Chapter 46 (Second Update)
That evening, the topic at the Luo family dinner table was still Liu Cheng.
Liu Yinfeng found out the latest developments today: "I don't know who reported it to the police station, but the person has already been taken away."
That's pretty much the case now; it's just a matter of how it's judged in the end. Luo Yan: "No wonder there was no one at the street entrance when I came back this afternoon."
Liu Yinfeng: "Many of them are just trying to take advantage of the situation. I don't think it's necessarily all Liu Cheng who took it; they just want to pin it on him. The neighborhood committee also thinks he's not the only one, and they've said they'll organize more patrols recently."
He added, "Luo Hong, I've registered you too."
Patrols definitely require manpower, and every household has to join in the fun. Otherwise, if you live in the same alley, who will help you if something happens to your family in the future?
Luo Hong: "Okay, that's perfect since I don't have to work the night shift recently."
Liu Yinfeng: "Anyway, there are a lot of people, so it will only happen once or twice at most."
He added, "Don't actually force yourself if something happens."
You can tell what a person will be like at three years old. Luo Hong had a lot of bad behavior when he was young. Now that he's grown up, if he goes out drinking, his mother will always say, "Don't fight with anyone after you finish drinking."
He said, "Okay, I'm more afraid of dying than anyone else right now, so I'll definitely protect myself first."
Even these few words from that mouth are hard to hear.
Liu Yinfeng said disdainfully, "It's late at night, be more careful with your words, it's almost Chinese New Year."
Almost forgetting that the word "death" is taboo, Luo Hong dared not argue again, fearing another scolding. He said, "Speaking of the New Year, Mom, why didn't I see you buy any chickens this year?"
In previous years, as soon as the twelfth lunar month approached, Liu Yinfeng would rush to the suburbs to buy a chicken to keep on hand, fearing that she wouldn't be able to buy one as New Year's Eve approached.
Luo Yan wasn't as thoughtful as her brother. Thinking about it, it was true. She looked up in confusion.
Liu Yinfeng has news to share with her family every day, but she forgot to mention this: "The market can now sell live animals."
It turns out that the city doesn't allow the sale of live animals; they are all transported directly from the slaughterhouse. Some have been stored in cold storage for who knows how long. People don't pick and choose when they eat them normally, but they still prefer freshness during holidays.
Luo Yan: That saves trouble, otherwise our kitchen would look like a chicken coop every year.
She couldn't even stand a chicken. Luo Hong said, "It's a good thing I didn't send you to the countryside."
Luo Yan said kindly, "It's because I have a good older brother."
According to the regulations at the time, a family could only leave one child in the city. Luo Hong had the opportunity to return during his first two years in the countryside, but he delayed until 1977 because of his sister's sake.
Wow, you're being really sweet-talking today.
Luo Hong: "Don't tell me you're trying to ask me for money again."
Luo Yan: "I didn't want it before, but I want it now."
She confidently reached out her hand, only to be slapped by her brother, and then she started to cry feigning distress.
Luo Xinmin acted as a peacemaker: "We don't need his, Dad has it."
"It's a fool not to take advantage of a good deal," Luo Hong said, stretching out his hand. "I want one too."
Luo Xinmin, good-natured, said, "Here, take them all."
He was quite fair; he took out all the money in his pocket, counted it out in small amounts, and divided it in half: "Exactly, ten yuan and eighty-two cents each."
Luo Yan snatched 82 cents from her brother's pile of cash with lightning speed, quickly stuffed it into her pocket, and gave him a look that said, "If you dare to take it back, I'll bite you."
Luo Hong got excited: "In broad daylight, I can't even handle you?"
The brother and sister started fighting before they had even finished their meal. Liu Yinfeng poured the last few pieces of meat into her husband's bowl, saying, "You ate it all. You're just feeding them so they have no energy to spare."
Luo Xinmin gave her a few pieces. After the couple finished eating and cleared the table, they heard a knock on the door and said, "Quiet down, someone's here."
