Jia Pingwa - Ruined City

“Who needs you to do anything? All I want is an okay from you. Hong Jiang is all right, but he can be impulsive. I know how to deal with him, so you needn’t worry.”

When they were done, Zhuang asked Liu Yue to see Zhao out.

“Jingwu, what were you talking to Zhuang Laoshi about?” she asked when they were outside. “You look so pleased.”

“We’re going to open a gallery, Liu Yue, so be nice to me and I’ll hire you as an official greeter. You won’t have to be a maid, cooking and doing the washing for others anymore.”

“Have I not been nice to you?” she said. “There’s no sign of a gallery, and you’re already giving me a hard time. You’d probably order me around like a slave if you were Zhuang Laoshi.”

He gave her a playful punch, and got one from her in return. They went back and forth a few times until she gave him a kick in the pants.

“Was that family mad at me when I left?” she asked.

“Of course, and they cursed me, too. They’re telling anyone who will listen that you fed their child sleeping pills to make your job easier. Did you do that?”

“That boy was a reincarnation of a wailing ghost. He started crying the minute he woke up. Don’t tell them I work here; they might make a scene and ruin my reputation.”

“I won’t tell. But you’re a living person, not an object, and you have to leave the house for things like grocery shopping. How can you be sure that someone from that compound won’t spot you and tell the family? If they come to see me, I’m not the police and I can’t stop them.”

Her face darkened. “Aren’t you always bragging about all the people you know? Why don’t you get some friends from the underworld to scare them a bit? You take care of it for me. And don’t even think about coming back here if you say yes but then do nothing.”

“You’re using your employer to bully me.”

After Zhao left, Liu Yue stood at the lane entrance, and before long, Niu Yueqing returned from work. When she saw the girl standing there sucking on her finger, she asked her what she was doing. Liu Yue told her she was about to go home after seeing Zhao Jingwu off. Niu Yueqing cautioned her that a young woman should not stand at the lane entrance like a flirt. As they talked, they saw Zhou Min and Tang Wan’er riding up the street on their bikes.

“Hey, you two, golden boy and jade girl,” Niu Yueqing called out. “You’re always out and about, without a care in the world. Which dance hall are you going to today?”

Wan’er got off her bike. “We’re on our way to Shimu’s house. We heard from Meng Laoshi that Zhuang Laoshi injured his foot. I was so worried, I wanted to come right away, but Zhou Min asked me to wait until he was off work. Is it serious?”

“Wan’er, you’re such a smooth talker. When you meet me you say you’re coming to visit. If I hadn’t spotted you, I’m sure you’d be off to a dance hall. Otherwise, why dress up so nicely just to come to our place?”

“That’s not true. Other people may not care about Zhuang Laoshi’s injury, but we do. I always dress up, no matter where I go, not just to your house. Looking nice is a sign of respect to the people you’re visiting.” She put her arm around Liu Yue affectionately, which prompted the girl to take note of Wan’er’s new style, a perm that draped across her shoulders. Niu Yueqing was all smiles. “I was unfair to you. Come have dinner with us. Liu Yue and I will make Shaanxi noodles.”

“We’ve already eaten,” Zhou Min said. “Wan’er and I had dinner with Chief Editor Zhong. We had mutton dumplings in sour broth at a diner. Why don’t you go back home, and we’ll be along in a moment. Mr. Zhong went home to get something after dinner, and we’ve agreed to wait for him here, since he wouldn’t be able to find your house.”

Niu Yueqing returned home with Liu Yue, who went straight to the kitchen to make the noodles, while Niu Yueqing told Zhuang that Zhou Min and Tang Wan’er were coming over with Mr. Zhong, who had never been to their house. He had always phoned about manuscripts. If it had been to inquire about Zhuang’s injury, since they weren’t close friends, he would have asked Zhou to send his regards. Besides, it was dark out, so why would the old man come all the way out here?

“Zhou Min must have talked him into coming,” Zhuang said. “It’s about that article. Zhou Min got the idea that I wouldn’t listen to him, so he’s trotted out Mr. Zhong to get my attention.”

“He may be smart, but that’s the sort of thing small-town people would do,” Niu Yueqing said before taking fruit to wash in the kitchen.

Before long, the three visitors arrived. Zhuang limped to open the door, and Wan’er helped him back inside to sit on the sofa, before putting a stool under his injured foot so he could stretch his leg. “Does it still hurt?” she asked tearfully when she removed the gauze and saw the swollen ankle. Seeing that she had forgotten herself, Zhuang secretly pinched her arm to stop her hand, and tossed her a towel to dry her tears.

“I feel terrible having someone your age come all the way to see me,” he said, looking at Chief Editor Zhong. “You can come any time you want, Zhou Min, but why must you drag Chief Editor Zhong along?”

“Even if you didn’t want me here, I would come as soon as I heard about your injury. You agreed to have Zhou Min’s article appear in the first issue, and we will want to publish one of yours in the future. An editor relies on the support of writers and readers. I can feel secure in my job only with your help.”

Now that Zhong had brought up Zhou’s article, Zhuang decided to skip the small talk and get straight to the point.

“I spent ten days at the meeting, where I hurt my foot, so I couldn’t check things out at the magazine. How is everything now? Zhou Min didn’t come by to fill me in.”

“I did,” Zhou Min said, “but since you were at the meeting, I had to turn over the announcement to the department for approval by the Propaganda Section.”

“Here’s how it looks now,” Zhong said. “Jing Xueyin insisted on adding the words ‘grave inaccuracy and malicious slander’ to the announcement, but I couldn’t accept that. I said to the department head, ‘I was labeled a Rightist for twenty years and was in charge of the magazine for three years after my rehabilitation before Wu Kun schemed to replace me. Now that I’m the editor-in-chief, do you think I care about the title? Worst-case scenario, I’d step down and be a Rightist again. What would our readers think about our redesigned magazine if we didn’t stick to our principles and rushed into punishing people or publishing an announcement? What kind of credibility would the magazine have then? How are we going to express our determination to protect the rights of writers?”

A usually cautious, timid man, Zhong sounded particularly firm when he was keyed up, which impressed Zhuang and Niu Yueqing.

“Chief Editor Zhong has been toiling over this day and night,” Zhou Min said. “Without his firm stance, who knows how many people would be laughing at me and at Zhuang Laoshi. It doesn’t matter in my case, since I’m like the man who doesn’t have to be careful when he pees if his pants are already wet. But we have to think about Zhuang Laoshi’s reputation.”

Without responding to him, Zhuang told Liu Yue to fill Mr. Zhong’s cup. The girl, who was having a great time sharing ideas about hairstyles with Tang Wan’er in the study, came out to pour more tea before getting Niu Yueqing to go back inside with her.

“The announcement is still at the Propaganda Section,” Zhong said. “I’ve been calling for three days, asking for a decision, either a formal letter or for the announcement to be returned with a comment. But they say the deputy governor for cultural affairs, who has to read it, has been too busy. They told me we’d hear from them soon. That worries me. It would be wonderful if the deputy governor accepted what we wrote, but my hands will be tied if he listens to that woman and consents to her request for the added language before giving his approval. I might be bold enough to argue with the head of our office, but not with the deputy governor.”