The Four Books (21 page)

So it came to pass.

The evaluators from the third brigade walked over together. They took a hammer and struck each steel ingot on display. The pounding filled the auditorium, like a cacophony of brass bells. Everyone’s face blushed bright red, filling the hall with a red glow. Soon it was the Child’s turn to go up onstage. His pounding heart made his legs go soft, and as he was stepping onto the stage he almost fell to his knees. In front of him there was a white-haired man, and the Child wasn’t sure whether this was a higher-up or a steel-smelting expert. The man struck every third or fifth piece of steel, but most of them he didn’t touch at all. If a piece of steel appeared black or honeycombed, he wouldn’t touch it, and those ingots with fine honeycombing were occasionally submitted for further evaluation. That man only selected the donated steel without any honeycombing, and he could determine its hardness and purity by the sound it made when he struck it with a hammer. The Child followed along behind him, his heart pounding. He saw the man strike the steel, even putting his ear up to it to listen. The evaluators who knew what they were doing would strike the steel, while those who didn’t would simply caress it. It was the middle of winter and bitterly cold outside, but inside the hall it was actually quite warm. This wasn’t because there was a fire, but rather the warmth came directly from the walls of the auditorium. This is how the auditoriums in the provincial seat differed from others. The Child saw that in the front, the province’s highest higher-up was now examining the steel donations, and when he reached the Child’s star-shaped ingot and the other one with the word
loyalty
branded on it, he not only looked at them and caressed them, but even sent someone to turn them over to see what was written on the back.

That higher-up also had someone strike those two pieces of steel with a hammer, so that he could hear what sound they made.

The sound was like music.

So it came to pass.

The province’s highest higher-up then went to speak to the Child. In his room, the Child would take hot baths and, without even drying himself off, would roll around in bed soaking wet. He knew that they would change the bedsheets every day even if they weren’t dirty, and therefore he jumped up and down on the bed with his shoes on, figuring that this way he could make sure the sheets would be dirty, meaning that it wouldn’t be such a waste to change them.

“Sit down,” the visitor said. “Let’s talk freely.”

The Child blushed.

“You are still young,” the visitor said. “And you have great prospects. To be selected as the provincial representative at such a tender young age, you will certainly go on to make a great contribution to the nation’s steel-smelting industry.”

The Child blushed again.

“Was it you who invented the black sand steel-smelting technique?” the visitor asked. “Was it really you who invented it? No one helped you?”

Still blushing, the Child nodded.

“Tell me how you did it.”

The Child explained that he had had a magnet, and had discovered that the black grains of sand along the riverbank would always come rushing over whenever the magnet was present. Then heaven and earth were overturned, and the Great Steel-Smelting campaign began. After the iron resources were used up, it occurred to the Child that he could try using this black sand to smelt steel. It was then that he developed the black sand steel-smelting technique. Smiling, the higher-up patted his shoulder, stroked his head, and asked, “Have you been to the capital?” The Child shook his head. “Do you want to go?” The Child nodded. “Have you ever been on a train?” The Child shook his head. “Have you ever
seen
a train?” The Child shook his head again. Not without pity, the higher-up gazed at the Child’s face, and then poured him a glass of water, and also poured himself a glass. “The capital is excellent. It has the Imperial Palace, the Great Wall, and Tiananmen Square, which is larger than two of your villages, and is even larger than several of the provincial seat’s department stores put together. In the new train station, each bell is as big as a house, and a row of them are suspended in midair.” The higher-up paused for a moment, and then continued: “If you want to go to Beijing, there are two things you must do.”

The glass out of which the Child was drinking froze in front of his mouth.

“First, from now on, you should no longer say that you smelted one hundred tons of steel. Instead, you should say that you smelted three hundred tons.”

The Child opened his eyes wide.

“Second, I know that your star-shaped steel ingot was actually not smelted from black sand, but rather from railroad tracks, scythe blades, and cleavers. However, you should tell everyone that it was smelted from black sand. Even if you are speaking to a political leader, and even if someone is holding a knife to your throat or a gun to your head, you must still insist that this star was produced from the black sand that you found along the riverbank. You must say that the furnaces are still standing, and if someone doesn’t believe you, you can offer to take him there so he can see for himself how you can produce another steel ingot exactly like this one.”

The province’s highest higher-up sat there for a while, then left. Before leaving, he patted the Child’s shoulder and stroked his head, and said that the next day the provincial governor would personally take them to tour Song city, taking everyone to see the ancient ruins and scenic sites, as well as the important landmarks.

The higher-up left, and the Child remained frozen in his room, as though something very momentous were about to take place. It was as if something extremely, extremely important were awaiting him.

That night, the Child didn’t eat or sleep.

The next day, when they went to tour the city of Kaifeng, they had a police escort and were followed by the governor’s car. This was the former capital of the Northern Song, and it was a long car ride from the provincial seat. By the time they arrived, the sun had risen several rod-lengths in the sky. They visited the Dragon Pavilion and toured the Xianguo Temple, which was constructed in an ancient style. Finally, they toured the iron pagoda, which was so tall it disappeared into the clouds. Everyone started to climb up, but many of them stopped after only three or four floors and came back down. The Child, however, climbed all the way to the top, where the pagoda was swaying back and forth in the wind. The Child was reminded of the story the Theologian had told him about Noah and his sons, and how after the flood they found a place to settle and began farming, raising grapes, and producing future generations. Noah’s descendants dispersed, spreading throughout the land. Some of them wanted to be known around the world, and therefore built a tower that would reach the sky.

