Chapter 39 A Slow and Steady Approach

Zhou Weifang can only be described as reckless and headstrong since childhood, as evidenced by the fact that his first reading material was "Water Margin".

However, going to the countryside did indeed temper a person. The endless sandstorms of southern Xinjiang sculpted his shape, and at least he now understands how to write the four characters "gradually plan".

To put it bluntly, Luo Yan is lucky if she doesn't dislike him now.

Zhou Weifang was self-aware and made a rough plan, remaining calm and collected when he saw Luo Hong again.

--

In the afternoon, Luo Hong came to pick up the book after finishing the wedding banquet.

He had a few drinks, and when he arrived at the car dealership, he felt dizzy and lightheaded. Without any hesitation, he said, "I'll lie down here for a bit."

Zhou Weifang was working, and only after he finished did he have time to chat with him for a bit: "Your alcohol tolerance isn't very good."

Luo Hong sprawled out on the other person's recliner, as naturally as if he were at home: "The boss likes to drink, so I have to keep him company."

He added, "I've secured this year's target."

Zhou Weifang: "I thought you were going to a colleague's wedding."

Luo Hong: "They're colleagues, but his dad happens to be the sales department director."

Doing consignment sales isn't that easy; without connections in the factory, you simply can't get it done.

This business simply couldn't function without him, Zhou Weifang knew that. And that made things even more crucial, requiring him to be extra careful in everything he did.

He said, "You'll get an extra 50% of the profits this year."

What nonsense are you spouting? Luo Hong: "I haven't been involved in anything at the shop. The profits will still be distributed as before."

Neither of them wanted to take advantage of the other, and after a few words failed to convince the other, they each gave up and changed the subject.

Zhou Weifang: "Remember to take the book later. There's a question inside. Could you please help me write down the solution?"

"Don't worry about the trouble," Luo Hong said. "Just give it to me. I'm going back to get some proper sleep. Your clanging is making my head buzz."

He even picked a fight, so Zhou Weifang kicked him twice: "Get out, get out, get out!"

Luo Hong, of course, walked.

When he got home, it wasn't dark yet. He saw his sister sitting in the living room and tossed her a book, saying, "You're not going to wait here all day, are you?"

"How could that be?" Luo Yan said. "The school said they wanted to save electricity, so the library only stays open until 3 a.m."

So she didn't miss anything today. Luo Hong: "I should have waited two more days for you."

Luo Yan glared at him sideways and eagerly opened the book.

Luo Hong didn't take this minor attack seriously and even messed up his sister's hair.

Luo Yan slapped his hand away: "You've rubbed the smell of your cigarettes and alcohol on my head too."

Luo Hong: "You have such a keen sense of smell, I didn't smell anything."

But deep down he was disgusted, so he simply put the two benches together and made do with it next to the stove. Before long, he was snoring.

Luo Yan glanced at him, feeling it wasn't warm enough, and rummaged through his room to find a large cotton coat to cover him with.

Do a good deed, then punch and kick the air.

When Liu Yinfeng returned from outside and saw the scene, she couldn't help but ask, "Why aren't you sleeping in bed?"

Luo Yan chimed in, "Exactly, they're just asking for trouble."

Liu Yinfeng shook her head helplessly and counted out ten eggs from the cupboard: "Your Aunt Zhao isn't feeling well. I'll go sit for a while and then come back."

Luo Yan nodded, then remembered, "Aunt Wang came to see you just now, but she didn't say what it was about."

Liu Yinfeng wondered what could be wrong, and then went out with her bamboo basket.

Turning past the screen wall, she stopped and exclaimed in surprise, "Third Sister, you're here! Why didn't you ask Jianjun to pick you up? Look at all these bags and packages."

It's not easy for Zheng Sanmei to come to Beijing from her hometown. She has to pass through twenty cities along the way, and if the weather is bad, the journey will be delayed. She can't even say for sure when the time she is given.

She said, "The car arrived too early."

Liu Yinfeng helped her out and called out, "Hongyu, look who's here!"

Li Hongyu was running around aimlessly in the yard when she heard her name called. She turned around, stretched out her arms, and ran over, calling out, "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!"

Liu Yinfeng's eyes reddened at the sound of her crying, not to mention that the child was a piece of Zheng Sanmei's flesh and blood.

