Frog (15 page)

Gugu led a special family-planning team into our village. Her second-in-command was the deputy commander of the armed police bureau. In addition to Little Lion, the team consisted of half a dozen brawny militiamen. They arrived in a van equipped with a loudspeaker and a powerful caterpillar tractor.

But before the team entered the village, I knocked on my father-in-law’s gate for the second time. This time he allowed me in.

You were in the army too, I said to him. There we do as we’re told. Disobeying an order is not an option.

He mulled over what I said as he smoked a cigarette. If you knew she couldn’t have another child, he said finally, then why let her get pregnant? How is she supposed to have an abortion so late in her pregnancy? What if she doesn’t get through it? She’s my daughter, the only one I have.

Don’t blame me for this.

Then who should I blame?

If you’re looking for someone to blame, look no further than that bastard Yuan Sai. He’s already under arrest.

I’m telling you now that if anything happens to my daughter, I’ll come looking for you and will put these old bones on the line.

My aunt says there’s no problem. She says they’ve even done it at seven months.

Your aunt isn’t a human being, she’s a demon! my mother-in-law jumped in. How many lives has she destroyed over the past few years? Her hands are covered in blood, and when she dies the King of Hell is going to chop her into pieces.

What good does saying things like that do? my father-in-law said. This is men’s business.

How can it be men’s business? she asked shrilly. They want to push our daughter down to the gates of Hell. How is that men’s business?

I’m not going to argue with you, Mother, I said. Tell Renmei to come out here. I need to talk to her.

Why are you looking for her here? She’s a member of your family now and that’s where she lives. What have you done to her? Give her back to me!

Hear that, Renmei? I said loudly. I had a talk with Gugu yesterday. I told her I planned to give up my Party membership and my commission and take up farming again so you can have the child. She told me I can’t do that. That business with Yuan Sai has shaken things up all the way up to the provincial government, and county authorities gave her an order that all illegal pregnancies in her area had to be terminated.

We won’t allow it! my mother-in-law shrieked as she flung a basin full of dirty water at me. What kind of society are we living in? Tell that slut of an aunt to come here and we’ll have it out once and for all! She can’t have babies, and seeing others have them makes her mad. She’s jealous.

I left the house, drenched in filthy water.

When the work team van stopped outside my in-laws’ house, every able-bodied villager showed up, including Xiao Shangchun, who’d suffered a stroke, and hobbled up, aided by a cane. Impassioned speech spewed from the loudspeaker: Family planning is a high priority, it impacts the nation’s future and that of the people . . . it is essential for a country capable of implementing the four modernisations to control and improve the quality of its population . . . those with illegal pregnancies must not trust to luck to slip through the net . . . the people’s eyes are bright. You can hide in caves or deep in a forest, but you will not get away . . . anyone who attacks family-planning personnel will be punished as counter-revolutionaries . . . anyone who subverts family planning by whatever means will be severely punished under Party and state law . . .

Gugu took the lead, followed by the deputy bureau chief, with Little Lion bringing up the rear. My father-in-law’s door was shut tight. A couplet pasted on the gate read:
Our rivers and mountains have prospered for millennia/Eternal spring graces the fatherland
. Gugu turned and said to the crowd behind her, Without family planning, the face of the nation will change, the fatherland will collapse. Then where will we find prosperity for the millennia? Where will we seek an eternal spring? Gugu rapped the metal knocker and shouted in her characteristically raspy voice, Wang Renmei, did you really think you could fool me by hiding in the potato cellar by the pigpen? The county Party committee and the army have been alerted to your case, and you have set a bad example. There are two paths you can take from here: you can come out of there on your own and go with me to the health centre to terminate your pregnancy. Since you are so far along, we will accompany you, and our most experienced doctor will perform the procedure. Or you can be defiant, in which case the tractor will pull down the houses of your parents’ neighbours on all sides, then pull down your parents’ house. Your father will have to cover all your neighbours’ losses. Even after that, we will still terminate your pregnancy. If it were someone else, I would treat her with kindness, but not you. Have you heard me, Wang Renmei? How about you, Wang Jinshan and Wu Xiuzhi? Gugu made a point of calling Renmei’s parents by name.

Nothing stirred on the other side of the gate for a long moment. Then a young rooster crowed. My mother-in-law’s voice was next: Wan Xin, you black-hearted, inhumane monster . . . a bad death awaits you . . . after you die, you’ll have to climb a mountain of knives and boil in hot oil, your skin will be peeled, your eyes will be gouged out, and you’ll burn from head to toe.

