by Yu Hua
Their hopes dashed once again, the six partners returned to passing their days and nights in extreme anxiety. Two months had now gone by. Tailor Zhang paid the second month s rent for the warehouse and gave the country girls their second months salary. Then, with a trembling voice, he said, "Only two thousand yuan remains of our sweat-and-blood money."
Everyone shuddered, Mama Su with them, until she again remembered that she hadn't contributed any money to the pot, and once again she felt at ease. At this point, the partners experienced a definite crisis of confidence in Baldy Li. It was Yanker Yu who first expressed his dissatisfaction: "Who does this bastard think he is? Are we doing business together? Or are we playing hide-and-seek?"
"You're right," Tailor Zhang agreed. "Even if a pin falls to the ground, it still makes a sound. It's not right for Baldy Li to disappear like this without giving us any notice."
"Don't even mention a pin," Little Guan added angrily. "Even a fart will make a sound."
Popsicle Wang added, "That little bastard is not worth a fart."
Blacksmith Tong was pale with fury but still didn't say anything. Everyone else looked at him reproachfully. Tong understood what they were thinking as if they had said it aloud: If he hadn't invested those first four thousand yuan, our own money would have stayed in our pockets. Blacksmith Tong, however, was stewing indignantly: They say that the power of example is infinite, but being the one to set an example just makes you the scapegoat.
The six partners fell silent, then Tailor Zhang continued in a quavering voice, "In another month, there won't be enough money to pay the rental fees and salaries." His voice was cold and flat, and after he finished speaking, he gazed at Tong in a cold and flat manner. Blacksmith Tong felt that the others were also staring him in the eye— except Yanker Yu, who was staring straight at his mouth, as if counting the good teeth.
Blacksmith Tong sighed deeply and said, "How about this: Let's first let the thirty country girls go. When we need them, we can always call them back."
The other partners didn't answer but, rather, continued staring coldly at Blacksmith Tong. He knew that they were thinking about the rental fees for the warehouse, and that none of them was willing to continue throwing his remaining money into it. Blacksmith Tong shook his head, then nodded and said, "How about this: Lets first cancel the rental on the warehouse, and if Baldy Li does return with new business, we can always rent it again."
Some of the partners began nodding, and Tailor Zhang raised a question: "What about the thirty sewing machines?"
Blacksmith Tong pondered for a moment, then suggested, "Lets divide the sewing machines based on how much each of us contributed and take them home."
Tailor Zhang personally sent the thirty country girls home, personally canceled the warehouse rental, and personally divided up the thirty sewing machines based on the amount each partner had invested. Mama Su hadn't contributed any money, so she of course didn't receive a sewing machine. With all of these funereal affairs now taken care of, the partners continued meeting every evening in Blacksmith Tongs shop, only now they sat as mute as six ghosts, and by nightfall the shop was as silent as a grave.
Another month went by, and still there was no news from Baldy Li. Mama Su was the first to stop attending the nightly meetings, and Tailor Zhang, Little Guan, and Yanker Yu soon followed her. In the end it was only Popsicle Wang, who had invested the least amount of money, who still duly reported at the blacksmith's shop every evening. He would sit there in front of the downcast Blacksmith Tong, sighing, wiping away his tears, and pathetically asking, "Has our sweat-and-blood money been lost like this?"
"There's nothing we can do," Blacksmith Tong replied with a hollow look in his eyes. "When it comes time to sever one's flesh, one has no alternative but to slice it off."
CHAPTER 41
JUST WHEN the partners had all but lost hope, Baldy Li reappeared, completely covered in dust from his travels. By this point, he had been gone from Liu Town for three months and eleven days. He walked into Liu Towns bus depot one evening, still wearing the same clothes and still carrying his bag in one hand and the world map in the other. He walked right into Mama Sus snack shop and sat down. She initially didn't recognize him, because when he left he had a shiny bald head but now he had long hair and a full beard. He pounded the table and shouted, "Mama Su, I'm back!"
Mama Su jumped in surprise. Pointing at Baldy Li's long hair, she asked, "What in the world is this?"
"I've been unbelievably busy," Baldy Li replied, shaking his head. "I was so busy in Shanghai that I didn't even have time to shave my head."
