Chapter 54 (Second Update)
Luo Yan had met very few boys; she could practically count them on her fingers. She couldn't think of any rules for choosing a partner, so that night she shamelessly went to her brother's room to ask him.
Luo Hong was straightforward: "Anything that makes you happy is fine."
What kind of standard is this? Luo Yan: "Saying it is the same as saying nothing."
Luo Hong: "You're not stupid, do you not know whether it's suitable or not?"
Even if he had a thousand or eight hundred criteria, none of them could compare to the fact that his sister liked it.
Luo Yan felt that he was just being perfunctory, so she tossed her braid and turned to leave.
Luo Hong stopped her: "I'll just mention one thing, you can't stand even the slightest grievance."
Luo Yan said, "I'm not Empress Dowager Cixi."
Luo Hong sneered: "You're pretty much like Empress Dowager Cixi at home."
Luo Yan rolled her eyes at him, then twitched her ears and said, "Zhou Weifang is calling you."
She could even hear it clearly. Luo Hong: "Your ears are so sharp?"
Luo Yan raised an eyebrow: "Because I'm young and have sharp hearing and eyesight."
"Who are you calling old?" Luo Hong patted his sister on the back of the head, squeezed past her, opened the door, and said, "Coming."
Zhou Weifang arrived carrying things in both hands. Upon entering and seeing that his elders were not there, he thought there was no need for him to be overly attentive. He stuffed the things into his childhood friend's hands and asked, "Are your aunt and uncle out?"
Luo Hong didn't stand on ceremony with him and brewed a cup of tea: "Go and wish my dad's old squad leader a Happy New Year."
My parents go every year.
Zhou Weifang sat down casually and greeted Luo Yan, saying, "I brought some questions with me."
He had prepared for both possibilities, thinking that if he couldn't please the elders, he could do something else.
Luo Yan gave him some melon seeds and peanuts before leaning over to look at his questions, saying, "Let me sort them out."
While she was stroking her hair, two men were talking.
Luo Hong asked, "Are you staying at home tonight?"
Zhou Weifang: "My older brother is back too. There's not enough space. It's more convenient for me to go back to the shop. I'll come over tomorrow."
Every household is short of housing, so it's normal for the floor to be packed with people during holidays like Chinese New Year.
Luo Hong: "Why don't you stay at my place for the night?"
Zhou Weifang: "No need, there might be business at night, I can earn a few more cents to celebrate the New Year."
To be honest, their family circumstances are different. Although Luo Hong also wants to make money, he can't match Luo Hong's drive.
He said, "Okay, Mr. Zhou will definitely make a fortune next year."
Zhou Weifang cupped his hands in greeting: "Thank you for your kind words."
Stop with these useless words. Luo Yan held out her hand between the two of them and said, "Have you not started reading the 'Introduction to Economics' book I gave you last time?"
She gave him a book last time, but Zhou Weifang couldn't understand it now, and said guiltily, "I've been quite busy lately." Even when busy, learning still needs to be done in a structured way.
Luo Yan: "Accounting is a broad subject. It's not enough to just know addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. You need to study it in a comprehensive way."
Zhou Weifang accepted the instruction: "I'll look at it as soon as I get back."
Luo Yan was barely satisfied and slapped the table: "Let me tell you about this first."
Looking at their aggressive stance, Luo Hong said, "What did I tell you?"
Zhou Weifang complained: "They've been talking badly about Yanzi."
Luo Yan knew exactly what her brother was framing, and punched him, saying, "I'm responsible."
Luo Hong waved his hand: "I am not worthy of such hospitality. Please, you two."
He sat to one side reading a book, showing no awareness of immersing himself in the learning atmosphere, and even crossed his legs.
Luo Yan couldn't stand his comfort and criticized him, "Sit properly."
Luo Hong: "Don't nitpick. People should be more comfortable at home."
Luo Yan really couldn't refute it, and muttered under her breath.
Seeing this, Zhou Weifang scribbled on the book: "I didn't quite understand what you were saying."
