Yu Hua - Brothers

Baldy Li beamed with excitement. Sun Wei, who was seven years older than he, was his friend. Now that Song Fanping had passed away, Baldy Li's new friend was certainly the Number One Sweep-kicker in town. Sun Wei's hair, which usually covered his ears, blew in the breeze, and he recited the Chairman's verses as he ambled along, sometimes adding an "Alas!" at the end of the line for emphasis. Sun Wei's improvements on the originals impressed Baldy Li. He also felt that walking alongside Sun Wei brought him great clout. He was no longer intimidated by anyone, not even the armband-wearing men.

As they ascended the bridge they ran into Victory Zhao and Success Liu, both of whom looked upon Sun Wei walking with the young Baldy Li with great curiosity. Ignoring them, Sun Wei continued with his recitation of Chairman's Mao verse, "I ask, in this boundless land… "

Baldy Li rather overeagerly rushed to complete the couplet: "… who is master of his destiny?"

Victory Zhao and Success Liu whispered to each other, laughing. Sun Wei knew that they were making fun of him, so in a low voice he scolded Baldy Li, "Hey, kid, stop walking next to me. Follow behind."

Baldy Li's swagger instantly dissipated. He no longer had the right to walk shoulder to shoulder with Sun Wei and could only follow behind him like a little lackey, his shoulders slumped and his head drooped. Trailing behind Sun Wei, Baldy Li now understood that the only reason Sun Wei had recruited him as a friend was because he had none left. All the same, he still followed closely behind Sun Wei, since trailing him was better than being on his own.

What Baldy Li didn't expect was that the next day long-haired Sun Wei would come knocking on his door. Baldy Li was just finishing breakfast when he heard Sun Wei reciting Chairman Mao's verse outside the door: "I ask, in this boundless land, who is master of his destiny?"

Overjoyed, Baldy Li opened the door. Sun Wei beckoned him like an old friend. "C'mon, let's go."

The two of them walked for a bit. Baldy Li cautiously followed alongside Sun Wei, relieved not to see any reaction from him. When they reached the end of the alley, Sun Wei suddenly stopped and asked Baldy Li, "Take a look for me. Do I have a rip in my pants?"

Baldy Li crouched down and peered at the seat of Sun Wei's pants but didn't spot anything. He replied, "No rips."

Sun Wei said, "Look more closely."

By this point Baldy Li's nose was almost touching Sun Wei's butt, but he still didn't spot anything. Suddenly Sun Wei let out a loud fart, blasting Baldy Li's face like a gust of wind. Sun Wei guffawed and, walking off, chanted loudly, "I ask, in this boundless land …"

Baldy Li quickly chimed in, "… who is master of his destiny?"

Baldy Li knew that Sun Wei was taunting him, but he didn't care. He only cared that Sun Wei let him walk alongside him, rather than making him trail behind.

For the rest of the summer, Baldy Li and Sun Wei spent all their time together. They loafed about in the streets past sunset, sometimes staying out long after the moon had come up. Sun Wei didn't like deserted areas, preferring the crowded main streets. Like a fly hovering over a pile of dung, Baldy Li trailed him everywhere; and the two wandered the streets, not knowing what else to do. Sun Wei was enamored with his own long hair, and at least twice a day he would walk down the steps to the riverbank and, squatting down, take up some water to style the locks framing his face. He would then admire his blurry image in the river and blow a few smug whistles. Baldy Li eventually figured out why Sun Wei liked to amble up and down the main streets: What he liked were the large glass windows of the stores. Whenever he stopped in front of one and started whistling, Baldy Li knew even without looking that Sun Wei was once again tossing his hair about.

They often ran into Sun Wei's father on the street. On those occasions, Sun Wei would look down and hurry away as if he were worried about being recognized. Sun Wei's father wore a tall dunce cap and swept the streets as Song Fanping had once been made to do. Each morning he would start at one end of the street and sweep his way to the other end, and each afternoon he would sweep his way back. People often lectured him, saying, "Hey there, have you confessed all your mistakes?"

He stuttered in reply, "Yes, yes."

"Did you leave anything out? Think more carefully."

He nodded obsequiously. "Yes, I will."

Sometimes it would be children who would lecture him: "Raise your fist and shout, ‘Down with myself.'"

And he would raise his fist and shout, "Down with myself!"

On those occasions Baldy Li would itch with the desire to yell at him too, but with Sun Wei by his side, he couldn't bring himself to do so. One time Baldy Li really couldn't help himself, and when Sun Wei's father had finished shouting "Down with myself!" Baldy Li said, "Shout it twice."

Sun Wei's father raised his fist twice, shouting, "Down with myself!" Sun Wei stomped on Baldy Li's foot, cursing, "If you're going to fucking kick a dog, you should first see who it belongs to."

But when Sun Wei ran across other dunce-cap-wearing people being struggled against, he would happily throw in a kick himself as he walked past. Baldy Li would follow suit, and the two would be pleased with themselves as if they had just had a bowl of house-special noodles. Sun Wei said to Baldy Li, "Kicking bad guys is as natural as wiping yourself after taking a shit."

Sun Wei's mother had once been a woman with a vicious tongue. On Li Lan and Song Fanping's wedding day, she had been the one who let loose with a string of the foulest curses over a wayward hen. But now that her husband was wearing a dunce cap and a wooden placard, it was as if she had become a different person and was now soft-spoken and obsequious. Baldy Li often appeared at her front door in the morning, and she knew that he was her son's only friend; so whenever she ran into him, she was as affectionate as if she were his mom. If she noticed that Baldy Li's face was dirty, she would fetch a towel to wipe it, and if Baldy Li had a button missing on his shirt, she would have him take it off, then she would sew it back on right then and there. When no one was listening, she would ask after Li Lan. Baldy Li always shook his head and said that he didn't know, whereupon she would sigh and turn away before he could see her cry.

Baldy Li and Sun Wei's friendship didn't last very long. Now in addition to the parading masses, the streets were also full of people wielding scissors and razor blades. Whenever they spotted someone with tailored pants, they would drag him out and shred his pants legs until they were like the ends of a mop; when they saw a long-haired man, they would wrestle him to the ground and chop at his hair until it looked like a roughly weeded patch of grass. Men wearing tailored pants and sporting long hair were obviously bourgeois, and Sun Wei's long hair could not escape this fate. One morning, just as he and Baldy Li reached the main street and spotted Sun Wei's father sweeping at a distance with his head bent, a few men wielding scissors and razors ran toward them. At that moment Sun Wei was still busy reciting, "I ask, in this boundless land, who is master of his destiny?"

Baldy Li heard the clatter of footsteps behind him, and he turned around to see a few red-armbanders rushing at them with scissors and razors in their hands. Baldy Li didn't know what was going on. But when he turned back to look at Sun Wei, he saw that he had already dashed off frantically toward his father, with the red-armbanders close behind.

Usually, when Baldy Li's middle-schooler friend ran into his father on the street, he would walk past, eyes averted. But this time, in order to protect his beloved head of long hair, he ran toward his father, screaming, "Papa, save me!"