(Written by Hu Ao)

          Two years ago, my father was forced by economic pressures to move to the municipality of CX in ZJ Province.  He was somewhat familiar with that area as my grandfather had had his original home there.

          My mother and I visited him during our last vacation, and as we expected, CX is much smaller than Beijing, but the economic conditions there are pretty good.  A growing number of people have private cars and motorcycles so we saw very few bicycles on the road.

          During the first week, my father introduced us to workmates, friends, and relatives we hadn't met before, and the one who impressed me the most was his cousin Ar Shen, a businessman.  My father told me that 10 years ago he was a carpenter with little business experience, but today he heads a one hundred million yuan public traded company.  His success is shaking up the family.

          It was an amazing story for an inexperienced high school student to hear.  The man is so successful that one wonders how he did it. 

          "It must have been based on excellence", I said excitedly.  "I never thought anything like that would happen in our family."

          "You've misjudged him", my father said calmly.  "I don't think he is good at some of the things he should be concerned about."

          That afternoon, my father took me outside the city to an impoverished place in the country.

          He directed my attention to a river that looked green as it was so dirty, and he said, "Decades ago, it used to be clean and very beautiful.  We could see fish and shrimp swimming in it then, but when I got here, it gave off an unbearable stink to welcome me."

          "'Oh, that's awful", I lamented with lowered eyebrows.

          "Come on - follow me."

          We walked down a path to see some of the houses.  Gray smoke was blowing out of a small chimneyi.

          "What do they drink?" I asked.

          "I don't know; maybe they buy water from the city.  The water here is poluted. 

          My father slowed his steps and said in a low voice, "Can you see the old woman sitting in the yard?"

          "Yes."

          "Do you know what she is doing?  She is assembling lighters.  After finishing her work, she will be given a little money.  It's very poor here.  Using a washing machine to wash clothes is routine for us, but here it is only a dream.  She is 80 years old, but she has to wash clothes by hand."

          We stood there silently for a few seconds, and then father said, "When I was small, this house had lots of land around it with trees and flowers, but today most of the land has been sold.  The woman is a great mother.  She has two sons - one of them disabled.  Her husband died a yiear ago, and now she has to do all the work for her disabled son with her own hands.

          My feelings of concern for her were growing.

          "But what about the other son?"

          "He is the man you admired - the millionaire."

                    MENU

          Wheat gluten puffs with jellyfish and pidan (preserved eggs)

          Whole yellow fish prepared with sugar and vinegar

          You bao shrimp

          Chinese cabbage and mushrooms

          Big gluten ball stuffed with roasted meat flavored with soy sauce 

          Sauteed rice cakes

          Jiaozhi (dumplings)

          Chicken and ham soup including:

                    An chun dan (quail eggs)

                    Bamboo

                    Fish balls

                    Danjiao (egg dumplings)

                    Hei muer (black wood ear)

                    Spinach

          Red ean, date, and lotus seed sweet soup

          Red grapes

          Navel oranges

          Green tea          

(Written by Hu Ao, a high school student in Beijing)

          There are many collectors in the world, none of them quite satisfied with what they've been able to hoard.  They may do it as a hobby, as a means to acquire wealth, or just to satisfy an inner urge, but there are never enough stamps or famous paintings or personal items celebrities have discarded.

          I don't think of myself as a collector.  There's no appeal in putting old things under my bed, hiding them in a wardrobe, or locking them into drawers.  I don't have that inclination nor would I want to spend the time or money that is inevitably involved.  I like things that make my life easy, as I believe in the old adage that simplicity is the key to a good life.

          There are things in my life, however, that have become old and no longer work properly, and I say to myself that I'll throw them away some day.  I'm just like other people in that regard.  There are some things that we just don't want to give up.  We keep them because they remind us of an experience we've had or a special emotion.  Regardless of what the things are, we find them valuable and feel that they should continue to exist - just for us.  They can be quite common, but for us, they're priceless treasures.

          In my grandfather's home, there is an old small table that I used for nearly ten years during my childhood.  Adults in my life have wanted to throw it away several times, but each time I managed to keep it.  Although it is not as useful as a new one would be, I still like to spend time with it.  When I sit on it, I feel that I'm with an old friend, the kind you don't have to say anything to because everything you know is already understood.  For ten years, I wrote articles on it.  It held my books when I first started reading.  The two of us have shared many secrets. 

          In one of the drawers, there is an old calculating machine.  My grandfather gave it to me when I left to live with my parents.  It had been with him for decades so I treat it as my elder generation.

          People's lives keep moving ahead.  As more time passes, we have more rich experiences, but the remnants of past glories are worth keeping.  They make our lives shine.