The Novel of Mao Dun - A Journey of Reading Masterpieces (Student Edition)

Author: Sun Zhongtian
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: That day, Miss Lin came back from school with her lips pursed. She threw down her schoolbag and didn’t go to the mirror to comb her hair or put on makeup as usual. Instead, she lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. Little Flower jumped onto the bed too, rubbing against Miss Lin’s waist and letting out a few "meows." Miss Lin instinctively reached out and stroked Little Flower’s head, then turned over, burying her face in the pillow and exclaimed, "Oh, Mom!" But there was no answer.
Mom’s room was right next door. She had always been very fond of her only daughter. Whenever her daughter came home, she would sway over to ask if she was hungry, leaving out her favorite snacks—otherwise, she would rush Wu Ma to buy a bowl of dumplings. But today was strange. There was clearly talking coming from Mom’s room, and she could even hear her hiccuping, yet Mom didn’t answer even once.
Miss Lin turned over in bed again, lifting her head to try to eavesdrop on her mother’s conversation. She was whispering so quietly. But she couldn’t make out what they were saying—only her mother’s continuous hiccuping drifting intermittently into Miss Lin’s ears. Suddenly, Mom’s voice grew a bit louder, as if she were angry. A few words were clearly audible: "These are all Japanese goods, and those are too. Hiccup!" Miss Lin jolted upright, as if her neck was covered in short hairs from a haircut, and felt restless all over.
It was indeed because of the issue of Japanese goods that she had been mocked and cursed at school. Now, she was in a bad mood when she got home. She pushed Little Flower away, who had come close again, and jumped up to take off her new emerald green faux fur cashmere cheongsam, shaking it in her hands with a sigh. It was said that this beautiful faux fur and cashmere were all from Japan. She lifted the cashmere cheongsam and dragged out the small leather trunk from under the bed, twisting the lid open in anger and flipping it upside down onto the bed. Clothes and miscellaneous items rolled all over the bed in a colorful mess. Little Flower was startled, jumped off the bed with a "puff," turned around, and then hopped onto a chair, watching its mistress. Miss Lin rummaged through the pile of clothes for a while, then stoodly in front of the bed, lost in thought. The more she looked at the clothes and items, the more she liked them, yet the more they seemed to be Japanese goods! Could none of them be worn anymore? But she—she couldn’t bear it, and her father probably wouldn’t agree to make new ones either! Miss Lin couldn’t help but feel her eyes well up. She loved these Japanese goods, yet she hated the Japanese people. Why had they gone to war and invaded Manchuria? Otherwise, if she wore Japanese goods, who would mock and curse her?
"Hiccup—" Suddenly, a sound came from the door. Then, Miss Lin’s mother appeared, swaying with her slender figure. Seeing the clothes scattered all over the bed and her daughter standing in front of it, only wearing a knitted short-sleeved dress and looking lost, Miss Lin’s mother was utterly shocked. The more anxious she became, the more she hiccuped, and for a moment, she couldn’t say a word.
Miss Lin rushed to her mother’s side, her face pale with tears, saying, "Mom! It’s all Japanese goods! What will I wear tomorrow?" Miss Lin shook her head, still hiccuping, one hand supporting her daughter’s shoulder, the other rubbing her own chest. After a while, she finally managed to stammer out a few words, "A’ning, hiccup, why did you—hiccup—strip down? Be careful of catching a cold—hiccup—this ailment of mine, hiccup, it started when I gave birth to you, and hiccup—has gotten worse lately! Hiccup!"
"Mom! What will I wear tomorrow? I’ll just have to stay home and not go out. They’ll laugh at me, curse me!" But Miss Lin’s mother didn’t answer. Still hiccuping, she walked to the bed, picked up the cashmere cheongsam, and put it on her daughter. Then she patted the bed, urging her to sit down. Little Flower came close again to Miss Lin’s feet, lifted her head, narrowed her eyes to look at her mother, then at Miss Lin. Then, she lazily leaned against Miss Lin’s feet, rubbing her belly with Miss Lin’s shoe. Miss Lin kicked Little Flower away and leaned over, lying back in bed, hiding her face behind her mother’s back. For a while, neither of them said anything.
The mother kept hiccuping, while the daughter was busy planning, "What will I do tomorrow?" The issue of Japanese goods didn’t just affect what Miss Lin wore but also what she used. It was said that her makeup case, which her classmates envied, as well as her mechanical pencil, were all Japanese goods—and yet she loved these little trinkets!
"A’ning, hiccup—Are you hungry?" P6-17