Fiction

An Empty HomeBy Xiu Bai, translated by Chu Dongwei, with a commentary by

Fraser Sutherland

Published in Volume 2 (December 2014) of

Chinese Literature and Culture

www.clcjournal.com

ISSN 2332-4287 print; ISSN 2334-1122 online

Available on AMAZON.COM and BN.COM, and to be soon

available in EBSCOhost databases

1

Two or three miles from the village, they heard dogs

barking behind them, first indistinctly, then more and

more clearly. Something was wrong. Number Five stopped to

look around with his bright thievish eyes under the beak

of his cap. Then suddenly he crouched down and put his

ear close to the ground. When he decided that the barking

indeed came from behind them, he sprang to his feet and

said, “Do you hear dogs barking? Your husband is coming

to get us. Run! Otherwise, the dogs will kill us.” In a

panic, Number Five grabbed Peach’s hand and started to

run.

It was harvest season. The wheat fields glittered with

gold. Most of the villagers, as migrant workers, had gone

elsewhere, leaving behind the elderly, the young, the

sick and the disabled. Some of the stronger farmhands had

returned to the village. Almost all of them were working

in the fields. At this critical juncture, no one was

idling. They were in a rush to harvest all the stooping

wheat crop before rain came.

Number Five was over thirty years old. He had no house

of his own and couldn’t find a wife. But he did not want

to spend a lifetime like this. Unlike the villagers at

work harvesting, he had been to Nanjing, a big city. He

loved its hustle and bustle. His eldest brother lived

there. His father had told him that during the Big Famine

his brother, his sister-in-law, and their son had gone

off begging and finally found themselves in Nanjing. They

had never come back.

At the east end of the village a old blind lady had

recently bought a wife for her son. The bride’s name was

Peach. She was slow-witted. While her husband was working

in the field, Number Five sneaked in. He said, “This is

pig head meat from Liuhe, Nanjing. It’s very delicious.

Take a bite and you’ll love it.” Number Five’s eyes

twinkled with dark light, his big rustic fingers holding

a slice of pig head meat. Peach opened her mouth wide.

“You go to Nanjing with me. There, you’ll have pig head

meat every day.” Peach’s tongue was suffused with the

sweet taste of pig head meat. Her eyes brightened. In the

direction of the scent of pig head meat, she followed

Number Five and scudded along on the gravel road that

started at the village.

As Number Five ran, his mind calculated that the dogs

of the village definitely ran faster than them, so he

couldn’t possibly outrun the dogs. The villagers were

sure to run in the direction of the bus station to head

them off. In the past, there had been attempts of newly

bought brides to run away. Because they were not familiar

with this place, they had never succeeded. The runaway

brides were always stopped at the bus station and the

village men had always overtaken the runaway women with

the help of dogs.

Number Five was a native, so to deal with these men,

he had much more experience than the bought brides. He

did not run in the direction of the bus station, but

instead he let go of the pig head meat and ran onto a

zigzag path in the opposite direction.

Along the zigzag path, they ran to the top of a dark

gray cliff. Hand in hand, they wedged their way past the

cliff and came to a thicket of weeds and brambles where a

sharp thorn on a twig slashed the man’s calf and a thread

of blood oozed from the cut and it started to smart. By

this time, the barking of the dogs had been kept behind

the mountain by the hard rocks.

Peach had run away with Number Five. The old blind

lady beat her breast and stamped her feet. As far as

Peach could remember, running with men had been her life.

She thought life meant running, eating, and sleeping.

When she was sold into the home of the old blind lady

to be her son’s wife, it was the second time for her to

be sold.

The first time she was sold, she was fifteen, but,

sturdily built, she looked eighteen. She was not good at

words, but people would think she was shy. Then she had a

good selling point. The human traffickers used their glib

tongues like pancakes that were being turned in frying

pans until they became golden.

The man who bought her was a cripple, absolutely

attracted by the young girl in prime youth. The human

traffickers saw it and raised the price to eight

thousand. The cripple thought it too high and haggled,

and finally the deal was made at five thousand, eight

hundred. His relations from the same clan lent him the

money and naturally the girl was put under close watch.

Unlike the brides bought by other families in the

village, Peach did not cry. She never spoke, as if she

were dumb, but obviously she could speak, though no one

ever heard her. A year later, she bore the family a son.

In the daytime, she either breast-fed the baby or

squatted to play with the cats of the neighbors. Seeing

that she had no intention of running away, the crippled

man gradually put his mind at rest.

In the twinkling of an eye, the baby was one month

old. It was time for the annual local fair, and with the

villagers going to the fair, the crippled man also wanted

to go. He still had the money made from the sale of two

pigs, so he thought for a little while and eventually

decided to take Peach along.

On the way, the crippled man thought, “There’s one

more member in the family and it’s a son, so I need to

buy something for the family of the son. He is growing

fast and I need to prepare for the future. If I don’t get

something for the future, how can my son farm my piece of

land?”

When they arrived at the fair, the crippled man went

to see the farm animals in a sparse wood. He walked about

and settled on a little yellow calf tied to the trunk of

a tree, caressing the smooth calf and taking quite took a

fancy to it. The seller, an old man with protruding jaws,

quite experienced in the business, saw through the

cripple and decided first to lasso him and then to

gradually squeeze the oil out of him.

“Do you want to buy it or are you just looking?” The

old rogue probed and prodded him. After some bargaining,

the price was lowered but only a little by little without

a significant cut, until there was no room for further

bargaining. The seller even walked over to the calf and

pretended to be leaving. That made the crippled man want

to buy it all the more, so obsessed he was with the

little yellow calf.

At that time, a woman from another village came up.

Twisting her snake’s waist, she edged her way into the

crowd and paced around Peach while looking about, and

then left. When she came back again, she purposefully

stepped on Peach’s foot but pretended that it was an

accident. Seeing Peach had no reaction, she boldly

elbowed her and said like an old acquaintance, “Sis, you

have come to the fair too!” Peach lifted her head and

looked at the woman expressionlessly. She saw a bag of

little fish in the woman’s hand. They were butterfly

fish. Attracted by the fish, her eyes gazed at them

without the slightest movement.

Snake’s Waist noticed Peach’s gazing, which was

exactly what she wanted. Now she saw how Peach looked

and, like an old acquaintance, struck a conversation.

After looking around for a little while, she took Peach’s

hand into her own and walked toward a carriage.

Peach confusedly got on the carriage. She didn’t know

why she got on the carriage. It was as if her body were

not controlled by herself or the butterfly fish in the

woman’s hand had bitten into her leg. She thought those

fish were beautiful. Snake’s Waist raised the bag of

butterfly fish and showed it off to her, saying,

“Beautiful fish. They’re all bought for you.”

In the blink of an eye, the woman took Peach away. Her

three partners got on another carriage. Bumping all the

way was no big deal. A black stain appeared on Peach’s

new outfit, and she did not know where she had received

the stain, the black stain like a scar, its appearance on

the chest totally incompatible with the pink flowers.

The gang arrived at a bus station and boarded a long-

distance coach. When the coach stopped at West Water

Station, they got off amid the crowded stream of people.

Peach had been holding back her pee for quite some time,

so Snake’s Waist had to go with her to the restroom. Then

they took Peach to an inn. They took turns to keep watch

on her and never allowed her to go out, but all the while

they frequently went out.

The following day, Snake’s Waist bought a new outfit

for her and asked her to change. Then, the woman folded

up the old outfit and asked Peach to take it with her.

Snake’s Waist took her out of the inn and walked with her

arm in arm as if they were going to visit a relative,

with two men accompanying them, one in front and one

behind. They walked for five or six miles before they saw

a village. Following the edge of a wood, they went direct

into the village and, after turning here and there like

in a maze, they stopped in front of a house. A man came

out, followed by an old blind woman.

The man, as old as Peach’s father, had not been

married up to then. The old blind woman was his mother,

though she had not been blind until she was sold by human

traffickers to this village, from which the

uncompromising girl had tried to escape again and again,

not settling down until her husband had given her a good

beating and she had gone blind.

