Chapter 177 (First Update)
At ten o'clock, the sun was just beginning to rise, and Zhou Weifang stepped into the warmth of the rising sun to pick up the person.
Luo Yan was home alone. She was sitting in the living room, leaning against the stove, writing the first draft of her year-end summary. Hearing a knock on the door, she rubbed her hands together, stood up, and rushed out to ask, "Who is it?"
Zhou Weifang shouted loudly, "Yanyan, it's me."
Luo Yan opened the door and asked in surprise, "Why didn't you ride your motorcycle?"
Zhou Weifang: "Hongmin had to go to the store today, so I let him ride away."
Zhang Hongmin is now his deputy, and he is responsible for many things in the fruit shop. He has to inspect each shop from time to time. Even if the shops are close to each other, it is still a long journey after a whole day. Having a motorcycle would be much more convenient.
Luo Yan nodded in realization, then stepped aside and said, "Wait a moment, I'll go get the keys and put on my scarf."
She went inside, put on a cotton-padded coat, wrapped herself up tightly, and told Huang Laishun to take good care of the house.
Zhou Weifang could only see her eyes, and said, "Why don't you ride your bike there, I'll walk by myself."
They're cracking down hard now; a man and a woman in the same car can be stopped several times on the road.
Luo Yan didn't really want to ride a motorcycle in this weather, so she put her hands in her pockets and said, "Let's walk, it'll be warmer walking."
Just turn the corner at the alley entrance and you'll find the post office's residential compound, less than a 20-minute walk away.
Luo Yan distanced herself from Zhou Weifang and charged forward on her own.
Zhou Weifang only dared to get a little closer to her after entering the family compound. The two entered the new house one after the other, feeling the warmth that greeted them.
The residential compound has heating pipes, and the boiler room is manned 24 hours a day.
Luo Yan took off her scarf and sat on the sofa, touching the leather and saying, "This is so expensive and so comfortable."
Artificial leather is all the rage this year, and it's selling like hotcakes in furniture stores, but it's certainly not as good as genuine leather.
Zhou Weifang closed the door behind him and laughed: "Is it because it's expensive that you feel comfortable?"
Luo Yan thought for a moment and said, "I like this color too. Look how stylish it is when I put it here."
She chose the colors and styles, and Zhou Weifang was responsible for paying for them, praising, "Our Yanyan has good taste!"
As he spoke, he drew the curtains shut. Luo Yan naturally opened her arms for him to hug her, saying, "No wonder you're not in a hurry for anything else, but you're in a hurry for these curtains."
The buildings in front and behind are not too close or too far apart, but they can be seen at a glance by anyone in broad daylight.
Zhou Weifang affectionately pinched her ear: "Yanyan, I missed you so much."
Luo Yan: "Didn't you have dinner at my house yesterday?"
Yesterday is yesterday, Zhou Weifang: "More than ten hours have passed."
"It's just taking a nap."
That's all? Zhou Weifang counted on his fingers and said, "There are 24 hours in a day. You work nine hours and sleep eight hours. If you include eating, drinking, and relieving yourself, how many hours do we actually see when things get busy?"
When he calculated it like that, it really didn't seem like much. Luo Yan tilted her head slightly to look at him: "You should start the countdown. We're getting married in just over four months!"
The specifics haven't been decided yet; she's roughly using May Day as the starting point.
But for Zhou Weifang, even a single day makes a big difference. He said, "Actually, there are two auspicious days at the end of April."
In late April and early May, Luo Yan thought, "My mom would agree to it."
Zhou Weifang wanted to hear her answer: "And you, are you willing?"
Luo Yan looked him straight in the eye: "I'm very willing."
It would be a lie to say Zhou Weifang wasn't excited; he punched the air a couple of times, and the breeze he created was quite pleasant.
Luo Yan's thick clothes were rendered useless in the heated room.
She stood up, took off her coat, looked around, and said, "Weren't you supposed to come and see how the furniture was arranged? I see it's all set up."
Zhou Weifang replied matter-of-factly, "Please provide guidance on our work."
What kind of guidance? Luo Yan nestled in his arms: "Anyway, you'll definitely be fine at doing things."
She added, "I didn't have time to talk to you last night. I've discovered that my work expenses are huge. Sister Liu from the finance department got married and I need to give a gift, Brother Wang from the security department had his father pass away and I need to give a gift, and Sister Chen from the personnel department had her baby and I need to give a gift. I haven't done anything this month except collect these gifts."
Zhou Weifang suddenly wanted to laugh: "Weren't you really looking forward to receiving invitations?"
When his older sister got married, he specifically asked her to write it.
