Chapter 150 Huang Laishun

The two of them sang to each other as they arrived at the entrance of the Beijing Hotel. After parking their bicycles, Zhou Weifang glanced to the side and clicked his tongue, "Beautiful."

"Who's pretty?" Luo Yan looked around blankly, finally realizing he was referring to a motorcycle. "It must be expensive, right?" she asked.

Zhou Weifang: "It's imported from Japan, and it costs at least 8,000 yuan. Even if you have the money, you still have to queue up to buy it."

Eight… Luo Yan clicked her tongue, roughly calculating: “Even if I start working this year, it will still take more than ten years if I don’t eat or drink.”

But it's not too far off for Zhou Weifang. If he hadn't opened another branch, he would have had that much money anyway.

He said, "I'll try to buy one after the New Year."

That's good, Luo Yan: "Then it will be more convenient for you to come find me."

Zhou Weifang: "It's so convenient for me to walk there to find you."

Luo Yan nudged him with her elbow without saying anything, and the two of them went to the hotel lobby and asked for a private room.

The waiter led them inside and seated them. Before the menu was even brought out, Luo Yan said, "I'll just order."

Anyway, whoever orders, it's all according to her taste.

Zhou Weifang remained silent, his gaze fixed on her. After the waiter left, he moved to sit next to her, playing with her fingers as he said, "The fruit and vegetable company can place orders, but they require that my monthly purchases not be less than 20,000 yuan, and that I have to pay a prepayment every week."

Luo Yan had no idea: "How long would it take to sell 20,000 yuan worth of goods?"

Zhou Weifang: "We can sell the three stores, but it's really restrictive to do business when you're being controlled by others."

Luo Yan thought for him for a moment: "But it seems there's no other way for the time being."

After all, winter will arrive in just over half a month, and local fruits will almost all be off the market. Only fruit and vegetable companies have the channels to get fresh fruits from the south, and they can even airlift them.

Zhou Weifang knew this too, and sighed softly, saying, "This is the only way for now."

Seeing his worried expression, Luo Yan leaned in and kissed him on the cheek: "Will that make you happier?"

Zhou Weifang smiled and said, "I was already very happy to see you."

Luo Yan deliberately said, "You have such a sweet tongue, you'd be perfect for drinking coffee."

Good heavens, that stuff isn't for human consumption.

Zhou Weifang: "Why would we suffer without spending money?"

Indeed, Luo Yan remembered something serious: "You still haven't recruited one more person."

He was thinking that each store should have at least two people, so that they could keep an eye on things and have more time to spare, but finding the right people isn't so easy.

Zhou Weifang's current plan is as follows: "I'll have my sister-in-law go to Hongmi Hutong. Jianjun goes to work on the same route as her, so she can give him a ride. I've already talked to Hongmin about Fumen Street, and he'll keep an eye on things. I'll handle the area next to the car dealership myself. I'll just have one person helping out at each of their shops for now. If things get really bad here, I can always go back to the car dealership and shout my name to recruit people slowly."

In this way, he had several employees.

Luo Yan did some quick calculations and said, "You can only hire one more person, otherwise you'll exceed the limit."

The rule that a self-employed individual cannot employ more than seven people is still in black and white, but there are loopholes that can be exploited.

Zhou Weifang: "Those hired by the car dealership to learn the trade are not considered hired workers."

That's true. When factories distribute benefits, they only briefly mention apprentices. Even though everyone knows that they will eventually become permanent employees, the treatment is different as long as they haven't.

Luo Yan agreed with this explanation, but worried: "You're paying them the salaries of regular employees, won't people gossip about it?"

Zhou Weifang then revealed a bit of his roguish side: "I have money to burn, so I'm willing to give money to my apprentices. Who cares?"

"Speak properly," Luo Yan patted him on the shoulder, "Don't be so vulgar."

Zhou Weifang was strangely good at being obsequious and ingratiating. As soon as he heard a knock on the door, he would sit up straight, as if he had always been a respectable person.

Luo Yan glanced at him sideways, then raised her chin: "Sit down and eat properly."

Since they had plenty of time to be affectionate today, Zhou Weifang obediently moved back to sit opposite her and asked, "How's your review going?"

Luo Yan shook her head: "The chances are slim. I didn't really care much about English to begin with, and now I'm cramming at the last minute, but it's no use."