With a snicker, Gugu turned to the deputy militia chief. Go ahead, she said.

He had his men drag a long, thick cable up to the gate of the neighbour to the east and wrap it around an old scholar tree. With his hand on his cane, Xiao Shangchun bounded out of the crowd and jabbered at the top of his lungs: That’s our family’s tree! He tried to hit my aunt with his cane, but lost his balance in the attempt. So, this is your tree, Gugu said coldly. My apologies, but you seem to have chosen you neighbour poorly.

You’re all local bandits . . . a bunch of Guomindang operatives . . .

The Guomindang curses us as ‘Commie bandits’, Gugu said with a cruel smile. Calling us local bandits shows you’re not in the same league as the Guomindang.

I’m going to sue you people . . . my son works in the State Council.

Go ahead and sue, all the way to the top if you can manage.

Xiao Shangchun threw down his cane and wrapped his arms around the scholar tree. You can’t pull my tree down, he said tearfully. Yuan Sai said that this tree carries the lifeblood of my family; if it flourishes, so does my family . . .

Gugu laughed. I wonder if Yuan Sai calculated when he’d be arrested.

You’ll have to kill me first, Xiao bawled.

Xiao Shangchun, Gugu said sternly, what’s happened to the ferocity you displayed when you were beating and making life miserable for people during the Cultural Revolution? Look at you, crying and snivelling like an old woman.

You can’t fool me, I know you’re exploiting your public office for personal gain . . . plotting revenge against me . . . it’s your niece with the illegal pregnancy, so how can you pull down my tree . . .

Not just your tree, Gugu said. When it’s down, we’re going to pull down your gate arch, and then your house. Crying out here won’t do you any good. You should go see Wang Jinshan. Gugu took the bullhorn from Little Lion and directed it at the crowd. All you neighbours of Wang Jinshan, listen carefully. In accordance with special regulations issued by the commune family-planning committee, since Wang Jinshan is shielding his daughter, who is maintaining an illegal pregnancy in defiance of the government, and insulting authorised workers, we will now pull down the houses of his neighbours on all sides. You can go to Wang Jinshan to recoup your losses. If you do not want your houses to be destroyed, now is the time to persuade him to have his daughter come out.

My father-in-law’s neighbours erupted in a chorus of shouts.

Carry out the order, Gugu said to the deputy militia chief.

The caterpillar tractor roared into action, making the ground beneath our feet tremble.

The steel beast began to move, slowly picking up the slack in the cable, which sang out as it tautened. The leaves on the tree started to flutter.

Xiao Shangchun ran as fast as his limping leg would take him up to my father-in-law’s gate, where he pounded like a madman. Wang Jinshan, you and your fucking ancestors are the scourge of your neighbours. You will not die well!

In his anxiety, his garbled speech inexplicably turned clear.

The only sounds on the other side of the gate were the heartbreaking howls of my mother-in-law.

Gugu raised her arm for the sake of the deputy militia chief and then made a chopping motion.

Step on it! the man shouted to the driver.

The roar of the tractor thudded against eardrums, the cable stretched taut enough to cut into the bark of the tree, from which sap oozed. Inch by inch the tractor moved ahead, sending blue smoke spurting into the sky from the vertical exhaust pipe up front. The driver, who was wearing blue canvas overalls, a white towel around his neck and a duckbill cap, kept looking back, biting his lip under a black moustache. He had the look of a model worker. The tree creaked as it began to list, such a sad sound. The cable had bitten deeply into the trunk, white wood showing as chunks of the bark broke off.

Get your arse out here, Wang Jinshan! Xiao Shangchun was pounding on the gate with his fists, hitting it with his knees, and butting it with his head. Now even my mother-in-law’s sobs had stopped.

The tree leaned, farther and farther, its canopy of leaves fluttering to the ground.

Xiao Shangchun staggered over to the tree. My tree . . . my family’s bloodline tree . . .

Roots were moving just below the surface.

Xiao Shangchun struggled back to my father-in-law’s gate. Wang Jinshan, you son of a bitch, we’ve been neighbours, good ones, for decades, almost becoming relatives, and now you want to destroy us.

The roots were now exposed, like light yellow pythons, moaning as they felt the air. Some snapped in two, others grew longer and longer, all those underground pythons . . . The leafy umbrella swept the ground like a gigantic broom, willowy branches splintered as they bent down and raised eddies of dirt. The bystanders sniffed the air, which carried the smells of fresh soil and tree sap.

Wang Jinshan, I’ll split my head open at your door, damn you! Xiao banged his head against the gate. We heard nothing, not because his head produced no sound, but because it was swallowed up by the roar of the tractor.

