Tsinghua University

When Shen Tinglan arrived in Binhai City, the snow was already falling heavily.He dragged his suitcase and got off the green leather train, and followed the crowd to the exit.

The cold wind blows through the thick down jacket like a knife.He couldn't help shivering, tightened his scarf, and quickened his pace to the taxi waiting area.

07:30 in the morning is a small peak period, and there are many people waiting in the waiting area. Shen Tinglan waited in line for more than ten minutes before it was his turn.

The driver was a fat middle-aged man with thinning hair and square-frame glasses on the bridge of his nose. He got out of the car with a beer belly and kindly helped Shen Tinglan put the suitcase in the trunk.

He looked at Shen Tinglan a few times, smiled, showing his slightly yellow teeth: "You are a student, where are you going?"

Shen Tinglan got into the car, took out her mobile phone, found the text message from the landlord, and read out the address written on it: "Hardware Building, Changning Street, Nanqiao District."

"Hardware Building?" The driver started the car, frowned and thought for a moment, "It's very chaotic over there, and there was a burglary case a few days ago...Are you not a local?"

"No..." Shen Tinglan hesitated for a moment, then said with a smile, "I come to Binjin to go to school, and my relatives live in the hardware building."

Shen Tinglan lied, he didn't have any relatives who lived in the hardware building.Before the winter vacation, he received a call from his mother, Shen Qingyi.

Shen Tinglan had never met her father since she was a child, and took her mother's surname, but she didn't have a deep relationship with Shen Qingyi.Shen Qingyi has been working in other places, and he has lived at his grandparents' house since he can remember, and only during the holidays will there be contact between mother and child.

On the phone, Shen Qingyi told Shen Tinglan that she had found a school for him in Binhai City and asked him to come here to study.Because some things have not been handled well, he needs to live alone for a while.

Grandma and grandpa's home is in a small county town that has been searched for a long time on the map, so it is naturally inferior to Binhai, a municipality directly under the Central Government in all aspects.The two old people tended to let Shen Tinglan go to Binhai to study. Regardless of academic performance, it would be good to broaden one's horizons.

In this way, he took the train for several hours and came here.

Shen Tinglan only brought 2000 yuan, considering the next daily expenses.He picked the cheapest house on the Internet, and it was not too far from the school.

The driver was very talkative, and he introduced the city to Shen Tinglan with joy, as if he had inexhaustible enthusiasm.Finally, he asked again: "Which school do you want to go to?"

"Binhai No. [-] Middle School." Shen Tinglan replied simply.

The driver smiled and sighed again: "No. [-] Middle School is pretty good... My daughter is also studying in No. [-] Middle School. She is a freshman in high school this year. She only went there for two days, and she made a fuss about transferring schools."

"Why?" Shen Tinglan was a little confused.

"No. [-] middle school is strictly controlled, and there are a lot of miscellaneous rules. The teacher asked the girls to wear short hair. Now this little girl doesn't like to be pretty. She doesn't want to cut it. She quarreled with the teacher. After a few days, In the end it was cut."

The driver didn't want to talk too much about his family, so he glanced at Shen Tinglan again through the rearview mirror, "Your hair is not qualified, it's too long. Hurry up and cut it later, or the teacher in the school will cut it for you personally." Cut off the head of a Hengshui High School super soldier, that would be ugly."

"Thank you." Shen Tinglan reached out and scratched her hair, it was indeed a bit long.In the rearview mirror, he saw the top of his hair blown like a tangled weed.

Soon after, the snow stopped.

The taxi stopped at the corner of a side street.The freshly painted street signs are not yet dry, and the three characters "Changning Street" are bathed in the light red morning light, reflecting the moist light.

"The road inside is difficult, so I won't go in." The driver apologized, took out the suitcase in the trunk, and put it on the snow-covered ground.

Shen Tinglan stretched out his head and took a few glances into Changning Street. There were old-fashioned residential buildings with no more than five floors on the left and right.The road is not too narrow, but there are stalls set up by vegetable vendors on both sides, and it is really not easy to pass a car.

He thanked the driver and walked in with the suitcase.The newly fallen snow has not been frozen yet, it is very soft, and it creaks when stepped on.About three to five minutes later, he saw the neighborhood called Hardware Building.

It is said that it is a community, and there are only four buildings, all of which are rented out.

There is a simple guard room built with colored steel plates at the entrance of the hardware building, and an old woman with gray hair is sitting in it.Shen Tinglan stepped forward to open the window and asked, "Hi, I'm here to rent a house."

The old grandma was deaf and couldn't hear what Shen Tinglan said.She frowned, opened her mouth, and let out a puzzled "ah".

Shen Tinglan repeated: "I'm here to rent a house!"

The old lady heard clearly this time, and pointed to the inside of the hardware building.When she was old, she was easily confused, and she took it for granted that everyone was as deaf as herself, and said loudly: "There is a barber shop inside, go there and find a small landlord!"

Barber shop...what a coincidence.

Shen Tinglan thanked the old lady and closed the window. Soon, he found the barber shop hidden in the alley.

The barber shop is small and has no signboard.Through the two glass doors, you can see the situation inside the store.Its decor seems to be from the last century.A white cash register, an old-fashioned ironing machine, two full-length mirrors, and two chairs.

Shen Tinglan pushed the door open and went in. The young man sitting next to the cash register was holding a copy of "Border Town" in his hands and reading.He seemed not very interested in his work, so he raised his eyes and glanced at Shen Tinglan, put down his book and said in a long voice: "Welcome to—"

Shen Tinglan explained her purpose: "I want to rent a house, 207. The mother-in-law at the door told me to come here to find a small landlord."

"I am."

