Chapter 124 One Two Four Figs

Luo Xinmin arrived home first, and his first words upon entering the house were: "Eat first, your mother is still making peace doves."

Dad's way home passes by the alley entrance. Luo Hong stopped to listen for a bit, and while leaving some food for Mom, he said, "Old Zhao's family is really interesting. They haven't even bought the house yet, and they're already arguing."

That's just human nature. Luo Xinmin: "Old Zhao's family had eight sons. Everyone used to say they were very lucky, with many children and grandchildren. But now, all eight grandchildren have to sleep in a large dormitory."

This isn't even the entire third generation; it's just that one child from each family is cared for by their parents, for fear that one of the brothers might take advantage of the situation.

Luo Yan wasn't very clear about the situation of many families in the alley, only having some vague impressions. She asked in surprise, "Don't the boys and girls sleep separately? I remember the older boy is in junior high school."

Luo Xinmin: "We don't have that kind of condition."

It's true that housing is in short supply, but Luo Yan felt that even partitioning the space with wooden boards like in her own home would be acceptable, saying, "There's always a way."

If it were Luo Xinmin, he could certainly come up with a hundred and eight ways to help his children, but the Zhao family simply doesn't have that kind of energy. Anyone who has finally managed to raise their sons to marriage and children, only to have a bunch of grandchildren at home from morning till night, would frankly be too exhausted to even hang themselves.

Putting everything else aside, Luo Yan cried from the moment she was born. Before she could speak, her voice was always ringing in the ears. Just as Luo Hong was at the age where he could run and jump, if you missed a glance, he would leap onto the roof. Just thinking about the two of them still makes Luo Xinmin shudder.

He was about to say something when his wife came in, so he changed his question to, "Are you done arguing?"

Liu Yinfeng: "It's never going to end, it's not something that will happen in a day or two."

Indeed, Luo Hong poured the half-reserved dishes back into the pot, and seeing his father starting to eat, he said, "Wait a minute, don't touch them."

Liu Yinfeng had been trying to mediate the fight for a long time. When she heard her son call out this while she was holding a water glass, she thought he wanted to wait for her and said, "Let your dad eat."

Luo Hong: "I didn't add salt."

"You clearly told me, how could you forget this?" Liu Yinfeng said, "What kind of memory do you have?"

After saying that, he took the dish into the kitchen to reheat it.

Luo Hong chuckled, and Luo Yan couldn't help but lower her head.

"Have they done something bad again?" Luo Xinmin's gaze shifted between his children, but he didn't say anything, putting down his chopsticks first.

Liu Yinfeng simply added some salt and stirred it, then came out and saw that no one had touched it. She said, "What are you standing there for? Drink the soup."

Everyone sprang into action, listening as their wives/mothers recounted how the Zhao family members had argued.

Liu Yinfeng said, "Those are the back seats, and the place is small, so the price will be set a little lower. The old couple doesn't have money, and they want their children to each contribute a little. But to put it bluntly, are they going to have eight families share these two rooms in the future? It's not enough to cover all the trouble."

Those who don't contribute financially will likely be targeted later, and there's a lot of trouble to be expected.

Speaking of this, Luo Xinmin shared a notice posted at the factory today: "It won't be that fast. The housing management department will measure the area of ​​each household, and the pricing is quite complicated, depending on the orientation and the size of the yard. Many people have asked if the earthquake-resistant shed is included."

After the Tangshan earthquake in 1976, people across the country lived in makeshift earthquake shelters with roofs covered by tarpaulins for a long time. After the state of emergency was lifted, the shelters should have been dismantled.

But the following year saw a large-scale return of educated youth to the cities, and many families gradually renovated their makeshift earthquake shelters into houses, living there for a while before considering them their own homes.

Liu Yinfeng: "That doesn't make sense. Those aren't proper houses. If that's the case, how much extra area would these illegal additions cover?"

It's rare for families like the Luos to cook on their own land. Almost every family has built a separate woodshed and kitchen in their yard. By that logic, their original private kitchen was a huge loss.

Luo Xinmin: "That's definitely not going to work. One-third of the cost would have to come from the work unit, which would put a huge strain on the finances."

But some people were making trouble, so I still held onto a sliver of hope.

Liu Yinfeng said, "I think this policy is already very good."

Luo Xinmin also felt it was a good deal: "I bought this house too early."

He had a disability compensation payment in his hand at the time, and he had many old comrades-in-arms he was thinking about. He had to borrow money from all sides. He thought that he couldn't continue like this, so he simply spent it all. As a result, he missed the later accommodation allocation.

Liu Yinfeng: "At least our family of four has lived comfortably for over twenty years."