The tree was dragged a dozen metres away from Xiao Shangchun’s house, leaving a gaping hole with torn roots where it had once stood. Children were already digging to find young cicadas.

My aunt announced through the battery-operated bullhorn, Next we will pull down Xiao Shangchun’s gate arch.

People carried Xiao over to the side, where they pinched the spot beneath his nose and massaged his chest.

Neighbours of Wang Jinshan, take notice – Gugu spoke calmly – go to your homes to gather up your valuables. After we pull down Xiao Shangchun’s house, we’re coming for yours. I know this seems unreasonable, but lesser reason must give way to greater reason. And what is that? Family planning, controlling our population growth. I’m not afraid to be the villain, someone has to be. I know you all want me to die and go straight to Hell. Well, we Communists don’t believe in such places, and materialists have nothing to fear. And I wouldn’t be afraid even if there were such a place. Who would go to Hell if not me? Remove the cable from the tree and affix it to Xiao Shangchun’s gate arch!

All my father-in-law’s neighbours rushed in and began kicking and pounding on his gate. They threw bricks and tiles into his yard. Someone even brought over some dry corn stalks to stand up under the eaves. Wang Jinshan, he yelled, if you don’t come out, we’ll set your house on fire!

Finally the gate opened. Standing there was neither my father-in-law nor my mother-in-law; it was my wife. Her hair was a mess, she was covered in mud and dirt, and she had on only one shoe – the left. She’d obviously just crawled out of the cellar.

Gugu, she said as she walked up to my aunt, isn’t it enough that I go with you?

I always knew that my nephew’s wife had a profound understanding of right and wrong, Gugu said with a smile.

I have to give you credit, Renmei said. If you were a man, you could command an army.

Just like you, Gugu said. When you broke the marriage contract with the Xiao family back then, I knew you were an exceptional woman.

Renmei, I said, this has been hard on you.

Let me see your hand, Xiaopao, she said.

I reached out my hand, not knowing what she wanted with it.

She grabbed it and took a bite out of my wrist.

I didn’t pull my hand back.

Dark blood seeped from two rows of teeth marks on my wrist.

She spat on the ground. You’re making me bleed, she said spitefully, so I did the same to you.

I offered her my other hand.

She pushed it away. I don’t want it, you taste like a smelly dog!

Xiao Shangchun had come to and was pounding the ground and bawling like an old woman: Wang Renmei, Wan Xiaopao, you owe me a tree . . . you have to pay me!

I’ll pay you shit! my wife shot back. Your son rubbed his hands all over my breasts and kissed me on the mouth. That tree is payment for the theft of my innocence!

Ow! Ow! Ow! A bunch of half-grown youngsters shouted their approval of my wife’s comeback.

Renmei! I called out angrily.

What are you bellowing about? She climbed into Gugu’s car, stuck her head out the window, and said: He felt me through my clothes!

Chairwoman Yang of our unit’s family-planning committee arrived. She was the daughter of a high-ranking military officer, a division commander. Her name was familiar, but this was the first time I’d seen her.

The commune leadership held a banquet for her; she asked that Wang Renmei and I attend.

Gugu dug up a pair of leather shoes for Renmei.

The banquet was held in a private room in the commune’s dining hall.

I think I’ll stay home, Xiaopao, Renmei said. I’m afraid of meeting high-ranking officials. Besides, this has been nothing to be proud of, turning the world upside down and all.

Gugu smiled. What’s there to be afraid of? Even the highest official has only one nose and two eyes.

Chairwoman Yang invited Renmei and me to sit next to her at the table. Taking Renmei by the hand, she said cordially, Comrade Wang, I want to thank you on behalf of the army.

What I did was wrong, Madam Chairwoman, Renmei said, obviously moved. I caused you trouble.

I’d been afraid that Renmei would say something offensive, and was relieved to hear her speak with such civility.

My nephew’s wife is a woman of high consciousness who became pregnant by accident and asked me to have the pregnancy terminated, Gugu lied. Her frailty was the reason we waited so long to perform the procedure.

Young man, Chairwoman Yang said, it’s you I need to criticise. All you male comrades are careless, hoping to be lucky not to impregnate your wives.

I nodded in agreement.

The Party secretary stood up, glass in hand. Join me in thanking Chairwoman Yang for taking time out of her busy schedule to instruct us on our work, he said.

I’m familiar with this area, she said. My father fought a guerrilla war here during the Jiao River campaign. His command post was in this very village. That’s why I feel so comfortable here.

