Chapter 8 (1/2)

CHAPTER 8 : THE MOLDY BREAD

“Hmm  ... help

yourself.” Uncle w.a.n.g was taking a nap lying on the couch, his eyes were still

not open.

“Oh… “Zhang Yang went and picked up the worn out cellphone

from the desk. Because the cable was too old, it must have been there for a

long period and the charger was not connected to the power, so the cellphone’s function

was minimum.

They said that Uncle w.a.n.g deliberately managed to stay on the

guard’s office, where his cell phone was often stolen.  And, only after he exchanged the previous

phone with this old one, he never lost his cellphone again.

This always made Zhang Yang wonder, Why not get a land line?

It is very convenient to use and cannot be moved easily.

Naturally, Zhang Yang was too lazy to ask about these matters

as it had nothing to do with him, he just knew that uncle w.a.n.g has the

cellphone. He had never failed to make a phone call before, and this time was

no exception.

“Liu Biao …Help”

“What’s the matter?” A lazy but strong voice came from the

other side of the phone.

“I’ve got no money. I haven’t eaten anything since morning,

come and save me.”

“Bos.h.!.+ Can anyone be so miserable?”

“Ah, Yes, I’m so hungry I cannot even move…” Zhang Yang

walked around with a long face.

“Wait for 20 minutes, I’ll be right over.” “No…. 30 minutes.”

“Why does it take so long? I’m starving to death.” Zhang Yang

had an intense feeling of hunger in his stomach that he could swallow up a

whole cow.

“My G.o.d, you hungry animal! Don’t worry, you won’t die by

starving for half an hour.”  The phone

hanged up from the other side.

Zhang yang carefully put the phone on the table, his face

looked depressed, normally Liu Biao would not take more than ten minutes to

meet him after a call, but to his surprise , today, when he actually needed him

the most, he’s not available for another half an hour.

“Poor child, open the first drawer.” Uncle w.a.n.g raised his

hand and said.

“Oh”

“Do you see a black plastic bag?”

“Yes”

“Eat it! It’s bread.”

Zhang Yang opened the plastic bag, his eyes flickered, but

he was a bit uneasy about the color of the bread being grey, he couldn’t help

but ask “How long has this bread been there?”

The old man sat up straight with surprise.

“Cough  ...”

“Yes  ... How long has

it been..?”

“It seems … about a week.” The old man hesitated as he

seemed unsure about the exact day.

“For a week..? “ Zhang Yang was stunned.

“I don’t want to  ...

I have to  ...”

Zhang Yang took a mouthful bite of the bread with tearful

eyes, he would rather eat the stale bread and get killed than to listen to the

old man’s spiritual and mental torments.

The old man (Uncle w.a.n.g) had partic.i.p.ated in the Vietnam

War, as a matter of fact he was only sent there when the war had almost ended.

The old man didn’t even know how the Vietnamese look, but because of the

occasional crossfire in the border the old man was considered as a war

personnel. And now, each month he still receives an allowance from when he was