Song Gang humbly nodded and was about to walk away when Popsicle Wang called out to him again. Wang took a one-yuan bill from his pocket and said, "I'll take two strings."
Song Gang accepted the money and then passed him the two strings of blossoms, saying "thank you" over and over again.
"Remember," said Popsicle Wang as he accepted the flowers with both hands and lifted them to his nose. "I, Popsicle Wang, was the first person to buy your flowers. If, therefore, you go on to start a flower business, I want to come and invest."
Popsicle Wang shifted into his role as investment banker and proudly told Song Gang, "I successfully invested in the scrap business and could just as well invest in the flower business."
Popsicle Wang lifted the two strings of magnolia blossoms and sniffed them greedily as he walked away, looking as if, rather than sniffing flowers, he was actually sucking on two cream popsicles.
As the day wore on Song Gang learned how to hawk his magnolia blossoms, albeit in an embarrassed tone of voice. He even learned a few tricks of his own, such as how to stand at the door of a clothing store waiting for young women to pass by. He wouldn't go in and disturb the customers as they were picking out clothes but instead would wait patiently for them to come out and then hand them the flowers, saying modestly, "Please buy a string of white magnolia blossoms."
Song Gang always had a tender smile on his handsome face, and the young women of Liu liked that smile and therefore bought his lovely white flowers. Several of the young women who knew him and knew about his back injury asked in concern how he was doing. Song Gang smiled and replied that his back was healed but that he could no longer do heavy labor. He would then add, embarrassed, "That is why I am selling flowers."
With his basket in hand, Song Gang visited each of the clothing stores in Liu, standing out front for a long time. Every time he sold a string of flowers, he would break into a grateful smile. He didn't eat anything all day but still didn't feel hungry. As soon as one store would close up for the night he would immediately move on to the next. He lost all track of time, knowing only that it was quite late. He wandered around under the moon and the streetlamps, selling one string of flowers after another. When there was only one string left and the last clothing store was closing up for the night, Song Gang was about to head home when a young woman carrying an assortment of shopping bags approached. When she saw Song Gang's final string of flowers in his basket, she took out her purse and asked how much it cost.
Song Gang looked down at those final two blossoms and replied apologetically, "I can't bear to part with them."
The woman stared at him in confusion and asked, "But aren't you here selling flowers?"
"Yes," Song Gang explained. "But I'm keeping these last two for my wife."
The woman nodded, put away her purse, and walked off. Song Gang followed her and asked solicitously, "Where do you live? I could bring you one tomorrow, at no charge."
"No need," the woman replied without turning around.
By the time Song Gang got home, it was past ten o'clock. He saw that the front door was open and Lin Hong was standing there peering out. When she saw Song Gang approach, she let out a deep sigh of relief and then reprimanded him, "Where did you go? I've been worried sick."
With a huge smile, Song Gang grasped her hand and accompanied her into the house. After they closed the front door, he didn't even pause to sit down before launching into a detailed description of his day. It had been a long time since Lin Hong had seen him so excited. Still holding his basket in his hand, Song Gang pulled a handful of change out of his pocket as he spoke and continued describing how he had sold his flowers while at the same time counting his money. He happily announced that he had earned twenty-four yuan and fifty cents, then handed Lin Hong the money, saying, "I could have made it twenty-five yuan even, but I couldn't bring myself to earn those last fifty cents."
Song Gang removed the final two blossoms from his basket and placed them in Lin Hong's hand, recounting how that young woman had wanted to buy them and how he had refused. He told Lin Hong, "I was saving these for you and couldn't bring myself to sell them."
"You should have sold them," Lin Hong quickly replied. "I don't want any…"
Seeing the light in Song Gang's eyes immediately dim, Lin Hong didn't continue. Instead, she took his basket and urged him to sit down and eat. It was then that Song Gang realized that he was actually quite famished, and therefore he took a bowl of food and wolfed it down. Lin Hong walked to the mirror and placed the string of blossoms in her braid, then draped the braid over her chest and sat down next to him, hoping that he would notice the flowers. Song Gang, however, paid no attention to her braid, focusing instead on her happy smile, which in turn made him more contented than ever — inspiring him to once again launch into a detailed description of his day. Finally he sighed, saying that he had never imagined that he could make as much with such light work as he had while working the docks. At this point, Lin Hong pretended to get angry, nudging him and asking, "Don't you see?"
As he noticed the blossoms in her hair Song Gang's eyes lit up. He asked, "Do you like them?"
"I do." She nodded.
That night Song Gang slept peacefully. Hearing his rhythmic breathing, Lin Hong felt that it had been a long time since he had slept so soundly. She, on the other hand, couldn't sleep. She placed the magnolia blossoms on her pillow and smelled their fragrance, sighing over Song Gangs loyalty and love for her. At that moment the humiliation she had endured from Director Liu meant nothing. Then she began to feel anxious about Song Gangs future prospects, realizing that no one could sell flowers their entire lives. Especially for a grown man like Song Gang, carrying around a basket every day was a humiliating job.
Lin Hongs fears quickly became a reality as her workmates at the knitting factory began to mock Song Gang all day long. They said that they had never seen a man selling flowers, especially not someone as big and tall as Song Gang, and remarked that when Song Gang was hawking flowers his voice became quite soft, more like a young woman's than a man's. They said these things not only behind Lin Hong's back but also to her face, making her blush with embarrassment. When she returned home, Lin Hong exploded at Song Gang, telling him not to continue humiliating himself. Song Gang, however, stubbornly refused to stop, even though his profits were steadily declining. Many of the young women in Liu knew Song Gang, and rather than pay for their flowers, they asked him to give them to them for free. Song Gang couldn't bring himself to turn them down, and as a result, they took all the flowers he had gone to such trouble to obtain and thread together. Even the workmates who mocked Song Gang to Lin Hong's face nevertheless shamelessly demanded blossoms from him and wore them in their braids draped over their chests. Then, when they saw Lin Hong, they taunted her, saying, "Your Song Gang gave these to us."
Lin Hong turned and walked away, then exploded at Song Gang when she saw him that evening. With the door closed and in a low voice, she said furiously, "I won't permit you to continue selling flowers."
For Song Gang, that night seemed to go on forever. Lin Hong was exhausted and went straight to bed after just a few bites of dinner. Song Gang also ate very little, then sat at the table for a long time, finally coming to the conclusion that selling flowers was not a viable solution. He was depressed to have to quit his new job so soon. That night he quietly lay down beside Lin Hong and, listening to her light breathing, gradually grew calmer. He didn't know about the humiliation she had endured at the factory as the result of chain-smoking Director Liu's advances.