Nicholas Quirke was summonsed along with the inhabitants of Chao Chang Yuan neighbourhood to the Chao Chang Yuan park for a free Nucleic acid test on 23 January 2020. This was a precautionary action to make sure that the area was clear and there was had been no contact with the strains of COVID that were starting to appear in parts of the city. When breakfast was out of the way they walked the short distance to the makeshift centre where he was successfully enrolled and it was noted that the authorities recognised Peng’s name from his association with the ’Laowai’. It was an efficient testing and with the swab down his throat for only seconds completely painless. He had completed a full week at work and his weight loss gave him another win over Peng for getting to the target first and he really felt it was time to treat himself. Replacing the lost Moscot sunglasses was never far from his mind and this was the perfect time to celebrate with a purchase. They went to Lafayette Mall in Xidan where an outlet stocked Moscot’s and he hoped he could order a pair from them. They were stockists but were unable to order any for him and he felt disappointed by the failure to get hold of them. He hoped to cheer himself up with lunch of an avocado salad at Bottega in Tai Koo Li but despite the nice surroundings, with a distinct western ambience, his lunch ended up consisting of mostly lettuce leaves with 3 chunks of the promised roasted pumpkin a couple of Mange Tout, a few cherry tomatoes and quarter of an avocado. In fact, just like some parsimonious restaurants he was familiarin the west. They did not stay out as Peng still had another cupboard in the kitchen to dispose of and more de-cluttering to achieve. With the minimising nearing completion the hungry eye, preparing for New Year turned again to Nicholas’s belongings and in particular the clothes that were now too large for him, including the bulky anorak he was quite attached to as he had bought it in Chicago to combat the arctic winds there but which, took up a great deal of room in his suitcase. Many of the clothes he had bought with him felt voluminous and he was more than happy to prune them down and dispose of them. He was actually quite surprised by the small pile that accumulated during his clean out. Once he was done and had his now daily session in the massage chair, all that was left of the day was an evening in front of a film and ‘Sightless’, was a perfect popcorn chiller to ease out of his Saturday on. He still felt fatigued by the weeks work and sleep was a very welcome visitor.