Tears streamed down her face as she spoke in her local dialect.

Liu Yinfeng couldn't understand, but that didn't stop her from offering a few words of comfort.

However, she was in a hurry to get things done, so she didn't want to get caught up in the mother and daughter's reunion. She glanced at her watch and hurried away.

Luo Yan, on the other hand, chatted with them quite a bit.

She peeked out from the courtyard when she heard the noise and recognized who it was: "Sister-in-law is here."

It's hard to say, it would make them seem like outsiders.

In the letters her husband sent, he said that the Luo siblings took good care of their daughter.

In return, Zheng Sanmei pulled out a large bag of dried persimmons from her bag: "These are homemade and not worth much."

Everyone has experienced food and clothing shortages; sending food is considered a great gift.

Luo Yan didn't refuse, took out a piece and took a bite: "It's sweeter than the ones I bought in the store."

Zheng Sanmei: "I'm glad you don't mind the things from the countryside."

He looked down at his daughter, who was clinging to his leg, and touched her round little face.

Luo Yan was happy for her: "Hongyu has been waiting for her mother since early morning."

Zheng Sanmei sighed for no reason: "It's not easy to come to the capital. The brigade said they wouldn't issue a certificate here if they didn't agree. They checked me as soon as I got off the train and almost sent me back."

Luo Yan knows that the regulations are strict now, but the migrant population she has had the most contact with are her university classmates.

The students could come and go freely; it was the first time I'd ever heard of such a scene.

She asked, "Do we have to go to the neighborhood committee to register later?"

Zheng Sanmei: I really don't know, I'll have to wait for Jianjun to come back from get off work.

He added, "At the latest, by the fifteenth of the first lunar month, I definitely will..."

She didn't say the second half of her sentence for fear of making the child cry, but Luo Yan understood what she meant: "I heard that nowadays you can register a household registration with a marriage certificate?"

Despite being from out of town, Zheng Sanmei knows more about these things than she does: "Jianjun only returned to the city after his divorce. Even if we could get a marriage certificate now, the household registration policy wouldn't allow it."

Luo Yan had no use for this knowledge, much of it was just hearsay. Her mouth slightly agape, she said, "This is so troublesome."

Trouble means unraveling a complex web of threads.

But now they can't even find a direction, which makes Zheng Sanmei sigh.

Luo Yan is terrible at comforting people, so she had to remain silent again.

Just then, Li Jianjun received the news and left work early to go home. He called out, "Xiuxiu."

Huh? Who is Xiuxiu?

Luo Yan looked around and found that it was Zheng Sanmei who had agreed. She thought to herself, "It's such a pity that such a good name isn't being used."

But this is not Zheng Sanmei's real name; it is a unique way of addressing her between the couple.

Seeing that her husband was also happy, she said, "I didn't mean for you to come home after get off work."

Li Jianjun: "I..."

"What?" Luo Yan perked up her ears, only then realizing she shouldn't have been eavesdropping. She said goodbye and went home, a smile still on her face when she sat down.

Luo Hong woke up to this scene.

He rubbed his eyelids to wake himself up: "Found money?"

Luo Yan was startled by her brother, her shoulders trembled, and she said irritably, "Can't you give people a heads-up before you speak?"

Luo Hong: "Look at you, so cowardly."

As he was speaking, he tried to get up, but he forgot that he wasn't lying on a bed. He exerted himself in the wrong direction and rolled over on the floor.

Luo Yan gloated: "Serves you right."

With her eyes fixed on the book, she kindly extended a helping hand.

Luo Hong took the opportunity to slap his sister's hand, then stood up on his own, picked up the clothes that had also fallen to the ground and patted them off: "Why don't you get me an old piece of clothing to cover myself with?"

Luo Yan: "You'll freeze to death next time!"

Oh dear, Luo Hong tossed her a red envelope: "I'm a good person, I repay evil with good."

This red envelope is a return gift; some families who want to save time will use it directly instead of wedding candy.

Luo Yan could roughly guess how much was inside without even opening it, and said, "One cent, but you're making it sound like a hundred dollars."

Give her back 100, and let her enjoy it.

Luo Hong casually replied, "I'll give you a wedding gift when you get married."

Luo Yan stared wide-eyed: "You're only going to give me a hundred for my wedding?"

