Su Tong - The Boat to Redemption

‘It doesn’t matter if you agree or not,’ they said. ‘The Party Secretary has given the OK, so you have to give up the room for now. Leng Qiuyun talked to Zhao Chuntang, who said you can sleep in the third-floor conference room.’

‘What does he take me for?’ Huixian shouted. ‘Tables and chairs live in the conference room, and I’m neither. I won’t sleep there!’

Her face was white with rage as she looked through her things, one item at a time, getting angrier by the minute. She stamped her foot and uttered every dirty epithet she could think of: ‘Leng Qiuyun, you rotten cunt, I’ll thump you, thump you to death, just see if I don’t thump that cunt of yours!’

The officials standing nearby all knew exactly what she meant. These were all swear words used by the boat people. Struck dumb at first, they quickly gathered their wits about them and launched an angry attack from all sides: ‘Go to hell, Little Tiemei! The organization wasted its time trying to educate you, mentored you for nothing! How could you fall so low so easily? When there are disputes between comrades, you don’t settle them with filthy low-class language you learned on the boats.’

Huixian knew she’d caused a public outrage, but she said, ‘Why are you all taking her side? She had it coming. If people left me alone I’d leave them alone, but if they won’t, I won’t stand by and take it. Chairman Mao said that!’

She could see people looking at her in disgust as a result of her using one of Chairman Mao’s sayings to defend herself. One of them sneered and said sarcastically, ‘See that? Who said she neglects her studies? She’s learned the art of distortion.’

Lantern in hand, Huixian went up to the fourth floor to see Zhao Chuntang, who was well aware that she and Leng Qiuyun were at loggerheads. In the past, Huixian had started most of the arguments, but as her protector, he’d backed her up. This time, while there was no denying that Leng had tossed Huixian’s things out into the hall, he placed the blame squarely on Huixian. Before she even stepped into his office, she heard him bellow, ‘What are you, a spoiled mistress of the bourgeois class? You’ve got a nerve, coming here to lodge a complaint! A husband and wife belong together, so what’s wrong with sleeping in the conference room for a few nights?’

Unaware of the current situation, Huixian stood in the doorway with her lantern and railed at Zhao, ‘You’re not being fair! Why can’t they sleep in the conference room?’

‘He’s a soldier, and she’s a soldier’s wife. It’s policy to give them special treatment. Who do you think you are, anyway? Don’t you think I’ve treated you well enough?’ Zhao glanced down at the red lantern. ‘What are you trying to prove by holding on to that? Just look at you. Do you really think you’re qualified to raise a red lantern? Wearing your hair like a disgusting mass of noodles. Go and take a look at yourself in a mirror and tell me if you see even a trace of Li Tiemei!’

The withering criticism rendered Huixian speechless. She raised the lantern and took a look at it, then let her hand drop, causing the lantern to bump against her leg. ‘Why do I have to look like Li Tiemei?’ she mumbled. ‘I’m not her, and that’s not my fault. Do I have to be Li Tiemei to bed down in the dormitory?’

‘When you’re not Li Tiemei,’ Zhao said, ‘you’re nothing. Now stand aside, treat a soldier’s dependant the way she deserves and take your things up to the conference room.’

‘I’ll stand aside, all right, but I won’t treat her the way you say. I’m supposed to go to the conference room just because she says so, is that right? Well, I’m not going to do it. She tossed my chest out, so tomorrow I’m going to toss her blanket out!’

‘You do that and I’ll toss you out, all the way back to the Sunnyside Fleet. Think I won’t?’ Zhao banged his hand on the table and glared at her. ‘Do you want to go back to the fleet? Well, do you? No? Then do as I say, and bed down in the conference room.’

‘Why does it have to be the conference room? I could stay somewhere else, like Li Ling’s dorm or Little Yao’s.’

‘You could, but they don’t want you. You think you’ve won over the masses, don’t you? You’re not the Little Tiemei you once were. Who do you think your friends are now? Not one person in all four dormitories wants you as a room mate.’

‘So what? I don’t care if they don’t like me. I don’t care if I never see them again. But I’m not going to sleep in the conference room. It’s not safe for a girl to be alone, and it’s inconvenient too.’

‘What do you mean, safe? And inconvenient? You’re haughty, you’re wilful, and you’re more trouble than you’re worth.’ His patience exhausted, Zhao turned and gazed out of the window. Suddenly, a look of steely determination filled his eyes. ‘Why don’t you move out of the General Affairs Building altogether and take up residence in the People’s Barbershop. You spend every day there anyway, learning what you can about how the bourgeoisie live, so move in. You’ll be safe there, and it couldn’t be more convenient.’

Huixian was dumbfounded. Zhao’s suggestion caught her completely by surprise. At first it took her breath away, but shock quickly turned to anger. Her lips quivered. Flinging her red lantern to the floor, she said, ‘Then that’s where I’ll go. But I’m going to write a letter to the district authorities and tell them how you people have been treating me. Don’t be surprised when Bureau Chief Liu comes asking about me.’

Zhao laughed. ‘So, the girl has learned how to play politics. You think you can put pressure on me with Chief Liu, do you? Come here, I want to show you something.’ He took a newspaper out of his drawer and opened it up to show Huixian. ‘You never read the paper and you won’t study, so you’re clueless. Your Gramps Liu suffered a heart attack and went up to report to Karl Marx.’

Huixian saw the obituary. The familiar, white-haired old man who had once looked kindly at her across a banqueting table and had watched over her behind the scenes had been reduced to a tiny black-and-white photograph, looking up at her from the pages of a newspaper. Only the kindness and admiration in his gaze remained.

‘Gramps Liu, you can’t die! None of you care about me,’ she shouted. ‘What am I going to do?’ With that, she crouched down, covered her face with both hands, and wept.

That same day she carried her chest and her red lantern over to the People’s Barbershop. Her face was still tear-stained when she walked in and hung the ‘closed’ sign on the glass door as if she ran the place. Fortunately, the work day had nearly ended and all the clients had gone, so there were no witnesses to her shabby entrance. Old Cui noticed she’d been crying, but was shocked to see that she’d brought her things along. ‘No!’ he said, waving her back with both hands. ‘You can’t do that! We don’t dare stick our noses into your arguments with the officials. You can’t move into a barbershop, not Little Tiemei. What would that look like?’

‘Little Tiemei, you say? I count for nothing now, only good for living in a barbershop.’

‘You have to control your temper, Huixian. Put your things anywhere you want, but you mustn’t move out of the General Affairs Building. If you can’t get along with Leng Qiuyun, move in with someone else. Don’t tell me they can’t find a room for you in that great big building.’

‘Who cares about the General Affairs Building? I don’t like anybody who lives there. They’re all terrible people. No, this is the best place for me. Don’t you want me here, Old Cui?’

Suddenly apprehensive, Old Cui picked up Huixian’s things to take them outside. ‘People say you have an intelligent face but a foolish mind. I don’t believe that. I just think you’ve been spoiled. Everybody gets mad at people sometimes. With all your contacts, you have a bright future, but you mustn’t be wilful. Don’t throw away your future, like smashing a pot just because it’s cracked.’