At that point, Blacksmith Tong appeared on the scene. He squeezed in through the crowd and squatted down, shaking the two boys and telling them to stop their crying. He said, "What dilated pupils or beating pulse? That's for the doctor to decide. You kids don't know a thing. Listen to me: Put your ear against her chest — do you hear thumping inside?"
Song Gang wiped away his snot and placed his head against Li Lan s chest. After listening for a while, he raised his head and nervously said to Baldy Li, "I think I hear thumping."
Baldy Li also hurriedly wiped away his tears and snot and listened for a while. He also heard her heart beating. He nodded to Song Gang, "I hear it, too."
Blacksmith Tong stood up and scolded the two men who had spoken earlier, "You two don't know crap. You only know how to frighten children."
Then Blacksmith Tong told Baldy Li and Song Gang, "She's not dead. She just fainted. Why don't you let her lie there for a while? She'll come to eventually."
Baldy Li and Song Gang immediately broke into wide grins. Wiping at his tears, Song Gang raised his face to Blacksmith Tong and said, "Blacksmith Tong, you will be rewarded in the next life."
Blacksmith Tong was very pleased with Song Gang's words. He smiled. "Now, that's true."
Baldy Li and Song Gang sat quietly by Li Lan's side. Song Gang picked up the photograph that had fallen to the ground, took a look for himself, and then showed it to Baldy Li before carefully placing it back into the envelope. More and more people gathered on the bridge, and many of them squeezed over to take a look at the boys. After inquiring about them from others, they then squeezed out of the crowd again. The two boys sat there patiently. From time to time they stole a look at each other and smiled. After a very long time had passed, Li Lan finally got up. The boys were so happy they shouted to the bystanders, "Mama's woken up!"
Li Lan had no idea what had just happened, only that she was crawling up from the ground. Embarrassed, she carefully dusted herself off and once again gathered the photograph and the black sash and white cloth to her chest. She didn't say a word the entire way home. Baldy Li and Song Gang didn't dare to say anything either, but they were bursting with emotion. They held on tightly to Li Lans clothes — having regained their mother after believing that they had lost her, they were filled with happiness. From time to time they would crane their necks to look at Li Lans front, at her back, and exchange tiny smiles.
CHAPTER 21
THE FOURTH DAY AFTER Song Fanpings death, an elderly peasant pulling an old, battered cart arrived at Li Lan s front door. Standing outside the door, his shirt and pants covered in patches, the old man didn't say a word, and merely wept as he looked in at the coffin. He was Song Fanpings father, Song Gangs grandfather. He had once owned a few hundred mu of farmland, but after Liberation it had all been redistributed to the other peasants in the village. This old landlord — who was now poorer than the poorest "poor peasant" and no longer owned anything other than his landlord status — had come to take his landlord son home.
The previous night Li Lan had packed up Song Gangs things. Baldy Li and Song Gang sat on the bed and silently watched her remove her own belongings from the gray travel bag with the SHANGHAI logo, including the wrapped bundle of bloodstained earth and a bag of White Rabbit candies. She then placed Song Gangs clothes into the travel bag and also stuffed in the entire bag of milk candies. When she turned around to see Baldy Li's eyes filled with anticipation, she took out the bag of candy and grabbed a handful for him. She also handed a few to Song Gang and stuffed the remainder back into the travel bag. Baldy Li and Song Gang sucked on their candies, not knowing what the next day would bring. Even when Song Gang's landlord grandfather appeared at their door the following morning, they still didn't understand that they were about to be separated.
On this morning, their arms were wrapped in black sash and their waists belted with white cloth. Song Fanpings coffin was loaded onto the battered pullcart, and his travel bag was placed next to it. The old landlord lowered his gray head and pulled the cart. Li Lan followed behind, holding Baldy Li and Song Gang by the hand.
For as long as Baldy Li could remember, he had never seen Li Lan look so proud. Baldy Li's birth father had brought her nothing but hate and shame, but Song Fanping had given her love and respect. Her head held high, Li Lan set forth as though she were a member of the Red Detachment of Women. The old landlord pulling the cart, mean-while, was bent over as though he were in the middle of a struggle session. As he pulled he repeatedly raised his hand to wipe at his tears. They came face-to-face with two parading troupes. The revolutionary crowds ceased their slogans, lowered their small red flags, and discussed among themselves as they watched these four people with their cart and coffin. A man wearing a red armband walked up to ask Li Lan, "Who's in the coffin?"
Li Lan answered proudly and calmly, "My husband."
"Who's your husband?"
"Song Fanping. He was a teacher at the Liu Town Middle School."
"How did he die?"
"He was beaten to death."
"Why?"
"He was a landlord."
When Li Lan said that, Baldy Li and Song Gang both trembled, and the old landlord was so frightened he did not dare to wipe his tears. She had proclaimed it with such clarity that the parading revolutionaries all stopped in their tracks. They were shocked that such a frail little woman would dare talk like this. The man wearing the red armband pointed at Li Lan. "Your husband was a landlord. So you're a landlord's wife?"
Li Lan nodded firmly. "Yes."
The man turned back to the revolutionary crowds. "See that! Such shamelessness …"
As he finished speaking he turned back and slapped Li Lan across the face. Her head wobbled and blood trickled from her lips, but she smiled proudly and continued to look the man in the eye. The armband-wearing man gave her another slap. Her head wobbled again, but she still smiled proudly as she gazed at him, asking, "Had enough?"
Li Lan's words stunned him for a moment. With the oddest of expressions he looked at her, then back at the crowd. She said, "If you've had enough, then I'll be leaving."
"Fuck," the armband-wearing man cursed. He slapped her twice more, then spat. "Beat it!"
Blood trickling from her lips, Li Lan smiled as she grasped Baldy Li and Song Gang's hands and continued walking. The revolutionary crowd on the street regarded her with astonishment. Smiling, she walked forward, telling them, "Today is the day of my husband's burial."
Tears gushed from her eyes as she spoke. Baldy Li and Song Gang also began to sob, as did the old landlord up ahead. Li Lan scolded Baldy Li and Song Gang, "Don't cry."
In a ringing voice she admonished them, "Don't cry in front of other people."
The two boys covered their mouths. They stopped their sobbing but not their tears. Li Lan had forbidden them to cry, but her own face was covered with tears. She smiled through them and continued walking.
They walked out the south gate, over a creaky wooden bridge, and could make out the chirping of cicadas. They realized that they had already reached the dirt road leading to the countryside. By then it was noon, and as far as the eye could reach there were fields, interspersed with the occasional curl of rising smoke. The summer fields were empty and bare. It was as if they were the only four people on earth, aside from Song Fanping, who was lying in the coffin. His elderly father finally let himself sob out loud, his back bent like an old ox plowing the earth as he dragged along his dead son. He shook all over as he walked; even his sobs shook. His weeping ignited Song Gang and Baldy Li's wails, and the boys started sobbing loudly through their fingers. They had covered their mouths with their hands, but their sobs now burst from their noses; they used their hands to hold their noses, but then the sobs would burst from their lips. The two boys timidly looked up at Li Lan, who said, "Go ahead and cry."