Reborn as a landlord in Shanghai

Thinking about her rebirth, Mao Xiaoyu couldn't help but look back at her parents' barbershop.

Mao Xiaoyu's parents' barbershop looks like a barbershop from the 70s. The storefront is not big, but it is very long. If you look at the whole store, you will feel that many things have been used for decades, giving you the feeling of looking at antiques.

Moreover, the entire shop not only looks antique, but its business model is also the same. In addition to cutting and styling hair, the shop does not offer beauty services at all. It is completely different from the glamorous hair salons that open on the street. You could say that Mao Xiaoyu's parents' hair salon is the kind of old-fashioned hair salon with a down-to-earth atmosphere.

As for the location of the barbershop, it is located in an old residential area in Hongtian District of Shanghai. This residential area has a vegetable market, a barbershop, and various small shops. There are thirty or forty shops in the whole area. Because of its long history, many shops in this area have been open for decades. You could say they are older than Mao Xiaoyu herself.

If someone unfamiliar with the area wanted to find it, they might not be able to even get there, but residents living within a 5-kilometer radius all come to this neighborhood to buy groceries every morning. It's fair to say that all the shops in this neighborhood cater specifically to residents within that 5-kilometer radius. As a result, these shops primarily serve regular customers, the long-time neighbors.

Mao Xiaoyu's parents' barbershop has been in this community for almost 30 years, making it the most compelling witness to the community's history. Because the barbershop was state-owned at the time, it was very large, covering an area of ​​about 140 square meters. Moreover, it was in a very good location, situated on a road that residents had to take to the west side of the community to buy groceries.

Initially, this barbershop belonged to the state and was a street property. However, in 92, during the reform of state-owned enterprises to private enterprises, in response to the country's call, the street encouraged employees with the means to take over the barbershop. Mao Xiaoyu's parents seized the opportunity and spent 16 yuan to take over the barbershop.

16 yuan! In 92, that was an astronomical sum. You could say that Mao Xiaoyu's parents emptied the pockets of all their relatives and borrowed a large sum of money to take over this barbershop.

Looking back now, Mao Xiaoyu admires her parents for investing so much money to buy the barbershop, considering they didn't have much money at the time.

Moreover, back in 92 when state-owned enterprises were converted to private enterprises, the shop didn't just have my parents as employees; there were nearly a dozen employees in the entire shop, including quite a few experienced craftsmen.

These experienced barbers are deeply rooted in Shanghai. Some people can afford to pay, but they are afraid of not making a profit from such a large sum of money. Others are reluctant to spend the money. In the end, their parents got a great deal and paid 16 yuan to take over the barbershop.

Now, more than a decade has passed in the blink of an eye, and the shop has grown from its original value of 16 yuan to a market value of about 150 million yuan, making it the largest asset in Mao Xiaoyu's family.

Then, when the demolition took place in 2015, this shop was directly exchanged for a storefront, two apartments, and a considerable sum of money, allowing Mao Xiaoyu to live a comfortable life in Shanghai.

Even as a reborn person, Mao Xiaoyu sincerely admires her parents. After all, it is thanks to their hard work that she has been able to enjoy a good life in the future.

After all, Mao Xiaoyu's parents' hometown is not in Shanghai. They are from Yangshi, which is hundreds of kilometers away from Shanghai. Originally, Mao Xiaoyu's father, Mao Jun, had no connection with Shanghai. However, it was by chance that he took over the work of his great-grandfather and came to Shanghai from Yangshi.

My great-grandfather had been working as a barber in Shanghai for decades, which was a formal government job. However, he didn't have any children, so when he got old, he wanted to find a descendant to take over his job.

So when they went back to their hometown and searched around, they found that Mao Xiaoyu's father (after all, he was a member of the Sanfu family and was the brother of Mao Xiaoyu's father, Mao Jun, who was his grand-nephew) was the most suitable candidate in terms of age, appearance, and bloodline. Therefore, Mao Xiaoyu's father, Mao Jun, was taken to Shanghai by his great-great-grandfather.

Keep in mind that this was in 1984, only a few years after the country began its reform and opening up. It was a blessing that Mao Xiaoyu's father, Mao Jun, was able to come to Shanghai with his great-grandfather. He then learned a trade from his great-grandfather for two years before finally taking over his great-grandfather's job in Shanghai as a barber.

