Chapter 120, Update 1201

For dinner, Luo Hong suggested Donglaishun to make up for his sadness at not getting any food and having to pay three yuan last night.

But as soon as he said that, Zhou Weifang turned his head and asked, "You ate it yesterday, do you want to eat it again today?"

When asked what kind of restaurant to go to, Luo Yan said anything was fine, but quietly reminded him to watch out for what was behind him.

Zhou Weifang knew he would be "punished" by his childhood friend, but he didn't expect the punch to hit his back to hurt so much that he gasped for breath.

Luo Hong knew his limits and was likely just putting on an act, but Luo Yan had no idea. She whispered to him, "Are you alright?"

"It's nothing, it's nothing," Zhou Weifang said. "I just lay on the train for too long, and my back and waist started to ache."

Fujian is a thousand miles away from Beijing. Luo Yan herself had taken the train before, and said, "You should go back and get some rest."

While Luo Hong was packing his things, Zhou Weifang leaned closer amidst the noise and said, "I haven't seen you in a long time. I'd like to eat with you."

He leaned forward, his head slightly tilted forward, and perhaps because they were too close, Luo Yan noticed for the first time a very shallow scar on his forehead.

Feeling embarrassed by the distance, she casually started a conversation, pointing to the same spot on her own body and asking, "What's going on with you here?"

Now it was Zhou Weifang's turn to be embarrassed: "Uh, I can't remember."

No one knows how many scars he has, and many of them are of unknown origin. After all, he was a reckless kid who dared to leap over the courtyard wall with his bare hands when he was seven or eight years old, so it's obvious that he must have been naughty.

Luo Yan smiled as she watched his shifty gaze, and gave a soft hum.

Zhou Weifang felt increasingly guilty, so he looked at the ground and coughed awkwardly twice.

Luo Hong had just finished his work and looked at the two of them with suspicion, feeling that a lot had happened in the short two minutes he had turned his back.

When Luo Yan was young, she always covered for her brother in front of their parents, which honed her ability to stare at people with innocent, wide eyes, making them wonder if they had misunderstood her.

Now, she showed this performance to her brother.

Luo Hong did suspect that he was overthinking things. He scratched the back of his head and saw the guest who was supposed to come and pick up the car approaching. He put the matter aside for the time being.

After everyone left, he closed the shop door, hung up a sign that read "Boss has something to do, open for business tomorrow," and rang his bicycle bell, calling out his sister's name.

Luo Yan went out to do her summer homework, taking the bus back and forth, so she didn't ride a bicycle at all, and naturally sat on the back of her brother's bicycle.

Zhou Weifang rode his bike side-by-side with his childhood friend, and suddenly remembered their childhood—Luo Yan was a very safety-conscious person, so she didn't learn to ride a bicycle until her brother was about to go to the countryside. Before that, the three of them always seemed to go out like this, but back then he would only talk to his childhood friend, but now his eyes kept falling on the little girl behind them.

He looked back a couple more times, and Luo Yan warned him, "Ride your bike carefully."

Zhou Weifang decided to ride slower so that she could also be seen ahead.

Luo Hong originally wanted to ask him about his trip to Fujian, but seeing this, he didn't want to say anything. He just kept pedaling his bicycle until they reached their destination. Only then did he free his hand, lock his childhood friend's neck, and squeeze out the words "forgetting loyalty for lust" through gritted teeth.

The two were wrestling, pushing and shoving each other. Luo Yan, afraid of being caught in the crossfire, didn't care about their lives at all and said from a distance, "Find a seat first before you fight."

If she weren't bad at squeezing and pushing, she would have gone in herself.

This girl, all she cares about is food. Luo Hong slapped his sister's hand: "You're no better either."

Luo Yan looked down and realized that she had originally intended to make a big deal out of it, but perhaps because her skin tone had changed due to recent exposure to the sun and wind, she couldn't see any red marks.

But that didn't stop her from speaking up. She held out her hand and said, "I'm injured, this is for medical expenses."

Luo Hong clenched his fist: "I'll really beat you up later, you believe me?"

"Believe it, believe it," Zhou Weifang pushed him inside, secretly winking at Luo Yan.

After the three of them sat down in the shop and ordered, Luo Hong deliberately said, "You're treating people to dinner, but you don't even order any good wine."

Zhou Weifang's statement was completely irrelevant: "I've had it three times in Fujian."

Brother Hong has some connections over there, so we should at least make some visits when we get there.

