Su Tong - Madwoman On the Bridge and Other Stories

Fatcat looked at Bao Qing’s expression and turned to glare at Shaohong. He was agitated and angry. ‘Motherf***! You always complain that other people don’t know how to talk properly, but look at the kind of s*** that comes out of your mouth!’ What surprised Bao Qing was that Fatcat’s exceptionally crude way of reprimanding Shaohong provoked no reaction from her whatsoever. Fatcat’s language was both foul and rough: ‘You festering c***! You think you’re the only one around smart enough to open your mouth. Would it kill you to shut up sometimes?’

Shaohong said, ‘Fine, then I won’t say anything. Naturally, I’m unworthy to speak to the professor and anything I say is crap.’

Fatcat said, ‘Of course it’s crap. You’re here so that everyone can have some fun. And look what happens, just because you can’t talk like a normal person and keep talking crap.’

Shaohong rose slightly. ‘Fine, then I won’t say anything else. I’ve made everybody unhappy; I’m off.’

Fatcat gave an angry shout, and said, ‘You think it’s that easy, huh? Off? You can go to hell, but you can f***ing bet you’re not leaving this room. Renzheng! Pour her more wine! The big cup! She has to drink a forfeit — three big cups!’

Bao Qing would never in his wildest dreams have thought that Fatcat could treat Shaohong in this way. His common sense told him that their relationship was in all likelihood no ordinary one. His relatives had kept him posted about the extraordinarily self-indulgent private life Fatcat had begun to lead following his sudden rise to wealth, but Bao Qing had never imagined Shaohong could act so submissively towards him. He was also taken aback by Renzheng’s attitude — he had presumed that he would try to calm Fatcat, but he said nothing, just picked up the rice wine bottle to bring it over to Shaohong. Bao Qing rose and almost instinctively rushed at Renzheng to wrest the bottle from him. Renzheng smiled evasively and said, ‘Don’t worry about it. You don’t know how much she can drink.’

Bao Qing replied, ‘She’s a lady. There can be no question of forcing her to drink.’ They were grappling with one another when Shaohong suddenly grabbed the bottle herself and banged it down heavily on the table. She said, ‘If we’re going to drink, then let’s get on with it, and if I die from it, then that’s not a problem. People’s value depreciates, like everything else. If I go and sell myself for a f*** I wouldn’t even get enough money for the alcohol. So if the drink doesn’t kill me, I’ll be making a profit!’

At this point, a waiter opened the door to the room and, taking fright, poked his head in to have a look. Fatcat screamed at the door, ‘Screw off! If you come in again I’ll have your boss sauté you!’ In case this threat alone was unconvincing, Fatcat grabbed a porcelain spoon and threw it at the waiter, making everyone near by jump. They heard a bang as the spoon shattered against the wall like a miniature bomb and covered the floor with its shards.

Dead silence prevailed in the room and three words popped into Bao Qing’s mind: The Hongmen Banquet 7. On the one hand he realized that he was being overanxious, but he was also sensitive enough to be certain that the atmosphere of the banquet was growing increasingly destructive. Unable to stay seated, he told Fatcat, ‘Since I have to leave tomorrow, I’ll need to be getting home a little early.’

But Fatcat shook his head and said, ‘You can’t go.’ Bao Qing felt one of Fatcat’s hands restrain his arm like a handcuff. ‘We’re not finished drinking. No one can go until we’ve finished drinking.’

Bao Qing said, ‘I am finished drinking. I can’t take any more.’

Fatcat said, ‘It’s up to you if you drink or not, but Shaohong offended you, so she has to drink the forfeit. And as I haven’t shown you a good time, I have to drink a forfeit, too. Renzheng and Ms Zhong were invited to make pleasant company, and for failing to do a good job of it, they have to drink forfeits too!’ Then Bao Qing heard Fatcat roar to those outside, ‘Where the hell have you gone? Hurry up and bring more drinks! And don’t bring them by the bottle — bring a crate in!’

Bao Qing felt like he was sitting on a bed of needles and deeply regretting giving in to his pity for Renzheng and foolishly getting on the motorcycle. When a waiter arrived carrying the crate of liquor, Bao Qing felt a twinge of dread. He asked Fatcat, ‘What’s that for? One bottle will be quite enough, make them take the crate back.’

But Fatcat patted Bao Qing on the shoulder, ‘We won’t necessarily drink the whole crate, but it’s my habit to do this for my guests. Don’t get flustered; you’re an intellectual, so my policy allows an exemption. If you’ve had enough, then fine — don’t drink if you don’t want to.’

Bao Qing said forthrightly, ‘I have had enough to drink. I’m setting off tomorrow. I’ll have to change buses and connect to a train, so I need to go home early tonight and get some rest.’

Fatcat said, ‘What’s that supposed to mean? Are you worried you won’t get back to Beijing? If you miss your bus because you’ve been drinking with me, I’ll have them take you there direct, in an Audi.’

Bao Qing smiled but shook his head, gritted his teeth, stood up and said, ‘I’m afraid I can’t stay. I’ll have to bid you farewell.’ He watched as Fatcat’s expression turned sombre. This time, Fatcat didn’t try to stop him, but the others at the table looked at Bao Qing with expressions that were almost fearful.

Renzheng looked at Fatcat, then suddenly took a big stride towards the door to block it. He spoke quietly, ‘Bao Qing, don’t make us lose face. You can’t go now.’ Bao Qing saw that Renzheng’s expression was one of desperate entreaty, and at such close quarters he noticed the crow’s feet at the corners of his bloodshot eyes; his half-bald pate, too, seemed to tell a tale full of misery. The two men confronted each other at the doorway.

Shaohong staggered over to them, hooked her arms around Bao Qing’s neck and pulled him towards the chair. She said, ‘I have to say, the great professor is really fastidious. I said the wrong thing. OK, so I had to drink three big cups to make up for it, and you’re still not satisfied. Maybe you want me to do a striptease?’

Before Bao Qing could refuse, Fatcat chuckled and clapped his hands, ‘Good idea! Her forfeit will be a striptease.’

The liquor had obviously made Shaohong speak lightly, but now that she was expected to perform, she sobered up and became mulish. ‘You know Ms Zhong is still an unsullied maiden. How could I possibly dance in front of her?’

‘Don’t make excuses. We’ll have Ms Zhong go outside for a moment,’ Fatcat said. Ms Zhong turned bright red, stood up and made to leave, but Shaohong held her back, ‘You’re really going to pretend an old woman like me is an innocent girl? Pah! You think I’ll let you see a free strip? What about money? Where’s the money?’

Fatcat turned in his chair, grabbed a briefcase from a small table and said, ‘The money’s right here. What’s your price for tickets plus tip?’

Bao Qing saw the joke was reaching the point of no return, so he took Fatcat by the hand and said, ‘That’s enough nonsense. It’s all my fault; I’ve made everybody unhappy. Why don’t I drink a forfeit, too?’

Bao Qing sensed that he needed to make a sacrifice, so he took a drink. As soon as he did, the atmosphere at the table warmed up substantially. Bao Qing had intended to go as soon as the atmosphere returned to normal, but Fatcat made his driver fetch a damask box, declaring that he wanted to show Bao Qing something. He opened the box and Bao Qing saw a coloured porcelain vase lying inside. Fatcat said, ‘You’re the expert. Make an estimate. How much is this vase worth?’