第十章：第一次去同学家

On Saturday afternoon, Lin Hao asked Mark, “Do you have plans tonight?”

“No,” Mark said, “I need to do laundry, but I can do it tomorrow.”

Lin Hao smiled. “Then come to my house for dinner. My mom said she wants to meet you.”

Mark immediately became nervous.

“Your home? Your parents will also be there?”

“Of course,” Lin Hao said, “and my grandpa.”

Mark calculated in his mind: Lin Hao, dad, mom, grandpa. Four Chinese people, one Italian. That is, tonight there might be a lot of Chinese.

“Do they speak fast?” he asked.

Lin Hao thought for a moment. “My mom is a bit fast. My dad is okay. My grandpa speaks very slowly.”

When Mark heard “very slowly,” he relaxed a little.

At six in the evening, Mark and Lin Hao took the subway to Lin Hao's home. Before entering, Lin Hao said quietly, “Just say 'hello uncle, hello auntie, hello grandpa' and that's it.”

As soon as the door opened, Lin Hao's mother said with a smile, “Oh, Mark is here! Come in, come in. Was it cold on the way? Are you hungry? Want some water?”

Mark felt many words rushing at him; he only caught his own name and “drink water.”

He quickly said, “Hello auntie. I'll drink water.”

Lin Hao whispered beside him, “She asked three questions.”

Mark whispered, “I only understood the last one.”

Lin Hao's father came out of the kitchen. “Welcome, welcome. Don't be nervous, make yourself at home.”

Mark understood “welcome” and also “don't be nervous.” He thought this sentence was great.

There were many dishes on the table: scrambled eggs with tomatoes, greens, chicken wings, fish, and a plate of something that looked very red.

Lin Hao's mother said, “This one is not spicy, you can eat it. That one is a bit spicy, eat less.”

Mark nodded seriously. But as soon as he picked up his chopsticks, Lin Hao's mother had already put a chicken wing in his bowl.

“Eat more,” she said.

Mark immediately said, “Thank you, auntie.”

After a while, Lin Hao's father also put a piece of fish in his bowl.

“Try this.”

“Thank you, uncle.”

Grandpa looked at him and slowly put a piece of greens in his bowl.

“Eat vegetables.”

“Thank you, grandpa.”

“Don't be shy, eat more.”

Ten minutes later, Mark's bowl looked like a small mountain. He was touched but also a bit scared. If he couldn't finish, would it be impolite?

Lin Hao whispered, “You can eat slowly, you don't have to finish right away.”

Mark breathed a sigh of relief.

During the meal, everyone started chatting. Lin Hao's mother asked about school, Lin Hao's father asked about Italian football, and Grandpa asked about the weather. Three topics appeared at the same time, like three rivers flowing together.

Mark tried hard to listen. He understood “school,” “football,” “Italy,” “Beijing,” but many words in between ran too fast.

He had to use the safest sentences first.

“Yes.”

“Right.”

“I think it's very good.”

Lin Hao heard and couldn't help laughing. “These three words of yours can answer all questions in the world.”

Mark also laughed. “They are very useful.”

After the meal, Lin Hao's mother brought fruit. Lin Hao's father turned on the TV; a football match was playing. Mark finally perked up.

“I know this team!” he said.

Lin Hao's father's eyes lit up. “You also watch football?”

“Yes. My dad likes it very much.”

This time, Mark spoke slowly but said a lot. He talked about Italian teams, about watching games with his dad as a child, and about how the Chinese word for “goal” is different from Italian.

Lin Hao's father listened very attentively and even taught him to say, “Good shot!”

On TV, a player shot and the ball went in.

Mark immediately said, “Good shot!”

Everyone laughed. This time Mark knew they weren't laughing at his mistake, but because he was right.

At almost nine o'clock, Grandpa sat next to Mark and slowly asked, “Why do you study Chinese?”

This question was simple, yet difficult.

Mark wanted to say a lot. He wanted to say that China is big, Chinese is very interesting, he wants to understand different people, and he wants more opportunities in the future. But these words were too long.

He thought for a moment and said, “Because I want to see a new world.”

Grandpa nodded.

“Well said,” Grandpa said. “Learn slowly. Language is not learned in a day. Xiao Hao should help Mark more.”

This sentence was very slow, and Mark understood every word.

“Got it, grandpa,” Lin Hao said, winking at Mark.

At a little past ten, Lin Hao saw Mark back to school. Mark sat on the subway, feeling a bit tired. He had listened to Chinese all evening. Many sentences he didn't understand, many times he just smiled, but he didn't want to run away.

Lin Hao asked, “Tired?”

“Tired,” Mark said, “but very good.”

“What's good?”

Mark thought for a moment.

“Your family kept putting food in my bowl, and they always waited for me to finish speaking. They didn't stop listening because I speak slowly.”

Lin Hao was quiet for a moment, then said, “They like you.”

Mark looked at himself in the window. Outside was Beijing's night, inside the window was a foreign student who was a bit tired but very happy.

After returning to the dorm, he sent Lin Hao a WeChat message:

“Please tell your mom: Auntie, thank you for inviting me to dinner today. The food was delicious. Although I didn't understand many words, I was very happy.”

A few minutes later, Lin Hao replied:

“Come again next time. Speak slowly, auntie can understand.”

Mark looked at this message and smiled.

He realized that not understanding is not a wall. Sometimes, it's just a door that hasn't been fully opened yet.