Yu Hua - Brothers

If Baldy Li, acting as both lover and bodyguard, so much as glimpsed another man taking a look at Lin Hong, he would shake his fist and say fiercely, "What are you looking at? If you look again, I'll punch your lights out."

EACH TIME Lin Hong returned home after being trailed around town by Baldy Li, she would lie in bed, hug her pillow, and weep. Ten times she did this, but then she decided it was time to wipe her tears. She realized it did no good for her to hide out and cry— she must instead figure out a way to deal with that shameless Baldy Li. His beating to a pulp stratagem encouraged Lin Hong to hurry up and find a boyfriend. This was a common solution sought by many young women back then, and Lin Hong was no exception. She felt that as long as she had a boyfriend, she would be able to extricate herself from Baldy Li's attentions. She went through each of the Liu Town bachelors in her head and came up with several potential candidates. Then she put on makeup, wrapped a beige silk scarf around her neck, and went out.

Lin Hong, who previously very rarely went out, now became Liu Towns street angel, on whom all the men would feast their eyes. Sometimes she would walk with her mother and sometimes with the other women workers at her factory. Almost every day at dusk she would stroll around in the evening light, and after sunset she would continue walking in the moonlight. She was aware that her reputation as a beauty had already spread far and wide, and she also knew that many of the men of Liu had crushes on her — but what she didn't know was where she would find the man she would love. In the past she had counted on her parents to make decisions for her, but her parents were too easily satisfied, immediately falling for any man who came knocking who was the slightest bit acceptable and saying that at least he was better than that Baldy Li. However, these young men all failed to make an impression on Lin Hong, much less find their way into her heart. As a result, she had no choice but to take the matter into her own hands and pick out a satisfactory husband for herself. She walked back and forth with a pretty smile on her pretty face. Every now and then she would encounter a handsome young man and gaze at him intently. Then she would walk away five paces, turn around, and shoot him another glance, at which point she would invariably see an infatuated face staring back at her.

Altogether there were twenty young men at whom Lin Hong looked more than once, nineteen of whom were infatuated with her. The only one who didn't respond at all was Song Gang. The nineteen who were infatuated with her felt that she clearly meant something when she looked at them. That backward glance, as she was walking away— a glance as rich as a garden overflowing with sensory delights — made their hearts flutter and kept them up at night.

Of those nineteen, eight were married, and they would sigh in disappointment, complaining bitterly that they had made their momentous decision too early in life without having taken the opportunity to sow their wild oats. Of those eight, there were two whose wives were quite ugly, and these two were even more frustrated, waking in the middle of the night completely furious and unable to resist pinching their wives in anger. When their wives woke up from the pain, the husbands would start snoring deeply, pretending to be asleep. One of these men always pinched his wife's thighs, the other her bottom. Both wives were in such pain that they didn't know what to do. When they examined their bruises, they concluded that their husbands must be suffering from a sort of narco-sadism, never suspecting the truth. The women complained incessantly all day, and at night steadfastly refused to sleep in the same bed with their spouses, explaining that it gave them the creeps.

Of the twenty men Lin Hong looked at twice, nine already had girlfriends, and these nine would also sigh incessantly, regretting their own impatience to get a free taste of cow's milk and lamenting that drinking early was not nearly as important as drinking well. They started considering the idea of dumping their girlfriends and running off in pursuit of Lin Hong. Of those nine, eight were swayed by considerations of profits and losses and decided that, although it was true that their girlfriends were not as beautiful and captivating as Lin Hong, they had gone to considerable trouble to court them, seduce them, and bed them. No matter how good Lin Hong might be, she had merely glanced at them twice, unlike their girlfriends, who were safely in hand. These men were of the opinion that a bird in the hand was better than two in the bush. Therefore, even though they were entranced by Lin Hong, they didn't make any concrete advances. Of the nine, these eight were methodical pursuers of love — only the ninth was an opportunistic pursuer. He began by tentatively placing bets on both horses. One night he slept happily with his current girlfriend and felt emotions as deep as the sea; the following night he secretly bought two movie tickets, hiding one in his inner breast pocket and asking an acquaintance to give the other to Lin Hong on his behalf.

By that point, Lin Hong had become the towns resident Sherlock Holmes and had investigated the personal backgrounds of all twenty of the town s handsome young men. Therefore, she knew that this opportunist who sent her a movie ticket was already living with a girlfriend. Lin Hong didn't reveal any emotion when she accepted the ticket, but her heart skipped a beat as she thought that this was someone who was about to get married yet still dared to make a pass at her. People at that time were still very conservative, and as soon as a couple slept together they were perceived as having lost value. When a new house or new car becomes old, one can only go to a secondhand market to exchange them. Lin Hong knew that the girlfriend of this opportunist was a cashier at the Red Flag fabric store; therefore she went to the store and, while admiring the multicolored fabrics on display, spoke with the girlfriend. Lin Hong took out the movie ticket and handed it to her; then, noting the woman's confusion, explained that the ticket was given to her by the woman's boyfriend. After Lin Hong told this confused and anxious young woman the full truth, she warned her, "Your boyfriend fancies himself Liu Town's resident Don Juan."

This opportunistic lover, it turns out, was none other than Poet Zhao, who was initially quite well respected but later became hopeless and despondent. That evening, unaware of what Lin Hong had done, he went expectantly to the theater. Some even say that he was whistling. Poet Zhao wandered around outside for half an hour, and only when the film had started did he sneak in like a thief. Zhao was going from a bright area to a dark area, so he had to find his seat by feel. He couldn't clearly see the face of the person sitting next to him but thought that it was Lin Hong. He confidently whispered her name a few times, then added that he had known all along that she would come.

Poet Zhao then leaned over and poured out his heart to his companion, still assuming she was Lin Hong. He had not yet finished speaking when he abruptly heard an ear-piercing screech and was rewarded with a few hard slaps to the face. Finding himself suddenly under attack, he had no idea what was happening, and even less how to protect himself. Dumbfounded, he craned his neck and turned toward his attacker, thereby exposing his entire face to the oncoming slaps. As his girlfriend shrieked in fury she didn't sound like herself, so Poet Zhao didn't recognize her voice and continued to believe that it was Lin Hong who was slapping him. He therefore became very indignant, wondering, Who in the world flirts like this? He quietly urged, "Lin Hong, Lin Hong, be careful of your image…"