Читать книгу Dragon's Gate - Vivian Bi - Страница 10

Chapter Two: Mildew

I

Spring was not a good season in Beijing. If it followed a dry winter, all of May would be blasted by sandstorms, the wind blowing dust into every corner. The sun would be blotted out and the world silenced by the wind’s howls.

If spring followed a wet winter, mildew would impose its rule. Once it arrived in a Beijing home, a tiny green spot would bloom in no time to tens of thousands, forming green carpets of various shapes. Its green colour blanketed all other colours and its smell was nauseating.

The heavy snowfall at the beginning of that year ushered in an unprecedentedly long mildew season. After the snow melted into the ground, the damp reinforced the mildew until, even after the arrival of the early summer sun, the green patches refused to retreat.

Seeing the sun, the residents of No. 10 rushed outside with their clothes and bedding, jockeying for space on the clothes lines. Ropes were tied between the four trees at the corners of the front courtyard to create a web of lines. Normally, when these lines were fully laden, the yard resembled the sun terrace of a dye house with its many shapes and hues. This summer, since the new slogan of “Destroy the Four Olds” – old ideas, old culture, old customs and old habits – had been introduced, the display was very subdued. The traditional flora and fauna print quilt covers had all been dyed a solid blue or grey, along with any garments of a bright colour.

It was mid-afternoon, the quietest time in No. 10. People were not yet back from work or school and the night shifters were still sleeping. Sun Lanfen sat next to her quilt hanging on the line, sewing patches over the tears. Her two teenage sons were restless sleepers and often ripped the quilt. She enjoyed this rare moment of leisure working under the sun. The bright light and fresh air eased the tightness in her chest brought on by the mildew.

Whenever people put their clothes out in full force, Sun Lanfen would find excuses to sit outside. It was a good opportunity to discover the secrets of other families. A needless new garment could mean someone had come into extra money, which needed to be known; the yellowed edge of a quilt indicated laziness, which deserved a lecture; cloud-shaped water marks on a sheet meant a child had wet the bed so its mother must be told the traditional remedy. Today, her eyes were caught by the multicoloured patchwork quilt of the Shi family. Its loud colours stood out in the grove of plain fabric so much that she could not help walking over and turning it over. She shook her head and sighed. “This Old Shi!”

Lin Guiru appeared at the gateway. “Mrs Sun, thank you. The inside definitely needs to be aired.” Seeing Sun Lanfen fiddling with her family’s belongings, she rushed over and called out to head off any further embarrassing nosiness.

Sun Lanfen was not at all embarrassed. Instead, she asked Lin Guiru to give her a hand to match both sides of the quilt exactly so that the patchwork on the underside would be completely concealed.

“Take a look,” she said, pointing her chin at the other clothes lines, then resumed her seat on the stool. “Who else has this ostentatious kind of thing? You’ve worked in the propaganda team for months now so you should know better. I know this quilt took a lot of hard work but you can at least put it away for now, can’t you?”

Looking around, Lin Guiru could see Sun Lanfen had a point, but she was still stung by her sarcasm. “Thank you for pointing this out.” She put on a reverent expression. “You know, my husband has had no time for anything. He’s been helping Professor Ruan all these months, building bookcases, fixing the floor and painting the walls. We haven’t thanked you properly yet. If you hadn’t recommended him, we wouldn’t have all this pocket money.”

This seemed to placate Sun Lanfen, but Lin Guiru went on: “Wangcai really respects you. Your words are his decree. Every day, except for his few hours’ sleep, he’s sold himself to the house in the rear yard. That’s why the quilt cover and other things never got dealt with.”

“What about you?” Sun Lanfen was no fool. “Isn’t this your home as well? Or maybe you’ve already thought about changing?” She stood up and walked over. Lin Guiru regretted her retaliation, but it was too late to avoid hearing what she feared she was going to hear.

“Your job is promoting Chairman Mao’s thought. Chairman Mao says that we come together for one revolutionary goal, and so we need to help one another. If Professor Ruan is not worthy of help, Wang Tong’s wife certainly is.”

Lin Guiru closed her eyes at the mention of Wang Tong. “That’s it,” she said to herself and her face began to burn.

“You know she has terrible asthma,” Sun Lanfen went on. “The pollen and mildew have nearly finished her off. She can’t even sleep flat. Have you ever thought of giving her a hand? It’s easy, just spare her husband for a couple of days so he can look after her.”

“Mrs Sun, I’m only a team member and Mr Wang is our leader. How can I order him around?”

Sun Lanfen stepped closer and looked into her eyes with an earnestness she rarely exhibited. “Guiru, you have a wonderful husband and a cosy home. Don’t abandon them. We’re not fools. All the excitement will die down eventually.”

Before Lin Guiru could react, Sun Lanfen rushed over to the gateway calling out: “Ah, Mr Dong, you’ve been shopping!”

Mr Dong was walking his bicycle in with a big box strapped to the rear rack. Sun Lanfen scanned the contents of the box. “Heavens! Have you just robbed the co-op? Is it someone’s birthday today?” She rifled through the box with one hand, lifting the sheets draped on the clothes lines with the other hand to make a path for Mr Dong.

Mr Dong’s face wore an unusually cheerful smile. “I want to cook something nice for the kids. If you like, come and have a bite.” He leaned his bicycle against his window and carried the box inside.

Lin Guiru went home, entering the kitchen quietly to avoid waking her husband, who still worked night shift. She poured herself a glass of water and sat down at the dining table. In a few hours, she would leave for yet another week-long tour with Wang Tong. She always felt a bit uneasy before going away with him although she looked forward to it. Today she felt particularly bad because of what Sun Lanfen had said.

She and Wang Tong were perfect revolutionary comrades-in-arms. When they worked together, they came up with wonderful ideas. So Lin Guiru agreed with Wang Tong that their love affair was not licentious but a sacred union, like the ones portrayed in revolutionary literature. But hearing Sun Lanfen proclaim that no one was fooled shook her confidence. Shi Wangcai’s silence was more irritating than ever because he gave nothing away. Why didn’t he challenge her so she could tell him point blank how pure and sublime was the love between her and Wang Tong?

From the window she saw the corners of their quilt lifted by a breeze, exposing its colours. “I’ll fix it now and not give you any more excuse for ridicule,” she murmured, and set out her dyeing pot.

