Book Extract: "To Live" By Yu Hua, translated by Michael Berry

Fugui, the prodigal son of a wealthy country landowner, squanders the fortunes of his family in gambling dens and brothels. He has little respect for his father and still less for his father-in-law. He neglects his daughter and is abusive toward his wife. 

The following is from a scene where his wife Jiazhen was trying to insinuate Fugui to stop fooling around with a dinner she made.

One day I came home from town and, just as I sat down at the dinner table, I noticed a strange smile on her face as she brought out four different dishes. She poured me a glass of wine and sat down next to me while I ate and drank. Her beaming expression seemed a bit strange. I couldn't imagine what good fortune had befallen her. I thought as hard as I could, but couldn't figure out what the special occasion was. I asked her, but she wouldn't say. She just gazed at me with a strange, elated smile on her face.

Those four dishes were all vegetable dishes. Jiazhen had prepared each one differently, but as I got to the bottom, I started to find pieces of pork hidden in each dish. At first I didn't really pay attention to this, but as I ate the last dish, I discovered that there was again a piece of meat on the bottom. At first I was stumped but then I began to laugh out loud. I understand what Jiazhen was up to. She was trying to teach me that although women all look different on the outside, when you get down to it they are all the same.