Luo Yan squeezed his hand: "My brother laughs at me, and you laugh at me too."
Zhou Weifang only cared about: "Did you hit him?"
It wasn't just hitting him, Luo Yan said: "I also stole money from his bag."
Zhou Weifang eagerly placed the wallet in her hand: "It's all yours."
If they dared to give it to Luo Yan, they dared to take it. She took all the money out and put it in her own pocket, saying, "It's only because the security has been good recently, otherwise I wouldn't have more than thirty yuan in my pocket."
She had been robbed more than once, especially in winter when she was wearing many layers of clothing, making her a frequent target.
The petty thefts that used to plague the streets disappeared almost overnight. Zhou Weifang said, "My brother-in-law said that their police station couldn't keep up with them all."
He added, "Normally, the year before the New Year is when the most things are stolen, but things have been peaceful lately."
Luo Yan nodded in agreement and then said, "When I was asked to submit my year-end report, I realized I've done a lot of work!"
Although they were all trivial matters, with almost nothing that could be called achievements, she knew she had done a lot and secretly gave herself a score of 90.
Seeing how excited she was, Zhou Weifang said, "It would be a shame if you weren't selected as a model worker next May Day."
Luo Yan also believes that this award is a great encouragement to her, saying, "Next year is not possible, as I am still in my probationary period and there is no way to be evaluated for excellence or commendation."
Zhou Weifang changed it to: "The year after next, I will definitely win an award the year after next."
It's hard to say. Luo Yan feels she's matured a lot now, saying, "It also depends on your relationship with the leaders. Brother Wang from the Legal Affairs Department is just too honest. We joined at the same time as him..."
She got angry as she spoke: "How can having ability not be enough!"
Zhou Weifang didn't concern himself with other people's affairs, only saying, "We will definitely not let anyone bully you; what is yours will be yours."
Luo Yan has not been treated unfairly so far, but she feels that this is a very bad thing: "Unfair, completely unfair."
She was just complaining, because there are many things they simply don't have a solution for.
Zhou Weifang simply listened quietly, letting her vent her emotions.
Luo Yan felt much better after speaking, and took a deep breath: "It's your turn to speak."
Why is there an order to it? Zhou Weifang naturally has a lot of trivial matters to deal with—employees arguing and quarreling, which store is short 100 jin of melons during inventory, and the fruit supplier, Old Zhang's family, is about to have their third child...
At this point, Luo Yan interrupted him: "How can you have a third child?"
Zhou Weifang: "They are not employees, and they have rural household registrations."
Currently, family planning only applies to employees, and it is said that in the south, many employees still have several children.
Luo Yan could understand that he liked children, but she knew Lao Zhang's character and said, "If he had two sons, he would never have made arrangements to have a third child."
Indeed, Zhou Weifang said: "He is sexist and favors sons over daughters; there are many people like him."
Luo Yan suddenly sat up straight and looked at him: "And what about you?"
They had actually talked about this before, but hadn't taken it too seriously. Her mother said that men could only talk a good game, and actions spoke louder than words. After careful observation, she couldn't see any particular inclination in Zhou Weifang, but she still wanted to ask him seriously.
She was serious, and Zhou Weifang dared not be joking. He simply held her hand and said, "When I was little, I always thought that our family should only have my eldest brother as a child."
His eldest brother, Zhou Weiliang, was the eldest son and grandson of the Zhou family. When he was born, the eyes of three generations were on him. He was showered with love and affection in his childhood, and he also benefited from the good times in his family.
Later, my grandparents fell seriously ill, and with one child after another being born, who had time to take good care of them?
Although Zhou Weifang was the youngest, his parents could only give him very little. Yet, he was born with the greatest desire for affection, which probably led to his chaotic childhood.
Looking back now, he said, "Actually, it's all the same principle. You see, even though I work at the store in Guang'anmen now, when people talk about the main store, they still say the one at No. 4 Middle School, because that was the first one, and it's different for me. That's how it is when you open a store; you have to treat the first one like a treasure."
That's well said, but it's somewhat off-topic.
Luo Yan: "I'm not asking how many children you have, I'm talking about the preference for sons over daughters."
We've gone a bit off-topic, but what Zhou Weifang wanted to say was: "Boy or girl, it doesn't matter, they can be like you, me, or your uncle, as long as they're healthy and happy, we'll have this one. I'll give you both my heart and soul."
Luo Yan nudged him: "Just talk, why are you making such a bloody scene?"
Zhou Weifang placed her hand on his chest: "Then feel it, but don't take it out."
His lips were practically curled up to the sky, and Luo Yan poked him hard: "Look at yourself in the mirror, your face screams 'success'."