Luo Hong dusted himself off and went to open the door. When he saw who it was, he asked in surprise, "What brings you here?"
That's incredibly rude of you.
Luo Yan looked up and peered over her brother's neck, thinking that it was indeed Zhou Weifang.
From Zhou Weifang's perspective, he looked at his childhood friend's family of four. He greeted the elders first before saying, "I've come to ask Luo Bu to go out for a drink."
Luo Hong only ate half of his dinner to begin with, and the fight had already taken its toll. He turned to his sister and asked, "Are you going?"
Zhou Weifang instinctively tried to stop him, but quickly regained his composure.
But Luo Yan was too familiar with this. She thought this was definitely how he would look after causing trouble and then look for someone to help clean up the mess. She pretended not to notice and said, "Go."
Zhou Weifang rubbed the back of her neck, watching her put on her scarf and hat, and gritted her teeth: "You're quick to speak."
Luo Hong didn't hear clearly: "What did you say?"
Zhou Weifang smiled slightly: "It's nothing."
Why that sinister smile? Luo Hong isn't a mind reader; how could he possibly guess everything accurately?
He said, "Then let's go."
Late at night, Luo Hong didn't dare to let his sister follow behind him like he did during the day; the two siblings were separated by a fist.
Zhou Weifang stood alongside them, making it even harder to find a suitable opportunity to speak.
He was still extremely anxious until the three of them sat down at the small restaurant.
Luo Hong also sensed something was wrong, but it was late at night and he had nowhere to deal with his sister, so he looked around.
Hmph, Luo Yan rarely lost her temper, so she made it clear first: "I'm going to listen to this today."
It wouldn't really matter if I told her, but it would inevitably leave people with the impression that I'm not meticulous in my work.
Zhou Weifang was trying to avoid this, so he stammered, "Yesterday, well, we caught a thief."
Luo Hong: "They stole from your shop too?"
Zhou Weifang sighed: "No, I took a car from him."
He explained the whole story: "He told me he bought it from the suburbs and made a profit of one or two yuan. I thought he was just finding himself some work and didn't think much of it, but he stole it."
Luo Hong: "The police station is looking for you?"
Zhou Weifang: "He came in the afternoon. Luckily, I had registered every car I brought in, and his signature was on each one. But he said I was receiving stolen goods and wanted to fine me."
The fine was a minor matter; Luo Hong keenly realized what he was worried about and asked, "Will it affect your license renewal?"
Individual business owners now need to re-register every year, and their licenses are renewed annually.
Zhou Weifang: "I didn't say anything, but I felt it was something important, so I came to tell you anyway."
"That's definitely a problem," Luo Hong said irritably. "No, you used to protect Liu Cheng quite a bit, and he told you to confess quickly."
In this alley, Zhou Weifang always stood up for the kids of similar age when something happened. He had helped Liu Cheng, who was prone to being bullied, quite a few times in the past.
He said, "I thought he had a hard life, so I gave him an extra dollar."
One dollar is one dollar, why are you glancing at me for no reason?
Luo Yan thought to herself that if he weren't righteous, he wouldn't have been able to rule the alley since he was a child. She blinked and said, "So keeping detailed accounts is beneficial."
Zhou Weifang had only been working on the accounts for a short time. Originally, he was the only one in the shop, and everything he did was like a makeshift operation, relying entirely on the accounts in his mind.
Now that I've encountered this problem, I realize that it really does require writing things down on paper.
Seeing that Luo Yan didn't seem to have any opinion on the matter, he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Teacher Luo teaches well."
Luo Hong readily agreed, "Please rise, my beloved disciple."
"What's it to him?" Zhou Weifang thought, wanting to punch him, but then stopped and put his fist down properly.
He's never sat this upright in the preschool class. Luo Hong: "Are you possessed by a ghost?"