He then thought, "But this time, let's try our best to see if we can get a detached house with its own yard."

"That's not easy," Luo Hong said. "There's a small garden in Er Tiao Hutong that sold for nearly ten thousand."

Liu Yinfeng gasped: "Isn't it said that there aren't many people with ten thousand yuan in assets? How come everyone is rich?"

Luo Hong: "Who would flaunt their wealth outside like that?"

They can keep an eye on all those who sneak in and pick locks.

Liu Yinfeng thought that made sense, and concluded, "Anyway, we can take our time looking, there's no rush."

The family of four ate together, but the topic still lingered on this matter. After the meal, they split up to inquire about the news, except for Luo Yan.

Luo Yan was doing her homework in her room. Halfway through, she got up and moved around. When she went to the living room, she saw the fig tree again and thought to herself: I wonder how Zhou Weifang's business was on his first day selling electronic watches.

--

Zhou Weifang set up his stall directly at the entrance of the department store in the afternoon.

He didn't take up much space; he simply covered the bicycle basket with a board, wrote down the price, put his goods on it, and started shouting, attracting countless eyes with his loud voice.

A few people did try to negotiate the price, and three watches were sold in total.

He thought that business was pretty good on such a hot day, so he planned to go back to the shop to see if there was anything he needed and grab a bite to eat before continuing to sell in the evening.

As soon as he arrived, his eldest apprentice ordered him around: "Brother, someone is selling a car in courtyard number 17 of Sitiao Hutong."

Zhou Weifang set off on his tricycle. Upon arriving at the location, he immediately spotted a fig tree growing in someone's yard and asked the seller, "Brother Wang, are these figs edible?"

The seller was an honest man; he grabbed several and stuffed them into his hands, saying, "Why not? They're sweet."

Zhou Weifang casually wiped the car, took a bite, and then squatted down to inspect it. After circling it a few times to check if any of the important parts were broken, he said, "Brother, I'll give you a fair price: 60."

The seller was honest and straightforward: "My old buddy is really only worth 60?"

Zhou Weifang: "It's a bit lacking. How about you give me some more figs? My sister loves them."

The seller kept praising him as a good older brother, and even found a bag at home and filled it to the brim for him.

Zhou Weifang hoisted the bicycle onto the tricycle, tied it up, and then went back to the shop to unload the goods before hurrying to Hongtu Motorcycle Shop.

Luo Hong was drinking water when he saw him and asked curiously, "Didn't Yan Yan tell you last night that she wasn't coming?"

Zhou Weifang put the things down and said, "We'll talk later. I still have to go sell watches."

He's staked all his money on this; it would be a lie to say he feels no pressure.

Just then, his parents called him home to discuss something.

It was called a discussion, but it was really more like a notification.

Once her sons were all present, Yu Shuilang announced, "We're going to buy this house. Each of you three will contribute two hundred."

The second son, Zhou Weiping, was the first to object: "Mom, do I look like someone who has two hundred yuan?"

He hasn't been officially hired yet, and his wife is newly pregnant. Where would he get the spare money?

Yu Shuilang glared at him, then turned her head away: "Boss, you tell me."

Zhou Weiliang: "Mom, we also need to buy a house, and we were thinking of borrowing some money from you."

This policy applies to the entire city of Beijing, and their family of four also lives in a government-subsidized apartment.

"Excuse me, excuse me," Yu Shuilang said irritably. "Do I look like some kind of big landowner?"

She realized that she couldn't rely on her son no matter how many she had, and she slammed her fist on the table in anger.

"How strange," Zhou Weifang said, "Why didn't you ask me?"

Yu Shuilang's youngest son is the most unpredictable. If it weren't inappropriate not to invite him tonight, she wouldn't have spoken to him at all.

Her head was already pounding, and she snapped, "What's the point of asking you?"

It's really useless. Zhou Weifang: "I don't even have a place to stay. If the two of them were to take money from me, I could at least take some."

What do you mean by "if"? Zhou Weiping has had a problem with his younger brother for a long time, saying, "If you don't want to take it, then you don't want to take it. Don't drag us into it."

Zhou Weifang frankly stated, "I just don't want to pay for your place and then have you stay there? We're not that close, are we?"

He even suggested, "I haven't spent the money for my wedding yet, so I'll use it to support my parents. I'll take care of my own wedding arrangements in the future."

After he said that, even Yu Shuilang had no grounds for criticism. She could only say, "Anyway, whether you buy it or not, your father and I can live here for the rest of our lives. It will be left to you in the future anyway. You can decide for yourselves."

That's why she didn't let her daughters come.

