Chapter 47 Trouble
Zhou Weifang's intuition was correct; his license renewal was stuck on Liu Cheng's case.
Because there have been many petty thefts in the alley recently, the total amount of money involved is not small. Liu Cheng admitted to some of them, but he insisted that he did not commit a large part of them.
In that case, we must eliminate suspicion one by one.
These trivial matters are like headless flies when it comes to dealing with them, and the Lunar New Year is a time when emergencies are frequent, so the police station couldn't spare any manpower.
But as long as the case remains unresolved, Zhou Weifang will remain a link in the chain of events. The police station refuses to issue him a certificate, saying that he may have even greater suspicion of receiving stolen goods.
Zhou Weifang was so angry that he felt he had been wronged.
Luo Hong was also anxious and upset. After all, he had just received his first bonus and had just spent a lot of effort to secure the distribution rights for this year at the factory. He had gone to the car dealership as soon as he got off work for two days in a row.
The two cobblers huddled together and whispered amongst themselves for a long time before Luo Hong finally went home.
He was startled to see the lights still on in his house, wondering if the news had spread so quickly.
However, when he opened the door and saw the family of three there, he knew he was wrong. He said to himself, "I had forgotten about the TV."
How dare you say that? Liu Yinfeng: "I told you to come back early today to get it done. Jianjun even helped install the antenna."
Luo Xinmin has difficulty walking and can't climb onto the roof at all. He inevitably feels depressed at times like this, but he still tries to smooth things over for his son: "Work is important."
Luo Yan winked at her brother, indicating that she had already covered for him.
Luo Hongshun said, "My supervisor made me work overtime, and I had no choice."
Liu Yinfeng simply asked, "Are you hungry? I'll get you a bowl of noodles."
Luo Hong: "I'm not hungry."
He leaned closer to look at the TV: "There's no sign of that either."
Inside, it was all white. Liu Yinfeng showed her son her watch: "Don't you even know what time it is?"
Once it's past 10 o'clock, there's nothing left to watch.
Luo Hong: "I didn't pay attention to the time."
He laughed again, "From now on, you and Dad will have to stay up late and get up early."
If he hadn't come in, Liu Yinfeng would have already turned off the TV.
She unplugged the power cord and covered the room with a pretty floral cloth: "I can't stay up any longer, you should all go to sleep early too."
The couple went into the room, leaving the brother and sister in the living room.
Luo Yan swept up the sunflower seed shells on the ground and asked in a low voice, "Is it troublesome?"
Luo Hong replied evasively, "No, I can handle it."
My sister can't help either, so why make her worry too?
Luo Yan couldn't discern anything amiss from his expression. Although she was somewhat suspicious, she didn't press him for details, only saying, "If you need money, go to my room and get it yourself."
Luo Hong flicked his sister on the head: "I won't be polite with you."
Luo Yan felt a little relieved: "I'm going to sleep."
As soon as she returned to her room, Luo Hong grabbed his hair and sighed, but he knew that venting was useless. After washing up, he lay down and went out early the next morning.
When Luo Yan woke up, she found that her brother was not there, and she had to lie to her parents.
Liu Yinfeng didn't think anything was wrong with her son being away from home all the time, and besides, his attention was currently focused on the new television.
It wasn't even eight o'clock yet, and she was already sitting on a stool, waiting.
When Luo Yan was about to leave, she told her mother, but the mother didn't hear her at all.
She thought to herself: That's good, at least she won't have time to figure out what her brother is doing these past two days.
Luo Yan couldn't figure it out no matter how hard she tried, so she decided not to waste the time and went to the library as usual. As she sat down, she wondered: why was Zhou Xiuhe arriving later and later?
Zhou Xiuhe deliberately stayed late so that he could subtly get closer to her every day.
The two are now only one meter apart, and they can see each other with just a turn of their heads.
Luo Yan was completely unaware of his ulterior motives. She greeted him as he arrived, saying, "Good morning."
Zhou Xiuhe replied with a "Good morning," sat down, opened his book, and after reading two words, he couldn't help but want to talk to her. However, when he turned his head and saw her serious expression, he didn't want to disturb her.
