In the early 1980s, barber scissors and razors could be commonly found in a hairdresser's. 30 years later, as people's living standards have been improved, many modern hair salons with fancy decorations and sophisticated appliances have appeared in big cities. However, in some small and medium-sized cities of China, traditional haircutting stall also exist by old streets and places mainly inhabited by migrant workers.
"我先来!""明明就是我先来,该我了!"一个春日的午后,两名小男孩边喊边冲上去,抢占刘大爷摆在巷道里的一把老式靠背椅。两人互不相让,最后,两人用抓阄的办法决定出年龄大的小孩先来。他美滋滋地坐上椅子,任凭刘大爷用手推剪在头上移来移去。理完头,小孩掏出两元钱,递给刘大爷。看着两名淘气的小男孩,刘大爷笑了。
"I go first!"""I came first, it's my turn!" On a spring afternoon, two boys were fighting each other to sit in Uncle Liu's old-fashioned armchair because both of them wanted to have their hair cut by Uncle Liu first. Finally they decided to draw lots to determine who should be the first. The elder boy was lucky enough to be Uncle Liu's first customer; he jumped into the armchair merrily and let Uncle Liu's scissors move back and forth on his head. When he was done he paid two yuan to Uncle Liu who smiled amiably at the two naughty boys.
几分钟后,刘大爷的理发摊前排起了队。粗略一数,竟有10多名顾客,有老人、小孩,还有中年人。只见刘大爷戴着白口罩,每隔两分钟左右就理完一个头,收费都是两元钱,剪的发型也还不错。
Only in a few minutes people lined up in front of Uncle Liu's haircutting stall. There were more than ten customers of different generations. Uncle Liu, wearing a white face mask, spent about two minutes doing a haircut, and charged two yuan for each. He was quite a skillful barber with extraordinary dexterity.
"收费低对我们来说还在其次,主要是刘大爷对人热情,技术也好,而且手脚麻利。我们这一带的居民都喜欢找他理头。"一位常来的老顾客说。
One of his frequent customers said: "We come to Uncle Liu not only because of the lower fee, but also because of his kindness and excellent skill. All of residents here like to have the hair cut by him."An old-fashioned armchair, a big mirror, a hair drier, a pair of barber scissors, and a razor – these simple tools were all that Uncle Liu needed to perform his ability. With these things, he could make enough money to feed himself, rent a house for his family and send his son to school. Uncle Liu came here as a migrant worker; he found that there were many low-income families here. However, the fancy hair salons charged so much that many senior people would rather wear their hair long than consume in the hair salons. Therefore, he came up with the idea of putting up a haircutting stall by the street. Although prices kept rising greatly in these days, still, he charges only two yuan for each customer.
刘大爷说,虽然找他理发的顾客很多,但毕竟远不如发廊的生意好。人们的生活越来越好,美发的花样也越来越多。也许有一天,路边理发摊这样的老行业就会消失......
Uncle Liu said that although many local residents came to him, his business still cannot rival that of those hair salons. As people are living a better life now, they are getting more and more attentive to their hairstyles. Maybe someday this traditional street haircutting stand will disappear all together...