the fruit on the desk in front of Liu; then she went and sat down on a chair by the door. She gave Bin a contemptuous stare, her lips in a pout. At the sight of the red apples, Bin’s heart began kicking; he knew something was wrong. Liu squinted at him and smiled with his mustache twitching.
“Comrades,” Liu said loudly, “let me announce another decision here. Yesterday afternoon we received a letter from the Provincial Teachers University. It says they might admit Shao Bin to their Fine Arts Department and asks us, the plant’s leaders, to give an evaluation of him and the permission for him to leave. Before we reached a decision, yesterday evening Shao Bin and his wife went to Director Ma’s home with this gift.” Liu lifted the thirty-odd apples and dropped them on the desk with a thump. “And he begged Director Ma to give him the permission to go. Too late, I say. You can’t embrace the Buddha’s feet only in your hour of need, when for years you’ve never bothered to burn a joss stick or kowtow to him.”
Liu turned to Bin and kept on. “Shao Bin, you’ve painted cartoons about us and made us look like corrupt officials. But why do
you
practice corruption shamelessly, bribing a revolutionary cadre? Let me tell you this now: We’re not that cheap; a bag of apples won’t buy us off.” He lifted the string bag again. Before he put it down, a camera flashed at him; as arranged, Dongfang had brought his camera to the meeting.
Some people smirked, while a few sighed, shaking their heads. “Comrades,” Liu resumed, “three weeks ago Shao Bin bit my butt. Now he’s tried to bribe Director Ma. I used to think he was merely a lunatic, suffering from schizophrenia or something, but the bribe has made me change my mind. He must have a moral problem too. Therefore this morning our Party Committee sent out a letter, together with the photos of my wound and these apples as two samples of his ‘work,’ to the university and informed them that we wouldn’t agree about their decision and wouldn’t provide Shao Bin’s file for them. In short, he’s not qualified to go to college, neither mentally nor morally.”
Bin broke out wailing, which scared the people around him. He yelled, “I screw your ancestors! You wait and see, I’ll dump your grandsons into a well!”
The last sentence horrified Liu and Ma, because each had only one grandson, a single seedling of the entire family, and Bin had said clearly, “grandsons,” meaning both of theirs. Though he might be bluffing, a desperatemadman like him could do anything. If he did that, their family lines would be cut. Now they doubted whether they had done a wise thing by sending out the letter of refusal so soon. It seemed they had pressed Bin too hard without giving him a way out. Naturally he had exploded. Ma couldn’t help glaring at Liu, who had convinced him that they had best hold Bin back; the night before, Ma had been inclined to let him leave.
For a good two minutes neither Liu nor Ma knew what to do; they stood there whispering to each other and scratching their scalps and necks, while Bin was weeping and sniffling, his face buried in his arms on the desk. The meeting turned chaotic. Some people said the leaders should let Bin go; they could deduct his bonus and even beat him, but stopping him from entering college was way too much; by doing so, they ruined his whole life. If there was no hope left, who wouldn’t go berserk? Some said the leaders had promised to support whoever took the entrance exams, and now Bin was admitted, which was an event that should be celebrated in the plant, why didn’t they keep their word? Who would try again the next year? Who would believe them in the future? Liu and Ma as leaders were too nearsighted and narrow-minded. As for the bag of apples, Bin must have done it in desperation; it was perfectly understandable if you were utterly confused and frightened and had no idea what to do. However, those who had
“Comrades,” Liu said loudly, “let me announce another decision here. Yesterday afternoon we received a letter from the Provincial Teachers University. It says they might admit Shao Bin to their Fine Arts Department and asks us, the plant’s leaders, to give an evaluation of him and the permission for him to leave. Before we reached a decision, yesterday evening Shao Bin and his wife went to Director Ma’s home with this gift.” Liu lifted the thirty-odd apples and dropped them on the desk with a thump. “And he begged Director Ma to give him the permission to go. Too late, I say. You can’t embrace the Buddha’s feet only in your hour of need, when for years you’ve never bothered to burn a joss stick or kowtow to him.”
Liu turned to Bin and kept on. “Shao Bin, you’ve painted cartoons about us and made us look like corrupt officials. But why do
you
practice corruption shamelessly, bribing a revolutionary cadre? Let me tell you this now: We’re not that cheap; a bag of apples won’t buy us off.” He lifted the string bag again. Before he put it down, a camera flashed at him; as arranged, Dongfang had brought his camera to the meeting.
Some people smirked, while a few sighed, shaking their heads. “Comrades,” Liu resumed, “three weeks ago Shao Bin bit my butt. Now he’s tried to bribe Director Ma. I used to think he was merely a lunatic, suffering from schizophrenia or something, but the bribe has made me change my mind. He must have a moral problem too. Therefore this morning our Party Committee sent out a letter, together with the photos of my wound and these apples as two samples of his ‘work,’ to the university and informed them that we wouldn’t agree about their decision and wouldn’t provide Shao Bin’s file for them. In short, he’s not qualified to go to college, neither mentally nor morally.”
Bin broke out wailing, which scared the people around him. He yelled, “I screw your ancestors! You wait and see, I’ll dump your grandsons into a well!”
The last sentence horrified Liu and Ma, because each had only one grandson, a single seedling of the entire family, and Bin had said clearly, “grandsons,” meaning both of theirs. Though he might be bluffing, a desperatemadman like him could do anything. If he did that, their family lines would be cut. Now they doubted whether they had done a wise thing by sending out the letter of refusal so soon. It seemed they had pressed Bin too hard without giving him a way out. Naturally he had exploded. Ma couldn’t help glaring at Liu, who had convinced him that they had best hold Bin back; the night before, Ma had been inclined to let him leave.
For a good two minutes neither Liu nor Ma knew what to do; they stood there whispering to each other and scratching their scalps and necks, while Bin was weeping and sniffling, his face buried in his arms on the desk. The meeting turned chaotic. Some people said the leaders should let Bin go; they could deduct his bonus and even beat him, but stopping him from entering college was way too much; by doing so, they ruined his whole life. If there was no hope left, who wouldn’t go berserk? Some said the leaders had promised to support whoever took the entrance exams, and now Bin was admitted, which was an event that should be celebrated in the plant, why didn’t they keep their word? Who would try again the next year? Who would believe them in the future? Liu and Ma as leaders were too nearsighted and narrow-minded. As for the bag of apples, Bin must have done it in desperation; it was perfectly understandable if you were utterly confused and frightened and had no idea what to do. However, those who had
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