Chapter 169, first update of 169.
If this had happened back when Luo Yan had just been admitted to university, most people in the alley would have thought that the Luo family's daughter had ruined her brain by studying too much.
But now Zhou Weifang is focused on making money. Admittedly, running a small business doesn't sound so appealing, but ordinary people are all about practicality. Speaking of which, these two kids have been playing together since they were little, they're really destined for each other.
These words weren't spoken by anyone else, but by Yu Shuilan herself.
Luo Yan was visiting for the first time and sat in the Zhou family's living room. She wasn't too embarrassed, since everyone knew each other, and the Zhou sisters were also there.
The two sisters sat next to her and chatted about her work.
Luo Yan: "It takes some time to transfer the personnel file. The dispatch certificate says to go to the unit on July 1st."
The Zhou family has never had a college graduate, so they're only benefiting from their future daughter-in-law's success.
Zhou Yuyao picked up her son, Hu Tou, and said, "Come here, let your aunt touch it and see if the Wang family's ancestral grave can also emit smoke."
Luo Yan has always liked children, so she took off the chain from her hand and let him play with it.
Tiger Head is only two years old, a time when he's very quick and agile. He stuffed it into his mouth in no time, and when he pulled it out, it was covered in drool.
Zhou Yuyao patted him twice: "Look how dirty you are."
Zhou Yuying said from the side, "I'll take it to wash."
The two women flanked Luo Yan, leaving her younger brother to the side. Zhou Weifang, who was worried about being "neglected," stretched out his hand and said, "I'll go."
Luo Yan smiled at him, then said a moment later, "I wear it every day, it's covered in dust, so I'm giving Tiger Head a good rinse."
She felt that what she said was excellent and secretly praised herself in her heart.
"He's just being polite," Zhou Yuyao said, going along with it. "His mouth is so full of filth, it's like he's just eating dog poop."
If she glanced at him even once, he would laugh at everything.
Luo Yan didn't dare to say it, but she thought to herself: This child is almost like a puppy, the difference is that she felt Huang Laishun must have eaten it when no one was home.
She didn't dare to think about it too much, deceiving herself as if it had never happened, and said with a smile, "It'll be fine when I grow up."
Growing up? Zhou Yuyao teased, "People say that nephews resemble their uncles, but I think Sanfang only started to look like a human being when he was around ten years old."
Zhou Weifang was wiping the water off the chain when she said, "You really are my sister."
"So what?" Zhou Yuyao said. "Does Yanzi not know what kind of person you are?"
Zhou Weifang really couldn't refute it, but his mother chimed in, "You two have been playing together since you were little, what a coincidence."
Fate is truly wondrous. Zhou Yuyao didn't argue with her mother today, saying, "This is a genuine childhood sweetheart."
Today, if she wasn't sure how to answer a question, Luo Yan would just smile demurely. After all, she was a newcomer, and it's normal for a girl to be shy.
She was known for her quiet and reserved nature in the alley, so no one questioned her, and besides, no one could afford to offend Zhou Weifang's temper.
Of course, Yu Shuilang's motivation wasn't solely for this.
She's an old-fashioned woman who feels it's her responsibility as a mother to raise her child to start a family. She's doing her best to complete each task, and she'd love to hang two strings of firecrackers at the door to announce it to the world.
She also showed off her culinary skills today, working hard in the kitchen with her two daughters-in-law to bring out a table full of dishes.
Zhou Weifang knew at a glance that his mother had pocketed at least thirty of the hundred yuan he gave her, but money was really a secondary thing to him. He just wanted to get by in all aspects today and see Luo Yan eating happily so he could breathe a sigh of relief.
Luo Yan had actually done a lot of mental preparation before coming, and her family had also given her a lot of advice, but it turned out that none of it was of any use. However, she vaguely knew that her identity as a college student had earned her a lot of politeness.
Everyone says that college graduates are destined to become high-ranking leaders.
Luo Yan felt that she didn't have that ability, since good grades had nothing to do with whether one could be a leader.
In any case, she managed to finish the meal smoothly, and after sitting for a while, she happily said goodbye.
The Luo family's house is only two hundred meters away from the Zhou family's courtyard.
Luo Yan entered the house and saw that everyone was there. She said, "You all underestimate me. My performance today was absolutely perfect."
It's not that I'm looking down on her; she's the center of attention at home, but being a daughter-in-law has always been difficult.
Liu Yinfeng hoped her daughter would excel in everything, saying, "That's right, has our Yanyan ever done anything wrong?"
