Chapter Ninety-Four: Grandfather Loses His Temper

Looking back now, those ideas seem filthy, but in that era they were perfectly ordinary. It was not that ordinary people were uncultured; it was that they had seen too little and could not yet break free of the times that bound them. Even though the campaign that had brought everything down was over, its influence could not be erased overnight.

Of course, those rumors had not failed to reach Grandmother and Grandfather. Grandfather was a little better off; he was a man with his own opinions. But Grandmother, an illiterate old woman with bound feet, had probably never in her life seen anyone more important than the neighborhood committee director. No, that was not quite right. At the opening ceremony, she had once seen the deputy district chief. So these days she was fretful and half-mad with worry, afraid that one day another political movement would come and bring calamity upon the whole family.

She and Grandfather were both people already half-buried in yellow earth, and they were not afraid of hardship. But the children had not yet settled down or made their way in the world, and if disaster struck them at such a time, she could not bear it. So she spent a great deal of time whispering in Grandfather's ear, urging him to tell her younger daughter and the others to stop their business and offer it to the state. Better to be seen as someone who had turned back from the wrong path and made amends through good deeds than to lose their lives.

In these past few days, Grandmother's words had made even Grandfather somewhat uncertain. He had seen more than one big official brought down before, and compared with that deputy district chief, the man did not even really count as an official. Just when he himself could not decide, another reassuring piece of news arrived. This time it did not seem like a trick. Several major cities had begun to open up. This policy was certainly not something that would change on a whim. Grandfather could not explain the grand principles, but he understood the pattern: one must not listen only to what was said, but to what was done.

"Pa, stop indulging him all the time. I went to Yumei's shop. Those clothes and trousers are just too indecent. And that barber shop run by Big Bell—just looking at the comings and goings in there, none of it seems proper. Hongtao can't keep hanging around in places like that. He'll never learn anything good!"

Father was not worried about any political campaign. He had been hit by one before, and his instinct in that respect was especially sharp; at the slightest sign of trouble, he could sense it. What he did object to was Hongtao spending every day in the beauty salon. Though he was much younger than Grandfather, his thinking was not particularly modern either. Not to mention him— even Brother-in-law Han, a very quick-witted man, could not have accepted those new trends in such a short time.

Father had always believed that good company made one good and bad company made one bad. He felt that the people who went into those shops might not be coal, but at the very least they were soot, so he did not want his little red sprout to keep standing around in a coal pile.

"Fine, Bingrui, I know you've never looked down on our family. Before, you said Shiming wasn't a good child and wouldn't let Xiaotao play with him, afraid he'd be corrupted. I put up with that. Now you've dragged Yumei and Big Bell into it too. So in your eyes, our family doesn't have a single good person, is that it? Then let's do it this way—you and Yuzhi should stop living together, get divorced! I won't drag you down either. Xiaotao will live with me, and you'll be free and clear. Go outside and find yourself someone you think is a good person!" Grandfather had not even waited for Father to finish before he slammed the table, sprang to his feet, pointed straight at Father's nose and cursed him out, then hurled his wine cup onto the table and went back to his room.

"You old bastard! You crazy old fool again! Don't mind him, don't mind him. He's drunk and spouting madness in broad daylight. Eat... eat... Yuzhi, what are you staring at? Eat!" Seeing her second son-in-law made to look red-faced and embarrassed by the old man, Grandmother hurried in to smooth things over.

"Mom, it's fine. You all eat. I'm full. I'll head back first..." Father was deeply downcast. He could not understand where he had gone wrong. His son had slipped beyond his control, and even his father-in-law did not understand him. Now even the word divorce had been spoken—that was essentially the final warning. From now on, this subject could no longer be raised in this family; the moment it was mentioned, someone would fly into a rage. Yet if he did not mention it, he could not bear it either. He could not just stand by and watch his own son go astray, and even if he had not yet gone astray, merely heading in that direction was unacceptable.

"It looks like we'll have to change the environment. Whether they like it or not, mother and son must move! Tomorrow I'll go and handle this. No matter how difficult it is, I have to get it done. Why should the things that belong to my family not be returned to me?" Leaving his in-laws' home, Father walked alone back toward his own place. The more he thought about it, the more wrong it all felt. In the end, it seemed he had thought of some way to solve the problem, and his pace quickened. As he walked, he kept muttering to himself.

Hongtao naturally had no idea what Father was planning. Just now, when Grandfather had lost his temper, there was nothing he could say in Father's defense. Hongtao had never been very pleased with that fault of his father's either. He had always divided society by levels of education. It was not that he would ask someone their schooling the moment he met them, but it was close enough. If you had a high school education, he could still chat with you for a while. If you did not even have that, he would at most exchange a few polite words and then have nothing else to say.

