You're supposed to be a security officer, what case are you solving?

Chapter 310 Complete Strangers!

"Jingle Bell……"

The wind chimes on the door rang crisply.

The plump woman, having just finished washing her hair, pushed open the door and called into the house, "Don't see me off. You're almost closing up shop too. It's not safe to go back after dark. There are a lot of hooligans around here. You're so pretty, don't let them corner you."

The short-haired woman wearing a white apron leaned against the glass door with one hand and said with a smile, "I know, thank you for your concern, Sister Hua. I haven't thanked you yet for helping me find a place last time."

If you're free tomorrow, I'd like to treat you to fish at the pier.

The plump woman chuckled and said, "Okay, I love grilled fish. Let's invite Teacher Zhou too. It's so boring with just the two of us women."

The short-haired woman nodded: "That's for sure, Teacher Zhou has also helped me a lot."

As she replied, she noticed a young man standing outside the door.

He was tall and had a refined appearance. His short hair was slightly parted to one side of his forehead, and even without his glasses, he exuded a very scholarly air.

He held a map in his hand, staring intently at me.

The plump woman also saw it, raising an eyebrow: "This young man is so handsome."

After saying that, she walked along the eaves into the residential area, glancing back every now and then.

The short-haired woman looked at Yang Jinwen: "Are you getting a haircut?"

"Did I make you late for get off work?"

"Please come in a little while."

Yang Jinwen folded the map in his hand and put it into his jeans pocket.

The woman stepped aside and let him into the house.

"Please have a seat," she said.

Yang Jinwen glanced around the room. It seemed to have been recently renovated and was not very large, with only three seats. On the counter in front of the mirror were scissors, a hair dryer, and a hair curling machine.

Yang Jinwen sat in the chair, letting the woman tie the apron around his neck.

He kept staring at the mirror, observing the woman's every move.

The woman glanced at Yang Jinwen in the mirror every now and then, trying to find something to say: "What kind of haircut should I get?"

"Just a quick trim will do."

Actually, your hair isn't very long either.

"Summer is here, and it's too hot."

"That's true."

The woman picked up a bottle of water and sprayed it on Yang Jinwen's head. Then she picked up a comb and gently combed his head a few times, seemingly thinking about how to cut it to look good.

The three-bladed fan on the ceiling whirred and spun, bringing a gentle breeze that ruffled her hair.

The woman looked in the mirror and smiled, "You have a good face shape, so any haircut will suit you."

"That's what everyone says," Yang Jinwen said without mincing words.

The woman smiled slightly, glanced at the mirror, and saw that Yang Jinwen's expression was very serious, and he did not seem relaxed.

She had no choice but to pick up the scissors and begin working.

All Yang Jinwen could hear was the snip of scissors, and stray hairs fell from the sides of his head onto the apron covering his shoulders.

After a brief silence, the woman asked softly, "Aren't you from Jiangcheng?"

"No."

"Here to work?"

"Not at all."

Are you here as a tourist?

"That's it."

"Jiangcheng is quite nice. After it was designated a municipality last year, many people came here to look for work. It's just that it's too hot in the summer, like a sauna. But there are also many fun places, such as Hongyadong and Ciqikou Ancient Town, which are all very scenic spots."

Yang Jinwen nodded slightly, the woman's scissors nearly poking his forehead.

"I'm sorry," he quickly apologized.

"It was my fault." The woman smiled. "I shouldn't have started chatting with you."

"It's okay. By the way, have you been to any of these places?"

“I’ve been there. I went alone. At the beginning of the year, the weather was neither too hot nor too cold, so it was nice to go for a stroll by myself.”

"You're not from around here either, are you?"

The woman remained silent.

“The accent in Jiangcheng is different from other places. Even when you speak Mandarin to me, I can tell that you don’t sound like someone from Jiangcheng.”

The woman glanced at the mirror and nodded: "No, I haven't been here long either."

"Are you planning to stay here long-term?"

"If nothing unexpected happens, it should be. I quite like it here. By the way, where are you from?"

"Annan City, Qin Province".

As soon as he finished speaking, the woman's wrist twitched.

Yang Jinwen asked, "Have you ever been to Annam?"

The woman shook her head, her lips slightly parted, and spoke quickly: "Never been there."

"I came from Annam for tourism. I took the train to Deyang City, but I didn't like Deyang, so I stayed there for a few days. Then I took the train to Jiangcheng."

Jiangcheng is a good place. Just like you said, its economy will get better and better after it becomes a municipality directly under the central government.

Since last year, many people from Sichuan Province have started to migrate their household registrations here, which has led to a surge in traffickers selling household registrations and identities. It's rumored that people who have committed crimes are flocking here.

Upon hearing this, the woman stiffened and forced a smile: "Is that so?"

"I think so. I heard it too. They fled to a new place and changed their identity."

The woman didn't respond and continued cutting hair. A few minutes later, she switched to a different pair of scissors, secretly hiding the one she had just used in the pocket of the apron.

After a while, the woman nodded: "Okay, let's wash it."

Yang Jinwen asked, "How do I wash it?"

There are too many stray hairs; I need to wash them with water.

"Okay." Yang Jinwen stood up.

The woman raised her hand and said, "Please come this way."

He followed and saw a sink for washing hair behind the beaded curtain, but no reclining chair.

He sat on a small stool, his head dangling in the pool.

