Chapter Twenty-Nine: Visiting Wei Xiaoping’s Home (Part Two)

In the kitchen, Wei Yongqiang and Wei Nipin had been busy with preparations since early morning. Knowing that their son, Wei Xiaoping, would be bringing Wei Xiaofan home early, they made sure to have everything ready so the children could eat as soon as possible. All that remained was to cook the dishes, and soon, a table was filled with steaming hot food.

The breakfast spread was lavish: steamed grass carp, home-style cabbage with mushrooms, country-style black cabbage, farmhouse steamed vegetable buns, stir-fried chives and minced meat with silver sprouts, a homemade spicy diced chicken—seven or eight dishes in total, as bountiful as a wedding banquet.

"Brother Xiaofan, come on out for breakfast!" Wei Xiaoxiang and Wei Xiaofang called from outside after they’d set up the stools and the food.

Wei Xiaofan and Wei Xiaoping, who had been discussing the fate of a character from a literary classic in their room, came out when they heard the call.

Seeing such a sumptuous breakfast, Wei Xiaofan was quietly surprised. He wondered to himself: Do they always prepare such an abundant breakfast, or is it because of my visit? At the school gate, Wei Xiaoping had called to say they had prepared for us. If all this was because of me, it's truly a bit extravagant—I really don't want others to go overboard on my account.

Guided by Wei Xiaoping, Wei Xiaofan sat next to him. To his left was Wei Xiaoxiang, followed by Wei Xiaofang, Wei Yongqiang, and Wei Nipin.

As soon as they sat down, Wei Xiaoxiang handed chopsticks to Wei Xiaofan. “Brother Xiaofan, your chopsticks!”

"Xiaoxiang, you’re so polite! Thank you!" Wei Xiaofan praised.

Just then, Wei Xiaofang handed him a bowl of rice. “Brother Xiaofan, here’s your rice!”

Wei Xiaofan took the bowl and said, “Thank you, Xiaofang! Xiaoxiang, Xiaofang, you’re both so well-mannered!”

Wei Xiaoxiang giggled. “Brother Xiaofan, I can’t keep this up for long! If you stay here a few more days, you’ll see my manners vanish pretty quickly! Hehehe!”

Xiaofang added, “Me too! When I started fourth grade, my mom told me to help serve rice every day before meals, but I only kept it up for three or four days before I stopped!”

At this, Wei Nipin said, “Xiaofan, eat up! No one’s eaten yet this morning. You and Xiaoping are good friends—just treat this as your own home, don’t be so reserved! If you’re too formal, you’ll make us feel awkward!”

Wei Yongqiang joined in, “Your aunt is right! I agree with her. When I first met your aunt, I made sure to be straightforward, which is what she liked about me. The first time I visited Xiaoping’s grandfather, he loved to drink and kept urging me to join him. But I can’t drink—alcohol makes me break out in hives. To avoid embarrassment, I refused and began to explain, ‘Dad, let me tell you why I can’t drink with you—’ but before I finished, he interrupted: ‘Hey, hey, hey! Who gave you the right to call me Dad already?’ I was taken aback and replied, ‘Sooner or later, I’d have to call you Dad; better to do it early and put your mind at ease!’ He laughed and said, ‘You’re quite the smooth talker! Now, give me your reasons for not drinking. If they’re good enough, I’ll forgive you!’ I explained, first, that I was allergic, and second, that it’s not good for someone your age. I listed all the health risks for older people, and finally declared, ‘Dad, my reasons couldn’t be more complete. If you still insist, I can’t go along with you—I’ll resist to the end!’ Xiaoxiang’s grandfather laughed heartily and said, ‘Are you really a technical school graduate? You just called us birds of a feather!’ And so, Xiaoping’s grandfather agreed to let me date your aunt. So, you see—be straightforward and honest. Speak your mind and don’t keep things bottled up, or you’ll be misunderstood!”

Wei Nipin laughed and said, “My father asked a good question—you, a technical school graduate, compared your future father-in-law to a badger and didn’t even blush!”

Wei Xiaoping chuckled, “But didn’t Grandpa then compare Dad to a badger as well? So Grandpa didn’t lose out!”

Wei Nipin protested, “Did he?”

Wei Xiaoping replied, “Didn’t Grandpa say, ‘You just called the two of us birds of a feather!’ That’s it!”

Realization dawned on Wei Nipin and she laughed, “You’re right! Grandpa was clever—he used that sentence to pull your dad into the comparison too. So, neither side lost out!”

Wei Yongqiang laughed, “In the end, I came out ahead! Thanks to that, I won your mother’s heart!”

Everyone burst out laughing.

Wei Xiaofan couldn’t help but laugh, thinking, Xiaoping’s father is truly witty! This is what a cultured family is like—so refined and joyful in all they do and say.

"Xiaofan, what are you thinking about? Hurry and eat; we’re all hungry!" Wei Nipin noticed his dazed look.

Wei Xiaofan smiled. “I was thinking about Uncle’s story. He’s so funny! It’s wonderful to have a scholarly family like yours—even unhappy things are turned into joy!”

Wei Nipin replied, “We only went to technical school—not exactly scholars. Only those who go to university can be called intellectuals! Your uncle’s just a smooth talker! You all should study hard and aim for university. That’s where the real knowledge is, and only then will you get better jobs!”

Wei Xiaoping grinned, “Mom, you’re lecturing us again! My ears are callused from all your advice!”

Wei Nipin retorted, “You think I’m nagging? If your grandparents hadn’t lectured me, you wouldn’t have such a good mother!”

She glanced at Wei Xiaofan, noticing he was mostly eating rice, so she added more vegetables to his bowl.

“Xiaoping, tell Xiaofan to eat more! Why just eat plain rice? School meals aren’t nutritious—on weekends, you should both eat here. I was a student too; I know what school food is like!”

Wei Xiaoping looked at his friend’s bowl. “Old pal, don’t just eat rice—my parents made all this for us!” He, too, put more food into Wei Xiaofan’s bowl.

Hearing Wei Xiaoping call Wei Xiaofan “old pal,” Wei Nipin suddenly remembered something. “Xiaofan, I heard from Xiaoping you’re the only one from your area admitted to Liangzhi High School this year. That’s impressive!”

Embarrassed, Wei Xiaofan replied, “Not the only one—another boy got into City No. 1 High.”

“Still, that’s amazing! Liangzhi and No. 1 High didn’t use to admit rural students. Only because of new city policies did they start, and spots are limited. Your admission shows great ability—keep it up!” Wei Nipin encouraged him.

“Thank you, Auntie! I’ll try my best. For kids like us from poor villages, studying hard is the only path to a different future,” Wei Xiaofan said.

“That’s the spirit! Xiaoping, you should learn from Xiaofan!” Wei Nipin praised.

“Of course! That’s why I call him ‘old pal’!” Xiaoping slung an arm around Xiaofan.

“Nonsense, Auntie—Xiaoping’s grades are even better than mine. I should be learning from him!” Wei Xiaofan smiled back.

“You can help each other,” said Wei Nipin. “And, since Xiaoping calls you ‘old pal,’ I wanted to ask you something—if you don’t mind?”

“Auntie wants to ask about us being ‘old pals,’ right?” Wei Xiaofan guessed.