Chapter 148 (1482nd update)

Being featured in the newspaper was indeed a great thing, and Luo Yan didn't have time to "settle scores" with her brother for the moment. She was seriously thinking about helping Zhou Weifang with rehearsals.

But Zhou Weifang couldn't utter a single word of the high-sounding words he had in mind in front of her; he could only laugh when he opened his mouth.

Luo Yan was in a hurry to get to her morning and afternoon classes, so she said, "You two line up, I'm leaving."

Things went much more smoothly without her around.

Luo Hong had some objections, saying, "No, how can you lie without even blushing?"

Zhou Weifang: "Who lied? What's wrong with me saying I actively responded to the policy? Tell me which word is wrong."

Luo Hong was speechless for a moment, and sneered twice: "I know you too well."

Zhou Weifang spread his hands: "Do you know what the golden rule is? Others don't need to know it."

Besides, how can you get into the newspapers if you don't put it nicely?

Now that he finally showed some of his true self, Luo Hong reminded him, "Your scoundrel soul is showing, watch it."

Zhou Weifang didn't waste any more words with him, saying, "I'm going to get a haircut, and then I'll bring you dinner back." He made thorough preparations for being in the newspaper, cleaning the signboard at the door until it was spotless when he got home that night, almost crawling on the ground to scrub it. The next morning, he changed into clean clothes and waited eagerly at the door.

The newspaper staff came over as soon as they started work, and seeing the bustling crowd in the store, they asked, "Comrade Zhou, it seems your business is doing very well."

Zhou Weifang seized the opportunity to promote his products: "We deliver our goods every morning, they're very fresh, and the prices are the same as state-owned stores, sometimes even lower..."

He didn't care how much he would actually say in the end; after his introductions, he even went on to invite them to lunch.

The newspaper staff refused: "We're in a hurry to get back and write our article. If things go smoothly, it might be published tomorrow."

Tomorrow? Zhou Weifang was quite looking forward to it: "Then I'll have to buy a few more to give to my relatives and friends."

He was a thoughtful person, and in the end, after repeating the same old things, he handed out two bags of fruit. After seeing the person off, he breathed a sigh of relief and went back to the shop.

While being weighed, Zheng Sanmei asked, "Did you take a picture of me just now?"

The photo was taken with Zhou Weifang holding up the tax payment certificate at the store entrance. He was facing away from the camera, so it wasn't very clear. He said, "I'm not sure either."

Zheng Sanmei: "When will it be published? I'll buy a copy and take a look."

Zhou Weifang: "They said it might be tomorrow, so don't waste your money. If I really care, I'll give them away all over the streets."

I didn't realize it could take so long to publish a newspaper.

Zheng Sanmei had only learned a few words in the brigade's literacy class and usually didn't read newspapers. Fortunately, she could do this job as long as she could do math.

She's incredibly accurate with money, never making a mistake no matter how busy she is.

Zhou Weifang is still quite at ease leaving the shop in her care. After restocking some of the sold goods, she went out—not to find Luo Yan, but to collect the bicycles.

He had several things to do today, and surprisingly, none of them happened to pass by Jiaotong University.

I'm so busy during the day that I'm dizzy, and I just have a moment to relax in the evening and think about picking up my girlfriend from school when another car that my apprentices can't handle shows up.

The two apprentices huddled together next to their master, listening to him explain how to fix it, and before they knew it, another half hour had passed.

It was almost ten o'clock when Zhou Weifang saw the guest off. He was too tired to do anything but lean back in his recliner and said, "You can go home now."

The two apprentices were also about to give up, but just before leaving, they remembered: "Brother, haven't you had dinner yet?"

"Didn't you eat?" Zhou Weifang rubbed his forehead. "I forgot."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Luo Yan's voice rang out: "You can even forget to eat?"

The apprentices no longer care about their master; seeing the situation was not good, they ran away.

Luo Hong, on the other hand, wore an expression that said, "Oh, the world really does turn upside down," as if he had "You're just waiting to be in trouble" written all over his forehead.

But he himself was also on his sister's grudge notebook. Luo Yan first ordered him: "Go buy food."

Well, considering he'd eaten quite a bit of food with his childhood friend, Luo Hong didn't complain and left, tossing his lunchbox around.

Only Zhou Weifang hesitated and moved closer to his partner: "I really didn't have a single free moment today. I would have come to see you if I had even a little bit of free time."

When asked about this, Luo Yan said, "Even if you just buy a bowl of porridge, it's only a few sips, and your stomach isn't good to begin with."

Zhou Weifang engaged in deep self-reflection and criticism, and after saying only a few words, he went to see his childhood friend who had returned.

Luo Hong also came to his rescue, saying, "What have you done to deserve this? You expect me to run errands and deliver food to you?"

Zhou Weifang: "Next time I'll put arsenic in your food."

Luo Hong: "Don't worry, if I'm leaving, I'll take you down with me."

No, why can't we say something auspicious?

Luo Yan tapped the table: "It's late at night, don't go looking for a scolding."

The two men remained silent, tacitly changing the subject to today's interview.

Zhou Weifang said a few words, "I had asked my sister-in-law to give you a message."

Luo Hong thought that this sentence was probably not meant for him, so he went to find chopsticks and thought he would have a late-night snack.

But Zhou Weifang was looking at him directly and said, "Don't be so tactless as to open it up. It only has your name on it."

Listen to what kind of talk this is, Luo Hong: "What, I begged you to write it up, can't you show some respect for the facade?"

If Luo Yan hadn't been there, Zhou Weifang would have been even more disrespectful to him, even nitpicking: "What kind of dishes did you serve?"

"Don't you know what time it is? We're lucky to have anything to eat."

Bringing up the very thing he shouldn't have, Zhou Weifang kicked him as a gesture, then smiled ingratiatingly at Luo Yan.