Snake’s Waist muttered something to her. Then the old

lady reached out her claws that were as knotty as a

duck’s feet and they got hold of Peach’s body. The

trembling hands pulled at her face, then her back, then

her pigtail, then they knocked all the way down her

spine, lifted her arms, opened her fingers, pressed her

thighs, and then finally, patting Peach’s butt with one

hand, she said, “That’s it!”

Groping her way along the walls, the old blind lady

went around to the wood-house to discuss the price for

the girl with her son, and they talked for a little

while. The water boiled, and they served it to the

guests. The two men were squatting on the ground smoking

while Snake’s Waist bargained with the buyer. After some

haggling, they agreed on four thousand. With shaky hands,

the old blind woman slowly took her belt off her pants

and handed it to her son. The son tore open the belt and

pulled out the folded bills that bit into each other in a

row, counting the money while frequently wetting his

fingers with spittle. Afraid of making a mistake, he

counted again and finally handed the money to the old

woman.

Snake’s Waist was losing patience. But at this

critical juncture she had to contain herself. Gulping the

saliva that had reached the corners of her mouth, she

stared at the money in the hands of the old blind woman,

her eyes glistening. The old blind woman spat into her

hand, dipped her fingers in the spittle, and counted the

bills one by one. Then holding the money tight and

procrastinating for ages, at the moment she handed

Snake’s Waist the money, her teeth clenched.

Snake’s Waist grabbed the money into her hands. Afraid

of a backout, she quickly acted to put the money beneath

her clothes and fled, leaving Peach behind.

Peach looked at the fish fry and giggled. She loved

them very much. She sat on the wheat straw and tore open

the package of a snow cake given to her after Snake’s

Waist left. Through the cracks on the rooftop the sun

shone on her new pink outfit, rendering half of her face

red. The old blind lady’s son came to sit with her,

reaching out one hand to touch the reddish part of her

face. Seeing that she was not dodging, he tugged at her

pants. The old blind lady fumbled and found her needle

and thread and, pulling her son aside, she bade Peach sew

the belt that had been previously torn. Peach threaded

the needle and sewed for ages with uneven stitches. The

old blind woman studied the stitched belt with her hands

and then put it on. She held Peach’s arm as if she

thought it might escape. At night, Peach’s neck was tied

by a rope with a fast knot, with the old blind woman’s

wrist at the other end.

At noon the next day, many villagers came. They

brought tables and stools. They had come here to eat and

drink . Peach wore a red scarf, more or less happy.

Another wedding, how good it would be if she could have a

wedding every day, with new clothes to wear and meat to

eat.

Lest she should run away when the man went to work in

the field, he locked her inside the house. The old blind

woman kept watch on her, by listening, of course. When

one’s eyes are blind, the ears become particularly acute.

Being a young girl, Peach slept a lot. The old blind

woman couldn’t go to sleep, not giving herself a break.

As time passed, Peach showed no sign of trying to escape,

merely eating gluttonously, and so the vigilance was

relaxed. Then the old blind woman from time to time went

to a corner of the courtyard to feed the chickens or the

pigs.

Early in the morning, Peach’s husband left for the

field. Peach was sleeping soundly. Number Five climbed

onto the courtyard wall and crawled there in ambush. The

old blind woman squatted on the ground chopping sweet

potatoes – whoosh. whoosh, whoosh. Number Five cautiously and

expertly slid down the wall. His head were contracted,

his body curved, and his eyes glowing with a greenish

light. Like a starving wolf, he came to pursue the smell

of meat and the gory gust of wind.

Furtively he pushed open the half-locked door and

approached Peach’s bed. Swoosh! His front claw lifted her

blouse and saw her tits that were like bullet heads

embedded in the white chest. In his arousal, he suddenly

reached out his tongue to reel in the tits. His hand

quickly moved downward. Peach, putting up no resistance,

lay there, giving herself away to his fondling. In a

little while Peach swelled and quivered like a chaff

shifter. The swelling Peach did not know what to do.

Number Five loaded his bullets, aimed at the target with

great accuracy, and started to shoot.

Now the barking of dogs was increasingly distant.

Number Five dared not follow the main road. They climbed

a few hilltops and went to a village close to a canyon.

They had no idea how long they had traveled, probably two

hours. In front of them was a vast expanse of water.

Number Five knew he and the woman in front of him had

made their escape.

This was a village surrounded by water on three sides.

Shortly after Number Five was born, before he learned to

walk, he was swimming together with his elder brothers.

So, he had been able to swim before he was able to walk.

His two legs were born to be the oars of a boatman,

faster in water than on land. Seeing water, he was like a

fish returning home. He took a deep breath, dived into

it, and sank to the bottom. Using various postures, like

a butterfly fish he quickly disappeared into the depths

beyond the reed marshes.

Peach was no swimmer. She numbly sat at the waterside.

Reeds were dancing in the wind, and with a vacant look,

she stared at the reeds. She was in a trance, and for a

good part of her life, she had been sitting in such a

trance.

2

When he first arrived in Nanjing, Number Five spent his

nights sleeping in a bridge archway. At that time, he

found there were many bridge archways under which to

sleep. He chose this place because in one of the gray

tiled houses on the other side of the bridge lived Uncle

Guo, a widower and former fellow villager, more or less

related.

In fact, his eldest brother’s family had lived in one

of those gray tiled houses too. His brother had two sons,

one an official. The other was a businessman. He had made

a fortune. The family had moved. The neighbors did not

know where they had moved to, but were sure they were

still living in this city, because the two-room home they

had lived in had no new occupants. It was filled with old

furniture and rubbish. A high-rise building bearing the

name of his elder nephew stood in the center of the

electronics street. Occasionally, a sharp-eyed old

neighbor might see this elder nephew come out of the

underground garage of the building in a luxury limousine.

One night, as Number Five was delivering goods with his

three-wheeler, he passed a grand hotel in the city center

and saw his younger nephew and a few people, evidently

officials, walk out of the hotel, satiated with food and

drink.

During the day, Number Five had visited his eldest

brother, seeking his help in getting a three-wheeler

license. His sister-in-law admonished him, “Your nephews

are doing big things. Don’t you bother them with such a

small matter. You should go home to farm your land. Go

back home. Don’t mess around in the city. After you’re

caught by the police, don’t blame me for not telling you

beforehand.”

Number Five was embarrassed and let the thought die.

He lived next to Uncle Guo and claimed to be his nephew

when talking to others. A wandering vagabond, he dared

not share Guo’s den. Later, he bought an old unlicensed

three-wheeler on Bathhouse Street. After some repairs, it

could could still be used. In the daytime, he solicited

business in the neighborhood of the Electronics City on

Pearl River Road, delivering goods with his three-

wheeler. At night, he pedaled his three-wheeler to the

alley where Uncle Guo’s house was and parked it under

their west window. He slept on the three-wheeler, covered

by a half blanket discarded by someone after using it to

cushion a piece of glass. As time went on, he became

familiar to the neighbors.

Having the consent of Uncle Guo over the wall, he

built this little shelter. Because it was illegally built

in public space, he did not pay rent to anyone. He was

from the countryside and he had a woman with him. The

residents of the courtyard were very unhappy, but despite

their strong aversion, they were prevented from acting by

the old face of Uncle Guo. Number Five knew it and he was

sensible. The city people never saw him face to face. He

was cautious with Uncle Guo, and with the other residents

in the gray tile houses. When he was entering and passing

the courtyard, he prudently avoided them. He would wait

until there was no one coming in or going out, then go to

Uncle Guo’s water tap and get a bucket of running water.

He went out to stand in the moonlight, wiping his face

and leisurely humming a country tune, quite satisfied

with himself. Finally, he had got a woman of his own and

a foothold in the city. He had enough energy, his good

days were just beginning.

The day was just beginning to break and Peach was

still sleeping. Number five got up and looked around.

