Jia Pingwa - Ruined City

“Dajie, there’s nothing wrong with being a maid, and it’s not being a slave,” Liu Yue piped up from the kitchen, where she was scrubbing a pot. “Is that how you see me, as a slave?”

“You stay out of this,” Niu Yueqing said.

“Only bad things happen when you curse someone,” Liu Yue said, “so it doesn’t bother me, but this time, the less you say the better. You have good intentions, but Zhuang Laoshi isn’t being unreasonable. If you want to have a birthday celebration to chase away bad luck, why not just invite a few friends over? But you want to make a big splash. Our place is small to begin with, and it would be torture on a hot day. Besides, people may think that Zhuang Laoshi has something else in mind.”

“Hear that?” Zhuang said. “Even Liu Yue knows better than you.”

Niu Yueqing, who had no way to vent her anger, blew up when she heard Liu Yue’s comment, followed by Zhuang’s ridicule. “I know I’m no match for Liu Yue. She doesn’t like to cook, so she’s happy that no one ever eats in this house.”

“I spent all morning in three markets,” Liu Yue said. “And do you hear me complaining? Did I say anything about my feet getting bigger from all that running around? I’m a maid, born to cook for others. So don’t say I don’t like to cook.” Liu Yue had always taken Niu Yueqing’s side, so what she said this time made Niu Yueqing feel that she had spoiled the girl. Why else would she talk to her like that? Reaching the peak of her anger, Niu Yueqing said, “Then you’re a fence-sitter. What did you say when I discussed the celebration with you? Now he doesn’t want one, so you side with him. He’s your laoshi, a celebrity. People say that once a woman’s husband treats her badly, everyone else will do the same. That’s so true. What do we do now, Liu Yue, since you know better than I do? Come on, tell me. What do we do?”

Liu Yue began to cry. Zhuang, who was sitting there looking stern, saw that and realized that she was, after all, an outsider. But he also wanted to aggravate his wife.

“No need to cry, Liu Yue,” he said as he banged the table. “Let her do what she wants. One of these days, you’ll come back to the compound and cook for me alone.”

“All right, then,” Niu Yueqing said. “Since you make enough money to hire a maid, you can do what you want. You’re ganging up on me. I can’t criticize my husband and I can’t say a bad thing about a maid, so what status do I have in this house? I’ve brought shame to my ancestors.” Now she was crying, which increased Zhuang’s anger. But before he could blow up, the old lady came out on unsteady feet. Liu Yue went up to help her, but she pushed the girl away and pointed her finger at Zhuang. Her lips quivered, but not a word came out. Zhuang turned, opened the door, and walked out, heading for the apartment in the Literary Federation compound, where he would spend the night.

. . .

Zhuang chose not to return home from the apartment; Niu Yueqing chose not to join him there. Given the standoff, the birthday party was canceled. Liu Yue’s outburst that day had created a rift between her and Niu Yueqing, a development that secretly pleased her, as she had been waiting to see Zhuang’s wife make a fool of herself. She started paying more attention to her appearance. One day, when some fans of literature dropped by, she received them properly, without looking too humble or too haughty. A while later, she gathered up some papers Zhuang needed to attend to — important letters, requests from newspaper editors, and invitations to various social functions — and handed them to Niu Yueqing. “These are all pretty urgent, Dajie. Do you want to deliver them, or should I go?”

Niu Yueqing, surprised by how the girl’s mind worked, wondered if maybe Liu Yue was more capable than she. “I don’t want to see him.”

So Liu Yue went to the compound. Zhuang was naturally happy to see her, taking note of how neatly she had arranged the letters and documents, how bright her clothes were, and how nicely she had made herself up. Taking her hand, he chatted with her for a while, then asked her to make something for him to eat before she headed back. Thereafter, she traveled between the two places. Niu Yueqing was upset with Zhuang, but he was her husband, after all, so she did not voice her view on Liu Yue’s trips; rather, she bought what he liked to eat and quietly left it in a basket for Liu Yue to take along.

During this time, Tang Wan’er also made several visits to the compound, frequently enough that the guard, Granny Wei, could remember the young woman with the lovely eyes and easy smile. Once she even asked Zhuang if Tang was an actress, prompting him to change their meeting place to the House of Imperfection Seekers. On this day, the sun came out after a brief rain, turning the air humid and stiflingly hot. Zhuang waited at the house for Tang, but she didn’t show. So he took out a pair of binoculars they had bought together to enjoy a view of the city and trained it on a building across the way. It was the dormitory for female workers at an embroidery factory. Eight young women with pretty eyes and nice teeth stayed in one room. They had likely just gotten off work, for they were washing up, dressed in shorts and bras. Three of them were engaged in horseplay. Engrossed by the scene, he was surprised to see a sheet of newspaper held up to the window with large words in ink: “Shame on you.” Red-faced, he lowered the blinds and went back inside, where he spotted a note under the door. He picked it up and saw that it was from Tang, who had slid it in earlier that day. He had overlooked it when he came in.

“Good news: Zhou Min says the deputy governor in charge of cultural affairs has stepped down and that the head of the Propaganda Office wrote ‘To be resolved by the Department of Culture’ on the announcement, so the magazine has stuck to their decision to print it as written. Jing Xueyin objected, and Zhong Weixian said that in that case they wouldn’t print it. So it doesn’t appear in the latest issue.” She had added: “I can’t come today. A friend of Zhou’s came from Tongguan with news from home, and Zhou Min and I have to feed him. I stopped by on my way to buy groceries. Forgive me.”

Zhuang let out a sigh. So the deputy governor was out. What good timing. Niu Yueqing wanted a birthday celebration to drive out bad luck, but how can a birthday do that? And now something good has happened without a celebration. What a shame Wan’er can’t be here; otherwise we would drink a toast to that . He fantasized about what they would do, and as his fanciful thoughts took flight, something stirred between his legs. He took off his clothes to take care of himself. ☐☐ ☐☐ ☐☐ [The author has deleted 48 words.] He reached the height of his fantasy and came; then, when he wiped it off with the note, he discovered more writing on the back: “Bad news: Zhou Min said that Meng Laoshi has gone blind in one eye.”

Zhuang was staggered. He quickly dressed, washed his face, and rushed out, heading for Meng’s house.

Meng had indeed lost sight in one eye. It was a highly unusual circumstance: everything looked fine on the surface, and he felt no pain or itch. He just could not see with that eye. Not in the least upset, he said with a laugh, “I found out yesterday morning when I woke up. I went to the doctor, but the exam didn’t show anything. Zhidie, don’t try to pull one over on me anymore, because I’m now a one-eyed wonder.”

Feeling sorry for the man, Zhuang said that one visit wasn’t enough, that Meng should go see more doctors.

“Not even the King of Medicine, Sun Simiao, with his magical healing powers, could do anything. You know why this happened? I’ve made some progress in my study of Master Shao’s Magic Numbers . Let’s give it a try.”