Northern Girls: Life Goes On by Sheng Keyi

Author:Sheng Keyi [Keyi, Sheng]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780857961730
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2012-05-22T16:00:00+00:00

XIV

When Wu Ying was in a good mood, she would often bring her three-year-old son, whom everyone called Sparky, to work with her. As soon as he arrived, excitement would boil over at the hotel. Xiaohong was very fond of the adorable little guy. In fact, all the girls at the hotel were fond of him, calling him ‘Handsome’, and the handsome fellow enjoyed being with the girls. As was customary here, he called all of the unmarried girls Jie Jie, or ‘Big Sister’, and all those who were married, Auntie. With his endless stream of big sisters, a world of happiness was written across his face. But he had a special liking for Xiaohong.

This beautiful, clever child was Wu Ying’s only consolation in life, like decent, warm clothes in which to wrap herself. Wu Ying, with a mother’s sacrificial heart, gave Sparky all the joy and happiness she could shower on him. But on Wu Ying’s face – that face that was once so beautiful – were signs that she had weathered a horrendous storm, turning her features hard and mottled in the process. Her eyes were often red from crying.

After Weimei left, Xiaohong was left partnered with Wu Ying for duty. Xiaohong and Ah Xing both knew all about Wu Ying’s situation. Her husband, Yan, had nothing much to commend him, apart from a tall stature. He was ugly, his eyes were set too closely together, his head was angular and he had a sallow complexion. No one could quite imagine how Yan had managed to get such an attractive woman as Wu Ying to marry him. According to Wu Ying herself, Yan had a little substance to him. That was easy enough to comprehend, or how else could he have become a plant manager? Wu Ying had looked for a guy with substance and his appearance was not really that unbearable. If one could only see that substance, surely it wouldn’t be so hard to believe they were together.

One thing that was clear, though, was that Wu Ying was not happy. In fact, she was suffering. Ever since Yan had begun an affair with another woman, Wu Ying had been having her affair with loneliness.

One day, Wu Ying slipped Xiaohong six hundred yuan, along with a smattering of small notes.

‘What are you doing?’ Xiaohong blurted out, dumbfounded.

‘Dividends. Didn’t Weimei used to give them to you?’ Wu Ying said, rubbing her eyes. She had never been a selfish person. Xiaohong shook her head. As she did, she caught sight of Weimei’s little mirror, which had apparently been left behind. She saw the familiar face reflected back at her, looking especially charming in the warm golden glow of the hotel lighting. Xiaohong hesitated, turned to have a better view of that face, chuckled, then took the little mirror in her hand and turned her head back and forth for a closer inspection.

‘Hey! You crazy or something? If you don’t want it, I’ll take it and buy dinner.’

‘Go ahead. Get something nice for Sparky to eat.

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