by Yu Hua
“It sure is,” I said.
He went inside to get a vegetable knife, then went down to the field to cut some fresh vegetables and brought them back inside. After a while he started to slice the pig’s head. I went over to stop him—he should have left it for Fengxia to do—but he just wiped the sweat from his face and continued.
“I’m not tired,” he insisted.
I had no choice but to go outside and get Fengxia. Fengxia was standing next to Jiazhen, and as I pushed her inside she kept turning around in embarrassment to look at her mother. Only after Jiazhen laughed and waved for her to go in did she finally go inside.
Jiazhen and I kept Erxi’s friends company, chatting and drinking tea. At one point I popped in for a moment to see Fengxia and Erxi together. One of them was tending the fire while the other was cooking—they looked like a little family. The two of them kept sneaking glances at each other; neither one of them could stop giggling.
I went out to tell Jiazhen, and she laughed. After a while I couldn’t stand it anymore and had to go in for another peek. But just as I stood up Jiazhen stopped me by whispering, “Don’t go in.”
After we ate, Erxi and the others used the lime to whitewash our walls. As soon as the lime dried the following day, our walls were a brilliant white, just like those brick houses in town. It was still early when they finished the whitewashing, so I said to Erxi, “Why don’t you stay for a while and leave after dinner?”
“No, thanks,” he said.
He proceeded to lift his shoulder in the direction of Fengxia— I knew he was looking at her. Then, lowering his voice, Erxi asked Jiazhen and me, “Mom, Dad, when can I marry Fengxia?”
As soon as I heard this, as soon as I heard him call Jiazhen and me Mom and Dad, I was so ecstatic that you couldn’t have wiped the smile off my face if you’d tried. After looking to Jiazhen, I said, “Whenever you want. You set the date.”
After that I added quietly, “Erxi, it’s not that I want you to go bankrupt or anything. It’s just that Fengxia’s had a hard life. Let’s make the wedding day special for her. Invite some extra people to make it a real event. It would be good if you called some of the people from the village over, too.”
Erxi said, “Dad, I’ll take care of it.”
That night, Fengxia caressed the cotton print Erxi had brought. She would gaze at it and smile, and after smiling she’d go back to gazing at it. Every once in a while she’d look over at Jiazhen and me. Seeing that we were smiling, too, she’d instantly get nervous and blush. Jiazhen and I were pleased. It looked like Fengxia really liked Erxi.
“Erxi is an honest and trustworthy fellow,” Jiazhen said. “With him caring for Fengxia, I can rest easy.”
We sold the chickens and lamb and brought Fengxia into town to buy her two new outfits plus some household items like a blanket and washbasin. We made sure that Fengxia got whatever the other girls in the village had gotten when they married. As Jiazhen put it, “We can’t let Fengxia feel like she’s different from the other girls.”
The day Erxi came to marry Fengxia, you could hear the crashing of the bells and gongs from far away. All the farmers rushed over to the village entrance to watch. Erxi brought more than twenty people with him, and everyone wore Sun Yat-sen– style tunic jackets. If it hadn’t been for the red flower pinned to Erxi’s jacket, it would have looked just like some big cadre was coming to town. The sound of more than ten gongs beating at the same time along with the thunderous “bong” sound of two drums made all the country folks’ ears ring. But by far the showiest part of the procession was an emerald green cart draped with red sashes, on top of which sat a chair that was painted a matching red and green.
As soon as everyone got to the village, Erxi opened up two cartons of Front Gate cigarettes and stuffed packs into the hands of all the men he saw. He kept repeating, “Thanks for coming, thank you.”
When other families in the village got married, the best cigarettes they would give out would be Flying Horse, if that. But Erxi gave out pack after pack of Front Gates—nobody could compete with that. As soon as someone got his hands on a pack, he would stick it right into his pocket, afraid that someone else would try to snatch it away. Those lucky enough to get their hands on a pack would stick their fingers deep into their pockets, fishing around for a cigarette. When they would finally manage to pull one out, they’d swiftly stick it between their lips.
