Chapter 19 Chapter Nineteen

one Not even Lao Tzu's teachings could calm Tom down.Spring break is coming, and Tom says to his mother: Mom, in restaurants in New York City, a dozen clam shells cost seventy cents.I know of a seaside where you can pick up clam shells without spending a dime.There will be no business in the store tomorrow, I want to pick up fifty or sixty and bring them back to you.Eva was going too, and so was Ace. Where? In Hampton Bays, off Long Island.We can borrow my second brother's car. They had it all sorted out, and Freddie was happy to drive with them.Xi Yin.Toy had already given birth to a girl in March, and the Feng family did not pay much attention to this matter.In fact, Mrs. Feng also said that the less people pay attention to it, the better. Except for explaining that it was a premature baby occasionally, she didn't mention it at all.Freddie had been married for less than a year, but everyone knew he was unhappy.He rented an apartment on Twenty-third Street, and every time he came back to Feng's restaurant, he always came alone.Xi Yin.Toy, with her feminine instincts, knew at first sight that her husband's family was not friendly to her; and she was too proud to visit them.What's more, she was two months pregnant at the beginning of her marriage.

Xi Yin.Toy didn't take part in their clam-picking activity, so Flora wanted to go too, and took the baby to bask in the sun.The car just happened to be full, and Roy stayed at home.It was eleven o'clock when they got their lunch ready and put it in the basket.They borrowed a rake and then brought several buckets.Flora sat in the front seat with the baby in her arms, and Tom, Eva, and Ace sat in the back. After the car started, the second brother sighed and said: There is nothing like going home and being with the family.I was so happy to escape from my second sister-in-law for a day.His face was a little red.Eva taps Tom on the shoulder, and Ace looks at Eva.

Did you invite her?Eva asked. What is the use?Freddy replied, Tom, I advise you not to get married.When a girl marries you, she starts spoiling you.She won't go out with you, and she won't dance.She just keeps spending money!spend money! It's not fair. Is it fair for a man to work all day and come home to hear his wife whining and his baby crying? They didn't answer, and Freddy continued driving his car. When we got to Hampton Bays, we drove along the road to South Hampton.On the left is the coast, the tide is out, and the water beside the bay is very shallow.Grass and pine trees grow along the several miles of coastline.The sea was as calm as a lake in May.Except for the dense forest along the coast, there is no human habitation.The beach is half mud, half sand, covered with shells and some fish bones that have drifted ashore.

Among them, only Tom had ever collected clam shells. Roll up your trousers.Tom said to Ace, but the shoes were still on, and the bottom of the sea was littered with shell fragments. How can I find clam shells? You can find it by touching the bottom of the sea with your hands. Tom took off his shoes.And Flora found a clean place, and sat down with Marco in her arms.Eva and Ace are still on the shore, hesitating whether to do it, but Tom is already standing in the water and shouting: I found one. It was so exciting.Eva walked slowly into the water, and Ace followed her closely. Tom stretched out his hand to hold Essie. It was the first time in her life that she walked in the sea, and she was careful not to fall.

They split up and searched in several places.Many small crabs hid under the water plants and sprang out from time to time. Aisa was a little scared, so she followed Tom.After a while, they came to a place where the bottom of the sea was covered with soft sand.Ace's hair brushed her face and her sleeves were wet as she bent down and groped the bottom.She was so excited when she found a clam shell herself.It was so still that everyone could hear the clang as they dropped the shells they found into the bucket.Even if they were tens of yards apart, they could hear each other clearly without shouting.When the voice of the voice passed through the open sea, it seemed to have undergone a special sound effect, which was different from the usual voice.The whole coast seemed to be theirs, and the sun was shining warmly on them, and the breeze was blowing, which was very comfortable.

Tom and Ace got farther and farther away, about seventy yards away from the shore, the depth of the sea was on the thigh, if you bent down and searched with your hands, you would definitely get wet.So Tom used his big toe to explore the bottom of the sea, and if he felt it, he pinched it with his toe.Going further, the water is up to the waist, and it is also a problem to try to pick up the clam shells with your toes and put them in your hands.But Tom's toes were much longer than that, and when he got hold of the shell with his toe, he threw it up with a jerk, and if he was lucky he caught it.

