LC chapter 17

 

Meng Zhen called Lin Ruan to tell him how sorry he was for not going to the ball. They chatted about things in Hangzhou, and Meng Zhen even brought back some southern specialties for Lin Ruan. They planned to meet when school started again.

Lin Ruan had just over a year left of college. He didn’t live in the dormitory and usually stayed on campus all day. He attended classes when he had them and went to the library with Meng Zhen when he didn’t.

At the start of the new semester, their ancient architecture professor was replaced. The previous professor was a white-bearded old man well into his twilight years who spoke with a thick Southern accent.

The new professor, Fang Chengze, was a young man who wore a gray or black robe and had beautiful handwriting. It was said that his father had compiled historical records during the previous dynasty, so teaching ancient architecture was considered part of his family heritage.

Fang Chengze was very fond of Lin Ruan’s ancient architecture assignment, saying that it captured the majestic beauty of the subject.

Meng Zhen’s assignment evoked the graceful beauty of Jiangnan gardens. He said he had drawn them after visiting the Shenyuan Garden[mfn]沈园 (Shényuán) Shenyuan Garden, a famous classical garden in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, China.[/mfn].

Fang Cheng gave both assignments an A, and Li Mingwen’s expression instantly darkened.

Lin Ruan and Meng Zhen didn’t notice, still discussing their winter vacation adventures. Meng Zhen took out the cloud cakes he had brought from his bag and gave one box to Lin Ruan and one to his classmates.

Several students around him ate theirs, but Li Mingwen didn’t even glance at his and walked out.

Meng Zhen pouted and ignored him.

Lin Ruan told Meng Zhen about the ball, mentioning Bai Zhenzhu and Miss Zhao. Meng Zhen’s brow furrowed. Lin Ruan asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Is this Bai Zhenzhu, the daughter of Chief Bai of the police bureau?

Lin Ruan nodded. “She’s my cousin,” Meng Zhen said.

Lin Ruan was a bit surprised. Meng Zhen explained that his family relationships were complicated and traced back to his grandfather’s generation. His grandfather had two wives. The first wife gave birth to two daughters and one son. She later died of illness, and his grandfather remarried—this second wife was Meng Zhen’s grandmother.

However, Meng Zhen’s grandmother had been tricked into the marriage. The matchmaker had lied, claiming that his grandfather was young and wealthy. She was the daughter of a scholar. Only after she arrived did she realize there were already three children at home, all of whom needed to be fed. Meng Zhen’s grandfather was timid, while his grandmother was strong-willed. During years of famine, she packed luggage for each family member and sent them off in different directions to beg for food.

The child born earlier didn’t go with them, and there was no news of him. After grandfather Meng Zhen died, grandmother Meng Zhen raised his son and slowly built up the family business.

“Last year, during the Qingming Festival[mfn]Qingming Festival (清明节, Qīngmíng Jié) is a traditional Chinese festival that literally means “Pure Brightness Festival.” a festival for tomb-sweeping and ancestor worship, combined with springtime outings. It falls around April 4–6 each year[/mfn], I went back to my hometown to sweep graves and ran into them again. My eldest aunt had married into the Bai family and had given birth to my cousin, Bai Zhenzhu.

Pouting, Lin Ruan said, “What a dramatic story.”

Meng Zhen suddenly glanced at Lin Ruan and whispered, “Come with me. I’ll show you something.”

He pulled Lin Ruan out of the classroom and ran to the rooftop terrace with something in his arms.

The rooftop was deserted, and the wind was strong and chilled Lin Ruan to the bone when he stepped onto the terrace. He pulled his clothes tighter and followed Meng Zhen to a sheltered spot. Meng Zhen carefully pulled a small box out of his pocket and opened it for Lin Ruan to see.

The box was lined with white velvet and contained a pearl necklace, a yellow sapphire ring, and a jade bracelet.

Lin Ruan was a little surprised. “What are you doing with all this stuff?”

