“Stay for lunch,” Zhuang said. “She really means it.”
Knowing that it would not be a good idea to go into either the study or the bedroom, they sat on the sofa in the living room, where they carried on a conversation about nothing while exchanging puzzled looks. Eventually they smiled at each other silently, sharing the idea that they might be overreacting, for Shimu might really want her to stay. With that, they relaxed and talked more naturally. She signaled with her eyes all the worries on her mind, while he told her with his that everything was fine. They laughed silently when they thought it might have been a prank by Liu Yue. Finally at ease, she got animated, saying she’d had a dream about a snowfall. Was it good or bad to dream about snow on a hot summer day? She asked him to interpret the dream for her.
“For that you’d have to ask Meng Laoshi,” Zhuang said. “Give me a character, and I’ll give you a divination.”
Not knowing which character to pick, she saw a string of peppers hanging on a wire outside the window and said, “String.”
“String? By itself it’s just that, but it can be used with something else, like high-strung, strung-up.”
Her face paled, so he said, “I was just being silly. Dreaming about snow may simply mean that you’re worried about the lawsuit, since the ‘xue’ in Jing Xueyin’s name means snow. You curse her name in the daytime and dream about snow at night.”
Feeling better after hearing the new interpretation, Tang asked about his visit to the mayor, but before she had a chance to bring up Tiger’s suggestion, Niu Yueqing and Liu Yue were setting the table for lunch. Four small dishes filled with soy sauce were laid out on the table next to chopsticks. Niu Yueqing brought out a clay pot with steam sizzling out through the hole in its lid.
“Please take your seats,” she said, and they all sat down.
“The mistress did the cooking today! But is there only one dish?” Zhuang asked. “I’ll get something to drink.”
“If there are too many dishes, you won’t recall which one was the best. No need for liquor; that will only dilute the flavor,” Niu Yueqing said.
“What rare delicacy do we have here?” Zhuang reached out to take off the lid, but Niu Yueqing said, “I’ll do it.” She removed the lid to reveal a plucked pigeon roiling in the liquid. Zhuang and Tang Wan’er were so shocked they froze.
“What do you think? A rare delicacy, wouldn’t you say?” Niu Yueqing said. “I killed it myself. It was a smart bird that will make you smart after you eat it. It has very tender meat. Come, try it and see how I did.” She tore off the wings and placed them in Wan’er’s dish.
“The wings are for you, Wan’er. Eating them will help you fly to the highest branch,” Niu Yueqing said. Next she tore off the legs and placed them in Zhuang’s dish. “The legs are for you. See how nice and plump they are. Ah, what have I done? I forgot to take off the toe ring.” She followed that by giving the body of the pigeon to Liu Yue and put the head on her own plate. “There’s no meat in the head, but I’ve heard that eating a pigeon’s eyes will prevent myopia. I’ve been nearsighted for so long, I’ll give the eyes a try.” She reached over, plucked out the eyes, and put them in her mouth, saying as she chewed, “Delicious. So tasty.”
Zhuang and Tang Wan’er did not touch their chopsticks; their faces were bathed in sweat. “Why aren’t you eating?” asked Niu Yueqing. “Something wrong with it?”
Tang Wan’er forced herself to sip the soup, but it made her gag, so she stood up and said, with tears in her eyes, “Please, Shimu, open the door so I can throw up outside.” Niu Yueqing tossed the key to the floor. Tang Wan’er picked it up, opened the door, and raced down the stairs. Zhuang stood up wordlessly but paused for a moment before going into his study and locking himself inside.
. . .
They did not have a chance to use Tiger’s ruse before the Municipal Intermediate Court issued its verdict, which was exactly as Sima Gong had predicted. The news spread quickly, and the phone at Zhuang’s house rang off the hook for days. Guests came one after another, keeping Liu Yue busy boiling water to make tea and sweeping mounds of watermelon seeds into the trashcan. One day a round of firecrackers went off downstairs, after which Wang Ximian and his wife, Ruan Zhifei, Zhou Min, Meng Yunfang, Xia Jie, Hong Jiang, and Hong Jiang and his new bride swarmed in. Niu Yueqing was so happy she shook hands with each of them.
“Well, you’re all here. I knew you’d come, but how did you manage to get everyone together? Who organized it?”
“Who organized it? Heaven did. I won’t shake hands, Dajie. I’m so happy, I need a hug,” Ruan said, drawing loud cheers from the others.
“Great. Let’s see if she has the guts to do it,” they said.
“Of course I do. Why wouldn’t I?” Niu Yueqing said, prompting Ruan to walk up and put his arms around her, which made them roar with laughter. Zhuang had just fallen asleep on the sofa in the study, exhausted from days of receiving a continuous string of visitors expressing their congratulations. He had left early that morning to visit Bai Yuzhu and Sima Gong, then had lain down after he came home. Roused by the crowd, he came out with a smile, offering seats to everyone now that Liu Yue had given them all some Dragonwell green tea.
“What can we offer them today?” Zhuang asked his wife.
“Don’t worry about the food. Liu Yue and I will take care of it. Why don’t you go buy a bottle of Wuliangye, ten bottles of coconut juice, and a case of beer?”
Liu Yue was amazed by the intimate, genial attitude between husband and wife in front of the guests. Zhuang was about to leave when Zhou said that he would go. “Zhou Min is strong, so let him do it,” Niu Yueqing said. “Where’s Wan’er, Zhou Min? Why didn’t she come?”
“She hasn’t been feeling well lately. She feels like throwing up every time she eats, and she complains of a lack of energy. Her belly looks swollen. I’m worried she might have hepatitis. She sends her regards.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. She should be here; she’d make it more festive. How terrible for a young woman to have hepatitis. You should take her to see a doctor, young man. Be careful. She’s such a pretty girl, you need to pay more attention.”
“You’re so nice to be concerned. Actually, it’s better she’s not here,” Zhou said softly. “Wang Ximian’s wife is here today, and Wan’er doesn’t like her.” He walked away, and Niu Yueqing turned to see Zhuang peeling apples for the guests. “Go sit down,” she said as she snatched the knife away from him. “I’ll do it.”
When she finished, she handed the apples to the guests. “Why isn’t Zhao Jingwu here?” she asked Zhuang in a low voice.
“I was wondering that myself. I don’t know.”
“Could it have something to do with Liu Yue?” she asked.
“I’ve talked to him about it twice already. He was incensed over her choice of the rich and powerful.”
“Save your intimate talk for later in bed,” Meng Yunfang said. “You’re ignoring a roomful of guests, whispering like that.”
“You have a foul mouth, Old Meng,” Niu Yueqing said with a smile. “I was just asking him why Zhao Jingwu isn’t here. What’s he up to? Hong Jiang, when you see him, tell him I’m unhappy with him. Does he think so highly of himself that I have to send a sedan chair for him?”
Hong Jiang, who was making a comment to Liu Xiaoka about the calligraphy on the wall, turned to say, “Sure, I’ll tell him and shame him a bit. He must have something urgent to deal with; otherwise he’d be here.”
As they talked, Zhou Min and Liu Yue returned with the liquor. Niu Yueqing set the table, went to the refrigerator to take out some cold dishes that had been prepared ahead of time, and opened cans of fish and some donkey and dog meat. After laying out twelve platters of food, she offered everyone something to drink before going to the kitchen with Liu Yue to cook. They all raised their glasses as Ruan said, “It’s not easy for us all to be together like this. Let’s have a toast for winning the case.”