Even the 32.83-square-meter one-bedroom apartment in Shanghai owned by the great-grandfather was eventually sold to Mao Xiaoyu's father, Mao Jun, for a low price of 14,000 yuan in installments when the great-grandfather returned to his hometown. Although the apartment was small and had no toilet, requiring him to use a public toilet, it gave Mao Xiaoyu's father, Mao Jun, a place in Shanghai and laid the foundation for him to marry Mao Xiaoyu's mother and bring her to Shanghai to work.

Even the 92 yuan that Mao Xiaoyu's great-great-grandfather lent to Mao Xiaoyu's father when the state-owned enterprise was privatized in 16, 7 yuan of which was actually borrowed from him. Otherwise, Mao Xiaoyu's father, Mao Jun, would not have had the money to take over such a large barbershop.

After all, it was 92. Everyone was poor back then. Each family had at most a few thousand or tens of thousands of yuan in savings. It was definitely impossible to come up with tens of thousands of yuan all at once. Only my great-grandfather, who had earned money in Shanghai all his life, had saved that much.

It was precisely because they acquired the barbershop that Mao Xiaoyu's family experienced a meteoric rise in fortune. By 2000, they had not only paid off the loans they had taken out to buy the barbershop a few years earlier, but also spent over 3 yuan in full to buy a 1-square-meter, three-bedroom, one-living-room apartment in Shanghai.

Then, three years ago, when Mao Xiaoyu's mother gave birth to her younger sister, the family, although they hadn't bought a house, spent over 200,000 yuan to buy a car, officially becoming a family with a house, a car, and a career.

Such living conditions are the envy of many. Of course, it can be said that without Great-Grandfather Mao Xiaoyu, Mao Xiaoyu's family would not have the life they have now. Therefore, when Great-Grandfather Mao Xiaoyu passed away in 2002, Mao Xiaoyu's parents treated him like their own father. They specially rushed back to Yangshi from Shanghai to wear mourning clothes and send him off at his funeral, allowing Great-Grandfather Mao Xiaoyu to be buried in the family cemetery in a grand manner.

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The morning didn't stop because of Mao Xiaoyu's rambling thoughts. Although many people passed by the barbershop, 95% of them were going to buy groceries or go to work. Very few people got up early to get a haircut. However, there were a few people who didn't have hot water to wash their hair at home, but liked to wash their hair in the morning, blow-dry it, and dress more smartly before going out.

It was understandable that Mao Xiaoyu's parents opened the shop at 8:30, since barbershops usually close late and open very late in the morning. But now that Mao Xiaoyu has taken over the shop, these people have started coming over.

So this morning, Mao Xiaoyu hadn't been sitting at the door for very long when someone came in to get their hair washed and dried. Seeing that there was business coming in, Mao Xiaoyu quickly stood up and warmly greeted the customer to come into the store, and didn't have time to think about anything else.

So, Mao Xiaoyu was busy washing, drying, blow-drying, and styling her hair, and didn't pay attention at all. Time passed little by little, and when it was almost 8:30, the time for the shop to open, some of the employees from Mao Xiaoyu's parents' hair salon had already arrived.

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"Xiaoyu, why are you here so early again today? I didn't realize you'd been so diligent lately since your birthday."

The first employee to arrive at the barbershop, Uncle Zhou, saw Mao Xiaoyu blow-drying someone's hair as soon as he entered, and couldn't help but tease her by asking a question.

Uncle Zhou is 53 years old this year. He has a square face and a big mouth. He is not tall, only about 1.7 meters, but he is very energetic. He lives not far away, in the next community. Therefore, he is always the first or second person to come to the store every day.

"I had nothing to do at home, so I came over a little earlier to take advantage of the fewer people and practice my skills."

While drying her hair, Mao Xiaoyu answered respectfully. After all, Uncle Zhou had been working at this barbershop since he was an apprentice, and had been doing so for almost thirty years. It could be said that she had weathered many storms with this barbershop.

