Miss Chopsticks

by Xinran

  Five looked up in surprise, and her hands froze.

  ‘That’s right, I’m a bastard,’ continued Mei Mei. ‘I’m not afraid of telling you because I know you won’t pour scorn on me, or tell the others. My parents didn’t get married because my father deceived my mother. He was her teacher at a medical school in Shandong Province. He seduced her by saying he’d help her with her study, but when she became pregnant he told her he was married, with a son. My mother was expelled from the university for extra-marital pregnancy and sexual misbehaviour.’

  ‘That’s not fair!’ Five said furiously.

  ‘Thank you, Five. I know it isn’t fair, but things like this have been going on for thousands of years, and usually it is women who turn other women in. My mother said that, in the early eighties, you had to show your marriage certificate or papers from your husband’s work unit to get an abortion, otherwise nobody would help you because you were committing the crime of sexual misbehaviour. The only other option was to hide in the countryside and have your baby there. But my mother knew nobody in the country. Eventually, a cleaner at the university took pity on her, and took her to her home, a little village at the foot of Mountain Song where the Shaolin Temple is, and she gave birth to me there. After that, she had nowhere to go until, in 1984, the chance came to work in a herbal medicine shop in Hefei. At first she couldn’t take consultation fees because she had no medical qualifications, but gradually word spread of her skill. A local official came for a consultation and Mum cured his bad back. He pulled some strings to get her a permit to practise medicine …’

  ‘Was it very hard for you when you were a child?’ asked Five, trying to imagine what it would be like to grow up with the stigma of being a bastard.

  ‘My mother never told me the truth,’ said Mei Mei. ‘I always thought my father had died young of an illness. Then in my second year of senior school, a boy from Shandong transferred to my class. His parents had worked in the medical school where my mother studied, and he told everyone that she was a loose woman, and that I was a bastard. I ran home in tears and asked my mother if it was true. She cried until two or three in the morning without speaking, then she came to sit by my bed to tell me about where I came from …

  ‘I was so shocked, it was as if I’d been struck by lightning from a clear sky. I was only seventeen and the idea of being branded a bastard was unbearable. I didn’t believe my mother had been a victim: I thought there must have been something wrong with her morals … And so I took my ID card, and what little money we had in the house, and got on a train. I didn’t even look to see where it was going, I just stayed on board till it stopped. When it did, I found out I was in Nanjing. I hadn’t realised I would need a letter of introduction to stay in a guesthouse so I spent the night at a bathhouse. It cost me ten of the fifteen yuan I had. When I look back now I can’t imagine what I was planning to do. I was walking down Zhongshan Road when I saw the big dragon’s mouth, and heard Banyue talking to someone about looking for new workers. So I went up and asked if they needed anyone. When they heard I knew a bit about medicine and that I came from a family of doctors, they sent me to foot-massage classes.

  ‘But what about your mother?’ asked Five.

  ‘I tried not to think about her,’ replied Mei Mei. ‘It was only when I had finished my three months of training that I could bring myself to contact her. I telephoned the medicine shop, but they told me she had been in hospital for several months. I asked for the number of the hospital, and got through to my mother. Both of us were crying too hard to speak. Since then we’ve talked to each other on the telephone once a week, and my mother came to Nanjing for Spring Festival this year. If I get into medical school, she plans to leave the shop in Hefei and come to live with me here. I could never go back to Hefei. It holds too many bad memories for me …’

  ‘You must want to get into medical school very much,’ said Five, trying to rub Mei Mei’s feet in the way that would feel nicest for her.

  ‘So much! I have to become a doctor so that I can repay my mother for all that she has suffered on my behalf …’

  For the rest of the Labour Day holiday, Five and Mei Mei were silent, each immersed in her own thoughts and memories. Five thought about how cruel fate could be to women, and how much her own mother had suffered. Mei Mei’s story, and the things she had overheard that night at the Tiger Stove, had made Five realise that life was less black and white than she had believed it to be. The Dragon Water-Culture Centre was full of stories that she never would have heard back in her village. If she listened carefully there was so much she could learn.