As she went to fetch the quilt, Dong Pingshun walked into the courtyard with a young woman. She was not a beauty but her smooth fair skin was eye-catching.

After his ordeal with university admission, Pingshun had become virtually mute in public. But today he nodded to Sun Lanfen and Lin Guiru with a shy smile playing on his thin dark face.

Sun Lanfen greeted him. “Pingshun, you’re back. Is this a colleague of yours?” She looked the girl up and down, not attempting to hide her curiosity.

Pingshun was just about to reply when Sun Lanfen asked more directly, “Is she your girlfriend?”

Pingshun turned red, but the girl, natural and poised, opened her mouth. “My name is Li Mei. I’m Pingshun’s colleague and his girlfriend.”

Just then Mr Dong opened his door. He had changed into smart clothes and his face lit up with pleasure. Obviously this was a pre-arranged meeting.

“Mr Dong, I don’t think we will be tasting your cooking skills tonight. Am I right?” Sun Lanfen teased.

Mr Dong changed the subject to cover his embarrassment. “You see how hopeless our Ermei is. She knew we were having a guest today but it’s nearly five and there’s no sign of her.”

“Where are the kids? None of them are here. Is something on at school today?” Sun Lanfen looked at Lin Guiru, who shook her head.

II

West Bridge School was like a prison. Policemen stood guard at the front and rear gates, both closed. After lunch, a teacher had found a reactionary slogan in the library. The slogan involved personal vilification directly pointed at Chairman Mao so the incident was immediately reported to the highest authorities. Four or five police cars arrived within half an hour and more than twenty armed men jumped out and surrounded West Bridge. The school followed the emergency lockdown procedure and nobody was allowed to step outside their classroom or office except for the teacher who, after emotionally recounting so many times how she had found the slogan that she collapsed on the floor, was escorted to the local hospital.

Each of the twenty-four classes ranging from grade one to senior high in West Bridge had about thirty students, and all of them were now being subjected to a group interrogation conducted by one policeman, assisted by two teachers. Shi Ding, Wang Lixin and Dong Ermei were in the second class of the graduating year. A slogan had been written on their blackboard in big characters: “LENIENCY TO THOSE WHO CONFESS, SEVERITY TO THOSE WHO DENY!” The students had been ordered to put their hands on their desks and sit up straight.

The police officer was not tall but he was sturdily built. Clasping his hands behind his back, he paced up and down, his footsteps loud in the deathly quiet classroom. After about ten turns, he stopped and whirled about to face the students. “I know who did it!” he declared to his startled audience. His piercing eyes raked over them. No one moved and no one dared meet his eyes. The students focused on their desks as if something interesting had suddenly caught their eye. The officer went on: “You think you can fool me, and fool our revolutionary masses. You’re wrong! We know who you are but we won’t tell you. Why?” He scanned the room to make sure he had everyone’s full attention. Then he pointed his finger at Wang Lixin, who sat in the back row. “You! Stand up!”

Wang Lixin stood up gingerly.

“Now tell us why we won’t name the perpetrator.”

Wang Lixin looked around for help but no one met his eyes. “Why? Ah …” His eyes lit on the slogan on the blackboard. “Because … ‘leniency to those who confess and severity to those who deny’.” His face was as purple as a pig’s liver.

“Well done! We want to give you a chance to come forward yourself to confess.” The policeman walked up to Wang Lixin, who had just sat down, and grabbed his hands. “Otherwise, we will name you with these.” In an instant, he had hauled a set of handcuffs out of his jacket pocket and locked the handcuffs onto the young man’s wrists.

“Ah!” A girl in the back row stifled a short cry. Wang Lixin slid off his chair and began to whimper: “Uncle Police, I didn’t do it. It was not me …”

“Stop! I didn’t say it was you.” The officer had not expected this drama. He snapped off the handcuffs and helped Wang Lixin sit up. “Oh, damn! Quick, take him outside.” Wang Lixin had wet his pants.

The tallest students sat in the back row. So it was comical when the giant Wang Lixin with his wet bottom and dripping trouser legs was walked out by one of the teachers. There was a muffled laugh which rippled through the room. The other teacher shouted: “Stop laughing! There’s nothing to laugh about.” Everyone stopped laughing immediately except Dong Ermei, who found it too funny to stop. She covered her mouth but couldn’t contain herself and burst out laughing.

By six o’clock, crowds had gathered in front of West Bridge School. Parents had heard the news and had come for their children. Some of the parents cursed the unknown perpetrator and swore to make them pay for their own child’s suffering, while others doubted if this was wise without knowing who was involved. The police guard refused to answer any questions, and when one mother asked what the slogan said, he turned on her: “Do you intend to spread the reactionary slogan? What’s your child’s name?” This silenced everyone until the gate opened.

The principal came out accompanied by a police officer. She gestured for calm. “Comrades and parents, I’m sorry to have kept you waiting so long. Unfortunately, a reactionary slogan was discovered in our school today. We have asked all of our students to write a detailed report of their movements and what they saw between lunchtime and three o’clock. And we –” she paused to clear her voice – “we have already established important leads to the perpetrator.”

“Who is it?” a voice asked.

“Tell us and we’ll punish the bastard,” another echoed.

The policeman shushed the crowds and the principal continued. “Well, our party will never wrong an innocent person. So we’ll make a move when everything becomes crystal clear. Right now, we’re letting the students go home. But no one is allowed to be absent from now until this case is solved.”

Sun Lanfen was in the crowd, glad that she had come. The poor children needed support in these circumstances. After comforting her two boys and sending them home, she had waited for Shi Ding, Wang Lixin and Dong Ermei. Shi Ding and Wang Lixin walked out, looking dispirited.

Sun Lanfen rushed over. “Is everything okay?” Then she realised one person was missing. “Where is Ermei?” The boys lowered their heads. “Excuse me!” She raised her voice. “It wasn’t Ermei, was it? Heaven forbid!” People began to look. “No, no, Aunt Sun. It’s not like that!” Shi Ding tried to stop her. “Then like what? What happened to her?”

