In the third year, He Qiming became a driver of Air force ground crew, while Pu Yuanhui’s work was just to take his tanker to refuel the planes. In Pu Yuanhui’s short three-year career as air force ground crew, he didn’t get an opportunity to fight on the field of the Sino-Vietnamese War front, but was given a submachine gun. The most he did was to watch the plane take off and land at the airport every day.
Although Pu and He declared to be brothers, they actually had a tacit understanding that they were friends as well as rivals. They even mounted a one-on-one challenge to decide who would have to give up. At last the two were locked in the cell once again. Instructor Xiang had respectively talked to the two young men, but neither of them confessed the reason of their fighting.
Xiang Caihong’s oval face always appeared in Pu Yuanhui’s dreams. He longed to be sick, so that he could see her and chat with her and all of a sudden he would feel he was totally relaxed and cheerful. Even it was already autumn, He Qiming in the low berth didn’t have a quilt over him, for he also wanted to catch a cold so that his princess would hold him in the hand and insert a thin needle in to his vein for a drip. At intervals his princess would raise her head to see how much liquid medicine left above his head. In her spare time waiting for the drip to finish, she would sit in the sun reading a book. There were few patients, so she sat there reading as quiet as a statue, a faint layer of soft hair could be seen in the sunlight.
The two young guys began competing in everything: who was working harder in military training or who was doing better in gaining knowledge, making every effort to please the Political Instructor. It would be up to the Instructor to decide who could date his sister.
Dong Chao just kept silent and listened to them. Occasionally he would make his comment by patting Pu Yuanhui on the shoulder and saying “Be responsible for my sister.”
Pu Yuanhui nodded, “Of course I will.”
There is no such thing as loving only one person in our lifetime. That is only a plot in the love stories. The truth is when a man see two women at the same time, he may fall in love with both, and by and by he begins to take his pick according to some certain conditions. If possible, he wants both.
Pu Yuanhui wanted both, so did He Qiming. Neither had a high opinin of each other. Both wanted to wage a decisive campaign.
When Xiang Caihong handed the letter to Pu Yuanhui, he was so joyful that he almost fell to the ground from the bed. He tried hard to repress his ecstasy.
The letter said, “Legend has it that there is a glittering Tianchi on Kunlun Mountain, which is the pond where the Queen Mother takes bath. On the Bank of Tianchi, there is a kind of magic herb. The herb has the effect to bring the dead to life. One year there was a severe drought in the human world and the plague spread over. Thousands of millions of people died. The Dragon King’s daughter, who lived in Tianchi, saw people in the human world suffering from such disasters and was very sympathetic. She managed to bring the magic herb on the Bank of Tianchi to the human world to cure the people and save all living beings. Tens of thousands of dead people actually came back to life. When the Dragon King got to know this, he was furious. In a fit of rage he banished his daughter to the human world. When the Dragon King’s daughter came to the human world, she willingly turned into Reviving Herb to save all lives in the world. The Reviving Herb has a strong vitality. It can grow again when putting into the water even after it is dried, hence the name. I found there is a lot of the Reviving Herb in the tomb yard beside our barracks. I want you to collect some to be used as guiding drug for me. I’ll be happy to see whom of you can collect more.”
He Qiming also got to know the story, ’cause Xiang Caihong gave him a letter, the same as Pu Yuanhui’s. He immediately told Dong Chao about it.
Xiang Caihong was wondering if they were brave enough, bold enough, or if they were willing to devote themselves to her or even sacrifice for her. Dong Chao thought the princess had a screw loose indeed.
Pu Yuanhui had three poached eggs, then waited to go over the wall for his appointment at twelve o’clock in the evening. He waited and waited until he went asleep.
When he was still groggy in his dream, he seemed to hear He Qiming asking to get up. He hurriedly put on his clothes and went out of the door. He slipped as if stepping on a cotton ball and went to sleep again.
He was awakened by splashing cold water. He was in a strange room, looking like a bridal chamber with many red flowers. He himself was bound and a girl was standing beside him, wearing red clothes and a red scarf covering her head.
Dong Chao gave him a kick that made Pu Yuanhui kneel down. “What are you doing? Release me and let me out. I have something very important to do. And you know about it.
“Of course I know about it. You’ve had sexual relations with my sister but you won’t be responsible for her. And you dare to go out to collect some fuck magic herb so as to please the Instructor’s sister. Can you be satisfied at all?”
It was really the human nature to be fickle in love.
“From now on you’re the husband of my sister.” Dong Chao laughed a most peculiar laugh.
Thus, Pu Yuanhui was force to get married. But the wedding was only a ceremony. Dong Chao didn’t know that the marriage license was needed for a lawful marriage.
When at dawn Xiang Caihong received a large pile of the magic Reviving Herb, she asked He Qiming, “Where’s Pu?”
“He said he was afraid and wouldn’t go for the herb.” He Qiming was telling the truth. Before he was leaving, he asked Pu if he would go with him but Pu Yuanhui just mumbled, “I’m afraid, afraid, afraid… I’m cold, too cold.”
Xiang Caihong’s eyes glazed and said, “Then let’s go.”
Pu Yuanhui told the whole story to the Political Instructor. It turned out that Dong Chao had been suffering from schizophrenia (a mental sickness) for a long time without being aware by anyone, so he had a serious compulsion. While Pu Yuanhui also had to leave the army for violating discipline, his marriage with Dong’s sister couldn’t be counting, of course. Dong Chao just wanted his sister to marry a city slicker, but if Liu Manjing left with him for his poor, fagged home, she would be hurt for the rest of her life. It would be much better to have her feeling hopeless on him and living a happy and quiet life here. Besides, a medical checkup for her showed no signs of pregnancy
Before he left the army, Pu Yuanhui seldom spoke to others. He Qiming had been transferred to Guangzhou, if everything went well, he could marry Xiang Caihong.
The Instructor asked Pu Yuanhui if he could do anything to help, he shook his head and said, “I’d better to be back home. I have some family affairs to deal with.”
After retiring from the army, Pu Yuanhui tried to contact his father. But he refused to recognize him and his mother. In a fit of anger he made a stab at his father. Due to this he was put into prison for two years. When he was in prison, He Qiming came to visit him once and told him he had divorced Xiang Caihong because he had lost his fertility when he was kicked by Squad Leader Lu in the fighting. Xiang Caihong never showed up again and lost contact with him.
After hearing the whole story, Jiang Youyou let out an “Oh”, then said, “What a hard life you’ve had!”