Page 278 - updated on July

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

and then became teachers in the middle school. They

all had strong workers’ bad habits. They cursed,

fought and sometime stole public property. All of

them were heavy smokers. In the offices, they never

stopped smoking. Sometimes they stayed together,

smoking while chatting. So the offices were full of

smoke from morning to late afternoon. The smoke

must have rested on my clothes.

“Smoking can cause many terrible diseases, such

as bronchitis and lung cancer. If I marry you, I will

end up passive smoking. I don’t like a man who

smokes, and what’s more, I don’t like liars.” With

that, she walked away.

I failed again but learned a lesson—never boast

about yourself or talk big before a girl. When I saw

the third girl, I admonished myself repeatedly, telling

myself that I must be modest. I must be honest.

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