Hesitant and stammering, he was caught red-handed by Luo Yan.
She asked, "What's wrong?"
Zhou Xiuhe was surprised that she would suddenly turn her head, and stammered, "No, it's nothing."
Luo Yan: "Hmm?"
His voice was light and flippant, and his eyes widened even more.
So cute! Zhou Xiu's heart is pounding like a drum.
He used to think that judging people by their appearance was the most superficial thing in the world, but he never expected that he was no different.
However, this was only natural, and Zhou Xiuhe felt it was perfectly reasonable, so he pushed the book over and said, "I don't understand this question."
Luo Yan saw that it was quite difficult, but instead laughed and said, "Let me figure it out."
She scribbled on the draft paper: "It should be the area of this circle..."
From childhood, Zhou Xiuhe had always considered himself gifted in his studies, and he saw in Luo Yan a sense of equal footing. This kind of competition didn't make him crave victory; he only hoped that everyone could continue to walk together.
After listening, he said, "Thank you."
Luo Yan just smiled and said she would ask him about anything she didn't understand later.
The courses for all freshmen in the college are actually quite similar, so there is a lot of overlap in their assignments. Since they are both good students, they can ask each other for answers to any questions they have.
Luo Yan used to bury herself in her studies, but this was the first time she realized what it meant to have one person's plan be better than two people's. She thought to herself that it would be great if everyone could study together in the future.
The thought had barely crossed her mind when she felt embarrassed. Yet, her girlish feelings kept creeping in, making her absent-minded.
Both individuals, each with their own ulterior motives, had their eyes on the books, but their minds were elsewhere. Feeling guilty, they glanced at each other and quickly looked away.
Even though she had almost finished her winter break homework, Luo Yan still spent the whole day in the library before going home.
As soon as she entered the door, she said, "Mom, I feel like you were in the same position when you left this morning."
Liu Yinfeng spared a little attention from the television for her daughter: "Come here, come here, it's a TV drama."
Luo Yan wasn't actually very interested, because she preferred to watch it from beginning to end.
However, she was happy to support her mother, so she sat down with a handful of melon seeds.
When Luo Xinmin came home from get off work, he saw the mother and daughter staring at the screen, hanging up their hats and brushing the dust off their clothes.
The sound caught Liu Yinfeng's attention, and she exclaimed, "I haven't cooked yet!"
Luo Xinmin: "Let's not make it anymore, we'll buy something to eat tonight."
Luo Yan could tell that her father was also very interested in TV dramas, so she volunteered, "I'll go buy them; my butt hurts from sitting so long."
She carried her lunchbox out the door, swinging it playfully as she walked, but quickly composed herself when she saw the Zhou sisters around the corner.
Zhou Yuyao asked, "Where is Yanzi going?"
Luo Yan: "Go get the food."
After exchanging a few pleasantries, they went their separate ways.
After taking two steps, Luo Yan looked back and saw that the Zhou sisters must be talking about something happy. She smiled and nudged one of them.
Luo Yan couldn't help but think of Zhou Weifang.
She has always felt that family is the most important support in life, but in her limited experience, this is actually a very small minority.
Even with blood ties, it seems that people need a lot of fate to be together. But Zhou Weifang didn't seem to have much of a connection with his family, so much so that when he was sent to the countryside, he resolutely signed up to go to the frontier.
In the wind and sand of the frontier, does he miss home?
The thought popped into Luo Yan's mind, but thinking that Zhou Weifang was probably not the type to be sentimental, she shrugged and walked forward.
Zhou Weifang was unaware that he was being targeted and continued to hold a small meeting with Luo Hong in the store.
He said, "The worst outcome is that a new license will be issued in your name."
Luo Hong said with a headache, "Then I'll have to leave from the factory."
The employees are not allowed to be self-employed. Not to mention the difficulty in explaining to their parents, they themselves would also find it hard to accept. They said, "I have to become a millionaire before I can face my parents."
Zhou Weifang thought even deeper: since he was interested in Luo Yan, he couldn't afford to offend any member of the Luo family. If his childhood friend really resigned, he would be considered the culprit to some extent, and it would be difficult for him to make amends in the future.
