The Barbershop

With great reluctance, Su Ziyang finally boarded the train.

Su Zang drove Su Ziyang to the station. "Damn, another year has passed since I left!"

"Don't think about me!" Su Ziyang waved his hand at Su Zang.

"Get lost!" Su Zang kicked Su Ziyang in the butt.

Unlike Su Ziyang's study at Jiang Kui's house, this time, after Su Ziyang arrived at the station, Mr. Mengfei personally came to pick Su Ziyang up.

"Master!" Su Ziyang greeted Mr. Mengfei with a smile.

"You're acting like a madman! Why did you learn this?! You don't know that having too many skills won't support a family!" Mr. Mengfei grabbed Su Ziyang Su Ziyang's shoulder and pulled him over.

"Master, I feel like I've heard that sentence somewhere before!" Su Ziyang shrank his neck, pretending to be very obedient.

On the very day they were drinking, Su Ziyang's father had said those words to Su Ziyang, but Su Ziyang was too drunk to hear them clearly at the time. Now that he heard them again, Su Ziyang felt as if he had heard them before.

"Which sentence?" Mr. Mengfei released Su Ziyang's hand.

"I forgot too!" Su Ziyang grinned.

"But Master, this concerns a man's dignity, I must learn it!"

"You have no dignity whatsoever, all you do is bother me. If you're so capable, go find a place to learn yourself!" Mr. Mengfei looked at Su Ziyang speechlessly.

"Look at what you're saying! I knew I shouldn't have come to you. I should have gone to Daoist Jin. He would definitely have treated me better than you! Tch~" After saying this, Su Ziyang dragged his suitcase and ran wildly across the station square.

Su Ziyang's prediction was absolutely correct. As soon as he finished speaking, Mr. Mengfei's slap came down, but Su Ziyang ran too fast, and Mr. Mengfei didn't even touch Su Ziyang's shadow.

Watching Su Ziyang's retreating figure, Mr. Mengfei smiled helplessly, "That kid!"

"Come back! Why are you running away? If you get lost again, where am I supposed to find you?"

Seeing Su Ziyang running further and further away with no intention of stopping, Mr. Mengfei quickly shouted! This shout attracted the attention of the surrounding people who stopped to watch.

Mr. Mengfei didn't care about other people's opinions at all, Dada strolled over to where Su Ziyang had stopped.

"Master, I was wrong. Please don't hit me!" Su Ziyang quickly begged for mercy when he saw Mr. Mengfei approaching.

"You're so disrespectful! Stop fooling around and get going! There won't be any more cars!"

Not far from the train station was the bus station. Mr. Mengfei led Su Ziyang onto a bus. The bus ride took nearly three hours before Mr. Mengfei led Su Ziyang off. After getting off, the two took a rural bus for a while, and then rented a small, dilapidated tricycle.

The rickety tricycle bumped and lurched further and further off course. Su Ziyang, looking at his master's profile, asked timidly, "Master, you can't possibly sell me to some remote mountain village, can you?"

"Hiss~ I've noticed that after the New Year, your other skills haven't improved, but your talent for talking nonsense has certainly grown a lot!" Mr. Mengfei turned to look at Su Ziyang and scolded him with a smile.

Haven't I developed any other skills?

Upon hearing his master question him, Su Ziyang frowned, and his aura exploded instantly, with even a faint mist rising above his head!

"Hmm?" Mr. Mengfei snorted softly when he saw Su Ziyang showing off, and the smile on his face vanished instantly.

Su Ziyang's heart sank when he saw Mr. Mengfei's expression! He was doomed! He had gone too far this time. He had originally wanted to show his master that he had been diligently practicing his skills and had not been slacking off.

But judging from Mr. Mengfei's expression now, he clearly thinks he's showing off.

"What are you two cowards for! Did you bring a hairdryer?!" The old man driving the electric tricycle in front felt a surge of heat on his back the moment Su Ziyang unleashed his True Qi, so he turned around and asked.

"No, sir, please watch where you're going!" Mr. Mengfei replied evasively.

"We're almost there, 30 yuan! Get off!" The old man riding the tricycle took the two to a town that didn't look very prosperous, and then told them to get off.

"Isn't it 15 yuan?" Mr. Mengfei looked at the old man with a puzzled expression.

"Fifteen for one person! Didn't you hear me clearly?" The old man smiled slyly.

Mr. Mengfei was speechless for a moment after hearing this. But he didn't argue with the old man and gave him thirty yuan. The old man's face lit up with joy when he saw the money, and he happily rode away on his electric tricycle.

Su Ziyang knew he had just made a mistake, so he lowered his head, pulled his suitcase, and stood behind Mr. Mengfei, not daring to say a word.