This was not the first time Grandfather had cursed and flown into a rage. Not even Father could compare with the kind of people Grandfather had scolded before; even someone like his maternal uncle, who might only come once or twice a year, would get the same treatment. So Hongtao did not take it to heart. After finishing his meal, he raced back to the shop to help out. By now, his younger aunt and cousin were no longer eating at home. They were having meals across the street at a snack shop together with Han Yan, Han Xue, and Juanzi. Juanzi was his younger aunt's classmate, named Wang Juan.

This had also been Hongtao's suggestion. His reasoning was simple: in the time it took to go home and eat one meal, they could at least curl two heads. All told, that meant ten yuan. With ten yuan, they could eat in the snack shop for a whole week. Only a fool could fail to see which was lighter and which was heavier. So the tailoring shop and the hair salon had acquired another benefit: not only was everyone paid in full, but meals were included, three restaurant meals a day!

"Damn it! What's going on? A fight? A fire? Excuse me, let me through... make way... the person inside is from my family!"

Just as Hongtao reached the mouth of the alley, he saw a huge crowd gathered outside the shop. They were packed three and four deep, almost spilling onto the curb, and there were even a few half-grown boys climbing the trees. He immediately panicked. Something had clearly happened. So he shouted as he tried to push his way in.

"Whose kid is this? Why are you shoving? Stay back there! Your family? Everyone in your family has blond hair or what?"

Several middle-aged men, each holding a big palm fan, blocked Hongtao firmly. They would not let him through and even shoved him back with their hands.

"Blond hair? Blond your damn uncle's hair! Are you going to let me through or not? That shop is ours! What's the meaning of blocking it up like this?"

Hongtao had barely squeezed through two layers of people before being pushed right back out again. With no choice, he pressed himself against the wall and fought his way inward while shouting. At last, he got inside.

"Younger Aunt! What are you doing? Why did you put the television by the window?"

Only after squeezing in did Hongtao understand. Nothing was wrong in the shop at all. The reason so many people were gathered there was that a black-and-white television had been placed in the tailoring shop's glass window, and a movie was playing on it. Hongtao did not even have time to look at what movie it was; he was already furious beyond endurance.

"Oh? Ah. They all came into the shop to watch TV. I was afraid something might get stolen, so I put the television by the window for them to watch. Isn't it quiet now?" His younger aunt and Juanzi were sitting behind the machines, busily working. When Hongtao shouted like that, it took several seconds before she understood what he was asking.

"Oh... how am I supposed to put this? You're all at ease, but now nobody can even get through the door. How is this business supposed to be done? Shut it down!"

Hongtao finally understood what had happened. His younger aunt was excellent at her work and quick to learn the trade, but her temperament was far too soft.

"Hey... hey... why shut it down? Bang, bang, bang... open up! It's at the crucial part!"

No sooner had Hongtao pulled the power plug from the television than the crowd outside began protesting. Someone was even banging on the glass.

"Hongtao! You finally came. Nobody can even get into the hair salon side anymore."

Hongtao turned his face away. Let them shout, let them bang—so long as they did not break the glass, it was fine. He could not go out now. There were too many people outside. It was not that he feared being beaten; it was that if he went out, it would turn into a war of words and he would end up offending people for nothing. Running a business depended on harmony bringing wealth. If he could avoid offending people directly, then he should. And if he had to offend them, it had to be done quietly.

At that moment, Han Xue poked her head out from the hair salon side. Seeing Hongtao, she started complaining.

"There's only you here who counts, and you didn't even think to help keep an eye on things. You let all these people block the doorway. Good thing I came early. If this had gone on for another half hour, the police would have come!"

Hongtao was already holding back a bellyful of fire, so naturally he snapped back.

"How am I supposed to know? Why are you taking it out on me? It wasn't me who told you to put the television there. And since when does what I say count?"

Hearing Hongtao's complaint, Han Xue also got annoyed. Her little face immediately darkened, and she turned and went back inside.

"It... it was me who told them to put it there. I just didn't think it would..."

His younger aunt did not try to dodge responsibility. She took the blame herself.

"It's fine. Don't mind her. That's just her temper. She's like a horse that needs the reins pulled the right way. She'll be better in a while. When I'm not here, if something comes up, ask her more. After all, she's been in society longer. But when it comes to matters of management, you have to ask me! All right, keep at it. You don't need to worry about the people outside; they'll disperse in a bit."

Hongtao also felt that his complaint had been aimed a little off. Han Xue was really only a temporary helper; she was not even as legitimate a presence as Han Yan. If he had put himself in that position, he probably would not have interfered with the boss's younger aunt either.

"Oh..." His younger aunt was obedient enough and bent her head to go back to her clothes.

"Heh heh..."

As for Juanzi, she had not really seen Hongtao much. She had only met him after coming here. Hongtao usually spent more time on the hair salon side. This was the first time she had seen her classmate's young nephew angry. She stuck out her tongue at him and gave a silly grin.

"Sigh... birds of a feather flock together. She's a quiet, honest girl too."

Seeing Juanzi's foolish grin, Hongtao knew she was not the sharp-tongued, fierce type either. He could only force a smile in return, while letting out a silent lament in his heart.