Mao's Last Dancer - Li Cunxin [71]
I jumped out of bed and ran to Teacher Xiao’s office. “Teacher Xiao, do you know where Minister Wang lives?”
He frowned. “Yes, why?”
“I want to see him.”
“I don’t think he will see you even if you do go to his residence. I think you would be better to go to the ministry and make an appointment with his assistant instead.”
“I don’t think his office will let me make an appointment. He has already refused my case twice. Besides, he is not a tiger. He won’t eat me, will he?” I was remembering what Teacher Xiao had said to me once about Teacher Gao.
“You and your memory,” he said. “I will never underestimate either your memory or your resolve.” He wrote the minister’s address on a small piece of paper and handed it to me. “Good luck,” he said.
The following evening I took two different buses to Minister Wang’s residence. It was an impressive compound with high walls and a tall, metal-barred security gate. There was a guardhouse and a military guard with a machine gun at the ready.
“Hello, Comrade,” I said to the guard as confidently as I could. “I’m Li Cunxin from the Beijing Dance Academy. I’m here to see Minister Wang.”
“Do you have an appointment?” he asked.
“No, I don’t,” I replied honestly.
“Go home if you don’t have an appointment,” the guard growled.
“I only need to see him for one minute. Please, it’s an urgent matter,” I begged.
“Go home. You cannot see the minister without an appointment. Move! Or I’ll have you arrested.”
I left, angry and humiliated. This was not how comrades should treat each other.
I was back the following night. This time, a different guard was at the gate.
“Hello, Comrade. I’m Li Cunxin from the Beijing Dance Academy, and I’ve just returned from America representing China. I was told to meet Minister Wang tonight,” I lied.
“What time is your appointment?” he asked.
“I’m not sure. Our academy made the appointment.”
“Wait a minute. What did you say your name was?”
“Li,” I replied, hoping he wouldn’t ask for my first name. Li is a very common family name in China. I prayed that someone else called Li had an appointment with the minister that night.
“I don’t see any appointments made with the minister tonight,” the guard said, checking the appointment book. “Are you sure you’ve come on the right date? The minister is attending a banquet. He won’t be back until late.”
“I’m sorry, I must have the date wrong. Thank you.” I walked to the end of the street, turned the corner, then sat on a stone doorstep and waited for the minister’s return. I went over what I was going to say to him, keeping an eye out for his car.
By midnight I was freezing and tired and there was still no sign of the minister. I ran to the nearby bus stop to shake off the cold and caught the last bus back. At the academy the security guard was already asleep and I climbed over the gate as quietly as a cat.
The next day after our ballet class Teacher Xiao called me to his office. “I’m worried about you. Why don’t you give yourself a break?” he said.
I shook my head and told him what I’d done the last two nights. “I won’t give up until every possible avenue has been explored,” I said defiantly.
“Cunxin, for all the years I’ve known you, I have never once doubted your determination. But here you are dealing with things beyond your control. Like a flea trying to overpower an elephant.”
“Isn’t there any other way?”
Teacher Xiao shook his head. “The minister rarely reverses his decisions.”
But still I would not give up. On the third night I returned to Minister Wang’s residence. This time I wore more clothes and was prepared to wait all night.
The same guard from the first night greeted me. “Hello, Comrade. Do you have an appointment this time?”
“Yes, one of my teachers has made an appointment with the minister’s deputy and I was to meet him tonight at seven thirty,” I said matter-of-factly.
“Wait here.”
My heart thumped. I hated myself for lying.
A few minutes later, the guard came back. “You can