He found the right door, went upstairs, and before he could even open the door, he heard a series of “da-da-da…” sounds. He turned his head and saw, tumbling and bouncing down the stairs, an unremarkable glass marble. David Walker had just taken out his key to open the door, and the marble, as if guided, landed right in his half-open hand holding the key. David Walker laughed, “Damn, this is my lucky star! How could it be such a coincidence!” David Walker didn’t go home after all, turned around, and went out again.

On a small street, in a little tavern, he sat down, ordered a bottle of liquor and a cold platter, and started drinking in silence. He thought of his lucky star, fished it out of his pocket, and examined it closely. It was just the kind of toy kids usually play with—he’d played with them as a child too. But nowadays, few kids play with these; now it’s all about electric toys costing six or seven hundred, even thousands. The last time he accompanied a fellow villager to buy a toy for his nephew—damn! That toy cost as much as David Walker’s monthly salary. Only then did he realize how precious kids are these days!

After a couple of glances and a few sips, with everything going wrong and his heart full of frustration, David Walker was already a bit tipsy after a few drinks.

After finishing the liquor and paying the bill, David Walker left the tavern, staggering. His stomach churned, and he rushed to a small tree and vomited with a loud “wah”—it felt as if his guts had turned inside out, so uncomfortable!

After vomiting messily, David Walker actually felt clearer, and his vision was less blurry. Suddenly, he thought he saw a pinkish shadow flicker before his eyes. Looking down, he saw several hundred-yuan bills lying on the ground! David Walker thought he was seeing things, bent down to pick them up, and found they were stained with his own vomit. He wiped them clean and looked closely—sure enough, it was the beloved Chairman Mao’s portrait!

“Heh heh!” David Walker chuckled, “No need to worry about paying the rent now…” He stuffed the money into his pocket and staggered home. He stumbled up to the third floor, fumbled with his key for a long time before finally opening the door, and collapsed into bed.

The next day, the landlord’s knocking woke him up. “Time to pay the rent, time to pay the rent!” It was the landlord’s second visit. David Walker shook his head, took a few bills from his pocket, counted them—exactly four hundred yuan. He opened the door and handed all the money to the landlord. The landlord was a middle-aged woman, broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, but with a heart as small as a needle’s eye. She never missed a cent of rent or utilities; even if you owed her fifty cents, she’d wait at your door for three days until you paid up. David Walker couldn’t be bothered to say much, handed over the money, and slammed the door shut.

After a night’s sleep, though his head still ached badly, he was at least clear-headed. Looking around, “bare walls and nothing else.” If he hadn’t had that stroke of luck last night, he’d probably have had to stay in all day today, hungry and afraid to go out—the landlord would surely be guarding downstairs. He felt around—he was penniless again. Though the rent was paid, he was out of food.

It had been three months since graduation, and David Walker had already changed jobs three times. The shortest one was the one he lost yesterday—he’d only worked there for less than a day. Thinking back to yesterday, that old man in his forties or fifties, still just a lowly department manager, was spitting as he spoke: “Here, I’m the boss, what I say goes! If I tell you to work overtime, you work overtime. If I tell you to do something, you do it. No matter what anyone else says, I’m in charge here…” David Walker shook his head. At that age, still just a department manager, only able to vent his anger on a bunch of fresh graduates—how pitiful!

But David Walker didn’t have much time to pity others. The most pitiful person now was himself. He’d drunk too much yesterday, his stomach was upset today, and he didn’t feel like eating. He didn’t have to worry about lunch, but what about tonight, and tomorrow?

Something under his butt was poking him uncomfortably. He took it out and saw it was yesterday’s lucky star. David Walker laughed, “Could you really be my lucky star?” David Walker looked at the marble. The pattern inside seemed different from ordinary marbles, and the color was a bit unusual—a kind of amber, and the pattern inside looked more like a patch of chaos than a design.

David Walker held the marble in his hands: “If I go out now and manage to get a meal without spending money, then you really are my lucky star.” He put the marble away and went out.

It was just past eleven, not many people were eating yet. David Walker walked past one restaurant after another, but had no luck. He sighed, mocking himself: There’s no such thing as a lucky star, I never used to be superstitious…

He wandered around a couple more times. By noon, it was getting hotter and hotter. David Walker found a shady spot under a roadside tree to rest for a bit. Just as he turned to leave, suddenly someone rushed over and knocked David Walker to the ground. The man wasn’t particularly strong, and after knocking David Walker down, he himself stumbled and fell to the ground. Several people rushed up from behind and pinned the man to the ground.