Chapter 40 (1/2)

CHAPTER 40

Every night the outdated fridge in the kitchen would produce a dull hued, the compactor would activate at every ten minute interval I informed the landlord about this many times, but he refused to send anyone to repair it The reasons being, one, it activating all the tie didn’t work It was exactly the opposite, the fridge as still cold Two, the cost of fixing the fridge was too expensive, ht as well buy a new one But he wasn’t rich and didn’t intend to spend thatand could only exa I repeatedly went to the fridge to look for stuff during thethat, if I was full, I would become sleepy That wasn’t the reality I felt worried with a stomach ache, and felt panic in the pit of my stomach I tossed and turned in bed until sunrise

For the next teeks, I didn’t receive a single call from Li Chuan Every time I called hi: Mr wang is undergoing treatment, it’s inconvenient for him to answer the phone I sent René a text René told me that Li Chuan’s sickness was unstable He was soh fever He also had a strong reaction to the medications, so couldn’t leave the hospital at all One of René’s best attributes was that he was honest If there was so he felt that he couldn’t say, he would conceal it, but he wouldn’t lie on purpose

I suffered froraine This ailment was one that I would also have when I used to write papers or translate overnight But as soon as the stress was removed, the symptoms would immediately disappear It wasn’t like that this time When it started, half ot off work on Tuesday, I had a splitting headache I bought a bottle of aspirin and went to a blind e parlor in the district that was on the way

The ethis business for seven years Everyone in the neighborhood, especially the elderly, kneho he was Mr Xu ca Other than being blind in both eyes, he looked tall and strong, and an ie skill, he rented a one story place in the neighborhood to do his business He didn’t work intensely When he was tired, he would close shop for several days and go out to drink tea and rest He didn’t have a, so he didn’t earn too much money But he was excellent at his trade His service was thorough and custoain The more than ten hours worth of slots in the day would be coe shops surrounding the neighborhood and people didn’t think he was really that special But because he charged less, many people went to him However, last year, unexpected news broke about hihborhood He took a wife, a woh the wo and was younger than him Plus she was a university teacher Everyone felt that Mr Xu’s luck oood

“Relax, relax your shoulders I’ll e your shoulder first and then the neck, then the head…You can close your eyes for the whole process” Mr Xu said toHunan accented Mandarin

“I’ve recently been suffering fro headaches”

“Have you takenpills and aspirin count?”

“That’s fine If it’s serious, you should go see the doctor” He said, “You haven’t been here in a long time It nize my voice

I saw that each of his elbows had a black callus the size of an egg on it He’s probably seen more than ten thousand people these few years

His fingertips were soft, and so my meridian I was just about to close e There was actually a s raised in it A chihuahua

I wasn’t too interested in the dog, but I knew that E a chihuahua and said that it was quite expensive It was also expensive to groom it every month It’s not that she couldn’t afford it, but she would often co lunch and say that this type was finicky and difficult to wait upon

I couldn’t help but ask hiht” He said proudly, “isn’t it cute?”

“Expensive, right?!”

“A bit, several thousand dollars”

Heavens! I calculated in my mind Several thousand dollars How e to make that money back

“Did you wife buy it?”

“I bought it She liked it, so I bought it We take strolls every day together with it This dog is too sot lost last ti with happiness

I sighed heavily and asked, “Brother Xu, when you were dating your wife, did you chase after her?”

“She chased aftera joking tone

“Then did you chase her even a little?”

“Nope, and I still haven’t yet I am not fro a living with the money from my own trade I didn’t even dare to think about a wife, child and what not”

“Then thather?”

“Mmm…pretty much like that Later on, we beca after who”

“Da Ge (Older Brother), I’ someone He won’t accept no matter what”

“Then perhaps that person isn’t willing…”

“No, he’s sick and doesn’t want to involve me”

“Then did you try hard to chase after hiht of every method, but he still won’t pay attention to me”

Mr Xu’s hands stopped and he stood in front ofat me from those empty hold in his eyes, “He won’t pay attention to you, but don’t tell me you won’t pay attention to him? I think that you must not have tried your hardest”

What counted at tryingat the ed out a passport froo, when I was still at Jiu Tong, Tang Yu Lan, who liked to make money on the side, helped me set up a passport She said that she had personal connections to several travel agencies and that if I had tiuide and apore, Malaysia and Thailand along the way I had one to Singapore, Malaysia or Thailand a single time So the passport had never been used I et a visa to Switzerland for me

That afternoon, under her direction, I filled out a few forht a round trip ticket for Zurich It hadn’t been a week beforeto Switzerland for? There are roup for you Thirty thousand dollars for seven countries How about that?” Tang Yu Lian urgedto see a friend”

“For just two days and a night? Isn’t that too short? It’s 7000 for a round trip plane ticket!”

“Work is intense I can’t stay long I still have several translations due when I get back”

“Alright, ree for some swiss francs at the bank, not euros Some stores don’t take euros Do you want ive me a couple addresses? I want the cheap ones, near the airport If I can’t find another place to stay, I’ll stay at the hotel”

Going abroad was a huge deal to oing to Jiuzhaigou Valley (faes of clothing and got on the Beijing to Zurich plane I left at 5:30p Zurich tie to René’s MSN to inforht number, and, if it was convenient, whether I could trouble hih Ji Chuan and René were both avoiding e, René would reply Even if it was a very short reply If René didn’t get the text uided trip

Actually, I si able to see Li Chuan I just wanted to get a quick look at the city Li Chuan lived in and I would be satisfied

At daybreak, the plane crossed over the earlymist, forests and hills and arrived on tie and only had a sroup of people and sat on the trolley going froration

There weren’tit seem very spacious The square shaped seats, ice-cold ave off an alienated feeling The grey central steel bea into outer space Fortunately, one could see a huge red hen going up and down the escalator A warht shi+ned in the restaurants There were even a few glass walls with vines growing up the me feel like I was back in the East

I sration The entrance of the ter up their signs

I didn’t see René