When she learned that Ermei had been detained because of her attitude problem, Sun Lanfen went in to see the principal. She used her new status as chairman of the neighbourhood revolutionary committee to bail Dong Ermei out. Hiding behind Sun Lanfen, Ermei emerged with swollen red eyes, looking miserable. At the sight of Shi Ding and Wang Lixin, she began to weep again. “They’re going to keep me in every afternoon until the case is solved. Why am I so unlucky?” she lamented through her tears.

“Why did you laugh? Don’t you know how serious this is?” Sun Lanfen wiped her tears with a handkerchief even as she rebuked her.

“But his bottom was wet.” Ermei pointed at Wang Lixin and her sobs turned to laughter again. “And his trousers, ha, believe me Aunt Sun, they were like waterfalls. Ha, ha, ha … Sorry Wang Lixin, ha, ha …” Sun Lanfen quickly put her hand over the girl’s mouth and cursed through gritted teeth. “You want to die, do you?”

Totally humiliated, Wang Lixin walked home ahead of the others.

Shi Ding secretly enjoyed his feeling of victory. For some time, he had been stung by the increasing closeness of Dong Ermei and Wang Lixin. It had been different before when, no matter how Wang Lixin swaggered in front of Ermei, once homework fell due or a test approached, the big boy could only envy her tight union with Shi Ding. But since the beginning of this semester, half the academic lessons had been replaced by newspaper readings, recitals of Chairman Mao’s quotations, propaganda design and revolutionary performances. The school had even cancelled the mid-semester examinations. As a result, Wang Lixin always had the edge because of his physique and his aura of leadership, buoyed by his father’s new role as chairman of the Beijing Turbine Factory revolutionary committee.

The mildew-like pimples on Shi Ding’s face did not help either. But from today, everything was going to change. Wang Lixin had not only lost face, his masculinity had been damaged. After all, a few transient spots on the face were nothing compared to a huge wet patch on someone’s bottom.

At the gate of No. 10, Sun Lanfen’s attention was caught by a crouching shadow outside the gate. “Who is that?”

“It’s me, Aunt Sun, Xu Yongcai.” The boy stood up. “I’m waiting for Mum and Dad. I don’t have a key.” He was in grade three at West Bridge and was known as a poor student who was regularly punished by his high-achieving parents, like being locked outside for half the night or given no dinner.

“But I told them to give you a key.” Sun Lanfen sounded angry. She gestured at Shi Ding and Ermei for them to go home, then went over to the boy.

Just before Ermei went to her home, Shi Ding whispered, “Trust me! I’ll find the son of a bitch and get you out of detention.” Immediately he felt awkward. It sounded too much like a vow. Worried that he himself might be Ermei’s new laughing stock, he wheeled and sprinted across the yard, leapt up the stairs and landed on the veranda of his home.

It was twilight, a quiet time in the compound when most families were preparing dinner. Night was settling while daylight still hung on high up in the sky. Shi Ding always liked to take in this tranquil scene before entering his house. As he looked up, the eaves and trees at the corners of the courtyard formed a frame, silhouetted against the dark blue sky, the still tableau animated by warm house lights.

He also loved to peer through the kitchen window before opening the front door. His father would be busy cooking and his mother, if she was at home, would be sitting at the dining table talking. As soon as Shi Ding opened the door, their attention would turn to him and his stories. Shi Ding liked to recount what had happened at school and among his friends, and had earned the nickname “the story king”. He could give a lively rendering of even ordinary events.

Now, as usual, Shi Ding saw his mother in the kitchen giving a speech to her sole listener. She had changed into full battle array – her performing uniform. She was leaving again.

Shi Ding had seen her perform with Wang Tong in one of the district public meetings. His mother and Wang Tong, who wore army green uniforms, caps with red stars at the front and military leather belts strapped around their waists, had jumped up on the platform. With bamboo clappers they created a great variety of synchronised sounds and rhythms before reciting:

Destroy the old and establish the new,

Be in the vanguard of class struggle.

Fight with villains and taste the happiness,

Together follow Chairman Mao’s revolutionary goal!

In their heavy make-up, they had looked young and spirited. With his broad shoulders and rugged face, Wang Tong was a perfect match for Shi Ding’s mother.

Now, as Shi Ding entered his home, his parents came into the living room and asked about the incident at school. He told the story and ended with the part he most enjoyed. “One teacher fainted, many cried and eight students wet their pants. And guess what? Wang Lixin, can you believe it? He was one of the eight.” He described the moment when Wang Lixin was taken out of the classroom. “He must have held his wee for a long time so it kept pissing down. The floor was flooded. Silly Ermei laughed non-stop so the policeman got annoyed. He walked over and stared at her like this …” Shi Ding imitated the policeman, holding one shoulder up, neck stretched forward and lips curled into a sneer. “Then he grabbed her by the collar, picking her up like an eagle catching a chick.” He made a sudden grabbing gesture. “Gosh, Ermei’s face was white as paper.” He shook his head and went to the kitchen to get a glass of water.

Shi Wangcai and Lin Guiru followed him. “So what happened to her?”

Shi Ding drank the water down in one gulp and put the glass down before he answered them. “She’s been put in afternoon detention until they find out who wrote the reactionary slogan. It’s all Wang Lixin’s fault!”

“It’s nobody’s fault but Ermei’s, that stupid girl!” Lin Guiru said.

Shi Ding was annoyed. “It’s Wang Lixin who’s stupid. It doesn’t matter who the hell his father is!”

“Hey! Don’t speak to your mother like that!” Shi Wangcai said.

Shi Ding stayed silent but went to his room in a fit of pique. He had just closed the door behind him when he realised something was not right. He opened the door, popped his head out and scanned the side wall of the living room. “Dad, where is the Long March wall-hanging?”

The wall-hanging was the Shi family’s treasure. Inspired by the musical The East Is Red, which recounted China’s history in the twentieth century, Shi Wangcai had spent weeks creating his masterpiece, a double bed-sized patchwork quilt. He had skilfully sewn hundreds of red stars around the edges to give a three-dimensional effect. In the background were a towering snowy mountain, tall firs, sweeping grasslands and a flowing river. In the foreground, Red Army troops, hailed by civilians, marched here and there. Shi Wangcai had used different fabrics to create the colourful and stylish costumes of minorities. He had placed clouds, a rainbow and golden canaries above the human figures. It was too beautiful to be used as a quilt so they had hung it in their living room.

