Chapter 77 (First Update)
With the support of his family, Luo Hong quickly began the process of resigning, but he got stuck at the very first step.
He had just submitted his report to the personnel department when several factory leaders inquired about it. In this day and age, people who voluntarily resign are extremely rare in the city, and if word got out, those who didn't know the situation would think that the bicycle factory had done something to him.
Luo Hong had no choice but to explain again and again that it was his own choice, but no one believed him at all.
Moreover, the leader learned of his conflict with Wang Tumao and concluded that he must have been bullied. He severely scolded Wang Tumao, punished him by making him write a self-criticism, and disqualified him from next year's performance evaluation and commendation.
Even so, Luo Hong still insisted on leaving, but no one was willing to stamp his application, fearing that he would regret it and come back to cause trouble. As a compromise, they granted him half a month's leave first.
He had no choice but to start making a fuss, squatting at the entrance of the personnel department every morning and going to Jiaotong University to tidy up the shop in the afternoon.
The shop is located at the entrance of Jiaotong University, next to the security office. It is about fifteen square meters in total, and the monthly rent is three yuan.
This place was originally used to store miscellaneous items, and for a few years people even lived there. Later, it was used for all sorts of random things, so when Luo Hong rented it, it was already full of garbage.
Calling it garbage is being polite.
When Luo Hong opened the door for the first time, he saw a nest of rats, both alive and dead. Even someone as brave as him was quite frightened, and he gritted his teeth and slowly cleaned it up.
Luo Yan was initially eager to bring her brother food, but after learning about this, she resolutely refused to get close. Liu Yinfeng, on the other hand, wanted to help her son, but was also refused.
But he couldn't stop his childhood friend from coming.
It happened to be Wednesday. Zhou Weifang had classes in the evening, but he came to help after finishing his work in the afternoon.
Before he even entered the house, he was covered in dust. He poked his head in and asked, "Are you sweeping or just eating dust?"
Luo Hong was fully armed, even his ears were plugged with two wads of paper. It took two shouts for him to hear him, and he turned around: "When did you get here?"
Zhou Weifang spat out the ash that had entered his mouth with two "pui" sounds: "Just arrived, do you still have any masks?"
He wasn't usually a particular person, but he felt the air here wasn't very clean, and he frowned even when he spoke.
Luo Hong even came looking for him: "This is the auspicious place you were talking about."
The broom, when stood upright, somehow exuded a menacing aura.
Zhou Weifang: "It's good enough that you have a place; otherwise, you wouldn't have a chance."
That's right. Luo Hong gave him the spare mask, and the two of them stopped talking. After a while, they were covered in sweat and went outside to rest for a bit.
Zhou Weifang went to the duty room next door to borrow some water to wash his hands and face. He felt much more refreshed. He took the soda from his childhood friend, gritted his teeth, and pried open the bottle cap.
Luo Yan arrived just in time to witness this scene, and for some reason, her teeth started to ache: "Wow, iron teeth and bronze teeth."
Zhou Weifang instinctively handed it to her: "Want some?"
Luo Yan looked at the words "Give me the one you bit open" in her bright, sparkling eyes, with a hint of disdain.
Zhou Wei only then realized what was happening and chuckled, "get out of class is over?"
Luo Yan: "We'll have PE class. Now you're free to do whatever you want."
Then I saw my brother take a step back.
Luo Hong said irritably, "Do you believe I'll smear my claws on your face later?"
Luo Yan backed down again: "I came to pick up my lunchbox so I can get you dinner tonight."
Luo Hong: "I just need the meat."
"Fine, I'll pay you back," Luo Yan rolled her eyes slightly. "Dream on."
Then, with a slightly more amiable tone, he asked, "And you?"
"You mean Zhou Weifang?" he said. "You can hit me however you want. I'm not picky."
Luo Yan treated him like a guest, always ordering meat dishes when serving the food, resulting in an exceptionally lavish spread.
Luo Hong borrowed a table and chairs from the duty room and placed them under the tree in front of the shop. Seeing his younger sister sit down, he asked, "Are you eating here too?"
What are you saying, Luo Yan? "You won't even let me eat the food I ordered?"
Luo Hong raised his chin: "I was just worried you'd feel awkward if there were too many people around."
It was right at the time when school let out, and the shop was located on the route that most students had to take. Anyone would pass by their simple tables, their eyes unconsciously scanning over them.
Luo Yan, being shy, stood up abruptly: "Goodbye."
She ran quite fast. Zhou Weifang turned his gaze from her back to his childhood friend.
Luo Hong pretended that he hadn't meant to send his sister away on purpose, picked up a piece of braised pork and said, "Eat up, don't you have class at six?"
Zhou Weifang wasn't distracted by the food; he looked at his childhood friend in silence for a while.
Luo Hong felt uneasy: "Why are you staring at me?"
Zhou Weifang swallowed his guess: "It's nothing."
The two ate quietly, and after finishing, Zhou Weifang went to class. He ran into Zhou Xiuhe in the corridor and couldn't help but stare at him.
We had met briefly at the city library two months ago, and we were all bundled up in layers of winter clothes.
Zhou Xiuhe didn't recognize him, nor did he notice anyone watching him, as he was chatting with his classmates.
The spirited young man seemed perfectly suited to Luo Yan, but Zhou Weifang just couldn't give up. His hands unconsciously clenched as he turned and went into the classroom.
