“What’s that?” Xiaohong yelled out.
Zhuang saw a red light flicker in the dark; it went out but flickered again. He had no idea what it was, and the girls were frightened, saying it was a will-o’-the-wisp. The others came out and asked the master to take a look. He did so, then asked about the place. Meng told him it was a temple and that the red flicker seemed to be coming from the bamboo grove behind it. But the grove was usually deserted, even in broad daylight. No more red flickers came. “I said too much today without knowing there was a temple nearby,” the master said. “It must be an ancient one, with buried Buddhist relics reacting to my talk.” Meng said the temple, built in the Tang dynasty, indeed had a long history, but he knew of no objects there, except for Ma Lingxu’s grave marker, which had been dug up during the renovations. “Could it be her spirit?” The master made a gesture in the form of a lotus flower before saying there might be more red flickers, but he could not stay long. He left.
The others went back inside, while Zhuang stayed with the girls to gaze out the window. There was another red flicker. Saying that the master was right in his prediction, Cuiling was so frightened she wanted to close the window. Just then it flickered again, and a large red light drifted forward to meet with the first red dot. “How many did you get?” a shrill voice asked. “Why did it take so long?” The larger red flicker drifted away, followed by a woman’s crisp laughter. “What Buddhist relics?” Zhuang grumbled. “It’s the nuns out catching fireflies.” Inside, no one laughed as they stared at each other, while doubts about what the master had said crept in.
“We might gain some inspiration from him,” Meng said.
“So who do you plan to invite for the next lecture, the shepherd dogs?” Zhuang asked. Everyone had a good laugh before going their separate ways. Zhuang and Meng decided to spend the night there. As they were getting ready for bed, Zhuang said, “Huiming must know a lot about these things. For a while, you were talking about inviting her, but no more. How come?”
“Every time I went to see her, the son of the chairman of the People’s Consultative Conference was with her having tea. She was aloof. When I asked how she’d come to know the Number Two Knave, she told me not to use that awful term. She even said she would introduce me to Knaves One, Three, and Four. Why would I want to know them?”
“You’re jealous?” Zhuang laughed. “That’s better, actually. I was worried that the city might have one less real nun and gain a powerful woman if you spent too much time there.”
Meng turned off the light, and they passed the night without another exchange.
. . .
On the twenty-second, Hong Jiang came with an account book to go over the revenue and expenses for the previous period. After checking, they realized they hadn’t lost money, but they hadn’t made much, either. Hong mentioned several items that needed to be taken care of, with the expectation that things would improve the following month. Then he brought out a bolt of light yellow silk from Hangzhou sprinkled with tiny pastel green flowers, two bottles of liquor from Sichuan, a package of swallows’ nests, and a carton of Japanese Seven Star cigarettes. “I spent several days in Xianyang during the Mid-Autumn Festival, Shimu,” he said with a broad smile. “I couldn’t make it here to wish you a happy holiday, so here I am today with these gifts. It’s not much, but I don’t think you need any more moon cakes, snacks, or canned goods. They’re nothing special. This package of swallows’ nests isn’t too shabby; it’s from a bookseller in Guizhou, a token of his gratitude after I helped him get a publication permit number at the beginning of the year, when he came to Xijing. A delicacy like this is too good for me, so I brought it over for Shifu, a good tonic for his health.”
“Why are you doing this?” Niu Yueqing said. “I don’t know anything about running a bookstore, and Zhuang Laoshi washes his hands of everything, even though he’s the nominal owner. We have to rely on you. We’ve never expressed our thanks, while you’re always giving us gifts on holidays. You’re like a brother now, so please don’t act like an outsider.”
“That’s not how it is. I do know a bit more about running a business, but without you two, I’d be out selling mutton skewers. These are not from me alone; someone else pitched in.”
“Who?” she asked. “It’s even worse to receive gifts from people you don’t know. Your Zhuang Laoshi can’t do anything but write. When friends like Meng Laoshi come, they help themselves to something to eat, which is a sign of friendship. Everyone else comes to ask Zhuang Laoshi for help. What can he do? And when he can’t do something, he complains about me.”
“There’s nothing you need to do. The man just wants to invite you to a meal.”
She took a look at the silk fabric, and saw a card embossed in gold. She opened it: “With the permission of the national marriage code, we have become husband and wife to share our happiness forever. To express our gratitude for your kindness and generosity over the years, we cordially invite you to a banquet to be held at ten in the morning of the twenty-eighth of this month.” In the host column were two names: Hong Jiang and Liu Xiaoka.
Stunned, Niu Yueqing let out a cry. “What’s going on, Hong Jiang? Don’t you have a wife and a child? When did you get a divorce? Who’s this Liu Xiaoka? When did this happen?”
“It’s a surprise, I know,” Hong said with a smile. “I didn’t want to bother you and Laoshi with this. In fact, I wanted to mention it several times, but changed my mind. The lawsuit had everyone on edge, so I decided to keep it quiet. You know my former wife and I were always fighting. We simply couldn’t get along and didn’t have a day of peace together. So we said to each other, ‘Let’s split up,’ and we did. I thought I’d be a bachelor again after the divorce, but my friends said I’d ruin my health running around taking care of the business if I didn’t get married. I might even become a different person. Besides, those who didn’t know might even say I had physical issues that caused my wife to divorce me. And they mentioned the girl we hired at the bookstore. I thought it over and decided it wasn’t a bad idea. Since she works there, we could look after one another, so we went ahead and filed our marriage registration. Luckily she’s an only child with a house, so you can say I married up. We went to see her grandmother over the holiday. Her uncle, who works in Sichuan, brought these two bottles of liquor for us. Xiaoka insisted that we give them to you. I know you can’t drink hard liquor, but you must try this.”
“Liu Xiaoka?” Niu Yueqing said. “I can’t tell the three girls at the bookstore apart.”
“I know which one it is,” Liu Yue, who was smiling the whole time, cut in. “The slender one with sloping shoulders, isn’t it?” She stroked a finger on her face to shame Hong, who replied with a smile, “You’re so wrong, Liu Yue. It’s the tall, long-legged one.”
“A new girl!” Liu shouted.
“Stop the nonsense, Liu Yue,” Niu Yueqing said. “You don’t know anything. They’re all pretty, and I can’t tell who’s who. I must congratulate you, now that you went ahead and got married. But I’m not happy that you kept us in the dark about something so important.”
“That’s why you’re the first to get the invitation. You have to come, no matter what. Liu Yue, too. You can be a bridesmaid.”
“I’m not going,” she said with a pout. “I’m not going to be the bridesmaid, either. I know you want ugly me there to highlight your beautiful bride.”
Hong complimented Liu Yue on how articulate she’d gotten after only a few months in the Zhuang household. She might even be a writer one day. They chatted for a while before he got up to leave, repeating his request for them to attend the banquet. “It won’t start until Laoshi and Shimu are there.”