There was no one in the courtyard, so like a mouse, he

skittered into it and moved his three-wheeler out. As the

courtyard was small, the early birds might hate to see

his three-wheeler taking up space. The unlicensed three-

wheeler was Number Five’s livelihood. He had recently

bought it. He assiduously wiped the night’s dew off the

vehicle’s body, drivel almost dripping out of his mouth,

cherishing the three-wheeler as he cherished his woman.

Number Five’s previous three-wheeler, a ramshackle

affair without a license, had been confiscated by

government workers wearing uniform hats, having caught

him in a street check. He struggled, and they flung him

to the ground. As his side thudded against the curb

stones, he saw his three-wheeler thrown onto their truck

He panicked and feared that they would take him away as

well. He fled into an alley on the other side of the

street and hid himself under the eaves of a house. After

a long while, he started to feel pain. He lifted his

shirt and found a big blue bruise on his side and some

scratches on his leg, but he kept it to himself. He knew

a man like him would be courting death to go to the

uniformed government workers to get his property back. He

did not have the permanent-resident registration book,

nor did he have temporary-resident registration, not to

mention what Peach lacked. Therefore, after two days of

rest, without delay he went to the vehicle market in the

City River Village and bought a new vehicle.

Although it was a new one, still he couldn’t get a

license. He wished he had known someone. A fellow freight

triker called Old Man Jin had got a license due to his

connections, even though he did not have a receipt for

the three-wheeler. A three-wheeler without a license was

illegal. Number Five dared not wait in front of the back

doors of department stores like other three-wheeler

owners who played poker while they openly waited.

Number Five was always riding his three-wheeler. He

drifted along the streets like flowing water, his eyes

gazing at the stream of vehicles and the crowd to see if

there was someone in need of his service. When he saw a

target, he pedaled fast. In a less crowded neighborhood,

he would keep vigil on uniforms that were likely to

appear. These government workers were virtually village

heads of the city. If they wanted you dead, you were

dead; if they wanted you live, you were alive.

Number Five solicited business under an overpass in

the vicinity of the central gate. There was a long-

distance coach station here, and inbound passengers often

carried small bags and big bags to transfer at the

railway station. Three-wheelers are powered by humans and

don’t use fuel, so it saves the cost of fuel. Number Five

had enough energy.

Other freight trikers played poker on the sidewalks in

threes and fives, their eyes staring at the ladies coming

and going. They saw a young lady coming out of the coach

station with big breasts. “How much is it to take me to

the bridge?” she said.

A young triker, dealing his cards, shouted at her,

“Let me touch your big boobs, then it’s free.” Some other

trikers stared lewdly at the lady, saying, “Super!

Super!” All the trikers guffawed. A young triker, behind

her back, waved his middle finger at the lower parts of

her body and an obscene whistle flew toward her from

behind. The trikers shuffled the pack, dipped their

fingers in saliva, and started to play the next round. A

violent gust of wind blew and overhead hovered a cloud of

dust. They guffawed more boisterously.

The woman’s eyebrows shot up in anger. Dragging her

luggage, she went to another bunch of poker-playing

trikers and asked them. Without turning their heads, they

said, “Two hundred and fifty.” At the height of their

enjoyment from poker, who cared to work as cheap labor?

“You’ve lost your head. How much is it for a taxi?” the

woman grumbled.

Then Number Five quietly caught up with the woman and,

following behind her, cautiously said, “Sister, you

decide the price, I’ll take you there.”

The woman said snappily, “I can’t afford it. My whole

luggage costs no more than a hundred. The delivery costs

two hundred and fifty. What lunatics!” She was still

angry, thinking Number Five was also teasing her. But

Number Five said, “I won’t ask for more than you give at

your pleasure.” She said in a fit of pique, “I give you

five and you are still going to take me there? Over the

bridge.”

“Deal!” For fear that she would not let him do the

job, Number Five hurried to move her luggage.

The woman cast a glance at the driver, who was wearing

an old-style yellow uniform and whose unkempt hair was

stuck under an old soldier’s cap with a few dusty tufts

sticking out. His greasy face looked honest. The woman

said, “You said it’s five yuan. No changing it.”

The woman had too many bags and, when they arrived,

she couldn’t carry them to the sixth floor. Number Five

helped her to carry the luggage to her door. Then he

waited outside for her to pay. Sweat rolled down like

rain, wetting the floor around his feet.

The woman moved her things into the living room, took

out her purse and looked for the money. Number Five’s

eyes opened wide, staring at the purse in her hands.

Finally, the woman gathered five yuan and handed it to

him. Looking at the woman taking money out of the purse,

Number Five thought the wallets and purses of city people

all bulged like this. He wanted to snatch the purse and

run, but that idea was quickly dismissed. It’s a woman’s

purse, Number Five thought. At home, there’s a woman

waiting for me to go back. From now on, I won’t have such

an idea.

In fact, the woman wanted to give him more money, but

she didn’t have small change. At heart she was a little

apologetic and, therefore, gave him two bottles of Coke

and a few tangerines. Then, she found a pile of old

clothes and a large mosquito net, crammed them into a

plastic bag, and stopped Number Five on his way

downstairs and gave them to him.

“Pooh!” Standing in the stairwell, Number Five

inadvertently spat, the phlegm going onto a snow-white

wall and slowly trickling down, creating a yellow trail

on the white wall, where it was instantly disfigured.

Downstairs, Number Five didn’t drink the Coke, he

wanted to take it home for Peach to show it off to her.

It was what city people drank. Being thirsty himself, he

found a water tap and drank from it until he had enough.

When he left the apartments, he poured the clothes into

the three-wheeler to examine them article by article.

There was a colorful woman’s dress, which would make

Peach look gorgeous like a city woman! He got on the

three-wheeler and started to think to himself, Little

Peach, fair and plump, waving her butt and shaking her

boobs...

When Peach was trying on the colorful dress, she found

a bankbook in a pocket. Quickly recognizing that it was

something from a bank, Number Five carefully put it into

his pocket and went to return it to the lady. The lady

was grateful, asking him where he lived and wanting to

give him some old furniture, since she was moving to

another place. Number Five asked for a bed and a table.

At ten o’clock in the evening, gathering that the

government workers had gone home and no law enforcement

would be on the streets, he surreptitiously carried the

furniture home. His bed had been a makeshift brick

structure. They had been eating their meals squatting on

the ground. Now, they had a real bed and a table, life

started to improve. Number Five was quite pleased.

When business was good, he could earn a hundred or

eighty a day, since some clients were generous. When

business was not good, he would be happy to accept jobs

for four or five. To make Peach happy at home, he would

love to do any job, unlike the licensed three-wheeler

owners that never cared to accept jobs for a few yuan.

They often pooled together prattling and playing poker

for a whole day. Occasionally, they had one business deal

that gave them more money than Number Five was making in

a whole day, but Number Five had income every day. Having

money every day, he bought pig head meat for Peach. Even

her tabby cat had a share.

Sometimes he wandered about the Golden Bridge Market,

where he picked up a client and fled. It was not his

territory. Most of the freight trikers were locals who

would not allow a country bumpkin to stick a finger in

their business.

At dusk the stewed-meat shop on Jianning Road was lit.

An electric wire was drawn from inside the shop to a

glass showcase at the roadside, the yellowish light of

the incandescent lamp casting a layer of enticing smell

on the stewed and drained meat. Number Five stood in the

line of waiting customers, his eyes staring at the lumps

of pig head meat. When his turn came, he asked for the

fattest portion – a cut of pig head meat – and a small

packet of fried peanuts. He swiftly pedaled his empty

three-wheeler and in a little while arrived home, to that

little dark shelter of his. When Peach, sitting in front

of the shelter, caught sight of the pig head meat, her

eyes brightened and she sprang up immediately. The

setting sun cast its light on one side of their shabby

little home. Their overlapping figures danced on a wall

like two shadow puppets. His head stooping, Number Five

bent to enter the shelter. Peach followed, letting go of

the cat in her hands. Swoosh! The tabby cat went under the

bed. Like a starving wolf that had smelt bloody meat, he

snatched her and pushed her to the bed. She cooperatively

rolled into it. Like pedaling his three-wheeler during

the day, he crushed her from above and pedaled at full

speed. At this moment, the tabby was sitting in the

doorway, looking curiously at them, its front paws on the

ground, while the man and woman, with their eyes closed,

wriggled hard as if engaged in a fight.

