Time: 9:42AM November 22, 2012

Place: North Gong Hutong

Person: Uncle Yang

One month after meeting Uncle Yang perched on a small stool at the mouth of North Gong Hutong and hearing his story of loneliness and hurt, we began to make daily visits. Despite the difficulties in communicating cross-dialect, we know have grown close sharing a meal every now and then, trading gifts (Uncle Yang knits socks, mittens, and sweater vests for us while he tends the public bathroom), and of course trading kinds of snacks back and forth.

The moment in which our relationship changed from story listener and story-teller to friends happened when Uncle Yang invited us to hear him sing. Along with Auntie Zhao who helped him take care of three public bathrooms, we arranged some cloth stools and sang. The recording is of one of many songs he sang while the four of us shared steamed buns and red bean porridge.