  9

  Three Falls in Love

  The Chinese say that if Chance brings two people together but they have no Time, love will not flourish. Nor will love grow if two people have the time to spend with each other but no feeling in their hearts. The only true love is when Chance and Time are in harmony.

  For Three, there was no such thing as love. As far as she understood it, when a certain moment came in a man’s life, he would go out and ‘bring back’ a woman, or, alternatively, a woman would be ‘brought’ to him in exchange for a sister, or another female relative, who would be ‘taken away’ to marry into his new wife’s family. Chance or Time didn’t come into it; it was simply a question of being ‘taken’.

  Three was absolutely determined that this would not happen to her. After all, hadn’t her father ‘taken’ her mother – and look what had become of her. It was as if he had gone out and brought back a tool to have children, make clothes, cook, do the housework, raise the pigs, feed the dogs, and endure injustice and hardship. If wanting a man meant living that kind of life, Three would gladly do without one.

  She was aware that it wasn’t easy to avoid such a fate. From an early age, Three had used her eyes and her ears, listening to village gossip and observing the goings on around her. Clearly, in certain seasons, people were on heat, just like animals. But why did women have to pay with the rest of their lives simply for wanting a man on a spring morning? It seemed to Three that people were far more stupid than beasts: a sow could give birth to ten piglets and then suckle them all, while people only managed one baby at a time, or two at most; newborn animals could open their eyes and stand up a few days after birth, but newborn people lay around for over a year before they could take their first step. The chickens in the yard were as free as air; they didn’t allow themselves to be pushed around by the cocks … It was said that people distinguished themselves from animals by their skills, but as far as Three was concerned, no amount of skill could save you from pain and suffering. Her mother was the most capable woman in the village, yet her life had no sweetness: she was rated lower than a beast just because she had been unable to bear a son. Fortunately Li Zhongguo was basically a decent man, unlike some husbands, who beat and cursed their wives for not giving birth to a ‘roof-beam’. He hadn’t smothered or drowned a girl child and left her mother’s heart bleeding. But who was to know what any future husband of Three’s might be like? He might be worse than her father … The older Three got, the more her dread grew. She could see no alternative: for a woman, a man was the root of all troubles and a source of bitterness.

  But Three could not remain a stone-hearted girl for ever. Just as spring must come before flowers open, young girls need the right circumstances for love to grow in their hearts. When Three’s heart began to put forth buds and green shoots, there was nothing she could do, no matter how hard she tried to resist.

  Three ’s love arrived in the midst of an argument. One day, just as the lunchtime rush was starting at the Happy Fool, three men came into the restaurant and ordered a bowl of bean-flour noodles, a dish of fried greens and three glasses of beer. Wang Tong had popped out to the market, so Three was alone with the cook. She dealt with the order as fast as she could and, within five minutes, was back at the table with the food. But as soon as she had turned away to deal with other customers, one of the men hurled his beer glass to the floor and stood up.r />
  ‘Is the idea to treat everyone like fools in this restaurant just because it’s got a foolish name?’ he shouted. ‘I’ve just found a worm in my fried greens! People go on about how fresh your vegetables are. Too right! You don’t even bother to wash them – just chuck ’em straight into the wok, mud, worms and all. Look at this, everyone! This worm may be the same colour as the veg, but it wouldn’t be here if they’d washed the leaves properly. Can you see? It’s still moving …’

  At this, one of the man’s companions stood up and started carrying the offending plate around, displaying it to the other customers. Within seconds the restaurant was in turmoil, with everyone using their chopsticks to explore their food in search of insect life. Three was terrified. In all her two and half years at the Happy Fool, she had never encountered such a situation.

  ‘Brothers …’ she said, rushing up to the men. But they interrupted her as soon as she opened her mouth.

  ‘Who are you calling “Brother”?’

