There is a social exchange between these two groups of individuals, where not only a sharing of food, but also a sharing of thoughts is evident. The couple seems to be free in life, but in reality they place restrictions not only on themselves but also on other people. Fangfang asks if the boy is the man's son, and then continues: "And your wife?" (p15) Within this conversation there is a projection of how things should happen, which supports the image of perfection and a perfect world with relationships between father and son, husband and wife. The man and boy show that even though their lives aren't perfect, this young couple might think they have enough love to be happily ever after. The child has the cage with locusts, which symbolizes the Chinese people, who are closed in their thoughts and who have no idea how they live in the world. When the man gets up and leaves the conversation they were having, life intervenes and suddenly the control they were trying to have is taken away, and “We felt the cold of the mountain air.” (p15) Their perfect ideology of what is perfect, gets a concept of reality on it and changes the whole illusion they live in, as life begins to breathe above