Yu Hua - Chronicle of a Blood Merchant

He Xiaoyong’s woman broke once more into loud wails. “My fate is bitter. He Xiaoyong’s lying in the hospital on the brink of death, and the doctors can’t do anything to help him. Mr. Chen over on the west side can’t help either. Only Yile can save him. If only Yile would climb up on our roof and call his soul back from the brink, he might live. If Yile doesn’t call back his soul, he’ll die for sure. And I’ll be left a widow.”

Xu Yulan said, “My fate is sweet. Everyone says Xu Sanguan will live for a very long time. They say you can see from his face that he’ll be blessed with longevity. If you look at his hands, you’ll see that my Xu Sanguan’s life line runs long and deep. What does that mean? It means that even when he’s over eighty, the King of Hell won’t be able to pull him down to the netherworld, no matter how hard he tries. I’m going to live to a ripe old age as well, but I won’t live as long as Xu Sanguan. He’ll be around to see me off to the netherworld. What’s the worst thing that can happen to a woman? To be widowed, that’s what. How can you get through your days after you’ve been widowed? You have a lot less money than before, that’s for sure. But there’s worse yet. The kids don’t have a father anymore, and there’s no one around to protect them when they get into trouble. And when there’s a big storm and you’re scared of the lightning and the thunder, you won’t have a shoulder to lean on anymore.”

He Xiaoyong’s woman’s sobs grew increasingly jagged. She said to Xu Yulan, “My fate is bitter. I’m begging you to show me some mercy. Let Yile call for He Xiaoyong’s soul. If not for me, do it for Yile’s sake. He is He Xiaoyong’s son, after all.”

Xu Yulan grinned. “Oh! If you had said that from the beginning, I might have let Yile go with you. But you never admitted it until now. And now it’s just too late. Xu Sanguan would never agree now. Think about it. When I came to your house that first time, you yelled and screamed and cursed. He Xiaoyong even hit me. The two of you were riding high then, weren’t you? You never imagined a day like today would come, did you? Xu Sanguan’s right. You have bad karma, and you’re getting exactly what you deserve. Our family has good karma. If you do right, good things will come to you. Look at us. We’re doing better and better. Take a look at my blouse. This is raw silk. I sewed it for myself just last week.”

He Xiaoyong’s woman said, “We’re getting what we deserve. We wouldn’t take Yile because we wanted to save a little money. And we were wrong! He Xiaoyong did wrong, and I’ve suffered along with him. But that’s not important anymore. I’m begging you to take pity on me. Please let Yile save his life. I hate him too, but I can’t help that he’s still my husband, for better or worse. My eyes are so swollen from crying that they hurt. What am I supposed to do if he dies?”

Xu Yulan said, “What will you do? You’ll be a widow, of course.”

XU YULAN said to Xu Sanguan, “He Xiaoyong’s woman came by for a visit. Her eyes were so swollen from crying, they looked like lightbulbs.”

Xu Sanguan asked, “What did she want?”

Xu Yulan said, “She was always very thin, but ever since He Xiaoyong’s accident, she’s wasted away to nearly nothing. She’s as skinny as a pole. You could use her to hang your laundry out to dry.”

Xu Sanguan asked, “What did she want?”

Xu Yulan said, “She hasn’t combed her hair in days, and two of the buttons on her shirt were missing. One of her shoes was clean, but the other one was covered with mud. I wonder what she stepped in.”

Xu Sanguan said, “I’m asking you a question. What did she want from us?”

“It’s like this,” Xu Yulan began. “He Xiaoyong’s in the hospital, and he’s about to die. The doctors can’t do anything more, so she went to see Mr. Chen over on the west side. Mr. Chen couldn’t do anything to save He Xiaoyong’s life either. Mr. Chen said the only person who can save him is Yile. He said Yile has to climb up on their roof and call for He Xiaoyong’s soul to come home. So she came by to look for Yile.”

Xu Sanguan said, “Why doesn’t she climb up on the roof herself? Why doesn’t she have her two daughters climb up on the roof and call for his soul?”

“It’s like this,” Xu Yulan continued. “If she goes up there herself and calls for him, He Xiaoyong’s soul won’t be able to hear her voice. If his daughters go up there, he won’t be able to hear them either. He’ll only hear the call if it’s his own son who’s calling for him to come back. That’s what Mr. Chen said, and that’s why she came by to look for Yile.”

“She’s got to be kidding,” Xu Sanguan said. “Dream on. When I wanted to give them back their son, the son I had raised on their behalf for over nine years, they wouldn’t have any of it. Now that I’ve taken care of him for four more years, they’re coming to ask for him back? Forget it. He Xiaoyong can go to hell for all I care. He doesn’t do anyone any good anyway. Just let him die. Damn! So they want Yile to call back his soul? Even if Yile could bring him back, He Xiaoyong would still be a bastard.”

Xu Yulan said, “Still, you have to feel bad for He Xiaoyong’s woman. It’s just about the worst thing that can happen to a woman. What do you do after the man of the house is gone? How can you go on living? What if something like that happened to me?”

“Shit,” Xu Sanguan said. “I’m as healthy as they come. I’ve got more energy than I know what to do with. Look at these muscles. When I walk down the street, my muscles practically ripple under my shirt.”

“That’s not what I meant. What I’m saying is that sometimes you have to put yourself in other people’s shoes. He Xiaoyong’s woman came to our doorstep, sobbing and begging for mercy. It just wouldn’t feel right if we didn’t try to help her out. Forget what they did to us in the past. Because no matter what you think, his life is still in our hands, and it just isn’t right to help someone into the grave.”

Xu Sanguan said, “That’s exactly what we should do. Help He Xiaoyong into the grave. We’d be ridding society of a pest. That truck driver did us all a favor.”

Xu Yulan said, “You always say that those who do good get good in return. If you do something good, people stand up and take notice. If you let Yile call back his soul, everyone will say Xu Sanguan is a good man. They’ll say: Even after everything He Xiaoyong’s done to him, Xu Sanguan was still kind enough to save his life.”

Xu Sanguan said, “They’ll say that Xu Sanguan’s a real idiot, a moron, a prize fool, a stupid fucking cuckold. They’ll say Xu Sanguan’s getting used to being a cuckold. They’ll say he’s liking it better and better.”

Xu Yulan said, “No matter what you say, He Xiaoyong is still Yile’s father.”

Xu Sanguan jabbed a finger toward her face: “If you say that one more time, I’ll bash your face in. I’ve raised that boy for thirteen years. If he’s not my son, what is he? If I’m not his dad, who is?” Finally, he added, “Let me tell you something. Yile will call for that man’s soul over my dead body. He Xiaoyong’s soul won’t be coming back as long as I’m here to stop it.”

XU SANGUAN called Yile to come to him and said, “Yile, you’re already thirteen years old now. When I was as big as you are now, my dad had already died and my mom had run off with another man. I couldn’t live all by myself in town, so I walked a whole day to find my grandpa in the countryside. It wasn’t actually that far — it should only have taken half a day to get there, but I got lost in the middle, and if I hadn’t run into my fourth uncle, I don’t know where I would have ended up. My fourth uncle didn’t recognize me, but it was getting dark, and I was still a little kid, so he asked me where I was going. I said my dad had died and my mom had left with another man and I was looking for my grandpa. When my uncle realized that I was his brother’s son, he knelt down and stroked my hair and began to cry. By then I could hardly walk anymore, so Fourth Uncle carried me home on his back.