4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Final rendering: Mr. Li came to collect the rent and said, "I'm sorry, but I forgot to bring the receipt. I'll bring it by tomorrow, O.K.?" Discussion: Please see http://homepage.mac.com/moogoonghwa/tsongkit/part2/II-10-g.html#s2 for further discussion. Acknowledgement: I would like to thank both redred and Evelyn for their very useful explanations and Bill Mak and li cullen for their confirmatory support. I believe I now understand both the use of "old" and "uncle" in the Chinese context. As Evelyn suggests, however, in the absence of greater literary context, it is difficult to know how to incorporate the address form 老 into the translation. I find it equally difficult, however, to use only the last name in the absence of a title. Although this is sometimes done in English, it does not necessarily imply the social relationship apparently implied by 老. In the end I think wherestip's suggestion and a brief explanation is best suited for the Tsong Kit site. http://homepage.mac.com/moogoonghwa/tsongkit/phonics2.html Best wishes from the land of no mountains surrounded by sea on many sides."