Chapter 10: Getting a Perm

Leaving Anyang County and heading to the capital should take about eight hours by bus, even longer by train.

But it was different with a car. Han Chao drove for only five hours before buildings began to appear in the distance. He pointed to a tall structure and said, “Feng’er, that’s our regiment’s office building.”

His regiment wasn’t part of any division; it was directly under the General Army Headquarters. Chen Yufeng knew this from the book she had read in her dream.

Naturally, Han Chao wanted to head straight home since they had already reached the capital.

However, as they entered the city, the streets became more bustling, lined with clothing stores, hair salons, and cosmetic shops. Chen Yufeng gathered her courage and said, “Brother, can you stop the car for a bit?”

“What’s wrong? Need to use the restroom?” Han Chao asked.

“No… I want to buy some new clothes for me and the girls. And get a haircut,” she replied.

Han Chao was driving steadily, and the two girls were quiet the whole way, still unfamiliar with him.

He pulled over, glanced at his wife, and said, “I think you all look fine as you are.” To him, his wife was gentle, and his daughters were well-behaved. It was perfect.

Chen Yufeng insisted, “Please stop. I need to buy some clothes.”

“Don’t cut your hair, though. It looks best like this,” Han Chao said, looking at her again.

Her two long braids were shiny and smooth. Han Chao was a man, and men liked long hair, especially braided.

After parking, he got out and stood by the car, hesitating for a moment. Of course, Chen Yufeng couldn’t move either because she and the girls were all tied up with seatbelts by Han Chao.

After glaring for a while, he abruptly opened the door and quickly untied them. Finally, Chen Yufeng could move, and the girls stretched their stiff limbs.

Tiantian stayed quiet, but Mimi huffed, “Daddy, you’re so mean, tying us up for so long!”

Han Chao looked fierce and intimidating—on the battlefield, even the brutal Vietnamese soldiers feared him. But Mimi wasn’t scared at all and didn’t respect him much either.

However, as they got out, Mimi looked around at the bustling street filled with people, bicycles, and motorcycles darting in every direction. The constant ringing of bicycle bells startled her, and she backed up into her mother’s arms.

Chen Yufeng took the girls to a children’s clothing store first.

Tiantian’s personality was just like Chen Yufeng’s. She loved pretty, new clothes. As soon as they walked in, she saw a green dress with beads on the chest and a tulle skirt on a child mannequin. She hugged her mother’s leg and said, “Mommy, this dress is so pretty.”

“If you like it, Mommy will buy it for you,” Chen Yufeng said.

Tiantian didn’t speak but buried her face in her mother’s leg, clearly smitten with the dress.

“How much is this dress?” Chen Yufeng asked the shop assistant.

The woman, with her permed hair, took one look at Chen Yufeng’s two braids and said, “You must be from the countryside, huh? This dress is expensive—20 yuan.”

“It’s not about the price. I may be from the countryside, but I run a business too. Don’t try to fool me. This dress probably costs 6 yuan wholesale. I’ll give you 8 yuan. You make a 2-yuan profit,” Chen Yufeng said sincerely.

The shopkeeper was surprised. This seemingly naive woman with her rustic braids was actually quite sharp.

Just then, Mimi shouted, “Mommy, this one is pretty!”

She was touching a green military-style outfit with a belt.

Clearly meant for boys and a bit too big, it didn’t suit a little girl at all. Just as Chen Yufeng was about to suggest a dress, Han Chao walked over, knelt down, and asked, “Do you want this one?”

“Yes! I want to be like Daddy, a soldier of the People’s Liberation Army,” Mimi said, unusually obedient.

Han Chao stood up. Before he could say anything, the shopkeeper immediately chimed in, “This set is 20 yuan, no bargaining.”

He reached for his wallet, but Chen Yufeng stopped him and said to the shopkeeper, “I’ll take both for 18 yuan. If not, we’ll look elsewhere. There are plenty of children’s clothing stores on this street.”

The shopkeeper wasn’t happy. The handsome soldier was ready to pay, but his frugal wife was haggling. Still, business was business.

Both Han Chao and Chen Yufeng took out their wallets. She took the money from his hand and continued, “Your wife’s clothes look so plain. Why not buy something nice for her too?”

Han Chao handed over twenty yuan and was waiting for change when his tone suddenly turned unfriendly, “What do you mean by ‘rustic’? How is my wife rustic?”

Of course, he had just returned from the battlefield not long ago. He’d spent the past seven years on the front lines, and his sense of aesthetics hadn’t adapted to the times.

But to the shopkeeper, Chen Yufeng did look rustic—especially with those two long braids, which were just unbearably old-fashioned.

The shopkeeper meant well. She herself sported a fashionable perm with voluminous waves. Stroking her own curls, she explained, “Soldier, all the fashionable women in the city these days have perms. Your wife’s two braids…”

Before she could finish, Han Chao immediately pulled Chen Yufeng along, saying, “Feng’er, let’s go.”

Although they bought the clothes for the two girls, they left with a bitter feeling.

Whether someone looks fashionable or not is all about comparison. In the countryside, her two long braids were considered beautiful, but in the city, they looked outdated and unfashionable. After leaving the clothing store, Chen Yufeng glanced around. Almost every woman on the bustling streets wore their hair in voluminous waves—nine out of ten.

