Chapter 145 (Updated 1452)
For lunch, Liu Yinfeng prepared three meat dishes, three vegetable dishes, and a soup.
When the Luo father and son returned from their busy work, they joked, "After this meal, are we going to starve?"
Liu Yinfeng set out the bowls and chopsticks: "If you can't finish it, eat it tomorrow. Otherwise, the refrigerator you bought will be useless."
The mention of the refrigerator made Luo Hong a little scared. He said, "Mom, you won't take advantage of having a refrigerator to make your New Year's Eve dinner even more extravagant this year, will you?"
Liu Yinfeng tapped him: "Your mother may be illiterate, but she can still understand good and bad words. She says that New Year's Eve dinner has to be plentiful, otherwise, would it even be called New Year?"
That's true, but Luo Hong said, "There's no reason for four people to cook twelve dishes."
He dared to say that, but Liu Yinfeng retorted irritably, "Ten years from now, our family might still only have these four people, and you won't be able to count on them anymore."
Luo Hong pushed his younger sister forward: "Isn't Luo Yan here?"
Liu Yinfeng: "Your sister will have a husband's family after she gets married. Well, we're still one short."
How could there be one missing? Luo Yan: "I'm going to stay home for the New Year."
The thought of becoming a family with strangers and having to sit in someone else's living room during holidays terrified her. She said, "If I have to go to my in-laws' house, I won't get married."
Not getting married? Parents certainly love their children, but deep down they don't agree with this statement. Perhaps they have had good experiences in marriage and family, and they are afraid of leaving their children alone in the world in the future, so they hope that their children can live a more lively life.
The couple exchanged a glance, wanting to offer some advice, but also deeply wishing their daughter would stay by their side for the rest of her life, and for a moment they were speechless.
Luo Hong spoke up for his childhood friend, saying, "Don't worry, if you marry Sanfang, you can celebrate every holiday at home from now on."
Really? Luo Yan's eyes lit up.
However, Liu Yinfeng was skeptical: "You're actually making decisions for other people?"
Luo Hong picked up a dumpling and popped it into his mouth: "Anyway, he doesn't want to stay at home."
Everyone knew about the Zhou family's affairs, but there were plenty of other messy things happening in this alley, and no one thought it was really this bad. However, Liu Yinfeng watched coldly and thought Zhou Weifang was a sentimental young man.
It's precisely because he cares so much that he's even more disappointed.
But it's not good for him, not for his future in-laws...
Forget it, it's still far from certain, Liu Yinfeng didn't want to think about it and said, "As long as you're willing, you can live with your parents for the rest of your life."
Luo Yan was particularly willing and slapped her brother's hand away as he reached for the dumplings again: "Kick him out."
Hey, Luo Hong grabbed his sister with his greasy hands: "Come on, let's see who gets out of this door first."
Why are they making a scene again? Will they keep fighting until they're seventy or eighty years old?
Liu Yinfeng is not afraid that her children will be lonely when she and her husband go to their coffins in the future. She said, "If I overturn this table, you two will be finished today."
Luo Yan put her hands behind her back and bared her teeth at her brother. Luo Hong described her as "a puppy that has just turned one month old."
It sounds quite cute at first glance, Luo Yan: "Just you wait until I turn one year old."
Luo Hong gave a perfunctory "uh-huh," sat down, picked up his chopsticks, took a bite, and said, "Mom, want some water?"
They were going out in the afternoon, so the mother and son shared a bottle of beer to try. Luo Yan felt drunk just from smelling it, pinching her nose and saying, "So dizzy, so dizzy."
Luo Xinmin was much better than his daughter, but he only took a sip of his drink before waving his hand.
The family of four ate, drank, and talked. After finishing their meal, they cleaned up the table and went out to take the subway.
This is quite a novelty; the entrance closest to my home is packed with people, and the queue stretches for two blocks.
Surrounded by her family, Luo Yan was swaying from side to side. She grabbed her father's hand and said, "Please keep a close eye on me."
That's actually the opposite of what I meant.
Luo Xinmin only has one arm left, and his legs are also very inconvenient, but everyone knows he is a strong-willed person, so his children naturally try to explain things from a different perspective. He appreciates their kindness and says with a smile, "I would never lose you, no matter who else I lose."
Luo Yan followed her father like a little chick. After finally getting into the station, she found that the queue was still not over, because each train only had four carriages and the departure interval was five minutes.
As a result, there aren't many people who can fit on a single train, and many people are practically forced onto the train.
At least Luo Yan felt that way. She had a kind of illusion of being suspended. After getting off the train and leaving the station, she said, "It feels so good to be grounded."
How did taking the subway lead to a new life insight? Liu Yinfeng smoothed her daughter's hair and said, "Come back and ride it when it's less crowded."
Luo Yan: "There will always be a lot of people. This is better than taking the bus; there's no traffic jam at all."
That's true, Liu Yinfeng said: "There are too few routes, and we only run in this one direction."
Luo Yan: "Phase II has already started construction."
Liu Yinfeng said, "I don't know when it will be completed. I think it will take another ten or eight years."
After all, it's somewhat related to her profession, so Luo Yan knows a bit: "Some parts can now be made domestically. In the first phase, we lacked experience, and the technology and economy couldn't keep up. It will definitely get faster and faster."
Whenever this is mentioned, Luo Xinmin chimes in: "The country is definitely getting better and better."
They risked their lives back then, just hoping for this day.
Liu Yinfeng was also looking forward to it, but said, "It's more important to see what we're having for dinner first."
With recent high household expenses, Luo Hong looked around and suggested, "Let's each have a bowl of noodles. I'm not that hungry."
Luo Yan had eaten too much for lunch; she couldn't even finish a bowl of noodles at this hour, and she even shared half with her brother.
