by Keyi Sheng
Yihua said she was free, and she’d do as she pleased. What was pure would remain untarnished everywhere, and what was impure would be tarnished anywhere. She dropped these words, then moved out. Liuzi had apologised, but it was no use. She said she didn’t want to tarnish him.
They had lived together for over a year. If Yihua was a valuable possession, then Liuzi was the security guard in charge of looking after it. This was the only responsibility into which Liuzi had ever put all his effort, but he had not received a single reward for it. He had never even seen Yihua naked, let alone smelled, kissed, touched, or screwed her.
As soon as Yihua left, Liuzi felt there was no point in going to work, nor staying around in Guangzhou, nor even staying alive. Liuzi knew he’d committed a big taboo. The other six nymphs had gone back to the village spreading rumours, and Yihua had cut ties with them. Now Liuzi had been cast aside by Yihua – he had said she was tarnished, so his fate would be no different from the six nymphs. Yihua was not a person to hesitate or deliberate over things, just like when she had left the fishing net factory and had immediately decided what to do with those people, deleting them with a single keystroke. Several times, Liuzi went to the door of the Pearl of the Orient to wait for Yihua. He called her, but once she had decided to turn her back on something, she was like a dead flower, unable to blossom again.
When Liuzi got his pay cheque, he resigned. He called Yihua, saying he was planning to go back to Yiyang, and would like to take her out for dinner, as a sort of farewell. Yihua said, ‘There’s no need for that. Just be careful to go back untarnished.’
That was April 2003, the wettest season in Guangzhou. It was muggy and sticky, and the laundry refused to dry even when it had been hanging out for days. Water oozed out from the tiles and formed droplets, as if they’d been sweating all day. When Liuzi came across one of Yihua’s hairpins or her socks while packing his things, he would throw them away, then pick them back up, thinking of returning them to her. His chest hurt, as if the tip of a cold blade was lodged there. He did not blame Yihua. He was filled more with self-condemnation and remorse. From the day he had met Yihua, he knew what sort of person she was. He thought of how she had been misunderstood by the world. He was the person who knew her best. Even if everyone else betrayed her, he would stay beside her. He had never said this, but it was certainly how he felt. If she were here now, he would definitely say it clearly.
But now Yihua was even colder than a blade, and all Liuzi could do was cry. After crying for a while, he was ashamed of his tears. He wiped them away and thought of how very soon he and his boys back in Yiyang could rule the world again. Then, he was overcome by the spirit of brotherhood. He thought to himself, Love affairs are nothing compared to the outside world.
At seven or eight that night, Liuzi ate a dozen grilled oysters, ten lamb kebabs, and three steamed buns and drank two bottles of Zhujiang beer, loitering around the bustling Tianhebei area. Nighttime in Guangzhou was very different from daytime – like a woman in love, it suddenly turned fascinating and charming. In fact, he felt that Guangzhou was not nearly as bad as his first impressions of it had been. Now he could hardly bear the thought of leaving it. It held a sentimental attachment in his heart, an attachment entangled in a dead knot with Yihua. He stood staring at the neon signs in Citic Plaza. With every scene displayed on its huge screen, a heavy heatwave passed over him, pushing against him.
He walked with his head down for a while, covered in sweat, stopping at a dessert shop in Hui Lau Shan for a cup of herbal tea. It calmed him down.
In the distance, he saw market street with second-hand and counterfeit goods, where he and Yihua had once shopped. The things there were mostly smuggled goods, authentic and of decent quality. Yihua’s pretty clothes had all come from there.
Liuzi remembered that the last time they had been there, Yihua had seen a royal blue sling dress. The shopkeeper was adamant in his refusal to cut the price, and he was arrogant, so she gritted her teeth and gave up, but her heart lingered over it. Liuzi decided to buy it for her. He had certainly never given her a decent gift before, though he had received many belts and wallets from her. Recalling these things, Liuzi became uncomfortable. If he hadn’t been such a bastard and said those hateful things, Yihua would have eventually been his.