Mama Su clasped both hands to her chest and looked over at her daughter, who was standing there with an astonished look. Carefully, she inquired, "And how did that go?"
"I'm starving," Baldy Li barked at Mama Su. "Quick, fix me five steamed meat buns."
Mama Su quickly told her daughter to bring Baldy Li some buns. He grabbed one and stuffed it into his mouth, saying, "Go tell Blacksmith Tong and the others to meet at the warehouse. I'll be there as soon as I finish my buns."
Baldy Li's demeanor convinced Mama Su that he had secured a lot of business. Therefore, she nodded, and left. After she had walked twenty yards or so, she suddenly remembered that that they had canceled the rental of the warehouse, so she hurried back and, standing in the doorway, said uncertainly, "Do you mean hold a meeting at Blacksmith Tongs place?"
Since Baldy Li's mouth was stuffed at that moment, he had no choice but to nod affirmatively. Mama Su then dashed off toward the town's western alley as if she had received an imperial mandate. When she reached Tailor Zhang's shop entrance, she shouted, "Baldy Li has returned!"
Mama Su called out for Zhang, Guan, and Yu to come over. When Blacksmith Tong heard her, he also came running out. Tong, Zhang, Guan, and Yu then stood in the doorway of the blacksmith s shop, listening as Mama Su breathlessly told them about how Baldy Li had suddenly walked through the door of her snack shop, how he had pounded the table and shouted. When they finished hearing her account, Blacksmith Tong was silent for a moment, then said with a smile, "Mission accomplished."
"Just think," Blacksmith Tong added. "If Baldy Li hadn't been successful, would he be so bold as to have summoned us to a meeting? No, he would have hidden his face."
Tailor Zhang, Little Scissors Guan, and Yanker Yu nodded enthusiastically and happily cursed him, "That little bastard, that little bastard, that little bastard…"
Blacksmith Tong asked Mama Su with a smile, "Does that little bastard now speak with a strong Cantonese accent, like a Hong Kong businessman?"
Mama Su thought carefully, then shook her head. "He still speaks with a distinct Liu Town accent."
Blacksmith Tong was skeptical. He prompted, "At the very least he must speak a few words of Shanghainese?"
"No Shanghainese either," Mama Su said.
"That little bastard certainly doesn't forget his roots," praised Blacksmith Tong.
Mama Su nodded and said, "His hair is very long now, like a rock star."
"I get it," Blacksmith Tong exclaimed, rather pleased with his powers of deduction. "That little bastard certainly has high aspirations. He has no interest in being merely a Hong Kong businessman but, rather, is modeling himself on a foreign businessman. Just think, Marx and Engels were both foreigners, and they both had long hair and full beards."
"That's right," Mama Su agreed. "He does have a full beard now."
Mama Su had shifted into high gear by this point. She wiped the sweat from her brow and said that she had to go notify Popsicle Wang. Little Scissors Guan said that he had just seen Wang walk out of the western alley carrying a soy sauce bottle. Mama Su immediately set off toward the western alley, in the direction of the town's soy sauce store.
Blacksmith Tong, Tailor Zhang, Little Guan, and Yanker Yu, their faces flushed bright red, sat down in the blacksmith shop and started laughing hysterically like four lunatics. They danced around crazily bumping into walls. Blacksmith Tong w
as the first to calm down, then he gestured for Zhang, Guan, and Yu to sit on the bench. He told them that Baldy Li didn't yet know that they had stopped paying rent on the warehouse, that they had divided up the thirty sewing machines, or that they had sent the thirty country girls home. He said that when Baldy Li learned this, he might very well explode and curse them. "When Baldy Li curses people, his mouth is like a machine gun. Whatever you do, be sure to remain calm and don't lose your temper. Let him curse and then wait for his anger to subside. Then we'll explain our predicament to him."
"Blacksmith Tong is right." Tailor Zhang said to Little Scissors Guan and Yanker Yu, "You two be sure to remain calm."
"Don't worry," Little Guan said. "Even if he curses the shit out of my father, I still won't get angry."
"Yes," Yanker Yu agreed. "As long as Baldy Li brings us a lot of business, I won't object if he curses my family back eighteen generations."
