Chapter 13 The Li family has a daughter who has just grown up

Three weeks passed, and Li Mei found it very pleasant to live in the palace.Everyone in the family eats Chinese food, speaks Chinese, and behaves in a typical Chinese way.Yes, living here is the same as living in China.Except for the tobacco leaves Mr. Wang uses to smoke hookahs from Hong Kong, everything the family needs can be bought in Chinatown. She likes watching movies about Chinatown.She can understand Cantonese, and it is very easy for her to watch Cantonese movies.Foreign films, although colorful and full of passion, were difficult for her to understand.When she watches American movies, she always misses the point of humorous dialogue.Whenever the audience roared with laughter, she often felt that she wanted to laugh too, but she couldn't do it properly.Ordinarily, she should have learned to speak foreign languages ​​from General White a long time ago, but General White liked to speak Chinese so much that he never spoke a word of English to her.All she learned from him was drinking ice water and milk.

Whenever she thought of General White, she missed him terribly.The old general is different from Mr. Wang, he often laughs, jokes, and eats happily; while Mr. Wang is always serious, eats very little, and never drinks cold water or milk.General White likes to abacus and take long walks; while Mr. Wang likes to practice calligraphy and take a long nap in the afternoon.General White likes to chat, while Mr. Wang seems to like to cough.Of the two of them, one is so jovial and the other is so rigid.She likes jovial old people.She couldn't figure out who was older, General White or Mr. Wang.But she believes that if Mr. Wang is older, then it is obvious that old birthday stars like old-fashioned old people.

However, the work to be done in the king's house is as easy as that in the general's house.Although Liu Ma often looked for work for her over and over again, there was never enough work to keep her busy.She likes to work.Whenever she had nothing to do, she would go to the central hall to clean Mr. Wang's hookah. It was a leisurely afternoon, Wang Da and Wang Shan hadn't finished school yet, and everyone in the family was taking a nap.She came to the middle hall to wipe Mr. Wang's hookah, and happily hummed a ditty of her favorite Fengyang Flower Drum Song. Old man Li, who lived as happily as his daughter in the palace, came to the central hall with a bucket of water and a spoon.There was a look of happiness on his face.

"Hey, Dad." Li Mei said, "Why didn't you take a nap like everyone else?" "Hey," Old Man Li said, "how many years do I have to live? Why waste my life on the bed? I like to do some housework for my enjoyment. Why don't you take a nap?" "I tried, but I couldn't fall asleep. I really don't understand how people in this house fall asleep so easily. Like Mr. Wang, he started to doze off before he even got to the bed." "Oh, we are different." Old man Li said while watering the orchids, "we are born different from the rich. God let the rich enjoy sleeping and let us enjoy eating."

"Old Mr. Wang certainly doesn't like to eat." Li Mei said while wiping the hookah vigorously, "Did you see how he looks when he eats? Whenever he sees something delicious, he will frown. He always seems morose at the dinner table. You're never unhappy in bed, are you, Daddy?" "Yes, as long as there are no bedbugs, you won't be unhappy. Li Mei, our ancestors said that those who are content are always happy." He stopped watering the flowers and asked Li Mei seriously, "Li Mei, you are happy here ?" "Happy." Li Mei replied. "That's good!"

"Except for the time when I saw Mama Liu, I was very happy." "You must not make trouble with her." Old man Li immediately said, "Our old master of facial recognition said: 'A woman with high cheekbones and sharp lips has a heart as poisonous as a rattlesnake.' I noticed that Mama Liu has this kind of appearance. What did she do to you?" "She always stared at me and snorted at me." "Well, as long as she doesn't use her teeth and nails on you, don't worry about it." "Her words are terrible, Daddy. She came and nagged me yesterday when I was here rubbing old Mr. Wang's hookah. She said, 'What do you think you are, sitting on a kang?' I said, "Why can't I sit on the kang?" She said, "That's the position of the master!" I said, "The master is not here." She said, "No servant is allowed to sit on the kang!" I said, "My master and I We have sat on the kang together many times, why doesn't he know this rule?'"