Zhou Weifang thought to himself, "You're now 'holding the emperor hostage to command the princes,' so I'll give you some face. Just wait and see what happens to you another day."
He gritted his teeth: "Seriously, tomorrow you should pay more attention and ask around. I'll also go to the Industry and Commerce Bureau."
Luo Hong: "Okay."
The two were figuring out how to use their connections in all directions, while Luo Yan couldn't get a word in edgewise and ate slowly.
After finishing her meal, she felt bored and stared blankly at a certain spot, her face expressionless.
Zhou Weifang couldn't help but wonder: What is she thinking?
Luo Hong was talking when he noticed that the man had fallen silent, so he tapped the table and said, "No, I'm talking to you."
Zhou Weifang replied dismissively, "Go ahead and talk, no one's stopping you."
That's not right, that's not right.
The more Luo Hong looked at him, the stranger he seemed. He said, "Is there something else going on at the shop?"
Zhou Weifang: "Don't talk nonsense. This one alone is enough to give me a headache. Let's say something auspicious."
Luo Hong clasped his hands together and bowed fourteen times, saying, "No taboos, no taboos."
When did they start practicing feudal superstitions? Luo Yan: "Ha, ha."
Who are you laughing at, little girl?
Luo Hong grabbed his sister's face and ordered, "You bow too."
Luo Yan immediately slapped her brother's hand away, but her cheeks still flushed red.
She touched her face and said, "Okay, okay."
Each word was louder than the last, Luo Hong teased his sister: "Everyone is looking at you."
Luo Yan was most afraid of this, so she pursed her lips and glared at him, only humming and not saying a word.
How adorable! Zhou Weifang couldn't help but laugh.
Luo Yan assumed he was mocking her, and gave him a sliver of glare out of the corner of her eye. After a while, she realized it was inappropriate and glared angrily at the table.
Zhou Weifang suppressed the urge to poke her cheek: "Did I offend you too?"
Luo Yan snorted in response, putting her hands in her pockets and refusing to speak.
She looked even cuter, and Zhou Weifang went along with her, saying, "I admit my mistake, I apologize."
Huh? Is he really that easy to talk to?
The Luo siblings exchanged a glance, as if they both sensed something unusual.
To be precise, the three of them actually grew up together, since Luo Yan was her brother's shadow, and her brother was Zhou Weifang's right-hand man.
In this interconnected relationship, she was the most insignificant detail, only remembering that Zhou Weifang had always been very impatient with her since childhood.
But nowadays, one shouldn't hit a smiling face, so she said, "I was just kidding, don't take it seriously."
Zhou Weifang wasn't taking it seriously; he just wanted to leave a good impression on her in everything he did.
He said, "I'm just showing respect for my teacher."
After you explain it, it seems to make sense.
Luo Yan scratched her face: "I feel like I'm getting older."
Luo Hong never misses an opportunity like this, and said, "I don't mind."
Zhou Weifang no longer minds him taking this verbal advantage; in fact, he might even be hoping it would become a reality.
He raised his wrist to check his watch: "It's quite late."
Luo Hong and his sister never stayed out too late: "We almost forgot the time."
He stood up first: "I'll come find you later tomorrow. If anything happens, just call the factory."
Zhou Weifang responded and watched the siblings walk away before returning to the shop.
He still had work to finish, and after working until 2 a.m., he had barely gone to sleep when he had to get up again to go to the Industry and Commerce Bureau to renew his business license for the year.
The materials required for renewing a license are different from those required for applying for a new license. After looking through them, the person at the window said, "You're missing a street-level certificate."
This was also Zhou Weifang's first time handling this procedure, so he made sure to find out what kind of document it was before making another trip to the street office.
As a result, he was passed around like a hot potato from there, running back and forth to several different departments, and still couldn't get anything done in a whole day.
Whether it was due to feudal superstition or not, as night fell, Zhou Weifang had a feeling that things wouldn't go too smoothly.
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Author's note: Goodnight~
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