Chapter 109 (Updated 1091)
After Luo Yan left, the three men ate and chatted.
Luo Hong nudged to the left with his elbow: "Give me one."
He wasn't actually addicted to smoking and didn't smoke much normally, but when his sister wasn't around, he always felt like a kite with a broken string, just like when he was a child and all his bad ideas would rush out the moment his parents left.
Sparrow pulled half a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and tossed it to him: "Why didn't you say that in front of Goose?"
Luo Hong retorted, "Haven't you ever seen her swear?"
The sparrow thought for a moment and said, "I've never seen one before."
Luo Hong lit a cigarette by the stove where the water was boiling and took a puff: "Because she's a bully at home."
At home, she has a very loud voice, but when she gets into an argument with someone outside, tears stream down her face.
Wait a minute, a bully in his own backyard? Zhou Weifang felt like he'd seen this kind of thing quite a few times, and he was secretly delighted.
The sparrow saw him laughing and tossed him the cigarette case as well.
Zhou Weifang slapped it back: "I won't smoke."
If you don't want to smoke, then don't. Sparrow took one and lit it himself, saying, "I recently added two refrigerators in front of the shop, and I found that these popsicles are really selling well."
The refrigerator he was referring to wasn't an appliance, but rather a styrofoam box wrapped in thick cotton blankets, where popsicles brought in before dawn could still be eaten at night.
Zhou Weifang: "The people who borrow books are all children, and they're on summer vacation now. If you also sell some snacks, you can make a little money."
Sparrow: "I got a few jars of hard candy, but the profit margin is too thin. I also got some biscuits, but they're only worth one yuan and one cent. I estimate I'll only earn one cent a day."
He muttered to himself, "Sigh, it would be best if we could get some rice, flour, and cooking oil; there's money to be made from that stuff."
Rice, flour, and cooking oil are all listed in the supply book; they're not something private individuals can sell. Zhou Weifang said, "Forget about that for now. A few years ago, you wouldn't even be able to get two jars of sugar."
Even before the resumption of the college entrance examination, sugar coupons were once as scarce as meat coupons.
Sparrow was just saying that; he changed the subject and noticed that Luo Hong still had a long cigarette butt left, so he stubbed it out and said, "Damn it, a pack of Daqianmen cigarettes costs 63 cents."
He always carries two packs of cigarettes in his pocket, and which one he takes out is a matter of "tailoring his approach to the person he's dealing with."
Luo Hong spread his hands out to show him: "Believe it or not, even this little bit is enough for my sister to smell as soon as she gets home from school."
This girl has a dog's nose reincarnated.
Sparrow thought about it and pinched off the last bit she had.
Luo Hong: "You're fine, she won't be thinking about you."
It would have been better not to say that.
Sparrow knew that she didn't really mean anything to Luo Yan, and smiled: "Smoking too much will hurt your throat."
Since they were both men, their conversations naturally turned to risqué topics. Luo Hong smiled mischievously: "As long as your back doesn't hurt."
Without giving a second thought to the strangeness he gleaned from the sparrow's expression, Zhou Weifang echoed with a sarcastic remark.
Sparrow told them to get lost, then pointed the finger at Luo Hong: "I think you're just lonely. Hasn't your aunt found you a partner lately?"
Luo Hong: "My mom just loves to nag, and she'll occasionally urge me a few times."
He added, "But I counted, and there really are only the three of us who aren't married."
Although those who grew up together in the alley are collectively called childhood friends, their relationships vary in closeness. There are about ten of them who often get together, but right now, only the three of them are still single.
Zhou Weifang thought to himself that he wanted to start a family, but he needed the opportunity. He added some soup to the leftover rice, stirred it, and drank it down, saying, "I see you're quite happy being a bachelor."
Luo Hong raised his glass: "Isn't my life wonderful right now?"
Beautiful, so beautiful.
Zhou Weifang touched his hand and said, "I still wish you a companion."
Luo Hong realized that Luo Hong thought he was in the way, and sneered twice: "You should worry about yourself."
Sparrow didn't understand the cryptic question and turned its head from side to side: "No, is there something I don't know?"
Neither of them responded, and they abruptly changed the subject.
The sparrow didn't dwell on the insult, but suddenly remembered: "Guaguagua."
