Explore Chapter 11 of '彷徨' with the original Chinese text, English translation, detailed Chinese vocabulary explanations, and audio of the Chinese original. Listen and improve your reading skills.
A chorus of voices immediately rose in a buzz inside the boat, and a few among them even clasped their fists in salute. At the same time, four seats along the side bench were vacated. Zhuang Musan acknowledged the greetings and sat down, leaning his long pipe against the boat's side. Aigu took a seat to his left, positioning her feet shaped like reaping hooks in a V-shape directly opposite Basan.
"Seventh Master?" Basan's eyes widened. "Is the old gentleman going to speak up too? That's... Well, actually, last year we tore down their kitchen stove, so we've already vented our anger. And besides, if Aigu were to go back there, it's not much of a life, really..." He then lowered his gaze.
"It's not that I'm eager to go back there, Brother Basan!" Aigu declared indignantly, lifting her head. "It's the principle! Just think - that 'little beast' takes up with a widow and wants to cast me aside. Is it that easy? The 'old beast' only sides with his son and rejects me too. How very convenient! What about Seventh Master? Just because he exchanges name cards with the county magistrate, does that mean he won't talk sense? He can't be as thick-headed as Master Wei, who just drones on about 'a clean break being best.' I want to tell him about all the hardship I've endured these years, and then we'll see who Seventh Master thinks is in the right!"
From diagonally opposite, a fat man sitting next to Basan pulled a flint striker from his belly pouch, struck a spark onto the tinder, and held it to the pipe bowl for him.
"Though this is our first meeting, Uncle Mu, your name has long been known to me," the fat man said respectfully. "Yes, in all the three-times-six-eighteen villages along this coast, who hasn't heard of you? We all knew early on that the Shi family's son had taken up with a widow. Last year, when you led your six sons to tear down their stove, who didn't say it served them right?... You, sir, move in high circles, your influence is wide - what have you to fear from them?..."
"They can't just cast me aside. Whether it's Seventh Master or the Eighth Lord, I'll make sure their family is ruined and scattered! Didn't Master Wei advise me four times already? Even Father began to feel dizzy-eyed over the compensation money..."
"But I heard that at the end of last year, the Shi family sent Master Wei a feast, Uncle Eighth," said the crab-shell-faced man.
"That doesn't matter," Wang Degui said. "Can a feast blind a man's judgment? If a feast could do that, what about sending grand banquets? Educated men who understand propriety are here to speak justly for others. For instance, if one man is bullied by many, they step forward to uphold fairness - they don't care whether there's wine offered or not. At the end of last year, Master Rong from our humble village returned from Beijing. He's seen the great world, not like us country folk. He said the foremost figure there now is Madame Guang, who's tough as..."
The boat continued on in the new silence; the sound of water became audible again, gentle and lapping. Basan began to doze off, his mouth gradually falling open towards the opposite pair of reaping-hook feet. In the front cabin, two old women also started humming Buddhist chants in low voices. They fingered their prayer beads, glanced at Aigu, exchanged looks, pursed their lips, and nodded.
Aigu stared fixedly at the canopy overhead, her mind mostly occupied with visions of how she would ruin their family: the "old beast" and the "little beast" both driven to utter desperation. She held Master Wei in no regard, having met him twice - just a round-faced, stubby little fellow. There were plenty like him in her own village, only their faces were just a shade darker and more purplish than his.
Zhuang Musan had long smoked his pipe to the bottom, the fire forcing the tobacco tar at the bowl's bottom to sizzle, yet he kept on drawing. He knew that once past Wangjia Wharf, they would reach Pang Village; and indeed the village's Kuixing Pavilion was now clearly in sight. He had been to Pang Village many times - it was nothing special - and to Master Wei's place. He still remembered his daughter returning in tears, the wickedness of his in-laws and son-in-law, and how they had later been made to suffer. At this thought, past scenes unfolded before his eyes. Whenever it came to the part about punishing his in-laws, he would usually smile a cold smile, but not this time. For some reason, a portly Seventh Master now loomed in his mind, jumbling up the neat sequence of his thoughts.
The boat continued on in persistent silence; only the Buddhist chants grew louder. Everything else seemed immersed in contemplation alongside Uncle Mu and Aigu.
