Читать книгу The Pearl Jacket and Other Stories - Shouhua Qi - Страница 31

Ma Baoshang

Hai Chuan just got married. The bride’s name was Goldie.

One day that year Japanese devils came to Little Village and massacred so many folks that its river turned bloody red. The Japs’ atrocities lit the fire of hatred in the hearts of the villagers. That same evening, a group of young men, led by Yang, were ready to go into the mountains to join the guerrillas.

Hai Chuan, however, didn’t want to leave his newly married bride behind. Disappointed, Goldie said: I thought I had married a real man, not a chicken-hearted sissy.

His face reddening, Hai Chuan said: All right, just you wait for the day I’m back with a few Japs’ skulls for you to pee in.

A smile blossomed on Goldie’s face: That’s my man! You go and join the guerrillas and I’ll wait for you, eight years, ten years, a lifetime, no matter.

So Hai Chuan went with Yang and the group of young men into the mountains.

Eight months later Goldie gave birth to a son and named him Little Chuan.

Goldie waited for eight years. Hai Chuan didn’t return, saying he had to go on to fight Chiang Kai-shek now that the Japs were gone. So Goldie waited for another three years. Still Hai Chuan didn’t return, saying he had to go to Korea to fight the Americans. So Goldie waited for a few more years. Then, she was told that Hai Chuan, now a general, didn’t want her any more even though she had waited for him for so many years; he had married a modern city girl.

Goldie cried for three days and nights. On the fourth day she went to the village river to wash her tears and sorrow. She buried her anger and sadness deep down and placed all her hope on bringing up her son as best she could. As time flew by like water in the river, Goldie’s world began to shine with hope and promise. Whenever folks praised Goldie, they would have a few unkind words about the heartless Hai Chuan. It was in such an environment that Little Chuan finally grew up, got married, and became a father himself. One day, his son asked him:

“Pa, everybody else has a grandma and grandpa, why me, only grandma, but no grandpa?”

Little Chuan muttered angrily: “Grandma is all we need. Who cares about Grandpa!”

Now, General Hai Chuan finally retired. Every day he walked with his birds and watered his flowers while reliving his past in his mind. All the fierce battles he had fought, big and small, became a blur gradually as the dust of time settled in his memory. In their place re-emerged the picture of a little village where he grew up, a little river that had nourished him, and a bride he had left behind many years ago. Sorrow would hit him and hit him hard. Goldie must be in her 70s now. And the son. Yes, the son must be about 50 years old, too. The old general missed his home village badly. One day he returned, with a deep sense of guilt, and stood in front of Goldie.

“Goldie, I’ve wronged you. . . . ”

Goldie was calm as the cloudless autumn sky. She called in her son, and then her grandson, to meet the guest. “This is your grandpa,” she said to her grandson. The old general burst into tears. He didn’t dare to say anything tender to Little Chuan, but gathered his grandson in his arms and kissed him like mad.

The old general had been used to being treated like an important guest, but being treated like this in his own “home” made him feel awkward and heavy-hearted. He was especially saddened by the coldness his own son, Little Chuan, showed him. During dinner that evening wine was served. After a few cups, the old general didn’t feel well and turned in early. When he woke up, the light was still on in the outer room. Someone was saying something. It was Goldie:

“Listen to me, Little Chuan, your pa stepped forward when our country was in grave danger. He fought in so many wars, going into battles with his head in his hand, not knowing whether he would live or die the next instant. He is a real man. If he owes anything to anyone, he owes it to me alone. Whatever he owed to you, I made it up on his behalf long ago. If you treat your pa like that again, I won’t let you get away with it. . . . ”

Tears gushed down his cheeks as the battle-hardened old general lay on the kang and listened. He thought, “Goldie is a piece of real, genuine gold! How in the world could I have abandoned her?”

(2001)