Their electric bulb was not turned on, as they were

used to fumbling in darkness. Even at night, sometimes

there was some light, and it was by virtue of night’s

light that they found their things. The light of night,

the little breeze, and the stars were their life’s

company. Protected by nature, they walked through time.

Then, Peach made a pancake in a frying pan and fished out

a bottle of Fenjinting liquor that had been bought during

the day for one yuan when Number Five was delivering goods

to the suburbs. They sat under the eaves to have their

dinner in the light of the coal stove outside the

shelter.

The trickles of the Golden River gurgled between the

stones on the riverbed. The moon silently climbed to the

rooftops of the gray tiled houses. A gust of wind came,

sending a few leaves on the tree tops above the houses

tumbling down from the blue blue sky through the ancient

quiet to the gray roof tiles.

Throughout the long winter

They fall like this.

How fascinating

The fallen leaves, the patience, the little boredom,

and the lightness, nothing more than necessary.

In the enormous world of hardship

Only fallen leaves are light and sober

and can be heard by hardship.1

1 Poem by Ren Lin, quoted from the poetry anthology The Last Beauty.

Such great beauty Peach did not see, nor would she see

it in the future.

Catching sight of people, it crouched at the doorway

of the gray tiled house, some sorrow in its heart, some

green and crude, hazy and vast sorrow. It didn’t know

what to do with itself. Its mind was filled with Peach,

wondering, if it lost its natural ability, how would she

survive. It didn’t know their future destiny. It didn’t

even know that, later, they would be written down. In the

eyes of the world they are so insignificant. However, it

knows that they and it are the same, moving into this

gray tiled house. Its childhood, its youth, is just like

those fine fragments of moonlight, not knowing where they

are reflected from, pouring out in scattered specks,

sprinkled on their little doorway curtain.

The tabby cat nestled beside Peach’s feet, two green

eyes staring at their squirming mouths and from time to

time it meowed. Number Five took a sip of the liquor,

opened his mouth wide, and gobbled a slice of pig head

meat, a jet of tasty oil immediately filling the seams of

his teeth to mix with the liquor. This was his best meal

for the day, and he smacked as he ate. Peach tore a piece

off the pancake and handed it to him and then a smaller

piece to throw to the ground. The cat saw it, pounced on

it, held it in its mouth and ran away.

Peaceful life always went in the twinkling of an eye.

One evening, Number Five came back home, locked his

three-wheeler under the west window outside the

courtyard, and looked at his shelter. He did not see

Peach, who had always been sitting on the crooked

threshold and would come out to meet him when she heard

the sound of locking the vehicle, the tabby cat in her

arms. But she was not there today. He had a premonition,

a very bad one.

Peach was not there, neither was the tabby cat. The

cat had been a stray cat that no one would like to keep,

and it had wandered to Number Five’s shelter. Peach fed

it several times and it refused to leave. She adopted it.

At dusk, it was like a boneless mouse, its eyes

squinting, its soft spine undulating with her caresses

like a moving hill, humming a cozy lullaby while

snuggling in her arms. The pussycat had always been with

her waiting for his coming back. Now both were out of

sight.

3

Without a license, the traffic police did not allow his

three-wheeler to run on the streets. In such a situation,

he more or less appeared mysterious. On the one hand, he

had to solicit business on the streets, while on the

other hand, he tried to avoid the uniformed officers.

There were many streets and alleys that he dared not go

to, so compared with those who had a license, his

business was meager. It wouldn’t do in the long run. He

wanted the help of Old Man Jin, with his connections, to

get a license for his three-wheeler.

Old Man Jin was healthy and hardy. When he was young,

he delivered goods at the Xiaguan Freight Yard. He often

meddled with women and he fathered two bastard sons. That

angered his wife, and she divorced him. Making money with

his three-wheeler was merely a cover for what he was

really doing, playing poker at the roadside and hunting

for women. One day, it rained and there was not much

business. At lunchtime, Number Five took some stewed meat

and liquor to visit Old Man Jin. After a few goblets of

liquor, Old Man Jin said, breathing alcohol, “To get a

license, I will surely help you, because you know

gratitude.” While he spoke, he stared at Number Five, who

did not know what he meant. Then the old man continued,

“If I don’t know gratitude, I’m a son of a bitch.”

Uncle Guo in one of the gray tile houses often ordered

Number Five about like a servant. As days went by, he

felt indebted to Number Five. Seeing that Peach was

staying at home every day, he asked someone to get a

temporary job for her as kind of repayment. Peach worked

as a nursing aide in a hospital in the northern part of

the city. Several months passed and countless patients

came and went, but she made little progress in learning

the job. It was not because she was lazy or something,

but she was simply clumsy and the patients didn’t like

her.

Seeing that she was often harshly scolded by the

patients, the head nurse was sympathetic and bade her

work as a cleaner of the floors and restrooms. With these

jobs, though she was slow, she was never lazy. As days

went on, the doctors and nurses became aware of her

problem and no longer disliked her, but instead they

often gave her some old clothes and shoes. Gradually, she

became a fashionable lady. The hospital was just a few

bus stops away from home, and she was never in a hurry.

In the morning, Number Five drove her to the hospital. In

the evening, she walked back home.

Peach had been eating pancakes, but the hospital

people didn’t eat pancakes. They ate rice. She started to

change and began cooking rice. In the past, she had been

washing her hair with soda water, which was very

effective. As the hair was put into warm soda water and

she started to rub it, the water in the basin immediately

went dark. Now she was taking her baths in the staff

bathhouse of the hospital. Nobody used soda water there,

but rather everyone used shampoo, and she used soap. When

patients left the hospital ward, they discarded

toothbrushes and tubes of toothpaste. She picked them up

and took them home. When she got a free promotion sample

of shampoo, she studied the small packet and hid it in

the wardrobe. Other nursing aides told her that used

toothbrushes were no good, but leftovers of hair shampoo

were good. In the hospital, various people came and went,

and sweeping the floor of the hospital every day, Peach

saw more and more of the world. Sometimes she thought to

herself, “Probably even Number Five does not know such

things.”

Old Man Jin met Peach on her way home from work. That

day, Peach was going home after work, holding a bouquet

in her hand, one discarded by a patient’s family, some

flowers withered, some still open. “What beautiful

flowers!” she thought. She was going to give the bouquet

to Uncle Guo, a lover of flowers. Like someone visiting a

patient in the hospital, she held the flowers in front of

her and walked with solemnity.

On his way back from a delivery trip, Old Man Jin

vaguely saw someone like Peach in front of him. He caught

up with her and stopped, and it was indeed Peach. Leaving

no room for rejection, he took over the bouquet, put it

on his three-wheeler, and let Peach climb onto it and sit

well.

When he passed the free market, he stopped. On the

roadside, there was a vendor of hairpins, and Peach

squatted down to have a look. Old Man Jin picked one for

her. The lady peddler enthusiastically taught her how to

wear it, and when her hair was pinned, her face looked

much more beautiful. Ever since Peach started working at

the hospital, she had been receiving used clothes from

kindhearted hospital staff members. They were said to be

old clothes, but most of them were like brand new and

were given away because the doctors thought they were out

of fashion. With these clothes, Peach never looked the

same anymore. Skipping her past and walking on a street

of today, in her heart she felt something. “Looks like

something,” she thought to herself, “Which doctor do I

look like? Which doctor has worn this?”

One day as Peach was going home from work, Old Man Jin

took her to the entrance of an alley, stopped, and

invited her to eat duck-blood-and-cellophane-noodles

soup. In front of the restaurant, Peach smelt an enticing

smell. Two trails of snot trickled down, intermingled

with each other, as she stood there, her stiffened legs

refusing to move away.