"You're right. You're right." Old Man Li asked, "And what did she say?" "She said, 'Huh!'" "Okay, you've won the argument. But you must stop picking on her, Li Mei. As for her cheekbones, I'm sure the old fortune-telling masters are right. Get along well with her .Our ancestors said it well, don't sail against the current. Understand?" "I will try my best." "How is Mr. Wang treating you?" "Very good." Li Mei said, her eyes suddenly lit up, "He plans to teach me how to read and write foreign languages."

"Really? That's great! You have to study hard. No matter what language it is, being able to read and write is a big deal, especially when you have a lover who keeps writing to you or a boring relative, it will More important. Well, in China, if I could understand those classical Chinese letters written by my rogue relative, I would definitely be respected more. Every time I ask people to read those letters, people think I am also a rogue ,Ugh!" Li Mei took out a pen from her coat pocket and showed it to her father, "Mr. Wang also gave me a foreign pen. He said there was a small inkstone hidden in it."

Old man Li looked at the pen carefully, "Oh, he is so kind, he gave you such an expensive gift. You should put it in the pocket of your clothes and don't use it lightly." He returned the pen to Li Mei, "What did Mr. Wang study in a foreigner's university?" "He learned how to be a doctor. Dad, you should see how he writes that foreign character. He writes so fast that you think he is not writing at all, but drawing on a piece of paper." small bug." "I know, I know." Old man Li said, "this foreign character is very strange. It looks different in writing. Those foreign sailors often have this kind of writing tattooed on their arms. Oh, it's a mess ! Some words look exactly like a woman's thigh!"

Seeing Wang Da enter the room, Li Mei immediately jumped up. "Mr. Wang." She called excitedly. "Hello." Wang Da said, throwing a pile of books on a chair, and sat on another chair, "I'm so tired!" He was indeed tired, because he ran back from school. House's.Since he met Li Mei, he has been running home most of the time.Every day he longed to go home.Life is no longer boring, and he has changed a lot. "You came back early today." Old man Li said, "I don't think it is very difficult to learn to be a doctor." "Although the days are short, the years are long, old man Li." Wang said with a big laugh.

