Explore Chapter 16 of 'Moment in Peking' with the original Chinese text, English translation, detailed Chinese vocabulary explanations, and audio of the Chinese original. Listen and improve your reading skills.
On the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Zeng household was bustling with activity. Mulan had been living with the Zeng family for some days and got along well with Manniang, Pingya, Sunya, and others. Mrs. Zeng proposed that the Mid-Autumn Festival should be celebrated with great festivity, and she invited a theatrical troupe to perform. Mulan was pleased in her heart, but deliberately feigned indifference.
Sunya knew that Mulan loved to solve riddles, so he suggested that everyone make riddles. Mulan smiled and said, 'I'll give you a riddle. Guess it.' She thought for a moment and said, 'One has a head but no tail, one has a tail but no head, one has both head and tail, one has neither head nor tail. Four characters.' Everyone guessed for a long time until Pingya figured out they were the characters representing "from" (you), "first" (jia), "declare" (shen), and "field" (tian). Mulan nodded in praise.
Next, Mulan gave another riddle: 'A creature born with a strange form, half in water and half in mud. With a head and no tail, it can walk; without a head and with a tail, it cannot move. Name an animal.' Sunya blurted out, 'It's a fish!' Mulan shook her head. 'No.' Manniang said softly, 'Is it a shrimp?' Mulan laughed and said, 'That's right.'
In the evening, the Zeng family set out mooncakes and fruits in the garden to admire the moon and listen to music. Mulan gazed at the bright moon and thought of her parents far away in Hangzhou, feeling a touch of sadness. Sunya noticed this, quietly walked over to her, and handed her a piece of mooncake. Mulan took it and smiled faintly.
At that moment, the melodious sound of a flute came from afar. It was Pingya playing. Mulan listened intently and felt that it was one of the most beautiful nights of her life. She thought to herself, if only she could stay with the Zeng family forever and be with these friends, how wonderful that would be.