She always followed the school's lead; if it was the college entrance exam, she would study it. In her freshman year, the school didn't make much of a fuss, so she focused on other subjects. But after the summer break, this course suddenly became important again, leaving her scrambling to catch up.

Zhou Weifang: "Since the course is offered, it will definitely be offered again next semester. Didn't you say that this oral English course is a pilot class?"

It was because it was a pilot class. Luo Yan was used to being a good student, so of course she wanted to be the best in this kind of merit-based admission, but she also knew that grades were the most honest thing in the world.

Not learning much means fewer exam scores. She slammed her hand on the table and said, "Just you wait and see next semester."

Knowing and accepting are two different things. Zhou Weifang could tell that she was still somewhat disappointed, so he talked about something happier: "I've found some good trees for you. Which one would you like to plant in the yard first?"

Luo Yan: "After careful consideration, I decided that I want pomegranates, because they both bloom and bear fruit, and they also fit my mother's auspicious wishes."

Zhou Weifang: "Okay, I'll move it over for you when spring comes."

It is not suitable to transplant them at this time of year.

With the arrival of spring, the Lunar New Year is just around the corner.

Luo Yan: "It feels like this year has gone by so fast."

Zhou Weifang: "Soon? These past few days have felt like an eternity to me."

He's started doing nonsense again. Luo Yan gently kicked him under the table and put some food on his plate, meaning something like, "Even delicious food can't shut you up."

Zhou Weifang finally had something to say: "You've lost weight, what have you been eating lately?"

Luo Yan: "It's because I've been moving around a lot lately."

Zhou Weifang wrapped his arm around her wrist: "It's gotten so much thinner."

"It's not that exaggerated," Luo Yan said. "You're just like my parents."

Her parents grumbled all the time, and recently they even made sure to fry two oily eggs for her every morning.

Zhou Weifang humbly replied, "No, no, my seniority has increased."

There were other things he dared not do, Luo Yan brought up an old grudge: "Wasn't your catchphrase for a while 'What do you want from me?'?"

It's strange, the way she said those words sounded so sweet and delicate.

Zhou Weifang: "Your brother also said that he keeps saying he wants to take my surname."

Luo Yan: "You're quite quick to betray him now. Be careful, or I'll tell him."

Zhou Weifang said righteously, "He is the most loyal of men, it's alright."

Luo Yan reiterated her previous statement: "Anyway, you two are a pair of scoundrels."

Zhou Weifang said, "Then I'll choose the one behind it. You prefer puppies."

She really goes to great lengths to admit to anything, and Luo Yan sometimes can't help but sigh, "How can a person be so shameless?"

Zhou Weifang: "What's the point of me saying all this in front of you?"

That seems to be true. Luo Yan pointed her finger in the air, talking nonsense while eating.

The conversation between the two of them took a roundabout turn and eventually came up again with the topic of the new store opening.

Zhou Weifang: "We can open one this Sunday, are you coming?"

Luo Yan thought for a moment and said, "The exam is next Monday. I'll just give you a round of applause when I pass by before I go to the library."

"Her studies are definitely the most important thing," Zhou Weifang said. "It's not on the way, so let's not go there."

Luo Yan said "unreasonably": "I said it's acceptable, and it is acceptable. How dare you talk back to me."

Zhou Wei immediately reflected, "I know I was wrong."

Luo Yan couldn't help but laugh out loud: "No wonder my brother said I've been getting more and more irritable lately."

"Just recently?" Zhou Weifang whispered, "Actually, it's always been quite..."

He quickly swallowed the rest of his sentence: "He's just framing me. Next time I'll secretly trip him up to get revenge for you."

Luo Yan: "Why did you do it secretly?"

Zhou Weifang sighed dramatically, "He's my future brother-in-law, he'll have plenty of opportunities to trip me up in the future."

Although Luo Yan did not deny it, she said, "Of course, you two are just like brothers, but we've shared a belly."

After she finished speaking, she herself felt that her wording was a bit strange: "In short, he definitely has to side with me."

That's way too much of a bias, Zhou Weifang said: "Ever since we started dating, he's said a lot of harsh things to me."

Luo Yan raised an eyebrow as if it were perfectly natural: "Although I'm frail, I have henchmen."

Zhou Weifang added himself to the list: "From now on, it will be the Azure Dragon on the left and the White Tiger on the right."

"You called it that with such swagger," Luo Yan said, stroking her chin. "I've forgotten what nickname you used to have for yourself."

