Chapter 100 - Countdown
Zhou Weifang bought lychees that evening and quickly and attentively handed them to Luo Yanlai.
Luo Yan, who had eaten it before, clicked her tongue in amazement: "Where did you buy it? How expensive must it be?"
Zhou Weifang: "The Chongwenmen vegetable market, they say it comes by plane, it's expensive, and you have to queue to buy it."
Even though it's only once a year to enjoy fresh food, quite a few people in Beijing are willing to spend the money. Luo Yan is willing to do so, but she hesitates to eat food from other people.
Without hesitation, Luo Hong peeled one open and said, "My mom buys eighteen every year, and I've never been able to taste them."
Zhou Weifang: "Our aunt is quite auspicious."
He joked, "You two aren't going to each eat eight, are you?"
Luo Hong said in a pretentious tone, "My mom gets rashes every time she eats it, my dad can only eat one at most, so I should be able to eat eight."
The way it trailed off, and the sarcastic tone it gave, made me wonder who it was meant to be heard from.
Luo Yan glanced at her brother sideways: "So what if I eat more?"
"Nothing much," Luo Hong said, raising his chin. "Eat up, there's a whole basket of these."
Luo Yan then reached out and took it, behaving as obediently as a child visiting a neighbor and being allowed to take candy, her eyes crinkling with a smile as she tasted the sweetness.
Zhou Weifang thought to herself that she really loved to eat it, and said, "It seems that Fujian only produces this. If it's still in season when I come back, I'll bring you some more."
He wasn't reluctant to buy it in Beijing, but he probably would feel guilty if Luo Yan ate it.
These past few days he's been talking about bringing this and that from Fujian, but Luo Yan feels she definitely won't be able to eat anything by then, so she responds indifferently, her eyes idly looking around.
Upon seeing this, she lowered her voice and said, "Brother, brother, brother."
Both men stared at her. Luo Hong asked, "What's wrong?"
Luo Yan spoke, but her mouth barely moved, saying, "They're fighting across the street."
They were both sitting opposite Luo Yan, with their backs to the main road.
It's human nature to watch a spectacle, so there's no need to remain silent. The two of them turned around openly and said, "They've really started fighting."
Luo Hong was good at dealing with people and believed that a close neighbor was better than a distant relative. After opening his business, he became familiar with all the shop owners on the street.
He looked closely and said, "Hey, it looks like Old Zhang from the noodle shop. I'll go check it out."
Luo Yan called out from behind, "Be careful, don't get hurt."
Luo Hong responded and left, leaving only Luo Yan and Zhou Weifang to continue eating lychees.
Zhou Weifang peeled the shell slowly and asked, "I haven't seen you rehearse much lately."
Luo Yan laughed out loud: "Our class monitor said time is precious, don't waste your youth."
Their class seems to be hovering around the bottom of the rankings no matter how much they practice.
Zhou Weifang: "Your class monitor is quite funny."
Luo Yan nodded.
Zhou Weifang thought to himself that someone who could be the class monitor must have good grades. Feeling like he was facing a formidable enemy, he confirmed again: "Is this the boy I saw at the department store last time?"
Luo Yan: "Yes."
Her tone didn't seem to indicate anything was wrong. Zhou Weifang had seen how she had mentioned Zhou Xiuhe before, and he breathed a slight sigh of relief, but he still felt a lump in his throat—in the end, he didn't even have the right to ask.
Luo Yan had no idea what he was thinking. After eating three more lychees, she went to wash her hands and muttered, "They're still arguing."
The noise from across the street easily reached them. Zhou Weifang said, "It's so noisy."
It's better to talk than to do, Luo Yan wiped the water off her hands: "Never mind him, let's review."
Zhou Weifang wiped the spilled juice off the table, made room, and was about to say something when someone outside called out, "Boss, my car is broken."
Zhou Weifang: "Hey, here I am."