The living room was tastefully decorated. A small old banker’s desk in front of the window, a sideboard behind it against the back wall, a big potted monstera in the corner diagonally opposite the front door, two old-fashioned wooden armchairs facing the main bedroom. Shi Ding liked to sit there to admire the wall-hanging. But now the wall was bare and the room looked empty.

“Ask your mother.” Shi Wangcai sounded unusually curt.

“It’s in the pot, your quilt cover’s in there too.” Lin Guiru replied with perfect assurance.

“What pot?”

“The dyeing pot, in your dad’s workshop.”

“You’ve dyed them all?!” Shi Ding looked at her wide-eyed.

“Yes, navy blue. I thought metallic grey might be better but we only had blue.”

Shi Ding went into the workshop and looked at the big pot of blue dye and its victims. “Dad, it’s your art work!” he yelled and came out to face his mother. “But why?”

Lin Guiru had felt sorry as she watched the beautiful items turn a blurry dark blue. But now, cross-examined by son and her husband, she went on the offensive.

“Why? Ask your Aunt Sun. Today she told me that nobody has this kind of bourgeois stuff and we had to get rid of it.” She exaggerated to justify what she had done. “Your father does not understand the times at all. Anyway, I must go. The dyeing will be done by tomorrow morning. Can you hang them out?” she said, avoiding looking at either of them.

Shi Wangcai picked Lin Guiru’s travel bag up off the sideboard and handed it to her. She snatched it from him and walked to the door then turned to face her husband. “Look, I didn’t feel wonderful parting with them either. But think about it. Chairman Mao has called on us to detach ourselves from the old and the bourgeois.”

“It’s not bourgeois,” Shi Wangcai said. “It’s about the Red Army and the Long March.”

Provoked, Lin Guiru yelled, “I’m not talking about the Red Army. I’m talking about the wall-hanging. That kind of ostentatiousness can poison people’s minds.”

“How?” The usually taciturn Shi Wangcai was stubborn today. “How can a colourful patchwork quilt poison minds?”

“I can’t believe you with your one-track mind. You tell me why you like colour. It’s because colour reflects a pleasant world in your head and makes you happy. Is that right? But when you’re happy, you forget about class struggle and you create opportunities for our enemies to overthrow the Communist Party. I should have done the propaganda performance at home first. Go and turn on the radio and wake up, now!” The more she explained, the angrier she became and the more justified she felt. With her last order, she slammed the door and left.

Shi Wangcai stood there bewildered for a moment before going back to the kitchen.

His mother’s incisive remarks disarmed Shi Ding. He was convinced by her logic and alarmed by the imminent threat she had described. He did as his mother commanded and turned the radio on. An editorial was being broadcast:

Class struggle is assurance of the Communist Party’s constant success. Without it, many of us would be corrupted by our enemies through hard and soft tactics. Then, the old reactionary order would inevitably be restored in a few years or a few decades …

Above the strident tones of the announcement, Shi Ding heard his father singing in the kitchen:

Five-coloured clouds hang in the sky,

Golden birds fly from heaven.

Red Army soldiers, our own brothers,

Have no fear of the long long journey.

The melody was soft and sweet. It was definitely out of tune with the times.

III

A week had passed since the reactionary slogan was discovered. Teachers and students had been scrutinised by the police and government officials, but still no arrest had been made. A cloud of gloom hung over West Bridge School and the neighbourhood.

Dong Ermei failed to turn up at school that morning. When her teacher reported her absence, two policemen and the deputy principal rushed to No. 10. They knocked so loudly that Sun Lanfen and Shi Wangcai both came out to see what was happening. When nobody answered the door, the police smashed the glass panel to get in.

There were originally two rooms in the Dong house. The big front room acted as a bedroom for Mr Dong and Pingshun as well as a living area. To the left as you came in, there was a door to the other room, which Ermei occupied. However, Sun Lanfen and Shi Wangcai noticed a big change as soon as they walked in. The front room had been divided in two and behind a plywood board, a space big enough for a single bed had been created for Ermei, who was now lying unconscious on it. Her face was blue and there was foam around her mouth.

“Committing suicide to avoid punishment?” the frightened deputy principal yelped.

“No, it can’t be. She’s just a stupid child. Ermei, Ermei!” Sun Lanfen shouted into the girl’s ear as she turned her over onto her stomach and stroked her back. Shi Wangcai picked up a half-eaten pancake next to the pillow.

“Look, she’s got mildew poison.” He handed the pancake to one of the policemen. It was covered in green blotches. He quickly searched out a bottle of vinegar while Sun Lanfen cradled the girl on her lap. They prised Ermei’s mouth open and forced her to swallow half a bottle of the vinegar.

The girl’s motionless body began to show signs of life and she started to vomit. Shi Wangcai warmed a towel for Sun Lanfen to wipe Ermei’s face. Then he gathered some ashes from the stove to spread over the vomit before sweeping them up. When he returned with a wet mop, the police and the deputy decided to leave. “Make sure she’s back in school tomorrow,” they ordered Sun Lanfen.

“Sure thing, if she’s not dead!” she replied.

Shi Wangcai made a bowl of egg custard and Ermei sat up to eat it. Sun Lanfen tidied her bed and asked, “Why do you have to be so stupid? You know mildew can kill, don’t you?”

“But I was hungry.” The girl began to weep. “Dad didn’t leave anything for me. He’s been so angry and hasn’t cooked a single meal for me since … since I got into trouble.”

“You’re lying. No parents starve their children.”

“I’m not lying, Aunt Sun. My brother brought food from his canteen for me every evening. But last night he went out with his girlfriend and forgot about me. I found that one pancake in my school bag.”

Sun Lanfen became angry. “Where is your father? He should be home by now.” She rose and called out to Shi Wangcai, who was adding a briquette to the stove. “Old Shi, did Mr Dong come home this morning?”

“Here I am.” Mr Dong appeared at the landing. “I went for a walk in Beihai Park. The air is very fresh.” He smiled humbly. “Can I do something for you?”

“Yes! I want you to carry the dead body out of your house,” Sun Lanfen said frostily.

Mr Dong was startled at first but he covered it with a big smile. “Come on, Mrs Sun. Where would I find a dead body for you in broad daylight?”

