Jia Pingwa - Ruined City

Meng uttered a curse as he walked out. Xia Jie put the dishes away, but instead of washing them, she called a neighbor over to join them in a round of mahjong.

Meng Yunfang went to the Propaganda Department not to work on any bladder stone, but to talk about something that would impact the whole city. It turned out that the mayor had always wanted to use culture to promote the city’s economic growth. When he heard that the Xijing Zoo had just gotten three giant pandas from the Beijing Zoo, he was inspired to host an Ancient City Cultural Festival, using the pandas as the logo. He then called a meeting with officials from the Propaganda Department and the Bureau of Culture. Everyone thought it was a great idea, for not only would it raise the city’s visibility to outsiders, it would also put Xijing in the vanguard of economic improvement. A preparatory committee was formed. The head of propaganda wanted to hear what Meng had to say about the program. Meng suggested that Zhuang Zhidie be included, to which the propaganda head readily agreed, adding that they wouldn’t have to bother Zhuang with everyday business; his talent would be best reserved for drafting announcements and other related documents. After reading three pages of possible activities for the festival, Meng knew he could stay till dark and they still wouldn’t finish their discussion. “This is big,” he said. “Let me take these pages home and give it some careful thought. I’ll be back tomorrow afternoon with specific comments.” He left and hurried toward the dance hall.

The performances had ended, and the paying guests had just started to dance. The floor was filled with couples holding each other tightly and swaying to the music. A strobe light swirled its vivid colors, turning the dancers into indistinguishable phantoms. Meng Yunfang had heard from his son that Liu Yue danced with guests, so he sat at a table straining to locate her. But he was blind in one eye and had poor vision in the other, and it looked to him as if all the girls were strangely dressed, and that each one of them looked like Liu Yue. When the music ended, she was not among the girls leaving the dance floor. So Meng decided to look for Ruan, but the music started up and the couples went back out and merged together again. He cursed himself for poor planning; if Zhuang and Zhao were unable to find Liu Yue and Ruan Zhifei, they would give him a hard time. As he was wondering what to do, he heard someone say, “You must be Mr. Meng.” He turned and saw that it was a pretty girl at the next table; she was studying him with her chin in her hands.

“Are you talking to me?” Meng asked. “My name is Meng, but who are you?”

The girl gave him her hand, so he shook it. “You look familiar,” he said, “but I have such a terrible memory, I don’t remember you. I’m sorry.”

“No need to apologize. Actually, we’ve never met. I just thought you looked like Meng Yunfang, so I ventured a guess. So it is you.”

“You noticed that I only have one good eye?”

“I’ve heard that Mr. Meng has a sense of humor, and it’s true,” she said with a smile. “But I’m not the witty type. I work at the Public Prosecutor’s Office, and I’m sure you know who I am now. No? Well, Jing Xueyin is married to my second brother.”

Meng nearly got up and ran out, but instead he smiled and said, “Ah, now I know. I’m sure you’re quite witty yourself. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I do know your sister-in-law. You look a bit like her; I guess that’s because you’re from the same family. How is she doing?”

“How do you think she’s doing? Your friend’s lawsuit has nearly driven her to suicide.”

“You’re looking at it the wrong way. I know something about the case, and in my view it didn’t have to end like that. They were once close friends. Zhuang Zhidie has been in a funk lately, complaining that it was all Zhou Min’s fault that a friend was turned into an enemy.”

“If he really cared about their past friendship, why did he violate her privacy and say all those things? He hurt a former friend in order to save his own reputation. That is immoral!”

“It wasn’t like that at all,” Meng said. “Well, let’s not talk about that, since the case is settled anyway.”

“Mr. Meng, you don’t understand the law. The judgment from the Intermediate Court doesn’t mean that the case is settled. There’s still the appeal to the Superior Court.”

“Appeal? Is that necessary?”

“No matter what, she won’t accept that judgment. She has devoted all her energy to the lawsuit and will fight to the bitter end. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“Of course I do. With certain people behind her, she might get what she wants.”