Fortunately, there was still someone who was humble and eager to learn, which gave Luo Yan some comfort. After explaining it again, she said, "That's all for today. Go back and go through it yourself."
Zhou Weifang's mind was suddenly filled with too much knowledge, and he really couldn't integrate it all at once.
He closed the book and then took a red envelope out of his pocket: "Here you go, Happy New Year."
Hmm? There wasn't this rule in previous years.
Luo Yan glanced at her brother instinctively.
Luo Hong seemed to have known all along, and nodded: "Take this tuition fee and use it to buy candy."
Luo Yan accepted her brother's words without hesitation and happily put the gift in her pocket, saying, "Wait a minute, I also have a New Year's gift for you."
She ran into the room and found two junior high school textbooks, saying, "You can take a look when you have time."
Zhou Weifang thought to himself that he had only wanted to learn accounting, but he never expected that learning would be such a complicated matter. He smiled wryly and said, "Okay, thank you."
Luo Hong was much more audacious, commenting, "He repays kindness with enmity."
"What do you mean?" Luo Yan glared at her brother. "My book has notes in it, and several people have wanted them, but I haven't been willing to give them away."
She kept everything; the room was filled with these odds and ends. Luo Hong, ultimately on his sister's side, worried that his childhood friend wouldn't understand the value of the gift, said, "This is real; she treasures it very much."
Zhou Weifang: "I will definitely keep it safe and read it carefully."
He could see dense writing on any page he flipped through, and he felt that even keeping it in his pocket would be disrespectful. He said, "I should have given you a big red envelope."
Luo Yan said earnestly, "As long as you can learn it, I'll give you a red envelope."
She's a woman of her word, and fearing that she might agree to something beyond her means, she quietly added, "But it can only be a small red envelope."
Zhou Weifang felt honored that her childhood friend, who always said her sister was greedy, was giving her a small red envelope.
He said, "Teacher Luo has really gone all out."
It's strange; it's a very formal address, but he pronounces it in a weird way.
Ignoring the slight unease in her heart, Luo Yan said, "You guys chat, I'm going back to my room."
Zhou Weifang had nothing to chat with his childhood friend about, so he stood up and said, "Since my aunt and uncle aren't here, I'll head back first."
As he was about to leave, Luo Yan remembered something: "Do you put up paper-cut window decorations in your shop?"
Luo Hong interjected, "His shop doesn't have any windows."
Luo Yan: "Don't nitpick over the words. Who says window decorations can only be pasted on windows?"
She then said, "I cut a lot of hair today, do you want some?"
Zhou Weifang wanted everything.
He put it on his bedside table when he got back to the shop, and slept incredibly well that night.
This thing had no effect on Luo Yan, but it didn't prevent her from getting a good night's sleep either. She was woken up early the next morning by firecrackers.
Wangcai and Laifu thought it was something serious and started barking, causing more trouble, until they were scolded by several people.
Luo Yan recognized her mother's voice from the voice, got out of bed, changed her clothes, and went to the yard to wash up.
Liu Yinfeng was washing pig ears when she saw her daughter and said, "Why don't you sleep a little longer?"
Luo Yan was startled by the empty holes in the pig's face eyes, and squinted her eyes: "Mom, how early did you go to the market? Why didn't you call me?"
Liu Yinfeng: "Your dad is there."
He added, "Let's change the menu today, so you won't complain that it's the same every New Year's Eve."
It doesn't matter what we eat on New Year's Eve, the important thing is to eat less leftovers during the first month of the lunar year. But Luo Yan knew that saying it wouldn't stop her mother from cooking a big feast today, so she said, "I'm not complaining, it's all my brother's fault."
Liu Yinfeng couldn't just protect her daughter and distort the facts, so she glanced at her and asked, "Really not?"
Luo Yan chuckled, pinching the food between two fingers: "Just a little bit."
Liu Yinfeng wasn't angry; she simply said, "Let's slice a roast duck and eat it today."