Since my brother opened his shop and started his business, he has had little time to participate in the social activities he used to enjoy most. He has also had much less contact with his childhood friends, let alone the opportunity to go out for a meal.

He wasn't actually a heavy drinker, but he always craved draft beer at times like this. Luo Yan knew this and said, "Then let's have a little today too."

Zhou Weifang then ordered two more bottles of Yanjing beer, saying, "It's not draft beer, isn't that generous?"

Luo Hong nitpicked: "Get me some Moutai next time."

Luo Yan bluntly exposed her: "Will you go crazy again after you finish drinking?"

The first time Luo Hong drank with his father was before he went to the countryside.

Luo Xinmin felt this was a momentous occasion for his son and spent a fortune using his connections to buy him a bottle of the best wine.

As it turned out, neither the father nor the son could hold their liquor very well. One of them slumped onto the sofa after just two drinks, while the other was pulling his sister along and talking incoherently.

Even with her exceptional patience, Luo Yan couldn't withstand three hours of a loudspeaker blaring in her ear, and all her sadness about her brother's impending departure vanished.

Luo Hong himself does not remember this part.

He believes his sister is spreading rumors and has denied it to this day: "I'm not that useless."

Luo Yan chuckled twice but said nothing. Zhou Weifang then added, "If you were on a plane, you could have a drink."

An airplane? Luo Hong: "That would have to be something special."

Zhou Weifang: "It's difficult. Brother Hong has inquired several times, but he hasn't found any connections."

There are too few flights and too many people; most organizations simply can't handle this.

Luo Yan studied transportation, and although she hasn't yet been involved in air transport, she is quite interested in those areas.

She said, "The civil aviation industry was reorganized this year and will be corporatized in the future. Boeing aircraft have also been introduced. It is said that at least eight new large airports will be built nationwide in the next five years. I think the conditions will definitely be relaxed in the future. The same goes for the subway."

Beijing does have a subway, but the route was designed for military purposes and has been in trial operation intermittently since its construction. You need a letter of introduction to ride it.

However, recent newspapers have stated that this policy will be abolished after National Day this year.

Luo Yan said with great interest, "I definitely want to go and join in the fun then."

Seeing how she always gets jostled and pushed around, Luo Hong said, "Go by yourself?"

Luo Yan looked at her brother with a smile: "Mom and Dad must want to go too."

"I understand, I understand, but there's still some time before National Day, so there's no rush to make a decision." Luo Hong: "We'll talk about it later."

He had something else he wanted to discuss, so he asked, "How was your impression of Fujian?"

Local customs and traditions are one thing, Zhou Weifang said: "Everyone there is too good at doing business. I always thought that the policies in the capital would be at the forefront. Look at how many individual businesses there are on the streets now, but over there it is..."

He's traveled around the surrounding area for over a month, and there's quite a lot to share if we talk about it in detail.

Luo Yan's life has almost entirely revolved around a five-kilometer radius around her home; it would be a lie to say she wasn't curious about the outside world.

She listened attentively, and unusually, after the dishes were served, she didn't focus all her attention on the food.

Even though she knew that staring intently at people was just a habit she had when talking to them, Zhou Weifang still couldn't help but have the illusion that she was the only person in her world at that moment.

He suddenly started stammering, and his sentence became completely incoherent.

Luo Hong glanced at the wine bottle: "That's right, it's from Yanjing. You're already drunk?"

What's with the drunkenness? He doesn't know anything at all.

Zhou Weifang touched the spot in his pocket, wondering how he could get rid of him later.

Fortunately, he didn't need to think of a solution; Luo Hong went to the toilet on his own.

As soon as she stepped out of the store, Zhou Weifang called out, "Yan Yan."

Luo Yan hummed in response: "What's wrong?"

Zhou Weifang took out the seashell bracelet he had bought from his pocket and said regretfully, "I should have put it in a box for you."

The ball is now folded in his palm, looking somewhat hastily made.

Luo Yan had seen a similar style at a craft counter, but she couldn't quite remember how much it cost, so she hesitated and didn't take it.

Zhou Weifang knew she would have reservations, so he said, "It's not expensive. There are plenty of them along the coast. I originally wanted to give you something else, but they're all a bit pricey. It's not that I'm unwilling to spend money; I'm willing to."

He was trying his best to prove that he wasn't stingy, but suddenly felt that the gift was a bit embarrassing.

Luo Yan flipped it over and felt it was much more comfortable, then put it on her hand: "Hmm, it's a little uncomfortable."

