Selected Works of Shi Tiesheng - 60th Century Literary Masters

Author: Shi Tiesheng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: "The clatter of the sewing machine suddenly stopped, and the world became light. The warm sun shone through the slanted small window, with dust motes dancing in the beams of light. People stretched lazily, yawned, and glanced at each other. Each weathered and stiff face seemed to melt, revealing faint smiles from the eye sockets and corners of their mouths. It was time for a half-hour lunch break, time to catch one's breath, and time to laugh and curse freely—this was the usual custom, like April Fool's Day in the West. Happy people possess a talent for finding joy in their own company. What is good fortune? If you think it's good fortune, then it is. Pfft! This theory was invented by the old man who did ironing, while eating a steamed bun with stinky tofu. It's unclear who enthusiastically spread it, but everyone believed it. Perhaps this theory is similar to the spirit of victory in Ah Q's story, but none of the eight and a half people (one paralyzed young man only counts as half a person) knew what Ah Q was. Instead, they knew Lu Xun. They had just discussed whether he also lived in Zhongnanhai yesterday, despite the paralyzed young man's disagreement, but in the end, everyone agreed with the old man's opinion: someone so famous—need we say more? Pfft! The clatter of a porcelain cup rang for a moment, and the low, old room was filled with the strong aroma of a leek restaurant. 'How much meat did you put in it?' 'Meat? Hmph, tongue meat!' And so the world was quiet again. Don't hurry, the right topic to break the ice hasn't been found yet. The sound of a car screeching to a halt came from outside the back window, and everyone stopped chewing and perked up their ears. 'You're tired of living!' It must have been nothing they hit; another roar of the engine, and the car drove away. The curtain rose. 'Yesterday, when I got off work,' the old woman Xia, with small round eyes narrowed, leaned forward and quickly swallowed a piece of baked cake in her mouth. 'Yesterday, when I got off work,' she quickly drank some water and took a deep breath. 'Yesterday, when I got off work, I was almost scared to death. I was walking, and then—this sound came from behind my back.' 'Oh my god! How come you weren't choked to death!' The woman opposite, 'Little Foot,' tossed a piece of steamed bun into her mouth. 'Such a small deal, I thought you found a diamond drill.' She pouted and turned her face, resting her right leg on her left, and the four or five inches of bound foot proudly swayed a few times. The paralyzed young man, while eating, fiddled with an abacus: 'Xia Grandma, you took half a day off for personal reasons and half a day for illness this month. It deducts ninety-two cents.' 'I looked back,' Xia continued, 'the alley is so narrow, and the car is so wide, where could I hide? If I ran like you, with those two precious feet of yours, I would have been hit by the car—no way out.' She took the opportunity to tease 'Little Foot' back. 'When I ran to the alley entrance, the car had already passed. Some elementary school students said it was a 'Red Flag.' Just hearing people talk about the 'Red Flag' car, but we've never actually seen what it looks like. You say... She tapped her leg, as if quite regretful for not being able to take a good look at the 'Red Flag' car. Upon hearing 'Red Flag,' everyone's laughter ceased, except for the old man who disdainfully muttered, 'You really wasted your life. A 'Red Flag' car? Big! Pretty! The glass on the windows can't be pierced by bullets—it's German-made, just like that!' His gaze met the paralyzed young man's, so he added, 'China has also successfully tested one now. Everyone in that car is a celebrity from the central government, like Ma Lianliang in the past.' Hearing the paralyzed young man chuckle secretly, the old man became vague. However, 'Little Foot' burst into laughter alone, and the more everyone scolded her as a 'crazy old woman,' the more she laughed uncontrollably. 'Call a taxi! Call a taxi! Someone's gone crazy here!' The old man ran towards the door seriously. 'Since I arrived this morning, I've seen her buttocks not like buttocks, and her face not like a face.' The paralyzed young man calculated again: 'One day off work, two half-days for illness—deduct eighty-five cents.' 'Deduct away, deduct away, so you won't have too much money for thieves to steal,' the old man said generously from the corner of the door, but his eyes still watched 'Little Foot,' with a proud and cunning smile. 'Little Foot' finally stopped laughing but let out a burp: 'Hmph! Just now that old thing said to me,' she poked Xia, 'Hmph! If I get hit by a car, it'll be my good fortune! Hmph! I'll just lie there quietly, with two attendants taking care of me, eating delicious food and drinking spicy drinks, Hmph!' 'Do you smoke anything else?' The old man narrowed his eyes and leaned closer, his expression now one of flattery. 'Hmph! Of course!' 'Little Foot' glared at the old man sideways, her face stern, 'Old Man Bai! By then, I might not even need you! Old Man Bai! Buy two Chinese filtered cigarettes.' 'Yes!' The old man replied, then grabbed 'Little Foot's' hand and began to feel her pulse seriously. 'Are you awake?' he said. 'Little Foot' pushed him away: 'What? He bumped into me!' Her tone implied that 'good fortune' was certainly not difficult. 'Just because of your rotten bones, you think you'll just lie there quietly? You'll just lie there quietly—in the morgue, or the crematorium.' The old man snapped a match, slowly picking out a yellow tooth from his mouth. 'Little Foot' widened her eyes, speechless—this was truly humiliating. 'I'll have my son if I die!' She suddenly regained her spirits. 'If my son dies, there will be grandsons. Grandsons will have great-grandsons—there's no end to it. This mountain will be a little smaller if we dig a bit, what can't be dug out?' The paralyzed young man chanted like a monk: 'Seven-three, three minus five equals two', his head down, eyes straight, clearing his accounts while biting half a piece of baked bread.