Chapter 23 Chapter Twenty-Three

one Ten days later, Freddy returned from his trip.Because he had sent a telegram in advance, which was a bit boastful because of his smooth career, so Xi Yin.Toy knew that he was coming back, and because of the baby, she didn't go to the station to pick him up.She was glad Freddy was away for a while, she was happier in his absence than she had been in the past few months. Darling!Oh Darling, Darling.She hugged Freddie tightly and kept kissing him on the face, and Freddie responded enthusiastically.He, too, was very happy during the time he was away. Have a nice trip! Have a nice trip?sky!Darling, what do you think I'm doing?I'm running from city to city.Did you get my scenic postcard?But I made at least 2,500 yuan in commission this trip.

Darling!She gave him another passionate kiss. Isn't Brother Shan good?He got such a job for you. yes!He is so mean!How is he?Did he come to see you? uh-huh!his wife said sweetly. He took good care of you, right? uh-huh!I'm calling to find him to celebrate with. No!I will fight! They were at Xie Yin that night.There was a big celebration at the nightclub where Toy used to work.They saw Vicky in the nightclub and invited her to join them. The four of them danced until two o'clock in the night before the guests and the host returned home happily.Sandy kept complimenting Freddy on the insurance he took out on the road, which made a lot of money for the company.With Vicky and Sandy, Sean.Tooy was always in high spirits, lively and bright, and it was a little hard to imagine her as a disgruntled wife at home.Freddy, married for over a year, had never seen his wife so relaxed and happy, and he felt again the incomparable joy he had felt in courting her.Yes, that's the way it should be, with success and opportunity knocking on their door.

I love my wife.Freddie said it looked like a good start wife, kids and a good position.He vaguely remembered the girl he'd dated in Cleveland, and realized he'd been unfaithful to his wife.But he didn't allow his thoughts to show on his face.Yes, I love my wife and children. Brother Shan followed them back to their apartment and sat for a while before leaving.Xi Yin.Toy lay down on the couch, screaming: Wow!marvelous. Freddy sat down next to her and said: Be Frederick. A． T．Mrs. Feng is not bad!Um!If I'm lucky, I'll be earning eight thousand dollars a year in no time, oh!Oh My God!

He moved closer, caressing her passionately at the same time. don't want!please.I'm tired.she says. He moved closer, apparently unwilling to let her go easily, but Xi Yin.Tooy didn't react, but strategically used the moment to her advantage to observe and measure her husband. You listen, Darling!Do you love me? certainly! do you love me very much I very love you. Darling!My desires have never been great, can you guess? Don't you have everything?Home, children, and a husband who earns seven or eight thousand dollars a year.You also have a car.Are you looking to buy a new car?

Xi Yin.Toy shook his head. I think, you want to learn from movie stars! She still shook her head.Her eyes watched her husband's expression and she knew it was time for her drama to begin.Freddie, now that we're out in the world, you want your wife to match her status when she goes out, don't you? alright!Speak up!what would you like? Freddie, what's the sign of a lady?real identity?In the best hotels, restaurants, theaters, what do people notice? Lots of banknotes.As for the theater, tickets are the most attention. Don't be so stupid!Tell me, what can make a lady? OK OK!Stop beating around the bush, what the hell are you going to say?

oh!You really have no imagination, Freddie.Mink coat!That's what makes a lady.I saw one on Mandison Avenue, and the price was only fourteen hundred dollars. Freddy buried his head in Sien.In the hollow of Toy's neck, he didn't notice what she was saying at all.He only heard Xi Yin.Toy leaned into his ear and said softly: For fourteen hundred dollars, Freddie, you can buy a mink coat for your wife.She ran her hands over his face as she spoke, and Freddie caught her strategy all at once.Good guy, she can really sell it!he thought. Freddy thought about it for a while.The thought of going out with his wife in a mink coat cheered him up.And his previous thought that he was only the laundress's son had vanished without a trace.

What do you think of Vicky?Xi Yin asked. She is a good girl.She's not a chick anymore, she has a nice ass, why are you asking about her? Don't you think Brother Shan is a little too attentive to her?Did you notice the way Sandy looked at her and the way he talked to her? It's none of your business that he pays attention to her?He knows you quite well, huh? Xi Yin.Toy sat down quickly.What do you mean?Are you jealous? Am I not jealous?I just think that when you two dance, you get very close. Freddie, you're a bloody hell.You like him yourself, don't you?He asked me out a few times while you were away, you yourself asked him to come to me to keep him company, and I can tell he didn't hate my company.But there is absolutely nothing between us.

