Sheng Keyi - Northern Girls - Life Goes On

‘They hiring?’

‘Yep.’

‘Heard they only want thirty people.’

‘Huh?’

‘Now, we’re all just queuing up for the privilege of filling in the application.’

‘Then what?’

‘Then we wait till we hear from them.’

Xiaohong whiled away her time chatting to those around her.

When it came to lunchtime, no one budged. Xiaohong, not daring to vacate her place in the queue, waited until the sun was nearing the horizon. Only then was she invited to part with another two yuan for the right to fill in applications for herself and Sijiang, choosing a random date to use as her friend’s birthday on the form. The results would be announced in a week. In seven days, applicants should come to the factory gate to receive the news. You’d think they were applying for the CEO’s post, she thought.

By the time she got back to Li Mazi’s quarters, it was dark. The window in the little shack was lit, making a pitiful sight. It seemed to stand in lament for the loss of something that fell just outside the reach of its glow — perhaps the dampened hopes of the two girls, who had relied on Li Mazi’s good manners in suppressing any natural urges. How many days had he spent with Sijiang before moving in on her? And her a virgin! The hymen — that insignificant piece of flesh — what did it matter? And all along Li Mazi, the prick, was just waiting to poke through that little membrane. What was it about that tiny piece of flesh that made all the men so greedy for it? Xiaohong thought of that cheap bastard Li Mazi getting his hands on Sijiang’s ‘lifeline’ and felt a surge of hatred on her friend’s behalf.

VII

Sijiang was not in the shack. Li Mazi leaned against the bed in a daze, dark rings beneath his eyes, making him look like one of those great national treasures, the panda. Clearly the previous night’s activity had taken its toll on him. Upon seeing Xiaohong enter the room, he rolled his eyes until the whites were visible, rubbing his face and brushing his clothes in an attempt to tidy up his appearance.

‘Sijiang? She go out for a walk? Come on, there’s no need to be so secretive!’ Xiaohong asked hastily, not even attempting to hide her contempt.

‘She… she went to see Mr Zhuang,’ he answered haltingly.

‘What the hell does that old goat want with her? Aren’t you worried?’ Xiaohong thought he was just trying to cover his embarrassment over what had happened the night before.

‘What’ve I got to worry about? Sijiang’s business has got nothing to do with me,’ Li Mazi drawled.

‘What the hell? Nothing to do with you? Didn’t you have a go at her last night? What sort of an inhumane beast are you?’

‘If I were inhumane, I’d have done her from the start! Sleeping here with two half-dressed girls, I’d have to be mad not to be tempted! But don’t worry — I didn’t even try to get inside her pants. Just ask Sijiang.’

‘Oh!’ It suddenly began to dawn on Xiaohong. ‘You mean you were just trying to help, you know… initiate her?’

‘Xiaohong, if you keep on like this, you’re going to drive me crazy. Say whatever you want. Oh, I’ll freely admit that I spent the whole night fantasising about the pair of you. I’m not a very educated man, though I at least tried to act like a gentleman. But come on…’

Xiaohong sighed, ‘I never meant to bring you this kind of trouble.’

‘I blame myself. But be honest, with a living guy lying beside you, didn’t your mind begin to wander just a little?’

Xiaohong, laughing unconvincingly, replied, ‘I guess you’d best ask Sijiang. She was the one sleeping closer to you.’

‘If you don’t have anything to say, there’s certainly no point asking her ,’ Li Mazi said, in frustration.

‘What you two talking about?’ Sijiang’s voice entered the room first, and she shuffled in behind it.

Li Mazi picked up his magazine and rummaged through its pages, as if in a trance. Xiaohong giggled.

‘Where in the world did you go?’

Sijiang reached into her pocket and pulled out a pair of green cards.

‘What’s that? Temporary residence cards?’ Xiaohong scanned the bronze lettering a couple of times. The third time, her eyes suddenly grew rounder, nearly popping out of her head.

‘Um…’ Sijiang hesitated, her fresh-as-an-apple face serene, like an infant putting on her socks for the first time. The task accomplished, she had a new-found confidence and her eyes looked just a little less lost. Li Mazi took the documents and read over them with a wooden expression before handing them back to Sijiang.

‘Mr Zhuang did it for you?’ Xiaohong hoped she was wrong.

‘I went to Mr Zhuang, and he took me to see the mayor. The mayor’s the one who got it done.’

‘Done? The mayor got things done? Sijiang, you… you…. What have you done?’ A fire leapt into Xiaohong’s eyes. ‘Why didn’t you talk to me about it first? Didn’t we always say we’d find a way?’

‘Honghong, I saw a lot of people get picked up on the streets today. What’s virginity anyway? I don’t feel I’ve lost anything at all. And from tomorrow on, we’re both free.’

Xiaohong couldn’t quite see the link between ‘virginity’ and ‘freedom’. She had a vague feeling that it was a paradox, but then, the results were undeniable. Virginity seems to be of tremendous significance to everything except ‘true love’, she thought.

At night, noisy, boisterous laughter filled the neighbourhood. Inside the shack, there was only the sound of three people breathing, each silently pondering the loss of Sijiang’s virginity. Xiaohong was filled with regret, Li Mazi with remorse. Only Sijiang showed nothing. Li Mazi’s sorrow seemed to reach another, more personal level, as if he couldn’t help wondering how satisfying it must have been to break Sijiang’s hymen — though he realised, of course, that the pleasure of it was nothing compared to the value of a temporary residence card. Xiaohong regretted that it had come down to Sijiang selling her virginity.

Light from the bare bulb lit Sijiang’s bowed head, shining on the bit of white scalp where her hair parted, her face hidden from view. Tears dropped onto her leather shoe, washing away the grey dust and exposing a patch of black. She pulled her foot closer to her body, leaving the tears to drop silently onto the floor. She shifted her hips from time to time, trying to find a comfortable position. Xiaohong, understanding Sijiang’s discomfort, got up and carried the red plastic bucket out to get some water, her chest thrust proudly forward, held even higher than usual. Her slippers beat a furious path along the concrete away from the room, then slapped their way back, accompanied by the slosh of water in the pail. Li Mazi said, ‘Want to boil it?’ Xiaohong exhaled heavily. He took out a gadget, dropped the brass coil into the water, and plugged the other end into the wall socket. Tiny bubbles started to rise from the coil.

‘Sijiang, wait for the water to heat up then you can bathe. If it’s not enough, we’ll boil more.’

‘One bucket definitely won’t be enough. I’ll go and get some more and bring it right back.’ Upon saying this, Li Mazi left, his footsteps sounding like he had been walking for days on end.

‘Um, Sijiang, when you did it, did he use protection?’ Xiaohong moved in close to Sijiang and sat down with her beneath the bare bulb, the shadows of their heads resting side by side on the floor.

‘What protection? How the hell would I know?’

‘What I mean is, a condom, you know?’

Sijiang shook her head, looking at the shadow on the ground.

‘OK. Well, when was the last time you had your period?’