Gold

These days, it's really crazy! Gold is going insane, with a different price every day. I mean, can you eat gold? Can you wear it? But this thing has driven people completely nuts.

There are four families in the courtyard house where I live. At the front is Liu Si, a rickshaw puller. Liu Si is an honest, simple man who's never seen much money in his life. But as soon as the price of gold went up, he became obsessed too. Every day after pulling his rickshaw, instead of going home, he'd first go and stare at the gold shop. His eyes were fixed, as if he wanted to swallow the gold.

"Hey, Liu Si, back to look at gold again? You, a rickshaw puller, want to buy gold too?" Wang Er, who sells tofu pudding in the courtyard, always liked to tease Liu Si.

Liu Si wouldn't get angry, just chuckled: "Just looking, is that not allowed? This gold, it's so festive!"

Wang Er curled his lip: "Festive? I think you're going crazy for money! What does gold have to do with us common folk? You'd be better off pulling a few more fares and earning a few more coppers!"

Liu Si fell silent, just staring at the window of the gold shop, his eyes shining. It was hard to tell if that light was greed or confusion.

Next to Liu Si is Widow Zhang. Widow Zhang has a daughter, and their life is very tight. But when the price of gold went up, she also got ideas. She sold the only jewelry she had – a silver bracelet.

"Sister Zhang, what are you doing? That silver bracelet was a keepsake from your mother-in-law!" Aunt Li, who lives across from me, is a kind-hearted woman.

Widow Zhang sighed: "Aunt Li, you don't understand. The price of gold is going up every day. I was afraid that if I didn't sell it now, the silver bracelet wouldn't be worth anything. I was thinking of exchanging it for some money to buy the child some food and some new clothes."

Aunt Li shook her head: "Oh, this world! What it's driving people to!"

The third household is Mr. Zhao, a schoolteacher. Mr. Zhao is a cultured man, always fond of quoting books. But when the price of gold went up, he couldn't sit still either.

"This gold price, it's truly 'the yellow bell is discarded, and the earthen pot thunders'!" Mr. Zhao shook his head and sighed.

"Mr. Zhao, what do you mean by that?" I asked.

"Alas, the soaring price of gold shows that the world is in chaos! People's hearts are not what they used to be!" Mr. Zhao stroked his beard. "Gold was originally a vulgar thing, but now it has become the standard for measuring everything. This world is truly turning black and white upside down!"

The last household is me. I run a small shop, selling groceries. The rising gold price has also affected my business.

"Shopkeeper, how much is a jin of this oil?" an old customer asked.

"Two mao more expensive than yesterday," I answered truthfully.

"Why did the price go up again? It's impossible to live like this!" the old customer complained.

"Alas, when the price of gold goes up, everything else goes up with it. My small business is also struggling!" I said with a bitter smile.

In this courtyard house, four families, four different mindsets. All were disturbed by the price of gold.

Days went by, and the price of gold continued to rise. Liu Si still went to look at gold every day, but his eyes became increasingly dim. Widow Zhang used the money from selling the bracelet to buy new clothes for her child, but the worry on her face deepened. Mr. Zhao was still lamenting the state of the world, but his voice was getting lower and lower. My little shop's business was getting worse and worse, and it looked like I'd have to close down soon.

One day, I was sitting in the shop worrying when I suddenly heard a commotion outside.

"Something's happened! Something's happened!" someone shouted.

I ran out and saw Liu Si lying on the ground, foaming at the mouth.

"What happened?" I asked.

"He... he used all the money he made from pulling the rickshaw to buy gold..." someone nearby said, "And then, the price of gold fell..."

I was shocked. The price of gold fell?

I hurried to the gold shop and saw that the price on the sign had indeed fallen. It fell even faster than it had risen.

I stood there blankly, watching the crowds of people coming and going. Some were happy, some were sad. This gold was like a giant vortex, sucking everyone in.

I suddenly remembered Mr. Zhao's words: "The yellow bell is discarded, and the earthen pot thunders."

This world is truly incomprehensible. Is this gold a blessing, or a curse?