Only when Liuzi strode toward the second-hand street did he notice that there were fewer people idling there than usual. He thought it very strange that several uniformed men stood in front of him and asked to see his papers. Liuzi smiled and said, ‘Who brings his papers out for a walk? They’re back at my quarters.’
One of the uniformed men waved Liuzi onto a bus. His posture was strange, like a clown performing on the street. Liuzi laughed more heartily, as if he really appreciated the act, or was even flattered by it. He said, ‘Do you want to give me a lift home? I live on East Tianhe Road. My papers are in the drawer of my nightstand.’
Another uniformed officer politely placed Liuzi’s hands behind his back, even taking him by the shoulder to keep him from falling. This sort of close contact made Liuzi feel very uneasy.
A tractor with small windows was parked outside, about twenty meters away. A few hands held the iron fencing at the window, and a fuzzy face squeezed against the metal, watching Liuzi. Liuzi realised he had been picked up by the legendary ‘homeless catchers,’ the guys enforcing the C&R – custody and repatriation – policy. From what Liuzi had heard about the shelters, men and women were huddled together without food or water, the smell of sweat gathering around them, and they were subjected to plenty of blows, kicks, and foul language. Liuzi wasn’t afraid of any of this. He was only afraid he would see Yihua there, bringing money to rescue him. It would be humiliating – not the least bit romantic.
Liuzi walked limply, in an obedient attitude. When he reached the car, he twisted and suddenly broke free and ran. But before he could kick off the slippers from his feet, he was wrestled to the ground. Several hard shoes kicked him. ‘Motherfucker, damn beggar! Who asked you to run? Where’d you think you’d go?’
Lying on the ground and suffering kicks had never been Liuzi’s style. He wanted to stand up and play his usual role, showcasing his own talents on the other end of this transaction. But unfortunately, his arms and legs lost their freedom. He was like a pig pushed into the slaughter car, carried by his four limbs. Everything around him was dark and smelled of blood.
*
The tractor, crammed full of people, drove to the police station, where it was unloaded, then went back onto the streets to make more collections. The whole courtyard was crowded. Men and women sat in a disorderly mob on the ground. Mosquitoes and moths flew around the incandescent lamp. Liuzi was singled out and enclosed in a cell of five or six square metres. More than a dozen people, men and women, were packed inside, skin to skin. There was only room to stand. Those at the front stood against the iron gate, waiting for release. Those in the back could only stare at the back of the heads of the people in front of them. As the night grew more solemn, some people were bailed out, while others were left behind.
It was hot, and everyone was sweaty. Body odour spread around the room. Liuzi was pressed against a heavily made-up woman. She was calm. Her hands clutched the iron gate, and she constantly watched the sky across from her, waiting for her boyfriend to bail her out. Seeing that Liuzi was also from Hunan, she was quite friendly toward him. She loaned him her cell phone, saying that if they did not make bail that night, they would be taken somewhere else the next day. Nowadays, if the cops in other parts of the country did not catch people, they had no income, so they came here to buy people, earning a higher bail price when they got back. Those who were not bailed out there, would live a slave’s life or would be sold to other shelters.
The heavily made-up woman said it was her third time ‘entering the palace.’ The last time, she had been a step too slow and had been passed along to another shelter.
Liuzi laughed and said, ‘Well, that’s good. At least you get
to travel for free.’
The woman spat and retorted, ‘Shit, I spent 2000 yuan in bail over there. It’s at most 500 here.
‘It’s a little expensive over there,’ Liuzi said.
Yihua did not answer the phone. Liuzi guessed she was busy. He called five or six times before he finally heard her voice.
He said, ‘Huahua, it’s Liuzi. You OK?’
Yihua grunted and said, ‘I’m at work. If something’s wrong, tell me. If not, I need to go.’
‘Huahua, I’m really not a good bodyguard. . .’
‘Are you being annoying?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Ma Liujia, go do what you want to do. Don’t you know I’m busy at work?’
‘I can’t do anything right now. I’ve been sent to the police station.’
