By Sha Yexin

L ife of M r.L ight

By Sha Yexin

In the southern suburbs of Chuansha County[1]lives an ordinary but quite interesting person.Qiu Guangmian being his name,he is called Qiu Guangming(“the light”)by all.And we will thus call our hero“Light”when telling his stories.Mr.Light,now 66 years old,is a short and vigorous person with gray hair.He is accustomed to looking sideways and a little bit humpbacked,but still a lovely figure with his upright character and loyalty to friends.

His Unsocial Youth

Before 1949,Light worked as an apprentice in a restaurant.Once when a policeman was sent by the Department of Health to inspect the sanitary conditions,though the restaurant was clean enough,he threatened to let it fail the inspection unless he received considerable bribery.

Light was so angry at it that he gave the guy a good beat.As Light was a self-trained shadow-boxer,the policeman was nearly killed.Light then ran away to hide himself in a cotton field for three days.

After the establishment of People’s Republic of China in 1949,Light became a utility man in the state-owned Chuansha People’s Restaurant.Once when an inspector of the Health Association came,as he was a friend of the restaurant manager,he highly praised therestaurant’ssanitaryconditions and planned to award the latter as the bestofthecounty.However,our straightforward hero did not think it just.He led the inspector to some unconspicuous dirty places,successfully proving his restaurant not to be thebest,and infuriating his boss as well.

The straightforwardness of Light doesn’t imply any weakness in his intelligence.Actually,he’sareally smart guy and a quick learner.For example,Light was very good at killing chicken.He even attended a competition once.

It was like a sports meeting.The music of“Athletes March”was played when dozens of competitors in chef uniforms entered the competition area, each holding a kitchen knife in one hand and a living chicken in the other hand.When a whistle announced the start of the game,all competitors except Light began to kill the chicken hastily.“I’ll let the inferior take advantage,”said our hero.

Not until other competitors finished killing and began draining off the chicken blood did Mr.Light start his work.He showed high level of proficiency when he swiftly finished all the routine procedures:killing,draining off blood,defeathering in boiling water,splitting open,and gutting.2 minutes and 15 seconds:Mr.Light’s record was incomparable,as no other competitor had done their job yet. Lightproudlylightedhimselfa cigarette,andjuggledhiskitchen knife.

Unfortunately,in traditional Chinese society,pridehadgenerallybeen deemed as a critical defect of a person. So when it was announced that Mr. Light took only the second place,nobody else felt it unreasonable.

An Amateur Chef Master

During his service at restaurants for over two decades,Light learned culinary arts well and could make all kinds of Chinese cuisine for himself.

Once when Light went to the center of Shanghai City,in the street he saw another“People’s Restaurant”[2]. Our hero would like to know if there was anything different in that namesake of his workplace,and he walked into it.

Mr.Light orderedadishof“fried three slices”.When the dish was served,Light asked the manager to come to him.The manager came and wondered what his re quirement would be.

Light asked,“What’s in the fried three slices?”

“Well,the slices of pork,ham and bamboo,”said the manager.

“Your answer is not satisfactory.”

The manager was perplexed,and Light gave his explanation.

“What’s important is not the material but the chef’s cutting skills.The pork,the ham and the bamboo should be cut in different ways.”

Then Mr.Light gave the manager a demonstration of various ways of cutting.The manager was very impressed and thought that Light must be a quite famous chef.

But actually,no matter how good Mr.Light’s cuisine skills are–even when many chefs he had taught to cook became really famous–Light kept being a utility man in his career. At last,our disgruntled hero quitted.

He started to cultivate flowers,and he was good at it,too.Light not only was elected as the vice chairman of Chuansha Bonsai Association but also held a bonsai show in Chuansha County.He was the first person doing such a thing in the history of the county, and the show became breaking news of a time.

