. She tried a few times, but just couldn’t manage to pick them up.

Táng Ārén quietly asked, “Do you want me to help?”

Yì Ān’ān waved him off. “I can eat on my own.”

His face flushed red. “I didn’t mean feed you—I meant maybe I could swap it for stewed flatbread in broth. I can eat that too.”

Yì Ān’ān smiled. “Sure!”

Táng Ārén quickly got up to order another bowl of stewed flatbread, taking his time so his face wouldn’t be so red when he returned.

His noodles had already gone soggy, but he insisted on waiting for Yì Ān’ān’s meal before eating.

Finally, the food arrived. He handed her chopsticks, then lowered his head and wolfed down his own meal.

In no time, both bowls of noodles were gone.

He wiped his mouth awkwardly. “Sorry, I was starving.”

“Want another bowl of flatbread? I think it tastes pretty good,” Yì Ān’ān asked.

Táng Ārén glanced around, then leaned in and whispered, “The food here is too expensive. Just this one bowl of noodles is 80 cents—two bowls are 1.60 yuan. The flatbread is one yuan—more expensive. I’ll skip it and eat sweet potatoes back at the team.”

Yì Ān’ān smiled and insisted on ordering another bowl of stewed flatbread, this time adding beef to it.

When the dish came, Táng Ārén was distressed to see the meat inside. He had checked earlier—beef cost one yuan. He only had one yuan total, which Yì Ān’ān had given him. It was enough to buy her one bowl of flatbread—no extra meat.

“You eat the beef,” he said, trying to place it into her bowl.

“I’m full,” Yì Ān’ān said, putting down her chopsticks with a smile. “You eat. Help me with work, and there’ll be meat every meal.”

Táng Ārén smiled shyly. “I only carried a basket for you—not even worth the price of one bowl of noodles, let alone beef.”

“By the way, how’s the food at your educated youth camp?” Yì Ān’ān asked.

He looked malnourished—yellow skin, thin frame.

He hesitated before answering, “Our camp is mainly working on the Dǒngjiāzhuǐ Reservoir. I can’t swim and I work slower than others, so I’m always the last to eat. The food is cold and usually just leftover cornbread and sweet potatoes. I haven’t had fine grains in ages.”

Looking at his honest smile, Yì Ān’ān thought of how tragic his life had been in her past life. She sighed deeply.

This same man—who couldn’t even get enough to eat—once jumped into an icy river in the dead of winter to save her daughter.

Wait…

Yì Ān’ān suddenly realized something.

Táng Ārén said he couldn’t swim—then how did he manage to save her daughter in the previous life?

But she remembered clearly: he was holding her daughter on the riverbank…

Yì Ān’ān was momentarily dazed.

“Sis, are you okay?” Táng Ārén asked.

“Oh, nothing. Could you help me check out the situation at the bookstore later?” she quickly replied.

He had no idea why he was being sent to the bookstore, but obediently nodded.

Yì Ān’ān looked at his earnest face and sighed. She’d deal with that matter later—right now, the focus was making money.

After resting a bit post-lunch, she went to perm the hair of Huā Jiě and Xiǎo Wáng. Both were thrilled with the results.

“How much for these hairstyles?” Huā Jiě nudged Xiǎo Wáng to ask.

Yì Ān’ān smiled. “You two are our poster girls—how could I charge you? It’s my gift. Just help bring in more customers with your enthusiasm, and that’ll be payment enough.”

The state-run salon had notoriously bad service. Yì Ān’ān wanted to attract more customers by ensuring the staff had better attitudes, so she started by winning over the workers.

Huā Jiě was delighted. “You went out for lunch and missed it—several people came asking about your hairstyles. I told them you’d start tomorrow, and they booked appointments. I’d say this business is going to boom!”

Yì Ān’ān nodded and then addressed the whole staff. “For everyone who comes in for this hairstyle, I’ll give half of my profits to the team. Whoever handles the customer—whether doing the perm or the reception—gets an extra 50 cents per person. That bonus comes from the extra one yuan I charge.”

The salon doing well made Huā Jiě happy—good for promotions. But for staff, it meant more work for the same fixed salary. So Yì Ān’ān was willing to earn less to build goodwill and reputation.

After all, even if she earned just 50 cents per head, doing ten perms a day meant 5 yuan—150 yuan in a month. That was three months’ wages for an average person—not a small amount.

Her offer stunned the staff. They quickly did the math—half the profits? 150 yuan a month? That was a lot of money!

“Alright, alright!” Two senior stylists volunteered immediately. “We watched you do perms this morning. We pretty much learned it. Don’t worry—we’ll treat every customer right, do more perms, make more money!”

Yì Ān’ān nodded with a smile and looked to Huā Jiě. “At the end of the month, I’ll give you a cut from my share. Trust me, I won’t shortchange you!”

Huā Jiě beamed. “That’s generous!”

Yì Ān’ān smiled again. After wrapping up the salon work, she waited for Táng Ārén at the bus stop in the evening to go home together.

The bus was crowded, and Táng Ārén didn’t dare say much. After getting off, he leaned close and whispered, “The bookstore said they’re cracking down on pirated books. They even posted a sketch of someone’s face at the entrance. But I could’ve sworn…”