"Oh ho, now they're even discussing how much dowry there is." Luo Hong poured himself a sip of water: "Don't worry, I'll add at least a zero to your dowry."

She was also curious: "Is there anyone in the class who gets close to a boy?"

Luo Yan shook her head and turned a page of the book: "How could you not know?"

"That's true," Luo Hong said. "When you start dating in the future, remember to bring your girlfriend back so I can see her."

"It's not like buying chicken or duck at the market," Luo Yan said, pursing her lips. "You should worry about yourself first."

Luo Hong: "Don't learn from your mother at such a young age."

My mother sometimes likes to nag, and if she talks too much, it can really make people unhappy.

Luo Yan: "She spends a lot of time at home, and when she's free, she naturally wants to take care of the children."

Luo Hong: "Hey, I saw Aunt Xiujuan selling roasted melon seeds at the entrance of the alley yesterday. Let's ask Mom to set up a stall too."

Luo Yan: "It's only going to be a business for a month, so it's better to find a long-term livelihood."

When this was mentioned, Luo Hong unconsciously fiddled with the things on the table: "Tell me, why don't parents ever take over their children's jobs?"

Luo Yan: "I reckon you're the only one in the whole city who's thinking about this."

She stared at him wide-eyed again: "What do you want to do?"

The car dealership's business still depends on Luo Hong's connections at the factory. He'll definitely have to stay for a while, but who knows what will happen in the long run?

He said, "Nothing's wrong, you can rest assured."

Luo Yan gave him a suspicious look: "Anyway, you decide what to do."

She was willing to lend money to her brother to start a business out of sibling affection, never thinking about how much money he could actually make. Even when she saw money, she only considered it a bonus, and deep down she still felt that a stable job with no worries about income was the best.

Stable and reliable.

If a person can achieve these four words in their lifetime, it is already far better than many other things.

But this was entirely Luo Yan's personal opinion. She knew that she and her brother could never reach an agreement, and she also understood that it was impossible to impose her ideas on others.

If something is impossible, why make trouble for yourself?

Even if the sky falls in the future, we'll all hold it up together.

Luo Yan felt that her future was bright and was quite optimistic, thinking: "After I graduate, I'll be able to make ends meet no matter what."

Luo Hong had no idea that his sister was thinking so far ahead. He continued peeling peanuts, and soon the table was covered in shells.

Luo Yan thought he was crunching like a mouse, so she looked up and said, "Hongyu's mother just brought some persimmon cakes, have some of those."

Luo Hong continued, crunching away, "Finally here! Jianjun has been looking forward to this every day."

Mothers and daughters are separated, and so are husbands and wives.

Luo Yan: "I don't know when they will be able to reunite as a family."

Luo Hong: "It's difficult, but if you're willing to spend a lot of money, it's not impossible. Jianjun has saved up, but he hasn't been officially promoted yet, so it will take him a few more years."

He added with a touch of irony, "He was such a coward when he was young, but he did this like a real man."

To be honest, there are too many divorced people who return to the city, but there are very few who are as affectionate and devoted as Li Jianjun. The quicker ones remarry and are already pregnant with a second child.

But there are two sides to every story; Li Jianjun sacrificed his sister's interests.

Luo Yan put herself in his brother's shoes and felt that if her brother did the same thing after getting married, she would be extremely heartbroken.

She sighed just thinking about it and turned the book to the next page: "Hey, there's a piece of paper."

While speaking, he first covered the note with his hand, for fear of offending someone's privacy.

These words evoked Luo Hong's memory, and he said, "Right, the three parties said they had a question for you to look at, I almost forgot."

If there's a problem, it means you've actually read the certificate.

Luo Yan was very pleased, but decided to put it aside for now: "I'll look at it later."

Luo Hong: "Okay, write it down and put it on the dining table. I'll take it to work tomorrow."

He muttered to himself, "I feel like a messenger."

Now that you think about it, it makes sense. Luo Yan: "Anyway, you pass by every day, it's just on your way."

That being said, Luo Hong still felt that something was off.

He touched his chin without saying a word, patted the peanut shell crumbs off his hands, picked up a persimmon, but after pondering for a long time he still had no clue.

He fell completely silent, and Luo Yan was finally able to read in peace.

She didn't see the finale until midnight, and then she had time to finish writing the assignment Zhou Weifang had given her.