Jia Pingwa - Ruined City

“She looks like she’s moving,” she said, a comment that pleased Zhuang Zhidie.

“Liu Yue has fine instincts to be able to sense that.”

He lit a stick of incense and put it in the burner, sending a tiny column of smoke rising through the three openings to the ceiling, where it roiled like white clouds. “Take another look now.”

“The more you look at her, the more it feels like she’s flowing toward you.”

“This is clearly fate,” Xia Jie said. “Look, doesn’t the maid resemble Liu Yue? You could almost say the facial features were modeled after her.”

Liu Yue had to agree. “I was modeled after her,” she said. Suddenly overcome by shyness, she leaned quietly against the door.

“You’re home alone with your dajie, Liu Yue, so you can come here to read any time you like,” Zhuang said.

“Your study is like the emperor’s audience hall, and commoners are seldom allowed in,” Xia Jie said. “It was because of Sister Wang that I was lucky enough to spend some time here. But Liu Yue gets special treatment the moment she arrives.”

Zhuang blushed. “Well, she’s family now.”

That only made Xia Jie less willing to drop the subject. “Oh, so she’s family now. That sounds so intimate.” She went up and whispered to Zhuang, “You’re getting a maid, not a concubine. So be careful.”

He was so embarrassed, his face turned red as a cinder. Liu Yue had not heard what was said, but she could tell it was something about her that embarrassed her master.

“I can read,” she said, “but I could never learn to be a writer. It would be enough for me to breathe in the air here when I come to clean the place.”

“You can clean the place, but don’t kill the mosquitoes,” someone said from the doorway. “They suck Zhuang Laoshi’s blood and become learned. We’ll be well-read if they bite us.”

Everyone in the study turned to see a rare beauty at the door in front of Zhou Min, who was grinning from ear to ear, holding a package of gifts. Zhuang jumped to his feet but could find nothing to say. The young woman gave him a quick glance.

“Sorry we’re late, Zhuang Laoshi,” she said with a tiny laugh. “Will you introduce us?”

Energized by her words, he took the gifts from Zhou Min while ushering them inside to make the introductions. When he mentioned the famous painter Wang Ximian, Wang’s wife complained, “Just tell her who I am. I don’t want to enjoy favors because of my relationship with Wang Ximian.” She reached out to shake Tang Wan’er’s hand and continued, “I can’t believe that anyone could be so fair, so lovely. If I were a man, I’d fight to the death to have you.”

Tang was unnerved by the comment. The light went out of her eyes, and her face darkened; she did not recover until Zhuang introduced her to Liu Yue. Without another look at Wang’s wife, she chatted with Liu Yue, even taking the girl’s hands. Then she removed a red hairpin for her.

“I don’t know why,” she said, “but I feel close to you, as if we’ve met somewhere. Be sure to open the door when I come to pay a call on Zhuang Laoshi.”

“You are Zhuang Laoshi’s friend, and I’m sure you’d complain to him if I dared to refuse you. I would lose my standing here,” Liu Yue said.

Xia Jie, who had been quiet, cut in: “Are you finished, you little tart? I’ve been waiting for you to play chess.”

“You’ll just have wait, then,” Tang Wan’er said. “I’m going to pay my respects to his wife first.”

“I should help out in the kitchen,” Liu Yue said. “I’ll go with you.” In the kitchen she said to Niu Yueqing, “The guests are here, Dajie. Why don’t you take a break and entertain them while I help Meng Laoshi?”

Zhou Min introduced Tang Wan’er to Niu Yueqing, who was brushing the ashes off her clothes. She froze at the sight of the radiant young woman. Liu Yue was a pretty girl with fine features, while Tang Wan’er had deep, small eyes and a narrow forehead, though her skin glowed. The hair at her temple, which was combed back, was so thick it almost looked false to Niu Yueqing; but a second look told her that she had been born with beautiful hair.

“So you’re Tang Wan’er. We haven’t met, but I’ve heard your name so many times, my ears are getting calluses. I’ve been asking Zhidie to take me to meet you, but I could never get away. Being with a celebrity means I’m kept busy while he’s occupied from dawn to dusk, and yet I’m not quite sure what I’ve accomplished. On the other hand, I’m like a legless crab, so what else can I do but run around for his sake? As the saying goes, a woman depends on her man. She eats his food, so she goes where he goes.”

“That’s only half the saying,” Meng said. “She eats his food, so she goes where he goes and fondles him in bed at night.”

“You and your filthy mouth!” Niu Yueqing protested. “Don’t forget you’re a teacher to Wan’er, who is of a tender age. You compromise your dignity by saying things like that.”

“She called me her teacher when we first met, but I’m not really her teacher, am I? We become equals once we get to know each other better. Didn’t Zhidie refer to me as a teacher before he became famous? And now? Two years ago he started calling me Old Meng, last year it became Yunfang, and now I’m his cook. And you say Tang Wan’er is of a tender age? In fact, she has plenty of experience. Last month, on the way to Huayin County in the Mount Huayin foothills, where I was to give a talk on The Book of Changes , the bus made a late stop to let the passengers off to use the toilet. A youngster started to relieve himself as soon as he stepped down. When a mother and her daughter got off after him, she blocked the girl’s view. ‘You’re disgusting,’ she said. “Don’t you know enough to stay out of sight when you’re peeing?’ The boy replied, ‘Old Aunty, you’re old enough for me to be a little boy to you, so what’s the big deal?’ The woman’s daughter sneered, ‘You say you’re still a boy? Who are you fooling? Not with that tool. You must think I don’t know anything?’”

Niu Yueqing picked up a broom and smacked him over the head before dragging Tang Wan’er out of the kitchen. “Ignore him. He’s just running off at the mouth.”

After sitting down with Wan’er, Niu Yueqing thanked her for the jade bracelet as she recalled Zhuang’s comment about the absence of wrinkles on Tang’s face. She took a closer look, and indeed there were none, so she asked her what she used on her face. “You’ve met Mrs. Wang, haven’t you? Well, she told me to put cucumber slices on my face for fifteen minutes during the day and egg whites at night to tighten the skin and reduce the appearance of wrinkles.”

“I don’t use any of those,” Wan’er said. “I’d rather eat the cucumbers and eggs. That’s for people with money and leisure. I just use whatever cosmetics I can lay my hands on.”

“I can’t compete with natural beauty, no matter what I do. Besides, I have to take care of the house. It’s not my nature to worry about my looks, even if I did have the time.”

“You are an exemplary wife,” Wan’er said emphatically. “You say you live for him, but everyone knows that his accomplishments actually owe a great deal to his superb helpmate. People out there refer to you as Zhuang Zhidie’s wife, as a sign of respect and honor.”

Wang Ximian’s wife heard every word in the study and, annoyed, said to Xia Jie in a low voice, “That little tart is mocking me. What have I ever done to her?”

Xia Jie smiled and whispered to her the story of Wan’er and Zhou Min’s elopement.

“Oh, my, I had no idea. I didn’t mean what I just said. What a heartless woman, running off like that. Leaving her husband is one thing, but how could she bear to leave her child, her own flesh and blood?”