“Where? In your home. Your Ermei is dead! Starved to death. Are you satisfied now?”

“What? She didn’t go to school? That stupid girl, she’s going to make more trouble for her brother.”

Shi Wangcai stopped him. “Mr Dong, Ermei’s got herself poisoned by eating a mildewed pancake. You didn’t know?”

“No, I didn’t. I only know she’s tried everything to destroy this family. I could have killed her many a time. I try not to see her – what the eye doesn’t see the heart doesn’t grieve for – so every morning I go to the park and stay there until she leaves for school. Now she’s trying a new trick. What have I done to deserve this loser?”

“Plenty!” Sun Lanfen was outraged. “Let me tell you one thing, and one thing only. Have you heard what people say now? A heroic father gives birth to a treasure; a reactionary father gives birth to a wretch. If Ermei is a loser, then you’re the loser who produced her.” She thrust a finger in Mr Dong’s face. Shi Wangcai tried to intervene but she brushed him aside. “I’m going to suggest the school detain you as well.”

Mr Dong squatted down and buried his head in his hands. His choked voice spilled out between his fingers. “I’m sorry, Mrs Sun. Pingshun has finally found some happiness … Ermei’s so scatterbrained and I’m scared …” He stopped suddenly and looked up. “Is Ermei okay?” He seemed to have just woken up to what had happened.

“She’s fine now. Everything will be fine eventually.” Shi Wangcai helped Mr Dong get up. “She’s in her room. Go cook something warm for her.” He turned to Sun Lanfen. “Come on, let’s get some rest ourselves.”

Sun Lanfen was doomed to get no rest that day. During the school lunch break, Xu Yongcai fell into the men’s toilet at No. 10.

Most of the public toilets in residential compounds consisted of a concrete slab with a few rectangular holes in it, laid over a one-metre-deep concrete ditch. The men’s toilet contained three holes and one of them was cut too wide. Sun Lanfen fished Xu Yongcai out with a long hoe then led him to the water tap. To make sure that no faeces were splashed around the area where people took drinking water or washed vegetables, she made the boy squat inside the drain and rinsed him for half an hour with cold water. Scrubbing the filth off him she muttered, “Do you fancy eating shit? Or were you trying to be a hero?”

Although it was a warm day, Xu Yongcai soon began to shiver. Sun Lanfen wrapped him in an old sheet and took him to her place.

“You still smell like hell,” she said, as she prepared a big tub of hot water, lining up a bar of soap, a clean towel and some of her son’s old clothes alongside it. “Strip off and get in the tub!” She sat on a small stool by the tub and leaned over to wash the boy’s hair and inside his ears. Then she boiled more hot water so he could soak a little longer. “Don’t get out until you’ve got rid of all the smell. Disgusting!” Meanwhile, she washed his clothes and made him a big bowl of noodle soup. When he was finally dressed in fresh, clean clothes she sat him down to enjoy the soup while she emptied the water, washed the tub, mopped the floor. Finally she sat down herself.

“Why are you so hopeless?” she said as she sank into her cushioned armchair. “I asked your parents to give you a key so you could have your lunch break at home and you have to take a swim in the toilet. Is that my reward?”

Xu Yongcai stopped wolfing down the soup. He put his chopsticks down on the table.

“Hey, hey, what’s going on?” Sun Lanfen saw him wiping his eyes and got annoyed. “I’m the one who should cry. All morning, I’ve been attending to the sick and the dumb. Do I owe anyone any favours?”

The boy started sobbing. Struggling out of her chair, Sun Lanfen went to him and held his thin shoulders. “Come on! Your Aunt Sun has a sharp tongue but a tofu heart. I didn’t mean that …”

The boy turned around and hugged Sun Lanfen, crying: “Why aren’t you my mother? I wouldn’t do anything wrong then!”

Sun Lanfen’s eyes misted over. She rubbed his head. “You poor thing. Look, I’ve bought a new transistor radio. Let’s turn it on.” She turned the radio on and on came a new song:

Heaven is vast and earth is broad,

But neither as vast and broad as our party’s loving-kindness.

Father is dear and mother is close,

But neither as dear and close as Chairman Mao.

Xu Yongcai seemed to lose himself in the song at first, but when it repeated, he cried hysterically: “No! No more! I can’t bear it. I didn’t mean it. I’m so sorry!”

Sun Lanfen angled her body to peep through some lighter patches of the stained glass on the Shi family’s front door. It was not yet four o’clock in the afternoon. She did not want to wake Shi Wangcai up but she could not wait any longer.

She saw a shape moving inside so she gave a light knock. Shi Wangcai opened the door straight away.

“Thank heaven you’re up. I need to talk to you.” She refused his offer of tea and asked to have a word in their back room.

“What’s the matter?” Shi Wangcai followed her past Shi Ding’s bedroom and into his workshop.

“Something very serious … What’s all this? Are you making something?” She gestured to the mess in the workshop. There were pieces of timber, tools and planks everywhere.

“I’m helping Professor Ruan fix her cellar.”

“You’re still doing work for her? Is Guiru happy about that?” Sun Lanfen remembered the complaint in Lin Guiru’s voice.

“You know, I like to fiddle with this kind of thing,” Shi Wangcai said evasively.

“What about Guiru, though?” Sun Lanfen persisted.

“What about her?” Shi Wangcai looked at Sun Lanfen with a wry smile. “Do you think she cares about this now?”

Sun Lanfen looked away from his stare and sighed softly before continuing, “Old Shi, I think something’s terribly wrong with Xu Yongcai, the boy from the doctor couple in the outer yard.”

“Are they abusing the child again?”

“No, but that may be the cause of the problem.” She told Shi Wangcai what had happened at lunchtime. “‘I didn’t mean it. I’m so sorry’ he kept saying to me when we heard the song.”

“It might just mean he was sorry to have tumbled into the toilet and caused you this trouble,” Shi Wangcai offered. He was so intent on what Sun Lanfen was telling him that he failed to notice a noise at the front door.

Sun Lanfen sat herself down on a stool and drew a deep breath. “Old Shi, this is confidential, but I trust you. What the reactionary slogan said was: ‘Father is not dear and mother is not close, so how can I see if Chairman Mao is nice?’ We were briefed about it at the leadership meeting.”

