Chapter 89 Brown Sugar Buns
It was almost 10 p.m. when Zhou Weifang had to go back to the shop.
When he reached the entrance of the alley, he met the Luo siblings and stopped to say, "You're going home so late?"
At the same time, Luo Hong also asked, "Leaving so early?"
Zhou Weifang replied first: "If it's any later, it will delay people from getting off work."
There are too many things that could be stolen from his shop, unlike Luo Hong's shop which is right next to the security office, so it can't be left unattended at night.
Luo Hong: "I was thinking of going to your house later to see if there's anything I can help with."
Zhou Weifang: "The whole room is full of people now, and the floor is covered with bedding."
Many of my relatives live far away, and guesthouses aren't popular these days, so everyone squeezes in as much as they can.
That's not very convenient to go. Luo Hong: "Are you short-staffed tomorrow?"
No need, no need, Zhou Weifang: "You can make the arrangements after I get married."
"You just say you want to get married like that? Where are your eyes looking?" Luo Hong thought to himself that it was pointless to ask him, and said irritably, "Get lost."
Zhou Weifang didn't take this kind of attack seriously, and turned his head away: "Yanzi, what time is your class tomorrow morning?"
He actually remembers other people's class schedules perfectly.
In the short time they exchanged a few words, Luo Yan had already fought eight mosquitoes. Now, she scratched her arm hard and said, "Ten o'clock, what's wrong?"
Seeing this, Zhou Weifang spoke faster: "Can you come over to my house tomorrow morning? Jianhong has to watch the stall, so my second sister has been accompanying her. She said that it's most auspicious for sisters to be an even number, and they should be unmarried and have compatible zodiac signs. You're just right."
Upon hearing this, Luo Yan naturally agreed without hesitation, nodding her head twice and clapping her hands together.
Zhou Weifang: "Go back, go back, look what you've done to us."
Luo Yan didn't exchange pleasantries, waved her hand, and pedaled her bicycle very fast. When she got home, she first grabbed her clothes and ran to take a shower, then came back and applied floral water.
The floral water had almost marinated her. Luo Hong waited for her at the entrance of the bathhouse for a long time without any problems, and said, "Even the mosquitoes know you're fair and plump, and delicious."
Luo Yan had no problem with being fair-skinned and chubby, but she got upset when people said it was delicious: "Do you believe I'll bite you?"
Believe it or not, just look at her grinning like that. Luo Hong: "Go to sleep, Mom made your room smell awful, I can smell it even here."
Because her daughter attracts mosquitoes, Liu Yinfeng has to fumigate her room every few days in the summer, almost filling a whole cage with mugwort.
She said, "It's not like I didn't fumigate you."
Yes, yes, yes, Luo Hong: "Thank you for your hard work."
That made more sense. Liu Yinfeng turned off the TV and said, "Go to bed early, everyone."
Luo Hong had just borrowed a new martial arts novel today. After finishing reading it, he casually put it on the table. When his younger sister came to the store to find him after school that evening, she picked it up without thinking.
Once Luo Yan started watching, she couldn't stop and didn't go to sleep until late at night.
She could have stayed in bed a little longer on Saturday, but remembering what Zhou Weifang had mentioned last night, and hearing the noise in the living room, she jumped out of bed.
The door was suddenly pulled open, startling Liu Yinfeng. She instinctively glanced at her watch: "What time is it?"
Luo Yan rubbed her eyes and said, "I'm going to join in the fun at Sister Yuyao's place."
She should go; they even sent her a special invitation.
Liu Yinfeng: "Then you wash up, Mom will go buy breakfast."
Luo Yan perked up: "I want to eat a big meat bun, a really big one."
Wow, I have quite an appetite for this early morning.
Liu Yinfeng: "Okay, I'll make you another pot of soy milk."
Luo Hong, who had just left the room, added, "If I get up late, will there be no soy milk for me?"
Liu Yinfeng said irritably, "Yes, I'm your stepmother."
Not only does she refer to herself this way, but after buying breakfast and getting home, she adds, "Make way for your stepmother."
Of the four family members, Luo Xinmin was the last to get up this morning, and he was completely bewildered: "What stepmother?"
The remaining three laughed, with Luo Hong laughing especially loudly. He was in a hurry to eat breakfast and choked quite a bit on the meat bun.
Luo Yan slapped her brother on the back: "Serves you right for getting impatient."
