204 Rice Buckets
He came in the dead of night and left at dawn; he came like a petty thief jumping in through the window and left like a thief in the house, nowhere to be found.
Before the heavens could ignite a fire in the earth, Li Wei kicked him out of the house.
To be precise, it was Li Wei's mother, Cheng Min, who got up in the middle of the night and found her daughter's light still on. She came over to urge Li Wei to go to sleep early, which scared Luo Da so much that he ran out the window.
Luo Da was finally relieved of his lovesickness, and the next day he came to pick up Li Wei and his future brother-in-law with a big smile. He got up exceptionally early, which earned him a lot of praise from his grandfather. "Hmm, not bad, not bad. The early bird catches the worm. Children shouldn't just think about sleeping in and being lazy."
Li Wei tried to suppress a laugh, but instead chimed in to encourage her grandfather: "Yeah, yeah, the early bird catches the worm, the late bird starves. Luo Jianhua, you should get up earlier from now on, and maybe even go for a tai chi session or a walk with my grandfather. Don't just keep thinking about messing around at night, hehe..."
Luo Da's smile froze a little. Would the old man really make him get up as early as he did every day? Wouldn't that be tantamount to trying to kill him? What kind of evil plan was Li Xiaoming up to?
Li Wei had actually made up her mind. Now that Luo Da had left, he was obviously much more relaxed. This guy read books extremely fast and didn't like doing exercises. Apart from spending more time playing basketball with Li Lianhui and the others, it was hard to see what other ambitions he had.
With Luo Dayi having nothing to rely on, his attention would shift to her. If he were to climb through windows and break into doors all the time, even though the adults in the family tacitly approve of their relationship, it still wouldn't seem very proper.
Besides, and most importantly, that day he was consumed by lust and lost his mind. It could have led to someone's death, and she certainly didn't want her life—from going to university, working, getting married, to having children—to be reversed; that would be a huge mess.
However, the old man had his own ideas. He was getting old and needed less sleep, unlike young people who loved to sleep, so he just smiled and let it go, without asking Luo Da to get up early and work late with him.
The next day at noon, Luo Da bought his food and went to Li Wei's table with his lunchbox. They sat down and ate together.
Since Li Wei went back home to live with her parents, she no longer wanted to eat the school's communal lunches. Even good ingredients couldn't be cooked to a good taste. So she bought a stainless steel insulated container and asked Aunt Gao to pack her lunch every morning.
The thermos was quite large. Li Wei didn't eat much. Luo Da and Li Lianhui disliked bringing a food container to school, thinking it would be a laughingstock, so they kept their distance. But during mealtimes, they would automatically move closer to Li Wei and eat with her.
Li Wei couldn't handle the appetites of these two. She also didn't want to see them eating so pitifully, only half-starved. So she simply didn't bring any staple food. She brought a large, three-tiered insulated container, carrying three different things each day: stir-fried vegetables, pickled vegetables, and soup. The container was completely full. As for the staple food, Luo Da and Li Lianhui would just buy it from the cafeteria window.
Unlike the canteen's local dishes, Aunt Gao at home is a skilled cook. Her dishes are always beautifully presented, fragrant, and delicious. Every time Li Wei sits there and opens the thermos, besides Luo Da and Li Lianhui, Ding Anni, Zhou Xiaoyan, Lin Xiao, and even Cai Lianhua, automatically gather around like little bees drawn to the scent of flowers.
The result was that Li Wei kept buying increasingly larger insulated containers. Until the store clerk said, "Sorry, this is the largest size available. Any bigger and it'll be an oven."
Even so, Li Wei's thermos was still quite conspicuous on the cafeteria table. It was also quite heavy. Usually, Luo Da would carry it to Li Wei's classroom. Li Lianhui felt embarrassed.
Li Wei scolded him: "When you were eating, weren't you ashamed? You ate more than anyone else!"
Actually, Luo Da also felt ashamed, but now he was a man with a family to support (that's what he thought), so he had to have some sense of responsibility. Besides, he couldn't bear to see Li Wei struggling.
Although everyone feels embarrassed to carry a thermos, when it comes to eating, they all rush to get a bite, afraid that if they are too far away, they will miss out.
As for the classmates outside Li Wei's circle who weren't very close to her, they were even more envious, finding the cafeteria food increasingly unpalatable. "Sigh," they thought, "I'd rather just eat and leave while the food smells so good. This cafeteria is practically pig swill; they're feeding them like pigs!"
Occasionally, classmates who were close to Luo Da or Li Lianhui would come over to freeload their meals, especially the boys in Li Lianhui's class. They were all on good terms with Li Lianhui and knew he was his sister, so every few days, some of them would come over. They were all boys, and none of them seemed to be honest or upright.
As for Luo Da's side, apart from Geng Xinyang who shamelessly comes over often, no one else dares to. It seems that his classmates are all somewhat afraid of him, and they speak and act with respect, unlike Li Lianhui's classmates, who often joke and tease each other.
Li Wei sometimes wondered if Luo Da had matured early, like someone who swallowed the era. She'd seen him hanging out with a bunch of older kids when they were kids, but she hadn't really paid attention back then. Now, looking at him, the people he hung out with and associated with were clearly a group of mature people in their late twenties, early thirties, or even past their thirties.
So Luo Da's precociousness is indeed traceable and has its origins. It didn't develop suddenly. It's just that since he never caused any major trouble, the adults didn't pay too much attention to it.
In reality, it's quite rare for a family like Uncle Luo's to attract the attention of Uncle Luo, who is always busy socializing and trying to build connections to find a good money-making project, and his wife, who is as thick-skinned as a bucket, unless they commit murder, arson, or other illegal and disorderly acts.
Although Aunt Luo has nothing to do these days, she can play mahjong with a group of friends and relatives of Uncle Luo and also keep track of her three sons' studies. Unfortunately, at least Luo Da and Luo Er have grown up and are no longer under her control.
As for Luo Xiaosan, with his two older brothers following suit, his aunt's words to him were not as effective as those from Luo Da or Luo Er.
Of the whole family, only Grandma Luo paid attention to her grandchildren's well-being, and her words were generally listened to. Whether they were outwardly compliant or inwardly defiant, at least no one dared to talk back to the old lady. Uncle Luo's example was there for all to see, so who else would dare to be careless in serving her?
There's no need to socialize with the Luo family every day. Besides those who work or study, the Li family consists mostly of elderly people. Those who do work or study leave early and return late every day, each with their own busy schedules, creating a vibrant and bustling atmosphere.
Uncle Luo was quite envious. He often told his close friends who played mahjong with him, "My in-laws, well, let's not even talk about them. They're decent people. The whole family lives a respectable life. The adults earn money and the children study hard. I've never seen them play cards, let alone mahjong. Especially my eldest daughter, who's very close to my eldest son. She's always first in her class, and she's in the top high school..."
In short, in Uncle Luo's eyes, living an honest life means doing business openly and honestly, and being a decent person, unlike him in the past and even now, who resorts to trickery and scheming. Sometimes when he has nothing to do, he thinks it's exhausting.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
