Chapter 189: Fatty An

"What? You've already secured the house!"

Lu Xiaoyan had just sat down when she heard this exhilarating news.

Wei Ming joked, "Yeah, now we finally have a place to store readers' letters."

Lu Xiaoyan asked again, "How much more do you still need?"

Although this flight had cost her a lot, she planned to make the kids endure a few hard days, but their household wasn't truly struggling—Xiaoming was establishing his home, and she'd support him.

Wei Anping waved his hand: "You're underestimating him—he still has money left over after buying this house."

Lu Xiaoyan was surprised: "Isn't this an Overseas Chinese Apartment? Shouldn't it be expensive?"

If it were just a sihe courtyard, Lu Xiaoyan thought Wei Ming could afford it, but the Overseas Chinese Apartment was a high-rise—the only two commercial housing units in Yanjing, a scarce resource.

The location was key too: whether heading to Peking University or into Yanjing's core, a bike ride took less than half an hour, a motorcycle just ten or so minutes.

Wei Anping held up two fingers: "It cost this much."

Lu Xiaoyan sucked in a breath—twenty thousand yuan? He actually had that much cash on hand? Could writing under three pen names really be as productive as three people?

So Lu Xiaoyan started pushing for more chapters again.

Wei Ming had just delivered the manuscript and illustrations for the second installment of "Black Cat Detective," and now she was already pressing him for the third.

In fact, after "The Game of the Brave," "Youth Literature" had called him several times, hoping to collaborate again; though "The Game of the Brave" didn't generate the same public response as "Black Cat Detective" or "The Legend of the Heavenly Book," it had genuinely boosted the magazine's circulation, becoming its annual hit.

Also, "Story Weekly" had just published the final installment of "Heroes Emerge from Youth," and He Chengwei wanted to continue collaborating with Wei the Madman on a new novel.

Plus, after buying the house, he'd need furniture and appliances—his savings might be drained—so Wei Ming began considering whether to write some popular or children's literature during the gaps while preparing his long novel.

Next, Wei Ming told Xiao Yan's aunt about the filming progress of "The Legend of the Heavenly Book," which she cared about deeply.

After dinner, Wei Ming returned to the dormitory, where Biaozi and Xiao Mei were both there. Seeing him enter, Biaozi shut the door and asked, "Brother Ming, how did the house viewing go?"

Wei Ming glanced at the room he'd lived in for over half a year: "It's settled."

Hearing this, Mei Wenhua pulled out a prepared envelope: "Brother Ming, this money might not mean much for a house, but it's our gesture—take it."

Wei Ming felt the envelope's thickness and knew exactly how much was inside—it wasn't a small sum for them.

As he was touched, Mei Wenhua added quickly, fearing he'd misunderstand: "It's a loan—repay us when your royalties come in, no rush, no rush."

Wei Ming laughed and handed the envelope back: "Your heart is enough—who said I'm short on cash for the house?"

"Not short?" both said in unison.

Wei Ming: "Not short—I paid in full."

"Whoa!" Both were stunned, yet also relieved.

Wei Ming added: "But you'll still have to help me move."

Wei Ming didn't have much else, just a lot of books, letters, and the tape recorder Mei Linda left him.

Also, he planned to sell the original owner's furniture and buy new pieces that suited his taste to fill his new home—this would need help from his brothers too.

Especially the room he'd use as a study—it should have bookshelves on at least three walls.

Thinking of the prices of good furniture these days, Wei Ming suddenly felt he should've taken that envelope.

That night, Wei Ming didn't read or write—he just discussed with Biaozi and Xiao Mei what to buy for his new home.

"TV—definitely get a TV!" Biaozi said. "Then I can come over to watch it at your place."

Wei Ming jotted it down in his small notebook.

Mei Wenhua: "I think a telephone is more important—you can call home directly, and it'll be useful even for business—so convenient!"

Wei Ming nodded—telephone was more important than TV, but he'd need the school's help; installing a phone for ordinary residents wasn't easy yet.

As Biaozi and Xiao Mei talked, they suddenly grew melancholy.

"Feng Ge is gone, Brother Ming is leaving—now it'll just be me and Xiao Mei here."

Mei Wenhua: "Yeah, suddenly feels pointless."

Wei Ming: "Don't worry—I'll still nap here at noon, and soon Feng Ge's mother-in-law will come; he'll move back in too."

"Really?!"

"Of course—his place is too small for three people; he'll probably stay here for a while." Wei Ming said.

Good thing he bought a house—he no longer needed to take up Feng Ge's bed.

The next day, Wei Ming took leave from the school journal office—he had to run paperwork with Xiao Wang today, and might not finish even in a full day.

