Yu Hua - Brothers

In a small town there are no secrets, and about a month later Lin Hong finally learned what was going on. It was a coworker at the knitting factory who told her. The previous day the coworker had taken the day off and around noon happened to pass in front of the front gate of the government building, where she saw Song Gang and Baldy Li sitting together on the ground and sharing the food in Song Gangs lunch box. The next day the coworker giggled as she told Lin Hong about how those two brothers, eating there together, looked even more affectionate than a married couple. At that point Lin Hong was sitting in the workshop doorway eating her lunch. Hearing her coworker's description, she immediately put down her lunch box and stormed out of the factory.

By the time she arrived at the government building, the brothers had finished eating and were sitting there chatting and laughing, with Baldy Li loudly recounting some story or other. Her face ashen, Lin Hong walked up to them. When Baldy Li spotted her, he scrambled up and warmly called out, "Lin Hong, you've come."

Song Gang, meanwhile, had turned pale, and Lin Hong looked at him coldly, then turned and walked away. Baldy Li had just retrieved a pile of newspapers from the scrap heap and was about to invite Lin Hong to sit down when he noticed that she had already left. He said disappointedly, "You came all the way over here. Why don't you at least sit down and join us for a while?"

Song Gang stood there, not knowing what to do. He watched Lin Hong walk away until finally it occurred to him to run after her. He therefore jumped onto his bicycle and sped after her. Lin Hong was walking forward in a dignified manner, and when she heard Song Gang ride up beside her, suggesting quietly that she sit behind him, she pretended not to have heard him and acted as though no one were there. She walked away with her head held high, staring straight ahead. Song Gang didn't dare say anything else; instead he jumped off his bicycle and followed silently behind her. They acted like two complete strangers, walking silently down the main street of Liu. Many townspeople saw them and stopped to watch curiously, recognizing that something had happened between them. Someone called out Lin Hongs name, but she made no response. Someone else called out to Song Gang, who also didn't answer, though he did nod and smile. His smile, however, was forced, and Poet Zhao, who happened to be on the street and was the kind of person who could always make a mountain out of a molehill, pointed to him and told everyone, "Do you see that? That is a bitter smile."

Song Gang pushed his bicycle as he followed Lin Hong all the way to the entrance of the knitting factory. She didn't glance back at him the entire way, and even when she walked into the factory, she didn't turn to look at him. Sensing that Song Gang was still standing there, she slowed down a little, and suddenly her heart softened. Though she wanted to turn and look at him, she restrained herself and continued forward into the factory workshop.

Song Gang stood rooted outside the gate and remained there as Lin Hong disappeared in the distance. After the bell sounded announcing the end of the lunch break, the gate area emptied out, as did his heart. Song Gang stood there for a long time, then finally turned around and pushed his bike away. He forgot to ride his shiny Eternity bicycle, and instead pushed it all the way back to the metal factory.

Song Gang was in torment all afternoon, spending most of his time in the workshop staring into a corner. He alternated between being at a loss and concentrating intently, but after concentrating his mind would inevitably revert to being a complete blank again. It was not until the bell rang announcing the end of the workday that he finally came to his senses. He ran out of the workshop, jumped on his bike, and shot out of the factory. He pedaled furiously down the street, and when he arrived at the door to the knitting factory, the workers were still filing out. Song Gang stood there holding his bicycle and saw Lin Hong emerge, chatting with a few of her workmates. He cheered up when he saw her but then became somber again, uncertain whether or not she would be willing to ride back with him.

To his surprise, she simply walked up to him as though nothing had happened, waved goodbye to her workmates, and climbed on the back of his bicycle. Song Gang was momentarily stunned but then breathed a sigh of relief. With a flushed face, he mounted the bicycle and, ringing his bell, rode off down the street. Happy again, Song Gang felt reenergized and pedaled furiously, with Lin Hong first holding on to his seat and then, as their speed increased, eventually grabbing on to his clothing.

Song Gangs happiness did not last very long. Once Lin Hong returned home and closed the door, she again became as frigid as she had been that afternoon in the street. She went over to the window and, after pulling the shades, stood silently staring at the window shade as though she were looking at the scenery outside. Song Gang stood in the middle of the room and after a while muttered, "Lin Hong, I was wrong."

Lin Hong merely snorted and continued standing there, eventually turning around and asking, "Wrong about what?"

Song Gang bowed his head and told her truthfully about how he had been sharing his lunch with Baldy Li for the past month. Lin Hong shook her head and wept as she listened, distressed at the thought that Song Gang would starve himself in order to feed that bastard Baldy Li. When Song Gang saw that she was crying from anger, he shut his mouth and stood uncertainly to one side. After a while she wiped away her tears. Then Song Gang finally took out the foreign watch and, stammering, told her that he had broken off relations with Baldy Li, but that day when he rode by in front of the government building, Baldy Li called out to him and gave him this watch, reminding him of their former brotherly love. As Song Gang stammered out this explanation Lin Hong looked carefully at the watch and suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "But it doesn't have any hands — you call this a watch?"

With this, she finally exploded and tearfully cursed Baldy Li. Starting with his having peeked at her bottom in the public toilet, she cursed him for all of the embarrassment he had caused her, right up to his having brought his Good Works Factory workers to the knitting factory to harass her in front of everyone. Lin Hong listed all of Baldy Li's transgressions, and in the end she became so depressed, she simply wept. Even after she had tried to commit suicide by jumping in the river, Baldy Li still wouldn't let her be and forced Song Gang to come and tell her, "It is time you gave up hope," pushing Song Gang to the point that he himself almost committed suicide.

Lin Hong wept until she could barely speak. After she finished cursing Baldy Li, she started in on Song Gang. She said that she had been scrimping and saving ever since they married so that she could buy him a Diamond brand watch, and she simply couldn't believe that Baldy Li won him over so easily with a broken watch someone had thrown away. She then abruptly stopped crying, wiped away her tears, and muttered sadly, as if to herself, "Well, he didn't have to win you over — you and he are family. I'm the one who inserted myself and split the two of you up."

Finished with her crying and cursing, Lin Hong wiped her tears and fell into a long silence. Then she let out a long sigh, looked at Song Gang sorrowfully, and with a measured voice said, "Song Gang, I've reached a decision. You should go back to living with Baldy Li, and we should get divorced."

Terrified, Song Gang shook his head. He opened his mouth several times, but no words came out. Lin Hong watched his reaction and couldn't help feeling sorry for him. She once again started crying and shook her head, saying, "Song Gang, you know I love you, but I can't continue living like this."