"Aren't you going to take a nap, Mr. Wang?" Li Mei asked. "I've already taken a nap in class." "Hey," Old Man Li said, "Of course I have no objection to studying Western medicine. However, if I am sick, I definitely don't want to go to Western medicine." Wang Da laughed loudly, "When I get my medical license, old man Li, I will definitely not persuade you to come to see a doctor when you are sick. Li Mei, what are you doing this afternoon?" Li Mei handed the master the hookah, "Look at this!" "What? New hookah?" "It's not new, I wiped it out. I changed the water too." "No wonder it smells fresh. You know, the hookah in our house is as old as my brother Wang Shan. I dare say it's been really polished for the first time since it left the factory. Li You will certainly please my father more than anyone else in this house, May." "I like your father." Li Mei said, "Although he looks very rigid, he never scolded anyone." "However, he often beats my younger brother." Wang Da said. "Mr. Wang, are you your father's precious son?" Li Mei asked. "I've always wanted to do it, but I haven't been very successful. Whenever I ask him for help, he often shoots at me like a machine gun with a mouth full of 'no'. Old man Li, my father is also very satisfied with your work. He Say, since you came, the backyard is cleaner and the flowers look fresher and grow faster." "Mr. Wang," old man Li became emotional, "flowers are like people. If you take good care of them, they will grow well and look fresher. In China, even those ferocious wild dogs are the same , Don’t look at them baring their teeth and howling, but as long as you throw them a bone, haha, they will wag their tails at you. This is the reason for everything.” "Although this is not the case for human beings, there are indeed many people who take advantage of other people's kindness and deceive them." Wang Da said. "I call such people bedbugs." Old man Li said, "When they suck too much blood from their benefactor, they will burst their stomachs one day." "Dad," Li Mei said with a grimace, "you bring up bedbugs every day—how disgusting." "Oh," Old Man Li said, "I have been their benefactor for more than sixty years, can I forget them?" Wang laughed.Old man Li is very happy.He looked at the young couple and decided it was time to leave them alone. "Okay." He lifted the bucket and said, "The flowers in the backyard are waiting for me to water them." "You must be a nympho, old man Li." Wang Da said. Old man Li blinked and said, "When you reach my age and can't find anything better to love, you will also become a nympho." He glanced at Li Mei quickly, laughing With that, he hurriedly exited the central hall. "Let's sit on the kang." Wang Da said as he walked towards the kang. "Mr. Wang, are servants allowed to sit on the kang?" Li Mei asked. "In this house, you are allowed to do anything except call me sir all day long." "Then, I will call you Young Master Wang." Li Mei said, and sat at the other end. "Don't keep putting that feudal title on my head!" Wang Da said, "It's really harsh. I hate it very much, and I wish I could exchange it with Liu Long's title." "What is Liu Long's title?" "Deaf and dumb old tortoise." Li Mei giggled, "Then what do I call you?" "Call me 'big', no one in the family calls me 'big'. That's why this house is like an icehouse and everyone here is like a piece of frozen beef." "Well, I'll call you 'Big' from now on." Li Mei said softly. Wang Da looked at her and smiled, then moved to the side of the kang where she was sitting, "Okay, the obstacle has been removed. Do you like working here, Li Mei?" "Like it, big." "If this house is an old Chinese house, you will like it more. It is like a paradise in the warm spring. The garden is full of flowers, bees and butterflies are flying, and the young bamboo shoots can shoot a foot high every day. ... I don't know what the old house looks like now..." He faced the wall behind the kang, pointed to it and said, "Did you see that place? It's a big moon window facing the The garden. Through the moon window, you can see the tall bamboo forest in the garden.” He lowered his head slightly, pretending to be looking out through the imaginary moon window. "Did you see that basket, the one hanging on top of that tall bamboo tree?" Li Mei was confused for a while, then smiled and pretended to look out. "Oh, I see. Who hung that basket up so high?" "I hung it. When I hung the basket on it, it was only a foot high. But look at it now, it has grown to the sky. I often sit here and watch the bamboo grow, especially the bamboo hanging on the top. The one from my basket. Sometimes I get sad seeing the basket grow so tall - it ends up out of my reach. Somehow that basket has become a symbol of my purpose in life, however time was taking it away from me. I was a sad little guy in those days. In fact I was... until I ran into you." He turned around and stared into Li Mei's eyes.Li Mei lowered her head, a red cloud appeared on her face.Immediately he turned to face the wall again, pointed to it and asked, "Did you see there?" Li Mei pretended to be watching, "I didn't see it. What's there?" "The felled bamboo." "Oh, I see. Why was it cut down?" "My younger brother Wang Shan should be responsible for what happened to it. He wanted to imitate my behavior and hung a basket