Jia Pingwa - Ruined City

“Am I expected to do the grocery shopping tomorrow morning?” Zhuang asked.

“That’s what she said.” The man handed him a shopping list.

Zhuang read the list: two catties of pork, one cattie of spare ribs, a carp, a tortoise, half a cattie of squid, half a cattie of sea cucumber, three catties of lotus roots, two catties of chives, one cattie of bean pods, one cattie of cowpeas, two catties of tomatoes, two catties of eggplant, two catties of fresh mushrooms, three catties of thick osmanthus liquor, seven bottles of Sprite, three catties of tofu, a half-cattie each of some Korean side dishes, two catties of mutton, one cattie of cured beef, five preserved eggs, one roasted chicken, one roasted duck, half a cattie each of cooked pork liver, pork belly, and smoked sausage. Also, he needed to bring from the Shuangren fu house a bottle of Wuliangye, ten bottles of beer, a pack of peanuts, dried mushrooms and wood ear, a bowl of sticky rice, a sack of red dates, and a handful of rice noodles. In addition, he had to buy a can of peas, a can of bamboo shoots, a can of cherries, a cattie of sausage, two catties of cucumbers, one ounce of thin seaweed, and three ounces of lotus seeds.

“What a pain,” Zhuang said. “Why not reserve tables at a restaurant?”

“Aunty said you’d say that,” the messenger said. “She asked me to tell you that this is for Wang Ximian’s wife. You can enjoy gourmet food at a restaurant, but the ambience can’t compare with eating at home, where you can have a real conversation.”

She’s convinced I have my eye on Wang’s wife, I guess , he said to himself.

After sending the messenger off, Zhuang thought about inviting Meng Yunfang and his wife, along with Zhou Min and his wife. Since they were going to host a luncheon, that way he could prove to Yueqing that he wasn’t interested in Wang’s wife while giving Tang Wan’er a chance to see his house. With his mind made up, he called Zhao Jingwu and asked him to go shopping with him early the next day.

. . .

At the crack of dawn, he rode over to Zhou Min’s house at 8 Ludang Lane. Tang Wan’er was up, working on her hair in front of a mirror. Zhou Min was crouching beneath a grape trellis brushing his teeth. With foam still in his mouth, he was beside himself with joy when he saw Zhuang walk in. His wife heard them and walked out, still touching up her hair. She blushed as she greeted Zhuang, and then walked to the side to wind her hair into a bun.

“Still fussing with your hair?” Zhou Min asked. “Why don’t you get tea for Zhuang Laoshi?”

That brought her back down to earth; she rushed inside to make tea. The water was so hot, she had to switch the cup between hands as she brought it over. She sucked in air and shook her hands when she laid the cup down. She gave Zhuang an embarrassed smile.

“Did that burn you?” he asked.

“Not really.” And yet she put her fingers in her mouth.

With a good night’s sleep and careful makeup, her face was fair, her skin smooth. She was wearing a figure-hugging pink sleeveless blouse with a scoop neck over a super-short pencil skirt, showing off her slender waist and long, graceful legs.

“Are you going out today?” Zhuang asked.

“No.”

“Then why you are so dressed up?”

“This is all I have. I just added some makeup. It’s like this every day at home. I look better with makeup. And it shows respect for our visitors. I hope Zhuang Laoshi won’t think I’m shallow.”

“Why would I think that? That’s how a woman should be. It’s a great outfit.”

His heart skipped a beat when he saw that she was wearing the shoes he had given her. She noticed his reaction and announced:

“Everything on me is five years old, Zhuang Laoshi, except for the shoes. They’re brand-new. What do you think? Like them?”

That put his mind at ease, for he knew she was saying it for Zhou Min’s benefit while letting him know that she hadn’t told her husband.

“Not bad,” Zhuang said. “Actually there’s no such thing as a good or a bad outfit. It all depends on the wearer.”

Zhou Min came in with a cluster of grapes he had just picked.

“She has a perfect figure for clothes. She bought these even though she has plenty of shoes, and they’re the only ones she’ll wear.”

That pleased Zhuang enormously. Why didn’t she tell her husband where the shoes came from? And why had she lied so naturally to him? Does that mean she’s interested in me?

“Zhou Min,” he said, “I came early to invite you two to lunch today. You have to put everything else aside. I’ve also invited the mother and wife of Wang Ximian, the painter, and Meng Yunfang and his wife. Now I have to go tell Meng and his wife and then go shopping for groceries.”

“We don’t deserve the honor,” Tang Wan’er said.

“I accepted your invitation, didn’t I?” Zhuang said.

“I’m sorry. We can’t wait to get to know those people, and it’s time we paid our respects to your wife. But there will be so many guests, I’m afraid we’re not presentable enough. We’d make you lose face.”

“We’re friends, so no more talk like that. Wan’er, did you ask Xia Jie to give my wife a jade bracelet?”

“Yes, why? Wouldn’t she take it?”

“That’s not it. She didn’t think she should have taken it, since she had yet to meet you.”

“Oh, it’s not worth anything. Zhou Min gave a bracelet to Xia Jie because Meng Laoshi introduced us to you, and I thought your wife should have one, too, so I asked Xia Jie to take one over.”

Zhuang took out a cloth bundle.

“She asked me to give you this in return,” he said. “I hope you like it.”

She took it. “It’s the thought that counts. I’d love it even if it were a lump of clay.”

The opened bundle revealed an ancient bronze mirror, which drew a cry from her.

“Come take a look, Zhou Min.”

“You’re making it hard on me, Zhuang Laoshi,” Zhou said. “This is a rare treasure!”

“It’s just a nice thing to have, that’s all.”

She looked into it, saying she had heard of bronze mirrors and had always wondered how you could see yourself in one. She was surprised to see that it was as clear as glass, so she replaced a painted plate on the table with the mirror, on its stand, to admire herself.

“Now you’re showing off,” Zhou Min said.

“I was just wondering who might have owned this in ancient times and how she would have put on makeup in front of it,” she said with a pout. “Zhou Min, you’ve been careless with the antique roof tiles I used to collect, putting them all over the place. You even broke one. Now, this mirror is a treasure, so don’t you touch it.”

“Do you really think I don’t know what’s valuable and what’s not?” he said, with an embarrassed look at Zhuang.

“Why don’t you deliver the lunch invitation instead of Zhuang Laoshi,” she said, “and buy some gifts while you’re at it? Maybe it’s Zhuang Laoshi or Shimu’s birthday.”

“It’s nobody’s birthday. Food is secondary; the important thing is getting together with friends,” Zhuang said.

Zhou got up to leave, and so did Zhuang.

“I’ll go tell them, so you can stick around,” Zhou Min said, “If you haven’t had breakfast yet, Wan’er can go out for some rice and jujube cakes and some tofu jelly.”

Zhuang sat down, saying he’d rest a while.

As soon as Zhou Min left, Tang Wan’er shut the gate.

“I’ll go get some rice cakes, then,” she said when she returned.

Suddenly Zhuang felt anxious. He got to his feet but then sat back down.

“I don’t normally eat breakfast, but get something for yourself if you want.”

“I won’t eat if you don’t,” she said with a smile, her lively eyes fixed on Zhuang, which made him hot all over. The bridge of his nose was prickled with sweat, but he bravely returned her gaze. She then sat down in front of him on a stool, putting one leg in back and resting the other one limply sideways against it. With the toe of her shoe barely touching the floor, she wore the shoe halfway off to expose her heel as she tried to balance herself on the stool. Zhuang could not keep his eyes off the dainty shoes.