Old Land, New Tales: Twenty Short Stories by Writers of the Shaanxi Region in China

by Chen Zhongshi

  Liu Cong stands calmly, looking askew at Xi Xia. “Do you think that’s impossible?” he says. He walks away, leaving Xi Xia to weep and sob bitterly.

  Xi Xia has been with Liu Cong for exactly four years. Although they haven’t talked about marriage yet, she firmly believes that Liu Cong loves her, and that she has an indisputable priority in his heart. No one else could bear his absentmindedness and sloppiness. She remembers the comment that her sister once made about their relationship: it’s like sticking a flower in a dunghill, so true and so real.

  Now it is this dunghill who compares her to the ugliest woman alive, in front of all their friends, and then judges that Xi Xia is worse off! She nearly explodes with anger. Liu Cong is the one who touches the tenderest place in her heart. If this cruelty can be endured, what can’t be?

  That night, Xi Xia doesn’t come to Liu Cong’s room as usual. She feels that she was too stupid before. At this station in her fortune and fame, girls like her have all gone to the South for better opportunities. But she stayed and has devoted her love to that penniless artist. Now, to her surprise, he looks down on her. So she decides that she will no longer continue to sacrifice unless Liu Cong surrenders first and apologizes in public.

  But Liu Cong has no plan for apology. For a long time now he has felt disgusted with Xi Xia’s impulsiveness and flightiness. He feels uneasy each time Xi Xia orders Lei Ping’er to serve her. Xi Xia is unruly and never listens to him. He thinks this moment could be a chance for her to change. If she gets hurt, she will surely learn something from it. So when Hu Yong suggests that he apologize first, he determinedly refuses.

  But when the night comes, he feels a bit regretful. Especially when he senses Xi Xia’s familiar smell in his bed and recalls her exceedingly fascinating and charming body. He cannot help looking around and feeling a great loss.

  In February, the gallery organizes a spring outing. The staff wants to climb Wudang Mountain. The city adjoins Wudang Mountain and the trip takes two or three days. Hoping for a chance to make up with Xi Xia, Liu Cong signs up for the tour, though he dislikes traveling in groups. He goes to ask Xi Xia whether she’s planning to go or not. She treats him like a total stranger, slamming the door in his face without a word. Liu Cong mopes back to his studio, gloomy.

  On the way back, he bumps into the jubilant Lei Ping’er. With a bag of leeks, onions, and ribs in her hands, she laughs like a jovial Buddha. “Oh, gosh. Finally, we can go out for fun. You’ll see. I’ll make some meatballs and pancakes and spiced eggs and beef. There’s enough for you, Xi Xia, and Hu Yong. Tell them just to bring their appetites!” Liu Cong feels a bit irritated at Lei Ping’er. But seeing her happiness and hearing her warmhearted words, he is somehow moved.

  He says, “Ping’er, Xi Xia may not go. She’s at odds with me right now.”

  Lei Ping’er is as astonished as if she’d been told that the sun rises from the west. “Oh no,” she says. “How can she miss such a good opportunity and such a nice spring? I’ll persuade her.”

  By the time Liu Cong tries to stop her, she has already walked for miles. He shakes his head and tells himself, how good it is to be simple! Xi Xia is just too smart, with too much ego.

  When she finds her, Lei Ping’er is struck dumb by the scolding Xi Xia delivers. She stands for a moment, wondering why Xi Xia keeps naming her along with Liu Cong and why she insinuates that the two of them should feel quite content.

  But Lei Ping’er is not that stupid. She realizes that their bickering must have something to do with her. The realization delights her. She has a place in Liu Cong’s heart.

  For the excursion, the gallery invites everybody to bring along his or her family members. The gallery even spends the money to book an entire train carriage, to entertain everyone to their hearts’ content. The gallery men are more or less artsy people, generally carefree and unrestrained. But today, during the trip, they are awkwardly reserved and quiet.

  Director Xu suddenly remembers Lei Ping’er. “Lei Ping’er, you practice singing every day. Why don’t you give us a show?”

  “Eh, too shy to sing here!” says Lei Ping’er modestly. To apologize, she takes out her food and invites others to share.

  Director Xu eats a mouthful of Lei Ping’er’s meatballs. “You are so unreasonable. Normally we don’t want you to sing, and you roar day and night. Now we ask you to sing, and you refuse.”