As they stepped through the black-varnished gate, they were invited into the gatehouse. Behind the gate, two tables were already filled with boatmen and long-term laborers. Aigu dared not look at them directly, but with a furtive glance, she saw no trace of the "old beast" or the "little beast."
When a servant brought out the New Year cake soup, Aigu grew increasingly uneasy without knowing why. "Just because he exchanges name cards with the county magistrate, does that mean he won't talk sense?" she thought. "Educated men who understand propriety uphold fairness. I must explain everything to Seventh Master in detail, starting from when I married over at fifteen and became a daughter-in-law..."
There were many objects in the drawing room she had no time to examine closely, and many guests, the dark, glossy satin of their mandarin jackets shimmering. Among them, the first her eyes fell upon was a man - this must be Seventh Master. Though he too had a round face, he was far more imposing than Master Wei. His large, round face bore two narrow slits for eyes and a fine, jet-black beard. His head was bald, but his scalp and face were ruddy and gleamed with an oily sheen. Aigu found it most peculiar, but immediately explained it to herself: he must have rubbed pork fat on it.
"This is a 'jade stopper', used by the ancients to seal the body's orifice during grand burials," Seventh Master said, holding a stone-like object. He rubbed it by his nose twice and added, "A pity it's from a 'new pit.' Still, it's worth buying - no later than the Han dynasty. Look, this spot here is 'mercury permeation'..."
Several heads immediately gathered around the "mercury permeation." One was naturally Master Wei; there were also several young masters whom Aigu had failed to notice earlier, having been pressed down by the imposing aura like flattened bedbugs.
She didn't understand the latter part. Having no intention, and not daring, to study the "mercury permeation," she stole a glance around the room. She saw that right behind her, pressed against the wall near the door, stood the "old beast" and the "little beast." Though it was only a glimpse, compared to the time she had seen them half a year before, they had clearly aged.
Then everyone began to disperse from around the "mercury permeation." Master Wei took the jade stopper, sat down, stroked it with his fingers, and turned to speak to Zhuang Musan.
"You really shouldn't have troubled yourselves to come during the New Year festivities. But, it's still about that matter... I think you've made enough of a fuss. Hasn't it been over two years now? I believe grudges are better resolved than nursed. Since Aigu's husband was at fault and her in-laws were displeased... it's still best to part ways, as we've said before. My influence isn't great enough to persuade them. Seventh Master is most fond of upholding fairness, as you know. Now Seventh Master's opinion is the same as mine. But Seventh Master says both sides should swallow a bit of misfortune. Have the Shi family add ten dollars more: ninety-nine!"
Aigu felt the danger deepening. She wondered why her own father, whom the coastal villagers usually held in some fear, was now struck speechless here. She thought this utterly unnecessary. Ever since hearing Seventh Master's remarks, though she hadn't fully understood them, she somehow felt he was actually amiable and approachable, not as terrifying as she had previously imagined.
"Seventh Master is educated and understands propriety, perfectly clear-headed," she mustered her courage. "Not like us country folk. I've had grievances with nowhere to turn; I've been wanting to lay them before Seventh Master. Ever since I married into that family, I've kept my head bowed going in and going out, never failing in a single rite. Yet they deliberately set themselves against me, every one of them looking fierce enough to vex Zhong Kui, the demon queller himself. That year when the weasel killed the big rooster, was it really because I hadn't shut the coop properly? It was that cursed, mangy dog stealing the bran-mixed rice that pushed the coop door open. And that 'little beast,' without asking black from white, slapped me right across the face..."
"I know there was a reason for it. This can't escape Seventh Master's discerning eye; educated people know everything. He's just been bewitched by that cheap slut and wants to drive me out. But I was formally betrothed with the three teas and six ceremonies and carried here in a bridal sedan! Is it that easy?... I'm determined to show them what I'm made of. I don't mind going to court. If the county won't do, there's still the prefecture..."
"Seventh Master is aware of all that," Master Wei said, lifting his face. "Aigu, if you don't change your tune, you won't gain anything. You're always like this. Look how sensible your father is. You and your brothers aren't like him. If you sue all the way to the prefecture, do you think the officials won't consult Seventh Master? Then it'll be 'official business handled officially.' You'll simply..."
