Yu Hua - Chronicle of a Blood Merchant

Xu Sanguan went to Sanle’s factory first. When he found Sanle, he asked him how much money he had. Sanle told him they had just given out the payroll four days earlier, so he still had a good twelve yuan. Xu Sanguan asked him for ten.

Sanle shook his head. “If I give you ten, how am I going to eat for the rest of the month?”

Xu Sanguan said, “You can eat the northwest wind for all I care.”

Sanle began to chuckle.

Xu Sanguan shouted, “Don’t fool around with me! Your brother Yile’s about to die, and you’re laughing?”

Sanle stared at him, stupefied. “Dad, what did you say just now?”

Then Xu Sanguan realized that he had yet to inform Sanle why he needed to borrow the money in the first place: Yile was suffering from an advanced case of hepatitis. He hastily explained the situation to Sanle, who gave him the entire twelve yuan .

“Dad, take all of it. You go back to the hospital, and I’ll meet you there as soon as I tell the people at the factory that I’m not coming in for work.”

After Xu Sanguan collected the twelve yuan from Sanle, he paid a visit to Blacksmith Fang. He sat down next to Blacksmith Fang in his foundry. “We’ve known each other almost twenty years now, no? In all that time I’ve never asked you for anything, but today I’m finally going to have to ask a favor of you.”

After Xu Sanguan explained the situation, Blacksmith Fang took a ten- yuan note from his pocket and handed it to Xu Sanguan. “All I can give you right now is ten yuan. I know it’s not nearly enough, but that’s all I can afford right now.”

After leaving Blacksmith Fang’s, Xu Sanguan spent the rest of the morning visiting eleven other families around town. Of the eleven families, eight were willing to lend him some money. Around noon he came to He Xiaoyong’s house. After He Xiaoyong’s death, Xu Sanguan had encountered his widow only very rarely. When he arrived at the doorstep, she and her daughters were just sitting down to lunch inside. Since the loss of her husband, He Xiaoyong’s woman’s hair had gone gray.

Xu Sanguan addressed her from the doorstep. “Yile’s seriously ill. The doctor says he has to be sent to Shanghai for treatment or else he’ll die. We don’t have enough money to pay for it. Do you think you could lend us something to help out?”

He Xiaoyong’s woman gazed toward Xu Sanguan for a moment. Then she turned wordlessly back to her meal.

Xu Sanguan stood quietly for a moment before trying a second time. “We’ll pay you back as soon as we can. We can even write a promissory note.”

He Xiaoyong’s woman glanced at him once more, turned back inside, and continued to eat her lunch.

Xu Sanguan spoke for a third time. “I know I did you wrong before, and I’m sorry for it. Now I’m begging you, for Yile’s sake. Because when it comes down to it, Yile is—”

He Xiaoyong’s woman addressed her daughters. “How about it? Yile is your big brother, after all. You can’t just stand and watch a drowning man go under. How much money do you girls have? Give the man whatever you have.” He Xiaoyong’s woman gestured toward Xu Sanguan.

Her two daughters stood up from the table and went upstairs to get some money. He Xiaoyong’s woman, in turn, reached inside her clothes and pulled out a bundle wrapped neatly in her handkerchief. Setting it down on the tabletop, she unfolded the cloth, revealing one five- yuan note and one two- yuan note, along with some small change. She picked out the two bills, tucked the change back into the handkerchief, and put the bundle back in her pocket. At the same time her daughters came downstairs and handed her their money.

He Xiaoyong’s woman collated the bills, counted them, stood, and handed the notes to Xu Sanguan. “That’s seventeen yuan all together. Count it.”

Xu Sanguan accepted the money, counted it, and put it in his pocket. Then he told her, “I’ve been to see thirteen different people this morning, and of all those people, you came up with the most money. Let me pay my respects to you.”

Xu Sanguan made a deep bow, turned, and left. He had collected sixty-three yuan that morning. He gave all the money to Xu Yulan and told her to take Yile to Shanghai.

“I know this won’t be enough to cover everything, but I’ll find a way to come up with the rest. All you have to do is take good care of Yile and leave the rest to me. Once I’ve come up with the money, I’ll come and find you in Shanghai. You should get going as soon as possible. This is a matter of life and death.”

THE AFTERNOON after Xu Yulan had set off for Shanghai, Erle got sick. He had caught a nasty cold carrying Yile home from the countryside on his back. Now he was laid up in bed, coughing incessantly. What scared Xu Sanguan was that he was coughing so violently that he sounded as if he were vomiting instead. When he put his hand on Erle’s forehead, he felt as if he were holding it against an open flame.

Xu Sanguan took him to the hospital without any further delay. The doctor said Erle had a bad flu and that his bronchial passages were also infected. Fortunately, his lungs were still clear, and there was nothing wrong that a few shots of streptomycin couldn’t fix.

Xu Sanguan called Sanle to his side and said, “I’m leaving Erle in your hands. Stay home from work for a few days and look after him. Make sure he gets enough rest and enough to eat. I know you can’t cook, and I won’t have any time to cook for you either, because I have to find a way to collect enough money for Yile. You’ll just have to get your meals from the canteen at the factory. Here’s ten yuan. Take it.”

Then Xu Sanguan went once again to pay a visit to Blood Chief Li. When Blood Chief Li saw Xu Sanguan walk into the room, he smiled. “You’re here to sell blood again ?”

Xu Sanguan nodded. “My son Yile has hepatitis, and they had to send him to the hospital in Shanghai. My son Erle is sick in bed at home too. I’m desperate this time.”

“Don’t even bother talking to me”—Blood Chief Li waved him away—“because I’m not listening.”

Xu Sanguan stood before him on the verge of tears.

Blood Chief Li continued, “Are you trying to kill yourself, selling blood at this pace? You’ve been here almost every month, no? If you’re really so tired of living, you’d do better to find yourself a nice quiet spot where there’s a tree to hang yourself from.”

Xu Sanguan said, “Look, I’m begging you. Help me out for Genlong’s sake.”

“Damn!” Blood Chief Li exclaimed. “When Genlong was still alive, you asked me to do it on Genlong’s account. I’m still supposed to help you on his account now that he’s dead and gone?”

Xu Sanguan replied, “Genlong hasn’t been gone for very long. I’ll bet his corpse isn’t even cold yet. Can’t you do it out of respect for him?”

Blood Chief Li chuckled despite himself. “You really have no shame, do you? Thickest skin I ever saw. So out of respect for your thick skin, I’m going to give you a little suggestion. Even if I won’t let you sell any blood, you can always go somewhere else. Try another hospital. They won’t know that you’ve just sold blood somewhere else. They’ll be happy to take your blood. Get it?” Blood Chief Li saw Xu Sanguan nodding his head. “That way, you can sell as much blood as you want. And you can sell your life away along with it, for all I care.”

Xu Sanguan put the ailing Erle to bed at home, told Sanle to look after him, slung a blue floral-print cloth bundle across his back, stuffed two yuan and thirty fen into his front pocket, and set off for the ferry pier.