Sha Zhu's Rebirth in the Courtyard: Starting with Hitting Someone in the Head

Chapter 67 Every wrong has its perpetrator, every debt its debtor.

After Wang Xia and her husband's knees healed, her husband began to sense something was wrong. Deputy District Chief Zhou's "job transfer" was too sudden; even his wife and children had moved away.

He asked the people at the district committee, but they only said he had been transferred, and they didn't know where he had been transferred to. He had worked in government offices for many years and knew that normal transfers wouldn't be like this.

For someone to disappear into thin air, it's either because they've been promoted to a classified unit or because something bad has happened.

He thought of the needles in his knee and the splint on his son's leg, and the more he thought about it, the less he could sleep.

He tossed and turned in bed for several nights, and finally one evening, after changing into clean clothes, he went to Nanluoguxiang. He stood at the entrance of the alley for a while, took two deep breaths, walked into the alley, found the main gate of the courtyard, and knocked twice.

No one answered. He knocked twice more, his palms sweating. He silently repeated what he was going to say in his mind: apologize for Wang Xia, promise that she would never interfere in the affairs of the hospital again, and beg He Yuzhu to be lenient.

The door opened. He Yuzhu stood in the courtyard and glanced at him.

He stood at the door, his prepared opening remarks stuck in his throat. "Comrade He Yuzhu, my surname is Zheng, and I am Wang Xia's husband. I apologize for the intrusion, but may I say a few words to you?"

He Yuzhu glanced at him and stepped aside.

Comrade Zheng followed him through the outer courtyard and into the main room. He sat down in the armchair, his back ramrod straight, his hands resting on his knees, as if he were there to report on his work.

He Yuzhu didn't pour him any water; the only sound in the room was the ticking of the grandfather clock.

"Comrade He Yuzhu, I've come today to apologize to you on behalf of my wife."

He spoke slowly, each word carefully considered before uttering. "Over the past few years, she's done and said things she shouldn't have because of the old lady's situation. She's caused you a lot of trouble. It was our fault."

He Yuzhu didn't say anything, lit a cigarette, and leaned back in his chair to wait.

Comrade Zheng, not receiving a response, could only continue speaking, his voice beginning to tremble slightly.

"Deputy District Chief Zhou has been transferred, and it was very sudden. My wife is now on tenterhooks every day, afraid that you will hold a grudge against her. After our son broke his leg, she cried every day, saying she was sorry to the child."

He looked up at He Yuzhu, his throat bobbing. "I've come today to apologize to you in person. Please forgive her this time. She will never interfere in the affairs of the courtyard again, and she will never associate with the old lady again. I promise you that."

The main room fell silent. A gust of wind rose outside the window, rustling the leaves of the pomegranate tree.

He Yuzhu flicked his cigarette ash. "I hit Yang Honglin."

Comrade Zheng listened attentively.

"He abused his power to oppress me, a member of the working class. I broke his leg; he deserved it." He Yuzhu put a cigarette in his mouth, leaned back in his chair, and said, "The rest has nothing to do with me."

He Yuzhu looked at the man through the smoke. He stood up straight, but his hands, which were resting on his knees, were trembling.

"You're afraid."

Comrade Zheng raised his head.

"You're afraid you'll be next. You're afraid someone will hit you with a stick while you're walking and break your leg. You're afraid your son's leg won't be fully healed before you, his father, end up in bed too."

He Yuzhu's voice wasn't loud, but every word struck Zheng's heart like a nail: "You're not here to apologize for your wife. You're here to beg for forgiveness for yourself."

Comrade Zheng lowered his head, his hands resting on his knees clenched into fists.

He Yuzhu picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said nothing more.

Only the ticking of the grandfather clock remained in the main room.

After a long while, Comrade Zheng covered his face with his hands, letting out suppressed sobs. He was a grown man who hadn't cried when his wife was beaten and his son's leg was broken, but now He Yuzhu's words, "He came to beg for mercy," shattered his pretense of composure.

