Chapter 28: Visiting Wei Xiaoping’s Home (Part One)

At that moment, Wei Xiaoping emerged from his room, beckoning to Wei Xiaofan with a smile.
“Hehe, old friend Wei Xiaofan, come take a look at my room, and while you’re at it, check out my bookshelf!”
Wei Xiaofan stood up and said to Wei Xiaoxiang and Wei Xiaofang, “Let’s go. Will you take me to see Brother Xiaoping’s room?”
“Of course! There are so many books in my brother’s room!” Wei Xiaofang replied, pulling Wei Xiaofan forward by the hand.
Wei Xiaoxiang also took his other hand, and together they walked ahead.
“Oh ho, Wei Xiaofan, what do you think? Aren’t my little brother and sister adorable?” Wei Xiaoping laughed, seeing Wei Xiaofan’s hands firmly held by his younger siblings.
“They’re too cute! They talk even more than I do!”
“My little ones, well done. Brother Xiaofan just arrived and you’ve already become such good friends with him—much quicker than I did!” Wei Xiaoping tapped both their foreheads in mock reproach.
Hearing this, Wei Xiaofang and Wei Xiaoxiang giggled and replied, “That’s only because Brother Xiaofan talks a lot too!”
“Xiaofan, what do you think? Don’t I have a lot of books?” Wei Xiaoping asked, showing off.
“Brother, you’re so vain! You moved all Mom and Dad’s books in here and call them yours!” Wei Xiaofang made a funny face.
“Xiaofang, why do you always have to tell Brother Xiaofan all of my embarrassing secrets? Can’t you give your brother a little dignity?”
“No wonder your bookshelf is full, Brother Xiaoping! You just borrowed your parents’ books to pad it out!” Wei Xiaofan teased.
“My brother just loves to show off. Every weekend when he comes home, he tells Mom and Dad about Brother Xiaofan, and then they praise him for having such a smart friend!” Wei Xiaoxiang added.
Hearing this, Wei Xiaofan felt a little embarrassed, but soon a subtle joy crept into his heart. After all, children never lie! From Xiaoxiang’s words, he realized that Wei Xiaoping often spoke of him to his parents. In the past, at school, Wei Xiaoping had told him he’d often praise him to his parents, but—well, isn’t it a bit strange for someone to keep talking about another person’s merits all the time? It just feels a little off.
“Hey, you two little rascals—can’t you save your big brother some face in front of Brother Xiaofan? Why do you always have to tell him about my quirks? Now that Brother Xiaofan’s here, do I not matter to you anymore?” Wei Xiaoping pretended to be annoyed.

“It’s just the truth, brother. You said it yourself!” replied Wei Xiaofang.
“Xiaoxiang, Xiaofang, has Brother Xiaoping ever said anything bad about me at home?” Wei Xiaofan asked, feigning seriousness.
The two thought for a moment and answered, “Say bad things? We haven’t heard any—or maybe he did, but we don’t remember!”
“You don’t remember? So maybe he did, maybe he didn’t! Brother Xiaoping can’t keep a secret for the life of him! Next time he talks about me to you or your parents, keep an ear out. If he says anything bad, let me know!”
“Alright!” Wei Xiaoxiang and Wei Xiaofang exchanged glances and started laughing. Even though they knew Brother Xiaofan was only joking, they put on serious faces and said to Wei Xiaoping, “Brother, you’d better be careful what you say next time. We’re Brother Xiaofan’s spies now!”
Both Wei Xiaofan and Wei Xiaoping burst out laughing.
Wei Xiaofan thought to himself, these two siblings of Wei Xiaoping are just too adorable!
“Brother Xiaofan, will you come visit us often from now on?”
“Not sure yet, why do you ask?” Wei Xiaofan replied.
“If you don’t come by often, how will we tell you if Brother says anything bad about you? Do you have a pager? Give us your number! If Brother really says anything, we’ll give you a call! Just call us back using the number on your pager, and we’ll tell you everything over the phone!” said Wei Xiaofang, her innocence shining through.
“A pager? Xiaofang, you mean that new communication device? I don’t have one of those!” Wei Xiaofan laughed in surprise, secretly impressed by her knowledge.
He thought to himself: Pagers only just came out recently. I’ve never even seen one, only heard some classmates say that Li Bufan’s father owns one. Yet Xiaofang, such a young girl, not only knows what a pager is, but even seems to know how to use it—she’s more knowledgeable than I am!
“My dad has one. Why don’t I give you his pager number? You can call us once a week, and then we’ll call you back from home using the number that shows up on the pager,” Wei Xiaofang suggested.
Only then did Wei Xiaofan realize that Wei Xiaoping’s father, Wei Yongqiang, also owned such a device!
“So, Wei Xiaoping’s father must be doing pretty well in business. This pager only came out this year and is very expensive! I heard that in the countryside, a pager costs as much as one or two cows! People who can afford these things are not ordinary folk!”
As he thought of this, he couldn’t help but recall his own father and stepmother—and the tiny patch of land that supported their family.

Just then, the sound of “bee-bee-bee! bee-bee-bee!” came from the living room.
“That’s Dad’s pager! I’ll go see who’s calling!” said Wei Xiaofang, dashing out at once.
“Xiaoxiang, why don’t you check if Mom and Dad have finished cooking? Set the table and stools while you’re at it—Brother Xiaofan hasn’t even had breakfast yet!” Wei Xiaoping said to his brother.
“Really? Brother Xiaofan, you haven’t had breakfast? We haven’t eaten either—we’ve been hungry since early morning! I’ll go set the table!”
With that, Xiaoxiang ran out.
“So, Xiaofan, what do you think? Isn’t my collection impressive? If you see anything you’d like to read, help yourself!” Wei Xiaoping said when Xiaoxiang had gone.
Wei Xiaofan walked over to the bookshelf and, starting from the top row, read the titles one by one, then moved to the second row.
There were nine rows in all. Besides the specialized textbooks left by his parents from their time at technical college, there were many classic works of Chinese and Western literature, magazines, books on the art of intrigue, and even some folk medicine remedies.
Wei Xiaofan thought, This really is the home of intellectuals—it’s nothing like ordinary families. There are all sorts of books, carefully organized on their own bookshelf.
He took down three books: Dream of the Red Chamber, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and Water Margin.
“You like the classics too, Xiaofan?” Wei Xiaoping asked, delighted as if he’d found a kindred spirit.
“I’ve always wanted to read these, but it’s so hard to borrow them! People who love books guard their favorites as if they were gold and are reluctant to lend them out.”
“If you like them, take them home with you. Any time you want to read something, if we have it, you’re welcome to come and get it!” Wei Xiaoping replied. “I really like Dream of the Red Chamber too. I’ve read it once, but didn’t understand much of it. We should chat about it sometime, if you’d like?”
“Absolutely! I’ve always wanted someone to discuss these classics with, but I never knew who in the dormitory was interested. Who would have thought the person I was searching for was right here all along, under my nose!” Wei Xiaofan replied, a touch of excitement in his voice.