"Can minors have their pictures taken? I want one too!" After seeing the photo on the Identity Card, the little boy in the crowd immediately grabbed the clerk and pressed him for answers. It was truly something fresh. In this day and age, forget photographs—even portraits that looked this lifelike were nowhere to be found. And since a photograph could be preserved forever, its significance was naturally different. It held tremendous commemorative value.
"You can have your picture taken, of course, but you'll have to pay for it yourself. The authorities only handle Identity Card photographs, so they won't take one for someone in your situation. However, there's a Photo Studio in Hanyang City. I heard it'll officially open on New Year's Day. If you want a picture, have your parents take you there then." As he explained, the clerk gave the Photo Studio a round of publicity.
But as soon as the clerk finished speaking, the child pushed through the crowd and ran off at full speed. He had to go home and tell his parents to get Identity Cards, and he wanted to tag along and see what exactly having one's picture taken was.
The boy raced all the way home. Before he even reached the gate, he was already shouting as he ran, "Dad! Mom! The authorities are issuing Identity Cards, and they'll even take your picture for free! Hurry up and go!"
When he entered the courtyard, the boy saw his father chopping wood. The towering stack of firewood was almost as high as the eaves. The remaining month of winter heating and cooking would all depend on that pile. His mother, meanwhile, was feeding the livestock. The boy's family was fairly well-off: they had a whole litter of rabbits, four fat pigs, and more than