Shi Wangcai pulled up another stool and sat down. They both fell silent. After a long while, he said, “It’s childish nonsense but …”

“Stupid! Stupid!!!” Sun Lanfen gnashed her teeth and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “The boy’s arms are so thin. A lot of bruises on his back. I tell you, Old Shi, I’d rather die than seek treatment from them –” She choked up and cursed through her tears: “Doctors? What doctors? A bastard and a bitch!”

Shi Wangcai composed himself and stood up. “Look, don’t worry, Mrs Sun. The boy made himself filthy and humiliated himself. That’s why he broke down and I believe that’s all there is to it.”

Sun Lanfen stood up: “You think so?” Seeing his firm nod, she agreed. “You’re right. That’s it. I knew I wouldn’t waste my time coming to talk to you.” She placed both hands in the small of her back and stretched back, showing her relief. “This day’s really worn me out. I need a lie-down before preparing dinner.”

Shi Wangcai saw Sun Lanfen to the door. As he turned away, he found Shi Ding standing at the kitchen door. “When did you come back? I didn’t hear you.”

“Just now, Dad.” Shi Ding replied. He stood there, fixing his eyes on his father. “What’s wrong with Xu Yongcai? Why is Aunt Sun so worried about him?”

“Oh, he fell into the toilet. You know, Aunt Sun always feels his parents aren’t nice to him.”

“Are you sure that’s it, Dad? Maybe he did something wrong?”

“What can a nine-year-old boy do wrong? Come on!” Shi Wangcai started to walk away. Then, as if he suddenly remembered, he said, “Ah, are you free now? I want you to help me install the trapdoor for Professor Ruan’s cellar. It’s a bit awkward for one person.” He gestured for his son to go with him to the back room.

Shi Ding helped his father carry the triangular timber box to Ruan Qiling’s house. He liked visiting this house. The twisting laneway that led to a hidden corner of the yard was itself attractive enough. Inside, the unusual furniture, the walls of books, the rarely seen chocolates and, most of all, the elegant manner of this female professor seemed so alien that it excited him. His first visit had been coming to watch TV with his mother a few months ago. That had also been the first time he had ever sat on a sofa. Afterwards, he told his friends the sofa was so springy that when he plonked himself down he did a backwards roll. No one could challenge him because they had only seen sofas in photographs.

Ruan Qiling’s cellar was under the kitchen. Shi Wangcai had cemented the floor of the cellar, plastered the walls and installed big shelves in it. He had spent a good week figuring out how to make it easy for Ruan Qiling to get down into it.

One of the kitchen’s two doors opened to the front room and the other to the living room. Shi Wangcai led his son to the second door. He pointed to the threshold, which, as in all traditional households, was about five centimetres high in order to block evil spirits, and instructed Shi Ding to pull it up.

“Dad, you want me to pull the threshold up?”

“Yes, just do it.” Shi Wangcai seemed amused.

With a slight squeak, a square of floor board – the trapdoor – opened when Shi Ding pulled the threshold up. “Brilliant, Dad! The threshold’s a handle, no one would guess there’s a cellar down there.”

Resting the trapdoor against the doorframe, Shi Ding saw the rungs of a ladder running parallel to the floor just under the opening. Ruan Qiling watched from behind as Shi Wangcai placed his right foot on one of the rungs and pushed on it. “The ladder is counterbalanced,” Shi Wangcai explained. “There is a pulley attached to the ceiling below. A rope goes over that to a counterweight.”

“I’ve got it. It springs back up when you come up. Amazing!” Shi Ding exclaimed. Ruan Qiling nodded in agreement.

“But there’s a problem. See this?” Shi Wangcai climbed down the ladder into the cellar and when he took his foot off the ladder, it sprang up. “Now I’m stuck at the bottom of the cellar. You need to be tall and strong enough to pull the ladder back down. It’s not easy when you’re trying to carry things up.” He stood on his toes to yank the ladder down and climbed back to the surface.

“So we need something to hook the ladder onto,” Shi Ding interjected.

“Good thinking! You’re my son after all.”

Ruan Qiling enjoyed their interaction. She handed Shi Ding a biscuit and Shi Wangcai a cup of tea she had made for him. Shi Wangcai was busy fiddling with the timber box, so she held the cup for him. Shi Ding watched her. This professor was not a bad-looking woman, with her large black eyes, pale complexion and graceful composure.

Ruan Qiling felt his gaze. She turned to him. “I nearly forgot. I have something for you.” She went to the living room and came back with a small box in her hand. “Shi Ding, this is very good cream for healing pimples.”

Shi Ding did not know how to react. The colour and design of the box proclaimed that it must be expensive. He turned to his father for help.

“Thank Professor Ruan, will you?” Shi Wangcai said happily. Then he called out, “It’s ready to go. Shi Ding, when I get on the ladder hand me this brace.” He moved the triangular timber brace near the trapdoor.

“Okay, Dad. But why do you need such a big brace? Can’t you just fix a metal hook of some sort on the floor?”

“Well, this brace has another use. Look.” Shi Wangcai drew their attention to the back edge of the triangle. “I’ve hidden two drawers here.” He gently nudged the drawers out and slid them back in again. Since the brace was made of leftover floor boards, you would not notice the drawers at all.

“That’s clever,” Shi Ding said admiringly. “What are the drawers for?”

“For – well, for valuables, I guess.” Shi Wangcai replied, casting a quick glance at Ruan Qiling.

“Like what?”

“Depends,” Shi Wangcai shrugged. “Do you remember my innovation certificate? And some old photos?” He gave a dry cough. “Anything you treasure that you don’t want to lose, or just to keep to yourself, is valuable.” Shi Wangcai’s voice got softer and softer.

It was Ruan Qiling’s turn to throw Shi Wangcai a quick glance. Their eyes met for a fleeting instant. Shi Ding was trying the drawers and did not see this. He said, “Dad, if we’d had a drawer like this for the Long March wall-hanging, a bigger one I mean, Mum wouldn’t have been able to destroy it.”

Shi Wangcai stepped on the ladder and scuttled down into the cellar.

IV

Mr Dong asked Sun Lanfen to supervise Dong Ermei every evening, from her release from school detention at six until bedtime. He said he would prepare her dinner before leaving for his nightshift, but she had to have it at Sun Lanfen’s house.