"Did I teach you skills so you could show off in front of others?" Mr. Mengfei asked without turning his head as he walked ahead.

"I was wrong!"

"What did I tell you back then? You're not allowed to tell anyone about your training. And you're not allowed to show off in front of others! Whether you're practicing well or not, whether you're slacking off or not, I can tell at a glance. Do you need to flaunt it?" Mr. Mengfei suddenly stopped and turned back to look at Su Ziyang with a livid face.

"Master, I haven't told anyone the details of the practice. I won't show off anymore! Please don't be angry!" Su Ziyang lowered his head, not knowing what to say, and could only keep admitting his mistakes.

"I haven't been by your side during this time, but I've already noticed from your behavior just now that you've shown off your skills to others multiple times!" Mr. Mengfei's voice wasn't loud, but every word seemed to strike Su Ziyang.

If we're talking about showing off, then yes, I have. Mr. Mengfei wasn't wrong. Su Ziyang recalled the scene of breaking bricks for his father, and lowered his head even further.

"Have you forgotten how you used your internal energy to shatter a wine bottle and almost had your tendons severed last time? Although you benefited from this misfortune and are now on good terms with Lao Jin, and he's genuinely good to you, can you guarantee you'll always be this lucky? Wasn't this lesson enough?! Raise your head! Look at me!"

Su Ziyang didn't dare to look up, much less look at Mr. Mengfei, and only whispered, "Master, I've truly learned my lesson. I was wrong!"

"You said the same thing last time. I made you copy the Scripture of Purity and Tranquility, but alas, it seems your heart is still not pure! Once is never enough, twice is never enough, this is the last time, and it will not happen again!" Seeing that Su Ziyang dared not speak, Mr. Mengfei did not criticize Su Ziyang again, but simply said that it would not happen again, and then led Su Ziyang forward again.

In the not-so-bustling town, rows of shops lined both sides of the road.

Mr. Mengfei stopped in front of a barbershop with a sign that read "Shave and Haircut".

The master and apprentice entered the house, where only a young man who looked to be in his early thirties was shaving an old man with a razor.

Hearing someone enter, the young man asked without looking up, "A haircut or a shave?"

"We're looking for Master Pang."

Mr. Mengfei's words made the young man stop wielding his gleaming razor. Holding the razor, the young man looked up at Mr. Mengfei and asked, "What do you want with my master?"

"We've already arranged with Master Pang to come and learn. My name is Mengfei, and I was introduced by Xuhui! You'll know once you talk to Master Pang!" Hearing Mr. Mengfei speak so politely, Su Ziyang realized that the teacher they had come to see didn't know his master, otherwise Mr. Mengfei wouldn't have spoken so politely.

"Ah! No wonder my master said someone came looking for him today, it was you guys! But my master went out, and I don't know when he'll be back. You'll have to wait for him for a while!" After saying that, the young man ignored Su Ziyang and Mr. Mengfei and began to shave the old man who was half-lying down.

The young man's hands were quick and steady; the razor made a soft, swishing sound as it cut through his stubble, a sound that was both relaxing and comforting.

After shaving the old man's face, the young man picked up a spray bottle, sprayed some water mist on it, and then began massaging the old man's face with his fingers moving up and down!

Five minutes later, the young man stopped.

He picked up the white towel wrapped around the old man's neck and shook it.

"Alright, sir!"

"Oh my, when it comes to haircuts, your place is the place to be! Your technique is almost as good as your master's! Very good! Great job! Put it on the tab! Same as always, we'll settle at the end of the year!" The old man stretched his neck with great satisfaction, then swayed away with his hands behind his back.

The old man had just left when a BMW screeched to a halt at the door. A very obese middle-aged man got out of the car. He had a bowl cut like Guo Degang's, a handbag tucked under his arm, and swaggered into the house.

Looking at the man's figure, Su Ziyang immediately thought to himself: Could this be Lao Pang? Lao Pang is too fat!

Su Ziyang nudged his master's arm, but no one knew whether Mr. Mengfei was thinking about something or was still angry with Su Ziyang, Mr. Mengfei did not react at all.

"Beichen, where is your master?" the man with the bowl cut asked the young man as soon as he entered the room.

"Boss Guo. Guo! My master has gone out on business, so I'm all by myself today!" When the young man saw the fat man with the bowl cut, a smile finally appeared on his poker-like face.

"You can do it too! Same as always!" The chubby man with the bowl cut plopped down in the barber's chair, causing it to sink a bit.

Hearing their conversation, Su Ziyang realized that the fat man wasn't Lao Pang, and he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Mr. Mengfei found the conversation between the two interesting and kept staring at the young man named Beichen.

