Burning the Soup- Dad

Dear Family, and others of interest. Yesterday was my lucky day. I received a note during my afternoon adult ed class asking me to come to the payroll department and pick up in cash my pay for teaching the adult ed class. As you know, I was offered $5.33 per hour. Well, after class I went to pick up my money. When I arrived there, they gave me 2000 Yuan. ($330.00) I knew that I was being over paid from what I had agreed on, but certainly less than what I was worth. Well, I tell them of the overpayment. They tell me that I had agreed to teach the class for 100 yuan per hour. (I thought I was getting 100 yuan for three hours) (100 yuan is $16.00) Now, my income has trippled. They paid me for teaching 6 classes times three hours. I don't know why they paid me 2000 yuan instead of 1800, but I couldn't speak much Chinese and they didn't seem to know much English so I settled on the 2000 yuan. Well, actually it was only 1900 Yuan because they held out 100 yuan (5%) for taxes. That is better than the 60% that I was told they would be taking out for taxes. Not only that, but I find out that it is not taxable income in the U S, so now I am really happy. I am so happy that I agree to take mother out for a $2.00 pizza at Pizza Hut, (well, I actually had to pay a buck sixty for the cab fare also) Mother told me that because of generosity, that my heart was going to swell up to the size of a pea and explode. Today, we invited 4 of our students to our home to teach them how to make hamburger vegetable soup. So I go to the market and buy all of the ingredients. The kids, and two other teachers show up at 5:00 P.M. I give them a good pep talk about how to make great delicious soup. I show them the fresh hamburger and tell them that the hamburger gives flavor to the soup. One of my students looks at the hamburger and tells me it is not hamburger, but it is lamb buirger. Well, so much for the good flavor of hamburger. Well, we start to make to soup. I let them do all the work, They love it. They have never seen a can opener before. (we had to use a can opener to open the canned corn and tomatoes that I bought at the American market.) They thought the can opener was cool, but said they couldn't use one in China because they don't have any cans to open. Well,. good point. Well, anyway we proceed to make the soup. We get all of the ingredients in the soup and it begins to cook. Pretty soon I smell this funny smell. The soup is burning on the bottom of the pan. I try to rescue the soup by pouring it into another pot. No luck. the damage is done. I apologize for the burned soup and tell them it is not fit to eat. They want to try it anyway. They said, it was only a little bit burned and they liked it a lot. Well, they must have ,because they finished it off. Actually I think they were so nice to eat the burned soup. It was awful. I told them I would have them back again and I would try to do it right. They told me that there is a food fair in April and everyong brings ingredients to cook. You must cook it at the actual location of the fair. They want to cook the hamburgetr soup at the food fair. Now I know they are nuts. They must really be hungry to like that burned soup. I agreed to help them cook the soup at the fair. I told them if it gets burned at the fair, they get the credit, if not, I get the credit. Well, we'll see. It is starting to cool down here a little and is now very pleasant. We are going to Beijing on Saturday to shop. We are going to the Silk Market. That is the market that Amber spoke to me about, and wants to go shop there when the 5 ladies come out. I am going to buy a couple of sets of Ping Golf Clubs while I am there and send them home. I don't know if they are knock offs or not, but for the price, I guess I can afford it, and with my new raise for teaching the adult ed class, I can afford them. $125.00 per set, includes the bag, plus I must pay shipping to the U. S. There are many things to do in Beijing. It really takes many days to see it all. We will take the 5 gals there for two or three days of their trip. We will also go to Xi'an where the Terricota warriors were found. We will go to other places also. Some of my students are having fun teaching me Chinese. I have learned a few words, (darn few) The guard still salutes me each time I go by, so he still thinks that I am the Base General. He always stops traffic and lets me cross the street and salutes me as I go by. I like that kind of a person. No one ever salutes me in America, not even mother or any of you kids. Boy life is good here. I am finially getting the respect that I have long deserved. Well, enjoy what is left of your good night's rest. It is 9:40 P.M. and time to go to bed. Have a great day. I love you all. Dad