Chapter One The sound of trash can lids being kicked across the sidewalk woke me up from sleep at 3am.After a while, a woman's voice screamed: I will not go with you, don't dream. I turned on my side, hoping to fall asleep again.The woman's voice stayed in my ears, pulling my eardrums, and I couldn't hear the voice of the man arguing with her. The air is full of moisture.The bed was an antique with four tall pillars at the corners, and it was placed in a bedroom with a high ceiling.Large French windows open to the balcony.The balcony is surrounded by wrought iron and flowered iron bars.Balconies jut out over the sidewalk.Across the narrow street, facing Master Jia's Bar.

Before going to bed, I tried to close the windows, the air was so humid that it was suffocating.As soon as the floor-to-ceiling windows were opened, the sounds of New Orleans and the corporate district poured in. The noisy sound suddenly stopped, and I slowly fell asleep again. A new uproar begins, and someone starts playing with car horns.Not long after, another car horn chimed in to sing the chorus. I got up, put my feet in slippers, walked out of the open French windows, and looked at Master Jia's bar across the street. A drunkard drives over to pick up other friends.He honked the horn for a long time, followed by several short beeps, in order to tell his friends and people all over the world that he was coming.Because he blocked the road, the cars behind him had to pass, and other cars lined up, creating a commotion.The first car felt the pressure from behind, and in order to attract the attention of the friends he was going to pick up, he put a hand on the button and let the horn keep beeping.

This is a one-way street, and parking is allowed on both sides, leaving only a one-car-wide narrow lane in the middle for vehicles to pass.Now that cars waiting to pass have lined up at the intersection, the noise turns into a persistent, frightening chaos. Three people came out of Mr. Jia's bar casually: a tall man in a dinner suit, weak and not anxious at all.Two girls in long dresses were dragged to the floor, talking to each other at the same time, and at the same time looking back into the lighted bar. The man waved at the motorists, and the horns of the cars blared. The man walked leisurely across the sidewalk and onto the road, pretending to hold the open rear door.Seconds later, one girl was next to him, and the other was back at the bar.A well-groomed fat man with a wine glass in his hand came out of the bar to talk to her.

The man and woman who spoke were completely unaware of the situation outside, and they were talking seriously.The man took out a pen and fumbled out a notepad, looked around for something to put the wine glass down, couldn't find a suitable place, had to try to hold both the wine glass and the half-open notepad with his left hand , written with the other hand. I finally finished what I was about to write.The young woman scooped up her long skirt in one hand and walked unhurriedly across the sidewalk, onto the road, and into the car. The door was slammed shut.The driver thought it best not to get in the way anymore, and he stepped on the accelerator to the bottom in the lowest gear.At the intersection, he shifted into second gear, and the blocked long snake began to move again.

I look at my watch, it's three forty-five. I stood by the window for half an hour because I had nothing to do and couldn't sleep.Ke Baisha's train will arrive at 7:20, and I promised her to pick her up at the station. During these thirty minutes, I observed the people who came out of Master Jia's bar and were about to break up.Gradually, I have been able to classify which kind of people create chaos and make noise. Four people came out, arguing with each other about the next stop at the door with the loudest voice.Two of them were going home, and the other two thought it was too early.

Some people met for the first time in a bar today.We were about to break up, only to realize that we didn't exchange names, addresses, and phone numbers with each other in the bar. Some noise is because I am really happy, laughing easily.Some are just to say a few more goodbyes, and some have jokes that came to mind at the last minute.Some have to wait for the other party to get out of hearing range before remembering the last exhortation.Some are unwilling to take the bait because of girls, and some are unwilling to go home because of wives. Obviously, the inside of the bar will be more lively.People often walk out of the bar, put their shoulders on their shoulders, say a few words loudly, and then go back.

There is a custom in the corporate district of New Orleans that every house puts the trash can on the sidewalk near the road.Everyone agrees that being able to kick the lid off with one kick and hear it make a loud noise on the pavement is a high degree of skill. Half an hour later, I walked back and sat in a chair, looking around the semi-dark apartment with my eyes.Fang Lvdai lived in this same apartment three years ago, which should have been in 1939.She didn't use her real name, and then she disappeared completely.Ke Lai's private detective agency was hired here to find her. Sitting in the warm darkness, I tried to imagine how Fang Ludai lived at that time.She must have heard what I am hearing now.She would definitely eat at a small restaurant nearby, drink at a bar, and maybe spend a small part of her time in Master Jia's bar across the street.

The semi-tropical climate enhanced the warmth of the night, and I fell asleep in a chair.At five thirty I woke up and dragged myself to bed.I've never been so sleepy in my life, and everyone who was celebrating across the street has gone home.Even the narrow streets enjoyed a moment of tranquility, and I immediately fell asleep, and was immediately awakened by the alarm clock. Sixty-six!At seven twenty, I'm going to pick up Ke Baisha.