‘Serves you right. What did you do?’
‘I went out without my ID.’
‘Where are you?’
‘Lancun. Damn. I just wanted to go to second-hand street and buy that blue dress for you.’
‘Don’t worry. I’ll just call Lu Mingliang to come cover my shift.’
‘OK. You have my keys, don’t you? You could bring my ID. Also, you’ll need to bring five or 600 yuan. I can’t get out without money.’
‘Got it. Just wait for me.’
‘Whatever you do, don’t make me wait until tomorrow morning. That would be goodbye forever!’
‘Then I’ll go collect your corpse.’
*
By the time Yihua rushed to Lancun Police Station, it was already midnight. The gate was closed, and there was a man on duty. She knocked on the window and explained her purpose. The officer on duty was a stocky young fellow, badge number 007. Seeing Yihua was quite pretty, he smiled and asked if she was half-Indian. She had not yet removed her makeup before coming out. The false eyelashes curled lusciously, her eyeshadow was heavy, and her eyes dark and round. She was anxious to bail Liuzi out. She did not want to carry on and on with this fellow.
Officer 007 flipped through the data, and asked who Ma Liujia was to her. Yihua said it was none of his business, and she had brought the money and ID. She lay the documents out. He picked up Yihua’s ID card and compared it to her person. He said, ‘You’re originally from Hunan. I hear Hunan girls are passionate.’
Saying this, he took out a City Shelter Registration Form and read, ‘. . . loitering in the street, met an officer and was questioned by him. Officer discovered that I did not have a Temporary Residence Permit, and took me to the Lancun Police Station . . . Oh, Yihua, this Ma Liujia was just taken to a shelter.’
When she heard 007 say her name, she felt an immediate connection to him. She thought he was a nice fellow, so she asked why Liuzi had been sent to the shelter. Double-o-seven said he was going to be sent home.
Yihua laughed and said, ‘Going home is alright. He’s about to go home anyway. Just means he saves the ticket fare.’
Double-o-seven wrinkled his mouth and said, ‘If the incentive was that good, everyone would hang a “homeless” sign on themselves and wait on the streets to get picked up.’
Yihua thought the same thing. It made the police station seem like a welfare organisation. But she still didn’t quite understand, so she asked 007, ‘Ma Liujia isn’t a homeless person or a beggar. Why do they want to pick up an able-bodied fellow like him?’
Double-o-seven said, ‘You need to look at the regulations and see what sort of people we have the authority to pick up under the C&R system.’
He wrote down his phone number and gave it to Yihua, saying that if she had any more questions she could continue to ask him. Then he added, ‘The shelter is quite far from here. There won’t be anyone there to take care of bail procedures tonight. It’s best you go in the morning.’
Yihua could not sleep that night, thinking of things that had happened with Liuzi; the smashing of Dai Xinyue’s shop, the threats to the fish net factory’s owner, and the train journey southward. Inwardly, she admitted that Liuzi was a good bodyguard and a good scoundrel. He was much more reliable than those self-righteous, successful people. Mingliang had been played by a gentleman, and his manner had been quite underhanded, so she had come to see things in the light of Mr Zhou’s advice of not being emotionally involved, and was forever warning Yihua. In fact, Yihua did not need these warnings. She had watched her parents fight since she was little. She had no illusions about how things were between men and women, and certainly no illusions about romance. She did not understand how two people who had battered one another so badly could still share a bed. She even hoped they would divorce. Once, she had asked Liuzi if he would hit a woman, whether he would beat his wife, when he married. Liuzi had replied, ‘A man who beats his wife is an inferior man.’
Just as well, Yihua had already forgotten that blue dress. When Liuzi mentioned it, she thought about it again. She lay on the bed staring at the ceiling and could not fall asleep. She thought about going to bail Liuzi out of the shelter, going straight to second-hand street to buy that blue dress, then finishing up with a bowl of Hui Lau Shan mango dessert. Later in the night they could enjoy some spicy crawfish, watch a movie, and then afterwards, go back to Liuzi’s place, where she would remove the obstacles between them and take off every piece of clothing they wore, then the two of them finally engage in a solid embrace in bed. Yihua had thought it all through, and her heart was now filled with delight. Her spirit relaxed, and she suddenly felt very sleepy. Before long, she was sleeping so soundly she could have been mistaken for a corpse.