on it. He was only seven years old at the time, but he was a smart kid. He put Two eggs. Do you know what happened next? Two wild pigeons came and made a nest in a basket and hatched. It was two eggs. When the pigeons saw how big their darling had grown, they were terrified. Had to fly away. My father was terrified when he found out. He thought the garden must be haunted. Who ever heard of chickens hatching from the top of the bamboo. He cut the bamboo down and invited two Taoist priests Exorcising ghosts, and then hastily held a grand funeral to bury the chick. Those two eggs cost him two hundred oceans, enough to buy a cow." Li Mei giggled, "Why? Didn't anyone tell him the truth?" "I told him. But it didn't matter much. He still believed in ghosts, so Liu Long and I had a hearty chicken dinner. He dug the chickens from their luxurious graves and oiled them It was fried. Oh my goodness, that was delicious! We ate it on the hillside, so Mama Liu couldn't spot us." "Didn't you invite your brother to eat with you?" Li Mei asked, "That's his chicken." "Please, but he has a lot of worries. My father almost broke his leg because he raised chickens on top of the bamboo." He took out a bamboo stick from the back of the kang and waved it in the air. "Do you know what this is? It's called 'The Fear of King's Mountain' and my brother trembles when he sees it. Hold out your hand and I'll show you how my father scares my brother of." Li Mei held out her right hand.Wang Da grabbed it with his left hand, and then pretended to beat it with a bamboo stick, "You will be hit ten times for stealing things, and you will be hit fifteen times for not being able to memorize the Four Books." "How many boards did he get for raising chickens in the air?" Li Mei asked with a smile. "Twenty big boards." Wang Da said, "It's not the palm of the hand, but here." He lightly hit Li Mei's round buttocks with a bamboo stick.They both laughed.Wang Da put the bamboo stick aside, but his hand still held Li Mei's.Their eyes stared at each other for a while, Li Mei suddenly lowered her head, her face flushed. "I have to go," she said. "Mr. Wang may be coming here soon to smoke." "Don't worry." Wang Da said, "He usually sleeps all afternoon, and sometimes it takes more than an hour to wake him up." He held her hand even tighter. "You are so beautiful, Li Mei." Li Mei smiled and blushed even more, "I have to go, really." "Li Mei, has anyone ever shaken your hand before?" Wang Da asked. "Had." "Really, who is that man?" "It's a foreigner." "Foreigner! Where did you know this man?" "In a dream." Li Mei said, "When I was in Taiwan, I once dreamed of going to a Soviet movie." "Have you seen real Soviet people in Soviet movies?" "No, I've never watched Soviet movies. My dad said that almost everyone in my hometown watches Soviet movies now. Have you ever seen Soviet movies?" "Saw it. I saw it once in San Francisco. In that movie, everyone was a hero. He could work twenty hours a day, seven days a week. He saluted his comrades tirelessly. Whenever As soon as the order came, he raised his arms, waved the flag, rushed to the battlefield shouting 'Go', and died heroically. Have you seen a lot of American movies?" "I haven't seen it." Li Mei lied, "I haven't seen a single American movie." "Next time I'll take you to an American movie. American movies are not the same as those Cantonese movies we saw in Chinatown. In American movies, everyone has a beautiful car; every car has a beautiful Women. The heroes in American movies, like the heroes in Chinese movies, seldom die. Sometimes heroes die; but as long as they don't die, they always end with a long kiss. Do you know what a long kiss is?" "I don't know." Li Mei lied again. "Okay then," Wang said with a big laugh, "maybe you're the only one in America who doesn't know what a kiss is. Well, I'll explain it to you. A kiss is... just... the touching or pressing of the lips ...contact or pressure on the lips or cheeks...oh, it's easier to demonstrate than to explain. Anyway, you're going to put your lips where you choose, but there must be a feeling Acquaintance, or family relationship, or strong attraction..." He stopped and stared at Li Mei with fiery eyes. "Do you understand?" "I don't understand." Li Mei replied. "I knew you didn't understand." Wang Da said, "Okay, let me explain it to you in a simpler way. Physiologically speaking, a kiss is a... a... It can be said to be a A behavior that is personally favored in Western countries, especially in the United States. Do you know what this behavior is?" "I don't know." Li Mei replied. "Hey, you're just a rotten tree, well, let me demonstrate to you, close your eyes!" Li Mei closed her eyes.Wang Da lifted her face up, and continued: "Yes! Lift your head up, and relax your lips... Yes, like a pomegranate with its mouth open. Yes!" Then he put his arms around her, Gently kissed her lips. Li Mei quickly opened her eyes and asked, "Is this a kiss?" "Yes." Wang laughed. "Compared to the kisses you see in American movies, that's only half done." "It's only half done?" "Yes, only half, let's go, I'll take you to watch an American movie. The movie will teach you how to call a perfect kiss." "Going right now?" "Yes, let's go now. We can come back when we have dinner." He took Li Mei's hand and dragged her out.