The twenty-odd guys who came with Erxi were working hard. Not only were they shaking the heavens with their gongs and drums, but they were screaming with all their might. Their pockets were bulging, and when they saw the village women and children they’d throw them pieces of candy. I was stunned by the extravagance and kept thinking about how much money they were throwing away.
When they got to my house, they all went in to see Fengxia. They left their instruments outside so the young guys from the village could keep the music going. Wearing her new clothes, Fengxia looked really stunning. Even I, as her father, had never imagined she could look so beautiful. She was sitting by Jiazhen’s bed, checking each man who came in to see if he was Erxi. When she finally saw him she lowered her head. When Erxi’s friends from town saw Fengxia, they all said, “Wow, this crooked-head of ours really lucked out.”
For years after that, whenever other girls in the village were married off, it would be said that none of their weddings compared to Fengxia’s. That day, when Fengxia was called out of the house, her face was as red as a tomato. Never before had so many people looked at her at the same time, and aside from burying her head in her chest, she didn’t know what to do. Erxi took her by the hand and led her over to the cart. Even after seeing the chair, Fengxia still didn’t quite know what to do. A roar of laughter erupted from the people watching when Erxi, who was a full head shorter than Fengxia, picked her up and placed her in the chair. Fengxia laughed, too.
“Mom, Dad, I’m taking Fengxia away,” Erxi told Jiazhen and me.
With that, Erxi started pulling the cart away. The moment the cart began to move, Fengxia abruptly raised her head and turned around, anxiously looking back. I knew that she was looking for Jiazhen and me. But I was standing right beside her, with Jiazhen on my back. As soon as she caught sight of us, she started to cry. She twisted her body around to look at us through her tears. Suddenly I thought back to when Fengxia was thirteen and that guy had taken her away—she had that same tearful look in her eyes as she had back then. As soon as I thought of that, tears began streaming down my face, and at the same moment I felt moisture on my neck and knew that Jiazhen was crying, too. But this time it’s different, I thought. This time Fengxia’s getting married. I smiled and said, “Jiazhen, today’s a happy occasion. You should be smiling.”
Erxi had a good heart. While he was pulling the cart he kept looking back at his bride. When he noticed a teary-eyed Fengxia turning back to look at us, Erxi stopped and turned to look at us as well. The more Fengxia cried, the sadder she seemed to get, and her shoulders began to tremble. I could feel my heart tightening up. I yelled to Erxi, “Erxi, what are you waiting for? Fengxia’s your wife now.”
When Fengxia moved to town it felt like our spirits had gone with her—no matter what Jiazhen and I did, we couldn’t help but feel empty inside. We didn’t use to notice Fengxia coming and going all the time, but the moment she left it became so quiet. Jiazhen and I were the only ones left. We just kept looking around the house as if, after decades of living there, we hadn’t already seen enough. For me it was okay; working in the field, I could get my mind off Fengxia. But it was really hard on Jiazhen. Sitting in bed all day with nothing to do, how could she not feel the loss with her Fengxia gone? She used to stay in bed all day without saying anything, but after Fengxia left she started to feel really terrible. Her lower back was tender and her shoulders were sore. It seemed like no matter what she did she couldn’t get comfortable. I could completely sympathize with her—staying in bed all day is even more exhausting than working in the field. Her body
couldn’t even move. At dusk I would carry her piggyback around the village, and when the other villagers saw Jiazhen they would affectionately ask her all about how she’d been doing. Jiazhen would feel much more at ease and, leaning close to my ear, she’d whisper, “They won’t laugh at us, will they?”
“Why would they laugh at us? What’s so funny about me carrying my own wife?” I’d reply.
Jiazhen began to like reminiscing about the past. When we’d get to a certain spot she’d want to tell stories about back when Fengxia and Youqing were children. After going on and on about them, she’d laugh. When we got to the edge of the village, Jiazhen brought up the day I came home. She had been working in the field that day when she heard someone call out to Fengxia and Youqing in a loud voice. She looked up and saw me immediately, but at first she didn’t believe her eyes. When Jiazhen got to this point her laughter mixed with tears. Teardrops ran down my neck as she said, “Once you came home, everything was great.”