  “Ping’er,” interrupts Liu Cong, “can I have more meatballs?”

  Happily she runs to him and gives him her whole bag. “Hey, glutton! It’s all yours.”

  “You should sing,” Liu Cong whispers. “Why don’t you sing for us?” Lei Ping’er doesn’t know which song to choose. Liu Cong winks. “That song, ‘Valentine’s Day without a Lover,’ and ‘Never Be Apart’—those are two of your favorites, right?”

  She blushes with shyness and bites her fingers. “OK,” she announces, “I will sing a song for everyone.”

  She stands there for a while, giggling and stroking her hair coquettishly, before she begins.

  Everyone gets gooseflesh, watching her performance. Thank god! Her voice is good enough to cover up the awkwardness. After this, no one dares to talk to her again, just in case she gets excited and sings without an end.

  As the gallery has had a tight budget for years, people seldom partake in activities like these and they normally aren’t close with one another. But to everyone’s surprise, today different cliques begin to form. Only Lei Ping’er is left alone on the way to the mountain peak. But she doesn’t feel lonely at all. She comments on the picturesque scenery and appreciates its beauty. She is full of good cheer.

  The aim of the trip is to mount the summit of Wudang Mountain—the Golden Peak. After reaching it, everyone is exhausted and sits to rest. Someone says that the place doesn’t live up to its fame. Someone else says that the peak’s temple has lost its original mystery and is very disappointing. Liu Cong, noticing the kissing couples around the Buddha and burning joss sticks at the temple, is also terribly bored.

  He walks away and sits alone. Instantly, Lei Ping’er appears and sits beside him, speaking to him intimately. “Did you make a wish?” she asks. Liu Cong shakes his head. “But I did,” she continues. She looks at Liu Cong with her childlike innocence. “Guess what! What do you think I wished for?”

  Liu Cong smiles. “To find a good husband?”

  Lei Ping’er smiles back. “They all say you are very smart, but not this time. When I stood at the temple, my only wish was that you and Xi Xia would make up soon.” She lowers her head. “You two make such a nice match,” she murmurs. “How lucky she is to be with you! I wish she could cherish her luck. Alas, I am too ugly. Otherwise . . .”

  Liu Cong feels suddenly tender and protective. He cannot help kissing her on the forehead. “Ping’er, you are very lovely!” Liu Cong would never be able to imagine how great an impact this kiss has on Lei Ping’er.

  Lei Ping’er is a pure and simpleminded girl. It is the first time that someone has kissed her, the first time someone has said those exceptionally beautiful words to her. Above all, that “someone” is the very one she admires and the one who seems unattainable to her.

  The kiss makes her fly to the heavens, and those unattainable things suddenly seem attainable. Lei Ping’er loses her head over Liu Cong. She walks to a quiet place, tasting and retasting her happiness. She feels that even the ants on the ground are all coming to congratulate her.

  On returning home, Lei Ping’er is truly launched to the heavens by what Xi Xia has done while they were all out of town. Xi Xia went to bed with a government official. On Liu Cong’s return, he catches the very scene when he opens Xi Xia’s door. Immediately he steps out.

  For two days Liu Cong eats nothing, drinks nothing, only smokes. Xi Xia is seized with deep regret. Crying bitterly, she begs on her knees for Liu Cong’s forgiveness and explains that she did what she did because Liu Cong doesn’t cherish her. She kneels for a whole day.

  At daw
n, Liu Cong stubs out a cigarette and declares that he has decided to marry Lei Ping’er. Xi Xia will be their maid of honor. He hoists his drawing board on his back and leaves the city.

  Xi Xia goes to Lei Ping’er. “Little Sister, you are greatly merciful and compassionate. You are most kind. Please don’t take him away. You know I cannot live without him!”

  “If you love him that much,” says Lei Ping’er, “why did you, in just three days, do that thing with another?”

  “You are too simple to understand,” Xi Xia cries. “You don’t know women!”

  “Yes, I am simple. But I know love is to be cherished, and for a lifetime.” Lei Ping’er stares at the ceiling, reciting repeatedly, “Cherish for a lifetime, cherish for a lifetime . . .”

