A Young Woman's Heart

"Stand still!"

She immediately squatted down; if she reacted too slowly, she would be judged as having failed.

The difficulty gradually increased, but the challenge game was still very interesting. Mo Xueyao also put aside her initial discomfort when she first stepped onto the stage and devoted herself wholeheartedly to it.

"Don't move!" the host suddenly said, an instruction that hadn't been given before. Clearly, he was deliberately trying to make things difficult for her.

But Mo Xueyao's thinking speed was still very quick. She only paused for half a second before jumping up on the spot and giving the host a smug look.

"Haha, looks like it didn't stump you. Very good, you're the only one out of the five people who came up on stage to complete this challenge. Come on, let me present you with this mystery gift!"

The host quickly took a beautifully packaged paper bag from a backstage staff member and handed it to her: "This is a Shanghai watch, exactly the same as the watch that will be given as the first prize!"

"Hmm, thank you!" Mo Xueyao accepted it excitedly, thinking to herself that it must cost several hundred yuan. She was also happy that her mini clock, which was always inaccurate and had been won in a lottery at the school gate, could finally be retired.

In this era when cell phones are not widespread, a watch is still very important, especially during exams—so you don't have to keep asking the teacher how much time is left.

This trip wasn't a complete waste, as many ordinary public officials cast envious glances at her, but the young man sitting at the same table with her didn't even look at the paper bag.

The annual meeting activities continued in this way, with prize draws held every now and then.

—Everyone who attends the annual meeting will have a small number tag, and the lucky draw will be conducted according to the number tag.

The first person to draw a prize is always both happy and disappointed, because the earlier someone is drawn, the cheaper the prize is, and the later someone is drawn, the more expensive the prize is.

Those who weren't drawn certainly retained their hope of winning the grand prize, but they were also more anxious, worrying that they might not win anything and would only end up with a participation prize or something similar...

The grand prize was a Motorola phone, which Mo Xueyao was really hoping to win. However, luck wasn't on her side, and the phone was eventually won by a girl sitting next to her.

But judging from her expression, she didn't seem to care—she just casually placed it on the ground to the side.

Mo Xueyao really wanted to say: If you don't want it, you might as well give it to me.

But in the end, he didn't say it out loud, after all, it would seem too stingy.

In the end, all one can do is sigh in their heart about the unequal distribution.

After the grand prize was drawn, several bureau chiefs personally went on stage to randomly draw numbers and distribute red envelopes, and the annual meeting was almost over.

After the host announced the end, everyone began to leave one after another.

The lively atmosphere was carried outside by the crowds.

"Xiaoyao, how was it? Did you have fun?" Her godfather walked to her side and ruffled her hair vigorously. "Let's go home."

"Not bad," Mo Xueyao said, picking up the paper bag containing the watches. "At least I got something."

"Haha, don't be so smug after getting a good deal. This watch would cost seven or eight hundred if you bought it."

"So expensive?" Mo Xueyao's eyes widened.

"That's a conservative estimate—otherwise, how could it be called the first prize?"

"Then I won't dare to wear it anymore."

"Haha, wear it, wear it. No matter how expensive a watch is, it's still meant to be worn, right? Otherwise, it would lose its value."

"That's true..."

……

Chapter Eighteen Little New Year

2001 1 Month 17 Day.

The Lunar New Year of the Dragon is drawing to a close, and Lunar New Year's Eve is not far away.

Mo Xueyao always counted down the days, but the adults didn't seem interested in the arrival of the Spring Festival.

Only when it is mentioned occasionally does the tone carry a hint of annoyance and anxiety.

And that little bit of joy of the impending reunion.

A page was torn from the calendar; today is the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, which is traditionally known as the 'Little New Year'.

The more modern and bustling a city is, the less intense the atmosphere of the Lunar New Year is.

However, in Hangzhou, there is still a bit of the flavor of the Little New Year.

The Little New Year is actually a day for preparing for the New Year and doing a thorough cleaning of the house. In rural areas, people also worship the Kitchen God.

In some places, it's customary to get a haircut on the eve of the Lunar New Year so that you don't carry the troubles of the year into the next.

"Yaoyao, do you want to get a haircut today?" The mother, who was free, asked while clipping her nails, without looking up.

"Why go to get a haircut?" Mo Xueyao touched her hair. "It's not like before."

What she meant was that boys often need to cut their hair short, but girls can have their hair any length they want, so it doesn't matter if her hair is left like this, since Li Wanyan prefers her hair to be longer, right?

"Come here, let me see if your hair roots are still yellow?"

"What's wrong... the hair that grew out later isn't yellow anymore, it's just this part, uh... did we run out of ink?" Mo Xueyao said half-jokingly, "I thought I would grow a head of long golden hair, but it turns out I was just malnourished for a while..."

"Want blonde hair so badly? Then go get it dyed." The mother teased, pursing her lips, and snapped off another piece of her nail.

"Tsk, the school doesn't allow dyed hair, you know." Mo Xueyao clicked her tongue. "Oh well, black hair is fine too."

