第七章 (Chapter Seven)

"Uncle! We've decided to go into the city together to find work."Wang De spoke first. "I want to see what the world is like. It's also necessary for Li Ying to find work. If we go together, we can look out for each other."

"Good!" Li Ying's uncle gave a slight smile.

"What I'm not at ease about is Lao Zhang not letting Li Ying leave."

"I'm afraid that after I'm gone, Lao Zhang will make trouble for you, uncle."

"Both of you, sit down. You still don't understand the nature of this problem. Lao Zhang cannot refuse to let Li Ying go. Nor can he come and make trouble for me. Right now, it's not merely a matter of money. It's about people!"

"Naturally, we are all people," said Wang De with a smile.

"The people I'm referring to are women!"

"Naturally, Mrs. Zhang is a woman!"

"Wang De! I don't want you interrupting for the moment. Wait until I've finished, then you can speak." Fearing Wang De might be displeased, Li Ying's uncle smiled at him. He then lit a paper spill and took several quick puffs on his pipe in succession. Setting the pipe down, he asked Li Ying for a bowl of cold water to rinse his mouth. He stood up, spat the water into a broken earthenware basin, and casually straightened the folds of his long gown.

"Wang De, Li Ying..." The uncle looked at the two youths. It was as if his gaze helped convey emotions his words could not. "The problem now is a woman. Li Ying! It's your sister!"

Involuntarily, Li Ying stood up. Guided by his uncle's gaze, he sat back down again without uttering a word.

"Don't be agitated. Listen to me slowly." The old man continued. "Mrs. Zhang was sold to Lao Zhang by her own brother. That was over a decade ago. He owed Lao Zhang a Debt, so she became a thing to settle the Debt. Now that she's somewhat old and ugly, Lao Zhang wants to follow the same recipe and buy your sister, because I also owe him money. He's hinted at it several times. I paid him no mind. I am not a beast! Li Ying! Fetch me another bowl of cold water!"

He lowered his head until it could go no lower. He drank down the bowl of cold water and handed the bowl back to Li Ying. He never looked up.

"But now, this is precisely your opportunity. Because until I agree to his marriage proposal, he absolutely will not act too viciously, lest it ruin the match. So, Li Ying, you go into the city. I guarantee Lao Zhang cannot refuse to let you leave. As for your teacher's wife, when Lao Zhang brings up the marriage proposal again, I will demand that he first release her. Only then can we discuss the marriage. I think he will certainly want some ransom money. If he indeed breathes a word of that, then it's our chance to win back your teacher's wife's freedom. That polychrome vase..." He still didn't raise his head, only pointed vaguely towards the table with his hand. "...is a valuable thing I refused to sell even when starving. Li Ying, your father gave it to me. Tomorrow, take that vase into the city. Ask your uncle to sell it. It should fetch at least a hundred dollars. Take twenty for finding work in the city. Leave the rest with your uncle. When Lao Zhang truly intends to return your teacher's wife's freedom, we'll have several dozen dollars to ransom her. As for her afterwards... if she freezes or starves to death on her own, we won't have the strength to care. Naturally, we hope to care. But we must let her die understanding she is a free person, not Lao Zhang's slave. If your teacher's wife regains her freedom, Lao Zhang will certainly force me to sign a paper selling my niece."

Li Ying's uncle stopped speaking. He picked up the water-pipe but did not smoke. He merely stared at it unblinkingly.

"Death is unavoidable. I fear Lao Zhang's laughter, yet I do not fear death!"

"Uncle!" Li Ying interrupted his uncle's words. "Can you not speak of 'death'?"

The old man did not answer.

"Lao Zhang! You... you..." Wang De could bear it no longer. He stood up, clenching his fists and shaking them towards the east, as if Lao Zhang stood just beyond the eastern wall.

"Wang De! Sit down!" Old Man Li stared blankly at the polychrome vase on the table.

Wang De sat down, thumping the edge of the kang angrily with his fist.

