Yu Hua - Chronicle of a Blood Merchant

“From today on, Yile, Erle, and yes, you too, Sanle, are going to lie down after you’ve eaten your gruel. No more moving around. As soon as you start to move around too much, you get hungry. So do me a favor and just lie down and be quiet. Your mom and I are going to be lying there with you. I can’t say anymore. I’m so hungry I don’t have the energy to speak. The gruel we had just now is already gone.”

From that day on Xu Sanguan’s family ate corn flour gruel twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. The rest of the time they lay on the bed without moving or even speaking. As soon as they moved or started to speak, their stomachs would start to rumble, and the hunger would come. And lying quiet and motionless in bed all day long, they would naturally fall asleep. And so Xu Sanguan’s family began to sleep all day and every day, from morning to evening. And after they awoke for their gruel, they would sleep from the evening until the next morning. They slept until December 7.

On the night of December 7 Xu Yulan cooked an extra bowl of corn flour gruel and made it much thicker than usual. Then she roused Xu Sanguan and their sons from bed and smilingly told them, “We’ll have something good to eat tonight.”

Xu Sanguan, Yile, Erle, and Sanle sat at the table craning their necks to see just what Xu Yulan was going to bring to the table. But what she brought to the table was the same corn flour gruel that they had eaten day after day.

Yile was the first to voice his disappointment. “It’s just the same old corn flour gruel.”

Erle and Sanle, just as disappointed, echoed, “Just the same old gruel.”

Xu Yulan said to them, “Take a closer look. This stuff is a lot thicker than what we ate yesterday or the day before yesterday or any day for a long time now. You’ll know what’s special about it as soon as you take a sip.”

After each of the three sons took a sip, their eyes rolled in their sockets. Something was different about the gruel, but they were unable to place what exactly the difference was. Xu Sanguan also took a sip. Xu Yulan asked, “Now do you know what I put in there?”

The three sons shook their heads, picked up their bowls, and began to hurriedly slurp down the gruel.

Xu Sanguan said to them, “You kids have lost your minds. Can’t you tell that something is sweet when you taste it?”

Yile, coming to a sudden realization, cried, “It’s sugar! You put some sugar in the gruel.”

Erle and Sanle nodded enthusiastically as they continued to slurp noisily from their bowls, breaking into happy giggles as they swallowed. Xu Sanguan laughed as he slurped just as noisily and enthusiastically as the children.

Xu Yulan explained to Xu Sanguan, “I took out the sugar that was left over from Spring Festival and made the gruel nice and thick and sticky today. And I made you an extra bowl too. Do you want to know why? Because today’s your birthday.”

Xu Sanguan had already finished his first bowl of gruel. He slapped his head and exclaimed, “Today’s the day my mama gave birth to me!” Then he continued, “So you put some sugar in the gruel and made it thicker than usual and cooked an extra bowl for me, all because it’s my birthday. I get to eat a little more today.”

But before he could reach for the extra bowl, Yile, Erle, and Sanle had extended their empty bowls entreatingly toward him.

“Let’s give the extra bowl to them.” He gestured toward his sons.

“You can’t give it to them. I made it especially for you.”

Xu Sanguan said, “It doesn’t matter who eats it in the end. It’ll turn into shit no matter who eats it. Let the kids shit a little extra. Let’s give it to them.”

Xu Sanguan watched the children lift their bowls to their mouths and suck down the sweetened corn flour gruel. He said to them, “When you’re finished eating, each of you has to wish me a happy birthday with a kowtow.”

As soon as he had said it, though, he began to feel uneasy. When is this ever going to end? It’s been so hard on the little brats. They don’t even remember what it’s like to eat sweets, and when they finally got something sweet, they didn’t even recognize the taste of sugar anymore.

That night, as the family lay in bed, Xu Sanguan said to them, “I know what you kids want most badly of all. To eat, right? You want white rice, and dishes stir-fried with oil, and you want to eat fish and meat and everything nice. Today was my birthday, and you kids got to enjoy it along with me. You even got to eat some sugar. But I know that in your hearts you still want to eat even more. The question is, what exactly do you want to eat? Since it’s my birthday, I’m going to do something special for you kids. I’m going to cook a meal for each of you with my mouth, and you can eat it with your ears. You won’t be able to eat it with your mouth because there’s nothing to eat, but prick up your ears, because I’m going to start cooking any moment now. You can order whatever you feel like eating. You can take turns. Sanle goes first. Sanle, what do you feel like eating?”

Sanle said very softly, “I don’t want to eat gruel anymore. I want white rice.”

“We’ve got plenty of white rice,” Xu Sanguan said. “Unlimited supply. As much as you could possibly want. But I want to know what dishes you feel like eating.”

Sanle said, “I want to eat meat.”

“Sanle wants to eat meat,” Xu Sanguan announced. “I’ll make him some red-braised pork. There’s lean pork and fatty pork, but when you’re making red-braised pork, it’s best to use a little of both, and it’s even better if you throw in some skin as well. All right then. I’ll start chopping the pork into slices about as thick as a finger and as long as half your palm. Here’s three slices of meat for Sanle.”

Sanle said, “Dad, I want four pieces.”

“Then I’ll cut four pieces for Sanle.”

Sanle said, “Dad, I want five pieces.”

Xu Sanguan said, “You’ll be able to eat four pieces at the very most. You’re still little. If you had five, you’d be much too stuffed when you were done. Now listen to me cook. First I’ll blanch the four pieces in boiling water. Only for a minute, though, because I don’t want the meat to get tough. When it’s done, I’ll remove it from the pot and let it dry. When it’s dry, I’ll throw it into the wok with some bubbling hot oil. Then I’ll add some soy sauce, a pinch of five-spice powder, some yellow rice wine, and a little water to cover. I’ll braise it slowly over gentle heat, covered, for about two hours, and when the liquid has finally cooked down, your red-braised pork will be ready.”

Xu Sanguan heard the sound of saliva being swallowed.

“I’ll take the cover off the wok, and the aroma of meat will fill the room. You’ll lift up your chopsticks, spear a piece of meat, put it in your mouth, and start to chew.”

Xu Sanguan heard the sound of swallowed saliva grow louder and louder. “Is that Sanle swallowing, or are the other two swallowing too? By the sound of it, you’re all swallowing. How about you, Xu Yulan? Listen to me carefully. This meal is for Sanle and Sanle alone. Sanle’s the only one who’s allowed to swallow. Every time one of you swallows, it’s just like you’re stealing some of Sanle’s red-braised pork. Your meals are coming up next. But we have to let Sanle eat to his heart’s content first, and then I’ll make something for each of you as well.

“All right Sanle, prick up your ears. You’ll pick up that piece of meat with your chopsticks, put it in your mouth, and start to chew. And the flavor — let me tell you about the flavor. The fatty meat’s rich but not too rich, and the lean meat’s still nice and juicy. You know why I braised it over low heat for so long? So the flavor would all be absorbed into the meat. Sanle, take your time, and enjoy the meal.