The Unfinished Novel

If there was any chance to be a chef, Chairman Light would still willingly grasp it.After Chinese government begun to carry out“Reform and Opening-up Policy”in late 1970s,the son of Light opened a restaurant and tried to employ his father to be the chef cook.Light was so happy at the offer that he asked no reward from his son.

Ah,the beaux-arts of blazing oven fire!The symphony with spatula and pots played!The incompatible cuisine skills being whole-heartedly praised by customers!Mr.Light felt being at the peak of his life finally.

But there was still one thing irritating:his boss never showed any sign of gratitude.Although it was alright to receive no salary from his own son, Light would gladly hear“thank you”at least.When Light asked for it,his son said,“Hey,I thought you wanted nothing in return!”

The father was angry.“Screw you! We’re done!”

Light continued being angry for several days,and a spark of inspiration was lighted.He planned to write a satirical novel about his damn son.Althoughhiseducationalbackground was no more than primary school,he believed that his consistent self-study would make himself a great writer.

However,the writing process of the wonderful novel did not go that well, as Light could hardly finish the first chapter.Of course,that was all because his spirit of tolerance and for giveness.Light said to himself,“Well, my son’s not really unfilial.He’s just as straightforward as I am.He has difficulty in expressing feelings,but it doesn’t mean he hates me.I know this because,well,that’s how I treated my father.Anyway,let me run my own restaurant.I’ll hear as many praises from the boss as I want.”

Light the Boss

Our hero made it.He employed some of his former colleagues and opened a“Peach Orchard Restaurant”in front of his house.

Moreover,Mr.Light’s ambition of becoming a writer was partly fulfilled when he wrote a couplet to celebrate the opening of his restaurant.Writing couplets(and often giving them as gifts)is a traditional social etiquette in China,and Light had done it many times.We can appreciate some couplets he wrote to give friends as follows.

If a tax collector is incorrupt and honest,He won’t be very wealthy but the happiest.

A travel agent needs a smiling face

To get customers coming to his place.

You guys came here in such a rush, And now leave happily after a flush. (This couplet was hung by the exit of a toilet)

Above are all nice works,but it’s generally agreed that Mr.Light’s mas-terpiece was the one he wrote for his own business:

In this orchard of mine,no peach flower will you find;

But nowhere else is better for your friends to be dined.

Mr.Light had a thriving business. People loved the dishes he cooked,not only for the good flavor but also for theirartisticshapes.Forexample, there was a cold dish in the menu called“Bonsai Mountain”which was made from kalimeris,bean-curd strips, potato slices,and walnuts.It was like genuine bonsai of green mountains and limpid waters,which you may feel it barbaric to eat.

It was one of Mr.Light’s favorite daily routine to read the customers’book where he could always find the praises he wanted.When he felt it not enough,he would add some comments himself,such as“Yes,I am No.1 cook in Chuansha County”,“You are quite right to say that I’m very good at cooking mandarin fish.Do come next time,and you’ll have a 20%discount”,and“Dearest customers,your refinedtastemakesyouabosom friend of mine.”

Recently,Mr.Light tries to make his literary genius indisputable,too.In every week he posts in his restaurant a first line of a couplet,saying that anyone who can write a satisfactory sec ond line will enjoy a meal for free. Unfortunately our hero is never easy to be satisfied.With a pity Light says,“I am not willing to be the No.1 poet in Chuansha County,but I just have no choice.”

The ordinary but happy life of our hero is going on.As the narrator of his story,I envy him his different experiences,his unique way of living,his special taste,and even his temperament.Of course I can’t say everybody loves him.But personally,I would like myself to be a naturally free spirit as he has been.

Note:[1]A former county near Shanghai;now a part of Pudong New District,Shanghai.

[2]In the past decades,“People’s Sth.”has been a very common name for public facilities and state-owned business services.Of course,in People’s Republic of China,not only the restaurants belong to the people.

(FromYueshiquyan(Funny Words of Observing the World),China Renmin University Press.Translation:Wang Xiaoke.Illustration:Lu Zhongjian)