The Art of Advertising

By Huang Jun

Lao Li was looking to rent a house so he flipped through a bunch of rental ads. He came across one of the advertisements which wrote,“Low rent,located in the suburbs with fresh flowers outside your window to keep you company all year long and countless stone carvings for your enjoyment…”

Lao Li was quite pleased. He felt like this was exactly the kind of place he was looking for. He moved his stuff in and a friend of his asked him,“How’s the new place?”

Lao Li,long-faced,said,“It’s exactly like the ad said. It’s just that outside my window is a cemetery.”

(FromSelected Literature. Translation: Sam Bowden)