Old Town

by Lin Zhe

  Baohua said, “I don’t understand what you’re saying. You’ve changed. You’re no longer the way you used to be.”

  “‘Changed’ is right; and perhaps someday you also will change into a new person.”

  “Do you practice free love?”

  Enchun laughed. “Baohua, what are you thinking of?”

  Baohua was sensitive. She felt how Big Brother Enchun with whom she had grown up had become a stranger to her. She could no longer demand him to do this and that just as she pleased. Her tears changed from an intermittent misty drizzle into a cloudburst. She suddenly ran off crying and dragging the scarf behind her.

  Enchun sat by the side of the well. He thought about chasing after her and taking her by the hand and kidding her until she stopped crying and started laughing. From when they were small, he used to kid her like that, but now he hardened his heart and just sat there. The revolution was cruel. Every day, at any moment, someone could be mounting the chopping block. In order not to hurt Baohua, he had to control himself.

  Baohua ran home and at the gateway turned around to look. A heart more fragile than porcelain had been shattered.

  CHAPTER TEN – GOLD YUAN CERTIFICATE DAYS

  1.

  “WHEN YOUR GREAT-GRANDFATHER Lin was an official during the Qing dynasty,” Grandma told me, “he would have to take a washbasin to hold all the silver dollars he’d receive on his monthly payday. And one washbasin of silver dollars could buy a very nice house.” She also said, “On the day that Grandpa went to collect his salary, he had to hire a rickshaw to haul it all back, and a rickshaw fully loaded with paper money was still not enough to buy a sack of hulled rice.”

  It was only after finishing university and reading a history of modern China did I learn that these were not just Tales from the Arabian Nights. One thing I learned: in 1937 one hundred yuan in paper currency could buy two cows, but by 1947, that same amount could only buy one coal briquette. One year later, one hundred yuan couldn’t even get you one grain of rice!

  Today, Dr. Lin received his final salary and piled a rickshaw high with the paper money. Pulling this rickshaw for him was Shuiguan, who lived beside the city moat. More and more refugees had crammed together along the two sides of the moat. All of them had come to Old Town with their children and old folks to escape famine, and they supposed they could beg for their meals in such a prosperous town. They would pick up a few pieces of wood planking along the way and build little shacks all cheek-by-jowl, like so many pigeon coops, just for something their lives could perch on. Shuiguan was one of these people. Half a year before, he had started earning money by moving things for Dr. Lin. When this particular day arrived, he went to the door of the public hospital to meet Dr. Lin. The doctor put the paper money in the rickshaw and chatted with Shuiguan as they walked back home. Whenever they came to an uphill part of the way Dr. Lin always wanted to help push.

  Shuiguan said, “Next month we may have to make two trips.” Dr. Lin laughed bitterly. “Next month we’ll be drinking the northwest wind.”

  Shuiguan didn’t pay any attention to this comment but just continued his bantering. “In the rice shops it’s one price when the rice goes on the scale and then another when it comes off. This is how they are going bankrupt, one by one.”

  His shoulders sagging, the doctor walked alongside Shuiguan without hearing a word the fellow was saying. He had been fired today, the third time this had happened since coming back to Old Town after the war. Old Town had only three hospitals, so he wouldn’t be finding work anymore. This afternoon a critically sick person came to the hospital with family members, none of whom had any money. The three children knelt in the hospital courtyard desperately knocking their heads on the ground. Without proper authority he did what had to be done to save this patient. The patient survived but his own job didn’t. On the two previous occasions, he had lost his job because his sense of sympathy had displeased his superiors. But he had no regrets. If to keep his rice bowl filled he had to watch a life pass away before his eyes, he would never be at peace again. The only solution was for him to open his own clinic. But that would require an investment in medicines and equipment. All the family’s money was in Shuiguan’s rickshaw and he still had to get to the rice shop at West Gate as quickly as he could to change it into rice.

  What was the world coming to? The doctor looked up at the dark and overcast sky, and spoke to his God. Heavenly Father, is this your will? Is this your way of telling us that you are unhappy with the Guomindang government? That you want the common folk to rise up in support of the communists?

