Sheng Keyi - Northern Girls - Life Goes On

‘Who says I didn’t know? The Supervisor told me not to keep working in a salon. He told me all about the things that go on there. By the way, if you see him, will you ask him to leave a phone number for me?’

‘Heard what happened to you yesterday.’ When Bud and Sijiang got back, Xiaohong had just got up. ‘I asked around at the village security office and it seems like it’s a complicated issue. Do you have any kind of relationship going on with Zhan Shibang?’

Xiaohong jumped as if someone had stepped on her tail. ‘Fuck no! I don’t have any kind of relationship with him at all! How can those people be so disgusting? What did they say?’

‘Well, don’t pursue the matter any further,’ he warned. ‘It’s Mrs Zhan who’s on the attack.’

‘Bud, that day we climbed Phoenix Mountain, you know how I turned down Mr Zhan’s offer to open a shop for me to run? Did you tell anyone about that? I only told you and Sijiang,’ Xiaohong glanced at her friend.

‘Ah!’ Sijiang said ruefully. ‘I told Ah Qing. She must have told the boss. No wonder she’s been acting so spiteful!’

‘Nevermind. It could be a blessing in disguise. Something good will come out of it. Something was bound to happen eventually. I never wanted to work in a salon anyway, no matter how bad things got. This all just makes everything easier.’

‘Honghong, I’m going to quit too. It’s almost the Spring Festival. I got a letter from my mother, and I really must go home for it this year.’

‘You earned a little money and now you wanna go back and show off, huh? But Sijiang, I don’t want to go back.’

‘My mother’s worried. She said girls come over here and pick up all sorts of bad habits. Have I picked any up?’

‘How would I know? Ask Bud! If he says you’re alright, then you’re alright.’

Bud laughed, showing an uneven row of teeth. She noticed that the blemishes on his face had disappeared, leaving his skin smoother than before. Or, maybe she had just got used to it.

Xiaohong looked at Bud’s innocent face then looked at Sijiang. She thought to herself, What a perfect match!

I

The paper was crumpled, the phone number written there having long since been committed to memory. Still, Xiaohong was reluctant to discard it. Should she call Zhu Dachang or not? Would he be willing to help her one more time? Would it even be him answering the phone?

Don’t be so bloody irritating! She scolded herself. He gave you the number, at least give him a call.

‘Hello. I’m looking for Zhu Dachang.’

‘This is Zhu Dachang. May I ask who’s speaking?’

‘I’m… eh? Are you really Zhu Dachang?’

‘Yeah.’

‘I… I’m… last night…’

‘Oh, it’s you. I only thought of it after you left, but I should’ve asked if you had money for the bus.’

‘Oh…’ Xiaohong’s eyes reddened and she said in a choked voice, ‘I… walked home. It was a long way.’

‘I’m really sorry. I overlooked it. Where are you now?’

‘I’m… at a friend’s rented room. I resigned from the salon yesterday.’

‘It’s better. You don’t want to work in a salon.’

‘Yeah…’ she was touched and her tears began to flow.

‘Hey! Are you crying?’

‘No, I’m not crying.’

‘Give me your address. I’ll come over.’ She told him. He was familiar with the area. ‘Wait there for me. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.’

Hearing these simple words from Dachang, a warm feeling flowed over her. She really wanted to cry on his shoulder. Putting down the phone, it was the first time she had felt truly isolated. Her beloved grandmother was gone, her only sister considered her an enemy, her brother-in-law was coldly indifferent and her father engaged himself in other projects and other women that kept him away from home. No one had the time to listen to her or look after her. She began to feel that her former self had done many absurd things. Though she had hurt her sister badly, bringing disgrace on the whole family, she had maintained a sense of self-righteousness through it all. Only now did she begin to feel some remorse and sorrow over what she had done.

Dachang, though he was a stranger, acted like a friend. Through a simple act of kindness, he showed a depth of concern. She’d never expected to meet such a good person.

She quickly finished tidying up the room, putting away all the underclothes she’d hung out to dry. She tossed them into a basket and stashed it out of sight, then hurried to put on her favourite blouse, wash her face and put on a touch of makeup. When she finished, she turned to the mirror to try out which expression was most appropriate to greet him with. She settled on a pouting smile, finding it the most natural. But when he came in, she had no smile of any kind for him. Instead, her eyes turned red, the corners of her mouth turned down and a sob escaped from her.

‘What happened? Come on, tell me,’ Dachang said anxiously. He wore civilian clothes, a brown jacket over light-blue jeans. Having exchanged his boots for a pair of trainers, he looked more like a normal guy.

‘It’s nothing. Really, it’s fine.’ Xiaohong wiped her tears and put on a smile.

‘Missing home? It’s not easy being on your own far away from home. I know.’

Xiaohong shook her head, then nodded, at a loss to stop the tears. She tried to calm herself.

‘Your friend rented this place?’

‘Yeah. She lives here with her boyfriend.’

‘Then you’re the third wheel?’ he teased. She laughed. ‘Come on. I’ll take you for a nice meal.’

His motorcycle bore a police licence plate. As Xiaohong climbed onto the bike, she immediately felt she would attract a lot of envy.

The bike drove past Dachang’s work place, the very spot where Xiaohong had spent half a day locked up. They drove on for a while then stopped in front of a Western-style café. Newly opened, the café was overrun with baskets of fresh flowers, the ground covered with little red scraps of paper from the firecrackers set off at the grand opening celebrations. The table was small, and their thighs bumped underneath it. Xiaohong did not move away, nor did Dachang. Actually, there was nowhere to move to. It was as if the table had been designed for lovers, pressing them closer together by narrowing the distance between them.

‘I usually have the Indonesian fried rice. It’s not bad. You might like the seafood rice.’

Xiaohong flipped through the menu, looking over the strange-sounding names, unable to work out what connection any of them had with rice. The waitress rattled a bunch of objects. Xiaohong knew that they were called knives, forks and spoons, but couldn’t remember which was which.

‘Zhu Da… er, Zhu Ge ,’ she began awkwardly, finally settling on Big Brother Zhu. ‘This is my first time eating foreign food. How do I use these things?’ Zhu demonstrated how to use the cutlery.

‘OK, I get it. Anyway, it’s still filling the stomach, just with different tools that’s all.’

The light was not very bright. A male singer’s voice came through the speakers, his uncanny vibrato gave Xiaohong goose bumps. ‘So what’s your next step?’ Dachang asked. His hair was short and wavy, and he had a wide forehead.

‘I’m thinking of finding factory work. Do you think you’d be able to help at all?’ As soon as she spoke, she was afraid he would reject her. She waited nervously for his answer.

‘Shouldn’t be a problem. I’ve got a room near here. You can stay there for a few days if you want. Of course, I won’t be there.’

‘That’s perfect. Then I won’t have to be the third wheel,’ Xiaohong said, giggling.