Jia Pingwa - Ruined City

“I was wondering why there haven’t been any phone calls while I’ve been stuck in the house. Turns out the phone was off the hook. Liu Yue, did you do this?”

Unable to lie, the girl told him it was Niu Yueqing’s idea, which sent him into a rage.

“Resting? Resting peacefully? Why didn’t she simply send me to prison?”

“I have to do what she wants.”

“What she wants? What she wants is for me to break both of my legs; then she’ll be happy.”

“She’s just being considerate. That’s unfair to her.”

“She is good at making sure that others are fed, warm, and in good health, but she will never understand that some people need more than that to stay alive. Don’t be deceived by her carefree attitude. She actually has a bit of a mean streak and is on guard against everyone.”

“Including me?” Liu Yue asked.

Without responding, he put one hand on the wall to support himself as he walked into the study, where he sat down to stew in anger.

Meng came over later that morning with the amulets, as promised. He expressed his unhappiness that Zhuang had not told him about his bad foot. Though they were like brothers, Zhuang had been keeping his distance, not thinking that there was anything Meng could do to help. He hurried to explain that the sprain was not so bad, but that it would take time to heal. If he had told Meng, it would only have caused him undue worry; besides, he hadn’t told a soul.

“What undue worry?” Meng said, still upset. “I’d have brought you tonics like royal jelly and longan extract. They’re not expensive.”

“When have you ever brought anything with you?” Liu Yue asked snidely. “You load up on food and drink every time you come. Zhuang Laoshi told you about his bad foot when he asked you to get the amulets. So what did you bring for the patient?”

“Stop picking on me. I didn’t bring him anything, but I’m going to give you something.” He tapped her on the top of her head. With a shriek, she cursed him, saying he would not meet with a good end, that he’d get what was coming to him.

“You’re right. The son by my first wife, when I lived in the countryside, joined the army five years ago, and he’s a platoon leader. He wants to be promoted further, to a company or regiment commander, but he wrote last month to say that the army is going to deactivate him and told him to go back where he came from. My son said, ‘They’re all common soldiers, sir, and they can go back where they came from, but I’m a platoon leader.’ The regiment commander said, ‘It’s no different for platoon leaders.’ So my son said, ‘I’ll follow your order if it’s the same for everyone, but I came from my mother’s belly, and I can’t go back, since she’s dead.’”

“That sounds like a son of yours.” More or less appeased, Liu Yue smiled. “How many wives have you had? Dajie said your first wife was from the city and that your son is only eight or nine. How could he be in the army?”

“You don’t know, Liu Yue, but he also divorced another woman in the countryside,” Zhuang said.

“I’ve been married three times, and each wife has been younger than the one before.”

“No wonder,” she said. “That’s the source of all those wrinkles.”

Zhuang glared at her. “So what will your son do?” he asked Meng.

“I know the executive county head in my hometown, so I called him, and he promised to find a job for my son at the county level. You won’t believe what I’m going to tell you. I asked if I should come with Zhuang Zhidie to talk to the district commissioner, who was a classmate of Zhuang’s, and he said, ‘Are you trying to force my hand by bringing in a big gun?’ ‘So you know Zhuang Zhidie, do you?’ I said, ‘Not only do I know him, I was the witness at his wedding.’ ‘Zhuang Zhidie is a celebrity,’ he said, clearly pleased, ‘and I must do whatever he wants. Our policy doesn’t allow us to give your son a job, and I won’t use the back door. If I did, someone could file a complaint. Instead I will deal with it out in the open, telling people that your son is a relative of Zhuang Zhidie’s, and that we must find him a job. I’d promise to do that for anyone whose relative makes as many contributions to society as Zhuang Zhidie.’”

“You’re always cooking up something, and I’m the one who’s in trouble if there’s a problem,” Zhuang said.

“It’s just that you’re so famous,” Meng said. “When the county head comes to Xijing, I’ll bring him here, and you can entertain him as a favor to me.”

“Ai-ya!” Liu Yue remarked. “You not only come here alone to eat, but now you want to bring other people with you.”

“Why not? Here, look at this.” Meng took out a medicine pouch and told Zhuang to put it up against his navel.

“What kind of a crazy idea is that? I injured my foot, and you want me wear this on my belly?”

“You never believe me. What does a writer know about health products? As the mayor suggested, a street for magic health products has been created in the eastern part of the city, where twenty-three companies are selling their wares. This one is called a magic health sack. They also sell magic brain caps, magic kidney belts, magic power bras, and magic virility underwear. I hear they’re working on magic socks and shoes and hats, as well as magic cups, belts, pillows, mattresses, chair cushions, and so on.”

“That’s enough. This is not a good sign. I wonder who gave the mayor that terrible idea. When society went downhill during the Wei and Jin dynasties, qigong practice, alchemy, and the search for an immortality elixir became trendy. So now it’s health products.”

“Why are you worried about that?” Meng said. “If there’s a seller, there’s a buyer, and when there’s a buyer, there’s more to sell. Besides, it aids Xijing’s economic development.”

Zhuang shook his head and changed the subject:

“I’ve been home all this time and no one’s been by. But there’s something I want to talk to you about.” Zhuang asked Liu Yue to leave them alone, to which she replied with a pout, “Is it something sordid you don’t want me to hear? I’m going to tell Dajie.”

“Be a good girl and go on out,” Meng said. “I’ll bring you a magical power bra in a few days.”

“Shut your filthy mouth!” she said. “Have your wife wear it first.”

“Listen to her,” Meng said. “My wife tried one, and now she has the nipples of a young girl.”

“Liu Yue is still young, so watch what you say,” Zhuang cautioned. He continued in a soft voice after the girl was gone. “I talked to the mayor about the upstairs unit at the nunnery, and he has agreed to give it to us, along with a set of used furniture. Here’s a key. Go take a look, but I have to stress that you mustn’t mention it to anyone, especially Niu Yueqing or your wife.”

“Great!” Meng was overjoyed. “You are, after all, a celebrity, unlike us insignificant people with no sway. We should write a piece for the paper to let people know how much our mayor values culture.”

“Go ahead, write one, since we’ll likely need more help from him in the future,” Zhuang said. “Now that we have a place, let’s think about the kind of activities we want to hold there, who should and can be invited, and who absolutely shouldn’t be allowed in. But no matter what, you and I must be the only two with keys. We can host our first meeting after my foot gets better.”

“Why don’t we start off by having Huiming give a lecture on Zen Buddhism? There’s a type of futurology that’s really hot these days. I’ve had a look at just about every book on the subject, domestic and foreign. But she has new views from the perspective of Zen. She thinks the world of the future will or ought to be a Zen energy field and that advanced humans should follow Zen philosophy. I’ve been thinking about that myself, and I could write something now that we have a quiet place. When I’m home, Xia Jie is always nagging me about one thing or another. They say that Zen requires peace and quiet, but up till now I haven’t had a quiet place to go.”