  The shop at West Gate was closed. Many people carrying baskets of paper currency suspended from shoulder poles were loudly and angrily wishing the owner an unpleasant death. Shuiguan pulled the rickshaw to a halt and looked questioningly at the doctor. Dr. Lin heaved a big sigh. “Let’s go. It’s not easy being the boss of a rice shop.”

  Second Sister had the three children with her as she waited at the gate. When they saw their daddy coming home—escorting a load of paper money—they rushed forward to greet him, whooping with joy. The doctor’s gloom immediately vanished like mist and smoke.

  Why should I get so worried? Our Heavenly Father brought me back alive from the war. Through all those perilous rivers and mountains beyond counting how many miracles did I bear witness to with God at my side? God is too kind and good to let our family die of starvation.

  He didn’t tell Second Sister about losing his job. As always on paydays, they invited Pastor and Mrs. Chen over for dinner. In the kitchen were two eggs that had been kept for a month now. Second Sister beat these together with the pulp of a gourd and fried a large, golden-yellow omelet. She also cooked some bean curd soup into which she mixed sweet potato starch, giving it a very thick and hearty look. They had no more rice wine so they made do with tea.

  The Bible teaches that all things work together and always bring good to those who love God. All their sufferings and hardships could be the source of instructive discussion whenever they gathered to eat together. The pastor’s wife said that over the past few months, whenever there were days when they had nothing to cook, God would send someone over with rice and other food. He had already sent over Baohua, the boss of the rice shop, and many others whose names they didn’t know. Even if they didn’t manage to eat a tasty or filling meal, they never went longer than a day with nothing at all.

  The adults of the two families didn’t realize that Baohua’s disposition had turned peculiar. She suddenly interrupted the talk by saying, “God has never cared about us.”

  Traditionally, at the Lin home children weren’t allowed to speak at mealtime, but the upheaval of the war had done away with family rules. Dr. Lin’s love for his three children had reached the stage where he would wink at this sort of thing, and so he said with a smile, “If God isn’t helping you do your math assignments it means that in the future you won’t need mathematics in order to eat. You can teach Chinese language and literature in primary school, or even become a nurse. Then, when you get married, you can help your husband teach your children.”

  Pursing her lips, Baohua put down her rice bowl. “I’m not getting married!”

  With that, she left to shut herself in her chamber and cry in the darkness.

  Dr. Lin rushed cheerily in there after her but spoke about other things.

  These were extraordinary times. The parents of the two families knew that Enchun’s position was special. Without needing to say anything to each other, they had kept the plan of marriage between him and Baohua a deep secret. Pastor and Mrs. Chen were still heartsick about their son’s rejection of eternal life and they prayed for this with great earnestness and urgency.

  A prayer at the end of their gatherings was essential. They prayed for Enchun’s salvation, and Mrs. Chen tearfully said, “Heavenly Father, we beseech you to take pity on and forgive our young son Enchun’s error. Please lead this lost sheep back to the fold.”

  As long as they sought E
nchun’s entry through Jesus’ gate of eternal life, even if tomorrow gunshots outside West Gate signaled the moment of his death, their hopes would not be shattered, for they would know that their son had gone to heaven.

  As Mrs. Chen was calling out “Heavenly Father…Heavenly Father,” suddenly the sound of a wildly driven automobile interrupted their prayers. You could count the number of autos in Old Town on your two hands. Plowing heedlessly through the crowded streets were mostly police vehicles grabbing people: communists, unauthorized holders of gold and silver dollars, small-scale merchants and peddlers hoarding rice, spreaders of discontented views…Any ordinary citizen might offend the government and land in prison in shackles and chains.

  The sound of the motor cut off abruptly. It seemed to be just outside their door. Mrs. Chen took hold of her husband’s hand, and with both their hands trembling, the pastor said, “O Lord, we don’t know why the automobile is there at the door, but you know, and we place Enchun into your hands.”

  Mrs. Chen stood up and the pastor gently pressed her back down. “What should or should not happen is with the permission of the Heavenly Father. The only thing we can do is to pray.”

