Chapter 125 One Two Five Free Meals

As Luo Yan had expected, her brother did not return until midnight.

Luo Hong sneaked into the house and was startled when his sister opened the door. He had the illusion that he had been caught stealing, but then he thought: Wait a minute, I'm not a thief.

He straightened his back and said, "No, why aren't you asleep yet? Look at those dark circles under your eyes."

Luo Yan said anxiously, "I need to go to the toilet."

She had been hesitating about whether to wake her father, and had been struggling with this decision in the room for a while. But now, as if a divine intervention had appeared, she pushed her brother and ran outside.

She was in such a rush that she only noticed the smell of smoke and alcohol on her brother after she finished, and asked, "Whose house did you drink at?"

Luo Hong: "At Hongyang Store."

With such a large group of people, they would be considered a nuisance anywhere, so their childhood friend's restaurant is the most suitable place for them.

Luo Yan nodded and asked, "Is there any good news?"

Luo Hong: "Yes, they said that after the area and pricing are determined, they still need to be submitted to the city for approval, and it won't be finalized until before the end of the year at the earliest."

After a quick calculation, Luo Yan said, "Then we still have about half a year to save money, which should be at least a thousand more."

Luo Hong patted her on the shoulder: "You don't need to be frugal."

Luo Yan said matter-of-factly, "I only intend to let you save money."

Luo Hong pinched her cheek, and seeing that she was about to curse, said, "Mind your behavior."

In the middle of the night, Luo Yan couldn't scream, so she could only stare intently with her eyes.

Luo Hong smiled smugly. After arriving home, he took a quick shower in the bathroom in the kitchen. When he came out, he saw his sister still in the living room and asked, "What are you doing? Aren't you going to sleep?"

Luo Yan: "No, I forgot to tell you, Jianjun borrowed your bicycle. You'll have to ride mine to work tomorrow morning."

She didn't mention that Zhou Weifang had come.

Luo Hong said that when he came in, he felt that something was missing at the entrance of the house, and asked, "Is his car broken?"

Luo Yan yawned: "It should be, I didn't ask carefully."

After saying that, she went back to her room. When she woke up the next day, everyone in her family had already finished breakfast and were busy with their own things.

Liu Yinfeng left 50 cents on the dining table for her daughter, presumably because she didn't know what time her daughter would get up, meaning she wanted her to eat out.

Luo Yan put the money in her pocket and went to brush her teeth. To her surprise, she saw Li Jianhong walk into the yard for the first time in a long time and greeted her: "Sister Jianhong."

Li Jianhong's usually indifferent face broke into a slight smile as she said, "Yanzi is home today."

Judging from the looks of it, she must have come back about the house as well.

Luo Yan felt that they might start arguing again, and thought that the other person wouldn't want too many bystanders, so she washed up, locked the door, and left.

She wanted to spend more time, so instead of going to her usual breakfast shop, she turned in another direction and happened to pass by Sparrow's bookstore. She nodded and smiled at him.

It was summer vacation, and the children's eyes were glued to the comic books.

The sparrow was too busy dealing with the situation to say another word.

After a while, seeing her walking back, I called out to her, "Where are you going?"

Luo Yan: "Let's eat breakfast."

Although they lived in the same alley, Sparrow rarely saw her. He said, "I have a few new novels, want to pick one?"

She stopped again as soon as she looked at the document, and Luo Yan sighed slightly: "I haven't finished my homework yet."

After she said that, Sparrow had to swallow all her words and just watched her walk away.

Luo Yan was unaware that someone was watching her from behind. She was extra cautious as she approached her own yard, and breathed a sigh of relief when she heard nothing.

But as she turned around the screen wall, she almost bumped into Li Jianhong, who was hurrying out. She stopped and asked, "Sister, are you leaving?"

Li Jianhong politely replied, "Yes, I'll be setting up my stall today."

She didn't seem angry. Luo Yan felt that her relationship with her wasn't close enough to confide in her private matters, so she decided to stop there and took out her keys at the door.

