In the Ruby Kingdom in the Breeze Province in the Lightning City lived Magician Zixin Quon with his wife, Xiulan Yongnian. Currently, Zixin is 30 years old and Xiulan is 25 years old. The couple deeply loves one another and they had a marvelous love story. They knew each other since adolescence.
Their love story began when Xiulan was ten years old and she went to the market to buy some food for her family. When she was returning home, a group of five adolescents between the ages of 17 and 19 intercepted her way and started to bully and harass her. Xiulan was greatly intimidated and she started to run to escape the bullies. She was then trapped in a dead end with three walls, one opposite to her and two on her sides. She felt hopeless and started to weep and call for help. Zixin was behind the wall opposite to her and when he heard her, he jumped over the wall and made Xiulan behind him to protect her and face the bullies. Zixin threatened the bullies but they started to mock and laugh at him. When they approached him, he started to fight courageously and did his best to protect Xiulan. He acted like a shield for Xiulan. He was beaten severely but he resisted and continued to fight and protect Xiulan. After he lost his energy, became exhausted and full of wounds, Xiulan's father arrived and when the bullies saw him, they escaped. Xiulan said to her father while she was weeping: “My father, this brave boy protected me from the bullies and he was injured harshly for my sake. Please help him and take due care of him.” Xiulan's father carried Zixin on his back and took him to his home. At their home. Xiulan's mother medicated Zixin and covered his wounds with gauze. She also prepared a delicious meal for him and they were very grateful for his bravery that saved Xiulan from the bullies at the expense of risking his life and injuring his body. Zixin loved Xiulan and her family greatly and his romantic relationship with Xiulan started since. He would visit them frequently and meet Xiulan and chat with her. They married when Zixin was 25 years old.
Today, Zixin and Xiulan are celebrating their 5th wedding anniversary and expressing their mutual love to each other. Here is a snapshot of their long romantic conversation:
Zixin: Xiulan, I love you deeply more than what you can imagine.
Xiulan: Zixin, I love you, my hero, and words are incapable of expressing my great love for you.
Zixin: I am a fish and you are my water. Without you I cannot live, my sweetheart.
Xiulan: I am a bird and you are my wings. Without you I cannot fly and will die, my sweetheart.
Zixin: I am the luckiest man on the earth to have found you, my unique gemstone.
Xiulan: If my love for you can be measured, it would outweigh mountains.
Zixin: If my love for you can be counted, it would outnumber raindrops.
Xiulan: My ultimate happiness is when you are with me. In your absence, my life is miserable.
Zixin: I regret every moment I spend away from you but circumstances are beyond my control.
Xiulan: I apologize for your injuries and wounds when you saved me from the bullies.
Zixin: If all my bones are crushed for your sake, that would not be much.
Xiulan: How can I repay your kindness, chivalry, bravery and the good way you treat me?
Zixin: No matter what I do for you or how much I give you, I shall always be indebted to you.
Xiulan: Your memories do not depart my heart and I think about you without cessation.
Zixin: I will do my best to make you the happiest woman. You deserve the best, my sweetheart.
Xiulan: I am already the happiest woman when in your company and seeing your beautiful face.
Zixin: You face glows with beauty and your words are sweeter than honey, my sweetheart.
Xiulan: Let us share life together with its sweet and bitter moments. Together we are strong.
After a while, the couple had dinner and then ate some Chinese desserts that Xiulan prepared for her husband. Zixin and Xiulan are very happy with each other and they face the difficulties of their life together.
Zixin has mastered magic since he was a child and this opened the door for him to pursue a successful career as a magician. Zixin's career as a magician has evolved over four main phases. In the first phase, he would exhibit his magic tricks that usually rely on the sleight of hand, illusion or conjuring in front of his relatives and friends. He would receive applause or words of praise, encouragement or admiration from his relatives and friends, but not money. His parents directed him to monetize his magic skills by starting to earn money from his performances.