OK OK!Why are you so excited?I mean nothing else, and he's always been a friend to us. That's right!He is indeed a good friend to us, and if he doesn't give you a hand, you won't have a chance of promotion. One day, Xi Yin.Flora's eyes burst into flames when Toy came to Feng's restaurant in her new mink coat.The lives of Freddie and Sheen were thus changed.Xi Yin.Toy also wore her new coat to see Vicky and other friends, and they went out almost every night just to show off the mink coat.The life before their marriage reappeared, and the two also had a record of not arguing for several weeks.

When will they send you out again?Xi Yin.You might make a few thousand more, Toy asked. I also have a lot of work to do at the office, but whenever I get the chance, I go out again. Can I ask brother Shan?He was more than willing to help us.Xi Yin.Toy said. In November, Freddie set off for Florida, including New Orleans. two Ai Si's move changed the relationship between her and Tom.Ai Si accepted Mrs. Yang's suggestion because she knew that Mrs. Yang had no special intention in asking her to live. After Ace moved into her uptown apartment on Fifth Avenue, her life changed a lot, not because there was any difference between uptown and downtown, but because the people who lived here were different from those in downtown.She has a personal room in Mrs. Yang's house, and the family does not treat her as an outsider.The most attractive thing about the Yang family to her is the piano in the living room.Mrs. Yang's daughters are just learning to play the piano, and they can also play some simple pieces.The family sometimes get together to play the piano and sing songs at night.Ai Si thinks that this kind of polite and peaceful family will never have unpleasant things happen, and she likes their family atmosphere.Mrs. Yang is a strong, thrifty, active, and very feminine woman who regards her family as everything; although she is also busy with the work of the Women's Committee, she never loses sight of one another.Mr. Yang doesn't care too much, he accepts his wife's decision and let his wife arrange all the big and small things in the family.

Ai Si always rushes back to Mrs. Yang's house before dinner.When her lessons were over, Tom always stood outside the school gate waiting for her, wanting to say a few words to her. Tom!I must go back quickly, or I will be very disturbed.Mrs. Yang returned from the office of the Women's Committee and was busy cooking alone again. Tom didn't even have a chance to speak. He didn't expect it to turn out like this.When Essie announced that she really wanted to move to Mrs. Yang's house, Tom said to her: I am also very happy, you have to come to Chinatown for classes every day, and I can still see you.