  Two months pass. Liu Cong returns. Both women wear out their eyes looking for him. After three quiet days, Liu Cong steps into Xi Xia’s room. Lei Ping’er finds out and keeps to herself for a week, crying in her room. On the eighth evening she comes to Liu Cong’s studio, asking when he and Xi Xia are going to get married. He tells her the date is the first of May.

  “Oh,” says Lei Ping’er. “It is very soon.” She stares wordlessly at him, until finally she can speak. “Can you be mine tonight? Please give me one night before you get married. I only need one night in my life!”

  Somehow Liu Cong is enchanted enough to hold her in his arms. He takes her head in his hands. “Ping’er, your purity makes me ashamed. Men are evil animals and cannot overcome their weaknesses. My sense of beauty is deceptive.”

  In his arms, Lei Ping’er feels weak all over. At the moment of being embraced, she quickly unbuttons her dress. Now, removing her underwear, she presents herself to Liu Cong like a lamb yearning for sacrifice. Liu Cong kneels on the floor before her body. His fair-skinned hands move down her swarthy body and finally stop at her sacred place. “I can’t. I can’t overcome my weakness. I accept all your goodness, but I still can’t take all of you. I am an ugly person. You should despise me.”

  Lei Ping’er sits quietly. No matter how Liu Cong begs her, she just sits and won’t put on her clothes.

  At daybreak, Lei Ping’er finally gets dressed, feeling as if she is waking from a dream. She kisses Liu Cong on his forehead. “Thank you for the night,” she says. “I have offered myself to you this time. You don’t want me, but I am still happy.”

  In the following days, Lei Ping’er is the busiest person in the gallery. She decorates the house, books the wedding reception, buys furniture and electric appliances. She takes on nearly every element of Liu Cong’s wedding. She even buys wedding invitation cards and neatly writes in every one. It’s like she is preparing a wedding for her beloved son.

  Lei Ping’er is made a new woman. There is no more “dippiness” in her, only gentleness and tenderness, making her very adorable. On the morning of the wedding, Lei Ping’er picks armfuls of evening primrose and decorates the bridal chamber. She is an angel. Liu Cong can hardly face her without shedding tears.

  After the wedding, Lei Ping’er becomes the couple’s unofficial housekeeper. Liu Cong has always been a man of arts, and it’s quite usual for him to spend day and night in his studio. Now, with Lei Ping’er’s meticulous care, he is a true workaholic and spends day after day drawing. Lei Ping’er sends soybean milk, chicken soup, and fresh tea to his studio. Xi Xia is lazy and impatient with house chores. She is more than happy to take advantage of Lei Ping’er’s diligence.

  Gossip starts to spread that Liu Cong is evil and is captivating Lei Ping’er with his charm. People say he’s manipulative and is stealing her youth. Liu Cong is uneasy.

  So one day, in private, he implores Lei Ping’er to find a husband. He even tells her that he is a useless person and that it’s worthless to long for him.

  Lei Ping’er is confused. “Do my words mean nothing to you?” she says. “Do you think a woman can love just anyone?” Liu Cong doesn’t dare to continue.

  In March of the next year, Xi Xia gives birth to a daughter. The baby plunges the couple’s life into chaos. Liu Cong becomes short-tempered, blowing up angrily over tiny things. One day, while changing the baby’s diaper, he says, “We should give her away. It is beyond us to raise her.” He’s sure that Xi Xia will stir a hysterical quarrel with him.

  But she doesn’t. She comes to agree with him, believing it is better for them to give the baby away. And she even comes up with the perfect candidate: Lei Ping’er. “How weird it is!” she says. “All those parents who have great ambitions for their children. I only want my daughter to be like Lei Ping’er.”

  “That means you’re a real grown-up,” Liu Cong replies. “A baby matures a woman.”

  “So, you agree with me?” she says.

  “I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. But I didn’t dare tell you. And I’m also afraid that Lei Ping’er will refuse.”

  “How come?” says Xi Xia. “Why would she refuse? She might be happy at the idea. Think about it! She even stays single for you. What wouldn’t she do?”

  The couple takes their baby to visit Lei Ping’er. It is a weekend. Lei Ping’er is washing her clothes and singing loudly. “How bright the sunshine is! How pretty the spring is! I come to the beautiful prairie . . .”