In the second phase, Zixin would go to the market and exhibit his magic skills in front of people in the market. He would start with a small group of people then more people would gather around him to see his magic feats. He would leave an open box near him in which people drop their money as a way to express their financial support and appreciation of Zixin's performance. At this stage, payment is optional. At the end of the day Zixin would return home with some golden taels in his box and this would encourage him to do more and earn more in the next day.
In the third phase, one merchant saw the magic performance of Zixin and he admired him greatly so he offered Zixin to work in partnership with him and the profit would be shared between them. The merchant owns a spacious hall in the market so he invited Zixin to perform his magic performance in this hall and people entering the hall will be required to pay the price of a ticket in order to be admitted. In this phase, the payment for Zixin's performance has become mandatory.
In the fourth phase, Zixin has joined the Falcon Circus. The circus consists of four parts: the acrobats, the clowns, the magicians and the trained animals [W-3]. The circus shows are performed inside a tent with tiers of seats. Currently, there are ten tiers of seats (rings) and each tier has a price. Sitting in the first tier or ring which is the closest to the performance costs 10 golden taels, sitting in the second tier or ring costs 9 golden taels, sitting in the third tier or ring costs 8 golden taels, …, sitting in the ninth tier or ring costs 2 golden taels and sitting in the tenth tier or ring costs 1 golden taels. At the circus, Zixin would perform a miscellaneous collection of magic tricks using different tools such as rings and animals such as pigeons. The circus travels across the five kingdoms per year so Zixin had to leave his wife alone for eight months and stay with her for four months. This created a major inconvenience for the couple but that was the best way Zixin could afford the costs of living with his wife at that time.
One time, Zixin had an interesting conversation with Xiulan about life trade-offs and compromises.
Xiulan: Zixin, please stop travelling and stay with me. When you are away, my heart melts of yearning for you. I really struggle when you are away from me. Let us live together all the time.
Zixin: Xiulan, I wish I can stay by your side all the time but life has demands and to fulfill those demands I need to travel and be away from you for some time during the year. My work with the circus ensures a luxurious life for me and you. They pay me a decent amount of money that helps me endure the costs of life. I am faced with two hard options, my sweetheart, Xiulan: either to live with you permanently all the year and work in job that pays me less than what I earn with the circus or I work with the circus and receive a large salary but be away from you for eight months of the year. I have learned a valuable lesson in life: life options cannot always be perfect and at times we have to make trade-offs or compromises.
Xiulan: Yes, I agree. Not all options fit our desires perfectly all the time. I wish we could have perfect options in every aspect in everything in our life.
Zixin: Let us play a game named: Choose and Justify. The rules of the game are simple. Each one of us presents two options with a trade-off or a compromise and we choose one option and justify our choice logically. Sometimes, we play the devil's advocate role to enrich the conversation as much as possible.
Xiulan: Nice game, Zixin. It will sharpen our analytical abilities and discernment. Who starts?
Zixin: I will start if you do not mind.
Xiulan: Not at all. Go ahead, my sweetheart.
Zixin: Which option do you prefer: to live long and be poor or live short and be rich?
Xiulan: I will say: to live long and be poor. Life is a gift that is very valuable to me and it is more important than being rich. Although poverty is a misery but the poor still can live and enjoy so many aspects of life. Therefore, by being poor and living longer, I can enjoy life more and experience different flavors of life.
Zixin: I will play now the devil's advocate role. I will choose: to live short and be rich. Money is the main factor for happiness. When you can afford to buy whatever you like easily, all of your life necessities are fulfilled and you do not worry about your food, drink, house, vehicle, etc. You start to think about luxury and not about needs or necessities. Owning things easily brings great happiness. So to live short and fulfill all my demands easily is better than living long and struggling with my basic needs or necessities throughout my lifetime.
Xiulan: Each one of us has a valid point. It is now my turn: which option do you prefer: to live short and be healthy or to live long and be chronically sick?