  ‘Uncles …’ Three tried again.

  ‘How old do you think we are?’

  Poor Three was overcome with confusion. What was the appropriate form of address? Grabbing at straws she tried ‘xiansheng’, forgetting that, while in the countryside this word means ‘sir’, in the city it means ‘husband’.

  The men roared with laughter.

  ‘You think we’re going to marry a woman who puts worms in her food? Not likely. But maybe you’re after something else, eh? Perhaps as well as reviving Nanjing’s venerable tradition of fresh vegetable cooking, you’re bringing back the ancient traditions of Face Powder Lane too … Well, what about it? Are you and your friends interested in sexual as well as culinary history?’

  Again, the men burst out laughing, all the while continuing to parade the plate around the room.

  Three was mortified. Diners were beating a hasty retreat while those customers who had been queuing at the door were rapidly making off down the street. At the same time, a large crowd of onlookers had gathered outside, and people were peering in through the window. Three gave a desperate look at the kitchen but the cook was nowhere to be seen. She was ready to throw herself at the feet of these men to stop them making a fuss.

  ‘Sirs, please forgive me this once,’ she cried. ‘I’ll give you your money back!’

  ‘You think that will be sufficient recompense? Get your boss out here! You can always tell a guilty boss when he hides himself away as soon as there’s trouble. Little girl, have you ever heard the word “compensation”? When the Americans find a bug in their food they get thousands of dollars in compensation. I don’t suppose you know how many yuan there are to the dollar, do you? Well, there are eight. So that makes tens of thousands of yuan. You reckon you can give us that?’

  The crowd at the window was growing so large that people were actually starting to make their way into the shop to watch the scene. A few were taking the opportunity to pocket the tableware. Three could feel herself shaking all over. Her heart was ready to leap out of her mouth; her hands and feet were numb. Gradually the men in front of her, with their big, angry mouths – like the howling mouths of ghosts – began to swim in and out of view. Three thought of her mother’s stories of people whose souls were stolen away by ghosts. Perhaps this was happening to her … She was just on the point of fainting when a man pushed his way to the front shouting, ‘Leave it! That’s enough!’

  Three came to her senses. Standing in front of her was a tall, burly young man in a white uniform with words ‘Yangzi Delta Hotel’ printed on it.

  ‘Muckraking, are you, with your little pieces of muck?’ continued the man. ‘Whoever’s seen a bug that’s been through the wok and come out alive? Or one with the mud still on it for that matter?’

  The young man carefully removed the wriggling worm from the plate of greens and held it up for everyone to see.

  ‘I’m a cook, but this is the first time I’ve come across a worm that’s been through hot oil and can still move. Now think about it, lads. The owners of this restaurant aren’t here right now, but I’ll bet that, as soon as they get back, they’ll go straight to their mates in the police. That’s right: their mates. These days you don’t get to open a shop by sheer hard work: you need a bit of help from your friends. When the cops arrive, you guys’ll be trapped here, and when they go through your pockets, they’ll find the mud left behind from carrying that worm with you. Now, I’m sure it’s our fate to be friends, and a good friend doesn’t like to witness another in distress … If I were you I’d hop it while you’ve still got the chance …’

  At that moment, Wang Tong’s voice could be heard calling through the crowd.

  ‘Let me through, what’s happened? Why are you all standing around gawping? Move over, let me in! What do you mean what am I shoving for? This is my restaurant! What are you shoving for? I’ll call the police! What d’you mean bugs in the vegetables? Even if there was a ghost in the vegetables you still couldn’t keep me out of my own restaurant! Out of the way, there! Three, Three!’

  As soon as Three heard Wang Tong’s voice, she dissolved into tears.

  Wang Tong got out her mobile phone in a show of calling the police while the young man began shooing away the crowd of spectators. Three was so overwhelmed by anxiety that she was hyperventilating and couldn’t speak. By the time Wang Tong had ascertained from the young man what had happened, the three troublemakers had slipped away.

