Brothers (99 page)

When Poet Zhao heard this, he stopped moaning, jumped up, and asked delightedly, "Boss Li, what kind of work?"

"Physical trainer," Baldy Li replied. "You would receive the salary of a mid-rank employee in my company."

Therefore, while Poet Zhao didn't succeed in selling off his old shoes, he did manage to secure a high-paying position as Baldy Li's personal trainer. From then on, Poet Zhao would wear knee and elbow pads and even on hot days would wear a padded jacket and pants. Rain or shine, he would stand in the grass of the tennis court and obediently wait for Baldy Li to come and leg-sweep him.

Baldy Li studied Russian for three years, during which time his Russian improved dramatically. During his three years of physical training, his physical fitness also improved daily. In six months he would go to the Russian space-training center to receive the basic training to be a cosmonaut. The day he would get to see outer space grew closer and closer, and Baldy Li began to let his thoughts run wild. Often, while sitting on the sofa in his living room, he would forget his own rule and begin alternating between speaking in Russian and in the Liu Town vernacular.

As garrulous as an old man, he began addressing the two Russian students as though they were both Song Gang. Counting on his fingers, he said, "When that American, Tito, went into space, he took with him a camera, a video recorder, a laser disc, and pictures of his wife and children. When Shuttleworth went into orbit, he took with him photos of his family and friends, together with a microscope, a notebook computer, and a disc." Then Baldy Li held out one finger and said that the Chinese Baldy Li would take only one thing into space with him. And what was that? It was Song Gangs ashes. Baldy Li looked through his french windows, saw the bright, distant sky, and, with a romantic look in his eyes, declared that he wanted to place Song Gangs ashes in orbit, so that every day they could see sixteen sunrises and sixteen sunsets. That way Song Gang would perpetually be traveling between the moon and the stars.

"From that point on," Baldy Li suddenly declared in Russian, "my brother Song Gang will be a space alien!"

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Born in 1960 in Zhejiang, China, Yu Hua has published four
novels, six collections of stories, and three collections of
essays. His novels
To Live
and
Chronicle of a Blood
Merchant
were named two of the last decade's ten most
influential books in China. Yu Hua lives in Beijing.

ABOUT THE TRANSLATORS

Eileen Cheng-yin Chow and Carlos Rojas both teach modern
Chinese cultural studies, Eileen at Harvard University and
Carlos at Duke University. They are also the editors of
Rethinking Chinese Popular Culture:
Cannibalizations of the Canon.

TRANSLATION AND TRANSLATORS’ PREFACE COPYRIGHT © 2009 BY EILEEN CHENG-YIN CHOW AND CARLOS ROJAS

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

PANTHEON BOOKS AND COLOPHON ARE REGISTERED TRADEMARKS OF
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

YU, HUA, [DATE]

[XIONG DI. ENGLISH]

BROTHERS / YU HUA; TRANSLATED FROM THE CHINESE

BY EILEEN CHENG-YIN CHOW AND CARLOS ROJAS.

P. CM.

eISBN: 978-0-307-37798-2

1. YU, HUA, 1960— TRANSLATIONS INTO ENGLISH. I. CHOW, EILEEN CHENG-YIN.

II. ROJAS, CARLOS. III. TITLE.

PL2928.H78X5613 2009

895.1'352—DC22 2008021617

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