FADE IN.
Act 1
INT. RESTAURANT - 14:00
PETER and his WIFE are seated.
PETER (V.O.): How nice it is to have lunch with my wife on a Tuesday.
Having read the menu, they do their orders.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The last time we visited Taiwan was Spring 2019...
Rice, noodles, snacks and drinks are being served.
PETER: Wow, they look good.
WIFE: They're pricey too.
Peter samples the food and drinks.
PETER: High quality, as expected.
Act 2
FLASHBACK
INT. RESTAURANT, TAI-TIONG - DAY (2015)
Together with other TOURISTS, Peter buys a cup of Bubble Milk Tea.
PETER (V.O.): I am not keen on the tea. Since here is said to be its origin, I just act like a been-there-done-that tourist.
Drinking.
PETER (Cont'd): It tastes normal. I don't know what to expect actually.
INT. RESTAURANT. TAIPEI - DAY (2019)
Peter and his wife are sharing some minced pork rice with soy sauce.
PETER: It looks different from the one we had in Wulai hot spring district.
WIFE: The flavours vary from place to place.
INT. HOT-STAR STORE, HONG KONG - DAY (2021)
Peter buys some chicken cutlets to take away.
PETER (V.O.): They're as yummy as those my family had in the chain's main store in Shilin district.
RETURN TO PRESENT
Peter then takes a closer look of a drink coaster.
PETER (V.O.): 春水 (Spring Flood)...
Peter tries to remember something.
PETER: There's a famous poetic phrase on that...
WIFE: It's 恰似一江春水向東流 (As much as the Spring flood flowing East).
PETER: Oh yes, it's the closing image.
PETER: What's the phrase before that?
As they try to remember, Peter seeks assistance from his smartphone.
PETER (Cont'd):It's 問君能有幾多愁? (How much sorrow can one has?)
Pausing.
PETER(Cont'd): Can you remember the name of the author?
WIFE: He's Li Yu, the poet-King of Southern Tang - during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.
PETER: Oh, I don't know about that.
Checking.
PETER (Cont'd): Oh, Li Yu was the last King of Southern Tang. He surrendered to his Song conqueror.
Peter recites the poet-King's other poetic phrases enthusiastically.
PETER (Cont'd): Aren't they beautiful?
WIFE: He was a scholar, but useless in arms.
PETER: Oh, I recall there's an idiom on that too!
Peter surfs the web again.
PETER (Cont'd): Oh yes! It's 百無一用是書生 (Scholars are absolutely useless).
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.): Oh 書生 (Scholars) ! When I was young, I wanted to become one.
Act 3
INT. RESTAURANT - 14:30
Finishing his Red Bean Bubble Tea, Peter is in thoughts.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But the poet-King's ink lasts much longer than any martyrs' blood.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Li's literary works done over 1000 years ago are still being learned.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): He has left a great literary legacy - China's treasure actually.
THE END.
FADE OUT
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