watermelon
The Watermelon
by Shi-min
At the Restaurant
“You could always teach biology at a school,” suggested my colleague as we sat in a restaurant.
At first I took it as an insult…but then I realized that…he was right.
I had no other recourse at this point: barring a miracle, I was going to be made redundant (laid off) from my research position at the Institute of Horticulture.
I dreaded my prospects.
Village School
Indeed before becoming a researcher, I had taught at a rural, provincial school. The students there displayed little enthusiasm for learning biology.
Most of my energy went into disciplining them.
What was more, my teacher’s pay scarcely covered my living expenses; I was forced to give private lessons to the more serious students to make ends meet.
Ordering
Our discussion was momentarily interrupted by the waiter. My colleague ordered beef broccoli while I had the lemon chicken.
For drinks, I choose the special of the day, plum brandy.
“And you sir? What would you like?” the waiter asked my colleague.
“I’ll have a cup of tea,” he replied.
“In this weather? Don’t want the special…or at least something cold?” I asked him.
“No thanks.”
An Allergy
After the waiter had left, my friend explained how he was allergic to alcohol. At his graduation celebration, an uncle had given him a bottle of cognac as a present. “This comes all the way from FRANCE!” he said proudly.
His uncle then opened the bottle, filled up a cup and handed it to my friend. “I took a gulp—and nearly retched!”
At the Institute
The following day at the institute, the rector summoned me to his office. He informed me that the budget was tight and that I hadn’t been able to come up with any new, useful varieties of watermelons.
I reminded him of the novel variants that I had come up with through selective and cross breeding: melons with orange and yellow flesh; spherical, oblong—and even square—morphologies. Those with larger and fewer seeds. All white and all green rind melons. And I had others in the works…but to no avail.
The News
“I’ve told before, all of those varieties have already been developed and are on the market,” he said.
I’m sorry to be blunt, but we can no longer justify your being here. You have until the end of the week to clear out your laboratory.”
Packing Up
After spending the whole morning gathering and packing my things, I picked up my last experimental watermelon, one that was supposed to have an extended shelf life, and went into the break room.
There I found my colleague finishing his lunch.
Lunch
Lucky him, I though. He was conducting research on something more lucrative—bananas.
Taking a knife from the drawer, I cut out a slice. But the blade was dull. I offered the slice to Shi Min, then returned to the drawer to get a sharper knife…
“Bbblllllaaahh!” I heard him cry out.
I turned around just in time to see him spit out a bite onto the table.
“This watermelon,” he said gasping, “tastes like….like…cognac!”
1. Who were the writer and his colleague?
2. What did his colleague suggest? Why?
3. Was the main character thrilled at that prospect? Why or why not?
4. Describe the colleague’s tastes.
5. The writer and his colleague were equally successful at the Institute of Horticulture. Yes or no?
6. What happened in the end? What might happen next?
A. Have you had any ideas or suggestions for an innovation? Have you come up with your own invention or innovation?
B. What would you like to see invented or developed?
C. Inventors usually make big money. Yes or no?