Blacksmith Tong was reassured by their promises. He looked around his shop and remarked on how he didn't have a proper chair in the entire place. With Baldy Li returning victorious, they should at least find him a good chair to sit in. Yanker Yu immediately got up and brought over his rattan recliner. Tailor Zhang and Little Guan shook their heads at this tattered thing and declared that it was simply too shabby for words. Blacksmith Tong shook his head as well. Yanker Yu was irked by their reaction and defended his precious chair: "It may look shabby, but it is actually very comfortable."
At that moment Mama Su and Popsicle Wang hurried in, and Mama Su reported that she had seen Baldy Li strutting over in this direction. Blacksmith Tong quickly lay down on Yanker Yu's recliner to see how it felt and agreed with Yu: "It'll do."
When Baldy Li, now long-haired and bearded like a foreign businessman, sauntered into the blacksmith shop and saw his six partners standing there respectfully with pleased expressions, he laughed out loud. "Long time no see!"
When Blacksmith Tong saw the dust-covered Baldy Li, he invited him to sit in the recliner, saying, "You have finally returned. You must be very tired."
The others echoed, "You must be very tired."
"Not at all," Baldy Li said with a wave. "You can't complain when you're doing business."
Blacksmith Tong and the others chuckled and nodded enthusiastically. Baldy Li didn't take the chair but, rather, parked himself on the long bench, then placed his bag and the map on the bench beside him. Tong and the others insisted that Baldy Li sit on Yanker Yu's recliner, but Baldy Li shook his head. He winked at Blacksmith Tong and said, "I'll sit right here. It's a long story, but this bench and I go way back."
Blacksmith Tong laughed and said to the others, "As I was saying, Baldy Li is not one to forget his roots."
Seeing that his six partners were still standing, Baldy Li gestured for them to sit down. They all shook their heads, insisting that they were perfectly happy as they were. Baldy Li nodded and allowed them to continue standing. He crossed his legs, leaned against the wall, and, looking as if he were settling in to receive a work report, said, "I've been gone for more than three months. What kind of progress have you made over here while I was away?"
The six partners stared at each other, speechless, then everyone turned to Blacksmith Tong. Tong hesitated a moment, then stepped forward as if he were about to scale a mountain of swords. He coughed a couple of times, cleared his throat, and slowly began to speak. He described in detail everything that had transpired since Baldy Li left and concluded by saying, "There really was nothing else we could have done. We hope you'll understand."
After he finished listening to Tongs account, Baldy Li lowered his head. The partners watched him nervously, quite certain that as soon as he raised his head again he would begin cursing them. When he did finally look up, however, he surprised them all by saying graciously, "While there is life, there is hope."
The six partners let out six deep sighs of relief, after which they started to laugh. Blacksmith Tong promised Baldy Li, "It would only take us a day to rent the warehouse again and move the sewing machines back in. In two more days, we could call the thirty country girls back."
Baldy Li nodded and then said, "No hurry."
What did he mean by "No hurry"? The partners stared at him dumbfounded as Baldy Li sat there comfortably on the bench with his legs crossed. At this crucial moment, Zhang, Guan, Yu, Wang, and Su once again looked, out of habit, at Blacksmith Tong, waiting for him to speak. Tong again stepped forward and inquired delicately, "You have been gone for more than three months. So what kind of progress did you make over in Shanghai?"
"Shanghai is a big place." Baldy Li immediately became very excited upon hearing the word Shanghai. "Opportunities to earn money are as plentiful as the hairs on a pig, and even saliva can be exchanged for gold."
Tailor Zhang cautiously corrected him, suggesting, "Don't you mean as plentiful as the hairs on a cow?"
"Somewhat less than the hairs on a cow," Baldy Li replied, trying to be as precise as possible. "But a pig has about the right number of hairs."
Seeing Baldy Li suddenly so animated, the six partners glanced at one another and flashed reassured grins. Baldy Li continued passionately, "Shanghai is a huge place, and if you walk a few steps in any direction, you will find a bank with a long line of customers depositing or withdrawing money, the ATM whirring away. The department stores are all several stories high, and climbing up and down in them is like scaling a mountain. Inside, everyone is packed in like at a movie theater, and we won't even mention how crowded the streets are. All day long, they are so crowded that people don't seem like people anymore, more like damn ants moving in anthills."
