If you agree to these terms, I’ll go upstairs and get the money right now. [Hua Jiezhi sighs lightly, lowers his head, and is surprised to discover tea leaves floating in the dirty cup.]. So this place of mine has turned into a den of thieves! Ah Mei, you get mixed up with this lot and I’ll skin you alive! Hua Jiezhi: With him? Ah Mei: Mr. Kong, how much does the medicine cost? Yu Xiaoying [hanging Hou Yibo’s clothes in the wardrobe]: I’ve taken care of everything you asked me to. Boss Xiao: Ten days? Throw his luggage out! You should at least give him some time to prepare for the move, shouldn’t you? Really, listen to me…, Mrs. Hua: That’s right, Mr. Kong—don’t worry! Mrs. Hua sits in a stupor on the ground. You swindled away my penicillin, my silk stockings, and my gold! We weren’t expecting you! Hua Jiezhi: Thank you! Hua Jiezhi: It’s not serious. Hua Jiezhi: No! Understand? Me too! [goes upstairs]. You already had some! It’s absurd! Principal: No need to explain, Mr. Hua. We’ll spend three gold bars to buy the place, two ounces of gold on renovations, and move onto the terrace. Now I have to go solve my housing problem! Yu Xiaoying, standing in the doorway smoking a cigarette, stops him.]. Most songbirds are not direct competitors with crows over nest sites or food resources, so from the perspective of territory, crows really only need to be concerned about other crows and nearby ravens. Yu Xiaoying [walks across the landing and answers the phone]: Hello? Hua Jiezhi winces.]. I’m no thief and no robber—everyone on the streets knows exactly what kind of man I am. Mrs. Xiao: He’s planning to move? Whatever you wanted to say to Xiaoying, you can say to me. Word also has it that Huang Wei’s regiment has already been swallowed by the Communists! If you don’t move out, just wait and see what happens! [takes Hou Yibo’s coat and cane]. Yu Xiaoying: Cut out that racket! If you don’t… [snaps a table leg in his hands in half] that’s what’ll happen to you! Yu Xiaoying [brusquely]: If everything’s settled, that’s great! Boss Xiao: The U.S. dollar’s spiked! Kong Youwen comes in the door, startling Ah Mei, who pretends that she’s fetching the thermos.]. Boss Xiao [whispering]: Listen to this! Ah Mei: Keep your voices down. Hou Boyi [looks at documents in his hands]: Don’t go spreading this around! [Other residents gather outside the kitchen. Hou Yibo [smiles, to Yu Xiaoying]: Sure, sure. Hou Yibo [to driver]: To Garrison Command! Mrs. Xiao [impatiently, to Xiao]: Get going! Of course I should thank you personally. Manager Hou said to acquire whatever quantity of goods you can—money’s no object. Really! [Uncertainly] The time just hasn’t come yet. Hua Jiezhi: Now that Li Tsung-jen has taken power, he’s waving the flag of peace to dupe people. Hou Yibo [angry]: I’m doing you a good turn! Boss Xiao hauls her to her feet. Kong Youwen: She stole your penicillin, didn’t she? You should all be brave and refuse to move out! [Sound of everyone laughing. Yes! Mrs. Xiao [cheerfully]: Mrs. Hou, so that’s settled about the apartment! Old Zhao: First they kicked out the old principal. Mrs. Xiao [cries]: Tell me, just which son-of-a-bitch is claiming the price is sixty-five hundred? Mrs. Xiao: Look: I’ve got two pairs of silk stockings, a half dozen Parisian perfumes, and even penicillin! [Mrs. Hua enters the room, looking around uneasily, and hugs Wei Wei to her as she sits in a chair next to the coffee table.]. Take these carefully! Hou Yibo [exasperated, sees lights going on upstairs]: Goddamn it—you’ve woken everyone up! Why the hell haven’t you moved like you were told to?! Boss Xiao [smiles ingratiatingly]: Hear me out, just hear me out! Old Liu: Looks to me like [laughs] this new principal of ours has taken a liking to Mr. Hua! Ten days it is! Crows are thought to be among our most intelligent birds, and the success of the American Crow in adapting to civilization would seem to confirm this. Mrs. Xiao: We’ll have to trouble you for an extension for a few days on the apartment! [excitedly races upstairs] Penicillin, penicillin! Mrs. Xiao [annoyed]: N-n-n-no problem, no problem. You’re the thief here, you robber, swindler! You’re here too? Hou Boyi [looking into the mirror]: What do you know? Rice rations, they say! [Other residents follow her to the front door.]