The narrator tells us that he's been living in the city for free for the past few months, and that his wife, Miss Jessel, has been fighting with him every time he asks her to do something for him. He tells her that he doesn't know why she's fighting, and she tells him that she has been gone for a while. He asks her if there are any seats available for her to sit down and rest. She says that there are, and asks him if he'd like to sit and eat. The narrator says that he didn't think he would end up homeless on the street. He says that a couple told him to give his seat to someone in need, and he says that even if he were to die, he wouldn't accept this kind of charity. He adds that he heard that the new regime is holding a dinner for a member of the new government and a woman named duxiaoshen. Everyone is talking about the dinner, and the narrator is sure that it's because of the engagement between the two families. He wonders what the girl's family is doing, since they've made him lose everything.