Chinese Literature

man. He always wants to see the right thing done by you and your Ma.” ;

Aunt Li glanced sideways at her husband. “Tsk, tsk,’ she mocked, “a mouse climbs a scale and finds himself weighty! A just man, eh? Some ‘justice’! You and that old firecracker are two of a kind!” She turned to Chun-mei. “Don’t listen to him! Go home and talk it over with Mama. It says so in the Marriage Law—widows can remarry!”

The wind taken out of his sails, Li-ho dropped his pipe and stood up. ‘“Aiya,’ he said helplessly, “again you're talking about that law! How do you know what’s in it? Don't pretend to be an expert and tell people things that will ruin them!’ He smiled. “Everybody says Tm afraid of my wife. Is there any provision in the Marriage Law for that?”

Aunt Li glared at him, then she smiled too. But at once she became serious again.

“T don’t want anyone to be afraid of me, I only want to see fair play. You men want us to take slapping around every day and not say a word even if you beat us to death. That’s the way you prove you're not afraid of your wives!.. .”

Chun-mei didn’t want to get involved in their argument. Smoothing her clothes, she rose to leave. As she reached the door, Li-ho suddenly remembered.

“Mayor Wang Kai wants to’see you,” he called after her. “He says you should come to his house.”

Yang the Elder had studied a few of the old philosophy classics, and had always been considered a very righteous man. With the death of the self-styled “Venerable Master,’ father of landlord Yang Li-chai, he became the oldest member of the clan both in terms of generation and actual age. In keeping with his rank as senior member of the clan. though only forty at the time, he grew a beard. Even now, fifteen years later, the beard was still quite black. The Elder not only was a good farmer, he was famous far and near as a maker of firecrackers. They never failed to go off, and they made a tremendous bang. Some people said they were like his temper. Others said firecrackers blew up and were finished, but Yang the Elder’s temper was indestructible no matter how often it exploded. At home, he imposed many taboos. For instance, none of the women of the family were allowed to sit at the front gate, no male visitor could go into the kitchen... . If you violated any of these prohibitions, whether intentionally or not, he would lecture you harshly till your face reddened and your ears turned crimson.

In accordance with ancient custom, and a written “Clan Law,” he had been known as the “clan leader” for the past dozen years. But before liberation, the landlord ruling class had some rules of their own.