Chapter 515: Sailing in the same boat (2)

After eating one Lüdagun, Gu Ye’s mood improved a lot.<br /><br /> 

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<img class="alignnone wp-image-6379" src="https://moonlightteatime.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Ludagun-Fried-chop-rice-cake-300x166.jpg" alt="" />

<img class="alignnone wp-image-6378" src="https://moonlightteatime.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Ludagun-Fried-chop-rice-cake_-300x168.jpg" alt="" />

<strong>-Lüdagun / Fried chop rice cake (驴打滚) : A classic Beijing snack of glutinous rice rolls coated in soybean powder, named whimsically after ‘donkeys rolling in dust’. </strong></p>

 <br /><br /><span>He thought, failure is the beginning of success. If you fail a hundred times, that’s a hundred beginning, one day, he was bound to be very successful. Absolutely!</span><br /><br /><span>“Gurgle…”</span><br /><br /><span>A loud rumbling sound interrupted his train of thought. </span><br /><br /><span>Gu Ye glanced down, thinking it had come from his own stomach. </span><br /><br /><span>But then he heard it again, and when he glanced to the side, he saw a dirty, disheveled man. </span><br /><br /><span>The man’s face was covered in grime, his clothes were tattered, and his features were hard to make out, he looked like a beggar. </span><br /><br /><span>He was staring longingly at the lunchbox in Gu Ye’s hands, but the moment their eyes met, he quickly turned his head away.</span><br /><br /><span>Still, his stomach growled again, and it was louder this time. </span><br /><br /><span>The man seemed embarrassed and started to get up to leave, but Gu Ye called out,</span><br /><br /><span>“Master, I can’t finish all this, please help me eat some.”</span><br /><br /><span>Gu Ye suddenly thought of the line from the poem, sailing in the same boat. </span><br /><br /><span>A wave of melancholy washed over him, that was why he stopped the man.</span><br /><br /><span>He split the food in half, placed them on the lunchbox lid, and handed it over with a smile.</span><br /><br /><span>The man hesitated, but seeing no malice in Gu Ye’s face, he reached out, took the food, and began wolfing it down. </span><br /><br /><span>Several times he nearly choked, but fortunately he had his own water bottle, so there was no need for Gu Ye to share his.</span><br /><br /><span>Truth be told, Gu Ye would have felt a little squeamish letting such a dirty person drink from his bottle.</span><br /><br /><span>After sharing the meal, the man’s spirits seemed to lift, and he thanked Gu Ye.</span><br /><br /><span>“Thank you!”</span><br /><br /><span>His accent sounded like he was from Zhejiang province, and judging by his voice, he didn’t seem very old.</span><br /><br /><span>“You’re welcome. Meeting is a kind of fate. Master, you don’t sound that old, find a job and work hard. With two hands and two feet, you will never starve.” Gu Ye advised.</span><br /><br /><span>He found it strange, such a perfectly able-bodied person choosing to be a beggar. </span><br /><br /><span>With two hands to work, he could earn his own meals. But he ended up in such a state that it was baffling to Gu Ye.</span><br /><br /><span>The man gave a bitter laugh and said self-mockingly,</span><br /><br /><span>“No one wants me. I’ve been in prison.”</span><br /><br /><span>It wasn’t that he wanted to be a beggar. He had tried to find work. But as an ex-con, who would hire him?</span><br /><br /><span>Unable to get a job back home, he had come to Shanghai. </span><br /><br /><span>He had found a job and worked for less than two months, but then, by bad luck, a fellow villager recognized him and told the boss he was a murderer. </span><br /><br /><span>The boss fired him on the spot. After that, he tried a few more jobs, but none worked out.</span><br /><br /><span>Eventually, he lost all hope and decided to just live as a drifter, eating when he could, killing time until the day he died.</span><br /><br /><span>Gu Ye was taken aback and gave the man a closer look. </span><br /><br /><span>He seemed like someone with a story, and probably not a bad person at heart.</span><br /><br /><span>Otherwise, the man could have resorted to stealing or robbing instead of living in such misery.</span><br /><br /><span>“So what if you have been in prison, what matters is making things right afterward. I think you’re not a bad guy.” </span><br /><br /><span>Gu Ye smiled, pulling a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and handing him one.</span><br /><br /><span>Since he had nothing urgent to do, chatting with the man wasn’t a bad way to pass the time.</span><br /><br /><span>The two sat smoking together. </span><br /><br /><span>Gu Ye only had one cigarette, and handed the rest of the pack to the man. He could tell that the guy was a heavy smoker.</span><br /><br /><span>The man was polite enough to light one for Gu Ye, but Gu Ye waved it off.</span><br /><br /><span>“No, thanks. My wife doesn’t like the smell of cigarettes. If she notices when I get back, she will definitely scold me.”</span><br /><br /><span>“So you’re afraid of your wife, huh?”</span><br /><br /><span>The man smiled and took a deep drag, exhaling a few skillful smoke rings, clearly a veteran smoker with at least ten years under his belt.</span><br /><br /><span>“It’s not fear, it’s love. You’re unmarried, you wouldn’t get it. So tell me, how did you get into the prison? A fight?” Gu Ye asked with a grin.</span><br /><br /><span>“Murder. The man died. I was sentenced to fifteen years. I got out early for good behavior.” </span><br /><br /><span>The man said it lightly, as though talking about someone else’s story. </span>