Chapter 240: The Third Burrow of the Cunning Rabbit

Wei Ming works in the Rare Books Room, where books not displayed publicly are stored—mostly old volumes, but not old enough to be considered ancient texts.

Ancient texts are preserved and stored in the adjacent Rare Manuscripts Room.

The books in the Rare Books Room are not highly valued; some are outdated works discarded due to advances in science and technology, others are sensitive and unsuitable for ordinary students to read, yet too valuable to destroy outright.

The former are rarely read anymore; the latter still attract occasional visits from professors, but sometimes not a single person comes all day.

Regular students are not permitted to borrow books here unless they have a note from a faculty member or administrator—like Wei Ming used to.

Once a frequent visitor, Wei Ming is now the room's custodian.

His duties include waiting for readers, helping locate books, and organizing and cataloging—tasks requiring library science knowledge he hasn't yet systematically studied.

His colleagues at the library had given him a brief orientation a few days prior, teaching him the basic rules of book shelving.

This place is hard to find—located in the basement, surrounded by obscure storage rooms, rarely visited by anyone. If the library itself is quiet, the Rare Books Room is eerily silent.

This suited Wei Ming perfectly. After lunch, he unlocked the door, stepped inside, closed it behind him, and began writing—his productivity far exceeding that of any other setting.

The only downside was the lack of sunlight; the room relied entirely on artificial lighting, and the bulbs were too dim. Wei Ming planned to buy a higher-wattage bulb and replace them later.

When Wei Hong left Yannan Garden with Ning Xin and Qiao Cui, Feng Lao's daughter personally saw them off and invited them to visit again.

Both female classmates found it unbelievable—they had just spoken with a figure from their textbooks. Qiao Cui gained a new appreciation for Teacher Wei's influence.

With time still early and dinner not yet due, Wei Hong said: "Mei'er gave birth. This is big news—I must tell my brother. Let's go to the library."

Qiao Cui: "Great! I've heard the Peking University Library has an incredible collection!"

Ning Xin muttered under her breath: "It's just a cat giving birth. Why make such a fuss?"

Wei Hong: "So are you coming or not?"

"I'm coming—I'll borrow books to read."

Wei Hong: "You can't borrow books yet—you don't have a library card. You can only read inside."

Qiao Cui: "Can you borrow books from the library, Xiao Hong?"

Wei Hong: "I use my brother's card. This holiday, I read over a dozen books on economics and finance."

She found the field interesting—after all, money matters—but since mathematics is the foundation of everything, she ultimately chose the Mathematics Department.

At the library lobby, many freshmen were still exchanging meal tickets; they even heard someone speaking Cantonese.

Wei Hong understood a little and told her two roommates: "They're Hong Kong exchange students."

Qiao Cui: "We have Hong Kongers at our school?"

"We have foreigners too. What's so special about Hong Kongers? Hong Kong is an inseparable part of our motherland," Wei Hong declared solemnly, though since they were exchange students, they lived in Shao Garden.

Thinking of Shao Garden reminded Wei Hong of her never-met former sister-in-law, Melinda.

When she worked at Oriental New World, she often asked Wen Hua about them. According to Brother Wen, Melinda had returned recently—accompanied by some British prime minister, no less. How impressive.

After entering the library, Wei Hong approached a duty teacher.

"Teacher Lin, do you know where my brother is?"

Many at the library already knew Wei Hong. The teacher smiled: "Your brother is in the Rare Books Room, but he said he's writing a novel—don't disturb him unless it's urgent."

"Oh, I see," Wei Hong understood the gravity. She thought a moment: "Then let's go browse some books. When he comes out, tell him to wait for us, okay?"

"Sure. If you want to borrow anything, you can ask your brother to handle it."

The library, usually packed, wasn't crowded yet. No shortage of seats. Qiao Cui suggested checking out magazines, so Wei Hong led them to the Periodicals Reading Room.