One day she worked until it was very late and Old Man

Jin took her to an open air food stall on the side of a

street and ordered a few dishes. Peach had never eaten

anything so good since childhood. Just before they

finished eating, Number Five came looking for her. In the

presence of Old Man Jin, Number Five did not lose his

temper, but he had to sit down, and two more dishes were

ordered. The three ate together, and as they were eating,

something went wrong with Peach. She had eaten too much,

and having eaten too much, she closed her eyes and softly

lowered herself to the ground. Number Five braced her up

and turned to pat her back. Blargh! Peach threw up. Number

Five carried her to his three-wheeler. Lying in the

three-wheeler, she kicked her legs for a while and went

asleep. When they got home, Number Five heard her

snoring. Knowing she was fine now, he lifted her up and

carried her to the bed.

A few days later, Peach said to Number Five after she

went to bed, “I want to go home to see my son.” Number

Five was silent, thinking she was talking nonsense, since

a woman knowing no directions and incapable of taking a

bus, where could she go to see her son? What he did not

expect was that she would leave anyway without his

consent. Where could she have gone? She couldn’t possibly

find the way.

She couldn’t have gone far. She was certainly abducted

by Old Man Jin, he thought.

Behind the back of Number Five, Old Man Jin had taken

Peach home. Every day, he cooked something different for

Peach and wandered about with her. Peach was quite happy

with her new circumstances and didn’t have the slightest

thought of Number Five and his little shabby shelter. Old

Man Jin took her to the Confucian temple, bought her

butterfly fish, a headdress, bras, shampoo, and the like,

and took her to Avatar, a 3-D movie. Old Man Jin had much

more money than Number Five, and he helped her resign

from the hospital and get paid, the two now living

together like a real couple. Afraid of Number Five’s

coming, Old Man Jin rented out his own home and rented a

room in a one-floor building in a suburb, getting a new

home and additional income because of the rent

difference.

Number Five came nonetheless. Like a she wolf that had

lost her cub, he came to Old Man Jin bringing with him a

foul wind. He grabbed Peach’s collar and dragged her

outward, allowing no argument. “She’s my woman,” he

bellowed, in righteous indignation.

Old Man Jin pushed Number Five’s hand away, took Peach

back and said without the slightest qualm, “Remember what

you said. If you know gratitude, don’t take her away from

me. If you do not know gratitude, you are a son of a

bitch. Don’t you want to get a license?” After saying

that, he stared into Number Five’s eyes to see if there

was any change in his expression. A man of his age knew

the value of life and had seen too much of the world. He

had played every game except the game of life and death

with young men.

Number Five jumped onto his three-wheeler and stood in

its back, where normally goods were loaded. He was

obviously had an advantageous position, threateningly

waving his fist and ready to pounce upon the old man and

stab him in the chest. Number Five had brought a knife

and, to get back Peach, he was going to fight the old man

or even kill him.

He was fully prepared to charge without thinking of

the consequences. Just as he was going to jump off the

three-wheeler, the old man yelled, “Stop!” Number Five’s

attack froze. The old man said, “Get off your three-

wheeler. I’ll go and get you a license.” Getting a

license, it hit the right spot and overwhelmed him.

Number Five had always been worried by the lack of a

license, and if not Old Man Jin, who else could possibly

help him to get one? In this city, there was nobody to

turn to. Besides Uncle Guo, this hometown fellow was the

only acquaintance he had. Nobody else cared to cast a

glance at him. He relaxed his hold on the knife, turning

upturned tip downward. Noticing the change, the old man

said in timely fashion, “Let me tell you. Don’t piss me

off. Either with the police or with the gangsters, I have

connections. She’s not your wife. She’s someone else’s

wife. You have abducted her to Nanjing. If you don’t give

me a break, I will report your abduction to the police.

Then you shall face the consequences. If that does not

work with you, I’ll get someone to cut off your legs.

Then, what will be the use of a license?”

“How can I pedal my three-wheeler without legs?”

Number Five thought, “He’s a bastard. Sure he can do what

he says.” But he could not swallow it, thinking, “She’s

my woman. I’ll get her back one day.” At the moment,

there was nothing he could do. He stopped working for a

few days. Downhearted, he lay in bed without eating or

drinking anything for days as if he were seriously ill.

After a few days, Number Five thought of his two

nephews, who were working for the government. He went to

seek their help. The security guards did not let him in,

saying, “You look like a dick but claim to be the uncle

of our boss. If you have a mental problem, go to the

mental hospital. If you don’t go away, we’ll release the

dog and let it bite you.” The fierce Tibetan mastiff was

chained to a steel post, its eyes staring at Number Five

sparkling with a green light like those of a wolf, so

Number Five left in disappointment.

Single-handed, Number Five went several more times to

take Peach back. In old Jin’s home he saw a gathering of

suburban ruffians. Peach had become his tool to make

money. He had started an illegal business, making money

with Peach’s body. Ashamed and indignant, he left without

success. He vowed to take Peach back sooner or later. All

the money he had saved was gone after all this, so he had

to go out to solicit business while he was much weakened

by the latest event, and when he pedaled the three-

wheeler, his legs were no longer as good as before.

4

In front of the gray tile houses where Uncle Guo lived

was a river that served as the inner fortification of

Nanjing. This section of the river is the so-called Ten-

Mile Qinhuai of olden times, also called the Golden

River, spanned by the Love-the-Army Bridge. Under the

bridge, the water of the river gurgled and on the bridge

pedestrians walked to and fro. When Number Five first

came to the city, his den was in one of its archways.

One morning Number Five left home and listlessly

pedaled his three-wheeler when he saw a bunch of people

on the bridge. He went up to them and poked his head in

to see what was happening. It was an old lady crying,

collapsed on the ground: “Oh... oh, my money... oh, my

money!” A young lady restlessly pounded on the bridge,

saying loudly: “If anyone can get the bag back from the

water for my mum, I’ll give him fifty thousand yuan!”

A vegetable vendor cast a glance at the river and

said: “Impossible to get it back. It cannot even been

seen.” All the pedestrians came to see what was

happening. Very soon, a large crowd gathered on the

bridge and everyone leaned on the railing to look down.

The water below was muddy, and latecomers didn’t even

know what the early comers were looking for.

The young lady was running about the bridge like mad.

Seeing this, Number Five swallowed his saliva and said to

her: “Don’t you worry. Take care of my three-wheeler so

that the uniformed government people won’t stow it away.

I’ll get it for you.”

“Get the bag for me and I’ll give you fifty thousand.

I’m a bad woman if I go back on my word.” The woman

gestured as if she was going to push Number Five down to

the river.

That bag contained all the money a whole family had

made with their blood and sweat, the money the mother and

daughter were going to buy a house with, and somehow it

had fallen into the river. The spectators did not know

how it fell and Number Five didn’t know either. Only

Uncle Guo knew. Number Five thought, Such a shallow

river, it will be a piece of cake. When I get the bag,

I’ll get fifty thousand, like a windfall. I’ve been

swimming in big rivers, this small one is nothing. Taking

off his clothes, he dove into the water like an elated

butterfly fish. As he was a good swimmer, it should take

no more than a moment in such shallow water, and seconds

later, he surfaced from the water under the middle of the

bridge. He saw all the people on the bridge were looking

at him like a cloud of heads. In the past, nobody had

looked him in the face, but now, in an instant, he had

attracted so many eye. An unprecedented feeling surged

from within him. Shaking his head to get rid of the

water, he shouted at the top of his lungs: “Where did it

fall to?”

“Around here.” Mother and daughter pointed at the

spot.

Splash! He shot into the water like a carp. He heard

the uproar from above the bridge. Splash! He skidded below

the surface and pushed up a dome of water. The water

swirled and twirled and engulfed him. He did not hear the

crying of the women who had lost their bag, but only

heard the distant din of voices and shrill whistles,

gradually disappearing.

