Brothers (47 page)

Lin Hong's father walked back into the house and reported that he had shooed the idiot away. He reported that it had been quite difficult, because after every step that idiot would turn back around and stand there without moving as if he were a pile of dirt. The father concluded by citing Chairman Mao's aphorism that
if one doesn't make use of a broom, dirt wont disappear on its own,
then he spat out seven "idiots" in succession. When Lin Hong heard the seventh "idiot," she began to feel uneasy. She muttered to herself, "He isn't an idiot. He is just loyal."

Lin Hong's father winked at his wife and laughed to himself as he headed back into the courtyard. Another neighbor coming home after having bought some fried dough sticks for breakfast then remarked to Lin Hong's father, "The fellow you shooed away is still standing there."

"Really?" Lin Hong's father replied. He went back inside and walked up to the window. He rolled up the blinds and peeked out, and sure enough he saw Song Gang. Smiling, he told Lin Hong's mother to take a look as well, and she too saw Song Gang standing there with his
head bowed, looking utterly despondent. She couldn't help but laugh and told her daughter, "Song Gang has returned."

Lin Hong saw her parents’ knowing smiles and realized what they were thinking. She turned and faced the wall so they wouldn't be able to see her face. She recalled the events of the previous night, and again grew angry, saying, "Ignore him."

Lin Hong's mother said, "If you ignore him, he will continue standing there."

"Then make him go away," she pleaded.

This time it was Lin Hong's mother who went out. She walked over to Song Gang, who was standing there uneasily, and asked gently, "Why don't you leave now and come back in a few days?"

Song Gang stared at her in confusion, not understanding what she meant by this. Lin Hong's mother was able to see the bloody welt on Song Gang's neck clearly and asked him, "What's wrong with your neck?"

"I tried to kill myself," he replied uneasily.

"Kill yourself?"

"I tried to hang myself," said Song Gang, then added, embarrassed, "I didn't succeed."

Concerned, Lin Hong's mother walked back into the house and proceeded to her daughter's bed. She said that Song Gang had tried to hang himself, explaining that the previous evening she had noticed the bloody welt on his neck and this morning when she saw it again the welt appeared even deeper and thicker than before. She sighed and prodded Lin Hong, who was still lying there facing the wall, "You should go out and see him."

"I won't go." Lin Hong twisted her body around. "Let him die."

As Lin Hong said this she felt a stab of pain in her heart. She felt increasingly uneasy as she lay there thinking of Song Gang standing outside. The thought of the bloody welt on his neck made her even more distressed. Feeling an urge to go out and see him, she sat up and looked at her mother, who tactfully retired to the outer room. Lin Hong slowly got out of bed, washed her face and brushed her teeth, then sat in front of the mirror and began carefully combing her long hair, parting it into two braids. Then she stood up and announced to her parents, "I'm going to go buy some fried dough sticks."

When Song Gang saw Lin Hong emerge, he was so overcome he almost burst into tears. He hugged his shoulders as if he were cold and
kept opening his mouth, but no sound came out. Lin Hong glanced at him with no discernible expression, then walked past him to the fried dough shop. Song Gang, his body still damp with dew, followed closely behind, and when he finally succeeded in speaking, he said hoarsely, "Tonight at eight o'clock I'll wait for you under the bridge."

"I won't go," Lin Hong replied quietly.

She walked into the shop as Song Gang waited dejectedly outside. After she bought the fried dough sticks and came back out, she saw clearly the welt on Song Gang's neck, and her heart skipped a beat. At this point he cautiously suggested a different rendezvous site. "Should I wait for you in the grove behind the theater?"

Lin Hong hesitated a moment, then nodded. Song Gang was overjoyed but at a loss as to what to do next. He followed Lin Hong as she returned to the gate to her house. As she walked in she turned around and quietly gave him a sign to leave. He nodded and, after she had gone inside, finally turned around and left.