What else could Luo Yan say? Helplessly, she said, "They're all such a worry."

Zhou Weifang actually wanted to say something else, but seeing his childhood friend hesitate, he stopped himself from speaking.

Luo Hong initially intended to ignore it, but in the end he put down his chopsticks and said, "I'll give you five minutes. It's getting late, you need to go home."

After saying that, he went outside to wait, leaning against his bicycle to watch the moon.

As soon as the person left, Zhou Weifang said, "I ate eight steamed buns this afternoon, I wasn't starving the whole time. How could I let you feel sorry for me?"

Luo Yan gave him a light tap: "I know you're busy, but taking care of yourself is also important."

Zhou Weifang repeatedly agreed, then added affectionately, "But why did you come? Did you miss me?"

Luo Yan: "No news all day, what do you think?"

Normally it wouldn't be a problem, but she always felt that no matter how busy Zhou Weifang was, he should at least explain the interview. She felt a little uneasy, so she pulled her brother over to see him after he finished his work.

Zhou Weifang explained, "I tried calling, but couldn't get through, so I wrote a letter instead."

The phone line is unreliable these days, and Luo Yan was afraid that he would try every means to notify her if something like this happened again, so she said, "It's okay, I'll come find you. I can also check if you've broken any laws or regulations."

Zhou Weifang was more than happy to be investigated: "Please, the organization, strictly supervise me."

All that fancy stuff. Luo Yan glanced at him sideways and said, "Alright, you can eat slowly. I'm going back now."

Zhou Weifang grabbed her arm under the table with one hand: "Let me look at you a couple more times, I miss you."

He really speaks without thinking. Luo Yan slowly pulled her arm away, holding his fingers for a few seconds: "If you don't leave now, I won't be able to go to the bathhouse."

Zhou Weifang knew she was a clean person, so he reluctantly let go of her hand.

Luo Yan stood up and patted his head to comfort him. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that her brother had his back to the shop. She bent down and kissed him briefly before pulling away.

Zhou Weifang was secretly delighted, unable to suppress the smile on his face.

His smile was so obvious that when Luo Hong was about to leave, his gaze shifted between his childhood friend and his sister, and he frowned, unable to figure anything out.

But Luo Yan felt guilty and urged on while riding her bicycle, "Hurry up, hurry up, I still need to take a shower."

Luo Hong could only chase after her, shouting, "Slow down, there's still time."

It's only two places from here to home, and the siblings arrived just as their parents turned off the TV.

As Liu Yinfeng watched her children enter, she pointed to the dining table and said, "Yanyan, Sanfang asked my third sister to deliver this letter to you."

Luo Hong glanced at it and said, "No, it also has my name on it, so how come it's for her?"

Liu Yinfeng laughed: "Does your mother look like a fool?"

Luo Hong flattered him: "That's the smartest person on Earth, able to see the big picture from small details and understand the whole picture from a small part."

“Your mother is uneducated, don’t give me that nonsense,” Liu Yinfeng ignored her son’s words and said only, “Go wash up and go to bed early.”

After her parents returned to their room, Luo Yan didn't even have time to pick up the letter to read it. She only opened it after washing up and lying in bed.

Actually, Zhou Weifang didn't write much. He just briefly mentioned the interview, reminded her to read the newspaper the next day, and wrote at the end: "I miss you so much, I like you so much."

Luo Yan felt a little embarrassed just looking at those words. She folded the letter back up and stuffed it back into the envelope, but the words just wouldn't leave her mind. She quickly covered her head with the blanket and slowly fell asleep.

Perhaps because she had something on her mind, she woke up very early the next day and was the first one to go to the door to get the newspaper.

When Liu Yinfeng got up, she was startled to see her daughter sitting in the living room, but she didn't see what she was holding. She assumed, "Is there an exam coming up? Why are you reviewing your lessons so early in the morning?"

Luo Yan excitedly picked up the newspaper and showed it to her mother: "Look, Zhou Weifang has such a big page!"

It took up a full quarter of the page, with the photos being particularly eye-catching.

Liu Yinfeng looked closely and exclaimed, "That's huge! What does it say again?"

Luo Yan summarized: "We urge everyone to work hard to get rich, learn from Zhou Weifang, and pay taxes honestly."

Judging from this, they're using him as a model example.

"Great job," Liu Yinfeng said, looking through all the words she could read. "The photo is also very good. She looks energetic and upright. Isn't that Third Sister in the back?"

Luo Yan hadn't noticed at first, but upon closer inspection, she exclaimed, "It really is!"

"What have you been looking at all this time, kid?" Liu Yinfeng teased. "You're so young and your eyesight is already so bad?"

Luo Yan did not shy away from admitting her "bias," saying, "I was originally going to watch his show."

See, see, Liu Yinfeng: "I'll go buy you a new one later so you can put it away."

That's a good idea; how many times in a lifetime can a person be in the newspaper?

Luo Yan nodded happily, then muttered to herself, "I wonder if anyone will actually read the newspaper and go to the fruit shop to buy something."

Liu Yinfeng: "Definitely. The store name is specifically mentioned here, and the storefront is photographed so clearly."

Someone like her who loves to join in the fun will definitely go back and take a look if it's not far from home.

She was right; the fruit shop did exceptionally well all day.

Zhou Weifang, as if afraid others wouldn't know, even recorded a cassette tape that said, "To celebrate the owner of Sifang Fruit Shop making the front page of the newspaper, everyone who buys something today will receive a big apple. Wishing everyone peace and safety."

The radio kept blaring that phrase all day long, and the name of Sifang Fruit Shop was heard by every passerby. It was hard for it not to become famous.

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Author's note: Hehe, are you surprised? Unexpected, aren't you!

Goodnight!