According to custom, Fengxia was supposed to come back to visit in a month—we were also supposed to wait at least a month before we went to visit her. So you can imagine our surprise when she came home in less than ten days. One evening, just after we had eaten, someone called from outside, “Fugui, you’d better head down to the village entrance. It looks like that crooked-headed son-in-law of yours is coming.”
At first I didn’t believe him. Everyone in the village knew how much Jiazhen and I missed Fengxia, so I figured they were just playing a joke on us. I remember telling Jiazhen, “It can’t be them, it’s been only ten days.”
But Jiazhen started to get anxious and said, “Hurry up and go take a look.”
I ran down to take a look, and what do you know, it really was Erxi. Lifting his left shoulder, he was carrying a cake; Fengxia was walking beside him. Hand in hand, they were all smiles as they approached me. When the people from the village saw them they all laughed—in those days you’d never see couples holding hands. I told them, “Erxi’s a city boy. Those people in town have got a bit of that foreign flavor.”
Jiazhen was ecstatic when Fengxia and Erxi came home. As soon as Fengxia sat down on the corner of the bed, Jiazhen couldn’t stop caressing her hand. She kept saying that Fengxia had gained weight, but how much weight could someone really gain in ten days?
“We had no idea you were coming,” I told Erxi. “We didn’t even prepare anything.”
Erxi giggled. He said he hadn’t known he was coming, either. Fengxia had taken him by the hand, and he’d just blindly followed her all the way.
After Fengxia came home that day, I also said to hell with the old custom and started going into town just about every other day. Now that I mention it, it was really Jiazhen who wanted me to go, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I enjoyed visiting them, too. When I’d go into town it would be with the same fervor and enthusiasm I had going into town when I was young, only this time I was going for a different reason.
Before I left, I went down to our private plot to cut some fresh vegetables and put them in a basket. I was wearing the new cloth shoes Jiazhen had made for me. When I cut the vegetables I got my shoes dirty, and when Jiazhen saw she stopped me and told me to wipe off the mud before I left.
“An old man like me couldn’t care less about some mud on my shoes,” I told her.
“You can’t say that,” Jiazhen retorted. “Even though you’re old you’re still a person. And as long as you’re a person you should try to keep clean.”
She was right. Even after being sick in bed for so many years, unable even to go down to the fields, she still made sure her hair was neat and combed every day. So I put on some clean clothes and walked to the edge of the village. When the other villagers saw me carrying the basket of fresh vegetables they asked, “Off to see Fengxia again?”
I nodded, “Yep.”
“You keep going back there. Doesn’t that crooked-headed son-in-law of yours get sick of you?” they asked.
“Erxi isn’t like that,” I answered.
Erxi’s neighbors took a real fancy to Fengxia. As soon as I’d get there they’d all compliment her by saying how hardworking and intelligent she was. Once she started sweeping she’d sweep the ground in front of her neighbors’ houses—hell, once she got going, she’d sweep half the street. Seeing Fengxia beginning to break a sweat, the neighbors would go over and pat her on the back to tell her to stop. Only then would she go back inside with a bright smile on her face.
Since our family was poor and never had the luxury of wearing sweaters, Fengxia had never learned how to knit. When Fengxia saw one of the neighbors knitting a sweater, her hands weaving back and forth, Fengxia was so excited she pulled a stool over to watch. Once she sat down she ended up staying there half the day—she was spellbound. Seeing how much Fengxia seemed to like it, the neighbor decided to teach her step by step. As soon as she began to teach her, the neighbor was shocked by how quickly Fengxia picked it up. Within three or four days Fengxia could knit just as fast as the rest of them. When they saw me they would comment, “How great it would be if Fengxia wasn’t deaf and mute.”
Deep down they felt sorry for Fengxia. From then on, whenever she finished with her housework, she’d sit with the neighbors and knit for them. All the women on the block thought that Fengxia did the neatest and tightest knitting job, so they’d all send their wool to Fengxia to have her knit for them. Naturally, Fengxia was a bit more tired than before, but she was happy. When the sweaters were finished she’d give them back. The neighbors would give her the thumbs-up sign, and Fengxia’s broad smile would beam for what seemed like an eternity.