  ‘Why did you let them go?’ she asked, distressed. ‘We should have handed them over to the police!’

  ‘Madam,’ said the man as he rearranged the tables that had been shoved to the edges of the room by the crowd, ‘this is a terrible business and the police should be informed about it. But I’m not sure whether they’d have done anything if they’d come here. You know what the police are like: they can’t cope with big things and won’t deal with small things. I’m sure you’ve got good connections in the right places, but why draw them into a small matter like this? Odds are, someone hired those thugs to cause trouble. Things are changing fast round here and there are people who are jealous of the success and good luck of others. I’m from the countryside. Before I came to Nanjing, I used to think that city people were different from country people, but now I’ve worked here for a few years I’ve discovered they’re all just the same. If someone is having problems, they all crowd round pretending to be sympathetic, but actually, deep down, they’re quite pleased because it makes them feel better about themselves. That’s why good news rarely makes it to your door, but bad news flies like the wind. If you ask me, today’s business is a good sign: it is a measure of your restaurant’s success that people are jealous of it. You might even attract customers now, because the clever ones will realise that the food you serve is free of pesticides. Have you heard? These days, rich people are telling their servants to buy vegetables with wormholes … Anyway, I think this girl here was really on the ball. Anyone else would have hidden in the kitchen while they smashed the place up. If she hadn’t handled things so well, they could have destroyed your restaurant. She’s very brave.’

  Three looked at the man in surprise. She had never imagined someone would call her brave when she had been almost too upset to cry or breathe. Overcome by shame, she thanked him for his help, but begged him not to trouble himself any more.

  ‘That’s right, we can manage, thank you,’ said the cook who had suddenly reappeared. ‘I was in the toilet when those men started shouting, but I’m here now.’

  Wang Tong and Three kept quiet. They were both certain that the cook, who had always been rather a coward and hated trouble, had hidden himself away during the fracas. But they did not say anything: for a Chinese man, losing face is worse than a beating.

  It was only then that it occurred to Wang Tong to ask the young man’s name.

  ‘Forgive me, sir,’ she said. ‘I’ve been so angry that I forgot to ask what our benefactor is called!’

  ‘No need to apologise. The name’s Ma, but ever
yone calls me Big Ma. I come from Anhui.’

  Three’s eyes lit up. ‘Whereabouts in Anhui? I’m from Anhui too!’

  ‘Well, they say that fellow countrymen greet each other with tears in their eyes,’ laughed Big Ma, ‘but I think it means a different kind of tears!’

  He had a big, infectious laugh and, to her embarrassment, Three found herself laughing too.

  Wang Tong bustled around them arranging chairs. ‘Let’s all sit down and have a drink together,’ she said. ‘Since you’re from Anhui too, Big Ma, that makes you practically family! I’ll put up the Closed sign and Wang, our cook, can bring you a few dishes. We’ll open again this afternoon, but for the moment we all need to get over the shock, otherwise our good luck won’t return. Doesn’t everyone say that “the God of Wealth doesn’t find those who aren’t easy in their minds”? Let’s all raise a glass to our new friend Big Ma and our clever Three!’

  Big Ma gave the hotel where he worked a quick ring and arranged to come back later. He confessed that he wasn’t actually a chef, but a hotel driver, and had been out collecting the dry cleaning. Then they all settled down for an enjoyable lunch.

  It was past two o’clock when they finished, but the suppertime rush wouldn’t start until five. Wang Tong suggested that Three take Big Ma to his van, then go for a little walk before starting work again. Three was only too happy to go with her rescuer and followed him into the street.

  It was the first time since Three was a little girl that she had accompanied a man through bustling crowds. She was very proud to have met Big Ma, but, at the same time, she was worried that, if someone she knew saw them, she would lose her reputation. After all, for a girl to walk by the side of a man could only mean one thing. She wondered what would happen if she met a customer from the restaurant and they asked her who he was and how they had met. How would she answer the question?