Luo Hong didn't choke to death, but he was almost slapped to death by her. He freed his hand to pat her arm and catch his breath before saying, "Killing someone means paying with your life."
In short, he had once again violated Liu Yinfeng's taboo.
She clicked her tongue and glanced at her son, almost as if she wanted to give him a slap too.
Luo Hong chuckled awkwardly and quickly changed the subject: "Dad, I heard Uncle Yue is in the hospital?"
He's well-informed. Luo Xinmin: "Yes, I'll go see him tomorrow. Is there something you need?"
Luo Hong: "No, it's just that Yue Ming passed by the door yesterday and mentioned it to me. I was afraid you didn't know."
Luo Xinmin: "I just found out too."
The father and son exchanged a few more words before heading off to work. Liu Yinfeng tidied the table, watching her daughter braid her hair, and asked, "Yanyan, remember to bring the gift too. There will be a lot of people tomorrow, and we might not be able to make sure."
Almost forgot, Luo Yan ran back to her room to get the silk scarf hanging there. Seeing that it was still wrinkled, she said, "Mom, should we iron it?"
Oh dear, silk is so precious. Liu Yinfeng: "It's alright, you can just put it in your bag later and it'll be fine."
That's true, Luo Yan couldn't possibly carry it all the way, but she still carefully put it in her bag and said, "I'm going out."
Too lazy to come back and ride her bike later, she simply parked it at the entrance of the Zhou family compound.
Zhou Weifang arrived around the same time as her and asked:
Have you had breakfast?
Luo Yan nodded, glancing at him as she said, "You've got some dust on your back."
Zhou Weifang clapped his hands twice and asked, "And now?"
He missed his target and asked again, Luo Yan smiled:
"I'll do it, you turn around."
Whether it was because the pats were too forceful or because her palms were too hot, Zhou Weifang's body temperature also rose, and her ears turned red: "Are you done?"
Luo Yan: "Okay."
She looked up at the sky, thinking that it was only a few o'clock and the sun wasn't very strong, and said, "It's not very sunny at this time, but your face is so red."
"Is it red?" Zhou Weifang coughed awkwardly twice: "I was riding too fast just now."
Oh, Luo Yan didn't think too much about it and walked inside with him.
There were quite a few people in the courtyard. Luo Yan almost bumped into someone as soon as she turned around the screen wall, and she swayed to the right.
Zhou Weifang reached out to support her: "Be careful."
Once the person was steady on their feet, he quickly let go of their hand.
Before Luo Yan could even process any unusual emotions from that brief contact of breath, she smiled and said, "Thank you."
Just as Zhou Weifang was about to say something, he heard someone call him over to lend a hand, saying, "My sister is in the inner room, you go in first."
Luo Yan was quite familiar with the Zhou family; she used to frequent this place when she was little. However, she wasn't sure which room the Zhou sisters were in, so she peeked out cautiously.
When Zhou Yuyao saw her, she greeted her, "Yanzi is here."
As Luo Yan walked in, she said congratulations. When she saw the red dress spread out on the bed, she said, "What a beautiful dress! Sister Yuyao, are you going to wear this tomorrow?"
Zhou Yuyao touched the hem of her skirt and said yes, then gestured for her younger sister to go and get some wedding candy for the family.
Zhou Yuying was quiet by nature. She nodded to him as they passed each other, but when she came back, she opened her palm and said, "I don't know which kind you like. The white one is sweet, the red one is a bit sour, and there's also the salty one."
Luo Yan: "They all sound delicious."
There's no polite back-and-forth when it comes to wedding candies; she accepted them all and said thank you.
Zhou Yuying brought her a stool and said, "My sister can't leave her room, so you'll have to sit here in the cramped space."
"Huh?" Luo Yan asked in surprise, "Why can't we leave the room?"
With the reform and opening up, outdated customs and practices that had been ignored for more than a decade have resurfaced. Although no one dares to engage in feudal superstitions, weddings and funerals still need to be properly planned.
Once you start calculating, everything becomes annoying.
Zhou Yuyao said helplessly, "My mom heard this and that from whoever it was. If I don't know, I'll just pretend I don't know. But if I do know, I'm afraid I'll feel uncomfortable if I don't listen."
That makes sense. Luo Yan was afraid they would be embarrassed to mention it, so she took the initiative to say, "I was born in the Year of the Rat."