Tom, come back!Ace called him from ten and a half yards away. The shells here are bigger. But you can't pick them up either.Let's go back to the shallows!she says. Tom walked back to a shallower place, then followed that depth to the left, farther and farther away from the family.Ace stood knee deep, her hair, sleeves, trousers were all wet.Holding Tom's coat in her hand, she put all the shells she had gathered in it. It's getting heavier and heavier.she says. Tom walked over to her.If you soak it in water and drag it around, it will be much lighter. Clothes will get wet!

It doesn't matter. Tom took the clothes with one hand and dunked them in the water, while with the other he rested on Ais's waist behind her. He stopped and looked at Ace, her face glowing with joy like a jade stone in the sun. ace!I love you!He spoke quickly, and then in a softer voice: Will you marry me? Ace froze.They had been to many places, but he chose this place to propose to her.She looked up to see his damp, tousled hair and tense, eager face. Tom!She said gently, you know I love you too, but you don't understand.She stopped talking.Ace's attitude was very serious, and her words were brief, but her expression seemed to be a little further away from Tom.It was the first time Tom heard her say that she loved him, though he knew it all along.

What am I not understanding?Ace, you don't know how important you are to me, I know I'm not good enough for you. Hush!You are not allowed to say that.She made a movement, as if trying to comfort him, but stopped before her hand could touch him. A cool breeze blew, and the sunlight shining on the waves reflected on her face. What's your secret?I think about you every day, your face and what you have said to me, so I can't sleep. I have no secrets!She turned her head and stared blankly at the distant shore. So what is the reason?Do you have other boyfriends in China?Or has your mother chosen someone for you?

no.she said gently. Is it because you are going back to China? Very likely.I've told you I love you, Tom, and I've never loved anyone.Tom, don't be impatient.You don't know anything about the vast world behind China! What am I not understanding?I am Chinese! Tom, I know you will not go back to China.You study here and your family lives here. Ace, I still don't understand what you're talking about.Maybe your mother thinks I'm just a laundress's son. Why do you think so?Our family is not that kind of people.I've already told you what my father was like.I've always wanted to go back to China, but you can't go with me.I know you want to finish college here.How can we know what will happen in the next few years?

