Chapter Eight: Liu Wentao’s Three Ventures and Three Escapes

Liu Wentao was a well-known figure in the neighborhood of Zhang Ye’s aunt. His story was winding and somewhat bizarre. At the age of twenty-seven, he had already been in and out of the re-education facility three times.

The first time, Liu Wentao was wrongly arrested. There had been a theft near the Liu family home; the only electrical appliance, a flashlight, was stolen. The victim reported it immediately. The police investigated and found that only Liu Wentao was nearby at the time, and someone had reported seeing him acting suspiciously at the victim’s house. Thus Liu Wentao was sentenced to a year.

After about seven or eight months, just as he was about to be released, Zhang San was caught stealing. The police discovered Zhang San was a habitual offender, and that the earlier tip-off had simply made Liu Wentao a scapegoat. He was innocent and released immediately, with two months still left on his sentence.

Prison cost Liu Wentao his job just as he’d started working. When he got out, he had no particular skills. His grandfather pleaded everywhere and finally found him an apprenticeship with Old Zhang, a mechanic with a limp. At that time, apprentices earned no wages and could be scolded or beaten at will—it was tough work. Liu Wentao didn’t complain; he gritted his teeth and endured it.

After a few months as a mechanic, two men he’d befriended in the re-education facility came to find him. They invited him to do a job—in fact, they were broke and wanted him to join them in robbery or theft. He was stubborn, held fast to his principles, and refused.

Another quiet month passed, then the pair returned—this time to hide out. Coincidentally, a neighbor saw them, and reported them that very night. This time Liu Wentao was charged with harboring and abetting criminals: three years.

After serving three years, Old Zhang dared not take him back. Liu Wentao found some odd jobs and worked for two months. One evening on his way home, he saw two young men attempting to rob and assault a girl. Though life had tempered him, Liu Wentao had not lost his courage; he shouted immediately.

Unexpectedly, one of the men, startled, drew a knife and rushed at him. Liu Wentao kicked him down, wrestled with him, seized the knife, and stabbed him. The other, furious, didn’t flee but tangled with Liu Wentao; after a struggle, he too fell. Later examination showed both men had died.

The police came. Liu Wentao received a commendation for bravery, but for excessive self-defense, he was sentenced to another two years.

Zhang Ye didn’t understand how “excessive self-defense” could result in a sentence; in these times, too many things defied reason. Even a good deed could land you in prison. If this had happened in the twenty-first century, the online public would have erupted in outrage.

Three times in prison, all due to bad luck. Yet the storms he weathered shaped him into a formidable figure; the local hoodlums saw him as a hero.

Liu Wentao was a neighbor of Zhang Ye’s aunt. Zhang Ye often visited, and though there was a gap in their ages, they got along well. As a child, Zhang Ye would tag along after him—setting bird nets in the hills, catching fish and shrimp in the river, their usual pastimes. Zhang Ye remembered the two little black hawks he’d kept as a child were gifts from Liu Wentao, who’d caught them himself.

“Brother Tao, are you home?” Zhang Ye called out loudly as he arrived at Liu Wentao’s courtyard.

“It’s Xiaoye, isn’t it? Tao’s gone to Scissors Li for a haircut. Anything you need?” That was Liu Wentao’s grandfather’s voice.

“No, nothing, just wanted to hang out. I’ll be off then, Grandpa Liu.”

At Scissors Li’s shop, Liu Wentao had just finished his haircut and stepped out. Zhang Ye’s eyes lit up. The labor at the re-education facility had darkened Liu Wentao’s skin, making him look fierce. Scissors Li had given him a crew cut; he wore a crisp white vest, black slacks with a leather belt, and gleaming black shoes. He looked sharp, nothing like a man just released from prison.

Seeing Zhang Ye, Liu Wentao was surprised. “Zhang Ye, here for a haircut too?”

Zhang Ye smiled slightly. “No, Brother Tao, I came to see you.”

Zhang Ye was a frequent visitor as a child, and Scissors Li greeted him as well.

“Had breakfast yet? I left the house in a hurry today. Come on, let’s get something good to eat.” Zhang Ye pulled Liu Wentao to a nearby food stall.

They ordered two baskets of dumplings, each had a bowl of rice noodles with pork and ribs, and then two bottles of beer.

After a satisfying meal, Liu Wentao struck a match, lit a Yingchun cigarette, and took a deep drag. “What’s this, you’ve made it rich?”

“Don’t smoke that. Let your little brother get you something better.” Zhang Ye had come prepared; earlier, he bought a pack of Good Friend cigarettes at the market stall—seven yuan a pack, thirty-five cents a stick, each one worth thirty-five of those Yingchuns. The money was his pocket money and years of saved red envelopes—over three hundred yuan, all withdrawn today.

“Hey, kid, where’d you get the money? Treating me to food and cigarettes—did you win the lottery?” Liu Wentao didn’t refuse; he took the pack, drew out a cigarette, and tried to hand it back, but Zhang Ye waved him off generously. “It’s yours.”

“You haven’t found a job yet, have you?” Zhang Ye asked directly, meeting Liu Wentao’s gaze.

“Someone like me, in and out three times—what company would take me?” Liu Wentao took a deep drag of his Good Friend, looking rather despondent.

“And what about Sister Mei? Will her father agree?” Sister Mei was the girl Liu Wentao had saved from almost being assaulted. The only consolation from his last stint inside was that Zhou Hanmei had taken a liking to him.

She was four years younger, her family had made some money early on selling vegetables in the market, and now lived in a relatively nicer area, Lianyuan Community. They didn’t see each other often, but had hit it off. Judging by Liu Wentao’s outfit, it was probably a gift from her. Zhang Ye didn’t want him to lose face and didn’t ask.

“Of course not. My dad went to arrange a match a few days ago and was turned away at the door.” Liu Wentao laughed at himself. “No surprise. Xiao Mei’s pretty, her family’s well-off, and there’s a line of suitors at her door. I’m a nobody with no prospects; I’m not worthy of her.” Time would dull all things, and for his daughter’s happiness, Zhou Hanmei’s father could only harden his heart and play the ungrateful man.

“So, what are you planning to do?”

“What else can I do? I have neither skills nor money. I’m not good at anything. A friend said he could get me a security guard job. If nothing else works out, I’ll give it a try. Better than sitting at home doing nothing.”

Zhang Ye understood at once. Security guard meant being a bouncer—probably at a dance hall or video arcade. Liu Wentao had spent the past years in the re-education facility; this so-called friend was probably a local thug. Liu Wentao clearly didn’t want to mix with such people, hence his hesitation.