Qin He turned the bow away from the pier and the boat slipped forward, hugging the bank, its motor purring. Li Shou stood beside him studying his movements like an apprentice.
Go slow, Gugu said. That’s right, now even slower.
When the bow was about five metres from the melon rind, the motor was slowed to just above the point of shutting down. Now we could all see the head of the pregnant woman under the melon rind.
She’s good, Gugu said. Five months pregnant and still swimming that well.
Gugu sent Little Lion into the cabin to use the loudspeaker. The girl got up and slipped into the cabin at a semi-crouch. A void seemed to open up next to Wang Gan; a look of agony and loss showed on his face. What was he thinking at that moment? Had Little Lion already received the letter that showcased his prodigious talent?
My thoughts were all over the place when the loudspeaker erupted, scaring me, even though I’d known it was coming: The Great Leader Chairman Mao tells us we must control our population…
The pregnant woman pushed the melon rind off and showed her head. Startled into turning to look behind her, she quickly dove back under the surface. With a smile, Gugu told Qin He to keep the speed down. I want to see, she said softly, just how good a swimmer this Dongfeng Villager is. Little Lion emerged from the cabin and went up to the bow to gaze anxiously, and heaven answered Wang Gan’s wish, as she moved close to him. I actually felt a tinge of jealousy. His skinny frame was right next to her. All that prominent solid flesh. I could imagine what he was feeling, sure that he could sense the warmth and softness of her body, that he could… With this thought my heart began to thump wildly, and I felt nothing but shame for having such dirty thoughts. I quickly looked away from them, thrust my hands in my pockets, and angrily pinched myself on the leg.
Her head! Little Lion shouted. There’s her head!
The woman broke the surface about fifty metres from the boat and looked back as she stretched out and began swimming fast along with the current.
Gugu gave a sign to Qin He, who increased speed and began catching up with the pregnant swimmer. Gugu took a flattened pack of cigarettes from her pocket, removed one and stuck it between her lips. Then she thumbed her cigarette lighter until it lit. With her eyes half closed, she blew out a mouthful of smoke. A wind blew across the river, raising a series of turbid waves. I knew that no one could swim faster than a boat with a twelve-horsepower motor. A Hunan folk song in praise of Chairman Mao spewed from the loudspeaker: The Liuyang River bends nine times for ninety li to the River Xiang…
Gugu flipped the cigarette butt into the river; it was almost immediately snapped up by a gull that flew away with it.
The loudspeaker died out; the record had finished. Little Lion looked at Gugu, who said there was no need for more.
Geng Xiulian, Gugu shouted, do you think you can swim all the way back to the East China Sea?
No answer from the woman, who kept churning her arms, though she had slowed down considerably.
I wish you could be a little understanding, Gugu said, and come aboard so we can take care of things.
Stubborn resistance will get you nowhere, Little Lion steamed. Even if you can swim to the East China Sea, we’ll be right behind you.
At that the woman began to cry, her arms still churning, her movements getting slower and slower.
Worn out? Little Lion laughed. Go ahead, swim if you’re up to it. Kingfishers dive, frogs leap…
The woman’s body was getting lower and lower in the water, and a stench of blood seemed to rise in the air with each breath she released. Gugu leaned down to get a good look. Uh-oh, she shouted. Hurry, get past her, Gugu ordered Qin He. Then she told us to dive in. Hold her up!
Wang Gan was first in the water, Li Shou and I were right behind him.
Qin He leaned the boat into the space beside her.
Wang Gan and I swam up to her. When I grabbed her left arm, she swung it over like an octopus tentacle and pushed my head under the water. I tried to shout and swallowed water. Wang Gan caught her by the hair and began towing her towards the bank. Li Shou grabbed her shoulders and lifted her up so I could come up for air. Everything was a blur as I was racked by violent coughs. The boat was just ahead of us. Qin He slowed down. My shoulder bumped against the hull; so did the woman’s body. Gugu and the others leaned over the side, either catching hold of her hair or her arms, while we pushed her up by her bottom and legs. Everyone was shouting, and together we managed to get her into the boat.
Her leg was bleeding.
You boys don’t need to come up. Just swim over to the bank. That said, Gugu spun around and said to Qin He, Quickly, turn this thing around and get moving. Fast!
In spite of the best medicines and finest treatment, Geng Xiulian died at the health centre.
6
The brigade leadership sent me an urgent telegram, informing me that Wang Renmei was pregnant again. I was told in no uncertain terms that as a Party member and a cadre, and with a certificate proving that my one child was a daughter, for which I received a monthly subsidy, my wife should not be pregnant with a second child. The news hit me like a bombshell. I was ordered to return home without delay and make sure the pregnancy was terminated.
My unanticipated appearance at home shocked everyone. My two-year-old daughter hid behind her grandmother and looked at me fearfully.
What are you doing here? Mother asked anxiously.
I’m on assignment and this was on the way.
Yanyan, this is your papa, Mother said as she pushed the girl towards me. Day in and day out you say you want your papa to come home, and now that he’s here, you’re afraid of him.
I reached out for her arm to hold her, but all that did was make her cry.
Mother sighed. We’ve been in constant fear, she said, and we tried to hide it. But the truth came out anyway.
How did it happen? I asked unhappily. Wasn’t she fitted with an IUD?
She didn’t tell me until she began to show, Mother said. When she knew you were coming home for a visit last time, she went to Yuan Sai and had him remove the device.
That bastard Yuan Sai! I cursed through clenched teeth. Doesn’t he know that’s against the law?
Don’t report him, Mother said. Renmei begged him over and over, and even sent Wang Dan to plead her case, before he’d do it.
What a chance she took! Yuan Sai castrates animals. How could he have the nerve to remove one of those? What if something had happened?
He does it for lots of women, Mother said, keeping her voice low. Your wife said he was very skillful, that he plucked it right out with a metal hook.
Shameless, that’s what it is!
Don’t be so sensitive, Mother said. Wang Dan went with her, and Yuan Sai wore a surgical mask, dark glasses, and rubber gloves. He sterilised the hook first in alcohol and then by a flame to make sure it was safe. Your wife said she didn’t even have to take off her pants. He just cut a little hole in the crotch, and that was it.
That’s not what I meant.
Xiaopao, Mother said sadly, your two older brothers both have sons. You’re the only one who doesn’t, and that worries me. Why not let her have the baby?
I’d be willing to let her go through with it, but what if it isn’t a boy?
It looks like a boy to me, Mother said. When I asked your daughter if her mother was carrying a little sister or a little brother, she said, A little brother! Words from a toddler are prophetic. Besides, even if it’s a girl, she could be a help to you after Yanyan grows up, and you’ll be protected if something should happen to her. I’m getting old, and once my eyes close for the last time, I won’t know a thing. I’m just thinking about you.