Yu Hua - Brothers

Lin Hong's father's jaw dropped in surprise, and he hurried outside as if to glimpse a rare panda. When he saw Song Gang standing there grinning, he asked him curiously, "Have you been standing here all night?"

Song Gang nodded happily, and Lin Hongs father asked himself how someone could be so happy after having stood outside all night. He walked back into the house and told Lin Hongs mother, "I agree that he doesn't seem quite right."

When Lin Hong woke up that morning, she found that her fever had gone down and she felt somewhat better. When she sat up, however, she realized she was still quite weak, so she lay back down. It was at this point that she learned that Song Gang had been standing outside all night. She first reacted with surprise; then, remembering the previous nights events, she bit her lip, and tears of shame flooded her eyes. She covered her head with her blanket and sobbed. After she had cried for a while, she wiped her tears with the handkerchief Song Gang had returned to her and then told her father, "Make him go away. I don't want to see him."

Lin Hong's father walked out and said to Song Gang, who was still standing there grinning, "You should go. My daughter won't see you."

Song Gang wiped the smile from his face and stared at Lin Hong's father, at a loss as to what to do. When the father saw that Song Gang was making no move to leave, he began shooing him away as one would a flock of ducks. After he had shooed Song Gang a dozen yards away, Lin Hong's father paused and pointed at him, saying, "Move along. I don't want to see you here again."

Lin Hong's father walked back into the house and reported that he had shooed the idiot away. He reported that it had been quite difficult, because after every step that idiot would turn back around and stand there without moving as if he were a pile of dirt. The father concluded by citing Chairman Mao's aphorism that if one doesn't make use of a broom, dirt wont disappear on its own, then he spat out seven "idiots" in succession. When Lin Hong heard the seventh "idiot," she began to feel uneasy. She muttered to herself, "He isn't an idiot. He is just loyal."

Lin Hong's father winked at his wife and laughed to himself as he headed back into the courtyard. Another neighbor coming home after having bought some fried dough sticks for breakfast then remarked to Lin Hong's father, "The fellow you shooed away is still standing there."

"Really?" Lin Hong's father replied. He went back inside and walked up to the window. He rolled up the blinds and peeked out, and sure enough he saw Song Gang. Smiling, he told Lin Hong's mother to take a look as well, and she too saw Song Gang standing there with his head bowed, looking utterly despondent. She couldn't help but laugh and told her daughter, "Song Gang has returned."

Lin Hong saw her parents’ knowing smiles and realized what they were thinking. She turned and faced the wall so they wouldn't be able to see her face. She recalled the events of the previous night, and again grew angry, saying, "Ignore him."

Lin Hong's mother said, "If you ignore him, he will continue standing there."

"Then make him go away," she pleaded.

This time it was Lin Hong's mother who went out. She walked over to Song Gang, who was standing there uneasily, and asked gently, "Why don't you leave now and come back in a few days?"

Song Gang stared at her in confusion, not understanding what she meant by this. Lin Hong's mother was able to see the bloody welt on Song Gang's neck clearly and asked him, "What's wrong with your neck?"

"I tried to kill myself," he replied uneasily.

"Kill yourself?"

"I tried to hang myself," said Song Gang, then added, embarrassed, "I didn't succeed."

Concerned, Lin Hong's mother walked back into the house and proceeded to her daughter's bed. She said that Song Gang had tried to hang himself, explaining that the previous evening she had noticed the bloody welt on his neck and this morning when she saw it again the welt appeared even deeper and thicker than before. She sighed and prodded Lin Hong, who was still lying there facing the wall, "You should go out and see him."

"I won't go." Lin Hong twisted her body around. "Let him die."

As Lin Hong said this she felt a stab of pain in her heart. She felt increasingly uneasy as she lay there thinking of Song Gang standing outside. The thought of the bloody welt on his neck made her even more distressed. Feeling an urge to go out and see him, she sat up and looked at her mother, who tactfully retired to the outer room. Lin Hong slowly got out of bed, washed her face and brushed her teeth, then sat in front of the mirror and began carefully combing her long hair, parting it into two braids. Then she stood up and announced to her parents, "I'm going to go buy some fried dough sticks."

When Song Gang saw Lin Hong emerge, he was so overcome he almost burst into tears. He hugged his shoulders as if he were cold and kept opening his mouth, but no sound came out. Lin Hong glanced at him with no discernible expression, then walked past him to the fried dough shop. Song Gang, his body still damp with dew, followed closely behind, and when he finally succeeded in speaking, he said hoarsely, "Tonight at eight o'clock I'll wait for you under the bridge."

"I won't go," Lin Hong replied quietly.

She walked into the shop as Song Gang waited dejectedly outside. After she bought the fried dough sticks and came back out, she saw clearly the welt on Song Gang's neck, and her heart skipped a beat. At this point he cautiously suggested a different rendezvous site. "Should I wait for you in the grove behind the theater?"

Lin Hong hesitated a moment, then nodded. Song Gang was overjoyed but at a loss as to what to do next. He followed Lin Hong as she returned to the gate to her house. As she walked in she turned around and quietly gave him a sign to leave. He nodded and, after she had gone inside, finally turned around and left.

Song Gang spent the entire day in a daze. He fell asleep thirteen times at the factory — five times in a corner of the workshop, twice while eating lunch, three times while playing cards with his workmates, twice while leaning against the machinery, and once while peeing in the bathroom with his head resting against the wall. Then, as dusk approached, he excitedly proceeded to the grove behind the movie theater, pacing furtively back and forth like a fugitive along the path out front. Several acquaintances walked by and called out to him, asking what he was doing, but he only mumbled something incoherent. They laughed and asked if he had lost his wallet. He nodded, and they then asked if he had lost his wits, too. He nodded again, whereupon they laughed loudly and walked away.

That night Lin Hong was an hour late. Her beautiful figure slowly proceeded down the moonlit path, and Song Gang waved excitedly when he saw her. However, people were still walking about not too far from them, so she said quietly, "Don't wave, just follow me."

She walked toward the grove, with Song Gang following closely behind, and again said softly, "Don't follow so close."

Song Gang stopped, but, not sure precisely how far from her he should be, he merely stood there without moving. Lin Hong continued for a while before she noticed that he was still standing there, so she called out softly, "Come on."

Then he rushed forward again. Lin Hong walked into the grove, with Song Gang close behind. She then proceeded to the center, looked around, and after confirming that they were alone, she finally stopped. She heard Song Gangs footsteps approach and then stop, leaving only the sound of his shallow breathing. Lin Hong knew that Song Gang was standing directly behind her. She stood there without moving, and Song Gang did the same. Lin Hong wondered why this idiot didn't come around in front of her. She waited for a while, but he still stood there, breathing shallowly Finally she had no choice but to turn around and saw him trembling in the moonlight. Looking closely at his neck, she could vaguely make out the red welt and asked, "What happened to your neck?"