"This is hardly a matter of staking your life," Seventh Master finally spoke slowly. "You're still young. One should be more amiable: 'Harmony brings wealth.' Isn't that so? For me to add ten dollars right off is already reasoning from beyond the heavens. Otherwise, if your in-laws say 'Go!', then go you must. And not just in the prefecture, but even in Shanghai, Beijing, or foreign lands - it's all the same. If you don't believe me, ask him - he's just returned from a Western-style school in Beijing." He then turned to a sharp-chinned young master. "Isn't that so?"
Aigu felt herself utterly isolated. Her father was silent, her brothers dared not come, Master Wei had originally sided with the other party, Seventh Master now seemed unreliable, and even the sharp-chinned young master was cowering like a flattened bedbug, chiming in with the prevailing wind. Yet in her muddled mind, she still seemed resolved to make one final struggle.
"How can even Seventh Master..." Her eyes filled with astonishment and disappointment. "Yes... I know. We're coarse folk who know nothing. It's all my father's fault for not understanding the ways of the world, always muddle-headed. We just let the 'old beast' and 'little beast' manipulate us. They scurry about like messengers of bad news, scrambling through dog holes to curry favor..."
"Seventh Master, you see," the "little beast" who had been silently standing behind her suddenly spoke. "This is how she still is before you, sir. At home, she makes life unbearable for man and beast alike. She calls my father 'old beast' and calls me, over and over, 'little beast' and 'bastard runt'."
"And who's the son of a whore who's lain with a hundred thousand men that calls you 'bastard runt'?" Aigu turned her head and shouted, then addressed Seventh Master again. "I have more to say before everyone. He never spoke a decent word to me - 'lowborn brat' with every opening, 'whore's spawn' with every closing. Ever since he took up with that slut, he's even dragged my ancestors into the mud. Seventh Master, you judge for me, this..."
She gave a shudder and stopped short, for she saw Seventh Master suddenly roll his eyes upward, tilt back his round face, and from his mouth, framed by his fine beard, emit a loud, drawn-out sound.
Her heart seemed to stop, then began to pound wildly. It felt as if all was lost, the situation utterly transformed. She felt like someone who had stumbled into deep water, yet knew this was truly her own fault.
The entire drawing room was hushed, not a sparrow's chirp to be heard. Seventh Master's lips moved, but no one could make out what he said. Yet the man had heard, and the force of the command seemed to penetrate his very marrow, making his body twice shudder as if his hair were standing on end. "Yes," he replied.
Aigu knew something unexpected was about to happen, something utterly unforeseen and impossible to guard against. Only now did she realize Seventh Master's true authority. It had been her own misunderstanding earlier, hence her excessive boldness and rudeness. Filled with regret, she involuntarily said:
"Exactly! Seventh Master is truly fair, and Aigu is truly sensible!" he exclaimed in praise, then turned to Zhuang Musan. "Old Mu, you naturally have nothing to say now - she's agreed herself. I assume you've brought the red and green marriage certificates, as I informed you. Well then, let's all produce them..."
Aigu saw her father reach into his belly pouch to pull something out. The rod-like man also returned, handing a small, black, flat, turtle-shaped object to Seventh Master. Fearing a last-minute change, Aigu quickly glanced at Zhuang Musan and saw he had already opened a blue cloth bundle on the tea table and was taking out silver dollars.
Seventh Master detached the turtle's head and tipped something from its body into his palm. The rod-like man took the flat object away. Seventh Master then dipped a finger from his other hand into his palm and stuffed it into his nostrils twice, immediately turning them and his philtrum a scorched yellow. He wrinkled his nose as if about to sneeze.
Zhuang Musan was counting the silver dollars. Master Wei took a few from the uncounted stack and returned them to the "old beast." He then swapped the positions of the two red and green certificates, pushing them toward both parties, saying:
"Keep these safely. Old Mu, make sure you count correctly. This isn't child's play - matters of money..."
"Thank you, Master Wei. We won't drink. We have other matters..." Zhuang Musan, the "old beast," and the "little beast" all said, retreating respectfully.