He emphasized: "That's why I say this is the worst possible solution."
Luo Hong rubbed his hair, looking exasperated. "You went to see Liu Cheng's brother today, so what did you say?"
Zhou Weifang: "He promised to pass on a message to him so that he would admit it sooner, but it will probably be after the New Year at the earliest."
When it comes to the Chinese New Year, it feels like even if the sky falls, it won't be until after New Year's Eve.
With the Lunar New Year just days away, this had to happen during this joyous time.
Luo Hong: "The license also expires after the New Year, let's wait and see."
They've tried everything they could think of, and now they can only wait for a turning point. This feeling of resignation is unpleasant, especially after a year of success.
Zhou Weifang stared into the air, as if there was an invisible ladder to heaven in front of him—he could never climb it no matter what he did.
Suddenly, Luo Hong slammed his hand on the table: "Don't look so gloomy. Maybe this is God helping me make the decision to quit. This job is already so frustrating, my parents might say a few words at most."
He wasn't afraid to face his parents, but he felt guilty about what his family had done for this job.
Zhou Weifang was afraid he would act impulsively: "No, this small temple can't even accommodate two big Buddhas like us."
He then said, "I'm not going to say anything more, let's eat first."
Luo Hong had a free meal of dumplings there, then strolled home on his bicycle. From afar, he saw his younger sister circling around the gate and asked, "What are you doing?"
Luo Yan sneezed: "There are too many people in my family."
These days, if a family has a TV, they're sure to be inundated with visitors. They're all neighbors from the alley, so the parents can't really say anything.
Luo Hong knew how lively the house would be even before he entered, and after thinking for a moment, he said, "Wait, I'll take you to play at Sparrow's house."
He parked his bicycle, said a few words to his parents, and then came out.
The brother and sister walked a few hundred meters along the alley and arrived at the bookstore run by Sparrow. He had collected a lot of comic books and novels, filling several bookshelves to the brim. He could usually support himself, but there was no business at this time. Bored, he swung his legs and saw people: "Come on, let's have a good chat."
He pointed again: "Yanzi, these are mostly newly arrived martial arts novels. Take whichever one you want to read."
Luo Yan addressed him respectfully by his full name, adding the word "brother" after it as a greeting, then found a stool as if she knew it well, sat down, and began to read.
My childhood friend's younger sister has always been like this. Sparrow stubbed out her cigarette and asked, "Have you seen Donglai these past few days?"
They chatted for a long time about another childhood friend, Donglai. It wasn't until ten o'clock that Luo Hongcai took his sister home.
Luo Yan put the book she was reading halfway back in its place, but Sparrow stopped her: "It's okay, you can take it home and read it."
Luo Yan turned to her brother for his opinion. Luo Hong nodded, took out half a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and put it on the counter: "Let's go."
Borrowing a book only costs a few cents, but it's pointless for buddies to keep arguing. Sparrow lit a cigarette and said, "Slow down."
The brother and sister hadn't walked far when he heard Luo Yan say, "Smoking is bad for your health."
The sparrow couldn't hear what he said next. He exhaled a smoke ring, crushed the remaining half of his cigarette, glanced at the moon tonight, and sighed: "What a bright moon hanging high in the sky."
Under the pale moonlight, the Luo siblings returned home.
Liu Yinfeng comforted her daughter, saying, "It'll only be lively for a few days. After a few days, people will be too embarrassed to come."
Luo Yan understood: "It's okay, my brother said he'll take me out to play tomorrow."
"Really?" Luo Hong looked at his sister, who winked at him, and said, "Yes, wait for me at Sanfang's place tomorrow."
This wasn't something I made up on the spot; anyway, there's nothing I can't do that would prevent me from bringing her along.
Zhou Weifang probably hasn't had time to study these past few days; he hasn't even bothered to write down his questions on slips of paper.
Luo Yan thought that there was nothing to do if she arrived at the car dealership early, so she decided to arrive at the time when her brother got off work.
She gestured to indicate that she understood, then washed up and went back to her room, where she stayed up late to finish reading the half-finished book she had brought back.
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Author's note: Goodnight~
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