Luo Hong himself had forgotten that there was a melon hanging in someone else's well. He slammed his hand on the table and said, "I thought a frog had gotten in."
He added, "I can't eat now, I'll go get it for Yanyan after school."
Sparrow casually asked, "What time does she get tonight?"
Luo Hong: "Even if there is a class meeting, it should be over in an hour or two."
The sparrow, who was originally wondering what time to go home, is now in no hurry at all, casually swinging its legs.
The three of them then chatted idly for a while, and time flew by.
Luo Yan wasn't surprised to see the three of them still there after the meeting, but as soon as she entered, her eyes darted around, she wrinkled her nose, nodded and smiled as a greeting.
Luo Hong called her a dog with a nose, pretended nothing had happened, rubbed his hand on his trouser leg, his guilty conscience obvious, and asked, "What did you talk about in the class meeting?"
Luo Yan: "During the safety education, we talked about how several boys from the railway class drowned while swimming in the reservoir."
As he said this, his eyes glanced at certain people. Luo Hong understood what he meant, raised his hand, and swore, "Do you think I have that kind of skill? I absolutely will not go."
The claws were almost poking Luo Yan's face. She subconsciously sniffed, revealing a "I knew it" expression, slapped it away, and glanced at Zhou Weifang again.
Zhou Weifang actively reported and exposed: "It wasn't me, it was the two of them."
There were two people, and Luo Yan's mention of her brother was also a veiled criticism, saying, "You're not a good person either, always tattling on others."
Luo Hong returned with the melon just in time to hear this, and repeated with a smile: "Did you hear that? You're not good either."
"He's the only one who can repeat himself," Zhou Weifang said, giving the middle finger from a hidden corner and turning his head away. "No, why does he get a whole melon while I only get half?"
Sparrow came all afternoon, saying, "That little tricycle, how much do you think it can carry? If you're not happy, go open your shop in the Old Summer Palace, and next time I'll put you on the last one."
He added, "It's good enough to have something to eat."
“That’s right, that’s right,” Luo Hong chimed in, giving the first piece he had cut to his sister.
Luo Yan accepted it with both hands, smiling broadly: "Thank you, Brother Ma."
Her happy appearance was also pleasing to the eye. Sparrow said, "Don't be so polite. If you like it, I'll get you more next time. My old aunt is just worried about not being able to sell them."
Luo Yan said thank you again before taking a bite.
Juice dripped down her elbow, so she had to awkwardly raise her hand.
Seeing this, Zhou Weifang handed her two tissues and said, "Wipe it off."
Luo Yan shook her head slightly: "It's okay, I'll wash my hands later."
The watermelon soaked in well water was too cold, so she didn't dare eat too much late at night. After finishing this piece, she washed her hands and then moved her chair under the lamp to read.
Luo Hong ate several pieces and said, "Such good melons, how could they not sell?"
There's a saying that goes, "A beauty is admired under the lamplight."
The sparrow was momentarily blinded and didn't hear clearly at all.
Luo Hong called him again before he came to his senses and explained, "The purchasing station said that this year's output is too much and they can't buy it all, so they allocated quotas to each household based on population, which is why there's so much left over."
"What kind of talk is this?" Zhou Weifang asked in surprise. "I've never seen a collection station that complains about having too many."
A few years ago, they would have picked all the unripe fruit, but it still wouldn't have been enough to meet the city's limited supply.
"Who says otherwise?" Sparrow said. "Anyway, I heard that places that implemented the household responsibility system this year have had a bumper harvest."
The policy has not yet been implemented, but after the Xiaogang Village incident was reported in the newspaper last year, some bold leaders and starving farmers started to do it in private. In some parts of the south, the yield of rice harvested in one season was astonishing.
Everyone has lived in the countryside, and when it comes to this topic, everyone has something to say. Even Luo Yan thought the discussion was quite good, so she quietly pulled up a chair and sat closer to her brother to listen.
Of the three boys present, two noticed it.
Luo Hong, however, was oblivious to the fact that he was still talking animatedly, gesturing wildly as he got excited, and his hand, when it reached behind him, hit his sister right in the eye socket.
