Chapter 4 Don't do as the Romans do

On Saturday morning, everyone in the Wang family was in a different mood or doing different things.Wang Da went out, Wang Shan was hungry, but all he thought about was playing ball, the chef went shopping, Mr. Wang was still in bed, and Liu Ma was very worried. Since Mr. Wang bought the suit, Mama Liu kept talking about it, and at the same time created a rumor that Mr. Wang was going to westernize housework.She expressed her concern to her deaf husband early in the morning, when he was still bleary-eyed and most deaf.Except for Wang Shan, no one heard her complain.Wang Shan hated lying on the bed the most. He had already come to the kitchen, searching the refrigerator for something to eat.

"Did you hear what I said?" Liu Ma shouted to her husband when Liu Long and his wife walked into the kitchen after cleaning the backyard. "Huh?" Liu Long asked. "Oh, I wasted all morning trying to tell you what's going on at home." Mama Liu said, "When the master fires you and replaces you with a foreign servant, don't say I didn't warn you! " "You warn me? Warn of what?" "Hey, why am I wasting my time talking to a deaf and dumb old turtle like you?" Mama Liu complained.She frowned again when she saw Wang Shan. "Eating raw ham again?" she said. "You'd better not let the cook know that you ate his ham. He may tell your father, and you know how the master will punish you. He will use a bamboo stick Hit the palm of your hand." Wang Shan swallowed the ham without chewing much, and then drank a bowl of water in one gulp, the speed was so fast that Liu Ma was dumbfounded. "I really don't understand why the cook hasn't come back since he went out shopping early in the morning." Liu Ma continued, "If he still spends time in the teahouse every morning, one day he will find his bedding rolls thrown into the big The door, and the kitchen has been replaced by foreign cooks."

"My father is going to hire an American cook, Mama Liu?" Wang Shan asked, his eyes lit up. "He bought an American suit." Mama Liu said emphatically, "That's just the beginning. He will also Westernize the housework and fire us all. I wasted the whole morning talking to Liu Long about it. But this deaf and dumb old tortoise didn't hear a word." "Yeah!" Wang Shan called out in English, "I don't have to eat chop suey anymore. Great! Great!" Wang Shan doesn't go to school today.But he hates Saturday and Sunday because he has to eat every meal at home on these two days.Every time he sees those Hunan dishes, he loses his appetite.Sometimes he would sneak out for a hot dog or a hamburger before dinner.If he had no money, he would search the refrigerator when the cook wasn't in the kitchen.When he was very hungry, he would search for it anyway, eating both raw and cooked.Usually, when the family banquet is the richest, it is also when Wang Shan is the hungriest, because there are so many exquisite foods on the table that he hates.His favorite food at home is Chinese raw ham in the refrigerator.

Now, when he heard that his father was going to westernize housework, he was of course excited.There are many things he wants to do at home but dare not, for example, lying on the living room floor to read comic strips, chewing bubble gum, shooting birds with an air gun in the backyard, and so on.Now, maybe he could do all these things without making his father angry. At lunch he ventured to take home a loaf of bread.Instead of rice, he made homemade sandwiches from Chinese dishes.His father glared at him with a deep frown as he ate his sandwich with gusto. "What kind of food is that?" Master Wang asked.

"Sandwiches, Dad." "What a barbaric way to eat," said his father, "with chopsticks!" "Dad, chopsticks are not supposed to be used for sandwiches. This is American food." "What's so bad about Chinese food on the dinner table?" "I like to eat American food." Master Wang frowned even deeper, "I heard that you often eat raw ham, is it true?" Wang Shan's mouth was full, "It's true, because I'm too hungry." "You used to have very good table manners," said Master Wang. "Eat food quietly, bite by bite. Now you eat like a bandit on the mountain. Besides, only wild animals eat raw meat. If the cook tells me that you Eat raw meat, and you might as well move to the mountains and live like the beasts. Did you do your homework this morning?"

