Chapter 248

Regarding the guests brought by Old Man Zhang—the "colleagues" of Zhang Damao—Wei Changqing extended a quite warm hospitality to Hu Haidong. He bustled about, pouring water and handing over cigarettes while solicitously inquiring about Hu Haidong's health. Upon hearing that their group totaled six people, that they intended to stay in the mountains for a while, and that they currently had no place to stay, Wei Changqing patted his chest on the spot and guaranteed that a large room would be cleared out in his home for them to temporarily use. Consequently, the poor fourth son of the Wei Family, Wei Meng—being still single and a strapping young man in his twenties—was forced to gather his bedding roll and move into his father's room, returning once more to the embrace of his mother.