Chinese Literature

Uncle Yun-pu suspected that his son was again behaving like a lazy beggar and refusing to obey orders. He was unable to suppress his anger:

“You wretch, are you going, or aren’t you? You're always opposing me in one way or another!”

“Tt’s no use going.”

“You'll go if I tell you to go, and I forbid you to talk to me like that!” .

Raising his head, Li-chiu gently put down the knife with which he had been cutting bamboo. His young heart was heavy with hidden pain. Unable to stand the worried look on his father’s face, he turned and went off without another word.

“Just say: My father sent me to ask Uncle Yu-wu to please help us just a little. Once we tide over this difficult time, we'll promptly return Uncle what we owe!”

“Wihy uh se

The moon had just peeped out from behind the tree trunks, and in a few minutes it was again swallowed up by dark clouds. Not a single star was in sight. All around, the darkness was like a black lacquer board.

“What did Uncle Yu-wu say?”

“He didn’t say much. He only said: Please give my regards to your Dad. Iam very sorry, but yesterday we were eating pumpkin and today there’s just this bit of thin gruel left.”

“Didn’t you say I’d pay him back right away?”

“T did, and he even showed me their rice jar. It was empty.”

“And what about his wife?”

“She smiled at me but didn’t say anything.”

“They’re lying!’ Uncle Yun-pu said indignantly, pounding his fist on the little table. “Only three days before I saw him buying meat, and bless him, he says he has no rice today. Who the devil believes that!”

Nobody made a sound. Mrs. Yun-pu came over, and the children strained their ears to hear the conversation. In the huge ancestral temple there was not a single light. The darkness was oppressive and weighed heavily on their spirits.

“Then what are we to do tomorrow when work in the fields must begin?” Mrs. Yun-pu asked anxiously.

“There’s nothing but starvation for all of us. This good-for-nothing has been dashing about for Heaven knows how long, and hasn’t brought back even a single grain of rice!’

“But Dad, what could I do?”

“Oh go and die, you worthless fool, and leave me alone!”

Having scolded his son so severely, Uncle Yun-pu was immediately sorry. Die! Ah, what was the good of wishing his son dead? His

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