22 Chapter 22: Haircut

"I won't do something illegal like robbery!" Guo Xiang smiled faintly and looked at the two of them. "I know how dangerous that place is. If It's not dangerous, you wouldn't need to look for bodyguards. Why, do you think your lives aren't worth 1000 yuan?"

The man in the yellow shirt choked, but the price was too high. It was equivalent to a cadre's annual salary. They were only going to go there for 10 days!

"Then, can you guarantee that nothing will happen to us?" The yellow shirt man said unwillingly.

"At least you'll be better off with me than alone!" Guo Xiang smiled.

"You..." the man in the yellow shirt was speechless. That was the truth. He was afraid that it was not safe for him to be alone. One more person would give him more protection.

Yi Zichen pondered for a moment. He thought about the benefits he would get from this trip. 1000 yuan would be nothing compared to the potential profits. Furthermore, they would be more protected. 

Guo Xiang knew real kung fu, it was only natural that she asked for high pay. 

"Deal!" Yi Zichen reached out his hand. "Let's get to know each other again. My name is Yi Zichen, and I'm a businessman!"

"Guo Xiang!" Guo Xiang also reached out her hand.

"So it's Hero Guo?" Yi Zichen smiled.

Guo Xiang wasn't expecting that name. It seemed like the Hong Kong version of "The Condor Heroes" had spread to the mainland. Big cities were indeed different.

The man in the yellow shirt also laughed and extended his hand to Guo Xiang, "Hero Guo, I'm Huang Zhengli. Nice to meet you."

Guo Xiang chuckled, "I don't deserve to be called a hero. You can just call me Guo Xiang."

The two of them laughed out loud.

"Oh right, when are you leaving?" Guo Xiang asked.

"I'm leaving tonight. Do you need time to get ready?" Yi Zichen asked.

Guo Xiang nodded and stretched out her hand. "Can you pay a deposit first? 300 yuan."

Huang Zhengli wasn't happy with her request, "You can't do that! You want money before you even do anything. What if you take the money and run away?"

Guo Xiang rolled her eyes, "would someone with my skills be greedy for a few hundred yuan?"

Huang Zhengli was taken aback and could not speak. Not everyone who practiced martial arts had good character. Moreover, it was the first time they met.

"I believe you!" Yi Zichen nodded, "but I only have 150 yuan with me. I don't have that much cash."

"150 yuan is fine too," Guo Xiang nodded. If she had money, she could change into some better clothes. Otherwise, with this nanny outfit, people would actually think she was a nanny.

Yi Zichen took out 150 yuan and handed it to Guo Xiang, "the train is at 10 pm. We will wait for you at the train station. We will buy the tickets."

"Okay!" Guo Xiang nodded. She took the money and waved her hand. "See you tonight!"

Huang Zhengli looked at Guo Xiang's back as she left. He was still a little worried, "Zichen, can we trust that girl?"

"We won't be hiring her if we didn't trust her!" Yi Zichen smiled.

"But..." Huang Zhengli still wanted to say something. Forget it, the boss himself didn't mind. What else could he say?

After parting with Yi Zichen and Huang Zhengli, Guo Xiang patted her bag happily. She was finally no longer penniless. It wasn't easy.

She needed to change her clothes. She couldn't have herself looking like a nanny. 

Guo Xiang thought about it and decided to cut her long hair first. Although it had been two months, she was still not really used to it. 

In her previous life, she had always had short hair. It was neat and tidy. It suited her personality very well.

In this life, she did not want to have long hair either.

She found a barbershop. The barber was an old man. There were very few young people doing haircuts during this time. 

The barber was a little surprised to see Guo Xiang come in. The people who came to his barbershop were mostly men, and the women who cut their hair were usually middle-aged and old women. Young girls rarely cut their hair since braids were popular.

This girl's braids were so beautiful. They were long and black.

"Miss, do you want to cut your hair?" The old man asked uncertainly.

"Yes, I want to cut it short," Guo Xiang nodded and gestured under her ears. "Just cut it to the side of my cheeks."

She originally wanted to get and short and messy haircut, but people in the 80s might not know that kind of hairstyle. She was afraid that the old man would make her hairstyle ugly if he failed. She wouldn't want a flattop. 

"That's really short," the old man was a little surprised and asked carefully, "young lady, did you have a break up?"

Guo Xiang halted and could not help but laugh, "no, I just don't want to keep it. It's too troublesome."

The old master looked at Guo Xiang's long braids and shook his head, "It's so long. It would be a pity to cut it."

"It's not a pity. It's easier to have short hair," Guo Xiang smiled.