Luo Hong, feeling so full, tilted his head back and said, "No, I need to walk back to digest."
Why are you in this posture when you're about to leave?
Luo Yan: "Did you strain your neck?"
Luo Hong: "I'm afraid I'll vomit if I bend down."
"Hey," Luo Yan took two steps back, "Don't vomit on me."
It's her problem, and she still has the nerve to say it.
Luo Hong grabbed her: "You have to come with me."
It's about three or four miles back from here, and Luo Xinmin's legs couldn't take it. He said, "Then I'll go back with your mother first. There's a party at the factory."
The family of four split into two groups, with the brother and sister watching their parents board the bus before continuing on their way.
After walking a few steps, Luo Hong noticed: "The Qiaosheng's house is just around the corner. Should we go?"
Luo Yan, who was also bored, said, "Sure, I haven't seen Dongdong in a long time either."
The He family of three were watching TV when they saw the guests arrive and got up to greet them.
Children react most directly. Dongdong simply said "Hello, Uncle" and then excitedly told his aunt, "I have so many new toys!!"
Luo Yan bent down and pinched his round little face: "How about Auntie plays with you?"
Dongdong jumped three feet high and led her into his room.
Chen Jiao left the living room to the two men and followed them in with tea and snacks, saying, "Yanzi, I've put them on the table for you."
Luo Yan rubbed her stomach and said, "Sister-in-law, don't be shy. I'm already stuffed to the brim from dinner."
She played with the child while chatting with the owner.
As they chatted, Chen Jiao asked, "Can college students work part-time?"
Working? Luo Yan: "Yes, our school also has a school-run factory."
Chen Jiao: "There's something I need. Our boss wants to find a college student to tutor his daughter. Would you like to go?"
Tutoring? Luo Yan felt she couldn't find the time.
Perhaps the person in front of her had no connection with Zhou Weifang at all, she said with a hint of shyness, "I'm currently dating someone, so I'm quite busy."
"Really?" Chen Jiao naturally wanted to find out, "Which boy is so lucky?"
Luo Yan didn't go into too much detail, just glossing over it with a few vague sentences.
Her husband was mute and only had a few close friends. Chen Jiao cherished them for him, but to avoid speaking too frankly, she said, "Sister-in-law, if I may say a few words, it's normal for someone your age to date, but you must be careful about marriage. You can only know a man's face, not his heart."
Luo Yan had vaguely heard that Dongdong's deceased biological father was not a good person, so she nodded emphatically: "I know, thank you, sister-in-law."
Having said that much, Chen Jiao stopped talking and started chatting about random, unrelated things.
Luo Yan responded half-heartedly, but secretly wondered: what exactly is marriage?
She always asked her brother for help when she needed something, so she asked him on her way home.
Luo Hong chuckled: "You're asking me why I'm still single?"
Luo Yan: "You're a man, so I just want to know what the difference is between marriage and dating for men."
Luo Hong had no idea: "You should ask Zhou Weifang."
Luo Yan: "If I ask you if you will cause trouble, you will definitely say no. By the same token, if I ask him anything, he will always say nice things."
She doesn't question whether it's true or false, and is willing to believe that the sincerity of the present moment is as precious as gold, but she is troubled because she is imagining a more distant future.
Luo Hong only considered her a younger sister because of a few words exchanged before lunch. He asked the question, saying, "I don't think there's any difference. It's all the same. If it's good, we'll stay together; if it's not, we won't. This is a new society now. Is divorce really that difficult?"
Luo Yan countered, "Do you think it's not difficult?"
Luo Hong didn't care what others thought: "Anyway, if you're unhappy, I'll make sure you get a divorce."
Luo Yan burst out laughing for no apparent reason: "When people get divorced, they divide the children among themselves. If Zhou Weifang and I break up, I'll divide the children among myself and you."
What kind of talk is this? Luo Hong: "My surname is Luo, so I have to go with you no matter what."
Luo Yan: "Does that mean you only consider the surname and not the relationship?"
"No," Luo Hong asked her, "aren't we friends because we were born to the same parents?"
Just because of their blood relation, he spent a third of his childhood finding his younger sister annoying.
The logic was correct, but Luo Yan was still angry: "So Zhou Weifang is the good brother you found for yourself, and I'm the sister you had no choice but to have."
When she said it, it seemed to make sense. Luo Hong realized something was wrong and quickly tried to cover it up: "How could that be? When Mom was pregnant, I prayed every day that we would have a little sister."
He was only a little over two years old at the time, and at most he would pray to eat two more pieces of candy.
Luo Yan stood with her hands on her hips, looking fierce: "Luo Hong! You've gone too far!"
Look how angry she is; she's forgotten to think about the true meaning of marriage.
Luo Hong thought to himself, "Am I taking another bullet for my childhood friend?" He bowed and scraped, saying, "Sister, my dear sister."
Luo Yan ignored him completely and hummed all the way home.
Luo Hong, having spent half a day with her, was parched and offered her a deal: "Two meals at Donglaishun."
Luo Yan finally spoke up: "If you're sincere, at least add a zero to the end!"
Luo Hong: "Add, add, add. For the rest of your life, you can ask me to reimburse you for every meal you eat at Donglaishun."
That's more like it. Luo Yan flicked her braid and said, "I'll forgive you halfway."
Half... Okay, okay, Luo Hong was exhausted and lay down on the sofa: "No, I have to make the three parties pay half of it."
Luo Yan didn't hear the murmur. She went back to her room to get her clothes and kicked her brother's leg, saying, "Get up, we're going to the bathhouse."
Luo Hong struggled to his feet, and now he truly felt that this ancestor needed more people to serve him.
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Author's note: Goodnight! I'm so sleepy.
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