by Yu Hua
This was the last letter Song Fanping wrote to his wife. It allowed Li Lan to weep tears of relief. And once it was dark, she was able to fall into a deep slumber.
That night Song Fanping escaped from the warehouse. He waited until Sun Wei's father was in the toilet, then quietly slipped out the front gate. By the time he reached home, it was about one in the morning, and Baldy Li and Song Gang had long since fallen asleep. They felt a hand caressing them and a light shining on them. Song Gang woke up first and rubbed his eyes. When he saw Song Fanping sitting by the bed, he let out a cry of delight. Then Baldy Li also woke up, rubbing his eyes. Song Fanping told the boys, "Li Lan is coming home." His wife, their mother, was coming home. Song Fanping said that he was going to catch the first bus to Shanghai to pick her up, and then they would take the afternoon bus back. Song Fanping pointed at the pitch-black darkness outside, saying, "By the time the sun sets tomorrow, well be home."
Baldy Li and Song Gang bounced on the bed like two overjoyed monkeys. With a wave, Song Fanping told them to quiet down, pointing in the direction of the neighbors on either side and reminding the boys not to wake them up. Baldy Li and Song Gang immediately covered their mouths and crept down from their bed. Song Fanping looked around at the overturned armoire and the clothes strewn all over the floor. Frowning, he said to the boys, "What if your mother comes home and finds the place looking like a dump and decides to return to Shanghai?"
Baldy Li and Song Gang thought it over and exclaimed, "Cleanup time!"
"Right!" agreed Song Fanping.
Song Fanping walked over to the overturned armoire, squatted down, and raised it with his right arm, then transferred the weight on his shoulder. When he stood up, the armoire was righted. Baldy Li and Song Fanping watched in astonishment. Song Fanping raised up such a huge armoire with just one arm—he hadn't even needed his left arm, which was still dangling there. The boys followed behind Song Fanping or, rather, they followed behind his right arm and tidied up the rest of the house. They helped his right arm pick up all the clothes on the ground; when his right arm swept, they held the dustpan; when his right arm mopped the floor, they took up some rags and wiped down the dust from the tables and chairs. By the time they finished tidying up the house, they heard the cocks crow and saw that the sky had turned as pale as a fish's belly. The boys then sat on the front stoop, watching Song Fanping raise a bucket of well water to bathe himself. As Song Fanping walked back into the house they watched him change into a clean set of clothes using just his right arm. He put on a red sleeveless shirt that had a row of characters across the chest. They couldn't read what it said, but Song Fanping explained that this was his old college basketball uniform. He also put on a pair of beige plastic sandals. These were a present from Li Lan, and he had worn them only once before, on his wedding day.
The boys noticed that Song Fanping's left elbow had thickened, and his left hand was puffy, as if he were wearing a cotton glove. They didn't understand that it was swollen, so they asked him why his left hand was now fatter than his right. Song Fanping replied that it was because his left hand had been resting all this time. "It's just been eating and lazing about, so it's gotten chubby."
Baldy Li and Song Gang now felt that their father was really a deity. He could do all his chores with one arm and let the other one rest to the point that it even grew fat. They asked him, "When will you let your right arm grow fat?"
Song Fanping chuckled. "Oh, it will."
As the sun rose Song Fanping, who had spent a sleepless night, let out a few yawns. He told the boys to get to bed, but they shook their heads and remained seated on the stoop. So Song Fanping simply stepped over them. He was off to catch the early bus in order to meet his wife in Shanghai. As his tall figure passed over the boys’ heads they noticed that the morning sun had bathed the room in a red glow. The house was gleaming in its cleanliness, like a newly polished mirror, leading the boys to exclaim, "It's so clean!"
Song Gang turned around and hailed his departing father, "Papa! Come back!"
Song Fanping walked back, his footsteps ringing. Song Gang asked him, "What will Mama say when she sees the place so clean?"
Song Fanping replied, "She'll say, ‘I'm not going back to Shanghai.'"