“Well, then, I’ll drop the subject.” The girl smiled. “Would you do me the honor of a dance?”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know how to dance. In fact, this is my first time here. Why don’t you ask someone else?”

“What a shame. All right, I will.” She waved to a waiter. “Bring a Coke for this gentleman, on me.” She walked off.

Meng was so humiliated, he could only ask the waiter where to find Liu Yue.

“She didn’t come down today, so she must be in her room. Go through that door and take the staircase to your right to the third floor. She’s in room 18.”

He took some money out and handed it to the waiter. “Please give this to the lady. Tell her I can’t let my lover pay for drinks after I asked her out.”

Meng rang the doorbell at room 18, but heard nothing, so he rang again.

“Who is it?” Liu Yue asked.

“It’s me.”

“Go see the business office. I’m with an important guest.”

“It’s me, Meng Yunfang.”

The door opened. She was so heavily made up, he barely recognized her. “It’s so hard to get to see you now, Liu Yue. What’s that perfume? You smell awful, like a Westerner.”

She signaled with her eyes. “There’s a Western guy in my room,” she whispered. She motioned toward a suite inside; the door was ajar. Meng went into the room. “Meng Laoshi,” she said, “none of you have come to see me since you married me off.” Then she lowered her voice. “Who’s your dance partner today?”

“I’m half-blind and half-deaf, so who would have me? Zhuang Laoshi has been in a terrible funk, so we thought we’d come see you.”

“Don’t use me as an excuse if you’re looking for fun. What could be bothering Zhuang Laoshi? Now that I’m gone, he should be worry-free.”

“You’re an ungrateful little monkey.” He told her about Tang Wan’er’s disappearance, Niu Yueqing’s departure, and Zhuang’s sad, lonely state. Her eyes reddened. “Where is he now?” she asked.

“We agreed to meet here at four, but I couldn’t find you on the dance floor. Try to cheer him up. See if you can talk him into apologizing to your dajie and patching things up with her.”

“I’ve been busy here since I got married. I’ve wanted to go visit them, but I can never find the time. Luckily no one looks down on me here, and I’ve been thinking about inviting you all to watch my performance. But after Ruan Zhifei got beaten up, I had to take over for a while. That’s why I haven’t had time to return to the compound. I didn’t know all this had happened to him.”

“What did you say? Ruan Zhifei was beaten up?”

“You didn’t know? He collects the take every night after the place closes. Two nights ago, someone stopped him at the top of the stairs. ‘Are you Mr. Ruan?’ he asked. Ruan didn’t know the guy, who said he was a secretary at the Pacific Company. They were having some sort of celebration and wanted some fashion models to help with the festivities. Ruan told him the models never perform outside the dance hall. The guy asked whether Ruan could talk to their manager, who was waiting in a car downstairs. Ruan followed him down. There were three men in the car. One of them, a fat guy, reached out to shake Ruan’s hand, but the moment their hands touched, the man jerked him forward as the so-called secretary shoved him into the car, which sped off. Knowing he was in trouble, Ruan held on to his money pouch and asked what this was all about. The fat guy punched him in the eye, smashing his glasses. A shard punctured his eye, which bled. The fat guy told him, ‘That’s what it’s about. We know you’ve gotten rich, but you can’t leave us hungry all the time. If we ask for a loan, you won’t give it to us, so we’re sorry, but this is the way it has to be.’ Ruan said, ‘Before you do this, you need to know that Liu Yue works at my dance hall. Do you know who she is?’ The fat guy said, ‘Sure. She’s married to the mayor’s son; so what? You’ve made plenty, and now you’re holding on to your left eye in order to identify us.’ He slugged Ruan again, this time in the left eye. They drove to Nanhuang Road, where they dumped him out and sped off. Luckily, a vegetable vendor found him and took him to the hospital, but he’d been blinded. It was big news. I’m surprised you haven’t heard. Dazheng’s father was outraged and ordered the police to catch the criminals. They set up roadblocks at the four city gates, but didn’t turn up anyone suspicious. When they asked Ruan what the three men looked like, he was unable to say for sure, only that one of them was fat and they drove a red car.”