IN Nanjing

I've been In Nanjing coming on 3 years now. I live in a typical apartment on the third floor of a typical apartment building. My next door neighbor has 3 chickens. Or are they roosters? Anyway don't matter. In the morning when I leave to go teach my class, she is taking them outside. They follow her down the stairs, out the door and down some more stairs. She sits, gossips, plays cards and mahjong. The chickens peck at the cement, chase the other ladies little dogs, and cock-a-doodle-do. At lunch time she gathers the chickens with a little whistle through her pressed lips. The chickens follow her up the stairs, in the door, up some more stairs and into her apartment. This has been going on now for nearly a year now. The chickens are at what can be described as a pretty good eatin size. It saddens me to think that pretty soon there will only be 2, then 1, then no chickens following her out the door and down the stairs to peck at the cement, chase the other ladies little dogs and cock-a-doodle-do. However what saddens me even more is that I am fairly certain that I will not be invited to dinner.