Yu Hua - Brothers

JUST AS Baldy Li was being fired by Tao Qing, he himself was seated at Mama Sus snack shop next to the bus depot. Holding a ticket to Shanghai in one hand and a meat bun in the other, Baldy Li sat there cheerfully. As he bit into the steaming hot bun, squinting his eyes with pleasure, he proudly boasted to Mama Su that, from this point on, he would make his own fortune. Baldy Li glanced down at the ticket in his hand and saw that in about an hour he would be jumping onto the bus to Shanghai. Keeping time by the clock hanging on the snack shop wall, he solemnly counted down the seconds as if he were a rocket about to launch. He waved at Mama Su and said, "In an hour I will spread my wings like a great roc and soar away!"

Immediately after Baldy Li had sprung his resignation like a guerrilla attack, he had retreated to his home and shut his door. Then he spent half a day and half a night mapping out the trajectory Li the Great Roc would take. On the basis of his success at the Good Works Factory, he felt that his new undertaking must begin from a processing business; after he had accumulated some capital he could begin manufacturing his own products. The question was, what kind of products should he process? At first, Baldy Li wanted to enter the same cardboard box business he had pioneered at the Good Works Factory, since it was something he already knew well. After much consideration, however, he reluctantly decided that he had to give up his old business. There were his fourteen loyal minions at the factory to consider, and Baldy Li felt that he couldn't rob them of their rice bowls. Ultimately, he decided to go into the clothing business, and as long as he could secure some orders from some big Shanghai companies, his business would rise like the morning sun.

And like the morning sun, Baldy Li took a world map and strode into Blacksmith Tongs shop. At that point, Blacksmith Tong was the chairman of Liu Town s Private Entrepreneurs’ Business Association. Baldy Li needed investment capital and knew that he would not be able to secure a single cent from the State, so his thoughts turned to Blacksmith Tong. During Deng Xiaoping's Reform and Opening Up Campaign, private entrepreneurs like Blacksmith Tong had become rich. Baldy Li cheerfully strode into Blacksmith Tongs shop and immediately disarmed him by greeting him as Chairman Tong. Tong set down his hammer, wiped away his sweat, and said, "Director Li, please don't call me Chairman Tong, call me Blacksmith Tong — it sounds much more vigorous."

Baldy Li laughed out loud and replied, "Well, then, don't call me Director Li, call me Baldy Li — it sounds more vigorous, too."

Baldy Li then informed Tong that he was no longer a factory director, since he had quit. He stood next to Blacksmith Tongs furnace and, with spittle flying everywhere, enthusiastically told him about his business plan. He repeatedly reminded Tong that with only fourteen handicapped workers he had been able to earn tens of thousands of yuan a year. Therefore, were he able to have 140 or even 1,400 healthy workers, as well as a handful of college grads, M.A.'s, and Ph.D. s and even some postdoctorate fellows, who could say how much money he'd be able to make? Baldy Li counted on his fingers, calculating out loud, but after half an hour he still hadn't come up with an answer. His head covered in sweat, Blacksmith Tong waited patiently and finally asked, "How much would you be able to make?"

"I really can't figure it out," said Baldy Li, shaking his head. He opened his eyes wide and said dreamily, "What I see before me is not dollar bills but, rather, an open expanse of ocean."

After this romantic rhapsody, Baldy Li immediately became pragmatic again and added, "At any rate, I wouldn't have to worry about food or clothing or having money in my wallet."

Then he reached out to Blacksmith Tong like a highway bandit and said, "Hand over your money, and I'll give you one share for each one hundred yuan. For each share you buy, I'll give you one portion of the eventual profits."

Blacksmith Tong flushed as red as his furnace, his enthusiasm stoked by Baldy Li's promises. After wiping his hand on the front of his shirt, he held up three fingers and said, "I'll take thirty shares."

"Thirty shares will cost three thousand yuan!" Baldy exclaimed in surprise, then added enviously, "You really are rich!"

Blacksmith Tong laughed and said casually, "I can afford three thousand yuan."

Baldy Li then opened up his world map and told Blacksmith Tong that he would begin by adding the final processing for a Shanghai clothing company; then, when the time was right, he would start his clothing line. It would be called Baldy Brand, and he planned to make it the global leader. Baldy Li pointed at the world map and said, "Each of the dots on the map corresponds to a specialty store that will sell Baldy Brand clothing."

Noticing a problem, Blacksmith Tong asked anxiously, "They are all Baldy Brand? There won't be any other brands?"

"No," Baldy Li replied bluntly. "What would I want with other brands?"

Blacksmith Tong said unhappily, "If I am going to invest three thousand yuan, I should at least get my own brand."

"You have a point," Baldy Li conceded. "We'll also give you your own Blacksmith Brand."

Baldy Li then pointed to his khaki Mao tunic and said, "This jacket is one of my Baldy Brands, and I would never let it go. I will embroider the Baldy Brand logo on the lapel. You, however, can select from among the pants, shirt, undershirt, or underwear."

Blacksmith Tong felt that Baldy Li's request was reasonable and therefore agreed to pick from the remaining articles of clothing. He didn't give the undershirt or underwear a second glance but hesitated between the pants and the shirt. He liked the shirt, and particularly the thought of his logo embroidered on the front; but then it occurred to him that the shirt would be worn under a jacket, so the only thing showing would be part of the collar. Worried that with the shirt he would not have enough exposure, he instead chose the pants for his signature Blacksmith Brand. Blacksmith Tong pointed to the world map and asked, "Everywhere there are dots, there will also be Blacksmith Brand clothes?"

"Of course." Baldy Li patted his chest. "Everywhere my Baldy Brand is sold, there will also be your Blacksmith Brand."

Blacksmith Tong happily lifted his index finger and said, "I will add another ten shares, or one thousand yuan, for my Blacksmith Brand."

Baldy Li had not expected that Blacksmith Tong would plop down four thousand yuan and therefore was laughing heartily as he left Tongs shop. Blacksmith Tong was one of the leaders within Liu's independent business community, and the strength of his example was incalculable. When word spread that Blacksmith Tong had invested four thousand yuan, combined with Baldy Li's impressive achievements at the Good Works Factory, many other business owners were soon lining up in front of Baldy Li's world map to purchase shares.

After leaving Blacksmith Tongs shop, Baldy Li next visited Tailor Zhang, and within ten minutes they too had reached an agreement. Baldy Li agreed to give Zhang, who was completely entranced by all the dots on the world map, the brand rights to the shirts. Zhang immediately took a needle and started pointing out all of the dots in Europe, not omitting even those in the tiniest countries. When he thought of his Tailor Brand shirts becoming world famous, he became so excited that he raised his index finger and said, "I'll take ten shares."

Baldy Li grandly awarded Tailor Zhang an extra ten shares, therefore giving him twenty shares for the price of ten. Baldy Li explained that the extra ten shares were in recognition of Zhang's technical skills. Tailor Zhang would be the technical supervisor of the clothing company and would both train the workers and oversee quality control.