Yu Hua - Brothers

Song Gang kept track of both of their salaries, and every time he wanted to spend money, he made a point of consulting with Baldy Li and securing his permission. After Baldy Li formally assumed his position as factory director, Song Gang offered to go buy him a pair of black leather shoes, arguing that as factory director he couldn't keep wearing his tattered old sneakers. Baldy Li was very pleased to see his new shoes, and counting on his fingers all the important people in the county — from the county's party secretary, governor, and bureau chief on down to the various factory directors — he concluded that all of them wore black leather shoes. He added, "Now I'm an important person, too."

Baldy Li's sweater was also in tatters. Furthermore, it had been knitted from various different colored spools of yarn, patched together long ago by Li Lan from the remains of several other sweaters. Song Gang bought a pound and a half of beige yarn, and after work he started knitting Baldy Li a new sweater, periodically holding it up to Baldy Li's body to size it. A month later the sweater was finished, and it fit perfectly. On Baldy Li's chest there was the embroidered outline of a wave, on top of which was a boat, its sails unfurled. Song Gang explained that the sailboat symbolized Baldy Li's bright future. Baldy Li happily exclaimed, "Song Gang, you are truly extraordinary. You can even do women's work."

Since he had begun wearing the black leather shoes, Baldy Li had only left the house wearing his dark blue Mao suit, buttoned all the way up. But once he started wearing the beige sweater Song Gang knitted for him, Baldy Li let his Mao tunic hang open as he walked around in order to give people a clear view of the waves and the sailboat on his chest. With his hands in his pockets, the flaps of his tunic tucked behind his elbows, he stuck out his chest as he walked, grinning to everyone he encountered.

The women in Liu Town had never seen a sweater with a sailboat embroidered on the front, and therefore when they saw Baldy Li's they immediately crowded around him to examine how it had been made. They crowed their approval, exclaiming, "There is even a sail on top!"

Baldy Li lifted his head and allowed them to appreciate his sweater, listening as they complimented the sailboat. They asked him whose extraordinary skill had produced it. Baldy Li responded proudly, "Song Gang. Aside from bearing children, Song Gang can do anything."

After the women of Liu finished admiring the handiwork on the boat and the sail, they turned their attention to what kind of boat it was. They asked Baldy Li, "Is this a fishing boat?"

"A fishing boat?" Baldy Li replied. "This is called a Great Prospects Ship."

Their rude and ignorant questions infuriated Baldy Li. He pushed away their hands, feeling that allowing them to admire his tall mast sailing into the future was like serenading cows with violins. As he stalked off he turned and angrily spat out his parting words: "What are you women good for besides having children?"

AFTER BALDY LI was appointed factory director, he would often attend meetings with the county's other factory directors, all of whom similarly wore Mao suits and black leather shoes. Baldy Li would smile and shake their hands, and within a few months he was accepted as one of their "brothers." From that point on, Baldy Li became a bona fide member of Liu Town s high society, whereupon he assumed a haughty demeanor, always holding his head high when speaking.

One day he unexpectedly ran into Lin Hong on the bridge and was immediately struck dumb. While the Lin Hong that Baldy Li had peeped at was a very pretty seventeen-year-old, she was now twenty-three and the embodiment of womanly charm. Lin Hong walked across the bridge staring straight ahead, but when she passed Baldy Li someone happened to call out her name. She spun around, and her long braid barely missed hitting him in the face. Baldy Li watched her in a state of infatuation, repeating dreamily, "Beautiful, so beautiful …"

Baldy Li hadn't seen Lin Hong in a long time, not since being appointed factory director, and he had almost forgotten all about Liu Town's resident beauty. Upon encountering her on the bridge that day, however, he became so excited he developed a nosebleed, with two streams of blood gushing from his nose into his mouth. As a result, Baldy Li enjoyed another brief moment of fame, almost as great as that time several years earlier when he was caught being a Peeping Tom. Everyone in Liu Town laughed heartily over this incident, remarking that nothing since Baldy Li was caught spying on women's bottoms had provided them with comparable entertainment. Liu Town, they said, was becoming duller by the year, its residents increasingly dispirited, and therefore it was a good thing that Baldy Li had decided to make a public spectacle of himself again, and wouldn't you know it, it was once again all about Lin Hong.

Baldy Li ignored their laughter, saying that the blood was merely an "offering" and asking, "Who else in the world could claim to have offered up his lifeblood for love?" Patting his chest, he declared, "The glory belongs solely to me."

The elders of Liu were more tactful and remarked, "It is true that famous people do famous things."

When this reached Baldy Li's ears, he nodded with satisfaction. "Well, the rich and famous always live larger than ordinary folks."

Baldy Li, who had previously beaten Writer Liu to the point that he developed a case of delusional memory, seemed to have contracted a similar delusional syndrome. He racked his brain trying to explain why Lin Hong had leaned so close to him when she passed, so close that her long braid almost caressed his nose. Combining illusions of love with delusions of grandeur, he concluded that she must be in love with him; and even if she hadn't fallen in love with him yet, there was no question that she was about to. Baldy Li decided that there had been altogether too many people on the bridge and in the street, and if their encounter had taken place in the middle of the night with no one around, Lin Hong would certainly have stopped to gaze longingly at him, committing to memory every wrinkle and blood vessel in his face. Upon reaching that conclusion, he grinned stupidly as he informed Song Gang, "Lin Hong fancies me."

Song Gang knew about Lin Hong and knew that this Liu Town beauty was the object of all the townsmen's fantasies. Song Gang himself felt that she was as unattainable as the moon and the stars, and therefore Baldy Li's assertion that she was interested in him left Song Gang speechless. Was it possible that Lin Hong would fancy the same Baldy Li who had peeped at her in the public toilet more than six years earlier? Song Gang wasn't so sure. He asked Baldy Li, "And why do you think Lin Hong fancies you?"

"Because I'm Factory Director Li, of course!" Baldy Li patted his chest and added, "Just think, among the twenty-odd factory directors in and about Liu Town, aren't I the only bachelor?"

"You're right!" Song Gang replied, nodding vigorously. "In the old days they used to speak of a fine match being that of a talented man and a beautiful woman. That describes you and Lin Hong perfectly!"

"Of course!" Baldy Li excitedly punched Song Gang. His eyes lighting up, he said, "That's precisely what I'm talking about."

Song Gang's comment helped Baldy Li pinpoint the theoretical foundation for his and Lin Hong's romance, after which he began to pursue Lin Hong in earnest. Many of the young men of Liu had pursued or were in the midst of pursuing Lin Hong, but ultimately these men of weak will and weaker courage would throw up their hands. Only the remarkable Baldy Li refused to admit defeat.

Baldy Li pursued Lin Hong with a vengeance and anointed Song Gang as his military advisor. Song Gang had read his share of tattered old books on the art of war and said that in olden times, before engaging in battle, it was customary to send a messenger with a declaration of war. "What I don't know is whether in a combat d'amour it is also necessary to first send a messenger."