Brothers

by Yu Hua

  Everyone was talking at the same time, then one suggested, "Flip up her eyelids. Are her pupils dilated?"

  Baldy Li and Song Gang rushed to flip open her eyelids. They looked at her eyes but didn't know exactly which were her pupils. Looking up, they answered, "They're very large."

  This man said, "If her pupils are dilated, she's probably dead."

  When the boys heard this, they clutched each other and cried even louder. Another man bent down, saying, "Stop crying, stop crying. You kids don't even know what pupils are. Feel for her pulse. If you can feel her pulse, then you know she isn't dead."

  Baldy Li and Song Gang immediately stopped crying and asked anxiously, "Where do we find her pulse?"

  The man extended his left hand and used his right to point it out, "Right here, on the wrist."

  Baldy Li and Song Gang each grabbed one of Li Lan's hands and started feeling her wrists. The man asked them, "Do you feel anything?"

  Baldy Li shook his head. "Nothing."

  Baldy Li looked nervously at Song Gang, who also shook his head. "Nothing."

  The man stood back up, concluding, "Then she probably is dead."

  Baldy Li and Song Gang now felt that they had lost all hope. They opened their mouths and wailed. After a while they paused, then burst out again. Song Gang sobbed, "Papas dead. Now Mamas dead, too."

  At that point, Blacksmith Tong appeared on the scene. He squeezed in through the crowd and squatted down, shaking the two boys and telling them to stop their crying. He said, "What dilated pupils or beating pulse? That's for the doctor to decide. You kids don't know a thing. Listen to me: Put your ear against her chest—do you hear thumping inside?"

  Song Gang wiped away his snot and placed his head against Li Lan s chest. After listening for a while, he raised his head and nervously said to Baldy Li, "I think I hear thumping."

  Baldy Li also hurriedly wiped away his tears and snot and listened for a while. He also heard her heart beating. He nodded to Song Gang, "I hear it, too."

  Blacksmith Tong stood up and scolded the two men who had spoken earlier, "You two don't know crap. You only know how to frighten children."

  Then Blacksmith Tong told Baldy Li and Song Gang, "She's not dead. She just fainted. Why don't you let her lie there for a while? She'll come to eventually."

  Baldy Li and Song Gang immediately broke into wide grins. Wiping at his tears, Song Gang raised his face to Blacksmith Tong and said, "Blacksmith Tong, you will be rewarded in the next life."

  Blacksmith Tong was very pleased with Song Gang's words. He smiled. "Now, that's true."

  Baldy Li and Song Gang sat quietly by Li Lan's side. Song Gang picked up the photograph that had fallen to the ground, took a look for himself, and then showed it to Baldy Li before carefully placing it back into the envelope. More and more people gathered on the bridge, and many of them squeezed over to take a look at the boys. After inquiring about them from others, they then squeezed out of the crowd again. The two boys sat there patiently. From time to time they stole a look at each other and smiled. After a very long time had passed, Li Lan finally got up. The boys were so happy they shouted to the bystanders, "Mama's woken up!"

  Li Lan had no idea what had just happened, only that she was crawling up from the ground. Embarrassed, she carefully dusted herself off and once again gathered the photograph and the black sash and white cloth to her chest. She didn't say a word the entire way home. Baldy Li and Song Gang didn't dare to say anything either, but they were bursting with emotion. They held on tightly to Li Lans clothes—having regained their mother after believing that they had lost her, they were filled with happiness. From time to time they would crane their necks to look at Li Lans front, at her back, and exchange tiny smiles.

  CHAPTER 21

  THE FOURTH DAY AFTER Song Fanpings death, an elderly peasant pulling an old, battered cart arrived at Li Lan s front door. Standing outside the door, his shirt and pants covered in patches, the old man didn't say a word, and merely wept as he looked in at the coffin. He was Song Fanpings father, Song Gangs grandfather. He had once owned a few hundred mu of farmland, but after Liberation it had all been redistributed to the other peasants in the village. This old landlord—who was now poorer than the poorest "poor peasant" and no longer owned anything other than his landlord status—had come to take his landlord son home.