My sister, harassed by her husband until she could no longer take it, was forced to leave the tailor shop. She had been to apply for all sorts of jobs: a nanny, restaurant staff, hotel cleaner. The pay was low at all of these places, and there was no freedom, so she was not quite willing to take them up. Jobs that involved technical skill offered higher wages, but always had academic requirements. If Zhima had not come making trouble, my sister would have been happy working in the tailor shop. She was also unwilling to return to the village and live her life with both feet stuck in the mud. The night my sister had screamed at Zhima that she wanted a divorce, she woke herself up. She went back and consulted the well-educated Shui Qin.
Shui Qin advised, ‘It’s better to destroy ten temples than break up a marriage. I won’t encourage you to divorce. You have always lived for others, but if you decide you want to live for yourself from now on, I’ll support your decision.’
My sister said, ‘So, do you mean it’s better to divorce or not?’
Shui Qin said, ‘I’m not you, so I can’t make the decision for you. It’s you who has to live with the decision. Give it more thought. If you really can’t carry on, there’s no point in forcing yourself.’
Chuntian added, ‘You’re so ambiguous, like the fortune teller in Lanxi Town.’
Shui Qin smiled sadly and replied, ‘Aren’t we all calculating our own fortune. You calculate as you live, and sometimes it pans out according to your calculations, but sometimes you come up empty. Look at me, my golden goose is flying away.’
The principal, Ms Wu, was soon to be transferred to the Propaganda Department, destroying the plan to cooperate on the deal for the school uniforms, and also affecting Xianxian’s future. This was all simmering in Shui Qin’s mind, but she did not talk much about it. The tables turned as she complained to my sister. She said that life had not been easy for her since she married. Shunqiu was always sick, not earning a cent and always running to the hospital. Everything at home depended entirely on her, so it was hard to say which of the two of them was actually better off. She also mentioned which families’ husbands could earn money, and how blessed their wives were.
My sister grew uncomfortable as she listened, thinking, But Shunqiu was so exhausted when he was out catching frogs all night, and he earned so much money for you. How can you forget that? Chuntian did not want to turn against Shui Qin, so she just said that there was no one who cared more for his family than Shunqiu. If his health a
llowed, he would not be idle for a moment. His luck was just too bad. He had met with one misfortune after another. He had really fallen on evil days!
Shui Qin sensed that Chuntian was defending our brother. She grunted and steered the conversation back to the question of Chuntian’s divorce.
At first, my sister really had intended to get Zhima to go into town and manage a small stall. Working hard in the fields always ended up incurring a loss, and the work was hard. Every time she saw someone who had gone into town to work, coming back in gold and silver, brilliant and refined as they celebrated the New Year, she was jealous. That detestable Zhima did not like the city, and he repeatedly brought her back to the village. It was utter chaos. In the past, she had always given way to him; it had been going on for more than a decade now. She did not want to give way anymore. In fact, at this point, she didn’t even want him to give way to her.
Chuntian went to an agency again. It was a small shop of about two or three square metres wide with a table, chair, telephone, and small fan. There was a wooden noticeboard plastered with many recruitment notices, which all looked old.
The girl who worked there had a ponytail. She flipped through a dirty little book filled with words and numbers, her eyes followed her finger as it slid down the page. The finger stopped at a row of numbers, and her mouth read out the number. The girl with the ponytail made several phone calls. In each case, either the position had already been filled or the party on the other end of the line said Chuntian was too old. Even a small restaurant said they didn’t want anyone over twenty-five. The girl with the ponytail said, ‘My client is quite nice looking. She looks young, and she’s good-tempered. Why don’t you just interview her, then see what you think?’