Zixin: I will choose: to live short and be healthy. Living a healthy life is very important to me and sickness brings discomfort, pain and inconvenience. When you are sick, you do not enjoy life and sometimes you desire to die and find relief from the painful sickness that you are suffering.
Xiulan: It is my turn now to play the devil's advocate role: I will choose: to live long and be chronically sick. It is true that sickness brings misery, discomfort and pain but not all sicknesses are equal in their nature or the pain they cause. Some sicknesses are milder than others and people can live a good life with some sicknesses if they periodically take the required medications. So living longer allows me to experience the beauties of life more even if I am chronically sick.
Zixin: Again, each one of us has valid points. Which option do you prefer: being poor and healthy or rich and sick?
Xiulan: I will choose being poor and healthy. Being in good health is one of the greatest factors of happiness. What is the value of money if you are struggling with sickness and deprived from enjoying many aspects of life due to illness? Some sick rich people are forbidden to eat the foods they love due to their sickness and this can be a major misery for them. Imagine owning millions of golden taels and being deprived of the foods you love. So I can be patient with poverty and do my best to enjoy life as much as I can but I cannot be patient with having an illness that spoils so many pleasures of my life.
Zixin: I will choose: being rich and sick. It is true that a sick rich person might struggle a lot with his illness but since he has so much money, he can afford to buy the best medications and hire the best doctors. He can also hire servants and maids to help him with his illness. This will lighten the burden of his sickness significantly. By owning a large amount of money, he can stop thinking about the needs or necessities with which the poor person struggles and focus on luxury. As you said Xiulan: not all illnesses are the same and some are milder than others. If the illness of the rich is not severe and does not spoil his life significantly, he can cope with it and continue his life normally at times.
Xiulan: Which option do you prefer: to have a beautiful not intelligent child or an intelligent not beautiful child?
Zixin: I will choose to have an intelligent not beautiful child. The beauty of face or body does not make glories. But intelligence makes many glories in life. An intelligent person can seize opportunities and make the best options in life and he contributes beneficial achievements to the society. The power of mind is superior to the beauty of face.
Xiulan: Good argument, Zixin. I will choose to have a beautiful not intelligent child. It is true that an intelligent mind is able to make glories in life but many people do not care about intelligence as much as they care about external beauty (the beauty of the face or body). An intelligent not beautiful child might suffer from mockery or harsh words that offend him/her for his/her lack of beauty. He/she might also find difficulties in choosing a spouse when deciding to marry. Being beautiful but not intelligent means that the child can learn some profession that does not require much intelligence and still live his/her life normally and be appreciated for the beauty of his/her face.
Zixin: Which option do you prefer: to have a generous not beautiful husband or a stingy beautiful husband?
Xiulan: First of all, I am very lucky to have you as my husband because you are very generous with me and at the same time very beautiful. But on the theoretical level, I prefer a generous not beautiful husband. Generosity is a very important attribute in a man and the woman appreciates much when her husband spends generously on her and on the household. Generosity is an acquired attribute but beauty is an intrinsic attribute. I will not hold my husband accountable for an intrinsic attribute that he cannot change. I can be patient with a not beautiful husband but I cannot be patient with a stingy husband.
Zixin: Thank you for your kind words about me. I will choose a stingy beautiful husband. Although beauty is more desired in a woman than in a man, it is still important for a woman to marry a beautiful husband. We are created with innate inclination toward beauty and a beautiful face can substitute for the lack of many other good attributes such as generosity. Also, with a beautiful husband the likelihood of having beautiful children increases to some extent.
Xiulan: Which option do you prefer: to have a wife who is not beautiful but an expert cook (cooks delicious food) or to have a beautiful wife that does not know to how to cook well (her food is not delicious)?
Zixin: First of all, I am blessed to have you as my wife because you are both very beautiful and at the same time an expert cook who always surprises me with delicious Chinese cuisine. I will choose a wife who is not beautiful but an expert cook. Having delicious food is one of the main factors of happiness in a family. Beauty diminishes as we get older but the deliciousness of food stays all the time in a family.
