mud buddha

"Mr. Roswell, good afternoon." The jewelry store owner stood behind the counter, adjusting the gloves on his hands.The gloves were suede and thin, and Henry only put them on when he was handling jewelry.Seeing Nibel coming in, he was surprised and came out from behind the counter: "You are..."

Charlie pushed open the door in front, turned around and pushed Nibel into the store. Henry took off his gloves and went over to the back of Nibel's wheelchair.He was small and thin, wearing a shirt and vest, and his hair was combed carefully with hairspray to a shiny back.

Nibel is wearing very simple today, or in a very Benoit style.A white short coat, paired with a pair of crisp suit pants, looks very young.

"It's okay, boss. At least my legs are fine." He said as usual: "Bring up your most expensive and latest necklace style."

"Okay, no problem." Henry entered the warehouse with a smile, pretending not to notice Nibel's expressionless eyes.

After a while, Henry brought out several boxes, took out the jewels inside, and placed them one by one on the cushion in front of Nibel.

The first one is a thin chain with a heavy sapphire hanging on it. If you look closely, the chain is inlaid with large and small diamonds.Henry pointed to it and said, "It's a simple style that's been popular in Paris recently, but under the lights, it's dazzling!"

Then came a necklace of pearls, with a tiny green agate strung between each pearl, and each surrounded by a ring of tiny diamonds.The third piece is an irregular crystal necklace. The crystals on it are large and small, round in shape, crystal clear, and tassels of different lengths are adorned at intervals.

"This string of pearls goes well with any clothes, even ordinary clothes will shine brightly. This one was made by a big designer in London. It is said that it was inspired by soap bubbles. It took two years!"

Nibel squinted his eyes and looked at it for a while, but he couldn't see anything. He asked Henry which was the most expensive, and Henry pointed to the third one, and he nodded.

"Then I wrapped it up for you?"

"Wait." He stopped Henry, touched his nose, and sent Charlie to wait outside: "Help me get a collar."

Henry smiled slightly: "What kind?"

"Add more jewelry, choose softer leather, don't be too tight."

"Are you wearing it yourself?"

Nibel frowned, very puzzled: "No."

"Oh, that jewel-heavy style might not be that popular, and it'll be heavy."

"Then set one. What material do you have?" After a pause, he asked, "Do you have rubies?"

"Yes, yes, follow me." Henry pushed him into the small room next to him. "Tell me what you want, I'll make sure you're satisfied."

Charlie stood outside the jewelry store, leaning against the wall, rubbing his hands and looking around.

To the left of the jewelry store is a bakery with its warm, creamy aroma, and to the right is a hair salon.Many men with their hair combed shiny and tied back with headbands walked in.

The salon's signboard reads "FriskNight" in cursive script, with the last stroke of the previous word stretched out to round off the word "night".A poster was pasted on the glass door, blocking the view of the store.The poster depicts a young girl in a fashionable style.

Charlie was not very literate, he could only recognize "Night" clearly for one night, and stared at the poster with his head down.The beauties on the poster wink and wink, wearing tight dresses and pearl necklaces.

Not as good as the one I just saw.He pouted.Thinking of the man who just entered, he felt that the city was really different, even men were so keen on beauty.

He touched his disheveled head and took out a small pouch from the inside pocket of his clothes.This small bag was given by the maid who worked with him a long time ago, but the maid resigned and went home soon, it is said that she caught a rich man.But that was the first time Charlie received a gift from a woman, and he kept it for use.He took out a few banknotes and counted them again, opened the door of the jewelry store to have a look, and found that it was empty, so he put the money in his hands and walked into the salon next to him.

Pushing open the door, there were quite a few people inside. Charlie was wondering why the hall was empty at the moment when he saw people only going in and out.It is said to be a hair salon, and there are not many barbers.

"Welcome, welcome."

Charlie heard a hoarse female voice, as if he had started smoking in the womb.

"Hello." He responded, turning his head to find the source of the voice.A tall and strong figure came out from the inner room. The woman had broad shoulders and wore a low-cut dress with a collar. As if tied.

"what do you need?"

"The head."

The woman leaned against the nearest table, her brows were wrinkled, and she looked a little fierce: "About the head?"

Charlie cringed a little, shrank his head and responded.

