土匪又殺人 《女人和土匪》（英譯本）

 

 

Chapter 34

 

 

Dai jumped into Liu’s arms. They finally gathered together.

Liu’s dress smelled bad. He must have stayed like a beggar for a long time. He looked pale. He seemed hungry. He ate the chicken and pig hooves with big mouthfuls. Dai gave a cup of wine to him. She looked about cautiously. She went to check if her two sons had slept. Then she came back and helped Liu to wash.

There was no light inside. He mopped his back with a towel and found it greasy. Suddenly he had a strong desire for Dai. He threw the towel to the ground and touched her legs with force. Then, he pushed her to the bed.

Now, in the Zhang’s courtyard the couple held each other tightly. She murmured, “Please, honey, don’t leave me any longer.”

He put his head on her belly. This gave him great satisfaction. He mopped her sweat and touched the mosquito bites on her back. He could read her feelings and experiences in this way. He believed that his presence could delight her. Then, he heard the bellman strike the bell. He said, “I’d better leave now.”

“No. I can’t let you go.”

He looked at her gratefully, “You are the dearest for me in the world. Give me a few days and I’ll have my subordinates arranged in the mountains. Then I’ll come back.”

“No, you can’t leave. Just hide here. It’s safe. You won’t have trouble here.”

He sat up, answering, “Shit! The Communists are smart. I must go and make a farewell to my subordinates.” He listened with care. It was 4 a.m. “I must go. I have never expected to meet you here. I have actually thought about coming here to look for you. But I thought you wouldn’t do that for the sake of pride.”

Dai hugged Liu tightly, saying, “People have to change their minds in this world. I thought you had died. That’s why I had to come here for survival. Anyway, we are relatives.”

Liu replied, “Right!”

Dai asked, “Did something bad happen to you that night?”

“That’s a long story. I’ll tell you about it later. It’s not proper to do that now.”

Dai did not want to let Liu go. She said, “I heard you had died. But my sons are young. I had to come here. Anyway, I could not make Zhang Yunxuan live such an easy life.”

“That’s right. He led so many soldiers for the uprising. He isn’t as heroic as Commander Cao.”

“We women do not see things this way. I just felt sorry for my dead husband. Zhang Yunxuan did not say anything to help my husband. He just wanted to save himself. What a coward! You know we’re relatives. That’s why I decided to stay here. But now I realize they’re kind people, and we have brought much trouble to them.”

Liu said coldly, “Give him more trouble.”

Dai replied, “Now I feel guilty to the Zhang’s. Zhang’s wife and son are really kind people, hard to find elsewhere.”

Liu said, “You’re flattering.”

Dai gave him a pat, saying, “I’m not flattering. We have to treat each other heart-to-heart. In those days the farmers came to the Zhang’s courtyard and asked me for trouble. It is this couple who helped me. They made compensations for me and even took the stigma of landlord. Tang and Zhang Yan are especially kind to my sons. I owe them a lot.”

Liu began to dress himself, saying, “You are living here. That’s why you say so. You once despised them but now you feel grateful to them. What a change! But I hate this family. I’d like to burn down the house. And I’d like them to suffer from the Communists!”

Dai replied, “Nonsense! Dare you do it!”

“I dare do anything.”

Dai did not want to argue with Liu over this matter. She was worried about his security and the time when he could come back. She stared at him, murmuring, “You change your costumes a lot, this day Miao’s dress and that day Buyi’s dress. Aren’t you tired of it?”

“You don’t know the truth. The Communists love the poor and hate the rich. If I dress myself like a trader, they would question me a lot. This kind of dress helps to make me safe.”

Dai smiled and hugged him. Liu said, “Next time I come I’ll take you away, or I’ll burn down the house!”

Dai squeezed his arm, refuting, “Dare you do that!”

Then, Liu left with reluctance. He tidied up the pistol and grenades at his waist. He felt warm in his heart. He kissed her long and then waved to her, and climbed up the surrounding wall and left.

