Chapter 31: Earning a Month’s Salary in One Morning

Sister Lan was stunned for a moment—she hadn’t expected Yi An’an to actually refuse.

“Sister Lan, I’ve got other things to take care of!” Yi An’an said with a smile, then leaned closer to whisper in Sister Lan’s ear, “I’m afraid if they all want your hairstyle too, it won’t feel exclusive to you anymore!”

Just a few words, and Sister Lan couldn’t hide the smile tugging at her lips. She turned and gently took Yi An’an’s hand, saying, “That’s exactly why I want you to give them different styles! I know it’s not easy for you, and I just want to give you more opportunities.”

Yi An’an feigned reluctance, then nodded and said, “Alright, Sister Lan, don’t worry—I definitely won’t give anyone else your hairstyle. Even if someone sees how nice it looks and tries to copy it, they won’t capture the essence of it. Trust me, I put a lot of careful thought into your perm.”

Sister Lan was even happier now. She turned to the group and said with a bright smile, “See? I had to work hard to persuade my ‘little sister’ here to style your hair. You better thank me properly!”

The women all expressed their thanks enthusiastically.

However, Sister Hua didn’t look too pleased.

Sure, if it was just for Director Shen’s sake and Sister Lan brought someone to use the equipment and style her own hair, that would be fine. But now they were doing this many hairstyles? This public salon was practically turning into a personal service station for that young woman!

Yi An’an could see exactly what Sister Hua was thinking. She quietly said to her, “Sister Hua, I can teach your salon how to do these hairstyles. You all have the foundation—if I demonstrate once, you’ll pick it up easily!”

Only then did Sister Hua crack a smile. “Well, that’s exactly what we’d want.”

“But, Sister Hua, I have another request,” Yi An’an added.

Sister Hua had already been swayed by the sight of those beautiful hairstyles. “What is it? As long as it’s not outrageous, I’ll agree.”

“Here’s the thing: if I teach you all these styles, then no one will come to me to get their hair done—I won’t have any income!” Yi An’an said softly.

Sister Hua glanced at Sister Lan.

If it had been anyone else saying that, she would’ve dismissed them as clinging to capitalist ideals. But Sister Lan’s husband was the head of the Bureau of Industry and Commerce—when it came to economic matters, what he said mattered.

“So what do you propose?” Sister Hua asked in a low voice.

“I don’t want to make things difficult for you, Sister Hua. How about this—any customer who comes in and wants one of my styles pays an extra one yuan. I’ll just collect a flat monthly amount. What do you think?” Yi An’an suggested. “You still stick to the state-regulated price, but add a one-yuan ‘fashion fee’ for my styles. If the customer agrees, they pay. If not, they can just get a traditional style.”

Sister Hua thought about it. That could work. The extra yuan wouldn’t be part of the listed price—it would be voluntary anyway.

“And I won’t just collect that yuan for nothing. For the whole month, I’ll be at the salon supervising. If anyone has questions, I’ll help out until everyone learns these styles thoroughly,” Yi An’an said quietly. “I’ve got over a dozen styles. With just these few women here, they won’t even get through all of them. This way, it’s more efficient.”

Sister Hua realized that made sense—it was better than learning half-baked techniques.

“Alright, it’s settled then!” Sister Hua finally smiled. Now she had a reasonable explanation for reporting it up the chain—it was a fee for hiring a master stylist, and it couldn’t be waived!

Sister Lan noticed Yi An’an whispering to Sister Hua for quite a while and finally asked, “What were you two talking about?”

Yi An’an smiled and said, “Sister, I’ve agreed with Sister Hua that I’ll teach her salon’s stylists these new hairstyles. Next time, everyone can just come here for perms. After all, I have other things to do.”

Sister Hua cheerfully chimed in, “Yes, yes, we’re learning new techniques so we can serve everyone better!”

Everyone was delighted to hear this and eagerly took their seats, waiting for Yi An’an to start.

At this state-run hair salon, a perm usually cost five yuan. The agreed-upon “double price” was ten yuan. Sister Lan’s friends were well-off and more than willing to pay—as long as their hairstyle looked as good as Sister Lan’s.

Yi An’an quickly got to work. There were five people. She curled and permed each of them one by one, staying busy the entire morning. By lunchtime, she was finally finished.

Sister Lan had watched the whole process and was amazed. All these women, previously looking like ordinary housewives in their 40s or 50s, were now styled like glamorous secret agents from a movie—absolutely captivating!

“Oh dear, are these too bold?” the five women asked, all satisfied but unsure. The big waves felt too eye-catching.

“They look great!” Sister Lan came over to admire them, even feeling a little envious. Long permed hair did look better.

“If you think it’s too much, we can always redo it and straighten it. Maybe just perm the bangs and the ends?” Sister Lan suggested, secretly hoping they’d let her have the exclusive look again.

But the five women, initially worried it was too flashy, now couldn’t stop touching their new hair. Forget straightening—no one was even willing to let others touch it. It wasn’t every day you transformed from a frumpy housewife into a stylish, charming woman in her thirties. Who cared if it was bold? They paid happily and rushed home to show their husbands.

Standing at the door, Yi An’an collected five “Great Unity” notes (five ten-yuan bills) in no time.

The salon’s stylists were wide-eyed with disbelief. In one morning, she had made what they earned in a whole month! Incredible!

Even Sister Hua was amazed. She immediately sat down and called out, “An’an, right? Come here and give me a perm too! From now on, I’m going to be this salon’s walking advertisement!”

Yi An’an glanced at Sister Hua’s wrinkled face and plump figure, then chuckled. “Sister Hua has great presence—definitely fit to be our poster woman! But I think our styles shouldn’t only make mature women more elegant and youthful, but also make young girls more beautiful and charming. So how about we pick two people to represent us? That young stylist over there looks great—let me do both of your hair.”

She pointed to a young, pretty hairdresser in the salon.

After praising Sister Hua and giving her face, Sister Hua beamed and pointed at the stylist Yi An’an had chosen. “Oh, An’an really knows how to talk! Alright then—Xiao Wang, you’re in luck today. You’re our co-spokesmodel!”

Yi An’an nodded. “It’s lunchtime now. Go eat first, and I’ll do your hair this afternoon.”

Both Sister Hua and Xiao Wang responded enthusiastically.

As Yi An’an and Sister Lan walked out of the salon, Tang A’ren came over to greet them.

Sister Lan couldn’t help but laugh and ask, “Is that your boyfriend?”