Life

by Lu Yao

Although the road of life is long, its most important sections are often covered in only a few steps, especially while one is young. —Liu Qing

There was no need to hide the fact that for the past ten years he had devoted his life to reading, precisely to avoid following in the footsteps of his father, a “master of the land” (or, to put it another way, a slave to the land).

Faces washed clean and hair combed smooth, everyone happily went to the market: to shop, to watch a play, to buy trendy things, to make friends, to meet someone

whenever he heard the crisp sound of Huang Yaping’s Mandarin coming over the radio, he felt a bit melancholy, as though he had lost something precious, with no hope of getting it back.

She imagined endless scenarios in which the two of them were together, where she would put her hand in his, letting him lead her through the fields in springtime, the flowers in summer, the fruit trees in autumn, and the snowbanks in winter. They would walk, they would run, and just like in the movies she would make him take her in his arms and kiss her

“People are iron, but food is steel, and hunger will always win out.”

Meek people rarely get angry, but once they’re angry, they lose control.

Marrying the wrong wife is like drinking cold water—tasteless and dull.”

Hard labor was difficult, but it had its own joys!

“If the people are all right, there’s no need for fear!”

“Maybe you’re right, but I really have been depressed lately. I’d like to have some romance in my life.”

There was no need to hide that or be ashamed; she couldn’t marry a peasant—even for love.

She looked pitiful—wanting him to want her but not knowing how to make it so.

Ah, life, which sometimes made reality into fantasy, also made fantasy into reality.

‘Gold flowers go with silver flowers, and zucchinis go with pumpkins.’

People should never rest easy; we must keep striving to succeed. There’s so much for you to love in life. You mustn’t get discouraged just because you’ve hit one roadblock.

“Don’t complain about life. Life is always fair. You should complain about yourself!”

Feelings are feelings, yes, but reality is also reality,

It was always troubling to hear that a woman who once loved you was now married to someone else.

He knew that he had followed a rainbow, but he had preferred to see it as a bridge!