Upon hearing the mention of mirrors, Zhou Weifang remembered: "Let's not buy everyday items yet; they'll just gather dust. We'll buy them after the New Year. Is there anything you want that's hard to find? I'll go ask around first."
Luo Yan racked her brains for a long time before saying, "I just want a water heater."
Water heaters are a relatively new product in China, with very limited production and sales limited to a few cities in the south.
Zhou Weifang is still looking for a way, saying, "I'll definitely let you use it after you move in."
Luo Yan is a clean person, but going to the public bathhouse has been a real annoyance for her lately. Last week, she met two elderly women who were whispering among themselves, probably saying something about how she was a good mother and that her children were blessed by all three parties (family, friends, and parents).
She didn't hear clearly, and she still gets angry when she thinks about it now.
Seeing her expression, Zhou Weifang asked, "What's wrong?"
Luo Yan could only tell her mother this, but she couldn't bring herself to say it to Zhou Weifang. She simply said, "There were just too many people in the bathhouse."
Zhou Weifang felt there was more to the story, but constantly asking about the women's bathhouse would make him seem like a pervert.
He said, "But it's not easy to find a water heater installer. As for the toilet, there are only three installers in the whole city who can install it. I had to go around looking for connections to get it installed."
There's always a queue for the public toilets in the alley in the morning. Luo Yan's entire expectation for her wedding room rests on the toilet, and her eyes lit up.
Zhou Weifang looked closer and said, "Yanyan, I've noticed something. When I tell you about home appliances and dowries, you just ignore me. But when I mention the toilet, you perk up. I'm asking you, which would you choose, the toilet or me?"
"What's wrong with this guy?" Luo Yan slapped him twice. "Is this how you compare things? Of course, it's all you no matter what."
Seeing him smiling so happily, she said irritably, "You're proud of winning the toilet too."
Why not? Zhou Weifang: "It's important to you."
Luo Yan really didn't know what to say to him, so she cupped his face and made him look at her: "You're not allowed to compete anymore, it's all your fault."
Given all this, it would be unreasonable not to kiss.
The room was already warm, and Luo Yan even felt like she was about to sweat. She turned her head slightly, letting his lips wander over her body. An indescribable feeling spread from her fingertips, and she said hastily, "I have to go home for lunch."
Zhou Weifang has never been straightforward; he's always clingy and unwilling to let go until he can't drag it out any longer before finally saying, "Let's go."
Luo Yan wrapped herself up again, and the blush on her cheeks hadn't faded by the time she got home.
Liu Yinfeng was stewing mutton when she saw the two of them return and said, "Perfect timing, go and call Luo Hong back, he's at Chengzi's house."
Zhou Weifang could handle this by himself, so he agreed and walked outside. Luo Yan sat down to watch TV with her father and asked, "Where are we at on TV?"
When it came to the plot, Luo Xinmin talked on and on, but after a while he remembered the important matter: "Is the furniture all ready?"
Luo Yan didn't look at it at all today; she just sat on the sofa for half a day. But she answered without any guilt, nodding, "Okay, I'll wait for you to go see it."
The woman's family always has to visit her family. Luo Xinmin said, "We'll see when all three parties are available."
Luo Yan laughed out loud: "If you say you want to go, he's free any day."
Luo Xinmin said loudly, "When have you ever seen me make a decision? You'll have to listen to your mother."
It was hard for Liu Yinfeng not to hear, so she picked up the spatula and thought, "Why don't we do it next Sunday? These days, there's a long queue to ask Mrs. Huang to choose an auspicious date, and you're going to hold it at a big hotel anyway. It would be better to book it early for peace of mind."
It was Zhou Weifang who suggested holding the wedding at a grand hotel. He didn't want the wedding to be shabby. He wanted to spend money to save face and make everyone feel that Luo Yan was not being wronged by marrying him. He even planned to spend a small amount of money on the car fleet.
Luo Yan didn't quite understand at first. She never really cared what others thought, but she felt that people should be of one mind in life. Since Zhou Weifang wanted to spend the money and had the ability to do so, she would naturally follow his arrangements.
She was puzzled by her mother's words and asked, "Who is Mrs. Huang?"
Liu Yinfeng said mysteriously, "Great Immortal, it's incredibly effective."
She knew her daughter didn't believe in these things, and said, "Actually, it's because she's blessed with good fortune. At sixty years old, she's free from illness and disaster, has a harmonious marriage, both sons and daughters, and a house full of children and grandchildren. Her parents are over ninety and still very active. Everyone wants to consult her to choose an auspicious date."
