Page 275 - updated on July

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

Great Cultural Revolution, I had not practiced it for a

long time. After I became a teacher in the middle

school, I had been teaching sports, so I had nearly

forgotten the little English I had learnt in the

university. If I couldn’t speak English better than a

doctor who was not an English major, I would lose

face. At this point, I was worried.

“How old are you?” she asked in English. That

was a very simple question.

“I’m in my late twenties,” I said. Thinking she

could only speak very simple English, I became a

little more confident.

“Why didn’t you have a girlfriend while you

studied at the university? You look honest. Girls

should run after you.” Her English was very fluent

and her pronunciation was very beautiful. I never

thought her English would be so good. I regretted

boasting about myself so much. I knew I met an

272