Baldy Li went on and on about what a big place Shanghai was, his spittle flying everywhere, including all over Blacksmith Tongs face. Tong wiped his face and noticed that the other partners were laughing along, not realizing that Baldy Li had completely digressed from the question at hand. Tong had no choice but to interrupt and carefully remind him, "You were going to tell us how your discussions with Shanghai's clothing companies went—"
"I had lots of discussions," Baldy Li interrupted, not waiting for Blacksmith Tong to finish his question. He proudly counted on his fingers: "I spoke with twenty clothing companies, of which three were foreign companies."
Little Guan exclaimed in surprise, "So that's why you look like Marx and Engels."
"What about Marx and Engels?" Baldy Li had no idea what Guan was talking about.
Tailor Zhang explained, "With your long hair and beard, we figured you must have been speaking with foreign businessmen and therefore had begun to look like a foreigner."
"What do you mean, look like a foreigner'?" Baldy Li still didn't understand.
Blacksmith Tong saw that he was about to digress again, and immediately jumped in: "We were discussing your business negotiations. How did they go?"
"They went well," Baldy Li answered. "And not just business. I also reached an agreement with them on the question of the brand names—"
Mama Su shouted, "And that's why you sent me that telegram, saying that you wanted to change Meat Bun Brand to Dim Sum Brand?"
Baldy Li racked his brains as if trying to remember. Suddenly, eyes gleaming, he said, "Yes, yes, that's right."
Mama Su shot the others a triumphant glance, and they nodded. Blacksmith Tong realized that Baldy Li was about to digress again and quickly prompted, "Of the twenty companies you spoke to, how many did you reach an agreement with?"
Baldy Li sighed, and the sound of that sigh was like a bucket of cold water dumped over the heads of his partners. Their newfound excitement fell from their faces. Baldy Li gazed at each of them in turn, held up five fingers, and said, "Five years ago I went to Shanghai to drum up business for the Good Works Factory, and all I had to do was take out the family portraits of the handicapped workers, combined with my earnest attitude, and I could move every employee of every company, thereby raising an enormous amount of business for the factory. Five years later I took my world map and again
went to Shanghai to drum up business, only this time for myself. This time I was even more sincere, even more earnest, and even more mature than before, but…" Baldy Li retracted his five fingers and mimed the act of counting cash. "Now we live in a different era. Society has changed, and it is necessary to offer large bribes in order to get business. I had never expected that these evil winds would have swept over the country so quickly." Baldy Li's fingers stopped counting his imaginary money. Instead he held up his fingers again and sighed. "In just five years’ time, those winds have blown over our entire country."
His six partners stared at him in shock. Blacksmith Tong nervously followed up, "So did you offer bribes?"
"No." Baldy Li shook his head. "By the time I finally figured out this principle of offering bribes, I only had enough money in my pocket to buy a one-way bus ticket back to Liu."
"So that means," Blacksmith Tong deduced with a quavering voice, "that you didn't secure a single business deal?"
Baldy Li answered definitively: "Nope. Not a one."
As if struck by lightning, the six partners reeled from the impact of Baldy Li's answer. They stood staring at one another in stunned silence. Tailor Zhang was the first to recover and, trembling all over, he asked Baldy Li, "So our blood-and-sweat money has been lost, just like that?"
Blacksmith Tong was also shaken to the core. He glanced over at Tailor Zhang but couldn't make out whether he was nodding or shaking his head.
Popsicle Wang began to sob. "That was the money that was going to save my life!"
Mama Su also began to sob, but when she remembered that she hadn't contributed any money in the first place, she immediately stopped. Little Guan and Yanker Yu were completely bathed in cold sweat as they stared at Baldy Li in alarm, stammering, "You, you, how could you have lost our money?"
"You can't say that the money was lost," Baldy Li answered. Looking at their stricken faces, he said resolutely, "Failure is the mother of success, and if you can help me raise money for another hundred shares, I'll go back to Shanghai and give everyone bribes and promise that I'll bring you back a lot of business."