back at least three meters and sat down hard on the ground. His shoulder hurt like hell. He could barely raise his arm. It felt like his clavicle was broken.
9
He rode his clunky bicycle down from the mountain in a daze, never once hitting the brake, as if death were the only solution. He was heading straight into a northeast wind that billowed his coat and nearly froze his abdomen as the wind whistled past his ears; it was as if he were riding the clouds and soaring through the mist. The garbage bag on the rack behind him blew open, sending soiled paper and plastic bags into the air with a loud
Muddle-headed though he was, he managed to make his way to the door of his apprentice, Lu Xiaohu, and had just raised his hand to knock when he spotted a drawing pasted on the door; it was a sketch of a boy with anger in his eyes. Old Ding turned to get out of there just as he saw his apprentice coming up the hallway carrying a plucked chicken. The sight of the dead chicken's pimply skin in the murky light raised goose bumps on his skin. His legs buckled, causing shooting pains in his newly healed broken leg, and he sat down hard on the steps. Lu Xiaohu stopped dead in his tracks.
“Shifu,” he asked anxiously, “what are you doing here?”
Like a little boy who's been picked on, then suddenly sees his daddy, old Ding felt his lips begin to quiver and tears spill from his eyes.
“What's the matter, Shifu?” his apprentice asked as he rushed up to help old Ding to his feet. “Has something happened?”
His knees buckled, and he knelt at the feet of his disciple.
“Little Hu,” he sobbed, “something terrible…”
Quickly opening his apartment door, little Hu dragged him inside and sat him down on the sofa.
“Shifu, what's happened? Your wife hasn't died, has she?”
“No,” he said weakly. “It's much worse than that…”
“Tell me, what is it?” Little Hu was getting worried. “Shifu, tell me before I die of anxiety.”
“Little Hu,” he sobbed, wiping his tears, “I'm in big trouble”
“What is it? Tell me!”
“A man and woman went in around noon today, and they still haven't come out…”
“So? Just collect more money from them.” Little Hu breathed a sigh of relief. “This is good news.”
“What do you mean, good news? They died in there…”
“Died?” Little Hu was stunned; he nearly dropped the hot vacuum bottle he had in one hand. “How'd that happen?”
“I'm not sure”
“Have you seen their bodies?”
“No.”
“Then how do you know they're dead?”
“They must be… they went in over three hours ago, and at first I heard the woman sob. Then no more sound.” He showed his apprentice his injured hand. “I tried to break down the door, I pounded on the windows, I shouted, and hurt myself doing it, but no sound inside, not even a whisper…”
Little Hu laid down his vacuum bottle and sat on a stool across from the sofa. He took out a pack of cigarettes, put one in his mouth and lit it. With his head lowered, he took a deep drag, then looked up. “Shifu,” he said, “take it easy.” He took out another cigarette, handed it to old Ding, and lit it for him. “Maybe they fell asleep. That sort of activity can tire a person out.”
Old Ding nervously rubbed his knees with his hands as he sat there gazing hopefully into the eyes of his apprentice.
“My fine young apprentice, you don't need to try to reassure me,” he said sorrowfully. “I knocked till my knuckles were bloody and yelled myself hoarse. I made enough noise to wake the dead. But nothing stirred inside, nothing…”
“Couldn't they have slipped out while you weren't looking? That sounds plausible to me. Shifu, you should know that there's nothing people won't do to get out of paying what they owe.”
Ding shook his head. “That's not possible, absolutely impossible. First of all, the door is bolted from the inside. Besides, I never took my eyes off the place. I'd have seen a pair of rats scurrying out of there, let alone a pair of full-sized humans.”
“Rats, you say. How about this?” Little Hu said. “They tunneled their way out.”
“My fine apprentice,” old Ding said, his voice cracking tearfully, “forget your wacky theories and help me figure out what to do. I beg you!”
Little Hu lowered his head and puffed away on his cigarette. Deep lines creased his brow. Old Ding stared at his apprentice without blinking, waiting to hear his ideas. Little Hu looked up.
“Shifu,” he said, “I think we just say to hell with it. You've earned a tidy sum this year. Now we wait till next spring and come up with another money-making scheme.”
“Little Hu, we're talking about the loss of two lives…”
“So? That's not our fault,” he said angrily. “Once they decided to die, there was nothing we could do about it. What kind of fuck-ups were they?”
“They looked like educated people to me, maybe party officials.”
“That's even more reason to stay clear of them. With people like that, you know they're having an extramarital affair. No one will shed a tear over their deaths.”
“But,” he stammered, “what if they tie this to me? As the saying goes, you can't bury bodies in the snowy ground. The police will know it was me right off.”
“What are you getting at? Don't tell me you're thinking of going to the police yourself.”
“Little Hu, I've given this a lot of thought. You know what they say: the ugly bride has to face her in-laws sooner or later.”
“Are you really thinking of going to the police?”
“Maybe, they might still be able to save them.”
“Shifu, this is pretty much the same as setting yourself on fire!”
“My fine apprentice, didn't you say you have a cousin who works at the Public Security Bureau? Will you take me to see him?”
“Shifu!”
“I beg you, I need your cousin's help. If I did nothing, I don't think I could get another good night's sleep ever again.”
“Shifu,” Little Hu said in a somber tone of voice, “have you given any thought to possible consequences? What you've been engaged in will seem sordid to people, and it won't take much digging to find a law that'll send you away for a couple of years. And even if that doesn't happen, you can look forward to a hefty fine. And when those people fine you, you know you've been fined. I wouldn't be surprised if the money you've earned over an entire summer, plus the fall, won't be enough to pay it off.”
“I have to live with that,” old Ding admitted painfully. “I don't want that money. From now on, I'll go begging before I do anything like this again.”
“And what if you're looking at jail time?” his apprentice asked him.
“That's why I want you to speak to your cousin,” he said weakly, his head sagging. “If it's jail time I'm looking at, I'll just go get some rat poison and put an end to everything.”
“Shifu! Shifu!” Little Hu said. “All that stuff about a cousin with the police, I just said that to boost your confidence.”
