“Xie xie,” he thanked the maid, turning back to his task of pushing a heavy lawn-mower across the grass.
“Mei wen ti,” she mumbled, going back indoors, “No problem.” The following day was Sunday.
The expectation of a peaceful day at home was shattered at seven o'clock in the morning with Xu Wei waking to shouts coming from the kitchen.
“Hey, hey,” he yelled, padding sleepily into the hallway, “What's going on?”
“See now,” Li Yang was telling her son, “Now you've woken up your father.”
Xu Bo turned red-faced to meet his father's enquiring eyes, “Dui bu qi (I'm sorry).”
“What's going on?” Xu Wei demanded, ignoring his son's apology, “Have you been out again?”
“Father,” Xu Bo pleaded, lowering his voice, “It's normal for young men of my age to go out late at the weekend. I just want to