When Zhou Weifang was a child, he loved reading the comic book version of "Water Margin". He felt that a real man must have a resounding name. Using his limited education, he added all the tall and mighty words he could imagine: "It was something like Wei Zhentian, but I forgot."

He felt embarrassed just saying those three words and coughed awkwardly twice.

Luo Yan couldn't help but laugh, almost choking on her food. She patted her chest to smooth herself out and asked, "What is my brother?"

Zhou Weifang wanted to say something, but couldn't remember. After thinking for a while, he said, "Anyway, it's about the same as what I meant."

Luo Yan laughed even harder, before finally calming down.

Zhou Weifang pinched her puffed-up cheeks as she smiled: "Are you full?"

Luo Yan felt quite hungry when she sat down, and accidentally ordered a bit too much. She then asked hesitantly, "I'm not eating. Can you finish it?"

Zhou Weifang: "Of course."

At his age, he was tall and strong, and he usually did manual labor. To put it dramatically, he was practically oblivious to hunger and fullness. Moreover, the food at the Beijing restaurant was expensive and the portions were small. After eating, he could only say that he was full, but for some reason, he started to feel sleepy.

Luo Yan saw him yawning: "Are you sleepy? Didn't you sleep well last night? Why don't you go back and rest?"

Zhou Weifang went over and sat next to her, saying, "I'll just lean back and doze off for a bit."

Leaning on him? Perhaps because it was usually children who put their arms around her shoulders, Luo Yan's gaze was very gentle from this angle, yet not without its sharpness: "Pretending to be asleep."

Zhou Weifang's eyelashes fluttered, and with her eyes closed, she said, "Really asleep."

"True or false, it doesn't matter," Luo Yan patted his back like she was coaxing a child, without saying a word.

Zhou Weifang was just joking with her, but his eyelids actually felt heavy. After a while, he suddenly sat up straight, startling Luo Yan: "What's wrong?"

Zhou Weifang: "Have I been asleep for a long time?"

"Ten minutes at most."

"Only ten minutes?" Zhou Weifang took a sip of tea to moisten his throat. "I'm full of energy now. Don't you think you're a magic pill?"

Luo Yan held out her hand to him: "Then take a bite and see."

She was joking, of course, but she didn't expect Zhou Weifang to actually get closer.

Luo Yan thought to herself: "They won't really bite me, will they?"

She squinted one eye and leaned back, but didn't dodge the hand.

Zhou Weifang simply kissed the back of her hand, his lips lightly brushing against it again and again.

People say that the ten fingers are connected to the heart, and Luo Yan's heart is beating very fast right now. Even her toes are starting to tighten. But she feels that it's not just a matter of shyness, so she hides her hands behind her back.

Zhou Wei then noticed that her face was very red, but pretended not to see it and didn't expose her, only asking, "Are you going home for dinner tonight?"

Luo Yan: "Going back! My mom said she'll buy me a roast duck today no matter what place I get, and my brother is going back too."

She has so much love, yet she can still see herself; it is truly a great fortune.

Zhou Weifang patted her hair: "I'll buy it for you next time too."

Luo Yan stroked the velvet on the armrest of the chair: "There are no private rooms for Peking duck, so I think this is the perfect place for a date."

She actually quite liked being close to Zhou Weifang, finding this small space particularly pleasing to the eye.

Zhou Weifang, of course, preferred it and suddenly had a brilliant idea: "I'll braid your hair into a twist."

Luo Yan was skeptical: "You can?"

Zhou Weifang: "I roughly know how it's done, but I've never done it on someone."

Luo Yan turned her face to the other side, with the back of her head facing him: "Then you give it a try."

Zhou Weifang originally thought it wouldn't be difficult, but she didn't expect her hair to be so smooth that it would fall apart as soon as she tried to gather it up.

He didn't dare to use too much force, afraid of hurting her. After a while, he gave up and said, "So this is so difficult. I thought Luo Hong used to find it quite easy."

When Luo Yan was little, her mother would braid her hair, but it would come undone very quickly when she ran around. She particularly disliked looking messy, and she would get very angry when her hairstyle was messed up.

Luo Hong had no choice but to learn to braid his hair, but he could never control his strength and often pulled so hard that his sister would scream.

At that time, Zhou Weifang thought: Raising a girl is troublesome enough.

He doesn't think that way anymore, and says, "I'll study hard from now on."