After Boss Guo sat down, Beichen picked up the spray bottle again and sprayed it a few times in the air, the water mist slowly falling onto Boss Guo's head.

After spraying the water mist, Beichen put his palms together, spread his fingers slightly, and began to tap around Boss Guo's bowl-cut hairstyle. The knuckles collided, making a crisp, rhythmic sound.

After tapping for a minute or two, Beichen spread his hands apart and gently massaged both sides of Boss Guo's head, then massaged his ears.

The entire sequence of movements was very fluid and elegant, and the way it was placed on Boss Guo's chubby head was pleasing to the eye.

Sure enough, within ten minutes, Boss Guo was snoring.

Although Boss Guo had fallen asleep, Beichen's movements did not stop. He massaged him with various techniques for about half an hour before Beichen stopping.

After Beichen stopped, Boss Guo slept for another twenty minutes before slowly opening his eyes.

"Ah~ Ha~"

Boss Guo yawned. "Your technique is truly authentic! It's just after the New Year, and the company's been so busy. I'm exhausted. Resting here for a while is really relaxing! Alright, I won't get a haircut since your master isn't here. Same as always, put it on the tab! I'm leaving now, Beichen!"

Boss Guo got up, grabbed his bag, got into his BMW, and drove away.

"Your technique is excellent, it's so pleasing to the eye!" Mr. Mengfei praised.

"Not bad! Want to try it out?" Beichen asked, seeing Mr. Mengfei praising him.

"Haha, what are your pricing standards?" Mr. Mengfei asked with a smile, not intending to try it out.

"A haircut and shave is 15 yuan, a half-hour massage is 30 yuan!" Beichen tidied up the towels haphazardly draped on the chair and threw them into a small washing machine.

"What a great price! It's so cheap!"

Not only did Mr. Mengfei sigh in admiration, but Su Ziyang also thought to himself that it was a real pity to charge such a small amount for such a good technique.

Speaking of cheap prices, Beichen seemed a little interested, and said with a half-smile, "I've been suggesting to Master to raise prices for a long time, but Master has never listened. We're basically not making any money now. If this house weren't ours, we'd be losing money. Even a massage parlor would charge more than us."

Mr. Mengfei did not respond to Beichen's words, but remained silent.

"Are you two here to learn my master's bone-setting skills? Or to learn how to shave and cut hair?" Seeing that Mr. Mengfei was silent, Beichen started to make conversation.

Just as Su Ziyang was about to reply, Mr. Mengfei stopped Su Ziyang, smiling and nodding, "Learn it all, learn it all!"

"That depends on whether the old man teaches him or not," Beichen muttered.

Mr. Mengfei remained silent and did not respond.

"Ah... Waaah~" A child's crying came directly from the doorway into the house.

"Stop crying, stop crying. We'll find your grandpa in a bit, and he'll take a look at you! Don't cry anymore!" An old woman led a little boy of eight or nine years old into the room. The boy's neck was tilted to one side, and his face was red from crying.

While soothing the child, the old woman spoke to Beichen, "Chen, where's your master?"

"My master went out, so I'm all alone today!" Beichen said. "What's wrong, Xiaobao, Auntie?"

"I fell from a tree and it looks like I hurt my neck. I've been crying for over half an hour!" the old lady said anxiously.

"Let me see! Let me see!" Beichen squatted down in front of the little boy who was crying with his neck tilted to the side.

"Don't cry, Xiaobao. Look, isn't this your Uncle Chen? He took you kite flying the other day. Don't cry, we'll take you kite flying later!"

As soon as the topic of flying kites came up, Xiaobao stopped crying much, though he kept sobbing.

"Let me take a look at him first, ma'am?"

Beichen seemed to be trying to gain the old lady's approval.

The old lady quickly nodded. "Take a look first, and if you can't fix it, then go find your master."

Beichen's expression darkened slightly upon hearing the old lady's words, but he remained silent.

Xiaobao tilted his head and looked at Beichen. Beichen rubbed his hands together, and just as his right hand touched Xiaobao's neck, Xiaobao started crying violently again, crying and screaming in pain, which startled Beichen, who quickly withdrew his hand.

Beichen tentatively touched him three or four times, but all he got in return was Xiaobao's increasingly loud cries!

Beichen, who had originally wanted to show off his skills in front of Su Ziyang and Mr. Mengfei, awkwardly touched his nose.

"Hurry up and call your master!" the old lady shouted anxiously, seeing that Beichen couldn't help at all.

The old lady's words made Beichen even more embarrassed, but faced with Xiaobao's crying, Beichen could only take out his phone from his pocket and call his master.