  The previous night Li Lan had packed up Song Gangs things. Baldy Li and Song Gang sat on the bed and silently watched her remove her own belongings from the gray travel bag with the SHANGHAI logo, including the wrapped bundle of bloodstained earth and a bag of White Rabbit candies. She then placed Song Gangs clothes into the travel bag and also stuffed in the entire bag of milk candies. When she turned around to see Baldy Li's eyes filled with anticipation, she took out the bag of candy and grabbed a handful for him. She also handed a few to Song Gang and stuffed the remainder back into the travel bag. Baldy Li and Song Gang sucked on their candies, not knowing what the next day would bring. Even when Song Gang's landlord grandfather appeared at their door the following morning, they still didn't understand that they were about to be separated.

  On this morning, their arms were wrapped in black sash and their waists belted with white cloth. Song Fanpings coffin was loaded onto the battered pullcart, and his travel bag was placed next to it. The old landlord lowered his gray head and pulled the cart. Li Lan followed behind, holding Baldy Li and Song Gang by the hand.

  For as long as Baldy Li could remember, he had never seen Li Lan look so proud. Baldy Li's birth father had brought her nothing but hate and shame, but Song Fanping had given her love and respect. Her head held high, Li Lan set forth as though she were a member of the Red Detachment of Women. The old landlord pulling the cart, mean-while, was bent over as though he were in the middle of a struggle session. As he pulled he repeatedly raised his hand to wipe at his tears. They came face-to-face with two parading troupes. The revolutionary crowds ceased their slogans, lowered their small red flags, and discussed among themselves as they watched these four people with their cart and coffin. A man wearing a red armband walked up to ask Li Lan, "Who's in the coffin?"

  Li Lan answered proudly and calmly, "My husband."

  "Who's your husband?"

  "Song Fanping. He was a teacher at the Liu Town Middle School."

  "How did he die?"

  "He was beaten to death."

  "Why?"

  "He was a landlord."

  When Li Lan said that, Baldy Li and Song Gang both trembled, and the old landlord was so frightened he did not dare to wipe his tears. She had proclaimed it with such clarity that the parading revolutionaries all stopped in their tracks. They were shocked that such a frail little woman would dare talk like this. The man wearing the red armband pointed at Li Lan. "Your husband was a landlord. So you're a landlord's wife?"

  Li Lan nodded firmly. "Yes."

  The man turned back to the revolutionary crowds. "See that! Such shamelessness …"

  As he finished speaking he turned back and slapped Li Lan across the face. Her head wobbled and blood trickled from her lips, but she smiled proudly and continued to look the man in the eye. The armband-wearing man gave her another slap. Her head wobbled again, but she still smiled proudly as she gazed at him, asking, "Had enough?"

  Li Lan's words stunned him for a moment. With the oddest of expressions he looked at her, then back at the crowd. She said, "If you've had enough, then I'll be leaving."

  "Fuck," the armband-wearing man cursed. He slapped her twice more, then spat. "Beat it!"

  Blood trickling from her lips, Li Lan smiled as she grasped Baldy Li and Song Gang's hands and continued walking. The revolutionary crowd on the street regarded her with astonishment. Smiling, she walked forward, telling them, "Today is the day of my husband's burial."

  Tears gushed from her eyes as she spoke. Baldy Li and Song Gang also began to sob, as did the old landlord up ahead. Li Lan scolded Baldy Li and Song Gang, "Don't cry."

  In a ringin
g voice she admonished them, "Don't cry in front of other people."

  The two boys covered their mouths. They stopped their sobbing but not their tears. Li Lan had forbidden them to cry, but her own face was covered with tears. She smiled through them and continued walking.

  They walked out the south gate, over a creaky wooden bridge, and could make out the chirping of cicadas. They realized that they had already reached the dirt road leading to the countryside. By then it was noon, and as far as the eye could reach there were fields, interspersed with the occasional curl of rising smoke. The summer fields were empty and bare. It was as if they were the only four people on earth, aside from Song Fanping, who was lying in the coffin. His elderly father finally let himself sob out loud, his back bent like an old ox plowing the earth as he dragged along his dead son. He shook all over as he walked; even his sobs shook. His weeping ignited Song Gang and Baldy Li's wails, and the boys started sobbing loudly through their fingers. They had covered their mouths with their hands, but their sobs now burst from their noses; they used their hands to hold their noses, but then the sobs would burst from their lips. The two boys timidly looked up at Li Lan, who said, "Go ahead and cry."

