Remembering 1942

by Liu Zhenyun

  When Two-fifty heard the news he tossed caution to the wind and ran to the district building without waiting for his car. He stormed into Lu’s office and blurted out, “What kind of trick are you playing, Lao Lu?”

  Lu’s liver was acting up so much his forehead was bathed in sweat and he had to press a fountain pen cap against his abdomen to ease the pain. But he did not lose his head as he replied, “Sit down! Lao Chen.”

  Chen refused to sit, choosing to stand in the middle of the room instead.

  “You can tell me if you’re unhappy with me. But why stab me in the back?”

  “Who stabbed you in the back?” Lu was puzzled.

  “You, of course. Why isn’t my name on your recommendation list for commissioner? We’ve worked together a long time, Lao Lu, and you have to be fair. I’ve done a great job in rural and small enterprises and urban construction over the past two years. When the city couldn’t force stubborn homeowners to move, I was the one who cleared them out. I’m sure you know how much this year’s rural and small enterprises earned for us; how else would you be able to stay on as the district party secretary? But what has Jin Quanli done? Why is he on the list, and I’m not? This is unfair. He’s recommended because he knows the provincial secretary general, is that it? Is this how our party works? Let me tell you, Lao Lu, I won’t take this sitting down. I’m going to file a complaint at the provincial level. I’ll go all the way to the central committee if that doesn’t work.”

  Without waiting for an answer, he spun around and stormed out. Lu was shaking with rage as he pointed a finger at the open door.

  “How, how dare he, talk to me like that?”

  Yet once he calmed down he had to agree that the man wasn’t entirely unreasonable, even if he didn’t appreciate his rudeness and impertinence. Knowing he could not be angry with someone like that, he sighed and went back to work.

  Jin was equally unhappy with Lu when he learned about the list. He had been so close to a promotion the last time, and would have been promoted if not that the provincial committee wanted him to serve as a deputy a while longer. Since then, old Mr. Wu had expressed an intention for Jin to replace him, so how did someone from the district office appear out of the blue to block his way this time? It could only mean that Lu Hongwu didn’t think much of him. I’ve been here for nearly three years now, and I’ve never taken even a Sunday off, Jin fumed. I’ve done my best, and took over a thankless job no one else wanted. I may not have dealt with everything in the best way possible, but minor issues should never overshadow the main aspects of my performance. Yes, the way I dealt with the personnel issues might not have been altogether appropriate, since I placed personal relationships ahead of party principles, but I’m sure you would have done the same if you were in my shoes. No one can ignore personal relationships. Do you think you made it all the way to district party secretary without personal connections? If you insist on principles, then why were you on edge for days before the provincial secretary’s visit and even prepared two types of lunch? This is purely putting Marxism and Leninism into a flashlight—to shine on others but never on yourself! It’s all right if you want to shine it on others, but have you any idea how it affects me? I may not get the commissioner’s job this time and, at my age, if I don’t I’ll likely retire as a deputy. You’ll have essentially destroyed my future, and that’s just vile. I’ve treated you with the same respect I showed Mr. Wu, but you’re not as magnanimous or generous as he was and you lack the tolerance befitting someone in a leadership position.

  Jin was weighed down by these unhappy thoughts for days. Lu Hongwu had sent his recommendation up and it could not be changed, so it would be too late for Jin to talk to him. As they say, the rice has already been cooked. Jin could only sigh over his lousy luck for running into someone like Lu. It was hard not to miss Mr. Wu, which brought on self-reproach for not treating Wu’s wife better.

  Someone walked in unannounced one day while Jin was sitting in his office feeling glum. It was Lao Cong, the party secretary from Zhu County, not an ideal visitor at the moment, for Jin knew that his promotion had been affected by the way he dealt with Cong and others. But he had to conceal his feelings, for the sake of the work they had done together.

  “Have a seat,” Jin said.

  The mood in the office didn’t seem right to Cong, who knew what was on Jin’s mind, so he put on a smiling face.

  “You don’t look too happy.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We’ve heard. You’re placed in second for promotion because of us, and we feel bad. Lao Zhou and others asked me to come take you to Zhou’s county to get away from all the unhappiness.”

  Jin was moved. Cong hadn’t forgotten and wanted him to feel better when he was in a funk, even though what he’d done for Cong was nothing major. Yet he knew this wasn’t the time to go away, especially not to see Cong and others. That would be like putting his head in the noose. He smiled.

  “Thank you,” he said, “but I’m swamped these days. I’ll come see you all when I’m free.”

  Cong didn’t press Jin, for he understood what Jin was thinking. He got up with a smile.

  “Well. I’ll head over to the organization section.”

  “Something happened again?”

