One day Meng Yunfang arranged a noontime meeting between the old man who had the sole copy of Master Shao’s Magic Numbers and the master from Xinjiang. After the manager at the Changhong Hotel provided them with free room and board, the two masters, in order both to express their gratitude and, most importantly, to show each other up, offered to use their magic to improve the manager’s health and to predict the future business at the hotel. That went on throughout the day. To repay Meng, the manager gave him an old-style copper hot pot shaped like a lotus flower, along with five jin of mutton and three types of condiments. Accepting everything with a broad smile, Meng took the gift home and called Zhuang and Zhao over to share the food. Still in low spirits, Zhuang ate little; instead he turned on the TV, where an imported fifty-episode gangster drama was playing. First came an ad for Ruan’s dance hall.
“Did you know, Zhidie, that Liu Yue is working at the dance hall as a model, and a very popular one, too?”
“Great. That’s a good job for her. How did you hear that? Do you go dancing often?”
“Me? No way.”
“He’s never been, but his son goes all the time,” Xia Jie said.
“What’s a youngster like Meng Jin doing there? Can he afford it?” Zhuang asked.
“That’s the problem,” she said. “I ran into Ruan Zhifei three days ago, and he said, ‘That son of yours is quite the clever one. He comes to the dance hall every three or four days with his classmates, and when the doorman asks to see their tickets, he tells them that Ruan Zhifei is his uncle and that Liu Yue is his older sister, and then he walks right in.’ When the doorman asked Ruan if he had such a nephew, Ruan saw that it was Meng Jin. He said the kid would surely grow up to be just like his old man, someone to be reckoned with. When I got home, I told Meng to have a talk with the boy, but all I got in return was a frown. Look at him. He’s upset.”
“I’m not upset.” Meng forced a smile onto his unhappy face and said, “Let’s go see Liu Yue one of these days. We don’t want to make her think she’s like that proverb — a married daughter is like splashed water.”
“Sure,” Zhuang replied. “Why don’t you set it up?”
“What’s there to set up? After we’re done here, I have to go to the Propaganda Department. The head of the department called yesterday and asked me to come over this afternoon. It’s nothing important, just to get Meng Jin’s master to use qigong to help his wife pass a bladder stone. I’m going today not to help with the treatment, but to set up an appointment.”
“Aren’t you the busy man,” Xia said. “One moment you’re talking about visiting the mayor’s daughter-in-law, and the next you have to set up treatments for the department head’s wife. Are you going to get up and leave your writer friends here?”
“Now you’re making me sound like a petty snob. It will only take half an hour to deal with the department head. Keep up the conversation. Let’s meet at the dance hall at four.”
“You can go, but count me out,” Zhao said.
“Don’t be small-minded, Jingwu,” Meng Yunfang said. “Are you afraid to see Liu Yue now that she’s married to someone else? She should be afraid of seeing you. You don’t have to interact with her if you don’t want to. Just dance. You might actually meet someone.”
“You’re driving me nuts with all this chatter. Go if you want,” Xia Jie said. “But I’m telling you, Yunfang, since you’re going for a good time, don’t take Meng Jin with you and get more complaints from the doorman. I can’t afford any more embarrassment.”
Meng uttered a curse as he walked out. Xia Jie put the dishes away, but instead of washing them, she called a neighbor over to join them in a round of mahjong.
Meng Yunfang went to the Propaganda Department not to work on any bladder stone, but to talk about something that would impact the whole city. It turned out that the mayor had always wanted to use culture to promote the city’s economic growth. When he heard that the Xijing Zoo had just gotten three giant pandas from the Beijing Zoo, he was inspired to host an Ancient City Cultural Festival, using the pandas as the logo. He then called a meeting with officials from the Propaganda Department and the Bureau of Culture. Everyone thought it was a great idea, for not only would it raise the city’s visibility to outsiders, it would also put Xijing in the vanguard of economic improvement. A preparatory committee was formed. The head of propaganda wanted to hear what Meng had to say about the program. Meng suggested that Zhuang Zhidie be included, to which the propaganda head readily agreed, adding that they wouldn’t have to bother Zhuang with everyday business; his talent would be best reserved for drafting announcements and other related documents. After reading three pages of possible activities for the festival, Meng knew he could stay till dark and they still wouldn’t finish their discussion. “This is big,” he said. “Let me take these pages home and give it some careful thought. I’ll be back tomorrow afternoon with specific comments.” He left and hurried toward the dance hall.
The performances had ended, and the paying guests had just started to dance. The floor was filled with couples holding each other tightly and swaying to the music. A strobe light swirled its vivid colors, turning the dancers into indistinguishable phantoms. Meng Yunfang had heard from his son that Liu Yue danced with guests, so he sat at a table straining to locate her. But he was blind in one eye and had poor vision in the other, and it looked to him as if all the girls were strangely dressed, and that each one of them looked like Liu Yue. When the music ended, she was not among the girls leaving the dance floor. So Meng decided to look for Ruan, but the music started up and the couples went back out and merged together again. He cursed himself for poor planning; if Zhuang and Zhao were unable to find Liu Yue and Ruan Zhifei, they would give him a hard time. As he was wondering what to do, he heard someone say, “You must be Mr. Meng.” He turned and saw that it was a pretty girl at the next table; she was studying him with her chin in her hands.
“Are you talking to me?” Meng asked. “My name is Meng, but who are you?”
The girl gave him her hand, so he shook it. “You look familiar,” he said, “but I have such a terrible memory, I don’t remember you. I’m sorry.”
“No need to apologize. Actually, we’ve never met. I just thought you looked like Meng Yunfang, so I ventured a guess. So it is you.”
“You noticed that I only have one good eye?”
“I’ve heard that Mr. Meng has a sense of humor, and it’s true,” she said with a smile. “But I’m not the witty type. I work at the Public Prosecutor’s Office, and I’m sure you know who I am now. No? Well, Jing Xueyin is married to my second brother.”
Meng nearly got up and ran out, but instead he smiled and said, “Ah, now I know. I’m sure you’re quite witty yourself. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I do know your sister-in-law. You look a bit like her; I guess that’s because you’re from the same family. How is she doing?”
“How do you think she’s doing? Your friend’s lawsuit has nearly driven her to suicide.”
“You’re looking at it the wrong way. I know something about the case, and in my view it didn’t have to end like that. They were once close friends. Zhuang Zhidie has been in a funk lately, complaining that it was all Zhou Min’s fault that a friend was turned into an enemy.”
“If he really cared about their past friendship, why did he violate her privacy and say all those things? He hurt a former friend in order to save his own reputation. That is immoral!”
“It wasn’t like that at all,” Meng said. “Well, let’s not talk about that, since the case is settled anyway.”
“Mr. Meng, you don’t understand the law. The judgment from the Intermediate Court doesn’t mean that the case is settled. There’s still the appeal to the Superior Court.”