2001 China Literature Top 100 List (Part 1, Part 2)

Author: Beijing Literature Monthly / Lao She Literary Foundation
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-01-01
Features: 2001 China Literature Rankings - Recommended by Top 100 Famous Periodicals Nationwide, a Bestselling Work Year After Year: Qiu Shanshan's "I Tell the Last Story," Mo Yan's "Upside Down," Wan Fang's "Happiness Faction," Ye Zhaoyan's "Mawen's War," Zhou Haiying's "About the Death of My Father," Li Jingtian's "East River Battle Scenes" - Short and Long Stories, Essays, Report Literature, Gathering the Essence of Chinese Literature for a Year, Offering Endless Reading Pleasure!
Excerpt: Happiness Ticket / Liu Qingbang Meng Yin
Meng Yin should have had three happiness tickets by now. He overlaid the happiness ticket with his ID card and placed them in a very flexible plastic bag. Folding the bag to the size of the ID card, he folded it layer upon layer, making it square at the corners, and then tied it with two rubber bands before placing it in his front pocket. For Meng Yin, who worked away from home, the ID card was extremely important. Without it, there was no way to prove his origins, name, or even his existence. His life felt like a delusion, and he could barely move. However, before obtaining the happiness ticket, he always kept the ID card in the side pocket of the canvas bag hanging on his dormitory wall. He had never treasured it as much as he did now.
To be honest, he kept the ID card and the happiness ticket together to protect the softer happiness ticket with the rigidity and support of the ID card. It was the ID card that benefited from the happiness ticket. Only with the happiness ticket did the ID card receive better treatment. The happiness ticket was related to a person's happiness. It seemed that one's happiness was more important than their identity. Whether working in the upper or lower mine, Meng Yin always carried that rectangular treasure with him. While wiping sweat, he would rub the happiness ticket. He had sewn a hidden pocket near his lower abdomen in his underwear, where the happiness ticket was kept. Pressing through the sweat-soaked, coal-stained work uniform, he would press the happiness ticket against his abdomen. When the happiness ticket touched his skin, he felt a sense of closeness to it. Sweat flowed profusely, and his crotch was sticky like mud. He believed this would not harm the happiness ticket at all, as its packaging and concealment were absolutely secure.
When bathing in the mine, Meng Yin did not take off his underwear. The mine provided a limited amount of bathwater—only one basin per person per day. He could only take a quick shower, not a thorough one. Outside was already winter, and a coal fire was burning in the dormitory. He placed his basin of water over the fire to heat it. Using a finger, he tested the water temperature and, finding it suitable, took off his work uniform and began to wash. His hands were very black, even the smooth surfaces of his fingernails were covered in coal dust, turning black. While testing the water temperature with a finger, the finger was like a brush dipped in ink—once it entered the water, the blackness spread, instantly turning the clear water into colored, murky water. He washed his face, then his neck, and quickly wiped his body. His shower towel, originally printed with red flowers and green leaves, had lost all its flowers and leaves after just a couple of uses, turning completely black. He did not wash his hair. Not once in two and a half months had he had his hair cut. His hair had grown quite long. Such long hair was an excellent place to store coal—it was simply too dirty to wash. He believed that if he used a basin of water to wash his hair, at least half the basin would be settled coal.
Several other miners, including Meng Yin, worked in the mine. Some only washed their faces, not even their necks. Others stood by the stove, stripped completely naked, washing every part of their bodies. One guy named Li Shuntang paid special attention to cleaning what he called his "big boss." He washed it thoroughly, inside and out, front and back, and even rubbed it with shampoo, creating a large amount of foam. That wasn’t enough—beforehand, he had scooped out a small cup of water, warmed it to lukewarm, and held it in one hand while rinsing the "big boss" with the other. During the cleaning and handling, his "big boss" turned red and flushed, remaining in a state of excitement. Proud of himself, he asked the other miners, "How about it? Is it good? Does it work well?" None of the other miners answered his question; they just glanced at him, showing little appreciation. That thing was common to all of them—none were better than the others. Their gazes turned to Meng Yin.
