Yu Hua - Brothers

Song Gang looked down at those final two blossoms and replied apologetically, "I can't bear to part with them."

The woman stared at him in confusion and asked, "But aren't you here selling flowers?"

"Yes," Song Gang explained. "But I'm keeping these last two for my wife."

The woman nodded, put away her purse, and walked off. Song Gang followed her and asked solicitously, "Where do you live? I could bring you one tomorrow, at no charge."

"No need," the woman replied without turning around.

By the time Song Gang got home, it was past ten o'clock. He saw that the front door was open and Lin Hong was standing there peering out. When she saw Song Gang approach, she let out a deep sigh of relief and then reprimanded him, "Where did you go? I've been worried sick."

With a huge smile, Song Gang grasped her hand and accompanied her into the house. After they closed the front door, he didn't even pause to sit down before launching into a detailed description of his day. It had been a long time since Lin Hong had seen him so excited. Still holding his basket in his hand, Song Gang pulled a handful of change out of his pocket as he spoke and continued describing how he had sold his flowers while at the same time counting his money. He happily announced that he had earned twenty-four yuan and fifty cents, then handed Lin Hong the money, saying, "I could have made it twenty-five yuan even, but I couldn't bring myself to earn those last fifty cents."

Song Gang removed the final two blossoms from his basket and placed them in Lin Hong's hand, recounting how that young woman had wanted to buy them and how he had refused. He told Lin Hong, "I was saving these for you and couldn't bring myself to sell them."

"You should have sold them," Lin Hong quickly replied. "I don't want any…"

Seeing the light in Song Gang's eyes immediately dim, Lin Hong didn't continue. Instead, she took his basket and urged him to sit down and eat. It was then that Song Gang realized that he was actually quite famished, and therefore he took a bowl of food and wolfed it down. Lin Hong walked to the mirror and placed the string of blossoms in her braid, then draped the braid over her chest and sat down next to him, hoping that he would notice the flowers. Song Gang, however, paid no attention to her braid, focusing instead on her happy smile, which in turn made him more contented than ever — inspiring him to once again launch into a detailed description of his day. Finally he sighed, saying that he had never imagined that he could make as much with such light work as he had while working the docks. At this point, Lin Hong pretended to get angry, nudging him and asking, "Don't you see?"

As he noticed the blossoms in her hair Song Gang's eyes lit up. He asked, "Do you like them?"

"I do." She nodded.

That night Song Gang slept peacefully. Hearing his rhythmic breathing, Lin Hong felt that it had been a long time since he had slept so soundly. She, on the other hand, couldn't sleep. She placed the magnolia blossoms on her pillow and smelled their fragrance, sighing over Song Gangs loyalty and love for her. At that moment the humiliation she had endured from Director Liu meant nothing. Then she began to feel anxious about Song Gangs future prospects, realizing that no one could sell flowers their entire lives. Especially for a grown man like Song Gang, carrying around a basket every day was a humiliating job.

Lin Hongs fears quickly became a reality as her workmates at the knitting factory began to mock Song Gang all day long. They said that they had never seen a man selling flowers, especially not someone as big and tall as Song Gang, and remarked that when Song Gang was hawking flowers his voice became quite soft, more like a young woman's than a man's. They said these things not only behind Lin Hong's back but also to her face, making her blush with embarrassment. When she returned home, Lin Hong exploded at Song Gang, telling him not to continue humiliating himself. Song Gang, however, stubbornly refused to stop, even though his profits were steadily declining. Many of the young women in Liu knew Song Gang, and rather than pay for their flowers, they asked him to give them to them for free. Song Gang couldn't bring himself to turn them down, and as a result, they took all the flowers he had gone to such trouble to obtain and thread together. Even the workmates who mocked Song Gang to Lin Hong's face nevertheless shamelessly demanded blossoms from him and wore them in their braids draped over their chests. Then, when they saw Lin Hong, they taunted her, saying, "Your Song Gang gave these to us."

Lin Hong turned and walked away, then exploded at Song Gang when she saw him that evening. With the door closed and in a low voice, she said furiously, "I won't permit you to continue selling flowers."

For Song Gang, that night seemed to go on forever. Lin Hong was exhausted and went straight to bed after just a few bites of dinner. Song Gang also ate very little, then sat at the table for a long time, finally coming to the conclusion that selling flowers was not a viable solution. He was depressed to have to quit his new job so soon. That night he quietly lay down beside Lin Hong and, listening to her light breathing, gradually grew calmer. He didn't know about the humiliation she had endured at the factory as the result of chain-smoking Director Liu's advances.

When Song Gang woke up the next morning, he saw that Lin Hong had already gotten up and was in the bathroom brushing her teeth and washing her face. He quickly got out of bed, got dressed, and walked toward the bathroom. Lin Hong looked at him silently, her mouth full of toothpaste, and Song Gang announced, "I'm not going to sell flowers anymore."

He hesitated a moment, then headed to the door. Lin Hong came out of the bathroom and called out to him, asking him where he was going. He turned and said, "I'm going to go look for work."

Holding a towel in her hand, Lin Hong asked, "Have you eaten breakfast?"

"I'm not hungry." Song Gang shook his head and opened the door.

"Don't leave."

Lin Hong then stuffed some money into his pocket, telling him to go buy himself something to eat. Looking up and seeing Song Gang's smile, she felt a stab of sadness and bowed her head. Song Gang smiled as he patted her back, then turned around and walked out. Lin Hong walked him to the door, as if he were about to embark on a long journey. She quietly told him, "Take good care of yourself."

Song Gang nodded, then continued on. She called out to him, "Go see Baldy Li."

Song Gang paused, then shook his head firmly, saying, "I won't go see him."

Lin Hong sighed, watching her stubborn husband walk down the street under the morning sun. Song Gang began the slow process of looking for a new job, and for the next year he would head out early every morning and return late each night, searching determinedly for a way to earn money. His face quickly grew pallid, and after dragging his exhausted body home every evening, he would merely sit silently at the dinner table. Lin Hong couldn't bring herself to look him in the eye, knowing that he was once again returning empty-handed. With a shamed expression, he would silently eat his dinner and go to bed, and when the sun woke him the following morning, he would optimistically set forth again. Over the course of that year, he did succeed in finding some part-time jobs, such as occasionally filling in for the gatekeeper at the warehouse. Similarly, when the clerks at the market, movie theater and bus and ferry terminals had to take time off, Song Gang would fill in for them as well. He became Liu Town's chief sub, with up to twenty-four different jobs waiting for him to come and step in at a moments notice. Despite that, the total number of days he worked over the course of the year added up to less than two full months.