Eventide Stars Over Southern Tibet

Xu Nanheng was still 1000 kilometers away from Lhasa. He grew increasingly agitated as he drove. When he disembarked for a smoke he found that he had no lighter in his pocket. Just as he was about to kick his car’s tire out of frustration, a man flicked a flint wheel, a small flame jumping out, placed at the end of his cigarette. Under the night stars, this was the only face that Xu Nanheng had found agreeable in many months. “Are you heading to Lhasa?” Fang Shiyou asked, “Can you bring me along? My car broke down, name your price.” Xu Nanheng narrowed his eyes: “Five hundred.” Fang Shiyou: “You’re a kindhearted man.” ……Damn it, asked for too little. · Xu Nanheng was teaching in Sou...