This is a dish we definitely can't make at home. Luo Yan brushed her teeth and mumbled, "I'll go buy it after I finish breakfast."
"Why would we need her?" Liu Yinfeng said. "Didn't you see that Dad isn't home?"
Luo Yan couldn't help but worry: "In this kind of weather, will my dad be able to stand up?"
There will definitely be long queues at Quanjude today; it would be considered fast if you could buy something in an hour or two.
Liu Yinfeng: "It's okay, he'll feel bad if we don't let him go."
Everyone in the family knows about Dad's temper.
Luo Yan spat out a mouthful of toothpaste: "No, I'll go check if there are many people later."
There's only one New Year's Eve a year, so there's no reason why it shouldn't be one more.
Liu Yinfeng: "Go ahead, go ahead, and bring back some red sausage while you're at it."
Today's menu is quite different from previous years. Luo Yan washed her face, wincing from the cold water, and went inside to eat breakfast, calling out, "Brother!! Get up!"
No sleeping in on New Year's Eve. Luo Hong had to get up whether he wanted to or not. He rubbed his messy hair, which looked like a bird's nest, and soon realized that someone was missing from the house. He asked, "Where's Dad?"
Luo Yan: "I'm queuing up to buy roast duck."
Perhaps because he was also a man, Luo Hong could better understand his father's feelings: "Let him line up."
After washing up, he picked up a steamed bun from the table, took a bite, and seeing his younger sister putting on a scarf, asked, "Where are you going?"
Luo Yan: "I'm buying red sausage, and while I'm at it, I'll see where Dad is in line."
Everyone knows which is by chance. Luo Hong glanced at the weather outside: "It's freezing cold. Oh well, I'm going to hand out red envelopes anyway."
As he spoke, he patted his pockets, but didn't see any extra red envelopes in the cabinet. He said, "I'll use the envelope from the three parties I gave you last night."
Luo Yan received her tuition for the first time and thought it was quite meaningful, but she looked worried and said, "Ask your mom for it, she'll definitely have it."
He added, "Do you know he gave me ten yuan?"
Luo Hong was genuinely unaware: "Quite generous."
Luo Yan felt uneasy about receiving such a large red envelope from her family: "I think it's too much."
Luo Hong also felt it was too much, and thought to himself that he would pay another one later, but said aloud, "It's okay, he's made a fortune this year."
Luo Yan quietly inquired, "Is he a millionaire?"
Everyone's talking about how so-and-so has become a millionaire, but in reality, there aren't that many. Luo Hong: "It'll take two years."
That's amazing! Luo Yan had never seen so much money before. She clicked her tongue in amazement: "Ten thousand yuan could buy the whole hospital."
These days, even if you have money, there's nowhere to spend it. Zhou Weifang said, "Let alone buying, it's difficult to even rent a house."
Almost all the vacant houses in the city are in the hands of the housing management bureau. There aren't enough for all the other units to go around, so where would they get room to rent to private individuals?
That makes sense; otherwise, why would everyone want to work for a company?
Luo Yan said a few more words and helped her brother find an empty red envelope in the cabinet.
Luo Hong filled each bag with a dime, and as he passed his mother, he asked, "Besides the sausage, do you want anything else?"
Liu Yinfeng: "Buy whatever you want to eat."
Luo Hong thought that if he bought too much, he didn't know when he would finish eating it, so he said, "I think red sausage is fine."
Liu Yinfeng was still preparing the pig's head meat and had no time to pay attention to what he was saying. She waved her hand and said, "Okay, go ahead."
Luo Hong rode his bicycle out and, like a generous benefactor, handed out red envelopes to several friends with children along the way—not many, not even ten in total.
They didn't refuse, and even joked with him, "You should give me a chance to return the favor next year."
Luo Hong kept saying "There's a chance, there's a chance," but in reality, he rode his bicycle very fast, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
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Author's note: After thinking about it, I've decided to update to 200,000 words today. Yay!
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