Just as she screwed it on, Liu Yinfeng called out from behind her daughter, "Yanyan, don't lock it."

Luo Yan: "I just got back too."

Liu Yinfeng thought she was just about to have breakfast, so she walked closer and asked, "Finished eating?"

Luo Yan nodded and pushed open the door, smelling a fishy odor. She asked, "Mom, are we having fish today?"

Speaking of this, Liu Yinfeng said, "I originally wanted to fry tofu, but I saw that this fish head looked good, so I thought I might as well make a soup."

She then shared with her daughter, "Now, a pound of new grain only costs three ounces of coupons."

By the end of August, the grain harvest had also been completed in the northern regions. According to newspapers, this year's harvest is a bumper crop nationwide, especially in rural areas that had already implemented the household contract responsibility system. Yesterday's news already used the phrase "the state strongly supports the distribution of land to individual households" to describe the situation.

Luo Yan: "Next year, they might even cancel tickets altogether."

She wondered, "Will my mother-in-law's family also implement a contract system?"

Even if news from my maternal family travels as fast as it can from southern Anhui to Beijing, it would still take half a month to reach them.

Liu Yinfeng: "We'll have to wait for the letter to find out."

The mother and daughter were talking in the living room when Luo Yan casually picked up a fig from the cabinet.

She'd never seen her enjoy it this much before, so Liu Yinfeng assumed her son had brought it back and asked, "Where did your brother buy this? Is it very sweet?"

Luo Yan hesitated for a moment: "Um... Zhou Weifang bought it."

She asked her mother for her opinion, asking for the first time, "Mom, do you not really like him?"

Liu Yinfeng put down her shopping basket and said, "This boy is good, but being a son-in-law is another matter. If you ask me, it would be best to find an educated boy. You two can both get jobs and have a stable life. As for doing business, I can't see the money, but I'm afraid it might bring you trouble in the future."

But then she changed the subject: "To be honest, there's one good thing about him that I acknowledge: he has a very close relationship with your brother."

Admittedly, the siblings have a good relationship now and can get married and have children later. However, such a close-knit family may cause dissatisfaction from their partner.

Liu Yinfeng only has one son and one daughter, and naturally she hopes that they can still support each other after she passes away, and she will consider the same considerations for her future daughter-in-law.

Luo Yan roughly understood what her mother meant and said, "That means you don't dislike it."

Why do I hate him? Liu Yinfeng sighed, "I used to boil eggs and would sometimes save one for him."

Of all the son's childhood friends, Zhou Weifang was the only one who was willing to let his daughter stay with him all the time.

Luo Yan turned back and asked, "Where is Zhou Xiuhe?"

Liu Yinfeng couldn't quite remember what time these people were, so she added, "The good thing about the three parties is that they're locals, so they know each other well. If something really goes wrong, it'll be easy for your brother to beat them up."

However, she patted her daughter's hand repeatedly: "People, whether they can stay together for a lifetime is uncertain. Who can remain unchanged for decades? As long as you can trust someone's character now, that's fine. If you're willing to stay together, then stay together; if you're not happy, then don't. Marriages can end in divorce, it's not a big deal."

Luo Yan said to her mother in a spoiled tone, "I haven't actually decided yet."

Liu Yinfeng: "Take your time to think it over. A man who can't even wait this long is better off without."

As long as my daughter isn't wronged, that's all that matters.

"That's right," Luo Yan nodded vigorously in agreement, finding a suitable reason for her hesitation, thinking: This is part of the test.

She tossed the figs around, washed them in the yard, and then ate them while standing by the pond. She shared a small bite with each of the dogs, Wangcai and Laifu, and held out her hand to show them: "That's all."

The puppy didn't believe it and kept circling around, wagging its tail.

Luo Yan squatted down, trying to reason with them, when she heard Grandpa Zhang's grandson from the phone booth run in: "Luo Yan, answer the phone!"