. Hou Yibo: Mrs. Hua, off shopping? Over my dead body! Driver: It’s too cold. [to Old Wei] I’ve got plenty of friends among the police, so don’t you worry, Mr. Wei. Everyone is, and we’ll just see what you do about it. Doctor [nods]: The sooner, the better. But, desperate to get the money that she needs to cure her little daughter (and harassed by a rich, unscrupulous rake), she ... See full summary ». Do you think someone messed with it? [In the apartment, Hou Yibo is reading financial documents from the Ministry of Defense. Traitor on the second floor Principal [laughing]: Mr. Hua, didn’t you know about it? [takes a drag on cigarette]. [Entrance to the municipal Department of Education]. Hua Jiezhi: Jiajin, Jiajin! I already told you: I don’t want to stay here. It was entered into the 1966 Cannes Film Festival where a "Special Mention" was made of Totò, for his acting performance. ], [Entrance to the apartment building. Yes. Yu Xiaoying, Mrs. Hua, a female visitor, and Ah Mei stand together in front of a table.]. Hua Jiezhi [angry]: Just what do you mean by that? I have to go shopping! Mrs. Hua: Doctor, please tell me: what’s wrong with her? Ah Mei [puts the things in the cupboard, and peeks into the box of medicine]: Pay-nee-shee-ling! Hou Yibo [brushes her hand away impatiently]: Don’t be ridiculous! When will you be back? There’s been some unfortunate misunderstanding. Mrs. Xiao: So, do you think he’s going to turn down moving expenses if you get them? [closes door, and Xiao starts to walk away. The old principal’s been fired by the Ministry of Education, and Old Zhang and Old Wu have been arrested by security agents…. Boss Xiao [to Hua Jiezhi]: Mr. Hua, I have some shocking news for you! The market this afternoon will be a total wash-out. Yu Xiaoying: Don’t be ridiculous! Why’s he called “Monkey”? Female student [pointing to the school newspaper, to Hua]: Mr. Hua, what do you think of our protest? [Around the mahjong table in the Hou residence]. Actually, what I meant was—, [The three Xiao boys and Kong Youwen pass by the door on the stairs. Where’s the rest of the money for the sale? I’m hoping to move in. Man in black: Goddamn it! Hua Jiezhi: Don’t change the subject! Kong Youwen [skeptical]: Another bulletin from the Central Bureau, huh? I can see why you would have been afraid of him when he was a powerful traitor. [pulls blanket up on the other two boys, who are sleeping with their heads at the foot of the bed]. Mr. Hua is an educated man…. Six thousand five hundred? Wei Wei [awakening with a smile]: Mama, mama! You hear me? Mrs. Hua, I congratulate you! [hands the cup over] Go drink this! Boss Xiao [to Ah Mei]: What’s happening? I tell you, there’s no justice in this world! Oh, yes—yesterday he told me that he wants to have a word with you. Screenplay: Shen Fu, Lin Gu, Xu Tao, Chen Baichen, Zhao Dan, and Zheng Junli Boss Xiao: For crying out loud, what nonsense! Hou Yibo: Alright, alright—cut the crap! [Kong Youwen sits on the stairs telling a story to the children.]. Yu Xiaoying [helps Hou straighten his uniform]: Three gold bars—that cheap? At this time, in Nanjing and in Shanghai, lackeys of the thuggish Chiang Kai-shek clique, in their death throes, intensify their oppression of the people, even as they make preparations to scatter like chickens and flee like running dogs…], [Page of newspaper advertisements: Apartment building for sale; Seeking to purchase Hong Kong villa; For Sale, cheap; Garden villa for sale; For Rent; To Let – urgent; To Let – urgent; To Let – cheap; To Let – cheap], [Zoom in on newspaper advertisement: FOR SALE, CHEAP: Superior two-level shikumen rowhouse, with fully installed telephone and utilities, offered by Mr. Hou at 23 Renkang Alley on Linsen Road. [to everyone] First we should discuss how we’re going to deliver this letter to the new principal. Mrs. Hua [gratefully]: Of course! [Ah Mei tiptoes downstairs holding something in her hands. Mrs. Xiao [smiles]: Fine. We’ll all try to figure out what to do. Boss Xiao [shouting as he hurries along the street]: Quick, change your prices! 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