The old master picked up the scissors and gestured at the braids. He said with great regret, "young lady, do you want to reconsider? You won't get them back if you regret cutting them."

Guo Xiang smiled, "I won't. You can cut them. It's okay."

"By the way, sir, can I sell my hair for money since it's so long?" Guo Xiang asked. She remembered that in her previous life, there were people who specialized in collecting hair and it was quite expensive. She didn't know if anyone would accept hair now. After all, there were very few people who made wigs nowadays.

"You can, but it's pretty rare for people to buy them," the old man nodded. "But since your hair is so beautiful and so long. I'll take them." 

Guo Xiang's eyes lit up, "how much?"

"Two yuan!" The old man said.

"That's it?" Guo Xiang was disappointed. Her hair reached her waist. It was black and shiny. In her previous life, it could be sold for at least a few hundred yuan. 

But in this era, people didn't spend much, it was indeed not worth much.

"Sir, how much is a haircut?" Guo Xiang asked.

"Fifty cents," the old master said.

"How about this, sir, I'll use my hair to pay for the haircut," Guo Xiang suggested. 

"That works for me," the old man said with a smile.

"You have to help me cut it well. You can't cut it too short, or I won't sell my hair," Guo Xiang said quickly. Some people wanted to sell as much hair as possible so they cut very close to their scalp. As a result, the haircut would look pretty ugly. 

"Don't worry. You want to cut a student haircut. I know," the old master looked confident.

A student's cut? Guo Xiang smiled bitterly. Oh well, this was the only hairstyle at this time. The barber wouldn't understand her if she asked for too much. 

"Sir, when you cut my hair, cut it into layers. Cut the inner part shorter. Make the outer layer longer than the inner layer. This way, the outer layer of hair will naturally curl inside and won't curl up. Otherwise, my hair would be ruined after one night's sleep," Guo Xiang said.

The old master nodded, "I didn't expect you to know this. That's usually how it's done. Usually, mothers would cut their children's hair. They just cut it with a single snip and the hair curls up when they sleep. You should always cut layers. There're tricks involved."

"Exactly. That's why the barbershop cuts it better," Guo Xiang echoed.

The old master was happy to hear that, so he cut her hair even more carefully.

After he finished cutting the hair at the back, he wanted to cut the bangs at the front. After all, a student's cut required thick, flat bangs.

Guo Xiang blocked him, "Sir, I'll cut the hair at the front myself."

If he really gave her a student's cut, it would be very ugly.

"You know how to do it?" The barber was surprised.

"Yes, I'll cut the hair at the front myself. My method is different from others," Guo Xiang smiled. She parted her hair in the middle, tucked the hair on both sides of her cheeks behind her ears, and combed a thin layer of hair to the top of her head. She followed the method she had seen in the video before, picked out a triangle with a comb and clipped the rest of her hair behind her ears.

She picked up a pair of scissors and cut her hair in the middle of the bridge of her nose in front of the mirror.

"This is too long, it'll block your vision," the barber said from the side.

Guo Xiang nodded. It was a little long, she still needed to trim it.

She combed her hair. Her hair shrank back a little and became a little shorter.

If she had a curling iron, it would be great. She rolled her hair up a little and pulled it up to the side. Her bangs were perfect.

"Do you do perms?" Guo Xiang asked.

"No!" The old master shook his head. He hadn't learned that fashionable thing yet.

Guo Xiang pondered. Even if it wasn't curly, it was still considered to be bangs. It was just a little more rigid.

She saw a thin iron wire on the side and had an idea, "Sir, do you have a lighter?"

"Yes!" The old master nodded and took out a lighter from the drawer.

Guo Xiang used the lighter to heat up the iron wire and quickly heated the ends of her bangs. Within seconds, the ends of her hair were slightly curly. She quickly pulled it away.

She pulled it on both sides and trimmed the middle bangs again. It was perfect!

She had successfully given herself the same haircut as any young girl would have in 30 years' time! 

The old man looked at Guo Xiang in a daze. This hairstyle was really good-looking and make her look very energetic. It suited her a lot. 

The little girl's face shape was good, and she was also quite fair. She was really beautiful.

"I didn't expect you to be so good at it. This is even better than the ones I saw from the south. This isn't a student's cut, is it?" The old master asked.

Guo Xiang smiled. "It's similar, but the bangs are a little thinner, so it's not as rigid." 

"It looks much better," the old master praised.

"Sir, you can try this haircut on other people in the future," Guo Xiang smiled and brushed her hair. She was quite satisfied. The hairstyle matched her current age.

"I'm gonna go now, sir. Thank you," Guo Xiang stood up and said goodbye.