ce he was not only handsome and amiable but also open-handed and untiring in his pursuit of her, the attraction and the love soon proved mutual (p. 147-8).
Indeed, Li Chia spends so much time and money on Tu Shih-Niang that by the end of two years he is broke and has no real apartment to call his own. Instead of finding a position of some sort with a stipend that would help rectify this situation, he appears to live off of Tu Shih-Niang's generosity. His friends are embarrassed for him. His father is worried for him. The "mother" who runs the house wants him gone so that she can make money off of Tu Shih-Niang again. To Tu Shih-Niang, however, he is her love a
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