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≡ Phoenix of the Sky ≡

 
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Phoenix of the Sky
 
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A Chance Encounter With the Little Chinese Seamstress

During the first encounter with the Little Chinese Seamstress, Luo and Ma (the narrator), the "City Youths", are introduced to the tailor's daughter, who is at home when her father is not. Luo asks her to lengthen his trousers, because, as Ma says, even Malaria won't keep him from growing. They make smalltalk, and eventually Luo makes a bet with the Seamstress that they have something in common. The Seamstress takes the bet and loses when Luo shows her that their second toes are both longer than their first toe, and thus is forced to lengthen Luo's trousers for free.


 
Luo, while working in the village, becomes victim of conditions such as insomnia and an intense worry about what is going to happen to them. On page 24, the narrator says, "...even his poor diet, insomnia, and constant worrying about the future had not stopped him from growing." This shows that they continued to not only deal with the struggles put down on them by the village headman, but they also had to deal with their physical struggles brought upon them by their own bodies, like growing. This only makes life harsher for them, however it is an important part in the story, as the boys would not have discovered the Seamstress, it is likely, if it were not for Luo needing his trousers lengthened five centimeters.