“My cousin gave these to me,” said Meng Zhen. “She asked me to deliver them to Boss Song of the Zhexian Building.”

Song Shuangqi, a renowned Peking Opera actress, was famous throughout China for his role in the Peking Opera “Yu Tang Chun[mfn]玉堂春 (Yutangchun). It’s based on a legendary figure named Su San, a famous courtesan who fell in love with a young scholar, the story follows her wrongful murder accusation and subsequent death sentence. On her way to execution, however her old lover (now a magistrate) recognizes her. After an investigation, she is proven innocent and freed. It originated in the Ming dynasty (14th–17th century) as a zaju play. Later, it was adapted into Peking Opera and many other regional operas.[/mfn].”

Lin Ruan paused. The story of a wealthy young lady and a famous Peking Opera actor sounded like the beginning of a romance novel. However, he had heard from Gu Huixue that Bai Zhenzhu was engaged.

“That’s why she asked me to run errands,” Meng Zhen said. “Otherwise, it would be embarrassing if her fiancé’s family found out.”

Lin Ruan nodded, picked up the pearls, and examined them. Unable to discern their quality, he said, “These aren’t cheap.”

“Of course!” Meng Zhen fiddled with the ring. Honestly, my cousin’s family isn’t that well off, and most of these things were gifts. You see that pearl necklace? She redeemed it from a pawnshop. When she was poor, she pawned the jewelry she wore and bought new jewelry to wear to parties. Then, when she was better off, she redeemed these items. She’s quite adept at this back-and-forth.”

“If she wasn’t well off, why did she give all these things away?” Lin Ruan asked.

Meng Zhen shrugged. “I don’t know. She just asked me to run an errand, so I didn’t ask too many questions.”

The two of them huddled together for a while. Then, Meng Zhen said, “Since we don’t have classes right now, why don’t you accompany me to the Zhexian Building?”

They left school and took a rickshaw to the tower. A cold wind whistled through the air, and Meng Zhen tucked the box under his arm as if it were made of gold.

The two of them arrived at the entrance of the Zhexian Building. The Zhexian Building was located next to the road and featured a front courtyard that led to a multistory, antique-style building. The Zhexian Building premises lay in the back. The vermilion gate was tightly closed, and two plum blossom branches extended from the courtyard.

The Zhexian Building only opened after 5 p.m. and was closed at other times.

Two guards wearing shorts were standing at the door. Meng Zhen and Lin Ruan approached the guards and said they wanted to see Boss Song. The guards refused and told them to come back that evening.

“We’re not here to see an opera,” Meng Zhen said. “We’re looking for Boss Song Shuangqi.”

The guards grew impatient. “Why come to the opera house if you don’t want to see an opera? Get out of here!”

Meng Zhen and Lin Ruan left angrily. Lin Ruan asked, “Do we have to buy tickets to get in?”

“That’s impossible.” Meng Zhen hadn’t come to the opera before, his family had brought him, so he hadn’t paid much attention to such matters. Lin Ruan was the same. Both of them had very little life experience.

After a long discussion that yielded no results, the two decided to return to school and go back to the opera house in the afternoon.

Meng Zhen felt uncomfortable carrying the small box. He told Lin Ruan, “I feel uneasy holding all these things. I always feel like I could lose them in the blink of an eye.”

Lin Ruan replied helplessly, “What should we do? Why don’t you just bear with it? I’ve already given these things away this afternoon.”

“Or I’ll leave them with you. You’re so considerate, you won’t lose them.” Meng Zhen pouted, looking pitiful.

“Okay,” Lin Ruan said. “Put them here with me for now. We’re in the same classroom, and with two of us watching over the box, it won’t get lost.”

The sky remained overcast until noon. It had been warm for the past two days, but it turned cold again. Suddenly, a burst of rain and snow came, making the air damp and chilly and causing everyone to shiver.