The older brother was having a great time joining in the fun, while others ended up doing the actual work.
Luo Yan shook her head helplessly. After the guests left, she noticed that Zhou Weifang's clothes had been smeared with engine oil. She said, "You should rub it off quickly. These aren't work clothes. You're ruining them."
Zhou Weifang always tries to dress presentably when he comes, and today he is wearing a white pullover.
He glanced down at it indifferently and said, "It's fine, I can wash it when I get back."
This kind of stain will definitely be troublesome if left for a long time. Luo Yan said, "Just wash it. I just bought some new laundry detergent, it works really well."
Since she said that, Zhou Weifang started scrubbing at the tap.
But he was only rubbing the hem of his clothes. It was inconvenient to wash while half-squatting, and somehow, most of his clothes ended up soaking wet, dripping water.
Luo Yan: "You can't wear this anymore, my brother's shop seems to have some."
She rummaged on the shelf, pulled out a tank top, and subconsciously sniffed it to see if it smelled of soap. "It's clean," she said.
The clothes were clean, but Zhou Weifang's...
His thoughts were a little impure; he kept feeling that Luo Yan had just sniffed him.
He looked around with the clothes in his hand, but couldn't find anything that could block people out, and then his eyes met Luo Yan's.
Ah, he needs to change his clothes, Luo Yan quickly turned his back. But the dim light stretched his shadow long, making even the rustling sounds very clear.
Zhou Weifang changed quickly, then coughed awkwardly, "I'm all better now."
Luo Yan felt awkward for some reason, so she pretended to be busy and said, "Let me see if I can find a clothes hanger for you to hang up."
Zhou Weifang: "It's okay, I'll just spread it on the bicycle so I can remember to take it with me later."
"Alright," Luo Yan sat down, patted her trouser legs with both hands before opening the book.
Zhou Weifang sat opposite her, pretending to read a few pages of the book before asking, "Yanzi, I don't understand this."
Luo Yan turned her head slightly to look over and explained line by line, following his finger.
Luo Hong returned after meddling in other people's business and didn't disturb them. After a while, he realized what was happening and asked, "Fangzi, were you wearing this just now?"
Zhou Weifang explained, "I'll wash it and bring it to you later."
Luo Hong said anything, but seeing his childhood friend shirtless, he punched him: "Hey, you're pretty strong."
Zhou Weifang has been doing manual labor for many years, and he has a very muscular build.
Luo Yan politely glanced at the muscles as her brother spoke, and found them to be strong and muscular, but a strange thought popped into her head: Would it hurt if you pinched the muscles?
She was a pragmatist, and looked at her brother with a smile.
Luo Hong's hair stood on end from laughing. He asked, "What are you going to do?"
"There are still people here," Luo Yan said innocently. "Can't I even laugh?"
Luo Hong resolutely replied, "No."
"What he said doesn't count," Luo Yan raised an eyebrow and turned a page of her book.
Luo Hong couldn't help but say, "Sometimes you're full of bad ideas too. What are you plotting this time?"
Luo Yan wasn't going to tell him now, so she tapped the table and said, "Look over here, don't get distracted."
Who else could she be talking to? Zhou Weifang quickly listened attentively to the lesson and waited until she finished before flattering her: "Now that you've finished speaking, I feel confident about my exam next week."
Five days passed in the blink of an eye, and soon it was time for Zhou Weifang's graduation exam.
He also engaged in some superstitious activities, such as eating a fried dough stick and two eggs first thing in the morning.
But this amount was practically nothing to him; after eating, his stomach felt completely empty. Afraid of ruining the perfect meal, he forced himself to eat it.
Unfortunately, the two apprentices had an exceptionally lavish breakfast today, and they stood on either side of their master, chatting. Zhou Weifang, smelling the aroma, became even hungrier and urged them, "Hurry up and finish eating so we can get back to work."
