Uncle Mumu

Tong Haojing walked straight toward Tangdu. When he reached the mountain pass, he saw the Tangdu River winding into the distance like a jade ribbon. It was a clear river that had accompanied him throughout his childhood and into the present. His thoughts drifted, stirring up memories of his youth. Tong Haojing chuckled twice, as if mocking himself. How could he have been so thoughtless and naive as a child?

During the Spring Festival when he was ten, Tong Haojing and Uncle Mumu's daughter, Mei Tingyu, had been playing by the river. They saw Uncle Mumu catch a carp weighing more than ten pounds. The two children cheered and jumped with excitement. Mei Tingyu said her father was going to cook the fish at home and told Tongtong to come that evening. Tongtong took her seriously. When mealtime came, no one paid attention to him. Tong Haojing secretly slipped alone to Mei Tingyu's doorstep. The door was left ajar, with only a narrow crack open. He did not dare go inside, but the scent of fish rushed into his nostrils, so fragrant that he kept swallowing. His mouth was watering. He wanted Uncle Mumu's fish more than anything.

Wang Xiyue had prepared dinner at home and called Tong Haojing to eat, but he was nowhere to be found. She went outside to look for him and discovered Tong Haojing half-squatting, his backside sticking out, with half his head wedged into the crack of the half-closed door as he peered inside. Wang Xiyue was furious. How could such a shameful, greedy thing—showing up uninvited for food—happen in her own family? She blamed herself for failing to teach her son properly and wanted to crawl into a crack in the ground. Her face flushed all the way to her ears. In a fit of anger, she hurriedly dragged Tong Haojing away from Uncle Mumu's doorway and, for the first time ever, viciously pinched his backside twice. The pain went straight to his heart, and Tong Haojing burst into tears.

It was the first time Wang Xiyue had ever hit Tong Haojing.

The noise startled the people inside. Uncle Mumu came out, his mouth greasy and his breath thick with the smell of fish. Seeing Wang Xiyue and her son, he said awkwardly, "Sister Wang, the child doesn't know any better. Come inside and have some fish!" His eyes flickered as he looked at Wang Xiyue, as though he were deliberately concealing something.

In fact, just before dark, Wang Xiyue had seen Cadre Liu from town heading toward Uncle Mumu's house. She knew Uncle Mumu had a guest and guessed he must have had some business to discuss. She politely declined Uncle Mumu's invitation, but Tong Haojing threw himself to the ground and rolled around, refusing to let it go. Wang Xiyue lost her temper and dragged him home by the hand, his cloth shoes leaving deep marks in the dirt. Tong Haojing was locked in the small room. No matter how he shouted or pounded on the door, it would not open. A few days later, Tong Haojing heard from Mei Tingyu that her father had become the village chief.

More than ten years had passed in the blink of an eye, and Uncle Mumu had been village chief for more than a decade.

The Tangdu River curved westward, and the stories along its banks continued.

This time, after returning to his hometown, Tong Haojing wanted to rest and recuperate properly. Before he was assigned a job, he wanted to learn fishing from Uncle Mumu. Aside from Uncle Mumu being a famous fishing expert throughout the area, there was also Mei Tingyu, a beautiful young woman about his age. She had been his classmate and the class beauty back then. Yet because he had been shy, bold in his heart but too afraid to confess, and because he had run away from home in those days and missed his chance—or perhaps for some other reason—he now wanted to learn fishing from Uncle Mumu after returning from military service. In truth, he only wanted an excuse to get close to Mei Tingyu and see what she looked like now. He had not seen her for years, but her dreamy, captivating figure had never faded from his heart.

Tong Haojing's feet seemed to move on their own, changing course from the road into town. When he suddenly looked up, he found himself on the familiar dirt road leading toward Uncle Mumu's home. All at once, he thought of paying Uncle Mumu a visit. Tong Haojing turned a corner and spotted Uncle Mumu from afar, at the eastern end behind his own house. He was hunched over in front of an antique-looking building, wearing his black-rimmed glasses, intently working on a fishing rod, threading the line, and puffing on a leaf cigarette.

Uncle Mumu, in his forties, was the village chief of Dafang Village. His surname was Mei. He was not tall, had a full head of black hair, and wore a black cotton traditional shirt. Tong Haojing recognized him from far away; that shirt was still the most eye-catching thing about him. A little yellow dog began barking furiously in Tong Haojing's direction. Its barking was full of hostility. Uncle Mumu could not call it back and shouted at it harshly. Frightened, the little dog ran far away and hid in the grass, though it continued barking without pause. Clearly, it no longer recognized Tong Haojing.