That pleases us a great deal, the Party secretary said. I hope the chairwoman will take a message back to our elderly leader, expressing our wish that he personally come to inspect our work one day.

Gugu stood up and held out her glass. Here’s to you, Chairwoman Yang.

Chairwoman Wan is the daughter of a martyr, the Party secretary said. She followed her father into the revolution when she was still very young.

Chairwoman Yang, Gugu said, there is a bond between you and me. My father, who headed the Eighth Route Army’s Xihai Hospital and was a student of Norman Bethune, treated Vice Commander Yang’s leg wound.

Really? Chairwoman Yang stood up excitedly. My father is writing a memoir, and in it he mentions a doctor Wan Liufu.

My father, Gugu said. After he died, my mother and I lived for two years in the Eastern Jiao liberated area, where I played with a girl named Yang Xin.

Chairwoman Yang grabbed Gugu’s hand as tears of excitement welled up in her eyes. Wan Xin, is that you?

Wan Xin, Yang Xin, two hearts. Isn’t that what Chairman Zhong said?

Yes, it was him, Yang said as she wiped away the tears. I dream of you often, but I never expected to actually see you here.

As soon as I saw you I thought you looked familiar, Gugu said.

Come, everyone, the Party secretary announced, join me in congratulating Chairwoman Yang and Chairwoman Wan on their exciting reunion.

Gugu flashed me a signal with her eyes, which I immediately understood. I took Renmei’s hand and went up to Yang. Chairwoman, I said, I owe you an apology for making it necessary for you to make a special trip here.

I’m so sorry, Chairwoman Yang, Renmei said with a bow. Don’t blame Xiaopao for this, it was all my fault. I poked a hole in a condom when he wasn’t looking.

Momentarily taken aback, Chairwoman Yang then laughed heartily.

My face was burning. That’s nonsense, I said as I nudged her.

Yang took Renmei’s hand and regarded her closely. Comrade Wang, she said, I like candid, open people. You’re a lot like your aunt.

How could I be anything like Gugu? Renmei said. She’s a loyal running dog of the Communist Party. She goes after anyone the Party sics her on.

That’s rubbish! I said.

What do you mean, rubbish? It couldn’t be more obvious. If the Party told her to climb a mountain of knives, that’s what she’d do. If the Party told her to jump into a sea of flames, she’d do it.

All right, that’s enough talk about me, Gugu said. There’s more work to be done, and I have to dig in and do it.

Comrade Wang, Chairwoman Yang said, what woman doesn’t love children? One, two, three, the more the better. The Party and the nation love children too. Take Chairman Mao, or Premier Zhou – aren’t their faces wreathed in smiles when they see children? That sort of love comes from the heart. What is the revolution for anyway? In the end, it’s for our children, so they can live rich, happy lives. Children are the nation’s future, its treasure. But there’s a problem. Without family planning, our children may not have enough to eat or clothes to wear or could be denied the chance to attend school. Family planning is about achieving great issues of humanity by denying minor ones. By putting up with a little pain and making a little sacrifice you are contributing to the nation at large.

I’ll do as you say, Chairwoman, Renmei said. I’ll do it tonight. She turned to Gugu. Gugu, she said, go ahead and cut out my womb while you’re at it!

Again Chairwoman Yang laughed after a momentary pause of surprise.

Everyone at the table laughed with her.

Wan Xiaopao, she said, pointing to me, I love this wife of yours. A very intriguing young woman. But there’ll be no cutting out of wombs. You have to take good care of that, isn’t that right, Chairwoman Wan?

My nephew’s wife is very competent, Gugu said. After the procedure, I’ll give her time to get back to normal before transferring her to the family-planning work group. Consider this a heads-up, Secretary Wu.

No problem, the Party secretary said. We want our best people working in the family-planning groups. Comrade Wang Renmei can achieve excellent results by citing her own experience.

Wan Xiaopao, what are your duties?

I’m in charge of sports and recreation.

How long have you been doing that?

Three and a half years.

Then you should be in line for promotion to deputy battalion commander, Yang said. That way Comrade Wang can move to Beijing as an army wife.

My daughter too? Renmei asked timidly.

Of course, the chairwoman replied.

But I’ve heard it’s hard for an army wife to move to Beijing, that there’s a quota.

Go home and work hard, Yang said, and leave everything to me.

I am so happy! Renmei said demonstratively. My daughter will be able to attend school in Beijing, she’ll become a Beijing resident!

Chairwoman Yang sized Renmei up a second time. Make sure you take all precautions with the procedure, she said to Gugu. It has to be completely safe.

Don’t worry about that, Gugu said.