"I have wronged others. I have wronged Lao Zhang. To owe a Debt and not repay it, to use death as an evasion, is neither honorable nor heroic!" The old man's voice grew even fainter, like the fine rain of an autumn night, dripping coldly into the hearts of the two youths. "You, Wang De, Li Ying, remember this. Good men are the captives of evil men, if the good do not uphold justice and fight the evil. Good men are the arsenic of their own suicide, if their good hearts are merely weak, procrastinating, and cowardly. I myself am hopeless. I wish for you, in the future, to cut off the heads of evil men, not for you to dig out your own hearts to show them. As for money, you must remember this. Be careful in acquiring it. Be careful in spending it. In my own youth, I had a foolishly good heart. Money came to my left hand and went out my right. I have ended up today with no choice but to die. Death, I do not fear. Only, even in death, I will have wronged others. At the very least, I will have wronged Lao Zhang. In the past, I advocated 'repaying injury with kindness.' Now, it is 'repaying injury with justice.' In the past, I believed money could be spent freely but must not be obtained dishonorably. Now, money must not be obtained dishonorably, nor spent recklessly. Wang De, you have no need to go into the city. After Li Ying leaves, Lao Zhang will need help. He certainly will not treat you poorly because you fought with him. If you see Lao Zhang every day, you can at least find out for me how he plans to deal with me. However, I dare not oppose your aspirations. Whether to go to the city or not is for you to decide. From a practical standpoint, it seems there is no necessity to go. I have said all I have to say. Whether it is right or not, I dare not say. You may go now! Do not dwell on my death. I deserve to die!"

Old Man Li straightened his long gown and slowly lay down. He picked up a book to cover his face. His body remained completely still. Only the slight rise and fall of his chest betrayed his short, rapid breaths.

"If you could repay Lao Zhang's money, would you still seek death, uncle?" asked Wang De.

"How could I repay his money?"

"I'll go home and speak to my father. He'll lend you the money. Li Ying can repay my father slowly in the future."

"Silly child! Your father is not a man of means!"

"He has money! Dozens of dollars come in every harvest!"

"Dozens of dollars? That's your family's expenses for a year! Silly child, I thank you!"

Wang De was puzzled. So, a few dozen dollars did not make one rich. Then how much did one need to be considered well-off?

How unbearable was the stillness of a summer noon! The red apricots on the trees, the late wheat in the fields, all grew restless with the heat! Waves of hot wind carried the clamor from the city. The weary slept. Those who could not sleep listened, and listening, wept. At this moment, Wang De and Li Ying sat once more on the broken millstone. Wang De watched an ugly, molting old crow, turning its bald head left and right, wanting to steal a red apricot from the tree. Li Ying looked down, watching a swarm of ants besieging a tender green locust tree worm. With a swift nod, the old crow picked up a round, red apricot. It flapped its tattered wings and flew off, brushing past the fence. Wang De followed the crow with his eyes to a tree in the east. That ugly-hearted, sweet-toothed crow delivered the apricot into its nest. A cacophony of cawing, the laughter of young crows, scattered a simple, beautiful love.

Unconsciously, Li Ying wanted to brush away the little yellow ants clinging to the green worm. He forgot his hand was held tightly by Wang De. When he pulled his hand back, Wang De turned his head. "Li Ying!" "Ah! Wang De!" Their eyes met. This touch stirred the bitter ache in their tear ducts. Without the slightest shame or pretense, they began to cry.

Crying together, weeping before an intimate friend, and laughing together are mankind's only two truly cathartic acts.

"Are you finished crying? I am," said Wang De, wiping his reddened eyes.

"I won't cry anymore!"

"Good! It's time to laugh! Today's weeping and laughing, on this broken millstone, marks the beginning of our enterprise! Li Ying! Look ahead. Darkness is behind us, light is before us! Laugh!"

Wang De truly laughed. Puzzled, Li Ying could not help but feel a surge of joy. This joy finally squeezed the last tears from his eyes.

"Wang De, I still don't think you should go to the city."

"I must go! I have my own aspirations!" Wang De paused for a moment. "Li Ying, what about your sister?" His face reddened.

"My aunt and uncle will look after her."

"Is that so?" Wang De said nothing more.

"You should go home for dinner. If the elders won't allow you to go to the city, don't be stubborn."

"My father can't stop me. I have my own aspirations!" Wang De said, looking around. "Li Ying, where is my schoolbag?"

"Probably left it inside? Come in and look."

They walked in quietly. Old Man Li seemed to be in a drowsy sleep. Li Ying climbed onto the kang to fetch Wang De's schoolbag. The old man slowly opened his eyes.

"And Wang De?"

"He's here."

"Wang De! Don't speak to others of our affairs. Come here!"

Wang De went over. The old man took his hand and sighed. Wang De didn't know what to say. He just twisted his neck to look at Li Ying.

"Wang De! Youth is a crucial time! I... I am finished! Go now. Tell your father, when he has nothing to do, to come over for a chat."

Wang De made a sound of assent. He tucked his schoolbag under his arm and walked out. The old man watched Wang De through the small pane of glass set in the window and said to himself,

"Adorable! Adorable youth!"