Luo Yan didn't say why she wanted to learn this, but instead found it quite interesting: "If you can braid my hair into a pretty ponytail, there will be a prize."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Weifang became even more enthusiastic, twirling a strand of her hair with his hand: "What's the prize?"

If he actually asked, Luo Yan didn't know what to tell him, but she kept him in suspense: "You'll find out when the time comes."

Zhou Weifang coaxed her, "Tell me about it first."

Luo Yan remained unyielding: "No."

Zhou Weifang persisted even more, and Luo Yan could barely resist. She pushed him away with one finger, saying, "Stop messing around."

She looked at her watch as she raised her hand and said, "It's almost time to go home."

Time always flies by so fast, Zhou Weifang repeated: "Wild geese wild geese wild geese wild geese wild geese—"

The long, drawn-out tone made Luo Yan coax him, "It'll be fine once this busy period is over."

Zhou Weifang rubbed his face and discussed with her, "Let's wait another ten minutes."

Luo Yan didn't count, but she guessed there were definitely more.

However, she got home quite early. Liu Yinfeng hadn't expected her daughter to arrive at this time. While picking vegetables, she said, "I even had them sweep the floor at the new house. I haven't cooked yet."

Luo Yan put down her bag: "Then I'll go too."

When she pushed open the courtyard gate, she saw that her father and brother were not working at all, and their heads were huddled together at the foot of the wall. She tiptoed over, wanting to give them a fright.

But she was really not cut out for doing bad things, and she was caught after only a few steps. She shook her hand in annoyance and said, "You guys have sharp ears."

"What perfect timing!" Luo Xinmin waved to his daughter. "Come on, see who's here?"

Who is it that can be huddled in such a corner?

Luo Yan craned her neck to look: "Oh, a puppy!"

She ran over in two quick steps and squatted down, saying, "It's only been born a short time, right? Where's its mother?"

Luo Hong: "I don't know, it's just the dog here."

Luo Yan: "Should we keep it?"

"That's a good question," Luo Xinmin told his son, "Go ask your mother if it's possible."

Luo Hongchao disappeared in a flash, leaving the father and daughter to watch the puppy.

Luo Yan boldly reached out and touched the puppy, which started whimpering and trembling violently.

She asked, "Dad, do you think it's scared or cold?"

Luo Xinmin couldn't say for sure either, and subconsciously touched himself: "Let me see if I can make a nest for it first."

Before they even found it, Luo Hong rushed back.

He was quite thoughtful; he was holding a tattered towel in his hand and said, "Wrap it up a bit."

Liu Yinfeng lagged two steps behind her son, glanced over, and said, "Oh, it's so tiny. Where's its mother?"

The mother and daughter said exactly the same thing, and Luo Xinmin couldn't help but laugh.

He couldn't squat for long either. He leaned against the wall for support and stood up, saying, "It's just this one."

Liu Yinfeng thought to herself, "It's fine to keep it. After all, it will be a detached house with its own yard in the future, so it can keep an eye on the house."

There are advantages to living in a tenement compound; at least the neighbors can hear about the slightest disturbance. But once everyone closes their doors and goes about their own lives, thieves will naturally have an easier time stealing from them.

With Mom's approval, the brother and sister started arranging names for the puppy.

Luo Yan suggested, "Look how yellow it is, how about we call it a yellow warbler?"

Luo Hong was the first to object: "It's not good. What if it's a male...dog?"

"Hmph, then you get up."

"I think calling it Huangshan, one of the Five Sacred Mountains, sounds much more impressive."

"I don't think so, it's very ordinary."

"That's still better than yours."

...

Liu Yinfeng's head was buzzing from listening to the siblings bickering, and she made a final decision: "Neither of you are allowed to talk anymore. From now on, its name will be Laishun."

Huh? That's a really ordinary name.

Luo Yan looked at the puppy wrapped in a tattered towel: "Huang Laishun, do you like it?"

"Why does it even have a name and surname?" Liu Yinfeng smiled and shook her head, saying, "I'm going back to cook."

The family of three took their Huang Laishun (a type of steamed bun) home just as the meal was almost ready.

Wangcai and Laifu must have smelled the dog, because they were thrashing about very violently.

Perhaps because they could communicate with each other, Huang Laishun trembled even more violently.

Luo Yan quickly brought it into her home and placed it in a corner.

Huang Laishun looked around with his eyes the size of soybeans, whimpering softly.

Luo Yan patted its head: "Don't be afraid, we are all good people, how about we give you something to eat?"

