The sun was shining brightly, with not a cloud in the sky. This year's warm spring sunshine arrived fashionably late, only now beginning to dispel the stubborn chill of winter. Today was a perfect day that left people feeling so comfortable they just wanted to roll around on the carpet, while the world continued to operate in an orderly manner.
People went to work, went shopping, chatted, drank tea, scolded their children at the door, slurped noodles at the five-yuan-a-bowl Lanzhou noodle stalls, even though people from Lanzhou themselves couldn't taste any connection of the noodles to Lanzhou. The world was peaceful, and the biggest commotion was no more than a quarrel between a couple at the building entrance over what to have for dinner. This was the life and stability of ordinary people: without a position higher than a departmental head, ordinary people have no way to know what is truly happening in the world.
