The story is about a businessman who is desolate. He becomes bored in his day-to-day affairs at the office and decides to contact some of his customers personally. It was published posthumously in Beim Bau der Chinesischen Mauer (Berlin, 1931). The first English translation by Willa and Edwin Muir was published by Martin Secker in London in 1933. It appeared in The Great Wall of China. Stories and Reflections (New York: Schocken Books, 1946)