"'With the steel whip in my hand I shall smite thee . . . "
Standing at their gate, the two male members of the Chao household were also discussing the revolution with their two authentic kinsmen. Ah Q did not see them and passed by them singing.
"Q-lao,"[1] His Honor greeted him timidly.
"Da-da tong-tong, da, tong, tong-ling-tong, tong," Ah Q continued, never suspecting that any one would link his name with the honorific lao.
"Lao-Q!"
"'I much regret . . . '"
"Ah Q," the licentiate at last called him by his familiar name.
Only then did Ah Q stop and ask, half turning around, "What is it?"
"Lao-Q, now . . . ," His Honor did not know how to put it. "Now—you are doing well?"
"Doing well? Of course. I'll take what I want . . . "
Ah—Brother Q, I suppose poor people like us are all right?" Chao the white-eyed asked timidly, seeking to discover the attitude of the revolution towards himself.
"Poor people? You got more money than I anyway," Ah Q said as he walked away.
They all felt uneasy. His Honor and his son went home and discussed the matter until after dark. Chao the white-eyed went home and gave his wallet to his woman to put at the bottom of the chest.
After fluttering about the village Ah Q returned to the temple where he found the old attendant unexpectedly affable. The latter treated him to tea and produced, upon Ah Q's demand, two rolls. After eating these Ah Q ex-
- ↑ Lao (old) is honorific as suffix, familiar as prefix.