Liu felt life colorful and interesting. He was so happy that one of the grenades dropped into the courtyard as he climbed up the surrounding wall. He did not notice that.

Liu had arranged the route to leave. The Zhang’s courtyard was close to a long lane, which was then connected with the empty stadium. The

Nanjing Road

was about 60 meters away from the stadium. Liu looked about, only to find some PLA soldiers question the horse-wagon drivers ahead. He wanted to come back to the Zhang’s courtyard, but then he heard loud shouts behind. Some PLA soldiers and public security worker were driving some beggars, prostitution-goers and prostitutes in this way. The beggars knew they had to go back to their own villages, so they usually hid in dark corners. A prostitute was pleading for mercy:

“You can’t catch me this way. Why can’t my cousin stay in my room? You see, we slept on different beds. Please have mercy on me, or I’ll be insulted to death.”

Liu had to climb up a honey locust tree and hid there. He was about to take out his pistol when he found one of his grenades missing. As the people passed by, he saw a disgusting man—Cao Fade, that ugly fat man! He happened to stand behind the tree. The prostitute was whispering something to him and he just stared at her breasts.

The woman was about 20. She looked small but her breasts were big. Her hair was loose and untidy; she had a fair face. That could excite men.

At this time, the woman held Cao’s hands, pleading in a coyly way, “Comrade, please save me.” Then she hushed her voice, “You can come to my house at any time tomorrow.” Later she raised her voice, “He is my distant cousin named Wang Yonggui. He called me Wu Simei when I was young. We didn’t do anything dirty together. When you came, we slept on different beds.” She held Cao’s hands, whispering, “I’ll pay back your kindness with double efforts.”

Fuck Cao! He was trading with the woman at the cost of the Communist law. He stared at the girl in a lusty way, “Is he really your cousin?”

She replied coyly, “Sure!”

“No lie?”

“No. You’ll know that better later.”

Cao got the man closer, asking, “Why did you forget your cousin’s name. She is Wu Jiaxiu, also called Wu Simei.”

The man replied at once, “Yes. I remember now.”

“Ok.” Cao called a public security worker close, and told him, “Let the man and woman go. They’re cousins.”

The woman left with thanks and temptations.

Liu saw the whole thing. He thought, “If I were detected, I would kill Cao Fade first.”

Then, a person asked Cao, “Where should we send these people?”

“The beggars should be sent to relief stations but the criminals would be sent to the public security office.”

“Have you checked the Zhang’s house?”

“The provincial leadership tells us not to check that house.”

Liu was not detected. Fuck Zhang Yunxuan, he thought. You sold the Kuomintang’s interests for personal benefits. What a mean man! But then he recalled his meeting with Dai. If it were not the Zhang’s, Dai could not have lived such an easy life. He felt relieved at this.

As those people disappeared, Liu came down the tree. Then he walked towards the stadium. He heard a soldier suddenly speak in the dark, “Password!”

Liu walked slowly, answering, “I am Commander Cao. Don’t you know me?”

When the man heard this, he did not get alert. Liu got up to him quickly and beat his head with force by a grenade. The man fell down. Liu took away his pistol and walked by a line of gingko trees. He was excited with the killing. He did not think mercy was good for him.

Sometimes he thought killing was for survival. He had to do this in order to be safe.

Liu thought he should not make the mistake he once had made. That was the time when he got the silver coins from under the tree at the entrance of the village. He could have killed the militia guard, but he thought the killing might bring disasters to Dai. His hesitation led to the militia’s chasing of him throughout the mountains. He was pushed near the cliff. He got a shot in his arms. He felt so painful that he had to jump down into the waters in the abyss. He thought he would die for sure and never have the chance to meet his lover again. As he came round, he found himself still alive in the water. He was grateful that the dog had diverted the attention of the militia and so he was saved. What a great dog! He thought.

Later, Liu had to stay in a friend’s house for half a year in order to recover from the gunshot wound. Now he killed again. He had no sense of guilt. He went to look for his subordinates, that is, the other bandits.