Zhou Weifang also tried it and said, "It's not very practical, it's just pretty. You can store it in a box."

Luo Yan snorted: "I don't store everything in boxes."

She added, "It really is beautiful, thank you!"

She didn't take it off, and when she saw her brother come back, she wondered: When will he see it?

But Luo Hong's eyes sometimes seemed to be just for show, and he didn't notice until after the meal. He glanced at his sister's wrist but didn't say anything.

Luo Yan, however, hid her hands behind her back and kept smiling at her brother.

Luo Hong pressed his hand on his sister's forehead and said, "Come to my place tomorrow after you wake up and settle the score for this period of time."

It's no big deal for him to have money in his pocket.

Zhou Weifang was also almost penniless, so he said, "Okay, I'll probably sleep in a bit more tomorrow and go over later."

Because of those words, Luo Yan urged him to leave quickly.

Zhou Weifang had originally planned to take a detour and follow the siblings, but after being glared at, he quickly changed his mind: "Then I'll go back first."

Everyone went home.

--

When the brother and sister got home, they found their parents were not there. They looked at each other and said, "Did they go out to eat too?"

Luo Yan shrugged, indicating that she didn't know.

She took out her keys, opened the door, and after turning on the light, she saw a note on the table. She picked it up, glanced at it, and said, "The factory is showing a movie today."

Luo Hong also came over to take a look and commented, "Our mother's handwriting has a lot of room for improvement."

How dare you criticize others? Luo Yan said, "My mother never even went to school, which is already very good."

Luo Hong: "I haven't really attended classes for more than a few days."

That's true. After all, he had only been in school for a short time when he was caught up in the large-scale auditing of classes. Not long after the classes resumed, he responded to the call to cut in line. Now, being able to recognize the characters is a sign of his hard work.

Luo Yan: "Who knows, when you get old, you might practice calligraphy every day just like your dad."

Luo Hong didn't believe it at all: "I don't have that kind of patience."

Because he lacked this, and based on the common understanding that fathers and sons should share some commonalities, Luo Yan couldn't help but imagine that his father was probably also very spirited in his youth, only becoming silent and reserved after losing a hand in the war and having to walk with a limp.

She sighed when she thought of this, feeling that her brother's liveliness and cheerfulness were at least a good sign, and said, "That's fine too."

Huh? He didn't even say a word about himself.

But Luo Hong didn't think about it too much and just said, "Let's go."

Luo Yan went inside to get her clothes, and casually put the bracelet in the box. She was slightly lost in thought, and reached out to touch the corner of her mouth, thinking: I was smiling too happily.

Her emotions were usually written all over her face, and she didn't manage to hide them well on her way out of the bathhouse.

Fortunately, Luo Hong was gradually getting into the swing of things and didn't look at his sister closely. He yawned at the moon and said, "Don't wash your hair tonight, I'm about to fall asleep."

He hasn't slept well for the past month, sometimes having to get up three to five times a night to fix cars. He was surprised to learn that business was actually quite good at night, and he even considered moving into the shop to live.

But after careful consideration, he realized that wouldn't work; after all, even a person made of iron can't endure 24 hours a day.

Seeing his expression, Luo Yan said, "I can go back by myself."

Actually, the bathhouse wasn't far from home, but it was almost ten o'clock, and Luo Hong was afraid that he would regret it for the rest of his life if he was careless. He said, "Stop talking nonsense and go in quickly."

Luo Yan walked in with a clattering sound, almost slipping on her foot. After barely regaining her balance, she became cautious, moving like a tortoise.

Luo Hong wasn't in a hurry to go in; he even stopped to chat with the old man while paying.

Even though he dawdled, he came out earlier than his sister. After waiting for a while, he saw an acquaintance passing by and quickly grabbed him, asking, "Shuanzi, where have you made your fortune lately?"

Shuanzi fiddled with the car's age: "Going to the night shift."

Alright, enough with the small talk. Luo Hong reluctantly let go of his hand: "See you later."

He looked around, trying to grab someone else randomly, but he couldn't find her even when his sister came out. He said, "Strange, I haven't seen many people lately."

"What's so strange about that?" Luo Yan said. "It's the seventh month of the lunar calendar now."

The Ghost Festival (July 15th of the lunar calendar) is just around the corner, and people will be more or less superstitious about it.

Luo Hong didn't believe in these things: "That's all feudal superstition."

That's what I said, but suddenly I felt a strange, eerie feeling from the gust of wind blowing by, so I pulled my sister to walk faster.

