Page 129 - I Live in the Slums: Stories (The Margellos World Republic of Letters)

CATFISH PIT

Catfish Pit was a neighborhood in the downtown area packed with old two-
story wooden dwellings. Woman Wang lived in a room on the left side in one of

those buildings. She was old and single, with no child. Not many acquaintances
ever looked in on her. This place would soon be demolished, and all the
residents would have to move to tall apartment buildings. Everyone was
apprehensive, asking one another, “What’s it like to live in a skyscraper?”
Woman Wang was the only one who didn’t care. When the demolition notice
was delivered, Woman Wang was cleaning her huge kimchi vat. Looking up, she
said to the worker, “Just put it on the tea table.”
Then she picked up a long bright-red hot pepper and placed it carefully in the
bottom of the crock. She added two pieces of fresh yellow ginger.
“What do you think of the proposed compensation?” the young man asked.
“Fine. Whatever. Please leave.”
The man stole away like a cat. Bending her head, Woman Wang continued
working. She added greengage plums, beans, gherkins, Sichuan pickles, and
other things to the kimchi crock. Every time she added something, she closed her
eyes and imagined what it would taste like. Of course, she wasn’t making the
kimchi just for herself—she would never be able to eat everything in such a

large crock. See, weren’t those two kids sneaking a look? They were the Pao
brothers from the neighborhood—two gluttons.
Woman Wang dragged out another, smaller crock from underneath the bed.
She took the lid off and quickly picked out a sword bean. The two kids ran over
at once. Woman Wang broke the sword bean into two parts.
“I want this part!”
“Give it to me!” They both wanted the larger part.
“Close your eyes!” Woman Wang said strictly. “All right. Off with you.”
The two brothers ran like the wind.
After a while, another person showed up—a little girl named Little Ping. She
walked slowly over to Woman Wang, her eyes sliding around.
“Granny Wang, I’d love a red pepper. One with the sour flavor of greengage

plums. That kind.”
“Tell me first how much money you’ve collected.”
“Two cents.”
Woman Wang had taught Little Ping to keep watch in front of the candy shop