Meanwhile, he pricked up his ears, eavesdropping on the sounds of Wu's disciplining his daughter downstairs.
Clearly, Wu resorted to physical force.
Judging by the noises, Chen Yan roughly deduced that Wu probably used something like a bamboo stick to give little Angie a severe beating.
In North America, hitting children is illegal, but in such an Eastern family as Wu's, these things don't matter.
Angie was probably not being disciplined by Wu for the first time, so after a few screams, she sensibly began to cry and beg for mercy.
Eventually, Wu's heart softened.
Father and daughter began to talk; really, it was a scolding and a timid reply.
But Chen Yan couldn't understand.
Because Wu and his daughter were speaking in a dialect unfamiliar to Chen Yan.
Chen Yan only guessed that it might be a dialect from around Zhejiang.
Damn it, Chen Yan lamented silently.
I can't understand a word.
Can't enjoy the commotion.