The woman in front of her stood up slowly, and Charlie felt that standing up straight was a lot of work for that woman, because she had to lift her head slightly first, then back slightly, and then straighten her arms , hold the table top, and finally straighten your knees—first the leg away from the table, and then the one leaning against the table.

"Okay." The woman turned her head away and shouted to the inside: "Take care of the head!"

A slender girl opened the door.The girl looked no more than fourteen or fifteen years old, with olive skin and bruises under her eyes.She wore a feather clip on her head, which obviously didn't fit well with her chicken coop hair, and it only made people feel like they wanted to take it off for her.

She sat Charlie down, pulled a blanket from a side drawer, and asked him what hairstyle he wanted.The blanket was very thin, and the material was a bit like a curtain.It was a little gray on top, and Emily shook it while holding it.

"It's fine to be tidy and energetic." Charlie thought of Nibel's smooth black hair, which had grown a little longer recently, and he put the hair in front of his ears behind his ears, looking very gentle.But Charlie has to work, so he is doomed not to have long hair, and it would be best if he can be neat. "Move faster."

The girl tucked the blanket into Charlie's collar and tucked it in.Her long thin fingers were cold, and Charlie felt like he'd been touched by a spider or something.

She brought a basin of water to help Charlie wet his hair. Charlie was bored and talked to her: "How old are you?"

"Seventeen."

"Really? Not quite. I thought you were a little girl of fourteen or fifteen."

The girl didn't know what to say, so she said, "Thank you."

"what's your name?"

"Emily."

"Good name."

"Thank you."

"Did you buy that hairpin on your head?"

"No." Emily smiled suddenly: "It was given by a... friend."

"It's pretty good, it matches your hair well." Unfortunately, it doesn't match you well.Charlie swallowed the words.His proud sense of humor always fails when it comes to women, but luckily his brain works beyond its reach.

"Thank you!" Emily smiled again.

"The person who gave you this must be your good friend?"

Emily picked up the scissors and waved them a few times: "I don't know either."

Talking to a woman is like tearing open a sack of cream.If you don't find the opening at the beginning, you will not be able to open it after a long time. If you destroy it violently, the cream will just spread everywhere, leaving you with nothing.But once you get the hang of it, just cut a small slit and the cream will flow out easily, right where you want it.

The topic of the friend was obviously that small mouth, and Emily poured beans while cutting Charlie's hair: "Actually, I don't know her very well, she has only been with us for a short time, and she is not with us often. Then she didn't come back for a long time, Mammy said she wouldn't come again, and she slipped away. This hairpin was left by her before, and there were other bracelets and necklaces and so on. "

"Then why did you only get this hairpin?" Charlie kind of likes the word "slip" because it seems like a secret occupation when used here.

"Everything that was worth a little was taken away by my sister and the others. No one wanted this, so I gave it to me." Emily pursed her lips.

"You said you don't know her very well, why do you still call her a friend?"

"I saw her before she left. It was late at night, there was no moon, and it was dark everywhere. I saw her turn out of the nanny's room. I had a bad stomach that day, and I ran to the toilet, and I happened to see her. She Tell me not to tell Mammy, because she regards me as a good friend." Emily paused as she was cutting her hair, as if she was out of breath: "Good friends keep each other's secrets."

"So you didn't tell Mammy, but you told me this stranger." Charlie nodded, feeling that the girl was a bit careless, and after seeing Emily nod in the mirror, he was overjoyed: "You really are the whole world The biggest fool!"

"That's what everyone says." Emily was a little dejected, and held Charlie's head to keep him from moving: "That's why I cut your hair."

"Does a fool like you have to cut your hair?"

"It's a fool like me who cuts hair." She put the scissors down and unwrapped the blanket around Charlie's neck.Charlie stroked his hair, was quite satisfied, and paid the money simply.

After leaving the salon, Nibel hadn't come out yet. Charlie didn't lean against the wall this time, but stood upright, with his head held high like a proud rooster.However, due to his too thin body, this posture looks very funny, with his too loose coat, standing there like an umbrella.But Charlie didn't know this. Some passers-by looked at him, and he straightened his back even more, almost pushing his chest to the middle of the road.

Cut your head, and your purse will be empty!He thought about those banknotes, as if he was getting closer to the prosperity of the big city.At this time, the door behind him was opened from the inside, and the door panel was pushed hard on his back. He staggered two steps and fell face down to the ground.

"Charlie?" Nibel lowered his head and squinted his eyes: "Are you okay?"