Chapter 417: Barbershop

Chapter 417: Chapter 417: Barbershop

His face was filled with excitement. "It’s a barber shop! Boss Hart, I won a barber shop!"

"Wow~" Lily Hart feigned surprise. She vaguely recalled talking about this with Frost Shaw and the others, originally planning to wait until someone won a barber shop before getting them haircuts.

’But then I made them get their hair trimmed by robots, and the results were great, thank you very much!’

Seeing that Boss Hart looked just as surprised, the shop owner felt a flicker of satisfaction.

"So, can I claim my prize now?" the shop owner asked cautiously.

"Of course. Follow me," Lily Hart affirmed, turning to head back to the lottery shop and grab the Lucky Cat.

She then led the shop owner straight ahead, all the way to the spot next to the car dealership.

It was much easier to find a spot now. She just had to place the shops in a line. The left side was for practical services, the right was for food.

Once these two rows were more or less full, she could expand sideways, creating entire pedestrian streets.

"Alright, claim your prize," Lily Hart said, holding the Lucky Cat out to him.

The shop owner slid the small card in, and a beam of white light flashed before their eyes.

The flash attracted nearby customers, who all looked over with envy. ’What grand prize is it this time?’

After the white light vanished, a plain, unremarkable building appeared.

At the entrance was the quintessential barber’s pole. The moment that light started spinning, you knew what this place was.

Inside, six stations lined the walls, each with a mirror and a chair for customers.

Posters of trendy hairstyles for both men and women adorned the walls.

Further in were three washing stations, complete with reclining chairs and sinks.

It was a perfectly standard barber shop.

After looking everything over, both of them were quite satisfied. The only issue was the shop owner’s uneasiness. He hesitated before asking, "Boss Hart, I... I don’t know how to cut hair."

’But I asked around before I came here. She helps owners who don’t have the skills by getting them robots!’

Of course, he didn’t say this out loud; it was just a silent thought.

And so, the shop owner looked at her expectantly, hoping she would provide a solution that would satisfy them both.

Boss Hart never disappointed.

The moment she heard him, she immediately said, "No problem. I’ll handle it."

And just like that, she purchased three barber robots, a model more advanced than the last ones.

She even threw in the robot that had cut Frost Shaw’s hair last time.

That made a total of four robots!

’Oh, right! Besides the barber robots, he’ll need a couple of hair-washing robots, too!’

The shop owner’s admiration for Boss Hart reached a new height. ’She says she’ll get robots, and just like that, there they are! No hesitation, so decisive!’

Next, Lily Hart taught the shop owner how to configure the robots.

The process was simple. They just needed to upload all the known hairstyles and face shapes into the system.

The robot would then scan a customer’s face and determine which hairstyle would be the most suitable and flattering.

If a customer had their own ideas, that was no problem either—the robots could satisfy any request.

The shop owner nodded repeatedly to show he understood. In reality, once the initial setup was complete, it would rarely need to be changed.

He felt his shop had great potential and couldn’t wait to open for business.

After so many years in the apocalypse, everyone’s hair was a bit of a mess. They were surely all eager to get it tidied up.

’But first, I should get a haircut myself and test the robot’s skills!’

The shop owner eagerly sat down in one of the chairs. ’Hey, this chair is pretty soft,’ he thought.

Seeing this, Lily Hart came over to watch the fun, though she stayed off to the side.

She watched as the robot scanned his facial information, entered it into the system, and began searching for the most suitable hairstyle.

The first step, of course, was a hair wash!

With his hair now semi-dry, the shop owner sat back down in the chair and let the robot drape a cape around him.

Then, with a swift snip, a few strands of hair drifted down past his eyes.

The shop owner jumped. ’Was it supposed to be that fast, that rash?’

Before he could stop it, the robot had already finished cutting and was now blow-drying his hair.

It used one hand to blow-dry and the other to wipe his neck and chin with a sponge.

It brushed away all the loose hairs. How thoughtful!

The shop owner stared, dumbfounded, at the mirror. ’Is that really me?’

’I look like a completely different person! I look so handsome!’

The shop owner couldn’t stop the grin from spreading across his face.

Lily Hart teased, "Well now, not bad. It’s amazing what happens when you wash your face, huh?"

"Hehe." Lost in his own handsome reflection, the shop owner started to giggle foolishly.

After a good while, he finally stood up, yanked the cape from around his neck, and declared, "I’m opening for business!"

Lily Hart applauded. "I support you."

Bolstered by her encouragement, the shop owner grew even more confident. He threw open both doors and started shouting, "Barber shop, barber shop, grand opening sale!"

"All customers for a wash, cut, and dry get twelve percent off today! Barber shop, barber shop, come on in and get a haircut!"

Lily Hart, surprised by his extroverted nature, stepped to the side.

’With social skills like that,’ she thought, ’he probably doesn’t need my help. He can handle this on his own.’

And just as she expected, he was completely in his element, organizing customers into a queue.

He had some customers sit right down for their cuts, while directing those who needed a wash to the washing stations first.

Everything was bustling but orderly, running like a well-oiled machine.

Lily Hart watched for a while. Seeing that the whole process was running smoothly and the owner was handling everything well, she decided she wasn’t needed.

Without disturbing him, she slipped away quietly.

On the way back to the lottery shop, she thought contentedly, ’This is great. Now there’s someone to give everyone a proper haircut.’

As she passed the milk tea shop and the cake shop, she couldn’t help but buy something from each.

Serena Sawyer from the milk tea shop and Rhonda Kane from the cake shop had tried to give her the items for free, but no amount of protesting on her part worked. In the end, she had to transfer the money directly.

’The kind of instant transfer that can’t be refused!’

’Let’s see them try to transfer it back now!’

So there she was, alternating sips of milk tea with bites of cake, feeling absolutely wonderful. ’Too many sweets might be bad for the body, but they’re great for the soul!’

When she passed the bathhouse, she made a point to pop in and peek, wanting to see what Owen Warren was up to.

She wanted to see if he was secretly playing that goose game, but she didn’t see him at the front desk. ’He’s probably busy on the second or third floor,’ she figured.

She let it be and continued on her way. When she passed the hot pot restaurant, she peeked in there, too.

And what do you know—caught red-handed. Cynthia Whittaker was completely absorbed in that goose game!

Lily tapped lightly on the counter. Cynthia Whittaker immediately sat up straight and said with a serious face, "Scan the code to order, please~"

She didn’t even look up, but her tone and attitude were on point.

Lily tapped the counter again. Cynthia Whittaker repeated, "You can just scan the code to order~ Any questions you have can also be answered by scanning the code~"

Lily Hart lowered her voice. "Cynthia Whittaker?"

Hearing the familiar voice, Cynthia Whittaker jolted and looked up, meeting Lily Hart’s playful gaze.

She gave a sheepish laugh and immediately paused her goose game. "I haven’t even been playing for an hour today! I just started!"

Lily Hart decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. She pinched Cynthia’s cheek and said, "Work hard, okay?"

She even mimicked Cynthia’s earlier tone, which made her burst out laughing.