Meng Yin felt indignant. He cursed inwardly, thinking, "Why are you all looking at me!" The day before, Li Shuntang had asked to borrow a happiness ticket from him, but he had refused. He knew that the others were looking at him out of false concern, truly interested in his happiness ticket, with the purpose of guiding Li Shuntang to ask for it again. Turning his back, he shielded the happiness ticket in front of his abdomen. Wringing his towel, he quickly wiped himself inside his underwear and put on his woolen shirt and pants. Li Shuntang pushed his buttocks forward with both hands, pointing his "big boss" at Meng Yin in a exaggerated manner. Though he was pointing at nothing, his overly dramatic action made the others laugh.
Meng Yin, with his back turned, didn’t know why the others were laughing. He guessed it was Li Shuntang playing tricks on him behind his back. Li Shuntang didn’t laugh himself and said, "Meng Master, why do you always keep putting happiness and happiness aside? Be careful that your happiness ticket rots, and the black-haired girl turns into a white-haired old lady." Meng Yin replied, "How do you know I’m not happy?" Li Shuntang was surprised, "So you’ve been happy? Good, at least you’ve finally figured it out. When did you become happy? Tell us, my buddies." Meng Yin didn’t answer and said there was nothing to talk about. He couldn’t be like Li Shuntang, who had earned only one happiness ticket in several months.
The day Li Shuntang received his happiness ticket, he was so eager he rushed straight to the "One Red" dance hall and spent it immediately. After returning, he praised the girl as an unfertilized young hen and told everyone about it. Every time Li Shuntang told the story, he added more details, as if he had been happy not once, but a hundred times. Li Shuntang knew Meng Yin had three happiness tickets. Everyone in the mine knew. The reward policy for happiness tickets was clear: if a miner worked enough days in the mine in a small month (30 days) or a large month (31 days), he could receive one happiness ticket at the end of the month. The mine owner handed out happiness tickets openly, saying, "This is a good thing, a happy thing. Don’t look at this small piece of paper—it contains a beauty like jade. It represents what the boss gives you—a girl or a wife. Understand?"
Li Shuntang didn’t believe Meng Yin had spent all three of his happiness tickets and asked, "You had three happiness tickets, didn’t you? How is it that you spent them all at once? How did you spend them? Did you line up the girls and have a ‘one-on-three’?" Meng Yin couldn’t imagine what a "one-on-three" looked like—it wasn’t like playing cards or mahjong, what was a "one-on-three," "three-on-one"? He said, "My tickets are my own business. I can spend them however I want—I’m not your boss."
By this point, Li Shuntang had finished preparing his "big boss" and wiped it with toilet paper before putting it away. He knew Meng Yin was a miser and probably hadn’t spent even one happiness ticket. He opened his mouth again and asked Meng Yin to lend him one happiness ticket, promising to return it once he earned one at the end of the month. Meng Yin ignored Li Shuntang and went to sleep on the floor, pulling the blanket over himself. He thought Li Shuntang was too shameless—he had refused him the day before and was back at it today. There were plenty of places to find happiness now. He had heard that at the T-junction south of Quan Kou Town, there were three sides of the street lined with dance halls. Even without a happiness ticket, as long as you were willing to spend money, you could get happiness in any of them. Money was another kind of happiness ticket. Li Shuntang didn’t want to spend money but wanted happiness—was there such a thing in the world?
However, Li Shuntang said to Meng Yin, "I know where you’re keeping your happiness ticket. Watch out, I might steal it for you!" Meng Yin said, "You dare! If you dare to steal one, I’ll make you pay ten back!" But Li Shuntang just laughed and said, "See? I told you his happiness ticket is tucked in his crotch. He hasn’t spent a single one. I wasn’t wrong, was I?"