Chapter 1377: Zhang Lijuan (Twenty-Three)

Zhang Lijuan (Twenty-three)

After we finished eating, I went with Xiao Ya Jie to her shop.

It was a well-decorated massage parlor, the sign read “Xiao Ya Gao Duan SPA.”

“Massage… Tui Na?” I looked up at the sign, then back at Xiao Ya Jie. “Did we come to the right place?”

“What nonsense are you talking about?” She pulled out her keys and unlocked the door. “Just come inside, it’s not like I’m going to sell you off.”

The three of us followed her into the shop. I glanced back at Xiao Sha and Lan Lan, and I saw they looked just as confused as I felt.

There was a hallway with two small rooms on each side. Each room had a massage bed.

“Jie…” Lan Lan spoke up, “What kind of business is this… I’ve never seen anything like it…”

“Yeah,” Xiao Sha added, “Do they all have storefronts like this now?”

“Our industry has to adapt.” She shook her head helplessly. “Normally, we do specialized Tui Na massages, but we also offer other services. It’s safer this way and makes more money.”

As the night wore on, Xiao Ya Jie explained the shop’s operations to us.

Generally, for both male and female customers, we only provided standard Tui Na massages, and Xiao Ya Jie taught us some basic techniques.

These included Jing You Kai Bei, Tui Na, Tai Shi, and Dian Xue.

In special cases, we could observe certain male customers to see if they had other needs. If we sensed a deal could be made, we could suggest adding extra time for additional services.

Of course, the extra services came in many varieties, but there was so much for me to learn that I didn’t quite grasp it all at once.

Xiao Ya Jie emphasized repeatedly that we had to make it clear to customers that these were the technicians’ personal actions and had nothing to do with the shop. If a customer had issues with that, they could just switch to a different technician.

As for Xiao Long, he was the handyman there, mainly responsible for cleaning, driving, and…

Fighting.

Apparently, Xiao Ya Jie had saved his life before, and since he couldn’t find a proper job, he came to help out.

She told us that after work, we could stay in the massage rooms. We would just lay out the bedding and sleep on the massage beds. It was cleaner that way, and each of us had our own space.

“You, Tian Tian.” Xiao Ya Jie pointed at me. “For now, you can only do massages. If a customer wants something else, you come get Lan Lan and Xiao Sha, and if that’s not enough, call me.”

“How much money can I make?” I asked.

“Definitely less than them,” Xiao Ya Jie replied. “If you can’t handle it, get out.”

“…Fine.”

“I’ll say this upfront—all the big services follow my price list, even if it’s ‘technician’s personal behavior.’ After it’s done, I take 40 percent, you get 60 percent. If anyone charges less, it will be deducted from your wages.”

In the days that followed, Xiao Ya Jie patiently taught us massage techniques. She said that once you master a skill like this, you can keep doing legitimate work even when you’re older.

I gradually realized that although Xiao Ya Jie had a sharp tongue, she was actually very kind, often taking us girls out for meals every now and then.

And Xiao Sha and Lan Lan weren’t like what I had imagined.

Under normal circumstances, they were what people called “san pei,” just like me—everyone’s target for criticism.

But they were friendlier than many people I had met. They never pried into your past or said hurtful things.

Lan Lan loved reading books. The next day, she got a library card at the provincial city’s library, borrowing books whenever she had time. Xiao Sha loved watching TV; she said her family couldn’t afford one, so she got glued to it whenever she saw one.

This little shop became a safe haven for us.

As for me…

I was just an ordinary Tui Na master.

As Xiao Ya Jie said, we had both male and female customers. She was skilled in beauty treatments, so she usually handled the female ones, while the rest of us took care of the male customers.

Male customers generally fell into three categories. The first were those who had done a lot of physical labor or exercise and really just wanted a Tui Na massage. These guys were quiet, straightforward, and often needed a long session without a word.

The second type knew exactly what they wanted and asked for the big services right away. Lan Lan and Xiao Sha could spot them immediately, negotiate the price, and take the customer to a massage room. Then they would cover the small window on the door with a towel, and the service would begin.

The third type was harder to identify. They would come in looking serious and say they wanted a massage, but while you were working on them, they would start making flirtatious comments or even get handsy. Yet if you suggested switching to another technician for other services, they would refuse outright.

At first, I was put off by these guys, but over time, I got used to it.

It was just about making money, and I had been through tougher times for years.

One day after work, we were sitting in the shop relaxing, but the TV that had been sitting there was acting up—the screen kept flickering between black and white and color.

“Oh no! What are we going to do?” Xiao Sha went over and tapped the TV. “Xiao Ya Jie! The TV is broken!”

“Damn it…” Xiao Ya Jie came over and looked. “I bought this TV for two hundred yuan… The guy told me it was eight-tenths new!”

“How much will it cost to fix?”

The two of them fussed over the TV in a panic, while Lan Lan flipped through her book nearby and said, “I told you these high-tech gadgets aren’t reliable. Reading books is more dependable.”

I glanced at the book Lan Lan was reading and saw it was pretty advanced. A few days ago, she had been into romance novels, but now she was on *Europe Shi*.

“Xiao Ya Jie, do you have a screwdriver?” I asked.

“A screwdriver? What for?”

“I can fix the TV,” I said. “Just get me a screwdriver.”

“Ah? You can fix this?”

I took the screwdriver, studied it briefly, and quickly disassembled the TV. Then I examined the circuit board and the image tube.

“Xiao Ya Jie, you got ripped off. If this TV is one-tenth new, that’s being generous.”

They stared in astonishment as I removed the parts from the TV, which were covered in grime and dust. It was essentially a more precise LED screen, not much different from the ones I had worked with before—I could probably figure it out blindfolded.

In no time, I cleared out all the grime and dust from inside, carefully cleaned the circuit board, and reassembled the TV. I pressed the power button.

Sure enough, the excessive dust and grime had contaminated the circuit board, but now it was displaying normally.

“Xiao Ya Jie, it’s fixed for now, but it probably won’t last more than a few months. If you need to replace it, I can go with you to pick one out.” I wiped the dust off my hands and said.

“You little rascal… You’re so handy?” Xiao Ya Jie said with a cigarette in her mouth and a smile. “Come on! I’m in a good mood today—let’s go get some skewers!”

“Skewers…?”