Jia Pingwa - Ruined City

“Are you drunk?” She grew suspicious. “Seriously?”

He slid down the doorframe to the ground and threw up. Chickens in the yard came to peck at his former stomach contents, themselves swaying and falling down drunk. Incensed, she tried to pick him up, but he was too heavy, so she grabbed him by the arms to drag him inside. He held on to the pear tree and swore: “He sold me out! He sacrificed me because of a woman. He’s despicable. Ugly. He’s not a man.”

“What are you talking about?” she asked. “Who sold you out for what woman?”

“Our laoshi, the one you adore.”

Her heart raced, but she retorted angrily, “What are you talking about? How did he sell you out? What woman? How did I wind up here with you? Am I supposed to belong to you just because I have no legal protection?”

He glared at her until he was overcome by dizziness and could not clearly hear what she was saying; he saw her red lips flapping and her red-nailed fingers flailing before he passed out, dead drunk.

She stood there, disgusted at the sight of the wretched man, wondering what she had seen in him to make her follow him here. The day has finally come , she said to herself. It’s finally here .

She had wanted to leave him for some time, but had stopped herself each time she was about to tell him that. She was worried that he would find out about her and Zhuang from someone else, which unsettled and frightened her. But now that he knew, she was surprisingly relaxed. After taking a look at the sun beating down with its fiery rays, she squatted down to say to the sleeping Zhou, “Our karmic connection has run its course. Go ahead and sleep, and when you wake up, I’ll tell you everything. Don’t blame me, since I never really belonged to you.”

A roll of paper in his pocket caught her attention, so she took it out and cried out at the first sight of its contents. She ran inside and read it three times, realizing that he hadn’t found out about her and Zhuang. It must have been a result of Jing Xueyin’s lawsuit or of the letter Zhuang wrote to Jing and her husband. What came to mind initially was why Zhuang still could not cut ties with Jing even at a moment like this. He had repeatedly told her that he and Jing had never been in love, so where had the emotional attachment come from? He had done everything with Wan’er and had told her everything, but was that other woman still on his mind? What kind of woman could infatuate him like that? Putting the document away, she managed to get Zhou Min inside and lay him down on a sofa before dashing off to the compound to see Zhuang, unaware that he had left the city. She changed her mind halfway there. As resentment toward him welled up, she decided to use Niu Yueqing to cut things off between Zhuang and Jing.

After reading the document, Niu Yueqing said, “Mr. Zhong called and said he’d send Zhou over with this. I was dying from worry. Where is he?”

Recalling Zhou Min’s drunken tirade earlier, Tang now realized that he harbored so much resentment against Zhuang that he had intentionally delayed sharing the document. She thought about how close she had come to contributing to the delay, and was happy she had made the right decision to come here.

“Zhou Min was outraged at that woman when he read the document. Does Jing Xueyin want to see Zhuang Laoshi sent to jail? He felt so bad he was crying at home, saying he was too ashamed to see Zhuang Laoshi.”

Niu Yueqing was touched. “There’s no need to cry. The threat of a lawsuit can’t put anyone in jail.” Liu Yue came in at that moment, startling them with her new look. “How can you think about dressing up at a time like this?” Niu Yueqing said. “Where is he?”

“I couldn’t find him.”

“Did you look for him, or did you go shopping?”

“Where would I get the money to buy anything? I ran into someone I knew from home. She works in a hotel, raking in several hundred a month. She thought I looked shabby, so she gave me a pair of shoes, some stockings, and the glasses.”

“You don’t look shabby,” Niu Yueqing said. “Why compare yourself to a hotel employee? You see them every day at the train station looking for business. They work in the hotel during the day. Who knows what they do at night?”

Knowing that she didn’t need to say anything, Liu Yue took off her shoes and rubbed her feet, sending the jade bracelet rolling around her arm. Tang saw that it had been one of hers, intended for Niu Yueqing, but somehow it had made it onto Liu’s wrist. As feelings of jealousy rose inside, she embraced Liu Yue and said: “I see we’re like sisters. We have identical bracelets.” She held out her arm to hold the bracelets together. Liu Yue was pleasantly surprised and slipped the bracelet off Tang’s wrist for a closer look. “Like me, you only have one. It would be nice to have a pair.”

Niu Yueqing, who heard the exchange, did not want the story behind the bracelet revealed, so she flipped through the document and asked: “Have you read this, Wan’er?”

“I have. Zhuang Laoshi really should not have written that letter. He did it with the best of intentions, but see what he’s getting in return? It will be used as evidence in court, and there’s nothing he can say to defend himself.”

“Men are like that. The nicer you are to them, the less they care about you. Whatever they can’t have is the best. He believes there is always candy inside a wrapper, but this time there was actually a time bomb.”

“Every man’s the same,” Liu Yue said, “hankering for the six flavors when he has his fill of the five grains. Flowers in the family garden never smell as good as those outside.”

Wan’er blushed. “Zhuang Laoshi isn’t like that. He can’t get enough of the fragrance from Shimu, the flower at home, so how could he have time for anyone outside?”

“What are you saying? What would people think if they heard you? So vulgar,” Niu Yueqing said. Without asking Tang to stay longer, she instead asked Liu Yue to move back to the compound with her and wait for Zhuang’s return. Having given the document only a quick read, Liu Yue was apprehensive and secretly chastised herself for dallying on the street so long. Now she understood why Niu Yueqing was unhappy with her.

“I may be just a worthless maid in this house, Dajie, but I am, after all, a member of this family. Why did you hide such an important matter from me?”

“I was so anxious when I told you to look for him, I didn’t have time to explain things. Aren’t I showing you the document now?”

“So you really want to move back, then? After holding out all these days, you’re going to blink first. In the future, instead of controlling his temper, Zhuang Laoshi will vent his displeasure on you and me.”

“I can’t help it that I’m his wife. At such a critical time, I can’t keep fighting with him. If he winds up in jail, I’ll be the one to deliver food to him. That’s my fate. I can’t share in his glory, but I’m fated to be his partner in misery. All our fights end with my admitting defeat anyway.”

They left together, Tang Wan’er going south, the other two north. But before Tang walked off, Niu Yueqing called her back. “Since Zhou Min didn’t come, I guess he’s unhappy with your Zhuang Laoshi. When you get home, tell him not to be upset and to please be more understanding, for Zhuang Laoshi is in a tight spot. At moments like this, we must stand together. If he goes down, we will, too, but as long as he’s around, Zhou Min will have nothing to worry about.” When Niu Yueqing finished, she told Liu Yue to go inside to get a bottle for Tang to take home for Zhou Min. Tang stopped her. “I know all that. I wouldn’t go along if Zhou Min was disrespectful. There’s no need to get any liquor for him.”