Afternoon, 4 P.M.
The unit knocked off earlier, since it was Mid-Autumn’s Festival.
Zhang Ye had wanted to rest an extra day tomorrow, so he stayed over to record the next day’s episode of “The Wizard of Oz” before heading home. His mom had called this morning to inform him that he should go to his grandmother’s place. Zhang Ye naturally obeyed, so he went home to the Jiaomen rented apartment, so that he could change into something more presentable.
Upon entering the corridor, he coincidentally bumped into Rao Aimin, who was coming out of the elevator.
“Eh, Auntie Landlady?” Zhang Ye greeted, “What have you been doing these days? Why haven’t I seen you? I have pushed the rent through the underside of your door. Did you see it?”
“I saw it. Wait up.” Rao Aimin threw the trash bag in her hands into a trash compartment by the door and took the elevator with Zhang Ye. She slanted her eyes at him, “You sure are good, kid. You became famous once again. You won first place at the Mid-Autumn Poetry Meet just now, right?”
Zhang Ye said proudly, “Just average.”
Rao Aimin flicked a ball of thread that had fallen on her arm, “To think that you accepted the praise I gave you. It is only because those people don’t know anything. Your poem was so sh*tty!”
Zhang Ye exclaimed, “Ah? My poem is sh*tty?”
“How did you compose it? Recite it.” Rao Aimin said.
“Alright, then please analyze and tell me where it’s wrong. I really can’t believe it.” Zhang Ye immediately turned offensive. He was thinking, “How could anyone pick a fault in Su Shi’s most famous work? Isn’t this bull****? Even those people from the Writers’ Association could not say anything, but you can?” He then shook his head as he said deeply, “When will the moon be clear and bright…”
“Isn’t that a load of rubbish!? When will it? The 15th day of the 8th month!” Rao Aimin said loudly.
Zhang Ye was stunned as he suppressed his speechlessness, “With a cup of wine in my hand, I ask the clear sky…”
Rao Aimin interjected, “Why do you even need to ask the clear sky? There’s no need to ask it. Asking me would do. I already told you; it’s the 15th day of the 8th month!”
Zhang Ye’s brain was already filled with black lines, “…In the Heavens on this night, I wonder what season it would be?”
Rao Aimin interrupted once again, “Didn’t I already tell you. Today is the 15th day of the 8th month! Year 2014, the15th day of the 8th month of the Lunar calendar! Do you have no calendar at home?”
Zhang Ye, “….%$#@@#@)!&&”
Rao Aimin showed her venomous tongue once again. This was the first time Zhang Ye had heard such a sharp criticism of the poem. He was momentarily dumbfounded!
Your sister!
Are you understanding “Shuidiao Getou” as something from the children’s show, ‘A Hundred Thousand Whys’!?
Zhang Ye already knew that he could not communicate with the landlady who had not one bit of literary culture, so he immediately went home to change his clothes. If he carried on speaking with the landlady, Zhang Ye believed there were only two outcomes. Either he would be vexed to death, or Su Shi would be vexed to life! However, after giving it some thought, Zhang Ye was hoping that there was someone like her amongst his fans. If a queen with a venomous tongue like Rao Aimin joined in the troll army wars, then she would be an absolute force to be reckoned with. The landlady herself had the power to fight a thousand alone. That was the real battleground for her to show her prowess. Yes, on this point, the landlady was an extremely rare talent!
…
5.30 P.M.
The sky was still cloudy and looked like it was about to rain.
Zhang Ye came to Liu Li Qiao, where his granny’s house was. This was an old and tiny district. The thing slightly different from his memory was that this tiny district had been repainted, so the houses looked newer. Clearly, this was a change caused by the game ring. It was like a butterfly effect. There were many slight adjustments in this world. Well, it was unknown what changes had happened to his relatives. This was also one of the reasons why he had not dared to come to his granny’s place ever since he had started work. Strictly speaking, this was no longer the world he completely knew, so he was afraid of letting the cat out of the bag.
Upstairs.
The door was open, but the anti-theft door was still activated. Laughter and chatter from the few cousins could be heard.
Zhang Ye opened the anti-theft door and entered. The first thing he saw was his mother and his third aunt, who were cooking in the kitchen, “Mom, Third Aunt.”
His Mom smiled, “Son, you are here?”
His Third Aunt smiled, “Heh. Our superstar is here.”