Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (paragraph 5)

The boy's disguise themselves as city men who come to get folk songs from the old miller. By being polite and enjoying the company of the old miller the boys are able to get the old miller to sing the songs. It is surprising how much fun they actually have at the miller's home, playing music, singing songs and laughing. I guess that goes to show that no matter how poor a person is, they can still laugh and be fun to visit with. When Luo and the narrator return to Four Eyes with the songs written down on paper, Four Eyes is unhappy with the material. He doesn't think the songs are appropriate for the commune authorities because the material, he thought, was too erotic. I can understand how important the songs are to Four Eyes because they are his ticket off of the mountain and back to the city where he could have a job. But it is ironic to take a piece of his countries real culture and change it just to fit the ideal culture for the commune authorities. Four eyes doesnt give the boys any books because he claims that the material is useless and that he has to change them all. As a result the boys are furious. Four Eyes seems to be very selfish and not a good friend.