Qiao Cui asked: "Xiao Hong, has your brother published anything in any magazines lately?"

Wei Hong: "He submitted a series of essays to 'Huacheng' about Lingnan cuisine."

Ning Xin thought: So-called great writer? More like a foodie.

Qiao Cui: "Let me find it."

Mainstream magazines were routinely acquired by the Peking University Library upon each new issue—a significant monthly expense. High-demand publications like 'Shouhuo' and 'People's Literature' were almost always checked out.

As they searched, a male student appeared and volunteered: "Sisters, what magazines are you looking for? I know this place well."

His eagerness wasn't purely out of kindness—it was because the girls were attractive.

Even Qiao Cui, ranked third among them, was average-looking—but young, smiling, and still quite appealing.

Not to mention Wei Hong, naturally beautiful with fair skin, and Ning Xin, well-off and stylishly dressed.

Qiao Cui mentioned 'Huacheng'—the boy immediately found it, clearly familiar with the magazine layout.

Ning Xin quickly asked: "Brother, do you know where 'Gushihui' is?"

"'Gushihui'?"

Hearing the name, the boy felt Ning Xin's white dress and fairy-like aura had been tainted. How could a Peking University student read such trivial stuff?

But since she was pretty, he kindly helped her find it. It hadn't been stocked before, but recent sales surged, so they'd bought it—only the July issue.

Ning Xin flipped through it, deeply disappointed. Oh no—she wanted the second part of 'Ancient War: Terracotta Warriors'! She'd already read it.

Wei Hong picked up a random August issue of 'Mass Cinema'—her family subscribed to every issue, but she hadn't found this one; her brother said he might have lent it out.

Actually, Wei Ming had given it to Zhu Lin. There was a brief mention of 'The Traitor'—a film set to release soon, but no stills, not even Lin's name mentioned.

Wei Hong sat down and began reading. It included an overview of foreign films, noting global production numbers.

China's annual output of dozens was too low to rank globally. The world's top film producer by volume? India—714 films last year!

Good heavens—that's two new films every day. Do they do nothing but make and watch movies??

Second was Japan, with 331 films. Third was the United States, with 248.

China had produced only 55 films last year—barely making the top ten.

Flipping further, Wei Hong was delighted to find a report on 'Heroes from Youth'.

Wow—this warrior woman must be Biao's girlfriend. So fierce!

The magazine devoted a full page to two recently started kung fu films.

One was 'Treasure Hunt in the Frontier', shot in mainland China by Hong Kong's Phoenix Company, featuring Zhang Fengyi, Wang Ji, and Biao's coach, Wu Bin.

Zhang Fengyi had landed this role shortly after buying clothes with two classmates at Xintiandi, then traveled to the northwest to film.

The other was 'Heroes from Youth', shot in the southwest and co-produced by Qingniao and Beiyingchang. It emphasized the story was adapted from a popular wuxia novel by mainland writer Wei Kuangren, and mentioned the screenwriter was young writer Wei Ming.

Wei Hong was about to turn the page when Ning Xin told her to wait.

"I haven't finished reading," Ning Xin said, clearly still engrossed in the article on 'Heroes from Youth'.

Wei Hong pointed proudly at a line: "See? My brother's the screenwriter. And I know the lead actor."

Ning Xin: "What's a screenwriter? The story's good because of the original author."

Wei Hong chuckled: "Sorry, but the original author is my brother's other pen name."

Ning Xin stared at Wei Hong, stunned speechless.

After her triumph, Wei Hong regretted revealing the secret. She hadn't been told to keep it hidden, but even her parents didn't know.

And popular fiction wasn't respectable—would this damage her brother's literary image?

She quickly covered Ning Xin's mouth: "Don't tell anyone."

Ning Xin pushed Wei Hong's hand away and wiped her mouth: "Are you sure you're not lying?"

"Why would I lie?"

