Jinju’s heart began to shrink, and she shuddered as a breath of cold air rose inside. They’ve killed him-and all because of me! Elder Brother Gao Ma… my dear Elder Brother Gao Ma… Jinju’s shrinking heart relaxed again and, amid her immersion in the blessing of honeyed sorrow, more sickening sweet stuff rose slowly in her throat. Jute branches and leaves rustled crisply; the sunlight was blinding bright; tens of thousands of warm red sparks danced wildly in Pale Horse County’s pepper fields; and a chestnut colt bounded out of the field, flicking its tail friskily as it raced among sparks that glinted off its metal shoes like shiny precious gems. Bells around its neck played a crisp, melodic tune.
The swarthy skin on Gao Ma’s swollen, puffy face shone under all that blood and mud. He lay on the ground, legs straight, arms lying stiffly at his sides. Deputy Yang laid his ear against Gao Ma’s chest. Jinju heard Gao Ma’s powerful, heavy heartbeat, which matched the rhythm of the colt’s hoof beats: the hoofbeats were the pounding of a small drum, the heartbeats the thumping of a big one.
Please don’t die, Elder Brother Gao Ma. Don’t leave me here alone, Jinju moaned as she watched the chestnut colt race up to the road, then lope back and forth along the edge of the pepper field, the sparks flying from its metal shoes making it appear to be prancing on water. The crisp tinkling of the bells around its neck was long and drawn-out. At the edge of the pepper field it slowed to a more hesitant gait and turned its blue eyes toward the calmly smiling face of Gao Ma.
“You boys are lucky,” Deputy Yang said as he stood up. “He’s still alive. If he had died, you d be rotting in jail for a long time-and I mean both of you!”
“What now, Eighth Uncle?” Elder Brother asked helplessly.
“Now it’s my turn to suffer over this business of yours,” Deputy Yang grumbled, taking a small opaque vial from his pocket and waving it under the brothers’ eyes. “This is Yunnan medicinal powder. We’ll give it to our young friend here.” He knelt down, removed the stopper from the vial, and dumped a bright red pellet into his palm. Pausing briefly for effect, he said, “Open his mouth.”
Again the brothers exchanged glances. Second Brother signaled Elder Brother to stick his dark fingers into Gao Ma’s mouth and pry it open. Holding the pellet between his fingers, Deputy Yang paused dramatically once more before reluctantly inserting it between Gao Ma’s lips.
“Little Guo,” Deputy Yang shouted to his driver, “bring the canteen.”
The driver climbed lazily out of the Jeep and walked up holding an army canteen whose yellow surface was peeling. A semicircular rut etched in his cheek showed that he had been sleeping facedown on the steering wheel.
Deputy Yang poured some water into Gao Ma’s mouth. It reeked of alcohol.
Then the four men stood over Gao Ma like dark pillars, all eight eyes glued to his face. The chestnut colt ran like the wind, hooves thudding loudly, sparks from its shoes crackling in the air; the circle it described was large enough to embrace Jinju, and as it passed through the field, stalks and branches bent before it like softly yielding willow twigs. Green spots careened off its glossy hide. Little colt… little colt… she wanted to wrap her arms around its satiny neck.
Gao Ma’s hand twitched.
“Good,” Deputy Yang exclaimed. “Excellent. That Yunnan medicinal powder deserves its reputation. Damned good stuff.”
Gao Ma’s eyes opened a crack. Deputy Yang bent down and said in a genial tone, “You’re lucky to be alive, my boy. If not for my Yunnan medicinal powder, you’d be off meeting with Karl Marx right about now.”
Gao Ma lay with a peaceful, happy smile on his face. He managed a barely perceptible nod to Deputy Yang.
“Now what, Eighth Uncle?” Elder Brother asked.
A rumble emerged from Gao Ma’s chest as he pulled his arms back and rested on his elbows, slowly raising his head and body until he was in a sitting position. Frothy, blood-streaked threads oozed from the corners of his mouth. Elder Brother Gao Ma… dear Elder Brother Gao Ma… the chestnut colt is touching your face with its downy muzzle… it’s weeping. Gao Ma’s head fell back. Slowly he raised it again. The chestnut colt is licking Elder Brother Gao Ma’s face with its golden tongue.
“He can take a beating,” Deputy Yang said as he looked down at the now squatting Gao Ma. “Do you know why this happened?” he asked with a ring of genuine appreciation.
Gao Ma smiled and nodded. He’s looking at me. There’s a smile on Elder Brother Gao Ma’s face. The chestnut colt is licking the traces of blood from his face.
“Are you going to try to trick our sister in going off with you again?” asked Elder Brother, limping in place.
Gao Ma smiled and nodded.
Second Brother cocked his leg to kick Gao Ma again.
“Number Two!” Deputy Yang shouted. “You stupid bastard!”
Elder Brother picked up Gao Ma’s bundle and loosened the knot with his teeth, spilling the contents, including the envelope, onto the ground. He got down on his knees and held the envelope down.
“Number One, don’t do it.”
After wetting his finger in his mouth, Elder Brother began counting the bank notes.
“Number One, you shouldn’t be doing that.”
“Eighth Uncle, he corrupted our sister and used up your costly medicine. For that he must pay.”
Elder Brother then dug through Gao Ma’s pockets with his damp hand, fishing out some crumpled ten-fen notes and four shiny aluminum one-fen coins. The chestnut colt reared its head and knocked the coins from his hand. Elder Brother scurried after them, tears filling his eyes.
CHAPTER 9
– from a ballad sung at police headquarters by Zhang Kou
on behalf of Fourth Uncle, who had been struck down on the road after trying to sell his garlic
1.
It was noon. A dazed Fourth Aunt lay in bed, vaguely aware that someone was tugging on her arm. She sat up, rubbed her eyes, and was face to face with a young policewoman in a beaked cap and white uniform.
“Why aren’t you eating, Number Forty-seven?” the guard asked. She had big brown eyes and long, fluttering lashes in a face that was as white and round as a goose egg. Fourth Aunt was instinctively drawn to this lovely girl, who removed her hat to fan the air. “We expect you to behave yourself in here and own up to all the charges. Remember, ‘Leniency to those who confess, severity to those who refuse/ Now it’s mealtime, so eat.”
Fourth Aunt’s heart was saturated with warmth, and tears pooled in her aging eyes. She nodded spiritedly. The guard’s glossy black hair, parted on the side, tomboylike, highlighted her soft white complexion.
“Miss…” Fourth Aunt grimaced; she wanted to say something but was too choked up to get the words out.
The guard put her hat back on. “Okay, hurry up and eat. You must trust the government. A good person has nothing to worry about, and a bad person has no place to hide.”