Lin Ruan went out for a while. When he returned to the classroom, he saw a commotion inside. Meng Zhen was arguing with Li Mingwen because Li Mingwen had poured water on Lin Ruan’s desk.

Some students tried to mediate, but it was noisy, it sounded like a big incident had happened.

Lin Ruan hurried inside and saw both of them arguing with red faces and thick necks, ready to come to blows.

Li Mingwen didn’t have the heart to say anything to Meng Zhen, but Lin Ruan heard Meng Zhen say, “You’re just jealous that Lin Ruan is better than you. His homework is better than yours! You even poured water on his homework! Even kids wouldn’t do that, and you’re not ashamed!”

Li Mingwen’s face flushed purple with anger, and he reached out to push Meng Zhen. Lin Ruan quickly stepped forward to stop him, and the other classmates stepped in too. If Li Mingwen attacked, Meng Zhen would definitely fight back. Amidst the chaos, a commotion nearly erupted.

With a loud bang, Lin Ruan’s desk was knocked over, the noise causing everyone to pause.

Lin Ruan and Meng Zhen both thought of something, and their expressions instantly changed. Lin Ruan pushed through the crowd and found the small box next to the table. It had been smashed open. The pearl necklace and ring were intact, but the jade bracelet had shattered into three pieces.

Lin Ruan looked at Meng Zhen, whose face had turned pale.

The students who were watching also saw the shattered jade bracelet too. Someone whispered to Meng Zhen, who looked up and glared at Li Mingwen.

Li Mingwen’s face turned pale, too. He knew he couldn’t afford to pay for the broken item. Although the other students came from wealthy families, none of them could pay such a large sum all at once.

Li Mingwen held onto the corner of the table, feeling as if the sky had fallen.

Meng Zhen, holding the broken bracelet, was on the verge of tears. “If my family finds out, they’ll beat me to death!”

“Don’t worry,” Lin Ruan said after thinking for a moment. “Let’s go ask if it can be repaired. Maybe a bracelet like this isn’t too expensive. We can buy another one that’s similar.”

Neither Lin Ruan nor Meng Zhen knew how much the jade bracelet cost. They hoped it wouldn’t be too expensive so that they could chip in and find a replacement.

After school, Lin Ruan took Meng Zhen to Ming Yu Zhai[mfn]Mingyu Zhai (鳴玉齋) “Jade-Ringing Studio/Shop” or “The Resonant Jade Studio”[/mfn], a jade shop. They asked the owner if the bracelet could be repaired.

The owner shook his head and said it wasn’t necessary.

Lin Ruan glanced at Meng Zhen and saw the nervousness in his eyes. Lin Ruan asked again if there was anything similar.

The owner showed them a few bracelets and said, “The one you have is only average quality. I have a few similar ones here.”

Lin Ruan and Meng Zhen went over to examine them. To their eyes, it was indeed similar to the broken bracelet, and they couldn’t see any difference.

“Boss, how much is this bracelet?” Meng Zhen asked.

The boss said eight hundred yuan.

Lin Ruan and Meng Zhen exchanged a glance, each seeing poverty in the other’s eyes.

They both left Ming Yu Zhai dejectedly. Meng Zhen’s eyes were red, and he was on the verge of tears as he hugged Lin Ruan.

Lin Ruan offered a few words of comfort, but they were both powerless. What does eight hundred yuan mean? Lin Ruan only makes twenty yuan a month, and giving half to his parents is enough to cover the family’s daily expenses. Eight hundred yuan is enough for a family to live on for six or seven years. Even for Meng Zhen’s family, eight hundred yuan is a lot of money.

He picked up the broken bracelet again and stared at the gray sky for a moment. Through the emerald green of the bracelet, the sky also appeared emerald green. Suddenly, Lin Ruan thought of something and said, “I might have an idea.”

Meng Zhen looked at Lin Ruan. He grasped the broken bracelet in his hand, made up his mind, and ran in one direction, pulling Meng Zhen along.