rock pile. Don’t give it another thought. Go wash up and get some medicine on that.”
“That’s right, sir,” Gao Ma injected her opinion. “Xiangzi’s just upset. Sure, you threw your employer, and he hurt his hand, but Mr. Cao says it wasn’t your fault, so enough of that talk. Just look at you, a big, strapping young man who’s all worked up, like a child. You tell him, madam, to stop worrying.” Gao Ma sounded like a phonograph record, going round and round and bringing everyone into it, with no beginning and no end.
“Go wash up,” Mrs. Cao said. “I hate the sight of blood.” Xiangzi stood there not knowing what to do until he heard Mrs. Cao complaining, and he immediately knew what he had to do to put her mind at ease. He picked up the basin, carried it over to the doorway, and cleaned the blood from his face. Gao Ma walked up with a bottle of medicine.
“Don’t forget your elbow and knees,” she said as she daubed medicine on his injured face.
“Never mind those.” Xiangzi shook his head.
After Mr. and Mrs. Cao went to bed, Gao Ma followed Xiangzi to his room, where she stood in the doorway and laid down the medicine bottle. “Put some of this on. Don’t let what happened out there upset you. Back when my husband was alive, I was always quitting jobs. The way he refused to better himself while I was slaving away infuriated me. I was young and headstrong then, and ready to quit if I heard a cross word. I was hired help, not a slave. ‘You may be filthy rich,’ I’d say, ‘but even a clay figurine is made from earth. Nobody can wait on you, old lady!’ But I’m better now. My husband’s death solved a lot of my problems, and my temper softened. I’ve been here almost three years, I think—yes, I started on the ninth day of the ninth month. They don’t give many tips, but they treat us like human beings. We earn our living by the sweat of our brow, and nice words can only go so far. But taking the long view makes sense. If you leave one job every two or three days, you’re out of work half the year, and that’s no good. You’re better off sticking with a good-natured employer, and even if there aren’t many tips, you can usually put something aside over the long haul. The master didn’t say anything about what happened today, so why beat yourself up? Forget it. I’m not saying I’m old and wise, but you’re a young hothead, and you can’t fill your belly with a quick temper. For a decent, hardworking youngster like you, settling down here is a lot better than flying from place to place. It’s not them I’m thinking about, it’s you, especially since you and I get along so well.” She paused to catch her breath. “Well, then, I’ll see you tomorrow. Now forget this stubborn nonsense. I say what I mean and I mean what I say.”
Xiangzi’s right elbow hurt so badly he couldn’t sleep. So he added up the pros and cons of what Gao Ma said and concluded that she was right. Only money is to be trusted. He’d keep saving up to buy his rickshaw, and threatening to quit was no way to fill his belly. That comforting thought brought him a bit of peaceful sleep.
CHAPTER EIGHT
M r. Cao had the rickshaw repaired and deducted nothing from Xiangzi’s wages. Mrs. Cao gave him two Thrice Yellow Precious Wax cure-alls, but he did not take them. No more talk about quitting. The incident caused Xiangzi much embarrassment over the next few days, but in the end Gao Ma’s advice won out. Several more days passed and things returned to normal; gradually he forgot the accident and experienced a rebirth of hope. When he was alone in his room, his eyes sparkled as he calculated ways to save up to buy his rickshaw, muttering as he did so, as if bothered by anxieties. His calculations were rough, but he kept at it—six sixes are thirty-six—with figures that did not square with what he already had, but just saying the numbers boosted his confidence, as if he were really keeping an
“That’s right, sir,” Gao Ma injected her opinion. “Xiangzi’s just upset. Sure, you threw your employer, and he hurt his hand, but Mr. Cao says it wasn’t your fault, so enough of that talk. Just look at you, a big, strapping young man who’s all worked up, like a child. You tell him, madam, to stop worrying.” Gao Ma sounded like a phonograph record, going round and round and bringing everyone into it, with no beginning and no end.
“Go wash up,” Mrs. Cao said. “I hate the sight of blood.” Xiangzi stood there not knowing what to do until he heard Mrs. Cao complaining, and he immediately knew what he had to do to put her mind at ease. He picked up the basin, carried it over to the doorway, and cleaned the blood from his face. Gao Ma walked up with a bottle of medicine.
“Don’t forget your elbow and knees,” she said as she daubed medicine on his injured face.
“Never mind those.” Xiangzi shook his head.
After Mr. and Mrs. Cao went to bed, Gao Ma followed Xiangzi to his room, where she stood in the doorway and laid down the medicine bottle. “Put some of this on. Don’t let what happened out there upset you. Back when my husband was alive, I was always quitting jobs. The way he refused to better himself while I was slaving away infuriated me. I was young and headstrong then, and ready to quit if I heard a cross word. I was hired help, not a slave. ‘You may be filthy rich,’ I’d say, ‘but even a clay figurine is made from earth. Nobody can wait on you, old lady!’ But I’m better now. My husband’s death solved a lot of my problems, and my temper softened. I’ve been here almost three years, I think—yes, I started on the ninth day of the ninth month. They don’t give many tips, but they treat us like human beings. We earn our living by the sweat of our brow, and nice words can only go so far. But taking the long view makes sense. If you leave one job every two or three days, you’re out of work half the year, and that’s no good. You’re better off sticking with a good-natured employer, and even if there aren’t many tips, you can usually put something aside over the long haul. The master didn’t say anything about what happened today, so why beat yourself up? Forget it. I’m not saying I’m old and wise, but you’re a young hothead, and you can’t fill your belly with a quick temper. For a decent, hardworking youngster like you, settling down here is a lot better than flying from place to place. It’s not them I’m thinking about, it’s you, especially since you and I get along so well.” She paused to catch her breath. “Well, then, I’ll see you tomorrow. Now forget this stubborn nonsense. I say what I mean and I mean what I say.”
Xiangzi’s right elbow hurt so badly he couldn’t sleep. So he added up the pros and cons of what Gao Ma said and concluded that she was right. Only money is to be trusted. He’d keep saving up to buy his rickshaw, and threatening to quit was no way to fill his belly. That comforting thought brought him a bit of peaceful sleep.
CHAPTER EIGHT
M r. Cao had the rickshaw repaired and deducted nothing from Xiangzi’s wages. Mrs. Cao gave him two Thrice Yellow Precious Wax cure-alls, but he did not take them. No more talk about quitting. The incident caused Xiangzi much embarrassment over the next few days, but in the end Gao Ma’s advice won out. Several more days passed and things returned to normal; gradually he forgot the accident and experienced a rebirth of hope. When he was alone in his room, his eyes sparkled as he calculated ways to save up to buy his rickshaw, muttering as he did so, as if bothered by anxieties. His calculations were rough, but he kept at it—six sixes are thirty-six—with figures that did not square with what he already had, but just saying the numbers boosted his confidence, as if he were really keeping an
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