“Mrs Sun, please, please help me on this account. Call me a heartless father or a bastard. Ermei’s so out of tune I’m worried she’ll tell Pingshun’s girlfriend what happened at school. Believe me, if they can’t find who wrote the slogan, they’ll blame her! She’s an old reactionary’s daughter, is there anyone better to take the rap? I can only hope that Li Mei stays with Pingshun long enough to see that he is a wonderful young man. If you can make Ermei behave … Maybe, just maybe they’ll forgive her. Surely everyone can see she’s too dumb to commit a serious crime.”

Sun Lanfen agreed. She felt it her duty and she wanted to do something for the silly girl. What Mr Dong said was not baseless, yet she was withholding some information which could get Ermei out of the mess she was in. She was torn between two hopeless youngsters. She reasoned that if she did not share this information, Ermei could still survive, with her help, but if she disclosed this information, that would be the end of Xu Yongcai.

“Leave her to me, Mr Dong. It’s my duty as chairman. I’ll make sure she does self-criticism every day. And I’ll write her a good report. She’ll be fine, don’t you worry!” She spoke in her sternest voice in an effort to reassure herself as much as Mr Dong.

This was the third night that Sun Lanfen had barred Ermei from going back home before nine-thirty, no matter what her excuse. She had sat next to her, sewing or knitting, watching as she wrote out her self-criticism. Whenever Ermei started to complain that she had nothing new to say, Sun Lanfen would threaten her with all kinds of consequences or cajole her, saying that the more she wrote, the better impression it would make and the earlier she would be signed out of detention. Tonight, however, Ermei decided that she had had enough.

“I want to go home, Aunt Sun.” It was only eight o’clock. Ermei had been restless because she knew from the sumptuous dinner her father had prepared earlier that Li Mei was coming over.

“Sorry, you have to stay here till bedtime.” Sun Lanfen was tired and she couldn’t hide her impatience. Because of this supervision arrangement, she had had to send her own boys to stay with their uncle nearby because she did not want them mixed up with Ermei. As for her husband, a simple and silent labourer, he had had his daily drink and gone to bed.

“But I’m not a prisoner. I’ve run out of ideas. Let me go home for ten minutes, then I’ll know what to write. My brother is very smart. I can ask him to help me.”

“Don’t you dare bother your brother.” Sun Lanfen brought her needlework out. “Okay. Put the pen down. Have a break. I’ll teach you how to make buttons. You know, in my day you would have been married off or even had a child by now. But look at you. Can’t you do anything?”

“Oh, disgusting, Aunt Sun! Who wants to get married?” Ermei said. That seemed to stir a thought. “Aunt Sun, do you think Li Mei will marry my brother?”

“I hope so. Your dad would be happy!”

“Of course he would. But I wouldn’t!”

“Why not?” Sun Lanfen put down her needle and thread and looked at the girl over her reading glasses.

“You’ve seen the changes we’ve made in our house. Before, I had the whole inner room and now I have to sleep in a space that’s only big enough for a coffin. Why? Because my brother has got a girlfriend. If they get married, imagine, after eating all the wedding candies, they’ll have a baby. By then, I’ll probably have to sleep on the landing outside.” Ermei curled her lips in contempt.

“What did you say? Eat candies and then have a baby! What’s all that nonsense?”

“Come on, Aunt Sun, I know all about it.”

“What do you know?”

Ermei lowered her voice. “On the wedding day, the bride and groom have to eat lots of candy so they can have babies. That’s why those candies are called happy candies. That’s also why parents don’t let their children have too many candies.”

“What nonsense! Where did you … ha, ha, ha!” Sun Lanfen was laughing so hard she could not finish.

“I’m serious, Aunt Sun.” Ermei was annoyed. “Think about it. Why do we have a special ration for wedding candies? To guarantee married couples can have babies! Chairman Mao says: ‘People, only people, are the most valuable resource in the world.’”

“Yeah, yeah. My goodness!” Sun Lanfen tried hard to stop laughing. “Do you study biology at school?”

“Of course we do. Our teacher has told us how to protect our eyes so as to tell true from false and how to keep our bodies strong to fight against class enemies.”

“What about the differences between men and women? Have you learned that?”

“Oh, yuk! At the beginning of this semester, our teacher tried to explain girls’ periods. That made us angry because he’s a man! So we booed him to make him go away. Our monitor told the principal, ‘We don’t want any dirty lessons!’”

The door suddenly swung open and Shi Ding dashed in. “What dirty lessons? Did I miss something?”

“Hey, hey! Can’t you knock first?” Sun Lanfen stood up to shut the door behind him.

“Sorry, Aunt Sun. I’ll remember next time.” Shi Ding sat down next to Ermei and grinned cheekily.

“How come you’re so late? You forgot about me, didn’t you. You promised to tell me a Monkey King story every day. Where have you been?”

“I’ve done something very important,” Shi Ding said mysteriously, looking around. “Didn’t Wang Lixin come?”

“No. Tell me, what important thing did you do?”

“I told you that I’d clear your name, didn’t I? Well, guess what? I found out who wrote the slogan!”

“Really? I won’t need to be detained any more! Wow, Aunt Sun, isn’t that wonderful!”

Sun Lanfen hurried back with an empty teacup. “How did you find out?”

“I can’t believe this! Don’t you even want to know who did it?” Shi Ding felt his discovery had been undermined. “Such a big thing, to dig out an insidious enemy!”

“Fine. Okay then, who did it?” Sun Lanfen asked.

Sensing her impatience, Shi Ding assumed a more serious tone as he reported to the chairman of the Neighbourhood Revolutionary Committee. “This afternoon our school ordered the senior students to help the primary children do self-criticism and I was with Grade Three.” He paused and looked up into Sun Lanfen’s face. “Well, I bluffed and he confessed.”

“Who? Who is ‘he’?” Ermei asked.

“Xu Yongcai, the devil from the outer yard,” Sun Lanfen snapped.

“So Aunt Sun, you knew already!” Ermei was surprised.

“Where’s my tea? I went specially to get it. My brain’s gone. Damn it!” Sun Lanfen cursed and dumped her empty teacup on the desk. “Of course I knew. We’ve been watching him for quite a while. But Shi Ding, are you sure there’s no mistake?”

