still a joyous development that excited families and made neighbours green with envy. And so, my brother, who had retired as head of the Bureau of Education, returned to the village to host a celebratory banquet for family and friends.
The meal was served in my second brother’s yard. An electric wire was strung from the house for a light bulb that lit the yard up like the sun. Two tables were put together to accommodate a couple of dozen chairs, on which we sat shoulder to shoulder. The meal was catered, with delicacies of every kind, meat and foul and fish, dish after colourful dish of tasty food. In her heavy Yantai accent, Eldest Sister-in-law said: I hope you enjoy these meagre offerings. Hardly, Father said. Think about the 1960s, when even Chairman Mao could not have eaten a meal like this. My soon-to-be flyboy nephew said: Those days are over, Grandpa.
After three rounds of toasts, Father stood up and said: Our family managed to produce an air force pilot. Back when your father applied to be one, a scar on his leg was all that kept him out. Now Xiangqun has made our dream come true.
What’s the big deal about being a pilot? Xiangqun said with a bit of a scowl. If you want to really make it big, become a high-ranking official or a millionaire.
Hogwash! Father said, holding out his cup, draining it, and banging it back down on the table. An airman is a dragon among men, he said. Your great-aunt had a man way back then, Wang Xiaoti, who was a towering tree standing and a brass bell seated. He took vigorous strides when he walked, and if he hadn’t foolishly flown over to Taiwan, he could be air force commander-in-chief today . . .
Are you kidding me? Xianqun exclaimed. I thought Great-Aunt’s husband made clay figurines. Where did that airman come from?
That’s ancient history, Eldest Brother said. Let’s drop the subject.
No, Xiangqun said. I’m going to ask her. Wang Xiaoti flew his plane to Taiwan. That’s wild.
Don’t you go looking for that kind of excitement, his father said anxiously. People need patriotism, especially in the military, and that goes double for air force pilots. A man can steal, he can rob, he can commit murder and arson . . . what I mean to say is, you cannot become a traitor. They leave a tainted name forever, and are doomed to a bad end . . .
That’s really got you scared, hasn’t it? Xiangqun said scornfully. Taiwan is part of the motherland, so what’s wrong with flying over there to have a look?
I’ll have none of that! his mother exclaimed. If that’s the way you think, then you have no business becoming a pilot. I’ll go phone Chief Liu of the Armed Forces Bureau.
Don’t get excited, Ma. I’m not
that
stupid. I wouldn’t sacrifice my family for my own pleasure. But don’t forget, the Nationalists and Communists are all members of the same family. If I flew over there, they’d have to send me back.
That’s the way to uphold our family’s moral standing, Elder Brother said. Wang Xiaoti was a son of a bitch who ruined your aunt’s life.
Did I hear my name mentioned? Gugu broadcast her arrival as she squinted in the bright light. She turned and put on a pair of sunglasses, looking quite cool, if slightly comical. Do you really need that bright a light? Like Great-Grandma always said, You won’t stuff food up your nose even if you eat in the dark. Electricity requires coal, coal has to be dug by miners three thousand feet underground, hell on earth, corrupt officials, crooked bosses, the miners’ lives as worthless as the dirt above them. Every lump of coal is stained with blood. With her right hand on her hip, she held her left hand out in front, the thumb and outer two fingers curled inward, her index and middle fingers pointing ahead; she was wearing a 1970s-vintage Dacron military uniform, sleeves rolled up. Overweight and greying, she had the look of a commune cadre from the Cultural Revolution. Seeing her provoked mixed emotions in me. This is
The meal was served in my second brother’s yard. An electric wire was strung from the house for a light bulb that lit the yard up like the sun. Two tables were put together to accommodate a couple of dozen chairs, on which we sat shoulder to shoulder. The meal was catered, with delicacies of every kind, meat and foul and fish, dish after colourful dish of tasty food. In her heavy Yantai accent, Eldest Sister-in-law said: I hope you enjoy these meagre offerings. Hardly, Father said. Think about the 1960s, when even Chairman Mao could not have eaten a meal like this. My soon-to-be flyboy nephew said: Those days are over, Grandpa.
After three rounds of toasts, Father stood up and said: Our family managed to produce an air force pilot. Back when your father applied to be one, a scar on his leg was all that kept him out. Now Xiangqun has made our dream come true.
What’s the big deal about being a pilot? Xiangqun said with a bit of a scowl. If you want to really make it big, become a high-ranking official or a millionaire.
Hogwash! Father said, holding out his cup, draining it, and banging it back down on the table. An airman is a dragon among men, he said. Your great-aunt had a man way back then, Wang Xiaoti, who was a towering tree standing and a brass bell seated. He took vigorous strides when he walked, and if he hadn’t foolishly flown over to Taiwan, he could be air force commander-in-chief today . . .
Are you kidding me? Xianqun exclaimed. I thought Great-Aunt’s husband made clay figurines. Where did that airman come from?
That’s ancient history, Eldest Brother said. Let’s drop the subject.
No, Xiangqun said. I’m going to ask her. Wang Xiaoti flew his plane to Taiwan. That’s wild.
Don’t you go looking for that kind of excitement, his father said anxiously. People need patriotism, especially in the military, and that goes double for air force pilots. A man can steal, he can rob, he can commit murder and arson . . . what I mean to say is, you cannot become a traitor. They leave a tainted name forever, and are doomed to a bad end . . .
That’s really got you scared, hasn’t it? Xiangqun said scornfully. Taiwan is part of the motherland, so what’s wrong with flying over there to have a look?
I’ll have none of that! his mother exclaimed. If that’s the way you think, then you have no business becoming a pilot. I’ll go phone Chief Liu of the Armed Forces Bureau.
Don’t get excited, Ma. I’m not
that
stupid. I wouldn’t sacrifice my family for my own pleasure. But don’t forget, the Nationalists and Communists are all members of the same family. If I flew over there, they’d have to send me back.
That’s the way to uphold our family’s moral standing, Elder Brother said. Wang Xiaoti was a son of a bitch who ruined your aunt’s life.
Did I hear my name mentioned? Gugu broadcast her arrival as she squinted in the bright light. She turned and put on a pair of sunglasses, looking quite cool, if slightly comical. Do you really need that bright a light? Like Great-Grandma always said, You won’t stuff food up your nose even if you eat in the dark. Electricity requires coal, coal has to be dug by miners three thousand feet underground, hell on earth, corrupt officials, crooked bosses, the miners’ lives as worthless as the dirt above them. Every lump of coal is stained with blood. With her right hand on her hip, she held her left hand out in front, the thumb and outer two fingers curled inward, her index and middle fingers pointing ahead; she was wearing a 1970s-vintage Dacron military uniform, sleeves rolled up. Overweight and greying, she had the look of a commune cadre from the Cultural Revolution. Seeing her provoked mixed emotions in me. This is
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