China News Service, Taiyuan, March 4th: "Mr. Tony" who grew old with the oldest barber shop in Taiyuan

　　Chinanews reporter Hu Jian

　　Extending two kilometers to the north, is the former site of Shanxi National Normal University built in 1919; looking to the east, more than 200 meters to the north is the former residence of Zhao Shuli, the representative of the Chinese literary genre - "Yam Egg Pie"; more than 600 meters to the south, is the Qing Dynasty. The Confucian Temple moved to its current location during the Guangxu period and the famous ancient temple Chongshan Temple built in the Tang Dynasty... Surrounded by many elderly "elders", Huayi Hair Salon, which was born in 1958, is obviously still a "junior".

A cat curled up in an old chair.

Photo by Hu Jian

　　During several rounds of urban renovations in history, these old buildings have been given a new lease of life, and only the 64-year-old Huayi Hair Salon remains as it was.

The cast-iron barber chairs of the same age as the shop are still "old and strong", the smoked yellow floral curtains are faintly visible with a few cracks drawn by the years, and the retro stickers on the walls are still the "modern girls" of the 1990s, the sunshine of early spring. On the old chair where the cat is curled up, the people who come and go are rarely young.

Huayi Hair Salon is marked with the words "Serving the People".

Photo by Hu Jian

　　On the second day of the second month of the lunar calendar, it is commonly known as "Dragon Raising its Head".

On this day, in northern China, there are customs such as knocking on the beam of the house, getting a haircut, frying the stew, eating pork head meat, and eating dumplings.

Haircuts entrust the people's good wishes to "say goodbye to the old and welcome the new" and hope that children "grow up and stand out".

　　Mr. Duan is a long-time customer of Huayi Hair Salon. From his teenage years to his old age, he has never dealt with other haircuts for more than 50 years. Even if he moves to Hexi area, which is more than ten kilometers away, Lao Duan will make a special trip to visit him. Come.

While watching the barber shop getting old, I also witnessed the change of the times from "invoice management" to "mobile payment".

Soapy water for shaving customers.

Photo by Hu Jian

　　"In the past (in the 1970s and 1980s), the unit would issue two invoices every month, with 4 colors on the ticket, and the fares ranged from 22 cents, 25 cents, 28 cents to 30 cents (all in RMB). , We were considered a high-end barber shop in Taiyuan at the time, and we could only get a haircut here with a haircut of 300 yuan." Wu Zhanmei, a 71-year-old hairdresser, told reporters.

　　Every year, "February 2" is the busiest day for Huayi Hair Salon. Wu Zhanmei recalled that in the 1990s, it snowed heavily on February 2, and customers queued up more than 100 meters from the store's door.

"From morning to night, it didn't stop for a moment, and the 13 chairs in the store were always seated, and it was not finished until 12 o'clock at night."

Huayi hair salon is still the old-fashioned facade.

Photo by Hu Jian

　　As the last state-owned barber shop in Taiyuan, Wu Zhanmei and Li Shimin spent most of their lives in this business.

At the age of 25, Wu Zhanmei returned from the team and was assigned to Huayi Hair Salon. After being an apprentice for three years, he started to shave his head in 1978.

When Li Shimin first arrived in Huayi, he was a 17-year-old hairy boy, and now he has reached the age of knowing destiny.

With the retirement and resignation of the barber, only two people stick to the barber shop that used to be more than ten people.

　　"A craftsman, he does one thing in his life, and he does things that others can't do." During the conversation, Li Shimin picked up a round brush with three fingers and dipped it in the soap box a few times, and evenly applied it to the customer's face. Then put a hot towel on it, and rub the spatula back and forth on the face.

Li Shimin said frankly, "Many barber shops now have no shaving skills."

Many of the customers who get haircuts here are elderly people.

Photo by Hu Jian

　　From 30.2 to 30 yuan, the price of a haircut has increased by nearly a hundred times in more than 40 years. In the past, potholes and low-rise houses are now elevated and buildings are stacked one after another.

If you look down on these times from a high place, Huayi Hair Salon is like a time-lapse photography of "the time is quiet", in the river where the times are flying forward, it is peaceful and calm.

As Wu Zhanmei repeatedly mentioned, "I don't know how long I will be able to do it. When my body doesn't allow it, I will quit it." (End)