Xiulan: Thank you for your nice words about me. I will choose a wife who is beautiful but does not know how to cook well. Over time, a husband becomes accustomed to his wife's food even if it is not delicious. But if the wife is not beautiful, the husband might not be content and he might seek illegal relationships and betray his wife. The beauty of a wife offsets many shortcomings in my opinion.
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Zixin: We can go forever with this unlimited list of choices with trade-offs or compromises. Let us stop here and have lunch, my sweetheart. What are you cooking for us today? I crave to taste your delicious food.
Xiulan: I prepared Manchurian Beef with Fried Rice. I hope you will like it.
Zixin: Certainly I will like it. It is one of my favorite dishes. Thank you so much, my sweetheart. Let us have lunch now. I cannot be patient any longer.
Xiulan: Sure, my love. Just give me a couple of minutes to prepare the table for you.
Zixin: Thank you, Xiulan. I cannot imagine my life without you.
Zixin is a very ambitious person and he constantly does his best to improve his abilities and increase his achievements. One time Zixin was in the market roaming so he he saw a shop titled: the Oasis of Wisdom. He asked about this shop and what it offers so he discovered that in this shop there is a wise master who provides people with jewels of wisdom based on their interests. The price of one piece of wisdom is one golden tael. Zixin was interested in this experience so he paid ten golden taels to get ten pieces of wisdom from the wise master. When Zixin entered to the wise master, he greeted him and sat facing him. The following interesting conversation occurred between the two:
The wise master: What are your interests? In which knowledge area do you want wisdom?
Zixin: I am interested in being one of the greatest Chinese men in history and want to be a successful influential person. What is your advice to me in this regard?
The wise master: You are very ambitious and I admire your vision. You paid for ten pieces of wisdom so here you are the list:
Wisdom 1: Set tangible realistic goals and work hard to achieve them.
Wisdom 2: Work hard when people are asleep. Extra work pays off.
Wisdom 3: Work with a group. A grain of sand is nothing but when combined with others they form the desert.
Wisdom 4: Expect failure and repeat attempts until you succeed.
Wisdom 5: Learn from your mistakes and avoid committing the same mistake twice.
Wisdom 6: The road to glory is paved with sacrifices.
Wisdom 7: Earn more money and utilize it to realize your dreams.
Wisdom 8: Do not rely on a single option. Consider alternatives.
Wisdom 9: Underestimating your abilities deprives you from accomplishments.
Wisdom 10: Remove fear from your heart because fear hinders success.
Zixin: Thank you so much for you the valuable jewels of wisdom. They are worth more than ten golden taels. Can you please elaborate more on these pieces of wisdom so that I get the most out of them.
The wise master: Certainly. I will be happy to fulfill your request.
Wisdom 1: Set tangible realistic goals and work hard to achieve them.
First you need to ask yourself: “What do I want to be in this life? What role would I like to play in my life? What profession do I want to specialize in?”
Such a question crystallizes your vision and allows you to focus on a doable plan. For example, in our era, influential persons are political leaders, remarkable merchants, notable philosophers, expert professionals. So the first thing you need to do if you want to be an influential person is to choose your role. For example, if you want to be a successful influential political leader, you need to learn the keys of politics. Every profession has keys and once you master those keys, you become a strong candidate to excel and be a distinguished member of that field.
Wisdom 2: Work hard when people are asleep. Extra work pays off.
Successful influential persons exert extra effort and more hard work than ordinary people. This does not mean that you deprive yourself from sleep but it means that you sleep less and dedicate more time to working hard to execute the plan you have for your growth. Remember the more time you put in an activity, the more fruitful that activity will be.
Wisdom 3: Work with a group. A grain of sand is nothing but when combined with others they form the desert.
