Baldy Li and Song Gang sat next to each other on a long bench, their heads barely reaching the table. They rested their chins on the table-top, level with their parents’ elbows. Song Fanping and Li Lan piled the boys’ rice bowls high with meat, fish, and greens. Baldy Li took a bite of meat, a bite of fish, and a bite of greens and rice, then decided he didn't want any more. He turned to look at Song Gang next to him and said softly, "Candy."
Song Gang was relishing his mouthful of fish and meat, but when he heard Baldy Li, he decided he didn't want any more either. He also said softly, "Candy."
The children were already acquainted with the wonderful taste of fish and meat and enjoyed them a few times a year. But what they wanted now was candy. The sweetness in their mouths had disappeared quickly, so now they started to repeat over and over — first softly, then loudly, and finally at the top of their voices — the single word: "Candy, candy, candy …"
Li Lan explained that there wasn't any more, that she had already passed out all that she had. Song Fanping chuckled and asked the boys what kind of candy they wanted. The boys took up the wrappers on the table and said together, "This kind."
Song Fanping made a big show of reaching into his pockets, asking the boys, "So you want some hard candy?"
They nodded vigorously and craned their necks to peer into his pockets. But Song Fanping shook his head and said, "There isn't any more."
Both kids were so disappointed they almost wept, whereupon Song Fanping said, "There isn't any more hard candy, but there is soft candy."
The boys’ eyes opened wide. They had never heard of something called soft candy. They saw Song Fanping stand up, feeling through all his pockets as if looking for the soft candy, and their hearts pounded with excitement. He emptied each pocket in turn, saying, "Where's the candy?"
When Song Fanping emptied his last pocket and there was still nothing, the boys both burst into tears. Slapping his forehead, Song Fanping exclaimed, "Now I remember!"
Song Fanping turned and tiptoed into the inner room, as carefully as if he were about to go catch a flea, making Li Lan giggle. When his bruised and swollen face reemerged, Baldy Li and Song Gang saw that he was carrying a bag of milk candy in his hand.
The boys cried out in surprise. This was the first time they had tasted soft candy — chewy, cream-flavored candy. The wrapper had a picture of a big white bunny, and the name was White Rabbit. Song Fanping explained that his sister in Shanghai had sent these as their wedding present. He let Li Lan have one and took another for himself. Then he gave Baldy Li and Song Gang five each.
The two kids placed the milk candy in their mouths, slowly licking, chewing, and swallowing their saliva, which was now sweetened with candy and tasted like cream. Baldy Li put some rice into his mouth and chewed it along with the candy, and Song Gang did the same. The rice was now as sweet and creamy as candy. Now the grains of rice in their mouths also became White Rabbits. As he savored every bite, Song Gang cried out affectionately, "Baldy Li, Baldy Li."
Baldy Li also cried out, "Song Gang, Song Gang…"
Song Fanping and Li Lan smiled contentedly. Looking over at Baldy Li's shiny pate, Song Fanping commented to Li Lan, "We really should call him by his name, not his nickname." Song Fanping scratched his head. "I only know him as Baldy Li, I don't even know his real name."
He asked Li Lan, "What is Baldy Li's name?"
Li Lan couldn't help but smile. "You just said not to call him by his nickname, but you just did."
Song Fanping raised both hands in surrender. "So from this day forward, what should we call him if we don't want to use his nickname?"
Li Lan burst out, "Baldy Li's name is—"
She covered her mouth before she finished, realizing that she had used his nickname. She couldn't help giggling. "His name is Li Guang."
"Li Guang." Song Fanping nodded. "Now I know."
Then Song Fanping turned to the two boys and said, "Song Gang, Baldy Li, I have something to say to you—"
Song Fanping saw that Li Lan was suppressing a giggle and asked carefully, "Did I call him by his nickname again?"
Still smiling, Li Lan nodded. Song Fanping scratched his head and said, "Well, okay, let's use the nickname then. It's impossible not to call him Baldy Li."
He burst out laughing and turned to the two boys again. Once his laughter had subsided, he said, "From this day forward, you will be brothers. You must treat each other like your own blood, look out for each other, and stick together in sickness and in health, in happiness and in misfortune. You must study hard and strive to improve…"
Song Fanping and Li Lan became husband and wife, and Song Gang and Baldy Li became brothers. Two families became one. Baldy Li and Song Gang slept in the outer room, and Li Lan and Song Fanping slept in the inner room. That night, the children lay in bed cradling their White Rabbit wrappers, sniffing the remaining traces of creamy sweetness and thinking about how they would encounter more White Rabbits in their dreams. Before he fell asleep, Baldy Li kept hearing the creaking of the bed inside and heard his mother sigh and moan, sometimes even bursting into a wail. But Baldy Li felt that this night his mothers cries sounded different from before, as though she weren't really crying. In the creek outside the window, a small boat floated by, and the rhythmic stirring of the oars echoed Baldy Li's mother's voice from the inner room.
CHAPTER 7
SONG FANPING was a happy man. Although his face was covered in bruises and it hurt to smile, he would still laugh heartily. On the second day of his marriage he made a big show of washing Li Lan s hair outside the house. His face was swollen like one of those pigs’ heads hanging in the window of a butcher shop, but he paid no heed to the snickers of his neighbors. He poured well water into a face pail and helped Li Lan wet her hair. Then he applied soap and started to massage her scalp like a professional barber, until her entire head was covered in soapsuds. Finally, he brought another pail of well water to rinse her hair out, then used a towel to dry it and a wooden comb to comb it through, refusing to let her do anything herself. When Li Lan looked up, she saw that there was a crowd of a dozen or more adults and children gathered around her. She flushed bright red but also beamed with happiness.
Song Fanping announced that he wanted to take a stroll. Li Lan s hair was still dripping, and she looked hesitantly at Song Fanpings swollen face. He knew what she was thinking and assured her that his face was just fine. He turned to lock up the house, then took Baldy Li and Song Gang by the hand and walked ahead, leaving Li Lan with no choice but to follow.
The four of them walked down the street hand in hand. Passersby watched them and tittered, knowing that this was a second marriage for both of them, and that the groom had gotten into a fight with six people the day of his wedding. They simply couldn't believe that this bruised and swollen groom was now sauntering down the street, beaming with contentment. Whenever he saw someone he knew, he would greet them and happily introduce Li Lan: "This is my wife." Then he would point at the children: "And these are my sons."
Everyone looked very pleased, but their pleasure came from different sources. Song Fanpings was that of a groom, while the crowd's pleasure derived from the freak show they felt they were witnessing. Li Lan knew what their snickers meant and what they were saying as they pointed at her family, and therefore she lowered her head. Song Fanping also knew what the snickers meant but nevertheless told Li Lan, "Lift your head."