"Review, Dad." "After lunch, come to my room to recite your homework." Wang Qiyang said and stood up.Wang Shan's sandwiches and meals have already made him lose his appetite.He couldn't eat anything. After his father left the dinner table, Wang Shan ate the sandwich with even more relish.He didn't know before that the Chinese food that he didn't like tasted so delicious in the bread.He was glad that his father hadn't said anything to forbid him from eating the sandwich. After a pleasant lunch, Wang Shan felt that this was the happiest Saturday he had ever had.And now he can't wait to play.He really wished that he could grow up like Wang Da, come and go without needing to ask his father's permission, and always have enough money to eat out.He couldn't figure out where his brother was now.He rarely sees his face, especially on weekends.He was jealous of his brother's life, and was sure he was having a good time; besides, his brother didn't have to recite his homework to his father.Although the routine reciting was not at all difficult, since father could not understand a word of what he was reciting anyway, reciting homework was always a tiresome thing and often made him nervous.He would be glad if he was reciting lessons in private in his father's room, where no one but his father could hear what he was reciting.But sometimes his father would make him recite in the living room, and it became a horrible experience, because his aunt, who could visit at any time, could hear him recite, and she understood English and could easily Just discovered his tricks.

He went into his father's room with his school books.Master Wang was sitting in a wicker chair enjoying a slight cough.Wang Shan waited until his father's cough was over, then walked stiffly to his desk. "What homework did you review this morning?" Master Wang asked in a nasal voice, clearing his throat. "Geography and arithmetic." Wang Shan replied. "Put your books down," said the father. Wang Shan put the book on the table and waited for his father to speak. "Which geography class did you review?" my father asked. "Lesson Nine."

"Recite Lesson Nine to me." Wang Shan was reciting the ninth lesson about North America. When he started to stutter, he immediately switched to the "American Declaration of Independence", because he had memorized the "American Declaration of Independence" and could recite it very fluently.After Wang Shan finished reciting it, Master Wang nodded approvingly, and said gruntingly, "Well, not bad, not bad. Which class of arithmetic did you review?" "Lesson 10." Wang Shan replied. "Recite lesson ten to me." Wang Shan did not argue that there is no need to recite texts in arithmetic class.He knew his father believed that students must remember everything they learned in school.This is a method that has been practiced in China for thousands of years, and Master Wang firmly believes that it is the only way to help students remember what they have learned. "Recite Lesson Ten, hurry up," he said.

Wang Shan cleared his throat, and recited the "American Declaration of Independence", this time he recited it twice.After he finished reciting, he kept moving his feet back and forth, eagerly looking forward to his father letting him out.He was in a rush to play and didn't want to be late.Master Wang coughed a few times and asked, "That's all?" "yes." "Review more next time." "Yes, Dad. Can I go now?" Wang Qiyang looked at his son sternly and asked, "Why are you in such a hurry to get out?" "I... my aunt told me to go see her." Wang Shan replied.

Master Wang couldn't object to his son going to his aunt's house, lest it might upset her. She always insisted that relatives should move around with each other as much as possible.Even so, he didn't let Wang Shan go out until after he had taught Wang Shan how to behave, be loyal and honest, and respect his elders. After Wang Shan left, Master Wang coughed for a while and felt very comfortable.In a good mood, he practiced calligraphy, took care of bonsai, and then decided to take a walk in Chinatown. He walked south on Stoughton Street and turned onto Sacramento Avenue.The sun was shining this afternoon, the air was warm and fresh, and many Cantonese women sat on the steps of their homes looking out at the street, just like they did in China.Master Wang gave way to peddlers and rickshaws.When he passed the Chinese stadium along the slope, feeling nostalgic in his chest, he suddenly saw Wang Shan and a group of young people throwing a ball on a net.He blinked a few times to make sure it was his son.Yes, it is him.Is he looking at his aunt like this?

Master Wang felt furious.He hated his son's lying, especially after he had just given him a lesson in being honest and honest.He held back the urge to run up and slap his son twice for lying.He coughed a few times, trying to get his son's attention, but Wang Shan was so absorbed in the game that he didn't notice his father at all.Wang Qiyang looked at his son, and the anger in his heart became more and more intense. However, after a while, he began to be amazed by Wang Shan's ball-handling skills.He ran like a monkey, jumped up after falling, and quickly saved the ball from falling to the ground.Master Wang watched for a while, and was attracted, and gradually found himself secretly cheering for his son's team in his heart. He felt a little embarrassed to find that he was so interested in the children's games, and hurried away from the playground, secretly glad that Wang Shan didn't see him.He wondered if it was possible to find a place to watch the game where no one else could find it.If people started talking about Mr. Wang who went to the football game every Saturday afternoon, there would be a lot of gossip, and then he would have to try to explain the problem.For the first time in his life, he found that throwing a ball around a net could be so much fun. On his way home, he discovered another thing: through this kind of game, Wang Shan's hands must be rougher than before.No wonder the kid wasn't so afraid of his bamboo stick recently.The next time you punish him, you must hit him harder.