Chinese Police and Little Girls

My Usual Breakfast (5 yuan)

After a late night of Tiger Beer, Foosball, and catching up, I wasn't feeling too well.  So I forwent my usual giant bowl of noodles.  I ate a banana, grabbed some yogurt and was given some pink bread.  The label just said it was bread, not sure what kind it was.  I took my yogurt and my bread to the local park, Martyrs Park.  The park was decorated with red signs all over that said something about all people harmoniously using medicine.  There was a stage that had two people talking, I can only assume about the pharmacy that had set this up.  I avoided that and went into the coolness of the trees.  Even at 9am I was dripping sweat down my back.  I sat there and quietly ate my yogurt, watching the old people gathered around the tables.  I listened to the mixing of Erhus and the dance music coming from the stage.  There was a little girl walking around me, slowly creeping closer.  She was carrying a poster advertising a kitchen, she kept hiding behind it.  Eventually she got close enough and I said "Ni hao".  She ran away, and a few seconds later came back and started asking me what I was eating.  "Mianbao (bread)"  Then she put her poster down and started talking to me, and telling me how to say the numbers.  Shortly there after two older women came over and started asking me what I was doing, where I was from and what I did.  They wandered off eventually, and the little girl just said "I am going now" and walked off.  As I walked home smiling to myself I couldn't help but think, this is China.

In contrast I woke up this morning, went to get my usual breakfast and sat down.  I was eating and chatting with an old man, who asked me how much money I made.  He was impressed by the amount, I made.  But as we were chatting two police in uniform came up and started speaking to the owners, the owners took their sign about noodles off the sidewalk outside.  Then the police started talking to the vegetable sellers who were selling their vegetables on tarps.  I kept my head down and ate, the vegetable sellers were slowly packing it up.  When another man walked in carrying a stick, he looked like the guy from Gangam Style mixed with Mao.  He started yelling and waving the stick.  I saw the communist patch on his sleeve. The veggie sales people packed it up and left.  I finished stood up to pay and the owner said to me.  "Tomorrow we will rest, don't come here tomorrow"  I wonder if the two were connected.  As I walked home, I saw all three police officers sitting at the noodle place next door.