Song Gang was tall and slim, had a handsome face, and now looked quite scholarly with his dark-rimmed glasses. Baldy Li, on the other hand, was short and squat and, even in his Mao suit, still looked like a bandit. The brothers were inseparable as they strolled down the streets of Liu. The town elders gestured to them, saying that one looked like a civil official and the other a military official. The young women of Liu, meanwhile, were not so polite, instead comparing them to the Buddhist monk Tripitaka in the folktale Journey to the West and his companion Pigsy.
CHAPTER 28
SONG GANG had secretly fallen in love with literature and was very respectful of the metal factory's section chief for supplies and marketing, Writer Liu. There was a tall pile of literary journals on Writer Liu's desk, and every time he opened his mouth he uttered a string of fanciful ruminations. Writer Liu loved to expound on literature, and when he buttonholed someone at the factory, he could go on for hours. Unfortunately, the workers at the metal factory couldn't understand a word he said. They would stare at him blankly with stupid grins on their faces, secretly asking each other whether Liu was even speaking Chinese or perhaps another language altogether. Why couldn't they understand a single word he said? These remarks reached Writer Liu, and he thought to himself, These vulgar masses!
With the arrival of the literature aficionado Song Gang, Writer Liu felt as if he had received a precious treasure. Song Gang not only understood Liu's literary ruminations but seemed completely devoted, nodding and laughing at the appropriate moments. Writer Liu was delighted, feeling that having such a friend was invaluable, and every time he encountered Song Gang he would ramble on endlessly. Once they were in the restroom together, and, after peeing, Writer Liu grabbed Song Gang and spoke to him for more than two hours right there next to the urinal — paying no heed to the stench or to the people squatting and grunting as they shat. After Writer Liu acquired this new student, he felt that he had become a literary advisor. The vulgar masses didn't make him feel this way; even after he had talked his lips raw, they would still just stare at him with stupid grins on their faces. Writer Liu began lending Song Gang some of the literary journals in his office. One day he took a copy of Harvest, carefully wiped the dust off the cover with his sleeve, and proceeded to inspect it page by page in front of Song Gang, demonstrating that it was pristine and not dirty or damaged in any way. He told Song Gang that when he returned the magazine, Writer Liu would again inspect it page by page. "If it is damaged in the least, you will have to pay a fine."
Song Gang took Writer Liu's literary journal home with him and began reading ravenously, then found himself inspired to start secretly writing a story. He worked on his story for half a year, writing on scrap paper for the first three months and correcting it for another three months. Then he carefully copied the manuscript onto lined paper. Song Gangs first reader was, of course, Baldy Li, who cried out in surprise when he received the work, "Its so thick!"
Baldy Li counted the pages and discovered that the story was thirteen pages long. Baldy Li looked at Song Gang with newfound respect and said, "You are really amazing, writing thirteen whole pages."
When Baldy Li started reading it, he cried out again in surprise, "This is actually really well written!" He diligently finished the story and didn't cry out again but, rather, became contemplative. Song Gang watched him nervously, not knowing whether his first story had been successful. Nervously he asked Baldy Li, "Is it any good?"
Baldy Li didn't reply but remained contemplative. Song Gang asked again, "Did I write it very messily?"
Baldy Li remained pensive, and Song Gang felt a wave of disappointment wash over him. He became convinced that he had written the story in a completely disordered fashion, and therefore Baldy Li couldn't understand it at all.
All of a sudden Baldy Li finally uttered a single word, "Good!" He then added, "Really well written." He earnestly told Song Gang that this was a good story, and even though it was not at the level of stories by literary giants like Lu Xun and Ba Jin, it was better than anything Writer Liu or Poet Zhao could have written. Baldy Li waved excitedly and added, "Now that we have you, Writer Liu and Poet Zhao will be left permanently in the dust."
Song Gang was surprised and pleased, and that night he was so excited he couldn't sleep. With Baldy Li snoring beside him, Song Gang looked back over his story five more times. He became increasingly convinced that it did not merit Baldy Li's effusive praise and that Baldy Li had complimented it only because they were brothers. However, Song Gang ultimately concluded that Baldy Li's praise was not entirely unfounded. For instance, when he went back and reread the specific passages Baldy Li had singled out, he found that they were actually not bad at all. Song Gang then mustered up the courage to take the draft to Writer Liu for critique. If Writer Liu also said that it was well written, then it must be true.
The following day Song Gang nervously showed his story to Writer Liu. Liu was initially startled, never having expected that this disciple of his would turn around and write a story of his own. At that moment Writer Liu was on his way to take a shit, with a roll of toilet paper in his hand. Therefore, he grabbed Song Gangs thirteen-page story along with the toilet paper and read it as he headed to the restroom. He continued reading the story as he did his business, finishing both tasks more or less at the same time. He emerged from the restroom with half a sheet of unused toilet paper resting on top of Song Gangs manuscript, and, brows furled in consternation, he walked back to the supplies and marketing office. Writer Liu then spent the entire afternoon in the office correcting Song Gangs story, using a red pen to mark up every page and even filling the blank space on the last page with three hundred more words of critique. When he got off work, Song Gang nervously appeared at the door of the supply and marketing office. Writer Liu solemnly gestured him in and gave him the thirteen-page document, declaring with utmost seriousness, "All of my comments are written here."
As he accepted the manuscript, Song Gangs heart skipped a beat. The pages were so smothered in Writer Liu's red markings that he could barely see the original, making Song Gang feel that his story must have been very problematic. At this point Writer Liu proudly pulled a story of his own from his desk drawer and handed it to Song Gang, asking him to take it home and read it carefully. Acting as if he were handing Song Gang a masterpiece, Liu said, "See how this is written."
That night Song Gang carefully read over Liu's corrections and exhortations but found himself confused and unable to figure out what Writer Liu was trying to say. Song Gang then read Writer Liu's new work and found himself similarly unable to make heads or tails of it.
Baldy Li saw Song Gang working through the night and, curious, came over to see what he was doing. He first read Writer Liu's critiques of Song Gang's story and declared, "This is bullshit." Then he took Writer Liu's new work and counted the pages. Finding that there were only six, he fanned them disdainfully, asking why it was so short. Baldy Li began reading the story, but before he had finished, he threw it aside, pronouncing it "dull — a total bore."