Luo Yan was timid and had never been easily frightened. She followed her brother and ran all the way home, finally letting out a long sigh of relief after entering the house.

Luo Hong laughed at her for being a coward, then went to sleep with her eyes half-closed.

Whether it was psychological or not, Luo Yan suddenly felt that the outside was too quiet, as if ghosts were about to crawl out from some corner. She quickly lay down on the bed, covered her head with the blanket, and squeezed her eyes shut, but she could hear everything clearly.

She could tell from the footsteps that her parents had returned, and she peeked out of the room.

As soon as Liu Yinfeng entered the house, she saw her daughter's little head and smiled, "You're back?"

Luo Yan nodded: "What movie are we showing tonight?"

The factory only sells the same three products, which have been sitting there for almost ten years.

Liu Yinfeng: "An old movie."

Luo Yan had read it by heart since she was a child: "Then it's better to stay home and watch TV."

This child really knows how to bring up the most sensitive topics.

Luo Xinmin winked at his daughter, then smiled and said, "We're reading the electricity meter today."

Luo Yan stuck out her tongue and sheepishly shrank back into her room.

"You dodged it pretty quickly," Liu Yinfeng said, touching the refrigerator. "Large items are good, but they consume too much electricity."

Especially since this thing is plugged in 24 hours a day, she now feels like money is running away whenever she hears it making a sound, and she clutches her chest in distress.

Luo Xinmin: "It's okay, it's okay. My disability allowance will increase starting this month."

Liu Yinfeng suddenly grabbed her husband's hand, unsure whether to categorize this as good news: "Sometimes I think, if you were a good person, we definitely wouldn't have gotten married."

Luo Xinmin did resent his fate at times, but he also knew: "Compared to the comrades who sacrificed their lives, I am already very lucky."

He could also laugh and say, "I don't even think it's worth it to trade you three for healthy hands and feet."

He's in his fifties or sixties, and he still says such sour things.

Liu Yinfeng nudged him and opened the refrigerator, saying, "What should we buy tomorrow? What do you want to eat?"

She felt that whether the refrigerator contained a lot of things or a little, it was all about electricity, so she wanted to cram it in until there was no gap left. Every day when she opened it and saw it was full, she felt a great sense of accomplishment.

Luo Xinmin is not usually a picky eater, but when asked, he seemed a little tempted: "Pork rib soup, I haven't had it in a long time."

"OK."

The couple chatted for a bit, and as Luo Xinmin locked the door, he thought, "Sanfang's back. Will our son be sleeping here tonight?"

Why is there no movement in the room?

"No need to ask," Liu Yinfeng said. "I could smell alcohol as soon as I came in. They must have been drinking and sleeping."

Strangely, the military doctor back then didn't mention any aftereffects on his five senses.

Luo Xinmin twitched his nose but couldn't smell anything. He locked the door and said, "It's good that you're back."

Her parents turned off the living room light, and there was no light in Luo Yan's room. She finally fell asleep in the darkness.

Before dawn, she heard a rooster crow.

Luo Yan thought groggily: It's dawn, but I don't have to go to school, I want to sleep a little longer.

But she immediately realized something was wrong, because raising live poultry was not allowed in the city. Even if people wanted to keep chickens, ducks, or geese for a few days before killing them, they would tie their beaks shut and keep them at home.

I wonder whose house it is, that makes the chickens crow so loudly.

Luo Yan muttered to herself, but didn't take it to heart, turned over and went back to sleep.

However, this chicken was very noisy, crowing one after another to remind everyone that dawn was approaching. It even sounded like there was a flock of chickens, with the sounds coming from all directions.

Luo Yan couldn't help but get up and go to the yard to see which family was so lacking in confidence.

She craned her neck to look around, and someone from the Wu family in the west wing was about to leave for their early shift. She said, "Yanzi, you're up so early."

Luo Yan said good morning and asked, "Auntie, did you hear the rooster crowing?"

Aunt Wu: Yes, there is. I don't know who it is. The neighborhood committee will definitely have to go and find him.

In the early days after the founding of the People's Republic of China, there were some families in the city who raised live poultry. However, in the 1960s, there was a large-scale outbreak of chicken plague. Everyone said that the disease would eventually infect people, especially in densely populated places like Beijing where the average living space per person was not enough. It was very dangerous for people and livestock to live together. Therefore, the city cleared out a batch of poultry, and even the vegetable market did not have any live animals for several years.

Therefore, the local authorities will definitely handle this situation seriously.