Number Five saw that, at this stage, he was about to

fly, every scale mobilized. He spread his wings, flapped

and took flight, like a happy butterfly fish, flying at

his best in water. He flew through the water space for a

long long time before he heard the indistinct crying of

the mother and daughter. Then, remembering they had asked

him to find their bag, he folded his wings and submerged

himself under water to fish for the bag.

The river was too muddy for him to open his eyes. At

the dark bottom of the river, nothing could be seen even

if he could open his eyes, and fumbling for a long time

he only succeeded in getting hold of a handful of weeds.

He surfaced and shouted at the top of his lungs: “I

searched the whole place. There is nothing here.” The

young woman pointed toward another place. He went down to

the riverbed again and, as he fumbled about, he touched

something like a strap and tugged at it, and pulling up

something heavy, drawing it close and touching it, he

found it was a leather bag. The bag slightly unzipped, he

reached into it and touched bundles of what felt like

banknotes as seen in the banks. He thought, “It’s money.

Bank money is like this, in bundles.” Knowing it was the

money bag in his hand, he was delighted. By a single

stroke of luck, he had made fifty thousand. What was

fifty thousand like? He had no idea, but he knew he

wouldn’t make so much in his whole lifetime. With this

sum he would be able to buy himself a wife back home.

Thinking of this, his spirits rose and he surfaced for

breath, ready to go ashore and get the reward.

Suddenly he had a second thought. To give away so much

money? It was not a good idea! The money in the bag would

be enough for him to buy a home. If he had a home of his

own, Peach would definitely come back to him. With the

money and the woman, he would be living like one of the

immortals in a place where he could not be found. “I

won’t go back to the river bank, but swim underwater to a

place easy to remember and hide the bag there. Then I’ll

come back to get it when there are no people around.”

He was delighted by this thought of his, impressed

with his own intelligence, thinking that he was a man of

quick action and quick mind. Now good luck had befallen a

smart man like a colorful cloud drifting towards him and

there was no escape. Thus thinking, he was so elated in

seeing good luck bring Peach back to him. She was there

at the waterside singing the song that she had sung in

the weed marshes while they were escaping from home. To

the rhythm of the song, he twisted and turned in the

water like a butterfly fish. His hands held the money bag

like holding Peach’s big boobs, which he had never tired

of touching and caressing. It was so good sleeping with

Peach in his arms, and it had been a long long time since

he last had this feeling. He began to be intoxicated, as

if he were really hugging Peach’s plump body. He was

holding her from behind and they were entwined. His feet

touched the stones underwater. He dug a pit in a crack

between stones and placed the bag in it and then covered

it with gravel, on top of which he put a big slab.

Then he felt Peach’s arms wrapped around his neck from

behind him, mightily, and she pressed herself against his

underbelly more tightly, winding herself around him so

that the two looked like a money tree. Mustering all the

energy of his lower abdomen he pressed himself into her

deepest recess with a breathtaking thrill, and they were

submerged in immeasurable pleasure...

Without his knowing it, the weeds gradually wound

themselves around his legs and, as he descended into a

crack between the stones, they caught his legs in a tight

grip. His calves were pressed against something slippery,

soft and cool like a water snake curling in there. His

legs jerked and broke loose. It bit him. Then, his legs

began to get numb. As the climax gradually left, he began

to feel a shortness of breath, but he was sober and,

gripping the money bag, he quickly surfaced.

When Number Five woke up in the hospital, he learned

that the money bag had been taken away by the mother and

daughter. Uncle Guo knew them, so he went to them to

negotiate on behalf of Number Five. They dodged him.

Finally, Uncle Guo found some people to block their

doorway with a plank so that they could not go out, and

they had no choice but to open the door and face him in a

direct confrontation.

Uncle Guo insisted on a reward of fifty thousand yuan.

They did not agree, saying, “You’ve got a lion’s mouth.

Do you know who you are?” Uncle Guo didn’t give up. He

said, “You are bullying an honest person. How can you be

so wicked as you are?” “He volunteered. We didn’t push

him into the water!” Uncle Guo argued, “So many people

have heard it on the bridge. You offered a reward of

fifty thousand.” “Who heard it, you find them.” The

quarreling went on and on. In the tug-of-war, Uncle Guo

was gradually losing out. Some people could not bear it,

and accused the mother and daughter of not keeping their

word. Someone called 110.

A police car came and the two parties were taken to

the police station. Each side had their own argument. The

district police officer did not know who was telling the

truth and who was telling a lie. As there was no witness

to testify, things became complicated.

Then the community director and mediators were called

for. Although Number Five was not a resident, he was

under the jurisdiction of Uncle Guo’s community. Two

community mediators and the director first of all

affirmed Number Five’s heroism. Then they worked on both

sides by giving each fifty spanks and fifty caresses.

They adjourned the session without a solution. In the

afternoon, the mediation resumed. In the end, the mother

and daughter agreed to pay for Number Five’s hospital

bills and medical expenses plus two thousand yuan in cash

as reward. It was a once-and-for-all solution.

5

In the morning Number Five was discharged from hospital.

As he walked out of the hospital, someone called him in a

familiar hometown accent. He looked back and saw it was

his eldest brother, whom he had not seen for ages. His

brother asked him, “Number Five, how come you are here?”

Number Five told him the whole story. His brother told

him his elder nephew was sick and was staying in this

hospital.

With the money that Uncle Guo had brought him in his

pocket, Number Five now had confidence. He said to his

brother, “Let me go to the gate. I shall get a fruit

basket for my elder nephew.” His brother said, “Please

don’t. He is very ill. He can’t eat fruit.” Number Five

was puzzled. Then he thought of a flower bouquet. It

wouldn’t do to see a patient empty-handed. His brother

waved his hand to dismiss that idea. “He just fell

asleep. Do not wake him.”

Number Five followed his eldest brother through a

street. The brother’s hair was all white and his back was

bent, and he sighed all the way as they walked. Number

Five figured out that his brother’s life was not good

either. As they came to the entrance of the alley, he saw

his sister-in-law, who had come to buy vegetables. She

did not look as good as before with a lot more white hair

now. Seeing Number Five, her eyes lit up. She pulled

Number Five toward her and said, “Gee, Brother Number

Five! It’s been ages since I last saw you. Come home with

us and sit for a while. When I finish shopping, I’ll cook

for you brothers.”

Hearing that, Number Five warmed up inside. For so

many years in the city, Sister-in-Law had never

recognized him lest he should be glued to them. What was

happening today? She was so good to him. Number Five went

to buy two bottles of liquor and some gifts, four things

altogether. It was his first time to eat at his brother’s

home. He couldn’t go empty-handed. His brother was not in

the mood for a conversation, standing at the roadside and

smoking while waiting for him.

When he entered his brother’s home, he sat down, and

sitting face to face with each other, the brothers were

silent. The eldest brother smoked a cigarette, then

another. He kept smoking, sighing and frowning. His

sister-in-law was back from the vegetable market a short

while later. As soon as she got back, the home was

animated. She entertained Number Five with cigarettes,

tea, and peanuts, and some snacks that Number Five had

never seen, all enthusiastically delivered to Number

Five’s hands. Number Five felt nervous, spoiled, and at a

loss.

Single-handed, his sister-in-law quickly prepared a

few dishes and asked Number Five to sit down to drink.

His sister-in-law constantly fed the food into Number

Five’s bowl and poured him liquor, and they had a few

glasses. His sister-in-law started crying. Her tears

pattered on the glass table top. Number Five was

startled, not knowing what had happened to her. Then she

said, “How come I have such a bad fate? My good life had

just started and then my son got seriously ill.”

Number Five comforted her, saying, “Sister, think of

the bright side. Everyone can be ill. Look at me. I’ve

just come out of the hospital. I’m alive and kicking now

that I’m cured.”