Back in 92, when the business was restructured, Uncle Zhou could have actually taken over the barbershop, and he was even more qualified than Mao Xiaoyu's parents. However, at that time, Uncle Zhou had elderly parents and young children to support, and his family was spending money the most. He was afraid that if he invested so much money, the barbershop business would not be successful and the investment would be wasted. In the end, he hesitated and missed the opportunity.

Even so, as a veteran in the shop who had worked for Mao Xiaoyu's parents for so many years, Mao Xiaoyu's family still respected him quite a bit. Moreover, in his previous life, Uncle Zhou worked at this barbershop until he retired in 2013, which can be said to have left his entire life at this barbershop.

"That's right. An apprentice should be like this, focusing their mind on it and thinking it through to learn well. Your attitude is excellent. The other two apprentices are not good enough. They are always slacking off and have no ambition at all. I don't know when they will graduate. If it were a long time ago, I would have slapped them for being so lazy."

Hearing Mao Xiaoyu's modest words, Uncle Zhou had already entered the shop, nodding as he put on his white work clothes. It seemed he agreed with Mao Xiaoyu's words, while also belittling the other two apprentices. After all, as someone from the older generation in the industry, he couldn't stand the young people's irresponsible attitude.

"Liu Jun and Zhang Lei are just having trouble settling down. They'll get much better with time. I was the same when I came here last year, but now that I've been here longer, I'm much better."

When Mao Xiaoyu heard Uncle Zhou talking about the other two apprentices, even though the other two apprentices' attitudes were a bit problematic, Mao Xiaoyu couldn't help but defend them in front of Uncle Zhou.

"Don't try to be nice to them. What kind of people are they? I'm not blind, I can see right through them. Look, it's already time for work, and those two young men still haven't arrived. Don't they know that as apprentices, they should arrive before their master? They never show up until it's time, what kind of attitude is that for apprentices!"

Hearing Mao Xiaoyu's explanation, Uncle Zhou couldn't help but make a couple of sarcastic remarks.

Hearing Uncle Zhou's words, Mao Xiaoyu didn't know what to say, so she just smiled and finished what she was doing.

Uncle Zhou, already dressed, came to Mao Xiaoyu's side. Looking at the hairstyle Mao Xiaoyu was giving the customer, he couldn't help but praise, "This hairstyle is really good, almost as good as your father's. It seems you've practiced a lot."

Hearing Uncle Zhou's words, Mao Xiaoyu could only smile again. After all, Mao Xiaoyu couldn't tell Uncle Zhou that she had been doing this for so long in her previous life, how could she not know how to blow-dry hair? After all, she had been doing this for more than twenty years in her previous life, and every move was ingrained in her bones. Even if she had only learned it in this life, she could still do it.

Uncle Zhou stood beside Mao Xiaoyu, watching her play for a minute or two. Once he was sure she didn't need him to help anymore, he left, found a newspaper, sat down, and started reading.

Knowing that time was of the essence, Mao Xiaoyu sped up her work, and after serving the guests well, she quickly arranged the seats.

Once the shop was back to normal, Mao Xiaoyu went to Uncle Zhou's side and started reading the newspaper with Uncle Yang.

Meanwhile, the shop's employees gradually arrived, and the entire barbershop became lively.

This barbershop was originally a state-owned enterprise. At its peak, it had more than 20 employees. However, due to the changing times, the business gradually declined. By the time the state-owned enterprise was privatized in 1992, the barbershop was already losing money.

So when the state-owned enterprise was converted into a private enterprise, the master chefs in the shop hesitated, fearing that the business would continue to lose money. In the end, Mao Xiaoyu's parents took over the business. However, when they took over, the neighborhood committee also had requirements, namely that employees who had not made any mistakes could not be dismissed at will.

This resulted in the fact that most of the employees who stayed at the time, except for those who retired or made mistakes, were not fired. This also resulted in the barbershop's employees being generally older. Currently, the barbershop has a total of 9 employees, including Mao Xiaoyu and two apprentices, who are only teenagers.

Of the remaining six barbers, only Mao Xiaoyu's parents are in their early forties and are considered relatively young. The other four barbers are generally between 50 and 60 years old. There are no barbers between 20 and 40 years old, which creates a gap in the age range of the barbershop. As a result, most of the people who come to the barbershop are elderly people or children. People in their late teens to under 30 years old rarely come to get their hair cut.