“I can swear to Chairman Mao!”

“How did you find out?”

“I asked everyone to sing ‘Heaven is vast and earth is broad’. The little reactionary began to cry, non-stop. The policeman was irritated so I offered to take him outside.”

“What did you do to him?”

“I tried to be nice. I told him I felt very sorry that his parents were so mean. I said that to compare Chairman Mao’s love to that of his mum and dad was wrong and if I were in his situation, I’d do something crazy like damaging furniture or setting fire to the house. Then guess what happened next?”

Shi Ding was getting excited. He stood up, stretched out both his hands, as if reaching for support, and then drew them back and covered his face. Pretending to sob, he started impersonating Xu Yongcai: “‘Why? Why didn’t I know you earlier? Everything you suggested is better than what I did.’”

Shi Ding straightened up and looked concerned. “Come on! Nothing could be worse than destroying your own home.”

Then he drew in his shoulders, lowered his head, and said in a choked voice, “Unfortunately there is – saying bad things about Chairman Mao.” Shi Ding collected himself. “That’s how I got him. It’s exactly as Chairman Mao taught us, capturing snakes by enticing them out of holes.”

“Unbelievable! Like a detective story.” Ermei applauded. “What happened after that?”

Shi Ding put his hands together to mime handcuffs. “He was taken to the police station straight away. Your name has been cleared and our school’s name has been cleared!”

Sun Lanfen’s face sagged with weariness. She walked away again to fetch her long-overdue cup of tea. Before she got to the kitchen table, she turned. “Who gave you the idea of singing that song?” She stared at Shi Ding.

“Well, I, you see …” Shi Ding was clearly embarrassed at his earlier eavesdropping. “I just used my brains. His parents were very mean to him.”

Just then Wang Lixin charged into the room. “Aunt Sun, my mum’s having another asthma attack. She … she can’t breathe.” He was so distressed he did not even acknowledge his classmates.

Sun Lanfen dashed off with Wang Lixin.

The room was suddenly quiet. The loud snores of Aunt Sun’s husband drifted over from the bedroom. Both Shi Ding and Ermei felt a little embarrassed.

“Wang Lixin is really good to his mother. Have you ever seen her? I’ve never been inside his house,” Ermei commented.

“Oh, his father doesn’t like visitors. I know why,” Shi Ding whispered. “Because his wife looks very old and ugly.”

“Hey! You’re terrible! I’ll tell Wang Lixin what you said.”

“But it’s true! She looks a hundred years old. You won’t tell him, will you?”

“I was just teasing you. I know she’s old, and sick too. My dad said that the reason Wang Lixin’s father is carrying on with your mother is simply because … I’m sorry.” Ermei quickly changed the subject. “Tell me please. What’s the trick in singing that song?”

Shi Ding was stung by Ermei’s hint of scandal, but he chose not to say anything. The relationship between his mother and Wang Tong was troubling, but his father seemed to be taking it calmly. If anything was going on, Dad would know. So there’s nothing, he kept telling himself. “Okay, let’s start from Xu Yongcai’s parents. You know they are very mean, right? And in the song we sing, ‘Father is dear and mother is close, but neither as dear and close as Chairman Mao’, right? Do you get it?”

“No, I haven’t a clue. Just tell me what the song’s got to do with it?”

“You really can’t see the connection?” Shi Ding asked in exaggerated disbelief. This was his revenge.

“No, I can’t! Get lost, you smart-arse. You always make me feel like a dumbbell. At least Wang Lixin respects me.” She turned away from Shi Ding.

“Hey, hey, don’t be mad. I’ll tell you, okay?” Shi Ding went to hold her shoulders.

“Don’t touch me, you lech!” Ermei shook him away.

“Listen! You lech, you reactionary son of a bitch! Let my daughter out! Li Mei, Li Mei! Come out of that dirty doghouse!” There was a hubbub in the courtyard and a voice was hurling gutter curses.

Shi Ding went outside and saw a middle-aged man standing in front of Mr Dong’s house. Two young lads stood behind him like bodyguards. All three had unusually fair complexions, like Li Mei’s, indicating a family connection.

A crowd was gathering and the man became more truculent. “Dong Pingshun, you let go of my daughter! If she’s not out by the time I count to five I’ll smash your house. One, two …”

The door opened and Li Mei emerged, her head bowed, escorted by Pingshun. Her father jumped down to the landing, grabbed her by the arm and yanked her up so powerfully that Li Mei tripped on the last step. Pingshun rushed forward to help but the man swung at him with his free arm. Pingshun fell back heavily.

The onlookers gasped and Li Mei began to scream: “Ah, you’ve killed him! It’s not his fault. I wanted to come. Pingshun, Pingshun, I’m so sorry!”

“You should be sorry!” The man’s face had turned liver-coloured with rage. He pushed his daughter over to his sons and pushed Pingshun up against the door. Pingshun’s broken glasses dangled from one ear. His mouth was shut but his awkward posture and his face showed he was in pain.

“Let me tell you something, you son of a bitch. Your father is an old reactionary and your sister is a reactionary suspect. I know all about it! You want to date my daughter – that’s a toad lusting after a swan’s flesh!” He turned to the watching crowd: “You’re all witnesses. If he dares woo my daughter again, I will break his neck!” He gave Pingshun another big shake and walked back up to ground level.

“Hang on!” Sun Lanfen appeared, her face red with anger. “We have sacred laws in our socialist society. We make sure no murderers escape. I’m warning you too: if anything untoward happens to Dong Pingshun, I’ll let the police know that you’re the prime suspect.”

“Who the hell are you?”

“The chairman of the Neighbourhood Revolutionary Committee!”

Sun Lanfen spoke with the strong force of justice. This encouraged some onlookers to boo the outsiders. The man turned back to Pingshun and snarled, “You’d better watch out,” and then left with his children.

People clustered around Pingshun. Ermei had been standing behind Shi Ding throughout the ordeal, petrified. Shi Ding looked at her and said, “Ermei, it’s fine now. They’ve gone.” Seeing her still frozen, he gave her a nudge. “Come on, it’s over. It’s actually a good thing for you. Li Mei’s gone so you’ll get your bedroom back.”

“Get away from me! What about my brother?” Ermei burst into tears and ran over to the crowd around her brother.