Of course, there are still regrets. Since you're a girl, you naturally want to be as beautiful as possible, and blonde beauties are probably an irresistible charm for every boy, right?

Sometimes Mo Xueyao would wonder if her desire for blonde hair stemmed from a girl's mindset or from a hidden male consciousness.

They may seem to be the same, but their starting points are actually quite different.

The former aspires to become like that, while the latter admires that kind of person.

"Go get a haircut, I'll trim it for you. Look, your hair is all overgrown and messy," the mother said, pulling a ten-yuan bill from the counter drawer. "Let's go to a nice barbershop, you need to look your best for the New Year."

"How do I cut it?"

"You'll know if you ask Yan Yan."

"Wanyan, Mom wants us to go get our hair cut together!"

"Well, let's go."

Mo Xueyao always felt that cutting women's hair was probably the easiest job, because it seemed that there was no difference between before and after the haircut.

However, in reality, it's more difficult to cut a woman's hair...

After all, the difficulty of getting a haircut isn't measured by how much hair is shaved off.

Unless you're dyeing your hair or going to those fancy-looking hair salons, the most expensive hair salon in Hangzhou only costs five yuan per person.

Mo Xueyao and Li Wanyan boarded the bus and headed to the old barbershop near their home.

From the outside, the lighting was dim, and the untiled cement floor was covered with hair that hadn't been swept up yet.

The lattice glass door at the entrance was covered with a thick layer of dust, as if it had taken root and 'grown' on it.

There's no sign here; the only thing that proves it's a barbershop is the slowly rotating lamppost at the entrance.

"Here?" Li Wanyan turned her head slightly to look at her.

"Yeah, I've been getting my hair cut here since I was a kid. Don't worry, the owner is really good." Mo Xueyao snapped her fingers in disappointment and tilted her head slightly towards the shop. "Let's go, let's go, we'll probably have to wait a while before it's our turn!"

There were two barber chairs inside. A young man was already sitting in one of them, and a woman was getting her hair permed in the other.

"Haircut?" The proprietress asked without turning her head, glancing at herself in the mirror as the clippers buzzed in her hand.

“Yes, you two.” Mo Xueyao held up a '2' and pointed to herself and Li Wanyan.

"Please have a seat. We'll be waiting for one more person before it's your turn."

"Okay, sure." Mo Xueyao turned around and picked a chair from the ones placed against the wall to sit down.

There are plastic chairs, wooden benches, wooden chairs, and small single sofas...

It's messy and disorganized, but it's full of life.

Hairdressing skills are not directly proportional to the quality of the decor. In fact, many so-called hair salons have mediocre hairdressing skills because many of the staff are just fancy-looking apprentices. Unlike these old-fashioned barbershops, which are staffed by experienced barbers with over ten years of experience.

With the arrival of the Little New Year, the number of people getting haircuts has increased. After Mo Xueyao sat down, several more people came to ask her about haircuts. Some stayed to wait, while others chose to come back later or go to another hair salon.

There was an older woman next to me who seemed to have come prepared, even bringing a bag of sunflower seeds. She was eating sunflower seeds while chatting with the shop owner, and she didn't seem to be in a hurry at all.

Soon, the strands of hair on the cement floor were mixed with quite a few sunflower seed shells...

Mo Xueyao sat on a high stool, swinging her legs up and down: "Wanyan, are you planning to trim it or cut it off?"

"Trim it, cut it a little shorter." Li Wanyan touched her long hair, which was already past her lower back and almost touched her hips, and answered softly.

"Cut it to the middle of the back?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Isn't it a pity to cut off so much at once?" Mo Xueyao asked curiously.

Li Wanyan gently shook her head, coiled her long, black hair in front of her, and gently stroked it.

The two chatted casually, occasionally falling silent to listen to what the other customers and the owner were talking about.

In reality, the topics of life are nothing more than food, clothing, shelter, and transportation; it's just the same old stuff over and over again.

Prices have risen significantly this year.

"Yes, money is becoming less and less valuable."

"It was better during the planned economy era. Prices didn't rise this fast back then. My son told me that when he went out to buy fried dumplings this morning, they were 15 for one yuan, but now he can only buy 12."

"Yeah, last year, twenty yuan could buy a lot of things at the supermarket. Now, tsk, if you take twenty yuan to the supermarket, you probably can't even buy enough daily necessities for your family for half a month."

"Meat prices have gone up, and now that the Lunar New Year is approaching, they've gone up even more."

"Prices always go up a bit during the Chinese New Year."

"I'm not afraid of price increases, but the prices won't come down next year."

"Yes, if prices keep rising like this, ten years from now, a hundred yuan won't buy much."

"Don't worry, the government will definitely regulate it," the young man getting a haircut interjected confidently. "How could they just let it go unchecked? Wouldn't the economy collapse? It's not that bad."

"Who said that? Then how come the Soviet Union disappeared?"

"With the Soviet Union as a cautionary tale, how could we possibly make the same mistake again?"