Page 168 - I Live in the Slums: Stories (The Margellos World Republic of Letters)

yourself! Bye!”
Zhu Mei and Zhou Yizhen watched her disappear into the courtyard.
“Zhu Mei, I’ve come to say good-bye. Visiting my old home has made me
feel great, and it has enriched me, too. But—I don’t know how to put it—it
seems I experienced everything here through a layer of gauze. Nothing was very
clear. Now I feel excited, but I don’t know how to explain that. Can you
understand what I’m feeling?”

Zhu Mei stared straight at Zhou Yizhen, then nodded and said, “I understand
you, Zhou Yizhen. If I didn’t, then who would? I invited you to come, and you
came. This was telepathy, wasn’t it? Twenty years ago, I thought I could live as
you did. Now the facts prove that I wasn’t wrong. Let me see you off.”
When they walked out of the courtyard, Zhu Mei said, “Your shoes are dirty.
You must have taken the main road over here. Actually, there’s a side path you
could have taken.”
“Oh, I see! No wonder I didn’t see the courtyard houses. How could I get lost
in my former neighborhood?”
“Of course that can happen. Come this way!”
Zhu Mei pulled Zhou Yizhen over, and the two of them went to the forked
road. The courtyard houses appeared, and the main entrances stood open as they
had the night before. Zhou Yizhen saw again the scene in the lane from last
night. This was really a quiet little lane! When had it been built? She hadn’t seen
these courtyard houses before, and yet they looked rather old. Where had they
come from? Noticing Zhou Yizhen’s puzzled expression, Zhu Mei began to

laugh.
“Zhou Yizhen, you rescued me back then, and I’ve always wanted to repay
you. After you left, I waited year after year for you to return, and now you have.
Tell me: What is your impression of your old home?”
“I feel that both the people and the view have totally changed. This place used
to be rather depressing. But I’m not very sure about this impression. Maybe I’m
the one that used to be depressing. Since I came back yesterday, I’ve been
constantly excited. People here have been so warm to me. But I can’t understand
them, even though I was with them every day in the past. Zhu Mei, can you tell
me how to understand my former workmates?”
“You don’t need to fully understand us. All you need is to feel our love, that’s
enough.”

Zhu Mei had no sooner said this than the bus arrived. They embraced and said
good-bye.
When the bus started, Zhu Mei waved to Zhou Yizhen.
“Come back often!” she shouted.
Zhou Yizhen was dazed as she stood in the bus. Right up until the bus