  After she spoke, Li Lan was the first to break out crying. This was the first time that Baldy Li and Song Gang heard her piercing wails. She wept without restraint, as if she wanted to rip out her throat with her sobs. Song Gang dropped his hands and also began to sob out loud, and Baldy Li immediately followed suit. The four of them sobbed loudly as they walked, no longer worrying about being seen. Amid the vast fields and under the distant sky they wept together, as a family. As if she were gazing into the sky, Li Lan raised her face and sobbed; Song Fanping's elderly father bent over and wept, soaking the earth with his tears. Baldy Li and Song Gang repeatedly wiped away their tears, splashing them onto Song Fanping's coffin. They cried wholeheartedly, their howls sounding like a series of land mines, startling the sparrows from the trees lining the sides of the road.

  The four walked and wept for a very long time, until Song Fanping's elderly father could walk no farther. He put the cart down and knelt on the ground. He had wept until his back hurt, and he could no longer move. They stopped, and gradually their crying abated. Li Lan wiped away her tears and said that she would pull the cart. Song Fanpings father refused, saying that he would accompany his son on his last journey.

  Afterward they no longer wept but walked on silently. There was only the sound of the carts creaking wheels. They arrived at the village where Song Fanping was born. A few shabbily clad relatives stood at the village gate. They had already dug the grave under an elm tree at the edge of the village and stood there with their shovels. As Song Fanpings coffin was lowered into the grave and a few relatives covered it with dirt, his father knelt nearby, picking out the rocks. Li Lan knelt down and did the same. After the grave was filled and covered with a mound of earth, the two of them slowly stood up.

  They all then made their way to the fathers thatched hut. Inside there was a single bed, a battered armoire, and a worn table. The relatives sat around the table and ate, and Baldy Li and Song Gang joined in the meal of pickled vegetables and rice. Song Fanpings aged father sat on a low stool in a corner of the room and wiped at his tears, not eating a single bite. Li Lan didn't eat either. She removed Song Gangs clothes from the travel bag, folded them neatly, and placed them inside the old battered armoire. Baldy Li saw that she also placed the bag of White Rabbit candies inside the armoire. After she was done, she didn't know what else to do, so she stood by the armoire and watched the two boys.

  This was an afternoon of silence. After the relatives finished eating and left, the four of them sat wordlessly inside the hut. Baldy Li caught sight of the trees and pond outside the house. He also spied sparrows singing in the trees and swallows flying from the beams. Song Gang saw these things, too. The boys very much wanted to go outside to look around, but they didn't dare to; instead they sat on the bench stealing glances at the sad figures of Li Lan and Song Fanpings father. Finally Li Lan spoke. She said that they ought to be going if they hoped to make it back to town before dark. Rising with difficulty, Song Fanpings father made his way to the battered armoire and took out a small can. He grabbed a handful of fava nuts and stuffed them into Baldy Li's pocket.

  Once again they returned to the edge of the village. A few leaves had fallen on the mound that was Song Fanpings grave. Li Lan went over and picked them off, throwing them to one side. She did not cry, and the boys heard her softly say to the grave, "Once the boys grow up, I'll come keep you company."

  Li Lan turned, walked up to Song Gang, and squatted down to caress his face as he caressed hers. Li Lan hugged him tight and couldn't help bursting into tears. "Son, take good care of Grandpa. Grandpa is old now, so he wants you to stay by his side. Mama will come to see you often…"

  Song Gang didn't understand what Li Lan was talking about. He nodded, then looked over at Baldy Li. Li Lan wept with Song Gang in her arms, then wiped her tears and stood up. Looking over at Song Fanping's father, her lips moved as if to say something but no sounds came out. Finally she took Baldy Li's hand.

