The chapter opens with a soliloquy by the narrator, who says that he loves his fiancee, but that he doesn't know how to solve their problems. He tells her that he's going to a business trip and that they need time to think about their future. He then tells her about his job, which is to supervise a company that is doing research about a new flavor of instant noodles. He asks her if she would accept a higher price for the noodles, and she says that she would rather accept a lower price. The narrator then tells the story of how he learned how to make the diet dumplings. He says that his friend mailed him the dumplings from the province ofguangxi, and he can make the dumplings for her sometimes. He also says that the dumplings contain pepper powder, licorice powder, sugar and plum powder, which will make them sweet and sour. He gives her an after-meal snack, which he says she can make for him sometimes. She tells him that her new job is as assistant to wang, and that wang is from a well-known company in the industry. She says that her management skills will not be inferior to hers, because she's been working for the company for a long time and has been taking mba classes. The company needs a new manager, she says, and wang has a lot of experience in running a large company. She adds that she was the Vice President of the company, which means that her salary went up because she was more experienced in running the company.