Baldy Li and Song Gang both giggled, and Song Fanping also let out a loud chuckle. He walked toward the morning sun, his feet hitting the ground like hammers paving a road. Once he was a dozen yards away, Baldy Li and Song Gang saw him pause, reach for his dangling left hand, and place it into his pants pocket. He then continued walking forward, his left arm no longer dangling. With one hand in his pocket and the other swinging freely, he looked like a dashing movie star walking into the rising sun.
CHAPTER 16
WHEN SONG FANPING arrived at the bus depot on the east side of town, he saw a man with a red armband and a wooden bat standing on the platform. When the man saw Song Fanping coming down the bridge, he immediately turned and shouted into the depot waiting room, and five armband-wearing men instantly swarmed out. Song Fanping knew they were there to seize him, but after a moments hesitation, he walked right up to them. At first he wanted to show them Li Lans letter, but then he decided to forget it. The armband-wearing men stood on the platform, each holding a wooden bat. Song Fanping removed his left hand from his pocket and walked up to the platform, about to explain that he wasn't running away but, rather, was going to Shanghai to pick up his wife. Several bats rained down on him, and he instinctively raised his right arm to shield himself. A bat smashed down on his right elbow, and he felt a bone-shattering pain. Yet he still waved his right arm to block the bats beating down on him. He walked into the waiting room and up to the ticket window. His right elbow, which he had used to block the wooden bats, felt as if it were about to explode in pain. His shoulders had also suffered countless blows, and one of his ears had been half ripped off. Despite the bats raining down on him and trailing him like a cloud of dust, he finally made it to the ticket counter, where he saw that the eyes of the female ticket seller were bugged out in fear. Miraculously, his dislocated left elbow now rose to block the bats as he thrust his right hand into his pocket and found his bus fare, which he then pushed through the ticket window, telling the ticket seller, "One ticket to Shanghai."
The ticket seller toppled over, passing out in fright. This new development suddenly flummoxed Song Fanping, and his dislocated left arm also dropped. He forgot that his arm had been shielding him from the blows, and in an instant a flurry of bats smashed down on his head. Bleeding and broken, Song Fanping collapsed against the wall as six wooden bats crazily smashed down on him, until one after another they shattered. They were then followed by the red-armbanders’ twelve feet, which stomped and kicked him for more than ten minutes, until finally he lay there motionless. Only then did the six men, all out of breath from their exertions, pause to rub their arms and legs and wipe the sweat from their faces. They walked over to the bench under the ceiling fan, completely wiped out. Cocking their heads, they looked at Song Fanping slumped over by the wall and cursed, "Fuck."
It was around daybreak that these red-armbanders from the warehouse that was actually a prison had noticed that Song Fanping was missing. They had immediately split into two groups, with one guarding the bus depot and the other assigned to the docks. The red-armbanders’ savage beating of Song Fanping that day terrified everyone, and those who had been in the waiting room all ran outside to the platform. Children wailed and women stood with their mouths hanging open in terror. Everyone stood outside the waiting room door peering in, no one daring to go back inside. Only when the tickets for the Shanghai bus were being collected did people carefully reenter, looking with trepidation at the six red-armbanders resting under the ceiling fan.
Barely conscious, Song Fanping seemed to make out the call to board. Miraculously he managed to rouse himself, standing up by leaning against the wall. He wiped at the blood on his face and hobbled toward the ticket collection window. The row of waiting passengers a
ll gasped. When the six red-armbanders who had been resting under the ceiling fan saw that Song Fanping had gotten up and was making his way to the gate, they looked at each other in astonishment, letting out snorts of disbelief. One of them yelled, "Don't let him get away!"
They took up their splintered bats and rushed up to him, swinging with abandon. This time Song Fanping began to resist. He struck back with his right fist as he made his way to the gate. Terrified, the ticket counter slammed the metal gate shut and ran away. Song Fanping found that he had nowhere to go, so he had no choice but to strike back. By this point he was barely conscious, and the red-armbanders encircled him and pummeled him until he was covered in blood. They chased him from the waiting room to the steps outside. He resisted with all his might, but when he reached the steps, he collapsed. The red-armbanders stood in a circle around him, kicking wildly, and even bayoneting him with their splintered wooden bats. One of the wooden spikes pierced his abdomen, and his entire body convulsed. As the red-armbander pulled the spike out, Song Fanping's body tensed up as blood gushed from his gut, staining the ground red. Then he fell still.