But it was getting harder and harder to see Ace.She sometimes went with Mrs. Young to the women's committee office; besides, she took piano lessons at Columbia University.She was rarely in Chinatown early for committee work and piano practice, but she had to come back after class to help with dinner.And after Tom entered the Brooklyn Institute of Technology, his own time was also limited.In addition to his growing interest in the radio, he also took some physical education classes.When he called Essie in his spare time, she was busy, either working in the committee office or taking music classes at Columbia.And Saturdays and Sundays are always busy times in restaurants, and he can't do it at all. He often felt that Aisi was getting farther and farther away from him, and he thought sadly: Maybe I am not good enough for her! But one afternoon he said: Ace, I'm fine on Friday night, can I ask you to teach me a little more.He didn't have great expectations when he said this, and Ai Si felt it too. Of course!Alice said. So he started looking for Ais on Friday nights again, rain or shine. He felt happy when he was with Ais, but he never showed her love again, and Ais didn't ask him why he was so alienated from her.She plays the teacher role while waiting for him to play the man's traditional courtship role.But he just came to learn, especially calligraphy under her guidance. Tom's problem was that his handwriting was always falling apart.Calligraphy is to an educated Chinese what correct pronunciation is to an educated American, or a girl's face. People will judge a person by his calligraphy.Tom learned the importance of calligraphy from the time Iss jokingly asked Tom to write a letter to her mother.Ai Si first taught him how to use various strokes. This is a traditional way of practicing calligraphy, so as not to write characters that are too loose or too compact.She told Tom about the combination and structure of characters, shape and skeleton, high and straight hooks, and the principles of how to change the stroke of a pen. In addition, she also talked about the whole and subordinate relationship, lines, compactness, space, and charm of characters in spelling. .This art takes a long time to hone.But Tom has been improving: his handwriting is already good, and the overall appearance is very well-proportioned. Aiz could see that Tom had changed.When she looked at him, he avoided her eyes.Is he too busy and tired with schoolwork?Or is it because he has grown calm and steady with age?Has he lost the joy of courtship?Ai Si really couldn't figure it out, she could only keep silent about his change. three Ace, why aren't you two engaged?One Friday after Tom left, Mrs. Yang immediately asked Aisi straight to the point.Matchmaking for others is the activity Mrs. Yang is most interested in. She often says that the seven or eight couples she has worked as matchmakers are doing well. Ai Si blushed, she said that Tom was still studying in school, and she was not sure that it would be a few years before Tom was willing or able to return to China with her. She only wanted to marry and live with her mother in China. man.Lately, I've noticed that Tom is more depressed and keeps everything on his mind.I think he still loves me, but he is not the same as when he proposed to me. You discouraged him, didn't you? I didn't agree to him, nor did I refuse him.He said he was willing to wait, but then he mentioned several times that he was not good enough for me.Mrs. Yang, my mother is so far away from me that I don't know who to talk to. Ace, I will help you.Has he proposed to you again recently? No, he seems to be angry inside, what do you think? It would depend on what he was angry about. How do I know?He looked tense. What makes him nervous? It may be because of his ignorance of himself, sometimes when I look at his expression, my heart softens.Isn't he a little weird? If he's nervous about his affairs, what's wrong?It's no surprise, maybe he's just trying to make himself worthy of you.Ace, you are still young and don't understand the psychology of boys. Maybe this is a good sign?A young man is a little intimidated around the girl he loves, and you are an unusual girl.I believe he's silently adoring you, as to what he's trying to show, I'm not quite sure.Ace, you're only twenty-one, don't make the mistakes girls make, especially when you can't make up your mind.I could tell he was very smart. Yes, he is indeed very smart. He's smart, serious, and quirky, and he's in love with you, what more could he want? Now, Ace's feelings for Tom have also changed.The more unsure Tom was of himself, the more Ace was sure she needed him and afraid she would lose him.A while ago she knew exactly what he wanted, but she couldn't make up her mind.And now, from Tom's self-repression, she intuitively realized that everything would change without him in her life, and she understood how important Tom was to herself.She didn't understand that she needed him from a calm and rational analysis, but from the bottom of her heart.She looked up to see Mrs. Yang's confident expression, and Ace was glad to have someone to help her make a decision. Why doesn't he take you out to play?asked Mrs. Yang. Maybe he's too busy to leave on weekends.We used to go out for walks together on Sundays. Why don't you propose first? I don't want it, girls shouldn't speak first, he must invite me. Now, if Tom asked her for a walk in the drizzling rain, or a merry picnic, she would drop everything and go with him.But Tom hasn't invited her lately. Do you care that he comes from a laundryman's family?asked Mrs. Yang. I don't care. Where is your mother? I know she doesn't care about that either.Mrs. Yang, my mother is a bit like you. If I were your mother, I would advise you to accept him. I will write another letter to my mother and tell her what you think.I'll get you a letter from my mother. Ace showed some letters to Mrs. Young, none of which she had shown to Tom.The correspondence between mother and daughter is almost like that of friends except for the address. My boy, the boy in the snapshot you sent me has good ears and a good chin.I'm really worried about your business.I don't know if you will be foolish enough to love him, or foolish enough to reject him, maybe the former is better.It's not bad to be silly once.I think every young girl should have some silly thoughts sometimes.I foolishly married your