"Then did your brother write 'Ancient War: Terracotta Warriors' too?" Ning Xin asked. Though a top student, she had an unusual hobby: she adored popular fiction—fighting, romance, spies, suspense.

Seeing Wei Hong nod, Ning Xin added: "Do you have the original manuscript? I can't wait to read the ending."

"I can tell you," Wei Hong kindly said. "Dong'er's second life met Meng Tianfang again—and died."

"Y-you—you…" Ning Xin was speechless with rage.

Wei Hong smiled: "You're welcome. Want to hear about the third life?"

Ning Xin immediately covered Wei Hong's mouth herself.

Seeing students begin to leave, Wei Hong guessed it was dinner time and pulled Ning Xin and Qiao Cui to go.

Qiao Cui held her stomach: "Reading Teacher Wei's work made me hungry. I never thought he was this kind of Teacher Wei—what exactly is Buddha Jumps Over the Wall? What kind of culinary wonder is that?"

Ning Xin: "I never thought Wei Kuangren was like this either."

At the entrance, they met Wei Ming waiting for them, backpack slung over his shoulder—he planned to return home and keep writing; today's goal was ten thousand words.

"Brother, Mei'er gave birth—three kittens!" Wei Hong rushed to share the news.

Wei Ming: "When did this happen?"

"Yesterday. The kittens haven't opened their eyes yet."

"Then tomorrow I'll bring gifts to visit and pick one."

Wei Hong: "All three are long-haired. One looks just like Mei'er—pure white. One is calico—most beautiful. The last is black and white—just like Black Cat Detective!"

"Then I'll pick Black Cat Detective," Wei Ming blurted out. Fate had destined it.

Wei Hong added: "Brother, I'm going to eat. Want to join us?"

Qiao Cui and Ning Xin looked expectantly at Wei Ming, but he shook his head: "You've got classmates with you. I'm afraid Mom will be alone. I'll go home to eat."

Wei Hong thought it made sense—Yunyun probably ate with Wen Hua.

When Wei Ming returned to the Overseas Chinese Apartment on his motorcycle, Xu Shufen had already prepared dinner—and to his surprise, his mother had made Liu San Yang, a signature dish from Changzheng Cafeteria.

His mother smiled: "You ate a lot of this dish the other day, so I bought pork liver, kidneys, and tripe when I came back."

Externally, it looked identical to the version made by Changzheng's master chef.

"Mom, you're amazing. Just the presentation alone is impressive."

Xu Shufen: "The taste is a bit off—of course, the chef has his secret techniques—but it's not bad."

Wei Ming took a bite: "Not bad? It's delicious! The liver is tender, the kidneys crisp, the tripe wonderfully chewy."

Though it couldn't fully replicate Changzheng Cafeteria's flavor, his mother understood cooking—knew exactly what to add and how to control heat for the best results.

After all, she was a virtuous wife and mother who could turn a meal of scarce oil and meat into a feast.

Encouraged by Wei Ming, Xu Shufen decided to replicate more of the famous dishes she'd eaten in Jingcheng during her idle moments.

Wei Ming was just about to say that only a mother's love is the best when Xu Shufen interrupted: "Once I've mastered it, your father should be back—then I'll cook it for him."

Wei Ming: "..."

After they finished eating, Wei Ming was writing his novel when he heard the motorcycle sound downstairs and knew Yunyun had returned.

After returning, Yunyun didn't greet anyone, sneaking into her room like a thief, pulling the covers over her head, touching her lips with deep worry—would this make her pregnant?

The next day, before going to work, Wei Ming bought some small shrimp to visit Mei'er, who was recovering after childbirth, and made arrangements with Feng Lao to adopt the black-and-white long-haired kitten.

Feng Lao wasn't surprised at all: "I knew you'd pick it."

Wei Ming asked again: "Have the other two been claimed?"

Feng Lao said: "The one that looks most like Mei'er, I'm keeping for myself; the other goes to Zong Pu. Too bad there were only three—if there had been a fourth, Ji Xianlin could've had one too."

