Chronicle of a Blood Merchant

CHAPTER TWENTY

The day after his birthday Xu Sanguan counted on his fingers the number of days that his family had eaten corn flour gruel: fiftyseven days in a row. And then he said to himself, I’ve got to sell some blood so they can eat a square meal.

It was thus that Xu Sanguan arrived at the hospital and found himself facing Blood Chief Li. And he thought to himself, Everyone in town is gray with hunger, but Blood Chief Li still has ruddy cheeks. Everyone in town has lost weight, but Blood Chief Li’s face is as fleshy as ever. Everyone in town is always scowling, but Blood Chief Li has a big smile on his face.

Blood Chief Li gave Xu Sanguan a welcoming grin. “I know you. You’ve come to sell blood before. Last time you brought some things for me. How come you don’t have anything today?”

Xu Sanguan said, “My family’s been eating corn flour gruel for fifty-seven days in a row. All I have left is my blood. I’m coming empty-handed to beg you to let me sell two bowls of blood. If I can bring some money home, my family will finally be able to eat a square meal. If you can help me out now, I’ll find a way to pay you back later.”

Blood Chief Li asked, “How are you planning to pay me back?”

Xu Sanguan said, “I don’t have anything I can call my own right now. But in the past I’ve given you eggs, meat, and even a pound of sugar. You didn’t want the sugar. Not only did you not want it, you even scolded me for bringing it. You said you were a Communist Party member and that you wouldn’t take ‘so much as a needle and thread from the masses.’ I didn’t know that you’d be willing to accept things again now, so I didn’t come prepared, and I don’t know how I should repay you.”

Blood Chief Li said, “These days I don’t have any choice in the matter. With times as hard as these, the town blood chief might end up starving to death if he didn’t accept a little something to eat and drink now and again. When things get a little better, I’ll go back to the old policy of not taking ‘so much as a needle and thread from the masses.’ Just forget that I’m a party member for the time being. Look at me as your benefactor. They say that you should repay a drop of kindness with a flood. But I don’t want a flood. All I want is a drop in return. Why don’t you just give me a few yuan from out of what you make selling blood? You can give me the change and pocket the rest.”

After Xu Sanguan sold his blood, he gave five yuan to Blood Chief Li and took thirty home. He handed the money to Xu Yulan and told her he had earned it selling blood and that he had “flooded” Blood Chief Li with the remaining five yuan. Then he told her that the family had eaten corn flour gruel for fifty-seven days in a row and they couldn’t go on eating the stuff forever. Now they had enough money to add a little something different to their diet every few days, and when they ran out of money, he would go sell blood again because his blood was like a well — the level would stay about the same no matter if you drew water every day or never at all.

Finally he added, “Let’s not eat corn flour gruel tonight. Let’s go to the Victory Restaurant and eat a square meal.” He said, “I feel really weak right now. I can’t even talk too loud. Can’t you tell? Listen to me. After I sold blood today, I didn’t drink two shots of yellow rice wine or eat a plate of fried pork livers. That’s why I don’t have any energy left. It’s not that I didn’t want to eat some. I went over to the Victory Restaurant, but all they have is plain soup noodles. They’re in the same boat as everyone else, what with the famine. Used to be they’d make their soup noodles with meat broth, but now they use boiled water and throw in a little soy sauce. They don’t even have any spring onions. That’s the way it is. And they’re asking one yuan seventy fen a bowl. Before it was just nine fen a bowl. I’m totally exhausted. I didn’t eat any fried pork livers. I’m running on empty. They say that if you don’t have enough to eat, you should supplement your diet with sleep. I’m going to sleep now.”

As he spoke, Xu Sanguan lay down in bed, stretched out his arms and legs, and shut his eyes.

“I’m seeing spots,” he continued, “and my heart is thumping like it’s all worn out, and my stomach’s convulsing. I feel like I need to throw something up. I’m going to bed now. If I sleep for four or five hours, don’t worry about it. But if I sleep for seven or eight hours and still don’t wake up, then you’d better call someone to help take me over to the hospital.”

After Xu Sanguan fell asleep, Xu Yulan sat on the doorstep squeezing the thirty yuan between her fingers. She gazed at the deserted street and watched the wind blow eddies of dust across the ground.

Staring at the dull, gray wall across the lane, she said to herself, When Yile broke open Blacksmith Fang’s son’s head, he went to sell blood. And when Fatty Lin broke her leg, he went to sell blood again. I still can’t believe he was willing to sell his own blood for a fat slut like that. It’s not like it’s mere sweat. It’s blood, after all. Now that the family’s eaten corn flour gruel for fiftyseven days in a row, he goes to sell blood once again. And then he says he’ll do it again because otherwise we’re not going to make it through these hard times. When are these hard times ever going to end?

Tears fell down her face as she spoke. She folded the money into a neat bundle, slid it into her inside pocket, and raised a hand to her face to wipe away the tears. She wiped the tears across her cheek with her palm, and then wiped the tears from her eyes with her fingertips.