Binu and the Great Wall of China. Su Tong,
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they said it would have been perfect for carrying stones to the Great Wall. No need to bend over. The only way he was able to keep driving an oxcart in Bluegrass Ravine was to pay off the pressgang messenger.’
Binu glanced at the hunchbacked oxcart driver, who was raking blue grass in his cart and sneaking looks at Binu and the palmless carter. Why, she wondered, was he smiling crookedly, salaciously? He laid down his rake when she looked at him, rested one hand against his belly, and blinked rapidly. ‘Is there something wrong with his eyes?’ Binu asked Wuzhang. ‘Why does he keep blinking?’ Wuzhang just laughed.
Then the hunchback became audacious; he slid his hand down into his pants and started making strange gestures. ‘How much?’ he shouted.
Binu did not understand. ‘How much for what? I am not selling baskets.’
The hunchback then made an obscene gesture with his fingers, the sight of which turned Binu’s face scarlet. She turned and angrily banged her hand against her eyes, saying, ‘If all I see are people like that, what good are eyes?’
Showing no emotion, Wuzhang said, ‘Hit your eyes, go ahead, blind yourself. But then how will you get to Great Swallow Mountain? And, even if you manage that, with no eyes, how will you tell which one of the thousands of labourers is your husband? As a young woman alone on a long journey, remember that you wear your chastity on your sleeve. If a hen comes running out of the coop, you can bet there will be a rooster hot on her trail. The only way you will keep your eyes clean is, in fact, to go blind!’
Her anger mounting, Binu shrieked at Wuzhang, ‘If the world were full of obscene men like you, then being blind like my frog would be a blessing!’
The carters were clearly not good men. It was time for her to carry on through the pass and be on her way; she’d see what the wealthy people living up on the terrace were like, see if there were good people there. But was she going to walk straight past one man’s donkey cart and another man’s oxcart? No. Instead, she walked around the donkey cart owned by Wuzhang, who was patting his donkey lovingly on the rump as she went by. It was one of those light-coloured, long-and-low animals unique to Blue Cloud Prefecture. It was shod. As she passed by, grey droppings spilled out of its rump, immediately attracting a swarm of flies. Kind-hearted Binu tried to wave them away with her hand, a kindness that the donkey was not pleased to accept. Suddenly rearing up, it brayed in Binu’s face, then edged its rump up beside her and let loose another burst of droppings. Even the Bluegrass Ravine animals showed her no respect, and yet she had a soft spot for this donkey; she could not help herself. Gazing into its big grey eyes, she said, ‘This donkey is better-looking than its owner. It’s a good donkey, just slightly bad-tempered.’
‘I thought you wanted to go blind,’ the carter said. ‘You couldn’t gaze at my donkey if you were blind, could you now? I’m telling you, you cannot gaze at my donkey for free. Every look will cost you one coin!’
‘Let me ask you, Elder Brother. Which is more expensive, an ox or a donkey?’
‘An ox is expensive, but a donkey is not cheap. More expensive than buying a person,’ the carter said.
Binu gazed timidly at the carter. ‘I know that livestock is expensive these days. If I cannot afford it, I won’t buy. But I do have nine sabre coins. Would that be enough to hire your donkey cart?’
‘So you are favouring me, are you? You want to hire my cart to take you up north, is that it?’ Wuzhang glared at her before exploding in rage. ‘Don’t you have ears? I told you, I’m in the employment of Lord Hengming. Weren’t you listening when I mentioned his name? He is the King’s brother! How else could I have such a fine cart? Bend down and take a look at this axle, at these wheels. Do you really think they are made for the likes of you? Take a look at the panther insignia on the canopy. That is Lord Hengming’s insignia. Everything that carries this insignia belongs to him, including me. Do you understand? If not, take a look at the back of my jacket. See that, it’s a panther insignia too.’
Binu walked around the cart. A circled panther insignia was displayed proudly on the man’s back. ‘I understand,’ she said solicitously. ‘You cannot hire the cart out because it does not belong to you. Then will you take me to see Lord Hengming, and speak to him for me? Ask him if he will let me hire the donkey. I wouldn’t think of hiring such a fine cart, but if he’ll let me have the donkey, I’ll give him my nine sabre coins.’
‘Nine sabre coins, nine sabre coins! You think that carrying nine sabre coins makes you a rich woman, is that it?’ Wuzhang made no attempt to hide his disdain. ‘If you possessed some unique skill, if you could fly up to the eaves or walk up walls, or if you breathed fire or walked on water, I would take you to see him, and he would reward me. If you could get your frog to wish Lord Hengming a long and happy life, I would take you to see him. Since a Huangdian rooster can lead the way down a road, a Huangdian frog ought to be able to speak. Have your frog say something to Lord Hengming, have it bow to him and wish him a long and happy life, and I’ll take you to Hundred Springs Terrace.’
‘Where do you keep your ears, Elder Brother?’ Binu said. ‘I’ve told you over and over that I am from Peach Village, not Huangdian. This frog comes from Banqiao, not Huangdian. It cannot bow, and it certainly cannot speak.’
‘If it can do neither of those, then you should not go. Not only would you fail to hire the donkey, but when Lord Hengming saw you, he might take a fancy to you. He has bought many women in recent years, some bright and beautiful, some broad in the hip, just right for bearing children, and some handy with needlework. He has kept some for himself and has given others to his retainers. Anything he likes, he buys. If you could cut up pieces of the sky and sell them, he would buy a big piece. Now, do you understand what my employer is like?’
Binu nodded at first but then shook her head. ‘You can say I’m from Huangdian all you want, but I’m not, and since I’m not, I’m not afraid.’ She looked at the resplendent donkey cart; and the more she looked, the more arrogant the donkey seemed, and the more luxurious the canopy seemed. She tried to imagine what the owner of that cart might be like, but her mind failed her. She sighed and gave up trying. ‘Elder Brother, that must be a rich and powerful man whose donkey cart is better decked out than any person could be. Well, I am not interested in hiring that donkey. My feet will take me to Great Swallow Mountain. But I don’t understand why everyone I meet along the way lies to me? They all tell me that Bluegrass Ravine sells large livestock.’
‘That just shows how stupid you are. Large livestock means people, not animals!’ Having lost his patience with her, Wuzhang picked up a whip with his feet, raised it high and brought it down with a crack right above her head. ‘Go on, get out of my way. I’m here to take on a new retainer for Lord Hengming. He’ll be coming down the mountain any minute now, so stop bothering me.’
Binu jumped in alarm, the violent movement causing something metallic in her bundle to clink.
The carter’s eyes lit up. ‘You’re not a woman who lies,’ he said. I can tell that you do in fact have nine sabre coins. Well, I didn’t lie to you either. Go and buy a head of large livestock. Go out of this pass and look down the mountain. You’ll see a place where they buy and sell people. Large livestock is all you’ll find there.’
It was nearly time for the people market to close for the day, now that the sun was setting, but people still lined both sides of the street, the most notable being a cluster of bewitching young women. Given their dazzling, elaborate dress, they had probably come from the northern districts of Blue Cloud Prefecture. Rouge covered their foreheads, cheeks and lips, and they were dressed in colourful blue, peach-red or pastel-green dresses. The sleeves and hems were adorned with diamond patterns, some large, some small; their sashes, decorated with inlaid stones of agate and strips of jade, were tied in butterfly knots, and on the ends hung jade rings, silver lockets or perfume sachets. It must have been their splendid attire that lent them such self-assurance and a palpable sense of pride. Their faces betrayed little sadness over the chaotic