Success at times relies on a group effort and not on an individual's effort. A politician, for example, cannot rule the nation alone. He needs collaboration and coordination with people above him and below him in rank. Sometimes to achieve your goals and realize your dreams you need the help of relatives, friends, colleagues or others. Do not expect to do everything on your own. Collaborate with others and delegate work to people in your group to achieve more and better.
Wisdom 4: Expect failure and repeat attempts until you succeed.
It is hard to find absolute perfection in a human life because we have limited knowledge, power, experience, abilities, etc. Therefore, failure is likely to happen at many stages of our lives. Many people surrender to failure and do not continue the journey afterwards. Successful and influential persons fail at times but they take failure as fuel to push them forward in their journey. When people think of success, they think that successful people attained success from the first attempt without any failure. However, this is not true. Many successful people suffered from a series of failures but they refused to give up and continued their journey with persistence and perseverance until they attained their goals and realized their dreams.
Wisdom 5: Learn from your mistakes and avoid committing the same mistake twice.
Failures result from mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes but the wise person learns from his mistakes and does not repeat them. The core of improvement is learning from your mistakes. Mistakes can be minor or major. Major mistakes are more detrimental to the person's journey in life and therefore more caution is needed to spot and avoid them. You do not only learn from your own mistakes, but also from the mistakes of others. Learning from others' mistakes can be as valuable as learning from your own mistakes.
Wisdom 6: The road to glory is paved with sacrifices.
Glory demands sacrifices. You need to sacrifice time, money, relationships, people and other means in order to achieve glory. The source of sacrifice is conflict. When there is conflict, there is sacrifice. For example, a merchant sacrifices his safety by traveling in dangerous zones where he can be attacked by bandits for the sake of earning money. When the merchant saw a conflict between his safety and money, he chose to sacrifice his safety for the sake of money. In our lives, we have to make various sacrifices at different times to keep moving forward. The wise person makes sacrifices that maximize his profit and minimize his loss. This is the ideal move which is not always possible.
Wisdom 7: Earn more money and utilize it to realize your dreams.
Money can be one of the main ingredients for success. Many people fall short of their goals or dreams because they do not have sufficient money. The general rule is that big dreams require big amounts of money. The more money you have, the closer to fulfilling your goals and realizing your dreams you shall be. Think of earning more money by clever trade for example. Also, cherish your money and do not waste it or spend it extravagantly. Losing your money can mean losing your happiness.
Wisdom 8: Do not rely on a single option. Consider alternatives.
Diversity is one dominant theme in our lives. We often face a situation where we have multiple options and then we choose to go with one option. If that option fails, we should have alternatives. If one door closes in your face, knock at other doors. Relying on a single source or option alone can be harmful to our decisions or journey in life. For example, a wise merchant diversifies his trades such as having one food trade and one clothes trade. If one trade is at loss for some reason, the other trade can offset and compensate for the loss.
Wisdom 9: Underestimating your abilities deprives you from accomplishments.
The first step in achievement is knowing yourself and your abilities. Successful and influential persons have one thing in common: they possess the can-do attitude. They know their abilities and their goals. Also, they know that their goals are within the reach of their abilities and not in the impossible zone. When you underestimate your abilities, you start to think of possible goals and dreams as impossible and therefore you deprive yourself from doing what is possible to attain your goals and realize your dreams.
Wisdom 10: Remove fear from your heart because fear hinders success.
Fear is a natural feeling we all have. But many people grow fear in their hearts to the extent that it hinders them from taking brave steps in their lives that could change their lives tremendously for better. Fear of the unknown is natural and expected for a human being but many opportunities in life awaits only brave people. Do not let fear obstruct you from moving forward to achieving your goals and realizing your dreams.
Zixin: Thank you, dear wise master, for the useful clarifications. I truly appreciate your jewels of wisdom and I will do my best to apply what you taught me in my life and make the most out of it.
