At that moment I felt what life meant to them.
This evening my brother came to my place for shopping and having dinner together. He is a bit picky person. We together visited quite a few shops to find out the right sweater, based on the golden principle--value for money. Finally we got what we really wanted. How excited I was! Each time I go shopping, my excitement is beyond words. Who can tell me what's going on?
Before shopping we found an unnoticed barber's shop around a street corner, where my brother once visited. When I came in, I saw the barber, his wife and their child, who must be practicing writing characters a moment ago. The shop was not so large, about five meters long, less than two meters wide. Then the barber began his work with a good command of barbering skills. His wife was cooking then. All of a sudden their child was out of my sight. Where had he gone? Later his wife's movement told me the answer. She put up the ladder through to the roof and climbed upstairs for dinner with their child. I felt a little surprised that how they would feel comfortable in such a limited space. I know there are so many families like them in Shanghai, who sacrifice a lot just to support their child for a better education. This family is just a miniature of urban residents who grew up generation by generation in Shanghai. They make a living by a kind of simple skill.
When we came out, I asked my brother, "Why do you choose such a shop for barbering?' He just answered simply like this, "I like to go to a barber shop for easy consumption with satisfaction. And you know? Especially a barber like him can represent Shanghainese's real barbering skills. What attracts me most is the golden principle--value for money."
At first I always doubt how they can support a whole family in a metropolitan city like Shanghai. Or maybe I should not worry about this. Life is not all about richness, but simple happiness. All gather together live a easy life, cooking, barbering, watching the child doing homework...
