Old Zhang is a neighbor from downstairs, usually described as a jovial, portly man. On the morning after the earthquake, he appears at Yu Molan's door wearing a wet undershirt, hair messy, eyes bloodshot and bulging. He desperately asks for extra food, telling how the supermarket was smashed and people looted. He only managed to grab a few packets of instant noodles and a bottle of unlabeled soy sauce. He offers to pay double, his demeanor like a dying beast. Yu Molan refuses him, and he turns to leave, muttering.