That's why Zhou Weifang was even more reluctant to spend money.

He really didn't want to argue with his two older brothers again on the day their parents passed away, so he said, "You guys discuss it, I have things to do at the shop, I'm leaving."

He turned and left, ignoring what his blood relatives were saying about him.

Zhou Weifang handled things efficiently, but he couldn't help feeling a bit tired. As he stepped out of the courtyard, he really wanted to see Luo Yan, but he remembered to use his childhood friend as an example and shouted as soon as he entered the courtyard, "Is Luo Bo here?"

Luo Yan was home alone with the living room door closed. She recognized the voice and poked her head out, saying, "My brother isn't home."

There were still a few neighbors in the courtyard. Zhou Weifang said frankly, "Then I'll wait for him."

Luo Yan stepped aside to let him in: "Please sit down, I'll pour you some tea."

She left the door wide open, feeling as if someone was watching her. She kept her distance when serving tea, as if she were trying to hide something.

Zhou Weifang's inexplicably tense nerves relaxed, and he touched the sofa, smiling as he asked, "Have you eaten any figs? Were they sweet?"

Luo Yan had the nerve to nitpick: "Two of them are sweet, and one is astringent."

Zhou Weifang: "I'll be more careful next time."

He can't be picky about the ones that are picked for him.

Luo Yan hummed in agreement, pulled over a small stool and sat down, placing her hands obediently on her knees. She asked, "Where did you buy it? My mom said she didn't even see it at the market."

Whenever there are seasonal fruits available, her mother always buys some for her daughter.

Zhou Weifang told her about what happened that afternoon, saying, "I think that tree is growing quite well."

Luo Yan: "My dad said there used to be a pomegranate tree in our yard, which grew very well, but it was cut down to make steel."

Zhou Weifang teased, "Are you regretting the tree or the pomegranate?"

As far as he knew, Luo Yan glanced sideways at the clock and said, "My brother will definitely be back very late. What do you need him for? Do you need me to pass on a message?"

He crossed his arms and said, "It's okay if I can't pass on the message."

It seems the message wasn't "It's okay," but rather "Do you want to die?"

Zhou Weifang stared at her intently: "I came to find you."

He had spoken so frankly that even Luo Yan believed him before she realized what he meant and asked, "Looking for me? What's wrong?"

Zhou Weifang: "It's nothing, I just happened to be home and came to see if you were here."

There were more than just one or two families holding meetings in the alley today, so Luo Yan figured there was nothing wrong with asking: "Does your family buy anything?"

Zhou Weifang: "We shouldn't buy it."

Luo Yan sensed that he wasn't in a good mood when he said that, so she bit her lip and asked, "Did you two have a fight?"

Zhou Weifang: "We didn't argue, I just felt..."

He found a fitting analogy: "Have you ever seen a slipknot? The kind that opens with a single pull."

He dislikes going home for this reason. He always feels that since the family is a disorganized mess, they should just go their separate ways. However, he has to realize reality every now and then, and each time he feels most relaxed when he steps out of the house.

Luo Yan roughly understood what he meant. Seeing that he was a grown man but looked like he was huddled on the sofa, she said, "Didn't you tell people that I'm your sister?"

She even shuffled two steps toward him, chair in tow, knowing full well how adorable she looked, and smiled at him.

Indeed, coming to find her was the right decision.

Zhou Weifang's heart was like Houhai in March, its surface shimmering after the ice melted, rippling gently in the wind. He said, "Yanyan."

He swallowed his last words, creating an atmosphere of ambiguity.

Luo Yan's heart pounded, but she felt that if she didn't show any emotion, she would lose. So she deliberately widened her eyes and stared at him.

Zhou Weifang praised her, "Our Yanyan has such big and beautiful eyes."

"Who says you're one of us?" Luo Yan clenched her fists. "Don't go looking for a beating."

Her ears turned slightly red.

Zhou Weifang wasn't afraid of getting "beaten up," but he knew it wouldn't be appropriate for him to stay too long even with the door open. After all, there were no secrets in the alley. He briefly explained how he sold watches that day, then stood up and said, "I'll buy you something delicious in a couple of days."

Luo Yan nodded, playing her part to the end. As she saw him to the door, she added, "I'll tell my brother when he gets back."

Zhou Weifang, with his back to the courtyard, winked and said, "Okay, thanks."

He never uttered a serious word. If Luo Yan hadn't been afraid of arousing suspicion from the neighbors, he would have beaten him up long ago.

She made a mental note of this, and only after the other person left the yard did she lock the door from the inside before going back inside to continue doing her homework.

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Author's Note: I'm feeling really bad today. Goodnight, more tomorrow.