  “Time’s up for me, Lao Jin. I’m wrapping up my retirement paperwork. I’ll be an ordinary citizen starting tomorrow.”

  “Ah, so you’re retiring.” Jin walked over and grabbed Cong’s hands. So Cong was really leaving. Saddened by the news, Jin regretted his earlier displeasure. He was retiring while Jin would still be a deputy commissioner, which was a much better prospect. There was no need to be upset with Cong. He took hold of his arm.

  “Come have lunch with me when you’re finished.”

  “Thanks, but I have to hurry back. I need to pick up my wife from the countryside.”

  “I’ll come see you in a few days.”

  “I’ll be waiting for you.”

  “I promise.”

  They were both emotional.

  “I have something to say to you but I don’t know if I should say it, Lao Jin.”

  “Go ahead. Tell me.”

  “In all honesty, you’re as good as Lao Feng, actually might have the edge over him. You know Secretary Xiong, don’t you? Why don’t you go see him. A connection like that should not be abused, but it would certainly come in handy at a moment like this.”

  A light went on in Jin’s head. Cong was right. He could go see Xiong again, instead of waiting for his fate to be decided by others. Xiong had asked him to come visit in the note delivered by Xiao Mao. If he were willing to help, it would be child’s play for someone in his position to get him promoted. He was buoyed by the possible solution, and grateful for the reminder from an old friend, though he knew he shouldn’t advertise it.

  “That won’t do for me. You know how I am. I’ll be fine whether I get it or not, so there’s no need to work on someone like Secretary Xiong. Besides, I don’t want to trouble him with a matter like this.”

  “Then just pretend I didn’t say anything.” Cong knew exactly what Jin was getting at, so he shook hands and walked out.

  Jin went to see Xiong the following morning. He noticed a familiar car ahead when he was leaving the district office. When he got closer, he saw it was Two-fifty’s car, with its plate number ending in “250.” So he too was on his way to the provincial capital.

  “Take a different route,” Jin said to his driver.

  “But this is how we get to the provincial capital.” His driver was confused.

  “Do it, I said. Take a different route. It’ll get us there just the same.”

  Seeing Jin lose his temper for the first time, the driver turned off, away from “250.”

  10

  Jin did not rush over to see Xiong when he got to the provincial capital; instead he checked into a hotel before placing a call to Xiong. He gave his name to Xiong’s assistant, who had picked up the phone and asked him t
o wait. After a few minutes of anxious waiting, he heard Xiong’s voice:

  “Is that you, Lao Jin?”

  “I’m taking care of some business at the provincial government office and would like to come see you, Mr. Xiong. Will you have time to meet?”

  “Why are you so formal?” Xiong laughed. “I have a meeting this morning, so this afternoon will work. Come later in the day and I’ll wait for you.”

  Jin was pleased when he hung up. He had to be in luck to find Xiong so easily and get to see him that same afternoon, which could be a good sign. He went back to his room and, feeling sorry for blowing up at the driver earlier, said, “Come, Xiao Wang. Let’s get something to eat. My treat.”

  They went to the hotel restaurant, where Jin ordered food and chatted amiably with the driver, who laughed at his jokes. After lunch, he returned to his room, took a bath, and went to bed. He napped until one thirty before waking up the driver to take him to the provincial committee building. The guard stopped them at the gate, and they could go no further. Jin went to the reception room and placed a call to Xiong’s assistant, who came down to escort him.

  Xiong’s office was located in a two-story building surrounded by green cypresses.

  The assistant poured him a glass of water after they walked in.

  “Please wait a little while, Commissioner Jin. Comrade Xiong was free to see you, but something came up. He has go to the train station to meet a senior official from Liberation Army Headquarters who is passing through the city. He asked you to wait and said he’ll be back soon.”

  “Sure, I’ll wait. I know how busy Comrade Xiong must be.”

  The assistant sat at his desk to do some paperwork. Jin felt awkward, sitting stiffly on a sofa, not moving except to take a drink of water or check the wall clock.

  He waited for more than three hours, but Xiong was still not back by five thirty. It seemed pointless to wait any longer and, besides, Xiong’s assistant might laugh at him. He was about to get up and leave when he heard a car outside.

  “Comrade Xiong is back.” The assistant stood up.

  Jin stood up too. Xiong strode in when he spotted Jin. Poking him in the belly, Xiong said with a smile, “There you are. Sorry to make you wait so long. I had to see the old man off but the train was delayed for two hours.”

  “Secretary Xiong is a busy man and I don’t mind waiting. I was just wondering if I shouldn’t have come to bother you.”

  “Bothering me? You can go home now if that’s how you feel.” Xiong laughed, and so did Jin. “Let’s have dinner. What do you say?”