When I’d arrive in town, the neighbors would come over one by one to tell me how great Fengxia was. I heard nothing but compliments from them and started to blush.
“You people here in town are really nice,” I said. “It’s rare that anyone in the country says anything nice about Fengxia.”
I was really pleased to see how much Erxi loved her and how all the neighbors liked her. Every time I went home, Jiazhen would complain that I had stayed too long. She was right. All alone at home, staring at the door with her neck outstretched, she would wait for me to come home so she could hear all the latest news about Fengxia. After waiting all day and still not seeing any sign of me, it was only natural for her to start getting anxious.
“Sorry, as soon as I see Fengxia I forget the time,” I’d say.
Whenever I returned home I’d spend a long time sitting on the edge of the bed telling Jiazhen everything that was going on in and around Fengxia’s house. I’d even have to tell her what color clothes Fengxia was wearing and whether the shoes she had made for Fengxia were holding up. Jiazhen had to know everything—there was no end to her questions, just as there was no end to my answers. I talked so much that my throat would get dry, but even then Jiazhen wouldn’t let me go. She’d ask, “Is there anything you forgot to tell me?”
Once we started talking we wouldn’t stop until after dark. Just about everyone in the village had already turned in, but we still hadn’t even eaten.
“I’ll go fix something to eat,” I’d say.
But Jiazhen would pull me, practically begging. “Tell me some more about Fengxia.”
I was always willing to go on about Fengxia. Even after telling Jiazhen everything, I still couldn’t say enough. When I went to work down in the field, I’d tell the other villagers about her. I’d tell them how well she was doing in town, how everyone there complimented her for being hardworking and intelligent and how she knitted faster than anyone else. A few of the villagers were upset after hearing this.
“Fugui, how could you be so muddleheaded?” they’d say. “Those city people are always up to no good. How’s Fengxia to cope with all this work they’re giving her? They’ll work her to death!”
“Now, I wouldn’t say that,” I said.
“If Fengxia knits sweaters for them it’s only right that they give her some kind of present,” they’d say. “Do t
hey give her anything?”
Country people are really narrow-minded—all they do is nit-pick over these little things. The women in town aren’t as bad as country people make them out to be. Twice I heard them say to Erxi, “Erxi, go buy a few jin of wool thread. Fengxia should have a sweater, too.”
Erxi laughed after hearing this but didn’t say a word. He was an honest guy. When he married Fengxia he listened to me and spent a lot of money, and now he still had a debt to pay off. When we were alone he whispered to me, “Dad, as soon as I pay off the debt I’ll buy Fengxia a wool sweater.”
Meanwhile, the Cultural Revolution was raging more and more intensely in town. All the streets were filled with big character posters. 7 The people who hung them up were a bunch of lazy bums. When they hung new posters up, they didn’t even bother to tear the old ones down. The layers of posters just got thicker and thicker, making the walls stick out as if they had a whole bunch of pockets. There were even posters hanging over Fengxia and Erxi’s front door. Inside they had good ol’ Chairman Mao’s words written on their washbasin, and printed on Fengxia’s pillowcase was “Never Forget Class Struggle.” The characters on their quilt read “March Forward Through the Great Storms.” Every night Erxi and Fengxia literally slept on the words of Chairman Mao.
When I went into the city I’d try to avoid crowded areas. There were always people getting into fights in town, and on a few occasions I saw people beaten so badly they couldn’t get up off the ground. No wonder the team leader stopped going into town for meetings. The commune headquarters sent someone to notify him that he was to take part in the county’s third-level cadre meeting, but the team leader wouldn’t go. In private the team leader told me, “I’m scared to death. There are people getting killed there every day. Going into town for a meeting at a time like this is like digging your own grave.”
The team leader hid out in the village and wouldn’t go anywhere, but in the end he only had a few months of peace and quiet. If he wouldn’t go, they would come and get him. One day we were all in the fields working when we saw a flapping red flag approaching from far away. A group of Red Guards from the city were coming. The team leader was also in the field. When he saw them coming his neck tightened and, with his heart in his mouth, he asked me, “They can’t be coming for me, can they?”