Oh, and it even includes the full name.

Luo Yan patted his head: "What did you call me?"

The child sweetly changed his address to "Sister Luo Yan".

Luo Yan muttered to herself who was looking for her, and followed him to the phone booth, waiting to get back connected—because there weren't enough lines, the transfer center would prioritize using the phone when someone was already talking.

After waiting a while, she realized it was her brother and asked, "What is it?"

Luo Hong: "It's a good thing to borrow your money! Come to the bicycle factory for a bit."

If it weren't for the two words in the middle, Luo Yan would already be lost in thought.

She thought to herself what a good thing this was, and with the money in her pocket, she told her mother that she was going out for a while, and ran to the alley entrance to wait for the bus.

Luo Hong waited expectantly at the entrance of the bicycle factory. When he saw his sister, he reached out his hand and said, "Give it to me first, and I'll explain to you later."

Luo Yan had no suspicions and didn't chase after him as he ran inside. She found a shady spot under a tree to wait, and out of boredom, she started counting the leaves on the tree.

When Luo Hong came out, he saw his younger sister looking up and saying, "Yanyan, it's done."

Luo Yan turned her head to wait for him to continue.

Luo Hong: "Today we have a batch of children's strollers. First come, first served. Luckily, I happened to be here to buy some."

Children's bicycles have always existed, but relatively few people buy them specifically for their children, so production has remained low. However, the fewer they are available, the more sought-after they become in big cities like Beijing, and they sell out quickly whenever they are put on display.

Even Luo Yan knew this and said, "No wonder you said it was a good thing."

Luo Hong: "I'll return the money to you in half a month at most."

Luo Yan nodded indifferently.

She's never short of money; she can easily grab something from home with a simple reach. She said, "You didn't explain it clearly. I thought it would take a long time to process, and I already told Mom I wouldn't be coming home for dinner."

Luo Hong scratched his head: "I only have 28 cents left."

At current prices, it's only enough to order a bowl of vegetarian noodles, not even enough to fill a tooth gap.

Luo Yan stared at him with wide eyes: "I don't have a single penny."

The brother and sister looked at each other in bewilderment. Luo Hong suggested, "I know a great place where we can have a good meal without spending any money."

Luo Yan knew exactly where it was as soon as she heard it, and blinked her eyes: "You said you wanted to go there."

Did she disagree in her heart? Luo Hong didn't call her out on it, and gestured for her to sit down. The two of them quickly stopped in front of Zhou Weifang's shop.

Zhou Weifang was fixing a tire when he saw the brother and sister arrive together. He handed the job over to his apprentice and came over to ask, "What are you doing here?"

They were asking about us, but it seemed like there was only one person in their eyes.

If Luo Hong hadn't needed to freeload a meal, he would have stormed off in anger by now.

He said, "I'd like to invite you to dinner."

"Huh?" Zhou Weifang took off his gloves. "What's the occasion?"

Luo Hong finally couldn't stand him staring at his sister any longer, so he grabbed his neck and said, "Why are you talking so much? Let's go."

Zhou Weifang was being dragged along by him, and he forced his head to turn around and ask, "What does Yanyan want to eat?"

Luo Hong said irritably, "Her brother is very busy, so she just eats something nearby."

He still needs to find someone to bring all the bicycles to the shop in the afternoon; there's a lot of work to be done.

Luo Yan also said, "I still have homework to do this afternoon."

The three of them sat down at a small restaurant nearby, and Zhou Weifang asked, "Where did you two go this morning?"

Luo Hong ordered the food first before explaining, and although he tried his best to cover up the truth, Zhou Weifang still understood and raised an eyebrow, saying, "You're not planning to take some more money from me later, are you?"

Luo Hong: "If I eat and take, how can I be considered human?"

Luo Yan laughed out loud, showing no respect for her brother. She wasn't afraid of his glare and said confidently, "I'm the creditor now."

Luo Hong threatened her: "You've never been owed money and not paid back, have you?"

