Read Online Old Land, New Tales: Twenty Short Stories by Writers of the Shaanxi Region in China by Chen Zhongshi, Jia Pingwa - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Chen Zhongshi, Jia Pingwa
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quickly! I’ll wait in the outhouse.” She wanted to give the girl a chance to flee unnoticed, so she walked straight to the backyard toilet.
When she returned to the yard, the light in her husband’s room was on. She entered and found her small husband smoking on the bed; the quilts were rumpled, and sweet incense was burning. He asked frostily, “What the hell is so urgent? Can’t you wait till daybreak?”
Darky replied, “Can’t I even come here to see you? You haven’t been home for days. Aren’t we still a couple?”
“You came here just to say that? Are you finished? Go home.”
As Darky got up to leave, she heard something behind the cabinet. She looked down and saw two feet, small and exquisite. With a snort, Darky sat back down and stared fixedly at her husband. “Tonight, I will not leave. Fetch me a glass of water.”
Her husband understood her intention and put a glass of water before her. She asked for another, and again he obeyed. Then she saidcalmly, in the direction of the cabinet, “Come out, drink some water. A little hot water won’t hurt you.”
A girl with a bewitchingly beautiful face sauntered out from behind the cabinet. She had disheveled hair and pink underwear.
Darky could not restrain a flash of admiration. “Such a knockout!”
The woman did not blush. Sitting beside the bed, she fixed her eyes on the ceiling without a trace of shame. Darky, on the other hand, turned pale. “You’re awfully bold!” Rage boiled up within her, but she calmed herself, saying, “I won’t beat you two, nor will I curse you. I only beg you not to destroy our family. If this affair were to be exposed, it wouldn’t do any of us any good. So drink the water and go!”
The woman dressed and started to walk out. At the doorway she turned back to pick up a small jar of face cream from the table. Then she was gone.
But Darky’s husband and his mistress did not change their ways. They stuck to each other like glue and continued their wrongful behavior. Darky came to regret the tolerance she’d shown that night.
She fought repeatedly with her husband about it. Backed by his father’s financial resources and the mayor’s power and authority, Darky’s small husband now carried on flagrantly. It was agonizing for Darky. She tearfully turned to Lai Shun for comfort, and Lai Shun in return shed tears for her suffering.
One market day, the weather was cold, the ground frozen. While Darky, shivering, was buying some charcoal, she ran into Mu Du. He was jet black all over, looking like a hungry devil. “Darky,” he said, surprised to see her. “You are so skinny—are you OK?”
Remembering when Mu Du had given her a hot potato beside the wall, Darky softened and began to cry. Mu Du said kindly, “So what the villagers are saying is true. Your man has bullied and humiliated you?” He asked for details. It took some time before Darky could give voice to what had happened.
That afternoon, Mu Du found Lai Shun and let loose a stream of abuse, saying that Lai Shun should not have told Darky about her husband’s affair. Lai Shun felt wrongly attacked; he complained that his conscience wouldn’t allow him to keep quiet.
Mu Du replied, “Your conscience? The credit agent’s son was born a bad guy. Can a leopard change its spots? You told Darky everything and made her live like neither a human being nor a devil. Look how thin she has become. Is your conscience at ease now?”
Lai Shun was speechless. The two men racked their brains but could not come up with an idea to lift Darky out of her misery.
Mu Du cursed the credit agent and his son for being blind in their eyes and their hearts. However, they were in the mayor’s good graces. Who knew how much ill-gotten money the credit agent had sent him.
Lai Shun had an idea: “We can take the firewood from under the cauldron just by settling with the girl! If she’s too ashamed to go to the school, Darky’s man will no longer be a
When she returned to the yard, the light in her husband’s room was on. She entered and found her small husband smoking on the bed; the quilts were rumpled, and sweet incense was burning. He asked frostily, “What the hell is so urgent? Can’t you wait till daybreak?”
Darky replied, “Can’t I even come here to see you? You haven’t been home for days. Aren’t we still a couple?”
“You came here just to say that? Are you finished? Go home.”
As Darky got up to leave, she heard something behind the cabinet. She looked down and saw two feet, small and exquisite. With a snort, Darky sat back down and stared fixedly at her husband. “Tonight, I will not leave. Fetch me a glass of water.”
Her husband understood her intention and put a glass of water before her. She asked for another, and again he obeyed. Then she saidcalmly, in the direction of the cabinet, “Come out, drink some water. A little hot water won’t hurt you.”
A girl with a bewitchingly beautiful face sauntered out from behind the cabinet. She had disheveled hair and pink underwear.
Darky could not restrain a flash of admiration. “Such a knockout!”
The woman did not blush. Sitting beside the bed, she fixed her eyes on the ceiling without a trace of shame. Darky, on the other hand, turned pale. “You’re awfully bold!” Rage boiled up within her, but she calmed herself, saying, “I won’t beat you two, nor will I curse you. I only beg you not to destroy our family. If this affair were to be exposed, it wouldn’t do any of us any good. So drink the water and go!”
The woman dressed and started to walk out. At the doorway she turned back to pick up a small jar of face cream from the table. Then she was gone.
But Darky’s husband and his mistress did not change their ways. They stuck to each other like glue and continued their wrongful behavior. Darky came to regret the tolerance she’d shown that night.
She fought repeatedly with her husband about it. Backed by his father’s financial resources and the mayor’s power and authority, Darky’s small husband now carried on flagrantly. It was agonizing for Darky. She tearfully turned to Lai Shun for comfort, and Lai Shun in return shed tears for her suffering.
One market day, the weather was cold, the ground frozen. While Darky, shivering, was buying some charcoal, she ran into Mu Du. He was jet black all over, looking like a hungry devil. “Darky,” he said, surprised to see her. “You are so skinny—are you OK?”
Remembering when Mu Du had given her a hot potato beside the wall, Darky softened and began to cry. Mu Du said kindly, “So what the villagers are saying is true. Your man has bullied and humiliated you?” He asked for details. It took some time before Darky could give voice to what had happened.
That afternoon, Mu Du found Lai Shun and let loose a stream of abuse, saying that Lai Shun should not have told Darky about her husband’s affair. Lai Shun felt wrongly attacked; he complained that his conscience wouldn’t allow him to keep quiet.
Mu Du replied, “Your conscience? The credit agent’s son was born a bad guy. Can a leopard change its spots? You told Darky everything and made her live like neither a human being nor a devil. Look how thin she has become. Is your conscience at ease now?”
Lai Shun was speechless. The two men racked their brains but could not come up with an idea to lift Darky out of her misery.
Mu Du cursed the credit agent and his son for being blind in their eyes and their hearts. However, they were in the mayor’s good graces. Who knew how much ill-gotten money the credit agent had sent him.
Lai Shun had an idea: “We can take the firewood from under the cauldron just by settling with the girl! If she’s too ashamed to go to the school, Darky’s man will no longer be a
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