Becoming Madame Mao - Anchee Min [50]
Where did you stay? she asks curiously.
District of Luwan by Cima Road.
The street that has red-brick black-arch-door houses?
That's right.
The tea-eggs are excellent on that street.
Well, I was too poor to afford a taste.
Which province did you represent at the convention?
Hunan.
Did you have side jobs besides working for the Party?
I was a laundryman at Fu-xing's.
A laundryman? she laughs. How interesting!
The difficult part of my job was not washing but delivery, he adds, as most of my earnings from washing had to be spent on tram tickets, which were so expensive.
Why didn't you stay in Shanghai?
Let's put it this way. I had a hard time swimming in a bathtub.
She gets up to leave. It is dinner time.
Please, stay for dinner.
I am afraid I've been bothering you too much.
Stay. The voice comes from behind as she moves toward the door. Please honor my invitation.
The guards set up the table. Four dishes. A plate of stir-fried pork with soy sauce, a plate of radishes, a plate of greens and a plate of spicy tofu. She wolfs the food down, apologizing for her manners. Life in Yenan is much harder than Shanghai, isn't it? he says. Like a father, he watches her eat. She nods, continues stuffing her mouth.
He picks up a piece of meat and drops it into her bowl. He then comments, I consider the food delicious in comparison to what we ate during the Long March. I have eaten tree bark, grass and rats.
She stops eating and asks to be told more of what it was like to go through the exile.
It was after Tatu, he begins. Our army turned north. In the snow mountains we found comparative safety, yet the prodigious heights weakened everyone. Many perished and pack animals and supplies were abandoned. We were in swampy regions of the grasslands. It was a picture of horror. Near Tibet, my men had been attacked and now we were passing again through a region of hostile tribes. No food was available. Our kitchen heads dug up what seemed to be turnips, which later proved to be poisonous. The water made us ill. The winds buffeted us and hailstorms were followed by snow. Ropes were laid down to guide us across the marshlands, but the ropes vanished in the quicksand. We lost our few remaining pack animals.
She notices that he tries to make light of his words but cannot do so.
He takes a deep breath and continues. A small column was seen walking across a sea of thick foggy grasses, and then ... the whole column disappeared.
She stares at him.
***
When the guard lights the second candle she gets up to say goodbye. It might sound funny to you but I thought you would be arrogant, she says, walking out of his door.
What reason do I have to be arrogant? I am Mao Tse-tung not Chiang Kai-shek.
She nods, laughing, and says she must get going.
The path is not smooth and it is moonless tonight. Little Dragon! Walk Comrade Lan Ping home, will you?
***
It is the third time they meet privately. The stars look like voyeurs' eyes opening and closing. Mao Tse-tung and Lan Ping stand in the descending darkness, shoulder to shoulder. The day has begun to cool. Weeds bend lazily over the riverbank. The reflection of the moon trembles in the water.
I was born in the village of Shao Shan in 1893, Mao says. He describes the landscape of his hometown. It is a land of hibiscus, orchards, serfs and rice fields. My father was a poor peasant. While young he joined the warlords' army because of heavy debts. He was a soldier for many years. Later on he returned to the village and managed to buy back his land. He saved carefully and operated a small trading business. He was petty. He sent me to a local primary school when I was eight but he wanted me to work on the farm in the early morning and at night. My father hated to see me idle. He often yelled, "Make use of yourself!" I can still hear his voice today. He was a hot-tempered man and frequently beat both me and my brothers.
It is at this point the girl inserts her comments. She describes her own father. Says