father when I was a young girl, and I still haven't regretted it.If you feel happy when you are a silly girl, then you tell him that you are willing to marry him.Don't worry about me, can your mother live with you forever in your life? Mrs. Yang found the letter very interesting.Ace said: You know it!This is my mother, don't you love her for what she thinks of you?Ai Si smiled and said that when she came to the United States, her parents came to the boat to see her off. The mother and daughter cried for about half an hour, and they were reluctant to leave each other. In another letter, her mother wrote: In your letter you asked me what is the difference between stupid and crazy, here is my answer: stupid is a happy feeling, like drinking to the point of intoxication; while crazy is like getting drunk.If you feel happier than usual, this is a warm feeling.My child, do not lose your head.You say he is: how nice it makes me doubt that you may be on the verge of madness.If you sip the glass slowly and it has no ill effects other than warming and comforting you, then sip it.This must be a good glass of wine, and it is also a beautiful love that can last forever.Don't be affected by the crazy love between the hero and heroine in the movie.I hope you have a boyfriend who is not this type of lover.I'm glad he proposed to you in broad daylight and not moonlight.It means that he was very clear-headed when he proposed to you, and it also means that you are still beautiful even under the sun. When Mrs. Yang finished reading the letter, Ai Si carefully folded the letter and took it back to her room, she found that Ai Si's face was glowing with a sweet radiance that she had never seen before.She understood why Ace wanted to live with such a mother. Four Mrs. Young arranged for Tom to be invited to dinner one day when he could leave the restaurant. Ace, come on!Sing a song for us.Mrs. Yang said after dinner. No one in Mrs Young's family listened to jazz, and Ace didn't know much about it, and she knew Tom didn't like it either.She only knows some old pop songs that are no longer contemporary.People of the previous generation didn't need modern crazy beats, they just liked some harmonious and detailed tones and melodies.There is no need for crazy drums and high and low saxophones in their music, and the singers don't need to shake their knees to cover up their sound madness, nor do they need to use this to create the illusion of the audience that the singer is really in harmony with the song. In fact, he himself doesn't know much about jazz.From the music, we can see the general situation of an era, which reflects people's feelings and what they long for.Jazz music rises in modern times, and people also need it.It is a product of the twentieth century, along with the automobile, Hemingway's killers, and the Lost Generation.In fact, it's not that people start to love jazz, but people start to live in jazz. They have no choice but to gradually adapt to jazz's indiscriminate beats, unclear paragraphs, and unresonant rock rhythms. Although Tom grew up in the United States, And jazz was still one of the things he couldn't understand.He once took Essie to a Broadway theater to listen to a famous jazz band's performance, and he didn't know how the audience would give it crazy applause. They really like it too!Ace was surprised. They seem to love jazz.What would you do if you were to ask a three-year-old to listen to music?He doesn't pay attention to music at all.What can you do to get his attention?Make some noise first, and he'll start paying attention.You can make the high notes very sharp and the low notes very deep, and that's what a trombone does.Then raise your throat and let out the most dramatic sound you know, as long as the child can hear it clearly.Then make yourself look funny by shaking your knees, squatting on your toes, and putting your hands by your ears to imitate a donkey like a donkey.The child will happily clap his hands and laugh non-stop.That's what jazz bands do on stage, and it has the desired effect, as if all the audience were three-year-olds. Ace has not been trained, but in this small room, her singing is very light and soft.She likes old songs that are sweet, sentimental, full of emotion and low.Like Carry Me Back to Old Virginny, Whispering Hope, and a Solvejg's Song ), especially at the end of the last song she sang very well. The winter may go and the spring may die, The spring may die; spring will leave; The summer may fade and the year may fly, The year may fly; But thou art surely coming, I believe you will come, I know thou'it be mine!I know you will always be mine! My troth I had plighted, I'm waiting ever thine, I'm waiting everthine!faithfully waiting! When she sang A Resolve (a determination), she sang half-seriously, half-performatively: I can die, I can die.The moment she sings most beautifully is when she hums softly to herself, forgetting herself. She's not singing for Tom or anyone else, she's singing for herself and reveling in the atmosphere she's created.Tom sat quietly, frowning, as if listening, but his thoughts were absent-minded.She appreciates Ace's singing, but he is more aware of her good family background, and he is now ashamed to be born into a laundryman's family. Mrs. Yang asked Ai Si to sing some Chinese folk songs too.She changed the way of singing to improve everyone's interest.She sat sideways and took out a handkerchief as a prop. This is a purely Chinese way of singing.She sang in a faint voice, and it reminded Tom of when she had been learning English with him.The tune and lyrics of this song are very sad, and it is a typical Chinese folk song. Cabbage, yellow ground! Seven years old, no mother! Follow along, Daddy! I'm afraid that father will marry a stepmother! After marrying the stepmother, it will take three years! Give birth to a younger brother, stronger than me! Brother eats meat, I drink soup! Picking up the job bowl, weeping! what do you think?After Tom left, Ace asked Mrs. Yang, but Tom wasn't listening at all.He's unhappy, he's thinking, and he doesn't look natural. Don't worry, I'll do it for you.He is currently very frustrated, and his frustration is all written on his face. you mean Tom's unhappy because you rejected him. are you sure? You can't go wrong. Ace was glad to have Mrs. Young to advise her, but after she went to bed, she felt lost for a while, and then fell asleep sobbing.