The six red-armbanders were also drained. First they panted heavily as they squatted there, but when they realized they were under the blazing sun, they walked over to the spot under the tree and leaned against the trunk as they wiped their sweat with their shirts. They were convinced that this time Song Fanping wouldn't be able to get up again. But when the long-distance bus started pulling out of the station, he somehow managed to rouse himself and stand up, taking a few unsteady steps. He waved at the departing bus, mumbling, "I … haven't… boarded … yet."
The men rushed up to him again and struck him to the ground. Song Fanping no longer resisted but, rather, began to beg. At this moment, Song Fanping, who never admitted defeat, wanted so badly to live. He mustered up what remained of his strength and knelt. Spitting blood while holding back the blood gushing from his abdomen, he wept as he begged them to spare him. Even his tears flowed red. He took out Li Lan's letter from his pocket and managed to use his disabled left hand to open it, trying to prove that he wasn't running away. Not a single hand reached out to take the letter. He only received more and more kicks, and two more bat fragments pierced his body. As the spikes were yanked out blood gushed from his body as though it were a perforated wineskin.
There were some in Liu Town who personally witnessed this savage assault. Mama Su, whose snack shop was right next to the bus depot, wept a river of tears while she watched. Sounds came from her mouth, though it was hard to make out whether they were sobs or sighs.
Song Fanping was barely breathing. The six red-armbanders discovered they were hungry, so they temporarily left him aside and walked toward Mama Sus snack shop. The men felt as drained as if they had spent a day working on the docks, and when they sat down in the shop, they couldn't muster up the energy to speak. With her head lowered, Mama Su returned to her shop and sat behind the counter, silently watching these six red-armbanders, who were worse than beasts. Once they caught their breath, they asked her for soy milk, buns, and fritters, which they then ate with savage delight.
By then the five red-armbanders who had been guarding the docks arrived. When they learned that Song Fanping had been caught at the depot, they ran over enthusiastically, all drenched in sweat. They aimed their wooden bats at the motionless Song Fanping and beat him wildly until all their bats were broken as well. Then they kicked, trampled, and pummeled him. When the initial six red-armbanders finished their meal and went out of the store, these next five came in to have their breakfast. In all, eleven armband-wearing men took turns tormenting Song Fanping, who by now was no longer moving. Still they kicked at him. At last Mama Su could bear it no longer and said, "He's probably already dead."
Only then did the red-armbanders stop kicking. Wiping at their sweat, they made their victorious exit. All eleven of them had injured themselves from the kicking, so they hobbled as they left. Mama Su watched them limp away, thinking, They are not human! She said to herself, How can people be this vicious?
CHAPTER 17
MEANWHILE, BALDY LI and Song Gang were home asleep, dreaming of Li Lan s return. When they woke up, they were ecstatic to find that it was almost noon. Although Song Fanping had said that he wouldn't be home until the sun set behind the mountain, the boys couldn't wait a moment longer. At noon they headed toward the bus depot, wanting to be there when the bus carrying Song Fanping and Li Lan pulled into the station. The two boys stepped outside, their left hands thrust in their pockets and their right arms dangling at their sides, in imitation of Song Fanping's cocky gait. Trying hard to look like movie heroes, they walked with a deliberate swagger but came off looking more like simpering villains or Japanese toadies.
Baldy Li and Song Gang spotted Song Fanping the moment they stepped off the bridge. A bloody, mangled body lay across the empty lot in front of the bus depot. A few people stopped as they walked past, peering down and muttering to one another. The two children walked by him as well, not realizing who it was. He lay sprawled on the ground, one arm folded under his body and the other twisted on top; one of his legs stuck straight out and the other was curled up beneath him. Flies buzzed and swarmed all around him. His face, his limbs, his hands and feet—every bloodied bit of flesh was covered in flies. The two children were repulsed and terrified by the sight. Song Gang asked someone wearing a straw hat, "Who is this? Is he dead?"
