Chapter 45: Years Younger

Chapter 45: Years Younger

"Could you cut it short, to here?" Su Zhaozhao placed her hand at her shoulder level. "Just a straight cut, and then..."

Before she could finish, the hairdresser replied, "Got it, a Hu Lan style, just like mine. Don't worry, I'll make sure it looks great on you." She then began to undo Su Zhaozhao's braid.

Afraid the hairdresser might cut it too short, Su Zhaozhao insisted, "Shoulder-length, please, don't cut it any shorter."

The hairdresser tried to persuade her, "If you keep it this long, it will grow out in no time. What kind of Hu Lan style is that? It's better to cut it shorter, to your ears. That way, you won't need to fuss over it for half a year, much more convenient."

But Su Zhaozhao was not one to be easily swayed. She hadn't intended to get a Hu Lan style in the first place; she wanted a student cut, something that would make her look younger.

"Just cut it as I said, and when it grows out, I can tie it up again."

The hairdresser shook her head, clearly puzzled.

Su Zhaozhao's hair reached down to her waist, with the ends dry and frizzy, while the roots still looked decent. The volume was just right, so even a short cut wouldn't make her hair look messy.

Following her instructions, the hairdresser gave her a neat, straight cut, then put away her scissors, "All done."

Looking at herself in the mirror, Su Zhaozhao saw her hair parted in the middle, with the sides tucked behind her ears, revealing her forehead.

"…Can you give me a fringe?"

"Fringe, huh… What kind of fringe do you want?" The hairdresser took a strand of hair from behind her ear and placed it above her eyebrows, "Like this?"

"There's too much hair, make it thinner… Shorter in the middle, longer on the sides…"

Guided by Su Zhaozhao, the hairdresser spent more time on her fringe than on the rest of her hair.

Su Zhaozhao was satisfied, but the hairdresser was exhausted. In all her years, this was the first time a customer had directed her so closely.

"You really look good like this. You've changed a lot from before, looking much younger and very chic!"

When she came in, she looked older than her age, but now she looked younger. The effect of the fringe was truly remarkable. The hairdresser felt she had learned something valuable.

Su Zhaozhao nodded, looking at herself in the mirror. Indeed, it was exactly what she wanted.

A white shirt, shoulder-length hair, and a military green shoulder bag—quite a period-appropriate look.

"Thank you, sir. How much?"

"Twenty-six cents."

It was worth every cent.

The bus back was scheduled to leave at 4:30 PM. It was around three o'clock now, so she still had some time. After leaving the hair salon, Su Zhaozhao went to a bookstore. She browsed through it, wanting to buy a few novels to pass the time, but decided against it after some thought.

Mainly because she feared that in a few years, someone might find them and say they were problematic, given that many books were banned during that special era.

Better safe than sorry.

Instead, she bought two books on agriculture and geography, and a few picture books for Gu Xiang and the others. She had intended to buy a Xinhua Dictionary for the children to use for word lookup, but there wasn't one available.

It must not have been published yet at this time.

"Hello," Su Zhaozhao had just sat down on the bus when the woman next to her greeted her with a smile.

She recognized her as the military family member who had boarded the bus with her earlier that morning.

Su Zhaozhao smiled, "Hello."

The woman clearly remembered her, "You're a military family member too, right? You walked in front of me when we were boarding, and you were so fast."

"Yes, you are too," she confirmed.

The woman nodded, "My husband is a battalion commander in the First Regiment, his surname is Li, and his name is Li Tianfu. What does your husband do?"

As soon as she mentioned her husband's surname and rank, Su Zhaozhao knew who she was talking about, "My husband's surname is Gu, and his name is Gu Heng."

The words "my husband" made her heart flutter.

The woman's eyes widened, "So it's you, Sister-in-law!"

Now the woman became even more enthusiastic, "I'm Zhao Sufang. I've heard a lot about you and Captain Gu. I've always wanted to visit your home, but I never had the nerve, mainly because I didn't want to disturb you. Now I finally get to meet you in person."

Zhao Sufang was in her twenties, with an apple-shaped face, double eyelids, and dimples that appeared when she smiled, making her look very approachable.

Su Zhaozhao smiled, "You're welcome to visit our home. I just moved here and don't know many people. I had planned to invite everyone over, but they didn't bring their families."

"It's all my husband's fault for not bringing me," Zhao Sufang pretended to be upset. "You wouldn't believe it, he criticized my cooking, saying even pigs wouldn't eat it, and told me to learn from you. What can I do if he doesn't bring me along?"

Su Zhaozhao laughed, "Now that we've met, we can visit each other more often."

"Definitely."

Actually, Zhao Sufang was drawn to Su Zhaozhao's hairstyle. As soon as Su Zhaozhao got on the bus, Zhao Sufang noticed how nice her hair looked. Recognizing her from earlier, she decided to strike up a conversation.

"Did you get your hair cut in the city? It looks great. Where did you go? I want to get a haircut next time I go into town."

"A hair salon near the department store…" Su Zhaozhao provided the location.

"Oh, I wish I had spoken to you on the bus this morning. Maybe I could have gone with you. I've always wanted a Hu Lan style, but I was afraid it wouldn't look good. If it looks like yours, it would definitely be beautiful."

"Next time will be the same."

They chatted quite a bit on the bus, "A relative of mine is getting married, and I took a leave to attend the wedding. I wanted to bring my husband, but he couldn't make it…"

"My husband and I are from the same town, and we've known each other since childhood…"

After this ride, Su Zhaozhao even learned when the couple got married, when they had their child, and whether her husband’s parents and sisters-in-law were easy to get along with.

Comrade Zhao Sufen really… has no guile; she says everything on her mind.

"Sister-in-law, you’re different from what everyone imagined."

Su Zhaozhao raised an eyebrow, "What did everyone imagine me to be like?" It seems the military families have been talking about her quite a bit.

"You speak like an educated person, not someone from the countryside. And when you mentioned Captain Gu, you said ‘my beloved,’ only educated people would say that." Zhao Sufen covered her mouth and laughed; she felt embarrassed to call her own husband ‘my beloved.’

Su Zhaozhao: "…I just heard others say it and followed suit. Besides, there’s not much difference between people from the countryside and the city. We shouldn’t define or distinguish people by their speech. There are uneducated people in the city, and educated people in the countryside. Most of the soldiers in our unit come from the countryside, yet they still defend the country."

"And we, as military family members, are mostly from the countryside too. Although our lives may not be wealthy and our knowledge limited, we know how to love our country and support the military. At home, we take care of the elderly, raise children, manage daily chores, and bear all the hardships silently, never complaining, never tiring, and no one can say a word against us."