Ace, please, we can get engaged first, and I will wait for you forever.But why don't you stay in America?We will get married again when I graduate from college and I am more worthy of you.Wherever you want to go, I will go with you. do you really want to Tom nodded. Tom, Tom!Eva called him from a distance. Tom turned away. return!Eva called again. They must be wondering what we are doing here.Ace said, let's talk later.There are many other things that must be considered. As they approached, Flora called: "Hi!what are you two doingI'm not looking for clam shells at all! Tom opened the clothes in his hands, and there were more than fifty large clam shells inside.He dumped them all into the bucket. two They opened their lunch baskets and everyone settled down on the sand.Ace's face was a little red, and Flora saw a special light in her eyes.After lunch, everyone lay on the beach and basked in the sun, or watched Marco waddle and walk on the beach.Ai Si has been playing with Marco, following him up and down, deliberately giving herself something to do. Ace, come and sit down.Finally Tom couldn't bear it and called her over. She walked over and sat down beside him.It was obvious to everyone that Tom loved Iss very much.Ai Si's two red lips are as bright red and lovely as cherries when they are slightly opened.Those men and women who sit or lie by the sea get some kind of dignity from something in the wind, sand, or sea water?And this natural dignity has long been affected by civilization, hidden by people's pretentiousness, and isolated by gray bridges. He lay there, and Issie sat next to him, and he sat up and played with her braids, as if he were helping her to dry them; Conveying his love, she turned her head and looked at him tenderly. why don't you lie downasked Tom. She just shook her head, she didn't want to and couldn't.Tom wondered why a girl worthy of love is so difficult to approach.Although she sat very close to him, they were still far apart. He lay down again, with one hand behind his head and the other on Ais's back.A white cloud moved slowly in the sky, and it seemed to Tom that the earth lying beneath him moved silently too. After a while Tom said, What do these clam shells do when they're shut tight in the sand and buried in the sand?There must be a piece of darkness all around, what are they doing? Ace smiled.She liked it when Tom asked her such unimaginable questions.What can they do?Probably just like you and me, just eating and sleeping. Then they must think the salty sea water is delicious.They also reproduce new generations, but who wants them to do so? What's bothering you, Tom? Who taught these mussels in the sea to make their shells?Who taught them to dive into the sand to look for food and sleep, and how could they reproduce a new generation like humans?who cares?I often think about this kind of question, but can't find the answer. How do you think people are so much more important than clamshells? Is not it? Not at all right. Tom sat up.Didn't you say that you have the answers to these kinds of questions? Tom brought out all the problems he had unearthed in the zoo.Look at the parrot's feathers, the peacock's tail, and the skylark's eyebrows, who painted them?If you look at a peacock's feather, it's black at the end, then green and golden, and if you look at it from another angle, it will turn black. Tell me who made it, who cares? The answer is that we don't know. Tom breathed a sigh of relief.I thought you might have an answer. He put her hand along the sand and pulled her over. Why don't we take not knowing as an answer. What? Admit what we don't know.Tom, why are you thinking hard about things we don't know?You rack your brains, but still don't know. I thought so too.Tom looked a little disappointed, things we know we'll never know. Tom, what you know is what you know, what you don't know is what you don't know, that's knowing.If you don't admit the fact that you don't know, you really don't know. Tom got up and paced up and down, which was his habit when he was impatient. Sister-in-law, do you know why we live in this world?he asked Flora. No idea, I think God wants us to live. Do you know what, Eva? have no idea. Do you know why we are alive, brother? Sit down, Tom, and stop asking silly questions like crazy, who will know! Yes, who knew!said Tom, and lay down again. Didn't I tell you?Ace smiled. All right!You win. Ace found that there were swollen marks on her legs, and she rubbed them carefully. did you get hurtasked Tom. While I was in the water, I felt something prick me. Well!That must be a jellyfish. Tom, it's a lot easier if you don't think about it.Don't think that you are more important than a peacock or a clam shell, and you won't be so surprised by them. Yes, including the jellyfish that stinged you. Even jellyfish are the same.The Tao is in the jellyfish, or in you, or in me.If you figure this out, you'll be happier. Oh, again!If one part of the Tao hurts another part of the Tao, then the Tao is really unkind. This is what Lao Tzu said, Tao is personal, and it doesn't care what others think of it. Didn't you just say you didn't know? We can figure out some things, and other things, we will never be able to understand in a lifetime.We cannot understand Tao. This is not an answer to my question. Why do you have to answer?Everything presents its beautiful side.Life has a limit, and knowledge has no limit.It is impossible to use a limited life to study infinite knowledge, as Zhuangzi said. Who said that? Zhuangzi.He said it is within ourselves.Clam shells and jellyfish are also part of Tao.Zhuangzi said: Tao lies in ants, bricks, and excrement. Are you promoting any religion?Flora asked. This is not religion.It's just the way to understand things, to understand life, to understand the universe.Tao is in life, in the universe, and in everything. What