The Troubleshooters,' by Wang Shuo

60 CHINESE EDUCATION AND SOCIETY
from regular people? Normally, when people smile they narrow their eyes at the
same time, but actresses smile with their eyes wide open.
Yu GUAN’S attention is suddenly diverted to the far end of the room. He then
cups his hands and shouts.
Yu GUAN: Bao Kang!
BAO KANG, at the entrance to the restaurant, hears Yu GUAN and smiles
happily in their direction. He is standing next to a visibly amiable and gentle
muidle-aged man.
55 LUXURIOUS CHINESE RESTAURANT / INTERIOR / DAY
A close shot of the aforementioned amiable, middle-aged man.
BAO KANG: (Voice-over) This gentleman is Zhao Yaoshun, my teacher.
The group moves into a traditional Chinese-style dining room, with gold and
red color themes. They sit around a huge, round, sandalwood table. BAO KANG
introduces Yu GUAN to the older man.
ZHAO YAOSHUN: I decided to join Bao Kang here this afternoon because I’ve
heard so much about all of you from him. I want very much to know you.
As ZHAO YAOSHUN speaks, he removes a pack of cigarettes from his shirt,
selects a cigarette, inserts it in his mouth, and attempts to light it. The cigarette
lighter is defective, however, and refuses to work even afer several attempts.
ZHAO YAOSHUN: What’s wrong with this thing?
Yu GUAN tosses YANG ZHONG’S matches to ZHAO YAOSHUN. BAO KANG
grabs them and then lights ZHAO YAOSHUN’S cigarette.
BAO KANG: Professor Zhao enjoys meeting new people. He has a lot of friends
from our age group.
ZHAO YAOSHUN: That’s true. You young people today are completely different
from the way my generation was when we were young. However, I think that
some of today’s young people need to change the way they think. Even so, I
don’t think it’s hard to understand your ideas and lifestyle; the important thing is