The eldest apprentice quickly stuffed the fist-sized bun into his mouth and chewed it slowly and laboriously.
Zhou Weifang was afraid that he might choke and said, "Eat slowly."
Why is there such a discrepancy? The eldest apprentice pounded his chest, a hint of reproach flashing in his eyes, but he dared not speak out, swallowing his anger before going back to work.
With more employees, Zhou Weifang would have less to do himself.
He took advantage of a spare moment to read a couple more pages of the book. As he flipped through the pages, he suddenly felt something was amiss and looked in the mirror to see if he had been possessed by some kind of monster.
As he was looking around, someone said, "Why is a grown man taking pictures like this?"
Zhou Weifang placed the book face down on the table: "Brother Hong is here."
Zhu Tianhong: "Oh, reading a book?"
Zhou Weifang bluntly stated: "I need to learn."
That's good. I always thought this kid would amount to something.
Zhu Tianhong: "I came to tell you that I'm leaving on the 10th of next month, and also to see how your shop is doing."
He hadn't been here much before, but now that he looked at it closely, he thought it looked quite impressive and said, "It's quite presentable."
Zhou Weifang poured him some tea: "Compared to you, this is just a small matter."
That's not how it works. Zhu Tianhong: "My first business deal in 1953..."
He said a few simple words and chatted about other things before leaving.
Zhou Weifang saw him to the door and, seeing that it was almost time, said, "Brother, how about we have lunch together?"
Zhu Tianhong: "Sure, I'll mooch a meal at your place."
The two of them didn't really care about the location and just chose a small restaurant nearby.
Taking advantage of the moment, Zhou Weifang inquired about the situation in Fujian, saying, "I've never been to the South before."
Zhu Tianhong: "There are a lot of mosquitoes, it's hot, and the locals' Mandarin is generally not very good, so you'll have to get used to it when you go there."
Since it was just casual conversation, Zhou Weifang asked, "Is there anything good to eat?"
Zhu Tianhong: "There are quite a few, and one good thing about them is that they don't drink too much alcohol."
When you're out doing business, you always have to have a drink at the table; there's no way around it, no matter where you are.
Zhou Weifang thought to himself that this was indeed a great advantage, and then he kept bringing up the lychees that came with the plane.
When this was mentioned, Zhu Tianhong slapped his thigh and said, "We're just ordinary people. Even if we had money, we couldn't buy a plane ticket. Otherwise, it would have been so much faster. I would have lost so much money on the way here."
Zhou Weifang: "It will definitely be available in two years. Look, you don't need a letter of introduction to buy a sleeper berth now."
In the past, tickets were extremely hard to come by; without strong connections, no one could get a seat.
Zhu Tianhong casually mentioned, "Don't worry, I definitely bought a sleeper berth."
He carries money with him when he goes out, so of course he'll do whatever's safest.
Zhou Weifang is not a delicate person: "No matter how hard it is, it can't be as hard as living in a dugout in Xinjiang."
That was truly a place where the sky was used as a blanket and the earth as a mattress.
Zhu Tianhong: "The guesthouse there is alright. Just bring some clothes to change into. You can buy more when you get there."
The two of them discussed their travel plans.
After the meal, Zhu Tianhong went to take care of some business, while Zhou Weifang returned to the shop to continue reading.
In fact, the course content of the continuing education program is not too much, since there are only a few classes per semester, and the students' foundations vary.
But that doesn't mean everyone's learning is mediocre. Zhou Weifang knew there were also very diligent students, and he couldn't help but feel nervous, wishing he could devour the whole book in the last few minutes. As he was leaving, he was still wondering if there were any pages he couldn't quite remember.
However, once he sits in the examination room, all the knowledge instantly springs out of his mind, and he writes with divine inspiration.
As he wrote smoothly, he smiled as if he could already see the excellent results, and began to ponder: What should Luo Yan and I eat? Peking duck or Western food?
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Author's note: Good night!
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