Just then, they passed by a hair salon. Peeking inside, they saw seven or eight women sitting under large glass domes, smoke curling around their heads—they were all getting perms.

After a moment of silence, Han Chao said, “Feng’er, maybe you should get a perm, too.”

Even though he personally thought braids were prettier, he didn’t like hearing others call his wife unfashionable.

If perms were in style in the city, then maybe she should get one, too.

At that moment, Mimi piped up, “Mom, I don’t like those big wavy perms—they look greasy. Look at that photo on the wall! That short, curly hairstyle is much nicer. I want you to get that one.”

On the wall was a photo of a foreign woman with short, bouncy curls. It did look quite chic.

But Chen Yufeng hesitated.

Would she look good with that haircut? And would Han Chao be okay with it?

Since she was a child, she had rarely spoken to him, but she had always kept her hair long because Han Chao liked her long braids.

She remembered once when a peddler came to town, exchanging braids for soybeans. She cut off her long braids in exchange for some soybeans to eat.

Han Chao didn’t say anything at the time, but that year, he planted an acre of soybeans by the river while clearing wasteland.

The following year, he frequently asked Wang Guoguo to fry soybeans and bring them to her.

After that, she never dared to cut her hair again.

By all accounts, if she wanted to make Han Chao happy, she shouldn’t cut her hair.

But she quickly made up her mind. This time, she would listen to Mimi and get the short haircut.

After all, she came to the capital to change herself and to change her children’s future.

If she couldn’t even decide on her own hairstyle and had to follow Han Chao’s wishes, how could she change her children’s destinies?

Of course, if that stubborn man dared to object, she’d take her two daughters and catch the next bus back to her hometown.

As a woman, she had to fight for this bit of independence from Han Chao.

Otherwise, how could she do the small business she planned to start in the capital? If she had to listen to him in everything, and he didn’t allow her to do it, would she just give up?

“We’ll go with Mimi’s idea. I’m getting the short haircut,” she declared.

As soon as she said it, she noticed Han Chao staring at her in shock. But after a long moment, his lips pressed into a thin line, and he said nothing.

Haircuts are quick—just a few snips, and her braids were on the floor.

But she was told the hair needed to be permed to achieve the look in the photo. So the stylist wrapped her hair in curlers and placed a large hood over her head.

Even though they had left early in the morning and arrived in the capital in the afternoon, by the time the perm was finished, it was already evening. Naturally, since they had just arrived, there was no dinner prepared at home. Han Chao took the two girls to a restaurant, while Chen Yufeng ate the flower cakes her mother-in-law had baked and packed from home.

Luckily, in the capital, the shops stayed open late, even after dark. So after her perm, Chen Yufeng went to another clothing store and eventually chose a gray dress for herself.

Not only did she cut her hair, but she also bought a dress. In their small town, except for Qi Cailing, no other woman wore dresses. But Han Chao was quite restrained—he didn’t say a word.

According to the book she had read, not only was Chen Yufeng meant to be a contrast to Qi Cailing, but Han Chao was also meant to contrast with Zhang Songtao.

Zhang Songtao was charming, humorous, and extraordinarily considerate of his wife, often doing romantic things for Qi Cailing.

But Han Chao was a man of few words—a straightforward, stoic man who didn’t know how to be thoughtful toward his wife.

She didn’t mind his lack of affection, as long as he didn’t oppose her haircut and treated her daughters well.

It wasn’t until she calculated her expenses that she realized she had spent a total of 48 yuan that day.

The amount made her heart ache.

But some money simply couldn’t be saved—certain expenses were necessary.

Although this was her first time in the capital, she had learned about it from the book.

According to the story, the reason she became a contrast to Qi Cailing wasn’t because Qi Cailing deliberately made things difficult for her but because they were both from the same small town. Qi Cailing was fashionable, and she was frumpy, creating a stark contrast.

Another reason was that Qi Cailing always dressed her two step-sons impeccably.

Chen Yufeng, however, was used to being frugal. She was reluctant to spend money on herself or her children, always dressing her daughters in old-fashioned clothes, which created yet another stark contrast.

But these were minor issues. After all, even in the military family compound, people lived their own lives behind closed doors. At most, people would gossip a little—what more could they say?

The most crucial issue was her father, Chen Fanshi.

When Chen Fanshi left, he took a few antiques from Zhou Yafang, first claiming they were lost and then saying he had donated them. When Chen Yufeng moved to the capital, he and his current wife would come looking for her to discuss the antiques.

Although the book didn’t describe the details of their conversation, it mentioned that Chen Fanshi and his wife would also suggest finding an adoptive family for Mimi.

However, in the story, ‘Chen Yufeng’ actually agreed to this.

In the countryside, giving away a child might not be a big deal, but in the city, especially in a military district, secretly giving your child to someone else is something that would provoke strong disapproval.

Because of this, the ‘Chen Yufeng’ in the story would end up with a terrible reputation throughout the entire military district.

Chen Yufeng never saw herself as the foolish woman in the story who would give away her daughter.

But now that she knew about these events in advance, she was determined to avoid them.

Of course, she was also curious about the antiques and how Chen Fanshi would discuss them with her.

In the story, her character didn’t even ask any questions and just let it go.