He stood up, his voice hoarse. "Excuse me."

He Yuzhu did not get up, and waited for Comrade Zheng to walk to the door of the main room.

"Every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt its debtor."

Comrade Zheng was startled, his feet rooted to the spot on the threshold. He stood there, hand on the doorframe, and said, "Thank you!"

Comrade Zheng didn't know how he got home. He kept repeating He Yuzhu's words in his mind: "Every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt its debtor."

He recalled how Wang Xia spoke of the old lady as if she were an elder. He had never asked her what she did for the old lady; he assumed it was part of her job.

Now he realized that she was covering up layers of trouble for others, but in the end, she couldn't hold it in anymore and dragged the whole family down with her.

When he got home and opened the door, Wang Xia was heating up food by the stove, her apron covered in scallions. Seeing him return, she asked if he had eaten.

He ignored them, went into the bedroom and started packing his things, folding his clothes in the closet and putting them into his suitcase.

Wang Xia followed him over and asked what he was doing. He didn't even look up and continued folding clothes, only saying two words: "Divorce."

Wang Xia dropped the spatula from her hand onto the ground with a clatter.

"We'll go and complete the formalities tomorrow." He fastened the suitcase, picked it up, and placed it by the door.

Wang Xia grabbed his arm, her nails almost digging into his flesh, her eyes red.

He shook off her hand and said, word by word, "Our son's leg is broken, my knees are ruined, and you've dragged the whole family down with you. I went to see He Yuzhu today; he was sitting there drinking tea, and I was so scared my hands were shaking. I've never been so afraid of anyone in my life."

His voice began to tremble. "His last words to me were, 'The grievances have their perpetrators, and the debts have their debtors. Neither my son nor I will be bothered by him. It's you. It's just you.'"

He picked up his suitcase and turned to leave.

Wang Xia rushed over and grabbed his arm, asking him where he was going. He said he was going to the hospital to be with Wei Dong, and that he would go to handle some paperwork first thing tomorrow morning, and that they shouldn't see each other again.

Wang Xia stood alone in the room, the pot on the stove was still bubbling and steaming, and the smell of burning food slowly wafted over.

A few days later, the news reached the courtyard. Yang Ruihua told Wu Guilan by the sink that the street women's director had gotten divorced, and her husband had left with the child.

Wu Guilan was stunned. "What will happen to Director Wang then? Where did you hear this news?"

Yang Ruihua said, "When I went to the street office to return the matchboxes, everyone there was talking about it. Wang Xia is still working at the street office, but she has lost a lot of weight, her hair has turned quite white, she doesn't speak in meetings, she walks with her head down, and she avoids people when she sees them."

Jia Zhangshi came over from the doorway and chimed in, "The women's director used to be so powerful, but now she's all alone and not even as good as me."

Wu Guilan stopped listening to what they were saying and started making her own plans. The rent for this room in the Central Courthouse was 1.5 yuan deducted from her monthly salary. She was currently sweeping the streets; her income wasn't high, but it was enough to support herself.

I'm only thirty-six; I can find another man.

After Wang Xia's accident, she stopped going to the neighborhood office. Every morning she would get up early to sweep the alley, come back to clean the yard, and occasionally help Old Li's wife hold the child. Sometimes she would change into clean clothes in the evening and go out, and no one knew where she went.

As night deepened, the pomegranate tree in the courtyard swayed gently in the moonlight.

He Yuzhu sat in a grand chair, brewed a pot of tea, lit a cigarette, and looked out the window through the smoke.

Now Wang Xia knows what it feels like to be retaliated against. But that's not enough. Killing her would be too easy on her; it's better to let her live in fear and suffer it slowly.

She still works at the neighborhood office every day and sleeps in that same room, but her husband and children are gone, and when she gets old and sick, there won't even be anyone to bring her water.

Every day when she opens her eyes, she knows she has been abandoned, sentenced by the phrase "every wrong has its perpetrator, every debt its debtor."

When the old deaf man starves to death, she will still be the witness.

He stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and that was it.