The woman picked up the thermos, poured half a basin of hot water into a plastic basin, added some cold water, tested the temperature, and then poured it into a bucket hanging over Yang Jinwen's head. The bucket was connected to a water pipe, and the woman turned on the pipe and rinsed his hair.

She squeezed out some shampoo and massaged Yang Jinwen's hair.

"I just opened this hair salon not long ago. It's just me and business isn't good. There are always some people who look at me strangely and think I'm doing that kind of thing."

But I don't have any other skills, so this is the only way I can make a living.

When I was little, my dad was a barber. Whenever there was a market day, he would carry a long bench and a basket on his back. The basket contained his tools for making money, which were very simple: just a few scissors, clippers, and a cape.

Back then, he often took me with him and asked me to help him. Whenever I squatted by the roadside, passersby would patronize my dad's business because they thought I was good-looking.

My dad is busy all day long. After the sun goes down, he will buy me guokui (a type of flatbread). Do you know what guokui is?

Just like the roujiamo (meat sandwich) in your Qin province, you can put liangfen (cold mung bean jelly) inside the guokui (a type of flatbread). I don't like liangfen, I like sugar guokui, which is filled with brown sugar.

Walking home from town involves a long mountain path, and a river blocks our village's way. Every time we go back, we have to climb ropes to cross the river.

Although it was tough, I was very happy. My dad taught me how to cut hair.

He cuts other people's hair, so I cut his...

As the woman spoke, Yang Jinwen noticed that her right hand had left her head, and the shampoo foam was obscuring the corner of his eye.

“My dad taught me a lot of things, and I thought he knew everything, but one time when we were about to cross the river on our way home, I realized that he actually didn’t know anything.”

At the time, it was raining heavily. A villager was crossing the river and fell in. My dad jumped in without hesitation to save him.

That day, it was raining heavily. I stood on the riverbank, the rain blurring my vision, and I saw him and that villager being swept away by the river...

Later, his body was found downstream by villagers.

He died, but the villager he saved is still alive. This man clung to my father's body, using him as a buoy, and miraculously survived.

My father's death changed many things, including my life...

As Yang Jinwen listened, his heart pounded wildly.

The woman was silent for a moment, then slightly raised her right hand...

Yang Jinwen almost exploded, but the woman placed her right hand on his head and gently rubbed it.

She smiled and said, "I'm sorry, why am I telling you all this..."

Yang Jinwen did not respond because he could not see her expression.

After a while, the woman blew the foam off his head with water and brought him a towel.

"Okay, wipe it off."

Yang Jinwen stood up and took a towel to dry her hair.

At that moment, a man pushed open the door and walked in.

The wind chimes rang out with a 'ding-a-ling' sound.

The man wore gold-rimmed glasses and his blue shirt was tucked into his belt.

"Have not been off work yet?"

The woman smiled and said, "There's another guest. School's out?"

The man smiled and said, "Yes, I bought some fruit for you."

He lifted the plastic bags, two large bags of loquats.

"These loquats are very fresh; I bought them from an auntie."

"You don't need to buy so much. You always buy everything because you think the elderly have it hard."

The man scratched the back of his head: "It's not worth much. Everyone has a hard life. If you can't finish it, I'll give it to the students."

"Okay." The woman nodded. "Just give me a small bag."

Yang Jinwen handed the towel to the woman: "How much?"

"3 yuan."

Yang Jinwen took out ten yuan and handed it to her. The woman hesitated for a moment, then took it and took out some change from the drawer and handed it back.

Yang Jinwen took the banknote by the edge and put it in his wallet.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Have a great time in Jiangcheng."

Yang Jinwen nodded, pushed open the glass door, and strode away.

The woman stared at his retreating figure, slightly stunned.

The man said, "This guy is so tall, he's even more handsome than those celebrity posters on your wall."

The woman smiled slightly: "Yes, someone like him shouldn't be in my shop."

"No matter how handsome you are, you still need to get a haircut."

The woman threw the towel into the chair and picked up a broom to start sweeping the floor.

The man snatched the broom from her hand: "I'll do it. You go wash the towels. We'll eat out later. You've had a long day, don't come home to cook."

The woman shook her head: "Teacher Zhou, your monthly salary isn't much, don't keep buying me things."

"I know."

“We’ve only known each other for a few months, I’m not worth you doing this.”

The man stood up: "Are you ashamed because I've been married? Or are you ashamed because I don't earn enough?"

"No, you're a good person."

The man smiled and said, "What you're saying is just like what I often tell my students: even though your grades aren't good, you're still quite smart..."

The woman sighed, then smiled and said, "Then let's eat out tonight. I'll treat you to noodles."

"Okay, I want to eat braised pork intestine noodles, and I'd also like an ice-cold beer."

The man was very happy and worked hard cleaning the hair salon.

"it is good."

The woman responded, lifted the beaded curtain, and walked to the sink, intending to wash the towel she had used that day. But on the counter where the shampoo was placed, she suddenly saw something.

She walked over slowly, and when she saw the thing, her body froze instantly, to the point that her breathing stopped abruptly.

She reached out and picked up the photo on the counter, her pupils widening!

The background of the photo is inside a photo studio.

A deaf-mute woman, holding Mengmeng in her arms, sat on a bench, smiling happily at the camera...

"Crimson" abruptly lifted the beaded curtain, ran to push open the glass door, and searched for the figure of the person from before...

(End of this chapter)