  The doctor said, “I think Enchun’s situation may be dangerous, but also that nothing’s happened to him yet. If it had, they wouldn’t have come to West Gate. Our child is under God’s protection. Don’t be too worried.”

  Would Enchun return home at this very moment and walk right into the mouths of guns? Dr. Lin quickly called Baosheng and Baoqing to take off their shoes, muss up their hair, and unbutton their shirt collars. “One of you go to the Drum Tower and the other to Little West Lake to look for Enchun. When you find him, have him go around beyond West Gate and hide at Shuiguan’s house by the river.”

  Baosheng and Baoqing realized that they were getting involved in a thrilling game, and went running off, both nervous and excited.

  After the two youths had left, the others joined hands and continued to pray for Enchun and for the two Lin brothers.

  Baoqing was the first to return, at dawn. He had gone from the East Street corner of Drum Tower to South Gate and then returned, feeling bad about his lack of success. Baosheng followed right behind. From the way he wiped his sweat with his sleeve it was clear that he had accomplished the mission his father had assigned to him. And Daddy rewarded him with a roll of paper money to buy some deep-fried dough sticks.

  Next, the two families saw that in both the ground and upper floors of the church, there wasn’t a single thing that was still in its original place, from the bowls and chopsticks of the kitchen to the flower garden in the courtyard. It was as if a cyclone had passed close by. Before setting about to put everything back in place, they said a prayer of thanksgiving. The shocking scene before them seemed to tell them, “An enormous disaster has brushed by you here.” How could they not shed tears of gratitude?

  2.

  BAOHUA AND BAOSHENG were both students at the public middle school. The Three People’s Principles Youth Corps, a Guomindang organization was active at this school.36 To prevent the students from being corrupted by the communists, the doors of the Youth Corps were open to all, and appearing in their class photograph was sufficient for the students of each academic year to be considered to have joined this organization. Baohua’s class picture had already been taken, but that was on the very day that she had skipped her math test by pretending to be sick at home. In this way she became the only student in her class without a party affiliation. Because she was introverted by nature and not much of a mixer, her classmates and the Youth Corps leaders never discovered that some “element” had slipped through the net. She even received a copy of the class photograph with the inscription, “Souvenir of Y Class of X School Joining the Three People’s Principles Youth Corps.”

  In one more day, Baosheng’s class was to have its picture taken. That evening, when the whole family was seated at the dinner table, he suddenly remembered that to be in the photograph he had to wear the school uniform. Earlier that day he had gotten his shirt collar torn fighting with a classmate. Daddy was saying grace. Baosheng barely waited for the “Amen.”

  “Amen—Ma, my clothes got torn. Could you mend them for me?”

  “You’ve grown again. What you have are too short. We’ll go buy some material in a couple of days and Ma will make you some new clothes.”

  “There isn’t enough time. Tomorrow the school is going to take our picture.”

  Daddy asked, “What’s the occasion? Why the photograph?”

  “For group membership in the Youth Corps,” cut in Baohua. The doctor put down his chopsticks, and fixed his gaze on Baosheng. “You’re not to join.”

  Baosheng thought this strange. Didn’t Daddy all along tell us to obey the school teachers? Joining this is what everybody does at school. Why is Daddy against it? He concentrated on shoveling rice into his mouth and never dared say another word.

  Second Sister also felt puzzled. Since it was something the school teacher ordered, what could be wrong with it? As soon as the children withdrew from the table, she said to her husband, “Baosheng’s sensible now. Since he started lower-middle school, generally he hasn’t made his teacher angry. If he was as naughty as before, surely the teacher wouldn’t have let him join that group.”

  The doctor also realized that he had reacted too strongly. He felt astonished at how extreme his feelings had been. With a forced smile that signified just how complicated his feelings were, he looked over at his wife.

  This glance conveyed the retraction of an order by the head of a family. After cleaning up the dinner table, Second Sister then took out her sewing basket and mended Baosheng’s shirt.