The little landlord frowned, and took out a long bunch of keys from his pocket.He took the door lock of the barbershop and was about to go out when Shen Tinglan said again: "Wait a minute, I want to cut my hair, how much is it?"

"twenty."

The little landlord felt that this person was troublesome, but he still took the business.He simply washed Shen Tinglan's hair and asked, "What do you want to cut?"

Shen Tinglan didn't know what kind of cut he wanted to make: "Cut it whatever you want, just a short one."

The little landlord didn't say a word, picked up the scissors and began to trim.He is good at craftsmanship, and he pursed his lips slightly when he was working, but he looked a bit serious.

"My ancestors! What are you doing?!"

Suddenly, a woman wearing colorful chicken nest heads pushed open the door. She wore light makeup and was under 30 years old, rushing in.The little landlord was taken aback, his hand holding the clipper trembled, and Shen Tinglan shaved a piece of baldness in the blink of an eye.

Or side, very conspicuous, very ugly.

Shen Tinglan's hairstyle is like a cabbage that has been bitten by a pig. No matter how good-tempered he is, he can't sit still right now.When he was about to attack, the young woman who had just entered the door saw him angry, and quickly laughed with him: "I'm the boss here, why don't you...help you fix it again? It's free."

The little landlord was straightforward: "Didn't you just say that you want to rent a house? In this way, I don't want your rent this month."

The small landlord has been talking like this all year round, but this commanding tone made Shen Tinglan uncomfortable. He just wanted to stand up confidently and say "I won't rent anymore!" But the jingling twenty cents in his pocket didn't allow it He does.The "school district house" near No. [-] Middle School is the only one he can afford to rent.

Shen Tinglan let go of his bones temporarily: "Then fix it."

"Okay, okay!" The owner of the barber shop hurriedly took over the electric clipper from the small landlord, and after a short time, he shaved Shen Tinglan's hair.

The owner of the barber shop smiled: "This hair is so beautiful, energetic and handsome!"

Shen Tinglan looked at himself in the mirror, but he didn't see how good-looking he was, but felt that his head was like a marinated egg.He regretted it in his heart, and he shouldn't have walked into this store. The legendary "Hengshui High School Super Soldier Head" might be more pleasing to the eye than this "Marinated Egg Head".

"Let's go and have a look at the house." The little landlord said.

"My ancestors," the owner of the barber shop stopped the little landlord considering the customer's mood at this time, "give me the key, and I will take this little brother to see the house."

"It's okay, he rents 207." The small landlord took out the key and handed it to the female boss, and took out dozens of dollars from his trouser pocket, "Sister Pengpeng, I cut three heads just now, and they all said that I am good at craftsmanship."

"If this happens again, tell me on the phone, don't surprise me." The owner of the barber shop took the money handed over by the little landlord and greeted Shen Tinglan, "Come with me, 207 Yeah?"

Shen Tinglan deduced the ins and outs of the matter from their conversation. The little landlord was a friend of the female owner of the barber shop, and she only came to help her look after the shop temporarily, and had never learned how to cut hair.During the period, I happened to receive three customers, and the response was good.

I only overturned the car here.

Shen Tinglan didn't know who was unlucky.

He followed the female boss and left the barber shop.As soon as you go out, the most intuitive feeling is that your head is a little cold.

Xu hasn't met such a young tenant for a long time, and the owner of the barber shop gradually talked more, pulling Shen Tinglan to chat.

Her name is Zhang Pengpeng, and she is also a member of the army of migrant workers.She dropped out of junior high school and worked as an apprentice in a barber shop in her hometown for several years, determined to make a career out of it.

As they talked, they came to the apartment building.After entering, Shen Tinglan smelled a damp musty smell.He walked up the stairs and soon reached the second floor.There is basically no lighting in the corridor, and a dusty old wall lamp on the wall is comparable to an antique and pulped wall lamp, which flickers on and off.

Zhang Pengpeng opened the door of room 207 with the key, and asked Shen Tinglan to enter first.

207 has a total area of ​​no more than forty square meters, a bedroom, a toilet, a living room, and a small kitchen that can be used as a balcony.

Shen Tinglan turned around, and overall she was quite satisfied.The small landlord had previously said that Shen Tinglan would live for a month for free, so the two parties were in no hurry to sign the contract.

There is a mixed bag of fish and dragons in the hardware building, and there are many idlers in the society. A few days ago, there was a theft case.Just in case, Zhang Pengpeng left his phone number for Shen Tinglan, and told him to speak up if he encountered any trouble.

After seeing off Zhang Pengpeng, Shen Tinglan opened the window on the balcony to ventilate.He saw a steamed stuffed bun shop across the street, and a fat aunt with a white apron around her waist opened a half-person-high steamer, and with a "hoo", hot white steam rose instantly and wafted into the sunlight.

Across the street, Shen Tinglan seemed to smell the aroma of meat buns.He didn't eat in the morning, so he planned to buy some small meat buns to cushion his stomach.

Shen Tinglan was about to go out when she caught a glimpse of herself in the full-length mirror next to the shoe cabinet, with a "braised egg head" shining brightly.The more he looked at it, the more angry he was, and he wanted to scold the little landlord, but then he remembered that the other party waived his one month's rent for this.

Cannibals are soft and short.

Shen Tinglan is not angry, nor is she angry.After thinking for a long time, he took out the 2000 yuan he had with him, and counted out [-] yuan for rent, plus [-] yuan.

He stepped up, covered his hair with the hat of his down jacket, packed the banknotes and keys, and went out to find the small landlord.I thought to myself, if I settled the money with the small landlord, I would be able to stand up and be angry with this person.

The author has something to say: The peonies that my mother newly planted in the yard grew a lot from the soil, and the two small pomegranate trees also sprouted buds. Today should be a good day.