It happened so fast that no one who saw it had time to stop him. Zhou Weifang grabbed the air and stood up abruptly: "Yanyan."
The sparrow was a hair's breadth slower than him, bending down and leaning forward slightly: "Where did you hit it?"
Only Luo Hong, the one who started it, realized he had been hit and quickly turned around to ask, "Does it hurt? Let me see if there's any bleeding?"
Luo Yan covered one eye and lowered her head, tears instinctively streaming down her face. Her voice was nasal as she said, "It's okay, I'll calm down."
Luo Hong shoved her hand away and looked at it carefully from left to right: "It's all red, can you even see anything? Tell me what number this is?"
Luo Yan couldn't help but laugh: "I'm crying."
If she's both crying and laughing, it means nothing serious has happened; my sister isn't the type to endure discomfort.
Luo Hongsong sighed, "I didn't know you were behind me. You scared me to death."
She wasn't the only one terrified; Zhou Weifang and Sparrow both looked unwell and said, "We should still go to the hospital to get checked out."
They all spoke in unison, and Luo Yan was momentarily at a loss for who to look at.
She was used to looking at whoever she was talking to, but now she was disoriented, and tears started falling again in the blink of an eye. She didn't even have time to say anything.
Luo Hong stuffed two pieces of paper into his sister's hand and spoke on her behalf: "No need, no need."
He was also flustered just now, but he knew his own child well, so he wasn't too worried now. He even had time to think: It's one thing for the three parties to be anxious, but what does Sparrow mean by this?
Not only did he think of it, but the two people mentioned in his heartfelt words also thought of it, and they glanced at each other without making a sound.
We looked at each other, and there was a moment of silence.
Luo Yan felt the silence and assumed they were embarrassed to speak because she was crying. She sniffed, washed her face, and said, "I'm fine."
She's fine now, but Luo Hong is.
He had a worst-case scenario in mind, his eyes darting between his two childhood friends, thinking: Say something, will you?
It felt like an eternity before Zhou Weifang said, "Yanyan, your eyes seem a little swollen."
"Is there? My brother only has a small piece of mirror fragment here, the edges of which are wrapped up." Luo Yan could only look at one eye at a time, comparing it repeatedly from left to right, and said, "I can't see it myself, but it doesn't hurt anymore."
Once she recovered, she settled the score: "Brother! It's all your fault."
Yes, yes, yes, Luo Hong: "It's my fault, it's my fault."
Seeing that he admitted his mistake, Luo Yan decided not to hold it against him.
She was very polite in social situations, and smiled at the others present with her head tilted back to show that she was really fine, but she also sensed something was wrong and tugged at her brother's sleeve.
Luo Hong put aside those distracting thoughts and started a conversation: "Are you guys still interested in this gossip?"
Zhou Weifang and Sparrow said in unison, "Eat."
While eating, it's perfectly natural to not talk.
Luo Hong felt that eating was indeed the most appropriate thing to do right now. The three of them divided the huge melon clean and sorted out their thoughts.
After finishing their meal, Zhou Weifang said first, "I'm going back now."
The sparrow stood up and said, "I have to go too."
Luo Yan waved to them, then turned to look at her brother: "Don't you think something's a little off?"
Luo Hong replied firmly: "No."
He tidied up the melon rinds, wiped away the juice that had dripped onto the ground, and, not really in the mood to work, simply said, "Let's go back too."
So early? But Luo Yan always followed instructions, and after packing her schoolbag, she remembered: "I forgot to let him take it with him."
She was referring to the books she had helped Zhou Weifang borrow from the library.
Luo Hong felt like sighing for some reason: "Just remember it tomorrow."
Luo Yan was most sensitive to her brother's emotions and said, "You seem to be acting strange too?"
Luo Hong composed himself and smiled: "Are you the only one in the whole world who isn't surprised?"
Whether he's worried or not, it won't change anything.
Luo Yan looked at her brother suspiciously, but couldn't see anything amiss. She then remembered that she hadn't reviewed her lessons much that evening, so she urged her brother to hurry up and leave.
After locking the shop door, Luo Hong pondered as he rode his bike: "Logically, it's the same road, so why aren't the two who left first here? Could they have been arguing somewhere?"
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Author's note: This is from yesterday; today's is still being typed urgently.
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