Hearing his adoption priority came before Ji Lao's, Wei Ming was deeply moved—he'd go get a fishing rod later and fish in the Forbidden City's moat to make fish soup for Mei'er to boost her milk.

That noon, Wei Ming ran into Wei Hong and her two companions strolling around campus—they looked bored.

"Still no new roommates in your dorm?"

"A sister from Tianjin came today," Wei Hong emphasized her tone, "but she went out to dinner with her boyfriend."

"No way—she brought her boyfriend from high school?"

Qiao Cui: "Yeah, and he's from Tsinghua."

Wei Ming: "Why don't you both take the entrance exam together? It's just across the road, but it's still inconvenient."

Ning Xin said: "That girl won't go anywhere but Tsinghua's Architecture Department; Guo Qian won't settle for anything less than Peking University's Math Department."

Wei Ming nodded—they were both top-tier programs, hard to give up. Ning Xin added: "Wei Teacher, why don't we all have dinner together?"

Wei Ming smiled: "I don't have any cafeteria meal tickets like you do."

Qiao Cui eagerly said: "No problem—we'll just eat a little less each, and it'll be enough for you."

Unable to refuse their kindness, Wei Ming went with them to the No. 1 Cafeteria; on the way, Wei Hong quietly told him he'd been exposed.

"What do you mean?"

"Everything."

Last night during a dorm chat, Wei Hong let slip too much—she even revealed that the world-famous fairy tale master Wei something was him.

Now Qiao Cui and Ning Xin looked at Wei Ming with pure awe—not as an idol, but as a god!

At dinner, they treated him like an AI, asking him everything they didn't understand; luckily, the questions were basic, and Wei Ming could answer them all.

Ning Xin focused especially on studying abroad.

"My parents both want me to study in the U. . after college, and they've pushed me to excel since freshman year—but I don't want to go. All alone across the ocean, lonely and miserable—how pitiful," she asked, "Wei Teacher, do you think we really need to study abroad?"

Wei Ming replied: "Your math department's current level is far behind international standards. If you want to achieve anything in math-related fields, studying abroad is inevitable."

Most who leave never return—but there's no other way.

Even your department head, Professor Ding Shisun, future president of Peking University, is planning to study overseas for a while—otherwise, his academic work simply won't keep up.

Ning Xin asked again: "If Wei Hong goes abroad someday, will you be okay with it? In four years she'll only be eighteen."

Wei Ming: "I won't be okay—so I'll just go with her."

"Huh?" Ning Xin and Qiao Cui opened their mouths slightly.

Wei Ming: "I have some connections overseas. In four years, they'll be even stronger—I'll have no trouble leaving then."

Wei Hong was so moved she nearly cried—only a brother could be this wonderful; having a brother made a sister a treasure!

As for Ning Xin and Qiao Cui, they could only envy—regretting they weren't Wei Hong's sister-in-law.

But Wei Ming wouldn't touch his sister's "neighborhood grass," and gave them no opening—after dinner, he vanished into the rare book room to bury himself in ancient texts.

Today the rare book room was much brighter—he'd paid to replace the bulb with a larger one, though the electricity bill had to be covered by the school.

That night, Xu Shufen prepared for her son the Shandong classic Nine-Turn Large Intestine—and guaranteed it was clean.

But why had she suddenly become obsessed with offal these days?

Yunyun returned earlier today, riding her bike and making it just in time for dinner.

She also told Wei Ming: "Wen Hua asked if you're free tomorrow."

Wei Ming knew another profit split was coming—he nodded: "Tell them to meet at the Sihe Academy in Beichi Zi. I'll go after work."

His mother reminded him to check on the radishes—he'd need to plant more cabbage when he had time.

August was the first full month since the opening of Dongfang Xintiandi, and thanks to heavy media coverage, foot traffic and daily sales had broken records repeatedly—this time, the payout might be substantial.