The man shook his head, saying that he didn't know, and then walked over to a shady tree nearby and began to fan himself with his straw hat. Baldy Li and Song Gang walked up the steps of the station and into the main hall. Though they had stood outside for only a brief while, they felt that they had been parched dry by the fierce summer sun. Two large fans, whirling loudly, hung from the ceiling of the main hall, and everyone inside was gathered under them buzzing in conversation like so many flies. Baldy Li and Song Gang tried hovering at the edges of each group of people, but the breeze from the ceiling fans dissipated before reaching them. It turned out that every spot where a breeze could be felt had been occupied. So they walked up to the ticket window and stood on their tiptoes to peer in. They saw a ticket seller sitting inside, struck dumb and still reeling from the horrors of the morning. Jolted back suddenly by the sound of the boys’ conversation, she focused her eyes on them and screeched, "What are you looking at?"
Baldy Li and Song Gang quickly ducked down and crept away. They walked up to the ticket checker s counter. The metal gate of the ticket counter was ajar, so the boys looked inside. Not a single bus was there, only a ticket checker holding his jar of tea. Rushing toward them, he also roared, "What do you want?"
Baldy Li and Song Gang ran away from the ticket counter and listlessly circled the main hall a few times. At this point Popsicle Wang appeared at the main entrance, carrying a small stool in one hand and an icebox full of popsicles on his back. He set his stool down at the stations entranceway, sat down, and started to bang his icebox with a block of wood, shouting, "Popsicles! Popsicles! Popsicles for our working-class brothers and sisters…"
The two boys went up to him and stood there watching him and gulping down their saliva. He kept banging his wood block while keeping a wary eye on the boys. Baldy Li and Song Gang once again caught sight of the body outside, still lying in the same position. Song Gang pointed at him and asked Popsicle Wang, "Who is that?"
Popsicle Wang glanced sideways at the boys but didn't respond. Song Gang persisted, "Is he dead?"
Popsicle Wang snarled at them, "If you don't have any money, then scram. Stop standing here trying to swallow your saliva."
Startled, Baldy Li and Song Gang gripped each other's arms and ran down the station steps until they once again found themselves outside under the fierce summer sun. As they walked past Song Fanping's fly-covered body again, Song Gang suddenly stopped in his tracks and pointed at Song Fanping's beige-colored sandals. "He's wearing Papa's sandals."
Song Gang then noticed Song Fanping's r
ed shirt. "He's wearing Papa's shirt."
The boys stood there, looking at each other. After a while Baldy Li spoke, suggesting that this wasn't Papa's shirt, because his had a row of yellow characters on it. Song Gang nodded, then shook his head, saying that the yellow characters were on the front. The children squatted down, waving away flies and tugging at Song Fanping's shirt. A few yellow characters emerged from their tugging. Song Gang stood up and burst into tears. Sobbing, he asked Baldy Li, "Is this Papa?"
Baldy Li couldn't help sobbing, too. "I don't know."
The two children stood there, weeping and looking about. No one came over. They squatted down again, shooing away the swarms of flies from Song Fanping's face, wanting to take a closer look. Was this Song Fanping? His face was smeared with blood and dirt, so they couldn't really tell. They felt that it looked a little bit like Song Fanping, but they couldn't be sure. Was it him? They got up from the ground and decided that they should ask someone.
First they walked to the spot under the tree where two men were smoking. They pointed at Song Fanping, asking, "Is that our father?"
The two men smoking under the tree froze, then shook their heads. "Don't you know your own father?"
The children walked up the station steps to Popsicle Wang. Wiping away his tears, Song Gang asked him, "Is that our father on the ground over there?"
Popsicle Wang slapped the wood block against his icebox, staring. "Scram!"
Baldy Li complained, "But we're not drooling anymore."
Popsicle Wang replied, "Scram anyway!"
Weeping, Baldy Li and Song Gang walked hand in hand into the main hall and asked the people clustered under the two ceiling fans, "Do any of you know? Is that our father lying on the ground outside?"
Their pathetic questions elicited a roar of laughter. People commented that they couldn't believe there could be such fools as these two, who didn't even know their own father and had to ask others. Grinning, one of the people waved the children over. "Hey, kids, come over here."