  The doctor sat on the rattan chair deep in thought. Enchun was still at Shuiguan’s home. Into that little coop were crammed all three generations of a family. He ought to think of how to find the young man another place of refuge. Up north the Communist Party was rapidly expanding its power and influence. According to a newspaper analysis of the situation, in the future a divided rule might be formed, north and south, using the Yangzi River as a natural boundary. Could Enchun continue to stay in hiding like this? Where did his future lie?

  He couldn’t sit still as he pondered these thoughts, and picking up his little medical bag, he went out the back door to the river to see Enchun. An old mother at Shuiguan’s had taken sick. The neighbors thought that Dr. Lin had come to see a patient.

  On the following day, Baosheng went off to school wearing the school uniform his mother had mended and ironed for him. When the teacher ordered the students to move the benches to the sports field to prepare for the photographs, Baosheng, acting on a sudden impulse, slipped away. Across from the school was a new bookstore where he wanted to take a look at The Romance of the Three Kingdoms. At home Daddy didn’t let him read this book. There was no need to fear the teacher would put him on report. It felt good not having to worry about this.

  Baosheng took out a crumpled one hundred yuan bill and, pointing to The Romance of the Three Kingdoms on the book rack, asked whether this amount was enough. The shop owner laughed warmly and told him to look at it as much as he pleased and that it didn’t matter whether or not he had money.

  “Young man, aren’t you playing hooky by running over here?”

  “It’s not hooky. They’re having their pictures taken at the school, but I’m not joining in.”

  “I know that’s for group membership in the Youth Corps. How can you dare not to take part?

  “Uh, my daddy doesn’t like the idea of my joining it.”

  “What does your daddy do?”

  How come this shop owner’s talking so much? Baosheng, absorbed in the part about the “Peach Orchard Oath,”37 felt a bit impatient.

  The shop owner took the hint and kept his mouth shut right up until when the school bell sounded the end of classes and only then did he say, “You can take it home with you.”

  Baosheng stared at the rental deposit written on the book ja
cket. “I don’t have enough money.”

  “I won’t charge you anything. Let’s become friends. Later on you can just go ahead and take any book you want to read.”

  The owner pushed the hundred yuan bill back into Baosheng’s hand.

  Suddenly, such an unexpected friend had burst into his life. Baosheng was delighted with this unexpected good fortune. “Really?”

  “‘Once a word leaves the mouth, a team of horses can’t overtake it.’ My name’s Bai. You can call me Big Brother Bai. And yours?”

  “Lin is my family name.”

  “Younger Brother Lin. Good. We’ll swear our Oath of Brotherhood in the shop.”

  Baosheng raced joyfully home with The Romance of the Three Kingdoms tucked into his shirt, intending to tell Baoqing about this at the first chance he got. He hadn’t the slightest idea that this was one of those turning points that happens in a person’s life. A book made Baosheng a sought-after and locked-in target of the communist underground organization.

  3.

  IT WAS SUNDAY again and the faithful came to the church for the worship service. Nobody knew about the ransacking that had hit this place a few days before. Everything was as always. Mrs. Chen sang and played one hymn after the other. The sunlight outside the window shone down on her densely wrinkled face. Everyone could see that she was as joyous as a bird on the end of a branch. The pastor at his pulpit also similarly exuded joy and gladness. Today’s lesson was “God bestows blessings on our children and grandchildren.” He gave examples from the Old Testament and told about the sons and daughters of many of the faithful who had escaped all their dangers. He most of all wanted to tell Enchun’s story, but this he couldn’t do.

  Originally, Enchun was to have led that evening’s study session, as Teacher Zhao was going to the outskirts of Old Town to provide guidance to a newly established youth study group. Late that afternoon, though, Teacher Zhao suddenly sprained his foot. In all the years of going up and down the steps in front of his house, he had never once suffered a sprain. But such a thing would have to happen just at this time. Immediately his foot became so swollen he couldn’t move, so all he could do was to have Enchun substitute for him. As a result, Teacher Zhao and several students were all caught on the spot, while Enchun escaped a calamity as a result of this unforeseen turn of events.