After taking a nap, Ah Hong opened his eyes, stretched his arms, and asked his wife doubtfully, “That’s it?”

The dishes were set on the table: Asparagus, fried eggplant, mushrooms, brown rice, salad, and vegetable soup, lemon juice, orange juice, and tortillas. It took his wife a while to cook it all. Ah Hong thought of a story:

Several hundred years ago, there was a poor student, named Lu. When he traveled to Han Dan, a southern city in China, he stayed in a hotel. The owner of hotel was ready to cook rice and invited Lu to eat with him. After the long trip, Lu was very tired and went to sleep unintentionally. Lu dreamed of marrying a daughter from a rich family. Then luckily he passed an examination, took a government job, and even got a promotion to the prime minister of the country. All of his business were smooth, and he had a successful career. At last he had a happy and long life. When Lu woke up, the rice was still cooking on the stove.

What had happened to Lu? Why did the dream feel so real? Ah Hong shook his head and ate his food quietly.

蘆筍、茄子、香菇、糙米飯、 煎餅 、番茄、 鱷梨、 青菜湯、檸檬汁、 橘子汁，粗茶淡飯。不禁想起一個故事來：從前有一位盧姓窮書生，路過一家旅店歇息。睡著了，做了個夢。夢見自己娶了一位富貴人家的千金為妻；又赴京趕考中進士，仕途順利，還做了宰相，享盡榮華富貴。一直到老，終其天年。醒來，爐灶上的黃粱米穀還沒蒸熟；可是夢中的情境卻非常真實。

人生短短，除了飽食外；生命的真實意義 卻在哪裡？

Life is too short, not only for eating. What's the real meaning for in your life?