Song Gang spent the entire day in a daze. He fell asleep thirteen times at the factory—five times in a corner of the workshop, twice while eating lunch, three times while playing cards with his workmates, twice while leaning against the machinery, and once while peeing in the bathroom with his head resting against the wall. Then, as dusk approached, he excitedly proceeded to the grove behind the movie theater, pacing furtively back and forth like a fugitive along the path out front. Several acquaintances walked by and called out to him, asking what he was doing, but he only mumbled something incoherent. They laughed and asked if he had lost his wallet. He nodded, and they then asked if he had lost his wits, too. He nodded again, whereupon they laughed loudly and walked away.

That night Lin Hong was an hour late. Her beautiful figure slowly proceeded down the moonlit path, and Song Gang waved excitedly when he saw her. However, people were still walking about not too far from them, so she said quietly, "Don't wave, just follow me."

She walked toward the grove, with Song Gang following closely behind, and again said softly, "Don't follow so close."

Song Gang stopped, but, not sure precisely how far from her he should be, he merely stood there without moving. Lin Hong continued for a while before she noticed that he was still standing there, so she called out softly, "Come on."

Then he rushed forward again. Lin Hong walked into the grove,
with Song Gang close behind. She then proceeded to the center, looked around, and after confirming that they were alone, she finally stopped. She heard Song Gangs footsteps approach and then stop, leaving only the sound of his shallow breathing. Lin Hong knew that Song Gang was standing directly behind her. She stood there without moving, and Song Gang did the same. Lin Hong wondered why this idiot didn't come around in front of her. She waited for a while, but he still stood there, breathing shallowly Finally she had no choice but to turn around and saw him trembling in the moonlight. Looking closely at his neck, she could vaguely make out the red welt and asked, "What happened to your neck?"

Song Gang launched into a long, complicated explanation. Stammering and semi-incoherent, he explained how Baldy Li had forced him to say that phrase to her. After he had uttered it, he returned home and tried to hang himself—only Baldy Li happened to return and rescued him. Lin Hongs eyes kept tearing up as Song Gang told his story, and when he was finished, he stammered as he retold everything from the beginning. Lin Hong reached out and covered his mouth, telling him to say no more. When her hand touched his lips, his entire body started to tremble. She pulled away her hand, lowered her head, and wiped away her tears. Then she lifted her head and ordered, "Take off your glasses."

He quickly removed his glasses but didn't know what to do next. Lin Hong again commanded him, "Put them in your pocket."

Song Gang placed his glasses in his pocket but still didn't know what to do next. Lin Hong laughed affectionately, came forward, and caressed his neck. She pressed her lips against the welt on his neck and said protectively, "I love you, Song Gang. I love you."

Trembling, he embraced her and started to cry tears of joy—crying so hard that he couldn't catch his breath.

CHAPTER 36

S
ONG GANG
decided to move out of Baldy Li s home and live on his own. Afraid of encountering his brother, he snuck home during the day, packed all his clothing into that old travel bag, and divided their money into two equal portions. Taking one portion for himself, Song Gang left the other on the table for Baldy Li, together with all of the leftover change, and then added the house key Baldy Li had made him. Finally he shut the door and left the house that he and Baldy Li had called home and moved into the dormitory at the metal factory.

After maintaining a secret love affair for a month, Song Gang and Lin Hong finally decided to make their love public. This, of course, was Lin Hongs decision. For the location, she selected the movie theater, and that night the people of Liu were surprised to see the two of them walk in together, she nibbling on some melon seeds as he chatted away. After they found their seats, they sat down together, and Lin Hong continued nibbling her melon seeds and chatting with Song Gang as though no one were around. It was Song Gang who amiably nodded and greeted each of their acquaintances. The men of Liu experienced a gamut of conflicting emotions, and after the film began, all of them, regardless of whether they were still bachelors or already married, spent half their time watching the movie and the other half spying on Lin Hong and Song Gang. Those seated beside them turned their heads, those in front looked back, while those behind craned their necks to peer down at them. Later that night, countless lustful men tossed and turned, unable to sleep and overcome with jealousy.