Zixin then jotted down the pieces of wisdom that he obtained from the wise master on a classical Chinese bamboo scroll slip and returned home with new learned lessons that enriched his knowledge and experience.
The four closest or best friends to Zixin are his four cousins: Guang Quon, Jinjing Quon, Shirong Jinhai and Bingwen Jinhai. Guang and Jinjing are the sons of Zixin's uncles (his father's brothers) while Shirong and Bingwen are the sons of Zixin's uncles (his mother's brothers).
Each one of Zixin's cousins loves Zixin deeply and they have marvelous stories about chivalrous help and support for Zixin during different times. Here are some of these stories:
Zixin and Guang
When Zixin wanted to marry Xiulan, he fell short of money. There were many expenses associated with his wedding such as the expense of the wedding ceremony, the expense of the furniture of the house, the expense of the dowry, etc. Zixin went to Guang to ask him for money as a debt. Zixin asked Guang for 1000 golden taels. Guang, out of his generosity and intention to truly support his cousin, Zixin, lent Zixin 10000 golden taels which are ten times of what Zixin asked for initially. Guang never asked Zixin for his money afterwards and he gave Zixin the complete freedom to pay at his discretion. Zixin never forgets this great help from Guang and he appreciates it tremendously. He once told Xiulan: “If Guang asks me for help one day, I must help him ten times of what he asks for in order to repay his kindness toward me when I asked him for a loan.”
Zixin and Jinjing
One time Zixin fell off his horse in a desolate place and broke his leg. He was unable to walk due to the severe pain. When Zixin was late in returning home, his parents asked Jinjing to search for him. Jinjing started to look for his cousin diligently until he found him in the desolate area. Jinjing wanted to carry Zixin on the horse but Zixin was afraid of falling off his horse again and breaking his second leg so Jinjing chose to give Zixin a piggyback and walked until he reached Zixin's home. Jinjing never left Zixin a day during his illness and he used to shop in the market to bring everything Zixin and his family need such as groceries, food, medications, etc. Zixin remarkably appreciates the love and care of Jinjing and never forgets his fraternal help. Zixin once told Xiulan: “True friends show up in times of crises. They are available to help us to the best of their abilities. Great men make great contributions. I owe Jinjing so much in my life especially for his indelible help when he gave me a piggyback for a very long distance and took care of me during my injury. He is the bright example of giving generously beyond the expectations.”
Zixin and Shirong
One time Zixin was stung by a scorpion and the venom was very strong. The doctor told Zixin's family that Zixin is going to die if he does not get the right rare antidote. Shirong started to search for the antidote everywhere but could not find one. He ultimately found the antidote at one pharmacy but the pharmacist told Shirong that the price of the antidote is 5000 golden taels because this antidote is very rare and requires collecting so many scarce ingredients taken from multiple herbs from multiple distant areas during different seasons of the year. Shirong decided to sell his only horse and carriage at 5000 golden taels and buy the antidote and save Zixin. He did so and finally brought the antidote which cured Zixin completely. Zixin always remembers this story and the championship of Shirong is saving his life. He once told Xiulan: “Some people you owe them physical help, some people you owe them money and some people you owe them your life. But I owe Shirong physical help, financial help and saving my life. Shirong, how can I repay you? It is impossible.”
Zixin and Bingwen
Bingwen was the reason behind Zixin joining the circus. When Bingwen saw the magic skills of Zixin, he realized that Zixin is very talented and that he just needs the right opportunity to shine and make his own way in the world of fame. The circus at that time had no section for magic or magicians so Bingwen spoke to the circus owner and recommended that the circus adds a section for magic and magicians and he recommended his cousin Zixin for this mission. Zixin was contacted by the circus owner through Bingwen and he had to perform an audition in front of the circus owner and the administrative staff of the circus. Zixin performed very well in the audition and he astonished the onlookers with his talent. The circus owner agreed to hire Zixin with a competitive salary and other nice perquisites. Zixin always remembers the referral of Bingwen that landed him his beloved job. He once told Xiulan: “The words of Bingwen in recommending me to the circus owner are worth tens of thousands of golden taels. How can I repay your referral, Bingwen? I owe you so much and I hope to repay your kindness one day.”