"That's right," Luo Yan pointed at her brother, then turned back to Zhou Weifang, "Did you two hear that?"
Hearing this, Zhou Weifang knew that the family must have something they didn't want him to hear. Since he had to go and oversee the renovation of the new house anyway, he exchanged a few more pleasantries and left.
As soon as the person left, Liu Yinfeng patted the sofa and said, "Tell us about it."
Luo Yan explained in great detail, and even added her own comments: "Uncle Zhou didn't say much, he just asked me when I was going to start work. Aunt Shui Lan talked a lot, but I felt that she was very anxious for me to set a date with Zhou Weifang. His eldest brother and sister-in-law didn't say much, but his second sister-in-law seemed unhappy."
As for the Zhou sisters, there's not much to say. Zhou Weifang often sees them and usually brings Luo Yan along when they eat. They've always gotten along quite well.
As Liu Yinfeng had basically expected, she said, "Yiping and his wife live their own lives behind closed doors, so of course they don't want to say much. Erliang and his wife are still living at home, and your Aunt Shuilan is taking care of the children. I guess they think that once you get married and have children, who will take care of them both at home and outside?"
"You have children?" Luo Yan held her mother's hand: "You can take care of them for us when the time comes."
Liu Yinfeng couldn't be happier: "It's definitely me. Your dad will be able to retire in a couple of years."
Seeing her expression, Luo Hong knew he was about to face some trouble, so he said in advance, "I have to go to the shop, I'm off."
Liu Yinfeng knew exactly what her son was thinking, and shook her head: "I'm too lazy to even talk to him."
Luo Yan smiled secretly and helped her brother change the subject: "Mom, didn't you say you'd make me new clothes?"
My daughter has to go to work, so of course she needs a few decent outfits.
Liu Yinfeng, who was halfway through, asked, "Have you bought the shoes yet?"
Luo Yan: "I've made plans to go shopping with Yingying the day after tomorrow."
"Didn't you say she was very busy with her hospital internship?"
Chen Yingying is studying at a medical school. The undergraduate program is five years long, and she is currently in the clinical internship stage. She has been so busy that she has not been seen for a while.
Luo Yan rarely managed to schedule a time with her, saying, "Just half a day, let's have a meal together and take a walk."
Luo Xinmin said, "Your daughter only has two friends. Go out and have fun more often. It's good that you haven't started work yet."
Luo Yan glanced at the calendar: "Only ten days left."
Ten days pass in the blink of an eye for those who have high expectations; soon it will be time to report to work.
Luo Yan wanted to leave a good impression, so she left early after dinner, calculating the time she would need to get to work.
When she reached the door, she saw Zhou Weifang.
Zhou Weifang came to tell her just two words: "Keep it up."
It would be a lie to say Luo Yan wasn't nervous. She let out a soft sigh: "My heart is beating so fast right now."
Zhou Weifang coaxed her, "Is it as fast as when I see you every time?"
This person is always so unserious.
Luo Yan glanced at him sideways: "I'm not talking to you anymore, I'm going to work."
As Zhou Weifang watched her step through the door, it was as if his soul followed her in.
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The Transportation Bureau shares a courtyard with two other units, located in the north building of a three-building complex.
The building's exterior features typical red bricks and gray roofs. The first floor houses the service hall, while the offices are located further up. At the stairwell, a security guard is registering visitors and stops strangers.
Luo Yan showed her dispatch certificate to the uncle: "Hello, I'm new here."
The man read out her name and said, "The personnel department is on the third floor."
Luo Yan walked up to the third floor, found the office with the sign for the Personnel Department, and carefully knocked twice on the open door: "Hello, I'm here to report for duty."
The voice wasn't too loud or too soft, but loud enough for the people inside to hear. A woman who looked quite serious asked, "New here, right? Did you bring everything?"
Luo Yan pulled out her things one by one: "I brought my dispatch certificate, graduation certificate, household registration booklet, and street office certificate."
She checked it several times before leaving home in the morning.
After the woman confirmed that everything was correct, she said, "Sign here, then go to the finance department on the second floor and find Sister Li. Just tell her you're new here."
Finance? Luo Yan always followed instructions and ran upstairs with this pile of things.
Sister Li on the second floor told her, "Since you graduated with a bachelor's degree, your probationary salary is 58 yuan. There are no subsidies or bonuses, but our company has a canteen that is free. From now on, you can come to me on the 1st of each month to collect your salary and meal tickets. Here are the tickets for this month. Sign here and then go to the logistics department on the fourth floor to find Brother Sun."
