The narrator explains that he has borrowed 800 dollars to buy the family's silk factory. He explains that the price is too high, and that his brother will accept it. The narrator tells the reader that the loan will allow him to go abroad to study. He says that he is a victim of the "ugly market," and that the other day, the second duan's son asked him to sell him a place at the school, but he refused, saying that it was an "outcurricular activity." The narrator says that it is hard to believe that the duan son is a "shame to the school." He adds that the school needs to reconsider his character, since he is not a wealthy person. He also says that the second son has already agreed to sell the shop for 1200 dollars, but that there is still "room for negotiation." If the loan is not approved, the narrator says, he will go and find another buyer for the shop.