Today Zixin has invited his four cousins for dinner and Xiulan has prepared a variety of delicious foods such as Vegetable Spring Rolls, Chicken Dumplings, Manchow Soup, Corn Soup, Chicken with Almonds and Mixed Vegetables, Sesame Beef, Kung Pao Shrimps, Friend Rice and Chow Mein.
After the group had dinner, they praised Xiulan for her superb tasty food and she was very happy that her food was so good and admired by everyone. Now, the group are drinking tea and eating some desserts. They had the following conversation:
Zixin: I heard today about a sad accident that broke my heart. Have you heard of it?
Shirong: Which accident do you mean? I have not heard of anything recently.
Zixin: A boy fell in a well after being chased by a dog. The boy chose to throw himself in the well to escape the dog but he drowned in the well.
Bingwen: That is really a sad accident. But where is the government? The government should surround every well with a fence so that children do not approach any well and are obstructed by the fences.
Guang: We cannot blame the government for every failure in our lives. The government has limitations and cannot prevent every danger from happening. At times, it is the responsibility of the parents to watch their children and protect them from dangers surrounding them.
Jinjing: Both the government and the parents of the child are responsible for this catastrophic event. But disasters are part of the human life and the important thing is to learn from them and prevent them from happening again in the future or at least minimize their occurrences.
Xiulan: My heart melts of sadness for the misery of this child. His death in this lonely and dark fashion grieves everyone.
Zixin: Do you believe in fate, ladies and gentlemen? Could the fate of this child be changed to avoid such a disaster?
Xiulan: I believe in fate so I think the fate of this child cannot be changed because his fate is to die in this manner.
Guang: I do not believe in fate. Our fate changes based on our choices.
Shirong: I do not know whether fate is truth or falsehood.
Jinjing: I believe in fate like Xiulan. Things are predetermined according to fate and cannot be changed.
Bingwen: I do not believe in fate like Guang. We can change our fate based on our will and choices.
Xiulan: Do you gentlemen recall some stories about sad endings for children? Let us brainstorm about this phenomenon.
Jinjing: One sad ending I heard of is that of a child who was swallowed by a crocodile at the edge of a swamp. The crocodile abruptly snatched the child and he then disappeared in the abdomens of crocodiles.
Bingwen: Wow. That is really an excruciating kind of death. People should never approach the edges of swamps because crocodiles are very stealthy and insidious and they snatch their preys in the blink of an eye.
Shirong: One sad ending I heard of is that of a child who was eaten by a tiger at the circus. Although the circus animals are trained and domesticated, they at times lose their acquired domestication and return to their innate instinct of being wild and predatory. The child approached the tiger then the tiger snatched the child and ate him. The circus staff attacked the tiger and killed him but after he swallowed a large portion of the child's body.
Guang: You can never trust animals even if they are trained and domesticated. You should always expect and plan for the worst case scenario where the animal return to its wild nature and loses control.
Xiulan: One sad ending I heard of is that of a child who was burned to death while he was asleep. This happened when the lamp in the child's room was lit and then it fell on the furniture and the furniture started to burn. The child did not notice the fire in his room until late when it was impossible for him to escape the fire.
Shirong: Candles, lamps and lanterns should be fixed firmly in their places so that they do not fall and cause catastrophes. Or they should be put out before sleep to avert any danger.
Zixin: Ladies and gentlemen, let us change the direction of our speech to something happy and joyous. My heart is broken by all these sad stories. Let us speak about something happy and soothing.
Xiulan: Let us speak about the greatest achievement that everyone of us accomplished.
Zixin: That is a great idea, my sweetheart. I always admire your wisdom and the beauty of your choices
The group then continued in their interesting conversation until very late at night.