Those few elderly folks, who would dare disobey them? Luo Yan felt she couldn't interfere, and after looking for a while without being able to confirm which family was so bold, she rubbed her eyes and went back to her room.

But she couldn't fall asleep after lying down, so she got up to wash up.

Liu Yinfeng always woke up early, and when she saw her daughter, she asked, "Is something wrong today?"

Children usually stay in bed longer during holidays.

Luo Yan complained to her mother: "This morning, I don't know whose chicken it was, it kept clucking."

As soon as Liu Yinfeng was mentioned, everyone knew: "Old Liu's daughter-in-law is about to give birth."

No wonder, when Luo Yan heard that the woman was pregnant, she didn't say that she lacked public morality, but she was still puzzled: "Then why didn't she tie her mouth up?"

Liu Yinfeng didn't know: "I guess they forgot, but they definitely won't call for it tomorrow."

Now that she's been called out like that, the Liu family might already have water boiling. Luo Yan suddenly felt a bit hungry and said, "Mom, I want to drink chicken soup."

Liu Yinfeng: "Okay, I'll buy it for you tomorrow. Dad said he wanted to eat ribs today."

"It should be first come, first served," Luo Yan said. "I love to eat too."

Liu Yinfeng joked, "Is there anything you don't like to eat?"

She casually pinched her daughter's wrist and said, "You seem to have lost weight recently."

Luo Yan raised a finger and shushed, "Brother heard about making me eat half a pound of cucumber strips by myself again."

Liu Yinfeng: "Ignore him, being able to eat is a blessing."

Their generation longs for their children to grow up healthy and chubby, as seeing them brings a sense of joy and abundance, like having a full granary at home.

Chinese people like to pay attention to auspicious meanings; otherwise, why would her husband have bought this east wing room? It was because it was located in Fengshou Hutong.

"That's right," Luo Yan said. "Being able to eat proves I have a good appetite and am healthy, right, Mom?"

"That's right," Liu Yinfeng said. "At my age, I can't eat it even if I want to."

She patted her daughter's hand, then after washing up, she started cooking the porridge, told the child to watch the fire, and went to buy groceries.

The house is small, and Luo Yan can see the kitchen from the dining table. She rests her chin on her hand and stares intently at it, timing her porridge perfectly to scoop it out and let it cool.

The temperature was just right when the family of three ate. Luo Xinmin picked up a piece of pickled vegetable and asked, "Brother, did you drink a lot last night?"

Luo Yan: "He's probably tired; he hasn't had a full night's sleep in days."

Liu Yinfeng had some reservations about this: "At first I thought the three parties would only be there for a few days, but yesterday they brought so many things that I was embarrassed to say anything."

After all, the son is their own child, and it would be heartbreaking for any parent to see him ruined.

Luo Yan assumed Zhou Weifang had gone to his brother's shop and asked, "What did he take?"

Liu Yinfeng: "Some dried goods, and two boxes of tea."

She thought her son had indeed helped the person a lot, so she accepted the money without much ceremony. But when the person left and she opened the package, she found it was quite a lot, and now she couldn't very well return it.

Upon hearing the mention of tea, Luo Xinmin became interested and put down his chopsticks: "I'll brew one and try it."

He took out some tea leaves from the cabinet, unwrapped them, and said, "It's still black tea."

Liu Yinfeng asked curiously, "How is it different? Does it taste better?"

Luo Xinmin: "This is also my first time drinking black tea."

Tea is the main source of foreign exchange earnings from exports, and the supply portion is not much. He has not drunk many decent teas, and usually uses high-quality tea.

Upon hearing this, Luo Yan held up her enamel mug and approached, saying, "Dad, I want some too."

Upon hearing this, Liu Yinfeng chimed in, "I'll try it too."

The family of three was toasting each other with tea early in the morning, which puzzled Luo Hong, who had just gotten up. He asked, "What's going on?"

Luo Yan explained, then gulped down the rest of the drink, pursing her lips: "It's even a little sweet."

As Luo Hong passed by his sister, he asked sarcastically, "Is the tea sweeter, or is your heart sweeter?"

Luo Yan punched him, then turned around and saw her parents staring at her. She blinked her innocent big eyes.

If they didn't want to talk about it, they didn't have to. After all, their children had grown up and were beyond their control. The couple simply put down their cups in tacit agreement, thinking that the tea wasn't that great.

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Author's note: Hehe, I'm sure I can get over 10,000 words today.

Happy weekend!