Huang Laishun doesn't understand human speech very well. He curls up into a ball, and only when given food and water does he feel a little better.

While eating dinner, Luo Yan looked at it and said, "I don't think it will grow up to be a big and mighty little dog."

Luo Hong also felt: "She's even more timid than Yan Yan was when she was little."

Who are you talking about? Luo Yan kicked him: "Look how cowardly I am now."

Luo Hong winced in pain, gasped, and shoved the roast duck into his mouth: "You're finished."

They made their fuss, but Liu Yinfeng ignored them and only told her husband, "They'll come to replace the windows tomorrow, and then we'll ventilate and air it out. I think we can move in in half a month."

Luo Xinmin: "Then the house should be tidied up too."

Liu Yinfeng: "I've checked over the past few days and there's nothing to throw away. We can just move everything over there as it is."

The couple discussed how to arrange their belongings, and only asked their children to tone it down when they felt that their voices were so loud that they drowned out their serious conversation.

Luo Yan won a small victory, and looking up at her brother with her chin up, she said, "I've decided what kind of tree I want to plant."

The only thing her daughter cared about regarding the new home was this: "What should we plant?" Liu Yinfeng asked.

Luo Yan announced loudly: "Pomegranate."

This is good, and the meaning is good too, it's just that the person isn't very ambitious.

Liu Yinfeng glanced at her son without saying a word, but he knew what was going on.

Luo Hong: "Mom, you're here again."

Liu Yinfeng also had a point: "I said I'd come again. You're such a big person, standing there like that, aren't you just an eyesore?"

Luo Hong surrendered: "Never mind what I said."

He changed the subject: "When should we plant them?"

Luo Yan: "Zhou Weifang said it would be springtime, but it would take two years to grow the pomegranates before we could eat them."

Day after day, all he thinks about are these things. Luo Hong: "You don't lack fruit to eat now."

Luo Yan: "Didn't you eat anything?"

Luo Hong said matter-of-factly, "His family is so big and powerful, what's wrong with me eating two?"

Even without the sister connection, he never hesitated to take advantage of his childhood friends.

At this point, Liu Yinfeng interrupted, saying, "The news that he's about to open two more stores has spread throughout the alley."

When it comes to making money, it's naturally better to keep a low profile, but there are no secrets that stay hidden forever. Luo Hong understood what his mother meant and said, "He can handle it."

What to deal with? Luo Yan turned her head left and right, realizing that she was the only one who didn't understand. She chewed and swallowed her thoughts and food.

Looking at his daughter, Luo Xinmin suddenly sighed, "They're a perfect match."

Everyone's talking nonsense, but Luo Yan didn't want to think about it. She picked up another piece of meat, chewed it, and said, "Mom, this is delicious."

Liu Yinfeng's favorite saying lately is: "Eat more if you like it, look how thin you are."

Luo Yan recalled Zhou Weifang's expression when he said something similar, and thought to herself that it was exactly the same.

She said, "I'm not running anymore starting tomorrow."

As one thing ends, another begins. After dinner, she took an English newspaper back to her room to read.

The remaining family of three was still at the dining table. Luo Hong said, "Just wait and see, you'll soon realize she'd be better off going for a run."

That's just how my daughter is; what can I say?

Liu Yinfeng said helplessly, "Anyway, I can't control any of you."

Why are you bringing up "men" again? Luo Hong put down his chopsticks and said, "I'm going out for a stroll."

When he was rarely away from the shop, his parents didn't even nag him to "come home soon." Instead, they looked at Huang Laishun, who was still huddled in the corner, and said, "You can't be like them. You have to behave yourself, you know?"

He muttered to himself, "He doesn't seem very brave. What if he opens the door for a thief?"

Neither of the couple was sure, but they still welcomed the new member of the family, made it a warm new home, and fed it a little bit of milk powder.

Huang Laishun stuck out his tongue and licked the food. After finishing, he didn't turn on his friend. Instead, he quietly snuggled up to the sofa.

Luo Xinmin only noticed it after watching TV, and laughed, "I have to be careful walking around at home these next few days. This little thing doesn't make a sound, or I'll step on it again."

Liu Yinfeng also lowered her head: "It looks even smaller when it's standing, so let it stay indoors for now."

The dogs Wangcai and Laifu in the yard are not leashed, and they might bite you in the middle of the night.

From then on, Huang Laishun was a little dog with a home, a name, and a surname.