The Drunkard Page #3

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He would not approve

I suggested this idea to him before

but he said literary magazines

in Hong Kong should not exceed

"Youth Journal" level

or else it would lose money

His view is quite correct.

If our magazine can have

a positive effect on this polluted city

then losing a few thousand dollars

is still worthwhile

That's a fool's way of thinking.

In this society there are too many

smart people and too few fools

I've made up mind

Have you thought of

the name for the magazine?

I think we could simply call it "Literature."

What do you think?

We could call it "Avant Garde Literature"

People will know right away

that it is ahead of its time

What do you think?

Alright, We'll call it

"Avant Garde Literature"

I will not accept any kind of subsidy

and will never stoop to

publishing pornography

I will give you a salary of $300.

It's not much, but as long as

you don't drink, it should be enough

Even if our literature magazine

attracts only one reader

Our efforts will not be in vain

Alright

You have my support

I need to move

Can you advance me $300?

Why are you crying, mom?

Do your homework

Who is this?

Who is this?

Who is sleeping in my bed?

It's Mrs. Wong

Why are you in my bed?

This is my bed

Leave

Have a drink with me

No, I've had a lot already

Please leave

If you don't leave, I will

Why are you crying?

Mom was taken to the hospital

What happened?

She drank half a bottle of disinfectant

You shouldn't give up on yourself

You should quit drinking

Use the money to buy food

Use your time to write

You once told me that

James Joyce was half blind

He had to teach to make a living

He also worked as a clerk

But he never gave up on

what he wanted to do

and completed Ulysses

The Irish censors banned his book

and publishers made money off

pirated copies

Readers misunderstood him

But he was not discouraged

He kept writing

and almost starved to death

although he died only 21 years ago

He is already recognized as

a "modern literary giant"

Literature is a type of hard labor

You have to keep working at it

like a mule

You told me all this yourself

Min, don't work too hard

Mrs. Lei, I'm a new tenant here

I'm not Min

Mr. Lei

Mr. Lau, have a seat

Who is Min?

That's the name of my elder brother

Where is he now?

He died in Chongqing

during the Japanese war

He was in his early 20s, and

had just graduated from university

He hadn't got married yet

He was a bright kid, my mom's favorite

This is my brother

We were walking along

the Hanyu highway

someone discovered an undetonated

bomb in front of the iron factory

We stood still War, war, war

We dared not take another step

but my relative walked on quickly ahead

His wife ran after him,

and pulled him back

She scolded him at the top of her lungs

Saying that the bomb

might explode any time

He said, because the bomb

might explode any time

that's why he has to move it to the fields

Otherwise it will blow up

the whole factory

then he would not have the will to live

His wife would not let him take the risk

She ran after him like a mad woman

When he was moving the bomb

with his bare hands

Boom! It exploded

Afterwards we could not even

find their corpses

All we found was a charred

yellow leather shoe and a gold ring

Min, I made you some pork liver congee

It's cold out. Eat it and you'll be warmer

I don't eat pork liver

Min, you are always so stubborn

Pork liver is good for your body

Listen to mom and eat up

Be a good boy

It's delicious. Now I feel warmer

Thank you

I know you like roses.

They were selling them cheap

this morning

She told me she has a father

who likes to gamble, an invalid mother

two younger brothers

and two younger sisters

She said her father owed $500 in

gambling and was unable to pay it back

they were persuaded by the landlord

to put her to work as a dancing girl

She said that elderly patrons

sought to re-discover their youth in her

She earned a lot of money but

had not saved a penny

She told me

she didn't know how to dance

so she went to dancing school

the teacher put Spanish fly in coffee

and forced her to drink it

Lulu and Mary are both early bloomers,

but they are in fact different

Lulu has been hurt and abused,

while Mary wants to hurt herself

After she had learnt Waltz,

the dance teacher turned to another girl.

I might hate Mary,

but I can't help pitying Lulu.

She said she hated

young men and old men

but liked middle aged men

She liked middle aged men like me

She remembered the first time we met

and everything I said to her

She likes to listen to me talk

If Lulu wants to seek revenge on me,

I'm glad to let her

Among the different thoughts

inside my head,

one had won the day

I want to prove myself a hero

in front of a 1 7 year old girl

Are you ready with the inaugural piece?

Y es

I still need to make changes.

I'll give it to you in two days, ok?

No, let me send it out first,

and you can correct it later

Alright

You are not going out tonight?

It's already 4 o'clock

I've been writing non-stop,

and I haven't even had lunch yet

Why don't you come out now

and I'll buy you dinner

Afterwards you can take a rest

Go home and work on Gramont's

"Proust As I Knew Him"

You treat me like cattle

Those who engage in literature

must work like a mule

Alright then

Min, you haven't even had lunch yet.

I just made this sweet soup.

Have some before you go out

It's exactly like my script!

I wrote the script!

You wrote it?

So boring!

The more despicable you are

the higher you rise

Those who are true to their consciences

are at the bottom of society

to be tram pled upon

I just saw "Butterfly Dreams"

What do you think?

I think the script has problems

What problems?

It has artistic value

but lacks commercial worth

I still haven't received my money

We are old friends, don't talk this way

You still think of me as your friend?

We've been friends for over 20 years.

If you are my friend,

you shouldn't steal my script

How should I put it?

"Butterfly Dreams"

Now I want you help with a problem

Sure, what is it?

I still haven't found a job,

and I got to pay back some debt.

How much do you need?

$3000 is a big sum.

Can you make it less?

That's the price for a movie script

O.K. I'll see what I can do.

Listen,

You have to

I'll do my best

You still live in the same place?

I'll send someone over with the money

No, I've moved

I'm leaving

You haven't finished your coffee

I've made up my mind

I can't go on being a fool

I can't starve or live without alcohol,

nor do I want to worry about

paying the rent

I'm looking for Mr. Lau.

Oh, you're looking for Min.

Please wait a minute.

I'm looking for Mr. Lau.

Min, there's someone here for Mr. Lei

The Director asked me to give you this.

Which director?

Director Mo.

Enclosed please find $50 to assist you,

kindly reply to this note

Please wait a moment

I'd rather starve than take your charity

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