After that outing, Lin Hong and Song Gang were often seen in public together. She appeared even more beautiful than before, and always had an easygoing smile. The towns elders all agreed that this was obviously a girl who was soaking in honey. When Song Gang walked at her side, he was so happy he didn't know what to do. Even after several months, he maintained his look of awed contentment. The elders opined that he didn't at all look like a lover and that even the truculent Baldy Li fit the role better—Baldy Li at the very least was an overzeal-ous bodyguard, whereas Song Gang looked more like a lackey.

In his delirious happiness, Song Gang spent virtually all his savings on a shiny new Eternity bicycle. What was this Eternity bicycle? It was the equivalent of a Mercedes or BMW today. Only three Eternity bicycles were issued to Liu Town every year, so even if you had money to spare, you still might not be able to buy yourself one. Lin Hongs uncle, however, happened to be the manager of the metal-goods company, and it was completely at his discretion to whom those three Eternity bicycles would be sold. He cut an impressive figure, and most people, when they saw him, couldn't help bowing down. In order to allow Song Gang to truly stand out from the hoi polloi of Liu Town, Lin Hong repeatedly entreated her uncle to help her beloved obtain an Eternity bicycle. Lin Hongs father also pressured this younger brother of his, and her mother almost started cursing him out. In the end, the uncle had no alternative but to grit his teeth and take the bicycle that he was originally going to issue to the head of the county's Department of Armed Forces and assign it to Song Gang instead.

Song Gang seemed buoyed by the winds of good fortune as he sailed through Liu Town's streets and alleys on his brand-new bicycle. The shiny bicycle dazzled everyone's eyes, and the clear ring of its bell made their mouths salivate. After dismounting, he would take out a large ball of cotton that he kept stuffed under the seat and carefully wipe the dust off the bicycle, making sure that this Eternity bicycle remained eternally clean. His bicycle was always spotless, despite wind, rain, or even snow. In fact, it was cleaner than his person, since he would bathe only four times a month but would wipe down his bike every day.

Those days, Lin Hong felt like a princess. Every morning when she heard the clear sound of the bell ringing outside her door, she knew that her exclusive-use vehicle, that shiny new Eternity bicycle, had arrived. She would emerge with a smile on her face and would sit facing sideways on the back of the bicycle. All the way to the knitting factory she would soak in the envious gazes of passersby Every day when she got off work and walked out the factory's front gate, the handsome Song Gang would be waiting there. She would then sit on the shiny new bicycle with that handsome man in front of her. As soon as she mounted she would remind him, "Ring the bell. Quick, ring the bell."

Song Gang would immediately ring the bell several times in a row. Turning around and looking back at her workmates, Lin Hong would feel a surge of pride that they had to pedal themselves home after
working all day, while she could be chauffeured back on her own exclusive-use vehicle.

Whenever she was astride the bike, the Eternity bell rang continuously. When they passed acquaintances on the street, she would remind Song Gang to ring the bell, and he would always do his best to make the ring last as long as possible.

It was at that point that the towns elders decided that Song Gang had finally acquired a lovers airs. They remarked that he rode his bicycle like a general on horseback, and when he rang his bell, it was as if he were flicking his whip.

Song Gang rode his bright and shiny Eternity bicycle with Lin Hong sitting behind him, ringing his bell whenever they passed anyone. The only exception was when he encountered Baldy Li. Baldy Li was still furious with him and would stare straight ahead whenever they passed. Song Gang, meanwhile, would turn away guiltily, as though he had done something wrong. Lin Hong, for her part, would urge that he ring the bell whenever they passed Baldy Li, but on those occasions Song Gang wouldn't be able to produce his distinctive ring; instead the bell would sound scattered and intermittent. Understanding the reason for this, Lin Hong would reach forward and hug his waist, pressing her face against his back as she stared at Baldy Li with a look of pride and contentment. Seeing him pretend to be calm, she would laugh. "Song Gang, look whose wet dog this is!"

When Baldy Li heard this, he would let out a long string of "fuck you s" that went on even longer than Song Gangs bicycle bell. Then his face would drop, and at the thought of his woman and his brother running off together, he would proceed to curse up a storm. Watching as the Eternity bicycle disappeared into the distance, Baldy Li would recover his confidence and say to himself,
Life is long, and at the end of the day, who's to say who'll be the wet dog?