Measuring, mistrust and the letter

Outside, an old woman with a set of scales measures Xiao Ye: one metre eleven. Tearful, he runs away, and from then on he keeps running away whenever he sees his mother.

Later the old woman admits that her scales flatter people: they make them lighter and taller, to please the customers.

At home, Xiao Ye refuses to be measured. 'You don't want to buy me a ticket,' he says. To Tao Ying the measuring tape now seems like a 'poisonous viper'.

Worried, she burns her sesame cakes at work. She waits until Xiao Ye is asleep, and measures him: one metre nine. He was under the limit after all. She writes to the temple about what happened. 'The Writer' at the factory advises her to write in a dramatic, moving style.

She sends the letter and waits, searching the newspapers and listening to the radio for a reply. She wants to melt the ice in her son's eyes.