His sister-in-law wiped her tears and snot with her

apron. Suddenly she left the table, went aside, and

sobbed. Number Five looked at his brother, at his

brother’s expression of helplessness. He did not know

what to do. With a drooping head, his eldest brother kept

smoking and drinking without saying anything. Number Five

wanted to comfort his sister-in-law, who was crying in

her bedroom, but he dared not go in. He poured some

liquor for himself and drank like his brother.

When she finished sobbing, his sister-in-law came out

of the bedroom. Her eyes red and swollen. Number Five

thought she must have cried on previous occasions.

Sister-in-Law’s time wasn’t easy either, and he consoled

her. Not being able to say anything appropriate, he

stuttered.

His sister-in-law stopped sobbing and spoke: “Your

nephew has got uremia. Only a kidney transplant can save

him. If your brother and I could give him a kidney, we

would have done it long ago. Now the problem is that we

can’t find a suitable kidney donor. Everyone has two

kidneys, and one is as good as two. Brother Number Five,

we are family. We won’t talk like two families. I beg you

to donate a kidney to your nephew. Then for the rest of

my life, I will be your servant.” As she spoke, she was

starting to kneel in front of Number Five.

Number Five stopped her from kneeling. He was

stupefied. He didn’t know a thing about the kidney

transplant. He pondered on what his sister-in-law had

said just now. If there was no harm in donating a kidney,

what was the big deal in giving one of his kidneys to his

nephew?

Her reddish eyes looked at Number Five and she spoke:

“We’ll help you to get a three-wheeler license. Then you

will never have to do your delivery business stealthily.”

Number Five did not speak, unable to digest it.

Seeing Number Five was silent, his sister-in-law

started to worry. Not sure about what Number Five

intended she thought he didn’t agree. She thought, The

most important thing is to save my son’s life. There

shall be no delay. Number Five’s throat is deep. I’ll

knock him down once and for all. Losing no time, she

said, “Among the gray tile houses where Uncle Guo lives,

we have an empty two-room home. I’ll give you the key

when I find it. The pot, the wok, the bowls, the ladles

and basins, and the furniture are all yours. You move

into that place and we’ll arrange for the ownership to be

transferred to you later.”

When he heard the word “home” Number Five’s eyes lit

up. He knew that two-room home, a ceiling and a floor,

and a shared kitchen. By now it should be worth quite a

lot. If he could live in that home, he would be living

opposite to Uncle Guo’s home. On windy and rainy days, he

wouldn’t have to climb to the rooftop to patch the holes

with tar paper. Nights, he would be able to confidently

park his three-wheeler in the yard. He said, “Sister, are

you serious?”

His sister-in-law said, “When did I ever fool you?

When I say one thing, it can’t be another. When you have

finished eating, we’ll go to the hospital to have a

checkup.”

Number Five was still confused, and wanted to talk to

Uncle Guo about kidney donation. He’d like to know

whether it was worthwhile to trade his kidney for the two

rooms. He said, “I’ll go home to take a shower and change

clothes. Then I’ll go to the hospital with you.”

His sister-in-law said, “There is no need to go back

to your place. Just take a shower here and change into

your brother’s clothes. He has a lot of clothes given to

him by your two nephews, who have too many clothes. When

we are free, I’ll take you to your nephews’ homes. They

have more clothes than they can wear. This old shirt you

are wearing has holes in the front and in the back. It

should have been replaced.”

With great trepidation, Number Five took a shower in

his brother’s home. There were a lot of bottles in the

bathroom, and he didn’t know which one to use.

Fortunately, there was a cake of soap, which he sure

recognized, since he had bought soap for Peach. After the

shower, he changed into his brother’s clothes and now he

looked a different person.

His sister-in-law said, “This is good. Now you look

like a city man except that your hair is a mess and does

not quite match this suit. I’ll take you to the barber’s

and get a crew cut.” His sister-in-law was as good as her

word and, without washing the dishes, she took him to a

big and clean barber shop.

It was after noon and there weren’t many customers in

the barber shop. It smelt of the warm breath of

hairdryers mixed with shampoo. The young barbers were

dressed clean and fashionable. Number Five was somewhat

uncomfortable, but he tried to control his hands and legs

that didn’t quite listen to him. He shouldn’t be looked

down upon by his sister-in-law. His sister-in-law said he

needed a crew cut. He nodded. After the haircut, he

looked at himself in the mirror and, finding himself much

younger, he liked it and stood up to pay. The barber

said, “Your sister has paid.”

Number Five felt his sister-in-law had changed and was

now like family, and a feeling of warmth surged from

within his heart.

In the afternoon, when the doctors started working.

His sister-in-law had already registered. Checkups, blood

tests, and then the wait for the results. The whole

process was supposed to take a week. His sister-in-law

couldn’t wait, and she called the younger son. He called

the head of the hospital, who agreed to speed up the

process.

The next day, as soon as Number Five got up. His

sister-in-law came. She brought him delicious stuff for

breakfast: soybean milk, deep-fried dough sticks, and

fried beef dumplings from Qijiawan. Uncle Guo saw it from

behind the window glass. “His sister-in-law was so warm

and enthusiastic. What is she going to do?” he wondered.

He went to the patio and greeted her. His sister-in-law

turned away and pretended not to have seen him.

Number Five felt flattered. He asked his sister-in-law

to come in and eat with him. She stood in the doorway,

waiting for him, kind of urging him. Without insisting,

he hurried to wash his face, brush his teeth, and gulp

the food in big mouthfuls. Then he went with her.

In the hospital, Number Five waited until noon to get

the results of the physical examination. He did not

understand the numbers in the report, and his sister-in-

law couldn’t understand it either. While in waiting, he

wanted to see his elder nephew. His sister-in-law stopped

him.

Later, Number Five heard from Uncle Guo that a kidney

was worth over a hundred thousand on the black market.

But where could he go to sell his kidney? Besides, kidney

selling was illegal, so there was no protection. If his

sister-in-law would really transfer the title of the

empty home to him, it was several hundred thousand

according to the current market price. Uncle Guo told him

that it was not a good deal if the empty home was only

lent to him in exchange for a kidney. It would be worth

it if the home was transferred to his name.

Now Number Five only worried that he was not qualified

to donate the kidney. He learned from the doctor that he

was healthy enough. But more blood testing and more

checks had to be performed. During this period, his

sister-in-law asked him to rest at home. Every morning,

noon and evening, he had to go to her home to have

nutritious meals she cooked for him.

After eating the nutritious meals for two days, Number

Five began to feel uncomfortable. He still liked pig head

meat, peanuts, and pancakes with a little liquor. His

sister-in-law forbade him to drink alcohol. But with the

dishes she was flexible. Braised pork ribs, beef seasoned

in soy sauce, eel with garlic, chicken soup and other

high-protein foods. After a few days, Number Five’s face

became ruddy.

After dinner, he was reluctant to go and stayed late

lest his sister-in-law should change her mind. He chatted

with his brother about their childhood and things back in

their native place. The recent wheat harvest, their

father’s low-income protection benefits from the

government. This gave him three hundred pounds of rice

every year, enough to sustain him. Their ninety-year-old

dad grew some cotton and vegetables. The eldest brother

just listened without putting in a word, and from time to

time handed him a cigarette. Then, Number Five talked

about Peach, how she was taken away from him by Old Man

Jin, and how he wanted to take Peach back. He wanted his

eldest brother to go with him, since with company he

would be more confident. The eldest brother listened and

sighed, smoking one cigarette after another. His sister-

in-law shuttled between home and the hospital. Number

Five had never seen his elder nephew. But he had seen his

wife when she came to get something, a young thing, upon

first sight thinking she was his nephew’s daughter.

Later, his eldest brother told him that she was the newly

married second wife without a child. The first wife was

too old, and her husband didn’t like her anymore, so they

got divorced and she moved away with the granddaughter.

Finally, the eldest brother added contemptuously, “This

little creature is a former classmate of my

granddaughter. She has dropped out of school.”

