Qiu Xiaolong - Enigma of China

Ironically, in order for him to be a filial son, he had to be a loyal Party official, supporting the government that had injured her.

His mother stirred, opening her eyes with a surprised smile at the sight of him sitting by the bed. She looked ashen, shrunken, but she managed to reach out an emaciated hand.

“You didn’t have to come to visit. This hospital is much better than a nursing home.”

“How was lunch today?”

“Good. They served well-cooked soft noodles with sliced pork and green cabbage.”

She gestured at a menu on the table. Unlike other hospitals, there seemed to be quite a variety from which to choose here. It was almost like a small fancy restaurant. Her choice of dish was probably due to her teeth. She’d lost several of them, but she refused to bother with the ordeal of dental treatment at her age.

He got up to mix a cup of green tea and American ginseng essence for her.

“Our relatives and friends all say good things about you,” she said affectionately. “I’ve long given up trying to figure things out in China today. It’s all too much of an enigma for me, but I know that you always try to do the right thing.”

“But I haven’t been taking good care of you. When you get out of the hospital, please come and stay with me. Nowadays it’s quite common for people to hire a live-in aide.”

“No, I’m fine. I’m a contented woman. If I left the world today, I would go with my eyes closed in peace, except for one thing I’m still concerned about. You know what I’m talking about.”

That happened to be one thing about which he had nothing to tell her. Chief Inspector Chen remained single. Confucius said, “There are three most unfilial things in the world, and to go without descendants is the worst.”

“White Cloud came by the other day,” she went on. “A really nice girl.”

“I haven’t seen her for a while.”

He was to blame, he admitted to himself, for the distance between White Cloud and himself. The shadow of her dancing in the private karaoke room seemed to always accompany her, or perhaps it was nothing more than the shadow swirling in his mind.

The water flows along, the cloud drifts away, and the spring is gone. / It’s a different world .

He tried to straighten up the things on her nightstand here, as if the effort could somehow make him feel less lousy. He was interrupted by a noise at the door.

“Hello, Chief Inspector Chen. Nurse Liang Xia told me that you were here today. You should have told me you were coming.”

Chen looked up to see Dr. Hou striding into the room, beaming from ear to ear. Hou Zidong, the head of the hospital, was wearing a white smock over a black suit with a red tie.

“Dr. Hou, I want to thank you for everything you’ve been doing for my mother. You’re a busy man, I understand, so I didn’t call you.”

“Auntie has been doing well. No need to worry. We’ll make sure that it’s just like home here.”

“Dr. Hou has done a fantastic job, as I have told you many times,” she said, looking at Chen with a light of pride flashing in her eyes.

Chen understood. It was all because of a “case” Chen had helped with in the late eighties. The “suspect” in question was none other than Hou, a young doctor newly assigned to a neighborhood hospital. While in college, Hou had been involved in a so-called foreign liaison case. According to an inside control file, Hou had visited an American medical expert staying at the Jinjiang Hotel and had signed his name in the hotel register book several times. The American was alleged to have connections to the CIA. So Hou was put on a blacklist without knowing it. After Hou’s graduation, there was an international medical conference in New York, and the head of the Chinese delegation picked Hou as a qualified candidate-someone with several English papers published in the field, whose presence could help to “contribute to China’s image.” But for Hou to join the delegation, it was necessary to investigate his involvement with the American. Chen was assigned to listen to the recordings of the phone conversations between Hou and the alleged American spy. As it turned out, they talked about nothing but their common interests in the medical field. In one phone call, Hou did urge the American to be more careful, but judging from the context, he was referring to the American’s drinking problem. It was ridiculous to put Hou on a blacklist because of that, Chen concluded. He transcribed and translated the taped conversations carefully, submitted a detailed analysis to the higher authoritities, and proposed that Hou’s name be cleared.

No longer a suspect, Hou was allowed a spot in the delegation, his speech was well received at the conference, and his luck since then had been incredible. It wasn’t long before he was transferred to East China Hospital, one of the most prestigious in the city, where eventually he became the head of the hospital. About a year ago, Hou had learned of Chen’s help from a high-ranking cadre who stayed at the hospital. The next day Hou came to the bureau, declaring Chen was the “guiren” in his life-the life-changing helper who had come out of nowhere.

“I knew somebody helped, but I didn’t know it was you, Chief Inspector Chen. Ever since then, I’ve always tried to be a conscientious doctor. Do you know why? I wanted to be as conscientious as my guiren. There are so many problems in society today, but there are still a few good Party cadres like you. Now, if there is ever anything I can do for you, just say the word. As in the old saying, for the favor of a drop of water, one has to dig out a fountain in return.”

Dr. Hou kept his word. When Chen’s mother was sick, Hou took it upon himself to handle everything. It was impossible for ordinary people to get into the prestigious East China Hospital, but Hou made an exception for her and arranged a special room, in spite of the fact that she had suffered only a minor stroke. He insisted that she stay for her convalescence as well.

“You’ve really gone out of your way for her, Dr. Hou.”

“For me, it’s as effortless as a wave of my hand. Auntie may stay here as long as she likes. She doesn’t owe the hospital any money. To be frank, we need cash-rich patients like her in our hospital. Lu, one of your buddies, insisted on depositing a large sum against the account of his auntie.”

“Overseas Chinese Lu is impossible,” Chen said with a wry smile, glancing at the presents on the nightstand again. Lu might not be the only one.

Dr. Hou’s cell phone rang. He looked at it without answering it.

“I’ve got another meeting. I have to go. But don’t worry, Chief Inspector Chen. I’ll come by regularly.”

Chen’s mother sat up and watched the doctor walk out of the room, then turned to her son.

“You go back to your work too. People don’t speak so highly of the police, but my son is conscientious, I know. That comforts me more than anything else. Good things do not go unrewarded. It’s karma.”

Chen nodded.

“Oh, before I forget, there is a gift card from another of your buddies. Mr. Gu. You know how to deal with it, I think.”

He picked up the gift card and frowned at the amount. Twenty thousand yuan.

The money meant nothing to Gu, who was a business tycoon. He’d helped Chen in an earlier investigation, and Chen had also proved helpful to Gu. Gu had since claimed to be a friend of the chief inspector, and he, too, called Chen’s mother his “auntie.”

The expensive gift card would have been acceptable for a real auntie, but as it was, it was just another way for Gu to grease the connection. Still, it was considerate of Gu. What made it difficult for Chen was that the gift card came not to him but to his mother. It wouldn’t be that easy for him to return it.