The iron tower was actually not made of iron, but rather of brick. People called it an iron tower because it was so high it reached the clouds, it could stand for centuries, as sturdy as it had been when it was first built. At the top of the tower there was a small opening. The Child emerged from this opening, his hair blowing in the wind. He looked up into the sky, and saw that it was full of light. The clouds were whistling over his head and hanging from the tower’s spire. He heard the sound of clouds blowing through his hair. When he gazed into the distance, he saw Kaifeng stretched out before him, with houses scattered about, just as the Theologian had described the Tower of Babel. There were no trees in the entire city, as all of them had been chopped down for use in the steel-smelting furnaces. The landscape was completely bare, and Kaifeng looked like a wasteland. Even farther away, there was a cloud of smoke. It was a train, stretching across the landscape like a giant snake. Up in the tower the Child’s legs began to tremble, and with sweaty palms he gripped the railing even more tightly than before. The train was all the way on the other side of the city, but the Child could still see it clearly, racing across the landscape like a snake through water.

When they returned to the provincial seat, the Child went to see the higher-up who wanted to speak to him. This higher-up was hosting the inspection convention, and was staying in a room in the meeting hall. When the Child walked into the room, the higher-up was in the process of writing something. He dropped his pen with a start and said, “Oh, it’s you. Is something wrong?” He gestured for the Child to sit down, but the Child declined and instead said very deliberately,

“I am the one who discovered the black sand and invented the black sand steel-smelting technique. I spent the entire winter directing the criminals of the ninety-ninth to smelt three hundred tons of steel. That star-shaped ingot was smelted entirely from black sand taken from the banks of the Yellow River. Anyone who doesn’t believe this is welcome to accompany me to the Yellow River, where I’d be happy to smelt another while they watch.”

The higher-up stared at him in astonishment.

“I want to take the train to the capital,” the Child said. “I want to take the train to the capital, to go look around.”

“You’re actually too late,” the higher-up said sympathetically. “The provincial governor already selected the ingot branded with the character for
loyalty
.”

The Child reflected for a while, then said, “It is not as good as mine. If you strike mine, it sounds like steel, but if you strike the other one, it sounds like a hollow bell.”

“
Loyalty
has a good meaning. Your star shape also has a good meaning, but it is too broad.
Loyalty
is more concrete. Even though their steel was not as good as yours, their meaning was better, and therefore it was more appropriate to send to Beijing.”

The Child became agitated, and the corners of his eyes grew moist.

“What exactly does
loyalty
mean?”

The higher-up again caressed his head, and replied, “Go back and ask your fellow criminals. Each and every one of them knows what
loyalty
means. Each of them had to be re-educated precisely because they lacked loyalty.”

The Child decided to go find the provincial governor. The higher-up who had met with the Child was good, kind, and truly loved the Child. He therefore gave the Child instructions on how to find the governor, and advised him on what he should pay attention to. The Child then went to find the governor. When he reached the eighth floor of a building, he proceeded to the sixth door. As he knocked, his heart pounded madly.

Inside, someone asked, “Who is it?”

“I am the Child who smelted the star-shaped steel ingot. . . .”

The governor opened the door, a look of surprise on his face. “What do you want? Come in, come . . . come sit down.”

The governor’s office was unexpectedly spacious and imposing. It had two large rooms and a big mahogany desk. On the desk there were some newspapers, documents, and other assorted objects. There was a telephone on the windowsill. The walls were white, and on one there was a map of China and a map of the world, together with a portrait of that very highest of higher-ups. There was also a sofa, and a bed. The office was not, however, as luxurious as the Child would have expected. The Child realized that this was only because the governor didn’t want it to be too ostentatious. He was the provincial governor, the highest higher-up in the region, and all he had to do was give the word and the entire province would start smelting steel. With another word, they would chop down every tree in the province. So, would it have been any trouble for him to give the word to make these two rooms more luxurious?

“Please sit. . . . How may I help you?”

The Child looked around, then proceeded to sit down. The sofa was as soft as his own bed, but the Child had already expected it and wasn’t surprised.

“I want to take the train to Beijing, to visit the capital,” the Child said very deliberately, his hands between his knees. “I’m the one who discovered the black sand and invented the black sand steel-smelting technique. I had the ninety-ninth spend the entire winter smelting more than three hundred tons of steel, and I also used black sand to smelt the star-shaped steel ingot. That star ingot resonates if you strike it. But if you strike that other
loyalty
ingot, it sounds like you’re tapping wood. That other piece of steel is completely worthless, and is as honeycombed as a rotten radish.”

As the Child was speaking, he gazed up at the governor’s face with a pathetic and helpless expression. The governor was kind and generous, and loved the Child. He looked at the Child’s face, and when their eyes met the governor realized he couldn’t bring himself to hurt him. The governor laughed, his gentle and loving expression like the ocean at sunset.

“You want to visit the capital?” the governor, said stroking the Child’s head and patting his shoulder. “If all you want to do is go to Beijing to walk around and see Tiananmen Square and the Summer Palace, that’s easily accomplished.” The governor poured a glass of water and handed it to the Child. He smiled warmly and said, “I’ll take responsibility for arranging your visit to Beijing when you go. If this time you cannot represent the province by delivering steel to the capital, I promise that next time you’ll receive an even greater honor. I’ll ask Beijing’s central higher-up to personally issue you a red blossom and a certificate.”

The Child was content, and felt that the entire room and the entire sky were filled with bright light. As he was about to leave, he said, “Please issue me a rifle as well. There are wild animals in that wasteland along the Yellow River, not to mention other criminals. In order to deal with them, it would be best if I had a gun.”