www射-国产免费一级-欧美福利-亚洲成人福利-成人一区在线观看-亚州成人

US EUROPE AFRICA ASIA 中文
Lifestyle

A humbling lesson by an itinerant vendor

By Liu Hua ( China Daily ) Updated: 2008-04-17 06:51:51

I left my office around dusk. The street was crowded, as usual. Back in the old days, the Chinese used to describe busy traffic as "cheshui malong" - chariots like flowing water and horses like dragons. Well, in modern metropolises, this can be adapted to mean "chariots like stagnant water and horses like wooden dragons".

As I looked out on the crowds in the evening breeze, I caught sight of some lotus seedpods on sale by the street. They looked extravagantly green and full in early winter. Wait, how could there be lotus seedpods at this time of the year?

A humbling lesson by an itinerant vendor

Then I realized that the place where I was standing was called Xiaoxitian - Minor Western Paradise. The Western Paradise is famed as the abode of Buddha, where the deities all sit on lotuses. Maybe this place is blessed, I thought.

The lotus seller claimed to be from Baiyangdian, a wetland in Baoding, Hebei province. Speaking with an accent, he recounted the hardships in planting, gathering, transporting and selling lotuses, punctuating the long story with several folk tales.

How could I give up the chance to bargain? In the glassy skyscraper behind us, I had just spent the whole day bargaining a deal. What a waste of my commercial talents if I couldn't apply my superb skills here.

I told the man that since I had developed a special bond with the local people of Baoding, after tasting baked donkey pancake there, I would not bargain with him.

The peddler almost had tears in his eyes. But I went on: To enhance this friendship, could he give me an extra for each seedpod I bought?

The lotus farmer from the wetland was nowhere near me in cunning, I was convinced. He allowed me to choose from the basket and his accent gradually followed mine to pick up Beijing tones.

I felt very successful. With economy acting as the bridge, I had influenced the other side culturally. This is what it feels to be a triumphant man, I thought.

I first chose nine seedpods. Then I remembered my 4-year-old daughter who has never seen a lotus seedpod before, and chose nine more. Carrying 18 lotus seedpods, I drew much attention on my way home. I must have looked very much like a fervent Buddhist pilgrim, I thought.

My daughter was as excited as I had expected. But she immediately called out its proper name - lianpeng. That was another word I never thought she could have learned at this age.

I couldn't wait to open the seedpods, and felt as if I was unveiling a childhood dream. How I envied my pals who could eat lotus seeds. Now, it was my turn to eat as many lotus seeds as I liked.

But we found that nine of the ten pods were empty. The five or six seeds that were there tasted bitter. What kind of lotus is this? It couldn't possibly have grown in Baiyangdian - the lotus hometown. Then I remembered the peddler's accent. It was not I who had influenced him culturally, but he who had taken advantage of me economically.

I told my daughter seriously, don't you ever look down upon anyone, including your pals in the kindergarten.

Southern People's Weekly contributed to the story

(China Daily 04/17/2008 page19)

Tags
Editor's Picks
Hot words

Most Popular
...
主站蜘蛛池模板: 99久久精品免费观看区一 | a级精品九九九大片免费看 a级毛片免费观看网站 | 最近手机高清中文字幕大全7 | 亚洲国产精品久久精品成人 | 九九在线观看精品视频6 | 亚洲成人在线免费观看 | 欧美日韩中文字幕在线观看 | 成人a毛片在线看免费全部播放 | 国产在线一区二区 | 国产孕妇孕交大片孕 | 美女被躁免费视频软件 | 热99re久久国超精品首页 | 欧美天堂 | 久久偷看各类wc女厕 | 国产欧美在线观看不卡 | 午夜淫片 | 一级毛片视频免费 | 日日摸天天摸狠狠摸视频 | 亚洲午夜精品久久久久久抢 | 成年人免费黄色 | 911精品国产亚洲日本美国韩国 | 久久亚洲精品国产精品777777 | 国产成人艳妇在线观看 | 国内精品视频九九九九 | 亚洲美女综合 | 9久久免费国产精品特黄 | 国产成人精品三级91在线影院 | 99er精品 | 久久亚洲国产午夜精品理论片 | 亚洲第三区 | 免费网站看v片在线香蕉 | 91情国产l精品国产亚洲区 | 欧美特级毛片aaaa | 精品中文字幕在线观看 | 亚洲三级黄色 | 成人永久福利在线观看不卡 | 亚洲国产精选 | 亚洲国产夜色在线观看 | 日本www视频在线观看 | 萌白酱粉嫩jk福利视频在线观看 | 久久九九色|