be endured; the foremost trouble was his hunger. His padded quilt, felt hat, and cotton coat, he had not had for some time; his next step was to sell his cotton jacket. At present, he still owned a pair of trousers, which under no circumstances could be dispensed with. He had a short and tattered lined coat, which, other than to give away for making shoe soles, was totally worthless and surely would bring no money. He had early thought of chancing upon a certain sum of money on the road, but up to the present had seen none. He had thought of suddenly finding a certain sum of money in his tumble-down house and turned his bewildered eyes in all directions, only to find at one glance that the room was empty. He therefore decided to go abroad to seek his livelihood.
As he walked along the road, intent upon this purpose, he caught sight of the familiar wine shop and the familiar buns, but on he went. Not only did he not stop a second, but he did not even think of doing so. What he sought was not these things; what he really sought he himself did not know.
It did not take long to walk the entire length of Weichuang, which was not a large village. Most of the land outside the village was used as watery patches for paddy fields, and everywhere the eye was greeted with the tender green of