The day of the transplant. The hospital asked Number

Five to sign a document to go with a copy of his

identification card. He signed the paper and handed his

identification card to his sister-in-law. Before going to

the operating room, he asked to see his elder nephew. He

wanted to go to the gate of the hospital to buy a

bouquet, but his sister-in-law had already sent the

nursing aide there to buy one for him. She put it into

his hands. His sister-in-law was really considerate, and

he felt obliged to her.

Number Five’s elder nephew was in a special VIP room

over a hundred square meters large. Outside was a living

room and inside was the bedroom. Accompanied by his

brother and sister-in-law, he went to see his elder

nephew, who was lying in bed. The nephew smiled at him

feebly with moist eyes, and said, “Uncle Number Five.”

His greeting of him as Uncle Number Five sent warm waves

through his heart. Number Five said, “You’ll be fine. I’m

about to go to the operating room to donate a kidney to

you. When you leave the hospital, I will invite you to

dinner.” The nephew said, “Uncle, don’t you worry, I’ll

take care of your problem. Then we shall hold a family

party.”

Then the elder nephew, after a moment of reflection,

suddenly thought of something and said, “Uncle, you won’t

have to deliver goods with your three-wheeler anymore.

Take the exam for a driver’s license. You can deliver

goods with a truck. It’s easier.”

Number Five reached a hand to touch the top of his own

head and, with a stupid laugh, said, “To tell you the

truth, I can’t afford a truck. Get me a license plate

first so that I won’t be harassed by city administration

officers.” Hearing that, the nephew laughed and said,

“Uncle, when I get out of hospital, I’ll take you to the

automobile market and buy a truck you like.”

Hearing that, Number Five was at a loss as what to say

or what to do. All of a sudden, he fell down on his knees

in front of the bedside and said, “I’ll go immediately to

get the kidney transplanted to you. If one won’t work,

I’ll give you two.” The nephew said, “Uncle, please stand

up. Excuse me for not being able to show my respect to

you.” He motioned for his young wife to get Uncle Number

Five to his feet.

Number Five’s eyes were wet. He went to the operating

room. Before he entered the room, he fished out a

wrinkled receipt and handed it to his sister-in-law,

“This is the receipt I got when I bought the three-

wheeler. It’ll be needed for a license plate.” His

sister-in-law took the receipt and said, “Brother Number

Five, don’t you worry. We’ll take care of that.”

The doctor was giving Number Five general anesthesia

and he would soon enter a state of unconsciousness.

His sister-in-law complained in her son’s ward, “Even

buying wouldn’t cost as much. We are giving him a home,

then a truck. You have never been so good to your

parents.”

The son said, “Mom, I’m tired, you go home to rest for

a while. I am going into the operating room shortly. I’m

not sure if we will be able to meet again.” Hearing that,

the mother touched her son’s face, tears rolling down,

and she left immediately.

The father turned to hide his tears, daring not look

his son in the face. His legs were not good, and like a

wooden stake, he slowly moved his clumsy legs out of the

ward, and planted himself into the couch outside, not

knowing where to put his legs and hands. Quivering, he

took out a cigarette, lit it, and extinguished it. After

a while, the nursing aide crept out to get the meal. The

young wife was asked to leave the patient’s room and she

came out reluctantly, her mouth pouting. Only the

brothers were left inside. The elder brother, about to

entrust the younger brother with things he was no longer

able to attend to, very sad, he said, “To live or to die,

that is fate. To be rich or poor, that is dictated by

heaven. Large projects, big sums of money, many homes...

If I can’t get out of the hospital alive, what’s the use

of them all?” The younger brother turned on the digital

recorder. The older brother sat up and first told his

plans for his parents, then for his wife, then for other

relatives, and finally for Uncle Number Five.

修修 修修修修修：

Translated from Dangdai Bimonthly, 2013, Issue No. 2.

About the author:

Acclaimed and prolific, Xiu Bai has published stories in

major Chinese literary magazines and newspapers,

including Dangdai (Contemporary), Zhongshan (Bell Mountain),

Shanghai Literature, Beijing Literature, Mountain Flowers, Dajia (We),

Qingming (Pure Brightness) Yuhua, Sichuan Literature, West Lake,

Young Writers, Short Stories, Selected Chinese Literature, Wenxue

Xuankan (Selected Literature), Seeking Truth, and Wenyi Bao

(Literature and Arts Newspaper). Her story “A Young Woman

in the Delivery Room” won the People’s Culture Award.

“The Innermost Rebellion” has been turned into a novella

and serialized in Shanghai Literature. Her full-length novel

Woman, What Do You Want? was published by Hucheng Press in

2005.

Fraser Sutherland

Commentary on “An Empty Home”

Recently a sixteen-year-old female student at a

university in Guangzhou was found robbed and badly beaten

on a roadside near her campus. That was bad enough, but I

was told it could have been worse. She could have been

kidnapped, smuggled into the remote rural hinterland, and

sold to be the wife of a farmer. How common this kind of

incident is in China I don’t know, but it formed the

starting point for Xiu Bai’s story “An Empty Home.”

If Xiu had been a talentless or exploitative film-

maker, poet, or fiction writer, it would have been easy

for her to sentimentalize the awful plight of her

character Peach, a young woman who is twice abducted and

sold off. Xiu could have revved up the pathos even more

by making the heroine beautiful and intelligent, and

thereby committed a breach of ethics. After all, a crime

is a crime, whether the victim is beautiful and

intelligent, or ugly and stupid. Or, turning away from

the implicit feminism of the story, she could have

romanticized how Number Five, the man who steals Peach

from her second husband, is a hero who rescues a damsel

in distress.

Xiu does none of these things. Number Five is no hero,

yet he is capable of great bravery in spiriting Peach

away from her owner, pursued by a pack of dogs. Within

the limits allowed by his struggle for survival in

Nanjing, centred on his search for a licensed three-wheel

freight bike, he is honest, though fallible enough to

ponder the temptation of keeping the bag of money he has

been enticed to retrieve from the bottom of a river. He

is shrewd, but not overly intelligent. When asked to

donate a kidney to to the nephew who desperately needs

one, he says, “If one won’t work, I’ll give you two.”

Like Peach’s previous owners, he regards her as a piece

of prime livestock, yet he obviously feels tenderness

toward her and makes an effort to give her pleasure.

Peach, Xiu tells us, is slow-witted. She is utterly

passive: “Peach was no swimmer. She numbly sat at the

waterside. Reeds were dancing in the wind, and with a

vacant look, she stared at the reeds. She was in a

trance, and for a good part of her life, she had been

sitting in such a trance.” She seeks only an animal

satisfaction: a good meal, a snug bed. In Nanjing she

does not resist Old Man Jin’s bribes of creature

comforts, allowing him to become her pimp. And, if she is

a victim, she is far from being the only one. The old

blind woman who purchased her for her son had herself

been bought, and had been so abused by her husband she

was blinded.

In the West, a writer of a realistic short story like

“An Empty Home” would have focused on the dynamics of

Peach’s and Number Five’s relationship. Xiu widens the

picture in Nanjing to include Number Five’s needy elder

brother, his sister-in-law, his nephews, and the mean,

grasping Uncle Guo. All of them have their own wants and

needs. Xiu does not neglect raunchy details of their

lives. When one of Number Five’s potential customers asks

a freight hauler playing cards how much a trip will cost,

he shouts, “Let me touch your big boobs, then it’s free.”

The episode reminds me of something a fellow Canadian,

fluent in Chinese, once said to my wife, who had remarked

that she liked the Chinese: “If you knew what the Chinese

were actually saying you wouldn’t like them nearly so

much.”

Xiu studs her story with animals, and animal similes.

The woman who sells Peach is “Snake’s Waist.” Number Five

lures her away from those who hold her captive with a

piece of pig-head meat. The crippled man who was Peach’s

first husband is obsessed with a yellow calf at a fair.

Peach adopts a tabby cat. Number Five “shoots into the

water like a carp” and takes flight in the water “like a

happy butterfly fish.” Are Xiu’s people themselves mere

animals? “Mere” is the wrong adjective. Animals, too,

deserve a good life.