Luo Yan understood after hearing this, and she herself was willing to share in the joy, saying, "You decide."
However, I still spoke up for Zhou Weifang: "It is said that there are a few auspicious days at the end of April."
After she finished speaking, her eyes darted around as if the words hadn't actually come out of her mouth.
Liu Yinfeng pointed twice in her daughter's direction, taking it as tacit agreement without saying anything.
Luo Yan chuckled and turned her head to change the subject with her father: "Why aren't they back yet?"
Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.
As soon as Zhou Weifang and Luo Hong entered the house, lunch was served.
Liu Yinfeng felt that the mutton stew was very good today, saying, "I almost snatched this meat; someone else almost bought it first."
Naturally, everyone praised it, and the conversation eventually veered back to the wedding room.
Liu Yinfeng said, "Sanfang, are you busy next Sunday? Your uncle and I will go over and take a look."
Zhou Weifang didn't even need to think: "I'll definitely be free."
No, it sounds like it's already decided.
Luo Hong: "Why didn't you ask me? I'm too busy."
It doesn't matter if he's busy, Liu Yinfeng said: "You've already gone to see him several times."
Luo Hong corrected his mother: "I went there to do hard labor, Luo Yan didn't go as many times as I did."
Luo Yan secretly stepped on her brother's foot: "Just say it, why drag me into it?"
Luo Hong also had a point: "Shouldn't I have brought you along?"
Luo Yan couldn't refute it, so she could only mutter to herself.
Anyway, she only ever used the same two swear words, so Luo Hong didn't care at all. He only stopped his nonchalant attitude when he saw her almost jumping up and down, and asked, "Dad, I heard that the factory is going to give out 10,000 yuan in wages?"
This area is mostly inhabited by employees of the No. 8 State-owned Cotton Mill. It's fair to say that what happens in the factory is big news in the alley, so it's not surprising that it gets around.
But Luo Xinmin still insisted, "You have sharp ears, there really is such a thing."
Households with 10,000 yuan in savings are not so rare now, but it's unheard of for someone to receive a salary.
Even Luo Yan looked up in surprise, slowly chewing as she waited for what was to come.
Luo Xinmin is nearing retirement and just wants to live out his remaining two years peacefully. He doesn't usually get involved in these ups and downs. He said, "I heard about it too. There was a performance-based pay adjustment this time, and Xiao Wang in the sales department somehow managed to close several big orders. According to the factory's new standards, he should get 1,300 yuan. Apparently, these aren't one-off orders. If there are more later, he'll be a millionaire in the blink of an eye."
The factory leaders are also having a lot of discussions about this. The money hasn't been distributed yet, and there are all sorts of people who are envious and trying to take advantage of the situation. It's almost a complete mess.
Luo Hong thought the matter was easy to resolve: "If we don't want to give it in the future, we can change the standard. If we don't give it this time, who will work hard for the factory? We shouldn't let people lose heart."
Zhou Weifang, who is also a businessman, agreed, saying, "This young Wang is a talented person."
Regarding whether he is talented or not, Luo Xinmin said: "Even leaders have their concerns. The money for this bonus was their own money. It was originally agreed that if they didn't use it all, they would distribute more welfare at the end of the year. The news had already spread. He alone received such a large bonus. There are a total of 1,000 people in the factory. What will happen to the opinions of the masses? Now, even a penny can be used to kill someone."
That makes things really difficult. Luo Yan couldn't figure it out, nor did she have the shrewdness to handle such a matter. She just keenly noticed the change in Zhou Weifang's expression and gave him a look.
There's nothing to hide. Zhou Weifang said, "Brother Hong's factory has just been built, and he's worried about not having good sales. If he knew about this, he would definitely offer a lot of money to hire him."
Information can be money sometimes. He might just casually mention it, and how others decide is beyond his control.
Luo Xinmin added, "Now private factories have good benefits. There are several master craftsmen in the workshop. They can hire them from the south for 200 yuan. Even an eighth-grade worker in the factory can't get that salary."
But being so far from home makes money less appealing. Yet some young people are still willing to take the plunge. Now, a few workshops are showing signs of a talent shortage, which is not a good sign.
In short, everything has changed since the reform and opening up, and the pace of change is so fast that people can hardly remember what happened just a few years ago.
However, as everyone chatted, some memories remained, and they finished the meal together, exchanging words as they went.
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Author's note: When I woke up this morning and saw that there were 0 new favorites, I really felt like the sky had fallen.
To be honest, I think this book, although slow-paced, isn't that badly written. The only consolation is that my nutrient levels are rising quickly, which at least proves that some people still like it [please].
Trying to update two chapters
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