Luo Yan retorted, "Do you think I'm someone who'll give money to anyone who asks?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Zhou Weifang looked at her, his eyes clearly saying "What about me?", while he lowered his head as if he dared not ask.

Luo Yan couldn't help herself. She subconsciously reached into her pocket, her face lighting up with joy. She quietly kicked him under the table, and while her brother went to get a soda, she stuffed the three cents she had left over from buying breakfast into his hand: "This is all the money I have now."

Before his childhood friend could see it, Zhou Weifang clenched his fist, holding the coin in his palm as if he were holding ten thousand yuan, and kept grinning foolishly.

Luo Hong keenly noticed that suspicious glances first fell on his younger sister.

Luo Yan shrugged, indicating that it had nothing to do with her, and said in a drawn-out tone, "I'm so thirsty."

Luo Hong pried open the lid and placed it in front of her, without asking any further questions. He simply said, "You went to the department store to sell watches this afternoon?"

Zhou Weifang: "Sell."

That's perfect, Luo Hong: "If you see Chen Laosi looking for work, tell him to come to the shop and find me."

Chen Laosi also lived in Fengshou Hutong. He had a tricycle and usually ran freight transport. When he didn't get any work, he would wait at the entrance of the department store.

Zhou Weifang nodded and moved the two dishes that had just been served to a different position.

Luo Hong rolled her eyes slightly: "She has hands, she can grab it."

Zhou Weifang ignored her and continued, "The stir-fried pork at this restaurant is so-so. We'll go out to eat when you have time."

Unable to bear it any longer, Luo Hong channeled his grief and anger into his appetite. Remembering the chores at the shop, he wolfed down his food. After finishing, he looked at his sister, who was eating slowly and deliberately, and said, "I'm leaving now. Yan Yan, you can go home by yourself later."

Luo Yan called out from behind, "Eat your fill and ride your bike slowly, or you'll get a stomachache."

Seeing her brother's back as he completely ignored her, she said, "You two have the same problem."

Zhou Weifang wanted to drag her childhood friend back and give her a good scolding, but she scratched her face, not daring to talk back. Then she realized, "He rode your bike? What about his?"

Luo Yan: "Brother Jianjun borrowed it."

Borrowing a car wasn't something worth digging into, so Zhou Weifang just let it go and asked her, "How's your homework going?"

Luo Yan gasped for breath from the spiciness of the green pepper seeds and said, "I'm writing the second version."

Zhou Weifang: "It must be so tiring to write this."

Luo Yan had calluses on her hands from writing, and she wanted to show them to him. She pointed her middle finger forward, then froze, a little at a loss for words: "I'm not insulting you, I just wanted to show you."

She's not an uncivilized person.

Zhou Weifang realized it in a second and even noticed, "Why is there a scar?"

Unlike them, who were constantly bumping into things, Luo Yan knew exactly where each of her wounds came from: "I scraped myself while sharpening a pencil."

Zhou Weifang asked in surprise, "You sharpen your own pencils?"

He had his reasons for saying that, because Luo Yan had always thought that knives were dangerous items when she was a child, especially since she had an older brother who was even more likely to cause danger. She felt that this thing should be listed as a prohibited item.

She said, "I was almost in junior high school then, so I must have carved it myself."

His tone was quite proud, which made Zhou Weifang chuckle.

Luo Yan stepped on his foot, glared at him and threatened, "If you laugh again, you'll regret it," and said, "I'm full."

After paying her, Zhou Weifang took her to catch the bus, and only after she got on the bus did he ride his bicycle to set up his stall.

These days, traffic in Beijing is so congested that four wheels aren't much faster than two wheels. If he rides a little faster, he can catch up with the bus.

Luo Yan, sitting by the window, saw him and felt a little embarrassed to call his name, so she smiled reservedly.

The two of them looked at each other through the window until the next intersection, and then went their separate ways.

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Author's note: Goodnight! I've decided to start my forced update plan for tomorrow.