YOU’VE GOT QUESTIONS?SHE’S GOT ANSWERS

As a local, what is your opinion on the 2020 Beijing Michelin Guide that was just released?

Food-Lover Fred

How nice! A guide for 滴滴司機 (dīdī sījī, Didi drivers) to find out where to eat. No? What do you mean? That 輪胎人 (lúntāirén, tire man) in the car repair shops is trying to tell the Chinese what good food is? That’s 荒唐 (huāngtang,ridiculous)! Who gave a 法國造輪胎的 (Fǎguó zào lúntāi de,French tiremaker) any authority on 中國菜 (Zhōngguó cài,Chinese food)? 太糟糕了! (Tài zāogāo le! Terrible!) Do they think they can just throw in a few 烤鴨 (kǎoyā, roast duck)places and people will think it’s authentic? No one I know is going to buy this guide. It’s all to 忽悠 (hūyou, trick) those 外地人 (wàidìrén, non-locals), who are 人傻錢多 (rén shǎ qián duō, fools with money).

I am a 34-year-old man who was forced to watch Frozen II five times by my young daughter. ShouId I be worried?

LittIe EIsa’s Dad

太不像話了！(Tài bú xiànghuà le! How appalling!) Letting your own daughter be 腐蝕 (fǔshí, corrupted) by 封建迷信(fēngjiàn míxìn, feudal superstition), and indulging her in nonsense like “Every girl is a 公主 (gōngzhǔ, princess)!”We live in a 社會主義社會 (shèhuì zhǔyì shèhuì, socialist society) now! No one is going to treat you any more 特別 (tèbié, special) than anyone else, unless your parents are rich and powerful. All that rubbish about magic—just stop 欺騙 (qīpiàn, deceiving) her. Tell her the ugly truth, 越早越好 (yuè zǎo yuè hǎo, the earlier the better). Or, stop whining and start working hard so your daughter can be a富二代 (fù’èrdài, rich second-generation)—that’s the only superpower that counts!

Got questions for our Agony Ayi? Send them to agonyayi@theworldofchinese.com

Rime, or wusong(霧凇), forms when super-chilled fog freezes on pine branches. It is one of the best-known sights of Jilin province in China’s northeast.