Actually, even if she hadn't said anything, Zhou Yuyao wouldn't have asked. After all, she was there to add to the festive atmosphere, and if it turned out that their zodiac signs were incompatible, it would be annoying for everyone.
She counted on her fingers: "You're only three years younger than Sanfang? I always thought you were five or six years younger."
Luo Yan: "I'm twenty-one."
When asked about her age, Zhou Yuyao could tell she looked like a grown woman. She gestured and said, "I remember you were this tall when you were little, always following behind your brother. You're such a good boy. Even though Luobo runs fast, he dragged Sanfang two miles away, and you were still standing at the door calling out to everyone."
Upon hearing this description, Luo Yan recalled everything and said, "They are both impatient and never wait for me."
Zhou Yuyao: "You're being too polite. I've always felt that my brother is like a mad wild boar, always having to do something sarcastic whenever he goes out."
Although it was impolite, Luo Yan still laughed out loud, and even covering her mouth couldn't hide the joy in her eyes.
Zhou Weifang, who also heard this, only saw her back, but guessed what was going on from her shrugging shoulders: "I thought you two had a lot to talk about, but it turns out you were all talking badly about me."
Zhou Yuyao and her younger brother were blunt: "That's the truth."
Luo Yan also turned her head to look at him and nodded lightly.
Zhou Weifang sighed helplessly, but still got down to business: "Mom wants to open the camphor wood chest."
The room was small; a bunk bed took up all the space, so most of the dowry was temporarily placed in the living room.
With people coming and going, it's hard to find anything if something is lost, so most of the slightly more valuable items are locked in cabinets.
The key was naturally kept by Zhou Yuying.
She said, "I'll take it."
Zhou Weifang was just there to deliver a message. He stepped aside to let his second sister walk out and said, "Yanzi, these are freshly baked brown sugar buns. Take two back to Luo Hong when you go to school later."
Why are you only talking about your childhood friends? Zhou Yuyao: "What's wrong with you? Why don't you mention giving Yanzi a few too?"
Zhou Weifang: "She doesn't eat sweet buns."
He had a lot to do today, and left after saying that.
Zhou Yuyao was left staring thoughtfully at her younger brother's retreating figure, only snapping out of her reverie when Luo Yan called her twice.
Seeing that it was almost time for class, Luo Yan took out the gift and said, "Sister Yuyao, my brother and I bought this together. We wish you a happy marriage and a long and happy life together with Brother Wang."
If it only had one person's name on it, Zhou Yuyao definitely wouldn't have accepted it, but with Luo Hong's name on it, it was a different story. She thought for a moment and readily said thank you, adding, "This is clearly your choice; it's beautiful."
She then tried tying it around her neck: "It suits me too."
It would be so much better to just say it looks good; the person who gave it to you would be very happy.
Luo Yan racked her brains for words to praise someone, exhausting all the knowledge she had acquired in the first half of her life before taking her leave, saying, "I'll come again tomorrow; I have class this morning."
Zhou Yuyao couldn't go out, and seeing that her younger sister had disappeared, she called her younger brother to see her off.
Zhou Weifang packed her a lunchbox full of brown sugar buns and put the lid on: "Ride slowly."
Luo Yan figured the lunchbox must be very hot, so she left the bag open for him to throw it in. Then, belatedly, she asked, "How did you know I don't eat sweet buns?"
Zhou Weifang raised an eyebrow: "I know a lot more, guess what else?"
With his tone and expression, Luo Yan naturally wouldn't make any strange connections. She wrinkled her nose and said, "I won't guess. Let's go."
Zhou Weifang: "Slow down."
The next second, they were already almost out of the alley.
Luo Yan first went to the shop to deliver steamed buns to her brother. She poured the lunchbox onto the table and said, "Zhou Weifang asked me to bring these to you."
Thankfully, the lid was tightly closed, so it didn't bounce open even after being hit like that.
Luo Hong was too lazy to wash his hands, so he grabbed two sheets of toilet paper, picked up a bun and took a bite: "Luckily you don't like it, otherwise I would have had a chance to eat it."
Luo Yan didn't catch his implication, but asked in surprise, "Didn't you eat five big meat buns this morning?"
It's only a few o'clock, and I'm already hungry again.
Luo Hong: "Do you know how much work I do this morning?"
Okay, he's had a tough time.
Luo Yan clenched her fist, said "Good luck!" and hurried off to school without further delay.
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Author's note: I had a stiff neck today, and it keeps groaning when I lower my head, so the second update might be a little late.
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