Yanjing only resumed private property transfer procedures after 1983; that's when sihe courtyard transactions began booming. But in 1980, buying or selling a house still required official approval—without connections, delays were common. Fortunately, Uncle Anping had wide influence—he'd already alerted his contacts in the relevant departments yesterday.

Xiao Wang dressed up today; he hadn't drunk last night. When he saw Wei Ming's Suzuki motorcycle, he suddenly felt he'd undercharged—this kid definitely wasn't short on cash!

Still, he didn't do anything unscrupulous like raising the price—he just got on Wei Ming's motorcycle and headed to the offices.

On the way, he curiously asked about Wei Ming's background—what kind of connections could produce such a huge pile of cash and foreign exchange coupons?

Wei Ming asked him: "You've never heard of Wei Ming?"

Xiao Wang shook his head: "You're famous?"

Wei Ming: "Pretty famous—if you read novels or care about poetry, you've probably heard my name."

Xiao Wang shook his head: "I don't read novels, I'm not into poetry—I like listening to songs."

He'd once owned a tape recorder too, but gave it to his girlfriend; that's why his home looked so empty—he'd given away most of it.

Wei Ming: "Have you heard 'On the Fields of Hope'?"

!

This was Wei Ming's most famous song.

"What? You wrote this song?"

Wei Ming smiled: "Looks like you've heard it."

"I really like it—I can sing the whole thing." Xiao Wang immediately demonstrated.

Wei Ming grinned: "So maybe the house can be cheaper?"

"No way—I'm saving this money for my girl. It needs to be exact, no loose change."

Then Wei Ming praised him: "You're so generous—such a big sum, just handed over like that."

"To her, it's just money. When I get to America, it won't mean anything—I just want her to remember me, to always keep a place for me in her heart."

As they chatted with this love-struck guy, they arrived.

Today they ran through all the necessary offices—verified Xiao Wang's property documents and Wei Ming's Yanjing residency—and now they just waited for notification.

If the housing transaction application was approved, Wei Ming could withdraw the money and complete the deal; with Uncle Anping's connections, the process might be sped up.

Next, Wei Ming would also accelerate—he'd signed up for the 100-meter dash at the faculty sports meet. Though not in the same group as Uncle Anping, his group included Old Man Wu Zuxiang.

At seventy-two, he wasn't the oldest participant—the oldest this year was a seventy-three-year-old gentleman.

"Ready…" a student referee raised his starter pistol, "Bang!"

"Go, Vivian, go!"

At Sheng Shide Sheng Middle School in Hong Kong, students were holding their spring sports meet.

Zhou Hui Min, due to her long legs, was assigned to the women's relay race, but the four girls lacked overall strength and failed to place.

She was disappointed, and worse—a girl in her class who didn't compete mocked her, saying she ran the slowest leg, and, based on her English name "Vivian," called her "Fatty An"—this infuriated her.

Zhou Hui Min stared at herself in the school bathroom mirror for a long time—she was indeed a bit plump, but mostly on her face; that had nothing to do with "fat," right?

When she got home, she found a package from Yanjing on the table—her bad mood vanished instantly—Aming had replied!

She opened the package and immediately read Aming's letter.

In her last letter, she'd tested him with a bottle of cosmetics—she didn't know how he'd react. Wait, why was there money in the letter too?

Aming carefully replied about her works—he'd sent her his short story collection, and Zhou Hui Min had already seen "Beasts of the Wild."

To help her understand, he explained the creative background of these works; the issue of traditional and simplified characters she'd have to handle herself.

Then Aming asked whether her songs were popular.

Zhou Hui Min couldn't answer yet—the record company planned to release an album, so these new songs hadn't been made public.

Next, Aming mentioned the cosmetics—reading this, Zhou Hui Min smiled happily—he didn't have a girlfriend!

And this handsome guy even cared about his appearance—he asked her to buy him whitening products. But wasn't he a Peking University teacher? Why go to the frontier? Was it for field research?

At that moment, Zhou Hui Min pulled out the photo of Wei Ming she'd tucked in her book—he'd sent two photos; she'd used one, kept one.

Looking at Wei Ming's stunning looks, she suddenly understood why he'd asked her to buy cosmetics—handsome guys held themselves to high standards.

As she gazed, Zhou Hui Min suddenly ran back to the bathroom to re-examine herself, lifting her school uniform to pinch her waist.

"I really am a bit chubby," Zhou Hui Min sighed, and suddenly felt appearance anxiety.

So the next day, she applied to join the school basketball team, hoping to slim down.

Also, she said "no" to her mother's fish balls and Uncle Gui's pancake snacks—don't even think of dumping unsold food on me, not happening!

(End of Chapter)