  The gloom Jin had felt while waiting for Xiong vanished.

  “That would be great.”

  “And something to drink?”

  “Of course.”

  Xiong looked at him and laughed again, before turning to his assistant.

  “Come have a drink with us.”

  “I have to go pick up my kid.” The man smiled while straightening a stack of paper.

  “Very well, you go pick up your kid and we’ll go have a drink. Let’s go, Lao Jin.”

  Xiong put his arm around Jin’s shoulder as they left the office. Instead of getting into Xiong’s car, they walked out of the office compound and down the street.

  “What shall we have, something fancy or a simple fare?” Xiong asked.

  “Whatever you like.”

  “In that case, we’ll have a simple dinner.”

  Xiong led Jin to a small diner on a quiet side street. They found a table and sat down. As usual, Xiong spread his arms out on the table and leaned forward to place his head on his hands while he talked, a gesture that immediately transported Jin back to a decade earlier. The dinner reminded him of the Dazhai Commune, and Xiong looked just like then; they’d fought over the bill.

  The diner wasn’t especially busy, so their food arrived quickly. Xiong took out a bottle of Yanghe from his coat pocket and gave it a shake.

  “We’ll polish this off today.”

  “Absolutely.”

  They toasted each other and Xiong asked after they’d each downed six glasses. “Why didn’t you come see me earlier?”

  “You’re the secretary general and I don’t want to look bad coming to see you all the time. I’ll only come when something is up.”

  “So you’re here to see me about something?”

  “No, not really. Just to see you.”

  “You’re contradicting yourself. I know why you came today,” Xiong said with a smile.

  Jin glanced at him and knew that Xiong had seen through him. He smiled awkwardly.

  “But I have to tell you I can’t help you this time. I hope you’ll understand.”

  Jin’s heart sank. Could Xiong have heard something, something negative about him? It would be helpless if that were the case. A chill rose inside and Jin felt drained of energy, but he tried not to show his disappointment.

  “You must have been mistaken, Secretary Xiong. You’ve done more than enough for me.”

  “I really can’t help this time, Lao Jin,” Xiong said. “Not because I won’t, but because I can’t. I’ll be transferred next month.”

  “What?” Jin was dumbfounded. “Transferred? You’re leaving?”

  Xiong nodded.

  “But, but how is that possible? Our province needs you. Where are you going?”

  “To be the deputy director at a research center in Beijing.”

  Jin knew about the place, a flashy unit with no real power.

  “Are you—is this a demotion? You’re First Secretary here.” It didn’t sound right to his own ears, but Xiong didn’t seem to mind.

  “Demotion or not, it’s still working for the party. That’s all.”

  “That can’t be!” A sudden rage had Jin pounding the table. “But why? Everything improved in the province after you came, and now they want to transfer you.”

  “I’m telling you this because we go way back. No one in the province knows about it yet. I’ve just been summoned to a meeting at Central Government headquarters.”

  “This isn’t fair.” Jin nodded before crying out again.

  “It was my own fault.” Xiong sighed. “I shouldn’t have come to this province; it was like jumping into a cesspool. There are things I can’t say to you, but you probably know some of them already. There are two factions in the provincial party committee. When the old secretary general retired, they had wanted to promote someone from inside the province, but the two factions fought so fiercely that I was transferred here to take over. I hadn’t expected the place to be a cesspool. Think about it, how could anything get done in the province if the people in the committee can’t work together? I don’t mind the transfer; at least I’ll be out of the filth. They can bring over someone better and see what he can do.”

  Jin was overwhelmed by what he’d just heard. He hadn’t been aware of the difficulties Xiong faced at work every day. On the outside Xiong was the First Secretary of the Provincial party Committee, but he had his own troubles to deal with. Who knew? In Jin’s view, Xiong deserved better than this. But the decision had been made and no one could change it. Feeling sorry for his old friend, Jin wanted to offer some comforting words but couldn’t find the right thing to say.

  “Why don’t I go to Beijing with you then,” Jin blurted out.

  Xiong chortled. “Are you all right with a demotion?”

  “Yes, I am.”

  “You should stay here. As a deputy commissioner, at least you have your own driver and a guesthouse. If you go to Beijing, you’d be a cadre at the bureau or the department level and will have to take the bus to work.”

  “It just gets me that things can be so unfair.”

  “Let’s not say any more about it. We need to adhere to party principles no matter where we are and watch our words. I just wanted to tell you that I can’t help you, so please accept my apology.”

  Jin realized that his own situation was nothing compared with Xiong’s. The reflection made him so emotional that he
reached out to take Xiong’s hands.