  Li Lan led Baldy Li down the dirt road. She didn't look back. Her steps were as heavy as two mops dragging across the floor. Even at this moment Baldy Li still didn't realize that he was about to be parted from Song Gang. As Li Lan led him down the road he turned to look back at Song Gang, wondering why he wasn't coming with them. Song Gang's grandfather held Song Gang's hand as Song Gang stood in front of his father's grave, watching in confusion as Baldy Li and Li Lan slowly walked away. He also didn't understand why he had been left behind. As Li Lan and Baldy Li walked farther away he saw that Grandpa was waving farewell to them. Hesitantly he also lifted his hand and waved. Baldy Li kept turning back to look at Song Gang, and when he saw that Song Gang was waving at him, he also started waving.

  CHAPTER 22

  FROM THAT POINT, Baldy Li was on his own. In those days Li Lan left early and returned late. The silk factory where she used to work had stopped production in order to carry out revolutionary activities, but since Song Fanping had left her with a landlady designation, every day she had to go to the factory to receive criticism. Without Song Gang, Baldy Li no longer had a pal. All day, every day, he wandered the streets, as adrift and aimless as a leaf floating down the river and as pitiful as a scrap of paper blowing in the wind. He didn't know what to do, knowing only to walk about, sit when he was tired, drink from a faucet when he was thirsty, and go home to eat leftovers when he was hungry.

  Baldy Li didn't know what was happening in the world as more and more people were forced to parade through the streets wearing dunce caps and wooden placards in the name of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. Mama Su from the snack shop had also been dragged out to be struggled against. They accused her of being a prostitute, on the ground that she had a daughter and no husband. One day Baldy Li glimpsed a red-haired woman standing on a bench on the street. He had never seen someone with red hair, so his curiosity led him over. When he got closer, he saw that her hair was actually stained red with blood. She stood, head lowered, on the bench, a placard hanging around her neck. The woman's daughter—a girl named Missy Su, who was only a few years older than Baldy Li—stood by her mother's side. Only when Baldy Li had walked directly under Mama Su and looked up at her lowered face did he recognize her as the owner of the snack shop.

  There was another bench next to Mama Sus, and on it stood longhaired Sun Wei's father. Even this man—who had once brawled with Song Fanping and had stood guard in front of the warehouse wearing his red armband—was now wearing a dunce cap and a wooden placard. Sun Wei's grandfather had owned a rice shop in Liu Town before Liberation. The shop had gone bankrupt during the war, but as the Cultural Revolution struggles delved deeper and deeper, Sun Wei's father was now also dug out as capitalist, and the placard hanging around his neck now was even bigger than the one Song Fanping had worn.

  Sun Wei was now as alone as Ba
ldy Li. Once his father was labeled a class enemy, his erstwhile buddies, Victory Zhao and Success Liu, immediately distanced themselves from him. Whenever they ran into Baldy Li, they would leer at him. Baldy Li knew that they wanted to practice their sweep-kicks on him, so he would dash away, or if he couldn't, he would plop himself on the ground, saying, "I'm already down."

  Victory Zhao and Success Liu couldn't do much with that, so they gave him a kick, cursing, "That fucking kid…"

  They used to call him just "kid," but now they called him "fucking kid." Baldy Li often caught sight of Sun Wei. He frequently wandered the streets by himself, his head cocked, and sometimes he leaned against the bridge railing. No one hailed him, no one patted him on the shoulder, and when Victory Zhao and Success Liu saw him, they would pretend that they didn't recognize him. Only Baldy Li still acted the same as always, and would either run away or plop himself on the ground.

  Baldy Li eventually grew tired of running away. Every time he would run until he was out of breath, his lungs burning. He decided that he'd rather just plop himself on the ground, which would not only be more relaxing but would afford him a view of the street. Now whenever he ran into long-haired Sun Wei, he'd sit right down as if he were trying to snatch a good seat. Cocking his head up at Sun Wei, he'd say, "I'm already down. The most you can do is give me a kick."

  Sun Wei—who still called Baldy Li "kid" and not "fucking kid"— chuckled and nudged the boy's bottom with his foot. "Hey, kid, why do you plop down whenever you see me?"

  Baldy Li answered craftily, "I'm terrified of your sweep-kick."

  Long-haired Sun Wei chuckled some more. "Get up, kid, I won't kick you."