Li Ai is a deeply superstitious person.
He believes that in this world, everything gained must come at a cost, and everything lost must bring some gain.
So he stubbornly insists on keeping things balanced.
1.
He gets paid at the end of the month. That’s a gain.
He spends ten yuan on a lottery ticket.
He doesn’t win. That’s a loss.
Today brought both gain and loss.
2.
He gets cheated when buying apples, and they’re all rotten. That’s a loss.
He spends ten yuan of his own money on a lottery ticket and wins nothing. That’s a loss. On his way out of the lottery shop, he gets to pet a dog for free, then gets shaken down for a hundred yuan. A crushing loss. But when he makes a scene at the police station, he learns how two laws work in practice. A huge gain.
Today brought both gain and loss.
Later, he starts actively applying this principle of the conservation of gains and losses.
He goes to Uncle Wang’s house to buy some shoddy rope that breaks easily, planning to hang himself.
His suicide attempt fails, and he remains in this world as a penniless wretch, suffering. That’s a loss.
This time, he decides to go big, reluctantly spending two hundred yuan on lottery tickets.
He doesn’t win. No gain.
But as he steps outside, he gets hit by a Rolls-Royce.
He receives compensation. A gain, and a massive one!
With the belief that “opportunity favors the prepared,” just before he passes out, Li Ai shakily pulls a sample bottle of Liushen cologne from his pocket and sprays himself all over. Only when he smells as fragrant as a premium smoked chicken does he pass out with a smile.
Later, he shamelessly promotes himself and becomes the professional caretaker of the “offender’s” pet snake.
-
The first time he sees it, the black snake is curled up inside a skull, flicking its tongue.
Before long, Li Ai has fattened the snake up until it’s round as a ball, while its scales have polished the skull smooth.
Whenever Li Ai lets the snake out, he takes the skull along and rinses it clean, too.
One night, the snake slithers over his body, and the skull rests by his pillow.
He has a dream.
In the dream, he’s lying in a pile of money, grinning from ear to ear.
A voice murmurs intermittently in his ear.
“I really want... to eat... you...”
Li Ai jolts awake.
Who the hell is going to eat whom???
Which little brat can’t stand him dreaming about getting rich?! Who is it!!!
Theme: Freedom and harmony