is Taoism? I don't know how to put it briefly.I think about it, it's a philosophy.It opposes and restores the entities of all things, their different degrees, and various standard relationships, and finds out their cyclical relationships.She turned to Tom and said: You should read the book "Zhuangzi". She opened her handbag and took out a comb to straighten her hair. Did you just say opposites? Yes, opposites. ace!Flora said, I really don't know how you know so many things. I don't know much.Like you, you grew up Catholic and naturally you know a lot about the Catholic faith.And I grew up in a Taoist environment. But you must have read a lot. I don't read many books.My father said one should not read too many books.Just read a few good books and understand them thoroughly.Tom, can you brush my hair for me? She handed the comb and Tom took it. Give me your face cream.He said. She took the cream from her purse and gave it to Tom, who put some on her hair. What are you doing, Tom? This is Tom, you don't know him.Eva laughed. He polished his shoes with cream, shaved, and combed his hair. Ace laughed for a while.Tom, you are so funny. The creams were all the same, and the merchants gave them different names to make a little extra money from the women. I don't think you would brush your teeth with it! I tried it, but it doesn't taste good.It's a cleansing cream, if it cleans the skin why shouldn't it clean the teeth? After a while, Ace asked: Can we go back?But Flora didn't want to go yet, she rarely left the city to come to the seaside, and had a good time all day again.Marco was tired from playing, and fell asleep comfortably on the sofa. Let him sleep for a while, he often takes a nap. Freddy had a great time today too.He was no longer the one who had no problems and thought he knew everything. Eva, you're graduating this year, right? yes! How old are you this year? Are you embarrassed to ask?As you should know, I'm nineteen years old. Eva, it's time for you to find someone to marry. A few hours ago, you were warning us not to get married, second brother. I'm talking about men.In a marriage a man loses everything and a woman gains everything. Stop bullshitting, I don't want to get married just yet. How time flies, doesn't it?The second brother said that when she came to the United States, she was still a kid, and now she has grown up to be a young lady. The second brother has always liked Eva.Indeed, Eva has grown up.The second brother thinks that there are girls who grow up and mature every year, just like the change of seasons, which cannot be manipulated by others.This is also one of the miracles of nature. It seems that in spring, the pastures and mountains are covered with a layer of green color.Even though it happens every year, people still admire it with awe. Eva, the more you round your face, the more you look like your mother.The second brother said, I saw more white hair on my mother's head. Mom works too hard.Eva said, I sometimes think she is getting older. The second brother suddenly said: Dad worked too hard before, and I have always been an unfilial son. No!Eva cried, you have also helped the family a lot. Tom and Flora looked at the second brother. I always thought I was smart.What do you think, Eva?Is the second brother smart? Yes, you are smart! wrong!Your second brother may be too smart. You love the second sister-in-law, don't you? Um!This is where the trouble starts. What trouble?asked Tom. Nothing, you won't understand. Marco woke up, looking at the blue sky with big round eyes.Flora said that Marco had been away from home for too long, and everyone should go home.Everyone packed up their things and two buckets full of clam shells, and got on the bus. On the way home, the second brother asked how the restaurant's business was doing. Currently breaking even.Flora said we could save two hundred and fifty dollars by not hiring a cook after June.Roy is learning how to cook. I think everyone is doing well! Yes, but we don't make much money and spend a lot.You know mom, she doesn't want to put the chef in charge of the shopping.She asked Roy to buy it, and she insisted on freshly killed poultry and fish.She didn't believe in frozen food, and while a fresh chicken cost 65 cents a pound, a frozen chicken cost 45 cents a pound.Fresh fish is more than twice as expensive as frozen fish. Mom's slogan, Eva said, is to build a good reputation. If the food is really good, customers will come back more often.My mother said that the secret to a good dish is the best meat and poultry, and the purchase factor is also in it.Our chef is not happy that his mother forbids him to use MSG! Mom is right!Eva said that if the customers who have been here will come back, we will have more and more guests.We're doing pretty well so far. It was dark when they got home.Everyone wanted Freddie to stay and have dinner, but he said he must go home.When he left, he really felt a little bit reluctant. The second brother has changed!Tom said he would give me no more advice than to get married. I really feel sorry for him.Eva said. They invited Ai Si to stay because the restaurant was closed today and there would be no customers. Ai Si knew that it was rare for their family to eat together, so she said she had to go back.Everyone urged her to stay again, but she still refused to stay. All right!Then it's up to you.But you must at least taste the shells you caught yourself, said Tom!It only takes a few minutes to cook. All right!If you insist. The clam shells are boiled in water for a few minutes, and the meat is really delicious.Essie happily ate a little, thanked them for inviting her to the event, and said goodbye and went home.Tom walked her back to where she lived half a block away. This girl has such a good demeanor!Mrs. Feng said. But Mrs. Feng could also tell that Ai Si was in a very disturbed mood.