Page 167 - updated on July

Yu Jihui: “A Stinking Old Ninth – A Tale of the Coal Capital” (updated on July 2020)

wanted to see whether I had the guts. He was trying

to find an excuse.

Since his village was just in the western suburb

of the city where we were working, he could easily

get there by riding a bicycle. He had a bicycle and he

thought it to be as important as his life. He would

take good care of it. He would spend hours wiping it

and oiling it. He kept it as shiny as a brand new one.

He didn’t allow anybody to touch it. Every weekend,

he would ride it back home in haste. There was no

exception. He was missing his wife very much. So

when the weekend came, he would be extremely

anxious to ride back home. Why was he anxious to

go home? Everybody knew the answer. He was eager

to hug his wife. He never covered his desire to see

his wife. He would show off his good luck. He knew

my distress as a single man. He knew I had a hard

time sleeping alone at night. He knew he would

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