On the other side, Luo Yan had just sat down.
She brought candy today and shared some with the classmates around her, openly promoting her brother's soon-to-open store.
Ji Ning readily agreed: "I'll help you spread the word when we get back to the dorm."
Luo Yan happily thanked her and moved to another spot to continue handing out candy.
As soon as she left, the other classmates started gossiping: "Wasn't Luo Yan's brother an employee? How come he suddenly opened a shop?"
Ji Ning also found it strange, but there was a reason why she was so popular. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Maybe it's because of my cousin?"
Who would have thought that someone would choose to have a proper job instead of starting their own business? Everyone has come to accept this explanation.
This was quite a novelty in the daily grind of school life, and by the next break, almost the entire class knew about it.
To be honest, Luo Yan is a well-known figure in her major, which is because she is academically excellent and beautiful. Even if you just glance at the classroom from the corridor, anyone with eyes will see her first.
The students in this year's class are all young men and women of similar age, at the prime age of first love. Whenever the boys in the dormitory talk about girls, her name is always among them.
As a result, by the time Zhou Xiuhe returned to his dormitory that evening, the news had already spread to his major.
He had just seen Luo Yan off when he heard his sweetheart's name. He smiled, a hint of hidden pride in his expression, and pulled up a chair to sit down.
The roommates were still discussing enthusiastically, but the topic had changed to which bicycle was the best.
Zhou Xiuhe felt bored and took his clothes to the bathhouse.
--
Luo Yan had no idea that her small act of publicity had such a big effect, and she still took credit for it from her brother when he got home.
Luo Hong brushed the dust off his clothes: "Okay, I'll keep track of your expenses and give you a share of the profits later."
Luo Yan smiled gleefully and feigned politeness: "No need, no need."
Luo Hong agreed, saying, "Okay, that'll save you the trouble."
Luo Yan immediately said no, and instead of punching him, she pulled back and kicked him instead.
Luo Hong jumped to the right to dodge and looked at his parents watching TV: "Dad, let's not sign it."
His son got a job at the bicycle factory through a connection from an old comrade-in-arms of Luo Xinmin. But favors fade with use, and he rarely bothers people. So why is he asking, "Is the place cleaned up?"
Luo Hong: Not yet, but the new regulations now require a review process for obtaining a license, which takes at least a week.
As long as he is an employee, he will not be able to pass the review at the Industry and Commerce Bureau.
Luo Xinmin didn't understand these things very well, and asked, "Was it originally supposed to be for several days?"
Luo Hong: "The next day."
So Luo Xinmin said, "Wait for me at the factory gate after get off work tomorrow. Buy two bottles of good wine and come over to Old Chen's house for a visit."
Luo Hong originally wanted to solve it himself, but every day he delayed would cost him money, and if he dragged it out any longer, the students would be on summer vacation.
He nodded in agreement, and then said to his sister, "If you go to the security office a couple more times, the people there will recognize you. In the future, have Xiao Zhou follow you in a less obvious way, or they'll catch you."
Is it obvious? Luo Yan still felt the distance was quite large, and said, "I know."
Luo Hong instinctively wanted to pat her head, but when he raised his hand, he remembered that his palm was dirty, and said, "I'm going to take a shower."
After her son left, Liu Yinfeng asked her daughter, "Does your brother really not lack money?"
Luo Yan: "I don't think I need it, I didn't ask you for any."
The son might be too shy to ask his parents for help, but he certainly won't hold back with his sister.
Liu Yinfeng felt relieved, but still muttered to herself, "It's best not to use the money I saved for my wife."
Luo Yan: "Don't worry, my brother will definitely be able to earn money on his own."
Liu Yinfeng wasn't so optimistic, but she valued good fortune and didn't want to say anything discouraging. She simply said, "Just take his side."
Luo Yan said matter-of-factly, "I only have one older brother."
Liu Yinfeng: "Luckily, there was only one."
With fewer children, even if the son causes a huge disaster, he still has his parents to support him.
Luo Yan smiled and said, "Luckily, there was one."
After saying that, he went into his room to read.
It is a blessing for parents to have a good relationship with their children.
What else could Liu Yinfeng say? She just turned to her husband and instructed him, "Tomorrow, ask your son a few more questions so he doesn't run out of money."
Luo Xinmin agreed, but he didn't quite understand the tact of asking questions. The next day, he directly put the money his wife gave him into his son's pocket.
Luo Hong tried to stuff it back into his father's hand: "No, I really have enough."
Luo Xinmin stopped him: "From now on, it's all yours and your sister's. Take it if you need it."
He added, "Don't worry, you'll have a younger sister someday too."
Luo Hong joked on purpose: "It's fine if you don't give it to her, just give it all to me."
Luo Xinmin knew his son's character perfectly well, and said, "You can agree if you want."
Luo Hong was rarely speechless because of his father. Pushing his bicycle, he said, "If she hears this again, she'll scratch me."
The father and son walked and talked, having a meal and drinks at Old Chen's house, and then got everything done.
The next day, Luo Hong finally received his resignation certificate. Holding the thin piece of paper, he stood at the factory gate, overwhelmed with emotion, when suddenly he felt a gust of wind swirl in front of him.
The wind probably wanted to send him soaring to the heavens.
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Author's Note: Working on the second update.
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