  Her home is neat and tidy and smells of the delicate fragrance of her cleaning. There’s a pale-green sofa in the living room. Above it, a large painting hangs on the white wall. It is Liu Cong’s work. It is called Spring Wind. In the painting there are vines of honeysuckle climbing through a window, and a pair of scissors on a desk. It was a gift from Liu Cong when he was first assigned to the gallery. Lei Ping’er had gone to visit him and had gasped with admiration at the painting. “What a bold painter!” she’d said. “How can the spring be cut at your will?” Because of her words, Liu Cong gave her the piece.

  Lei Ping’er sees the couple coming and is exceedingly happy. She arranges some snacks—peanuts and sunflower seeds—and makes them tea. She holds the baby in her arms and speaks to her. “Look at you! You are so cute! Your eyes are just like your mother’s, and your smile is like your father’s. How lovely you are!” She puts the baby in her bed and circles her with pillows and a stuffed puppy. She looks at her from afar and up close, as if appreciating a piece of art.

  In the hallway, Liu Cong winks at Xi Xia. She gets the hint and follows Lei Ping’er into the bedroom.

  She stands close to Lei Ping’er. “Now look,” she says. “You really love this baby. How about we give her to you?”

  Lei Ping’er is shocked. She stands. “What? Xi Xia! What did you say?”

  “We’ve talked, Liu Cong and I. Both of us are busy with careers, and we have no energy for this baby. So we want to give her to you. Will you take her?”

  Lei Ping’er’s face changes. She goes back to the living room. She sits on the sofa and is silent. Xi Xia runs after her. “Will you take her?” she says.

  Lei Ping’er looks at her, and then at Liu Cong. Suddenly she strides to the door and throws it open. “Please,” she says, “get out, and never come to my place again!”

  Liu Cong and Xi Xia are too embarrassed to make any sound. They take their baby and run.

  Lei Ping’er no longer looks sweetly at the couple. Sometimes, she passes by them as if seeing nothing. It embarrasses the couple. Xi Xia calls Lei Ping’er a freak, and Liu Cong complains that he has lost a good friend.

  Lei Ping’er resumes her enthusiasm for work. She asks Director Xu to buy a computer and open a shop for the gallery. She has learned computer skills, and soon she’ll master typesetting composition. She plans to earn money for the gallery and is confident she’ll make it happen. Director Xu is pleased. “That’s great,” he says. “You’re pioneering new ways for us. Look at us now! Those who were capable and young are all gone. Those who have stayed are thinking of going somewhere else. The rest of the incapable bunch makes no money at all, even if they want to stay. And we need money!”

  On the day Lei Ping’er’s new photocopy
shop opens, Liu Cong comes to her with a gift. It is another painting, one of his own. It’s called A Little Street. In the painting there are two rows of pillbox buildings and a lonely person in a long and narrow street. Lei Ping’er refuses the gift. She says it is too dark.

  Instead she buys a poster of Evander Holyfield, the muscular boxer. She hangs it on the wall. Liu Cong senses her indifference and is disappointed. And it’s in this dejection and despondency that he finally goes away.

  Translated by Chen Yi

  Wu Kejing

  Born in 1954 in Fufeng County, Shaanxi Province, Wu Kejing graduated with a master’s degree from Northwest University. He once served as deputy editor in chief of Xi’an Daily and Xi’an Evening News. He was vice-chairman of the Xi’an Literary Federation, is a member of the Shaanxi Provincial Writers Association, and was elected chairman of the Xi’an Writers Association.

  His awards include the Chuang Chong-wen Literature Prize, the Bing Xin Prose Prize, and the Liu Qing Literature Prize. He has written many novels, prose pieces, and essays and has been published in a number of literary journals and newspapers. His novella Blue Flower on the Handcuffs was awarded the Lu Xun Literature Prize.

  His novels include Wuweishizi Road, False Group, Mr. Sister, Shy Flames, Champion Sheep, The Walls, Martyr Granny, Rope of Desire, Itch, Embroidered Pillow, Qinghai Lake, and Beauty and Woman; prose releases include Monument, Secular Story, Later Death Monument, Blood-Red Flowers, and Secular Prose; short story collections include Daily Wisdom, Open the Window, Difficulty of Telling the Truth, Five Women from Weihe River, Plum Blossom Cup, and Monument. His works Bronze Powder, Shy Flames, Blood-Red Sun, and Sad for Brothers were released as part of the Writers Library Series.

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  WU KEJING