中国大陆的父亲节，和美国的父亲节是“同一天”。我那99%反美的老父亲，很高兴我记得给他打电话。一口气发表的讲演，长达40分钟。内容嘛，一定少不了中国的前途，和个人的 “钱”景。

To me, "father" meant little when I was young. I grew up in an apartment that used to be Zhejiang University's faculty housing. It had two rooms. The hall way in front of our door was divided into two sections: the half against the railing was used as an open kitchen, and the other half, for through traffic. One day, my father decided to cook something, which was unusual when our grandma was in good health, everone in the building (of 32 units in all on two floors of a rectangular shape with a huge open space in the middle) knew someone made a mistake: He poured in sesame oil instead of vegetable oil!

A two-room apartment was fine when it was only grandma, mom, brother, and me. On weekend, my father would come home, and his "old comrades" would come to discuss "big issues." I guess I was used to a quiet home, so I complained one day: "We are better off when you are away!" Our grandma decided it's time to teach me something: "Little One, do you know who brings home the money to buy food?" I learnt to behave myself, because I knew we needed money for food.

During the late stage of the Cultrual Revolution, my father took a new job nearby. He became a "permanent member" of the family, finally, and I became his little tail, when he went to visit his old friends on weekends. When I graduated from high school, I signed up for "being re-educated by farmers" right away because I decided that I didn't want to be a factory worker. I was "promised" to get a job at my father's research institute because the policy then allowed a parent to retire and let his/her child to fill the "position." (What a deal!)

My naive decision to go to the countryside in summer 1977 changed everything in the family. Some of the changes I could feel right away, and some may have had much deeper and long-lasting impacts on me, my older brother, and my parents. Since then, it was no longer the money (which of course helped a lot) but the consistent presence of my father in my life. Sometimes, his lecture was unwelcomed, but I know he loves me very much.