The next day, after work, Wei Ming headed to the Sihe Academy in Beichi Zi; Xiao Mei and the others hadn't arrived yet.

Seeing some weeds in the radish patch, Wei Ming pulled them out.

As he worked, Mei Wenhua and Biao Ma arrived—each carried a bag stuffed inside their clothes, locked the door tightly upon entering—very cautious.

"Come in," Wei Ming invited them into the parlor, which still lacked furniture—barely three chairs could be squeezed in.

Mei Wenhua smiled: "Big Brother Ming, you're sitting back like a fisherman on a rock—been back so long and never visited."

"I trust your ability. By the way, Auntie Qian, Biaozi and I saw Uncle Zhao in Sichuan—I've got a photo of them together." Wei Ming pulled out the photo he'd prepared in advance.

Biao Ma was stunned—communication was so poor she hadn't known her son had found his father.

Looking at the striking father-son photo, Biao Ma smiled with emotion: "Taken beautifully—but didn't Biaozi's dad stand on tiptoes? I remember he wasn't this tall."

Mei Wenhua quickly interrupted: "Auntie, let's not talk about tiptoes—let's talk about how much we made last month!"

Wei Ming: "How much?"

"August's profit was seventy thousand!" Mei Wenhua's eyes sparkled. "I plan to distribute fifty thousand of it."

"That much?" Wei Ming would take over twenty thousand—he felt it was burning his hands.

Xiao Mei and Biao Ma exchanged glances; Biao Ma spoke: "Actually, Xiao Mei and I both plan to buy a house—he needs one to get married, and I want to arrange his wedding next year."

So they were buying a wedding house—then yes, they deserved more.

Wei Ming asked: "Have you found one?"

He also wanted to ask Li Guangfu—he'd previously asked him to help.

Mei Wenhua said: "We want to buy in Tuanjiehu."

After living so long in the courtyard compound, everyone wanted to move into an apartment building—Beijing's only new apartment complexes were Huaqiao Apartments and Tuanjiehu.

Huaqiao Apartments were old buildings with no inventory—you could only wait for original owners to sell—but Tuanjiehu had two buildings ready for sale, though prices were high and only a small portion had been sold.

Tuanjiehu was in Chaoyang—not a great location, especially far from Dongfang Xintiandi—but there weren't many options.

"How much is a unit there?" Wei Ming asked.

Biao Ma had already inquired: "180 yuan per square meter—60 to over 80 square meters."

That meant a minimum of ten thousand yuan—they planned to buy a larger one with a better floor.

After splitting the money, Wei Ming said: "When you buy, let me know—I'll buy one too."

There was no choice—he and Linjie needed their own private space, or their relationship would slowly fade.

The next day, Peking University held its freshman orientation; enrollment was officially complete, with 3, 66 undergraduates joining the main campus, including 72 from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

Of course, they found it easier to enter Peking University than mainland students—that was an old tradition.

Today, Wei Ming finally met all of Wei Hong's roommates: besides the Tianjin girl, there was one from Shanghai and one from Harbin.

She was truly the only rural kid among them—but she couldn't feel inferior: her big brother had promised her enough pocket money and had already bought her an imported cassette player—two turns and one sound, all set!

Wei Ming had just received 25, 00 yuan—buying another house would cost only over 10, 00—what on earth could he spend so much money on?

At this moment, he wished he could get some foreign currency—this money vanished quickly at the Friendship Store.

Just a few days later, Mei Wenhua had already secured the house—but when it came time to pay, Wei Ming didn't go with them—he went alone.

He took Zhu Lin alone.

"What's going on?" Zhu Lin, who had just registered for exams, said. "I have exams in a few days—I'm busy these days."

Wei Ming: "Did you bring your household registration book?"

"I did."

Wei Ming: "Good. Come with me."

Zhu Lin's heart pounded—was he, was he going to marry her?

(Yesterday's guaranteed)

(End of Chapter)