Luo Yan huffed and puffed as she climbed back up. Sun, who was on the fourth floor, said, "You can get your pens and notebooks from me, but please use them sparingly. We'll have statistics at the end of the year. Sign here."
After signing the agreement, Luo Yan waited for him to tell her who else to go see, but he didn't say anything, and she didn't know where to go.
Sun Ge only realized what was going on when he saw that she wasn't moving: "It's all done. Go to the personnel department and find Xiao Wang."
For Luo Yan, it's far from over.
Sister Wang from the personnel department led her to the director's office in the planning department and introduced her, saying, "Director Zhang, you said you didn't have enough people. This year, the bureau only has one college graduate, and Director Wang immediately thought of you."
Luo Yan followed up with, "Hello, Director Zhang."
Director Zhang is a capable middle-aged woman with short hair and black-rimmed glasses. She gives off the air of a high-ranking leader, but she is not very serious. She smiled and said, "I'm looking forward to your arrival."
Sister Wang: "I'm leaving that person to you. You can continue with your work."
She left, leaving only the two of them in the small office.
Luo Yan had the illusion of being in front of a teacher, and her hands involuntarily wanted to be placed behind her back.
She looked like a young girl. Director Zhang gestured for her to sit down and asked, "Do you know what our planning department does?"
Luo Yan did know a little: "He was in charge of the city's road planning."
It can be summed up in just four words, but there's a lot more to it than meets the eye.
The city is going to undertake a major construction project this year. If you want to get rich, you have to build roads first. The planning department is responsible for many things, including but not limited to road construction.
Director Zhang didn't expect a recent graduate like her to understand, and said, "Just learn slowly, and ask if you don't understand anything." After saying that, her gaze suddenly swept over Luo Yan, as if she was hesitating about something: "I'll take you out to meet everyone."
There aren't many people in the planning department; a quick glance reveals only a dozen or so.
Director Zhang said loudly, "This is Luo Yan, who was recently assigned here. Hui Ling, you can mentor her."
The girl called Huiling stood up, looking surprised. The others exchanged glances with her.
Even though Luo Yan was completely oblivious to subtle cues, she knew there must be more to the story, but she still politely greeted, "Hello, Sister Huiling."
Wu Huiling replied with a "Hello," and pointed to the seat next to her: "You can sit here."
Luo Yan pulled out a chair and sat down, looking slightly awkward.
Wu Huiling chatted with her casually: "Did you just graduate? How old are you?"
When asked a question, Luo Yan would answer, but suddenly she had the illusion that she was like a headless fly. She seemed to be very busy all day, but it was as if she hadn't done anything at all.
She waited until five o'clock, and only then did she leave work and go home after seeing that everyone else had started moving.
There were quite a few people in the Luo family courtyard; family members and Zhou Weifang were all there.
As soon as Luo Yan entered, everyone looked over, even Huang Laishun ran over and wagged his tail at her.
She said, "I feel okay, just a little groggy."
Reassured by their daughter's words, the parents got up and went into the kitchen to cook.
Zhou Weifang felt he should go and help, but he also wanted to say a few words to Luo Yan, so he was caught in a dilemma.
After all, they'd been childhood friends for over twenty years. Luo Hong stretched his neck and stood up: "I'll go wipe the car down."
Clearly, this was to give them a place to talk, so Zhou Weifang didn't hesitate and asked, "Are you tired today?"
Luo Yan thought for a moment and said, "It's just a bit boring."
Zhou Weifang: "There's definitely nothing to do when you first start working, but things will get busy in a couple of days."
Then they asked, "Did you eat at the cafeteria for lunch? How was the food?"
Luo Yan: "Our meal tickets include one meat dish and one vegetable dish, which is alright."
Zhou Weifang pinched her cheek: "If you don't like it, I'll pick you up at noon and we'll eat out."
Eating out is certainly better than the cafeteria, but Luo Yan still said, "Let's wait a while. I think everyone seems to be eating in the cafeteria."
She was new, which made her more likely to attract attention, so naturally she didn't want to be treated specially.
Zhou Weifang listened to her and knew that she would tell him about the day's events at dinner, so he didn't ask any more questions and only talked about the progress of the renovation.
As he expected, Luo Yan talked a lot during dinner.
She talked about how she reported for duty, who she met at work, and the food served in the cafeteria at noon.
Everyone in the room listened attentively, and those eyes were on Luo Yan, making her feel like the luckiest person in the world.
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Author's note: I'll sort out the career storyline a bit more. Please don't apply this to reality; it's just something that happens in novels. Goodnight.
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