Uncle Mumu looked up, saw Tong Haojing approaching, and stood to greet him. "A rare guest, a rare guest! Sit down, quickly!"

Uncle Mumu carried out a long bench from the house, brewed a cup of strong tea, and handed it to Tong Haojing. Tong Haojing's hand recoiled as though he had been shocked. The thick tea stains made his skin crawl, but Uncle Mumu's warmth left him no choice but to accept the cup. He blew aside the floating tea leaves and took a small sip.

Uncle Mumu said, "Tongtong, sit here beside me. Let me rub off some of your good fortune!" He shifted over and sat on the same bench. His enthusiasm was a little too much for Tong Haojing to bear. It was the first time anyone in the village had treated him with such respect. He thought perhaps it was because he had become an officer in the army. His standing in the eyes of his neighbors had suddenly risen. It was only to be expected.

Tong Haojing smiled. "Uncle Mumu, don't tease me. You watched me grow up!" The two chatted back and forth with easy rapport, perhaps because Tong Haojing had often followed Uncle Mumu fishing in the past.

As Tong Haojing talked with Uncle Mumu about his experiences in the army, his eyes kept sweeping around from time to time, but Mei Tingyu never appeared. Uncle Mumu noticed. The young man before him was completely different from the "skinny monkey" of old—he stood six feet tall and was a handsome young man by any standard. Uncle Mumu secretly felt fortunate that he had not confronted Wang Xiyue back then, blamed her, and turned things sour. Matters of love between young people depended on fate and could not be forced. But then he thought again: Tong Haojing was already a cadre about to leave military service, while his daughter Mei Tingyu was working away from home. Though she was an agent for a company, she was still, in the end, a farmer. It was probably an impossible hope. Still, his daughter had made something of herself. She had sent money home to build a small Western-style house and had earned some reputation outside. Uncle Mumu still had some confidence.

Uncle Mumu swallowed the words he had wanted to say about Mei Tingyu and instead asked, "Tongtong, are you leaving again this time?"

Tong Haojing said, "No. I'm waiting for the city to assign me a job."

Uncle Mumu said, "That's good. Now you're a city man. Rural girls won't be good enough for you anymore! I heard you're going to be a police officer?"

Tong Haojing caught the meaning behind Uncle Mumu's words and smiled a little awkwardly. "Uncle Mumu, don't make fun of me. The job hasn't been settled yet. I'm still the same old Tongtong!"

Uncle Mumu said, "It's different. It is different. Being a police officer is a fine job, very impressive. We should celebrate! Come on, today we'll go fishing at the Tangdu River. When you were little, you loved eating the small black carp I caught." Uncle Mumu deliberately changed the subject.

Uncle Mumu knew that only fishing could bring the two of them closer and give them something in common to talk about. Tong Haojing agreed readily. "All right."

On the way, Tong Haojing finally spoke the words he had buried for so long. "Thank you, Tingting. Thank you, Uncle Mumu. Without you, I wouldn't be where I am today!"

"It was your own ability!" Uncle Mumu admired Tong Haojing from the bottom of his heart. He knew how to be grateful and had not forgotten his roots, especially since he had expressed thanks to his daughter. At last, those words had come from the Tong family. Though Wang Xiyue had not said them herself, Uncle Mumu was delighted.

The Tangdu River was a fast-flowing river, its waters rushing endlessly into the distance. It had been Tong Haojing's childhood playground. He had watched villagers fish there countless times, but the person he admired most was still Uncle Mumu. Not only was Uncle Mumu Mei Tingyu's father, he also caught the most fish and cooked them better than anyone else. Tong Haojing and Uncle Mumu arrived at the riverbank. Uncle Mumu chose a spot and sat down, then pointed in the direction of the current. "There's a deep pool ahead. The water is a little deep, there's plenty of grass in it, and it isn't clear. It must be where crucian carp and grass carp gather."

Tong Haojing could tell Uncle Mumu was teaching him fishing techniques. Uncle Mumu worked the rod, scattered bait, cast the line, and set the position with practiced efficiency. Muttering to himself, he said, "The spot is crucial. You have to choose according to what the fish like. Pick a sheltered bend where the water is about five feet deep. Clear water means no fish; murky water gathers fish!"

Tong Haojing took it all in and found Uncle Mumu's endless fishing wisdom amusing and admirable. He could not help chuckling aloud.

Uncle Mumu truly deserved his reputation as the best fisherman in the area. His fishing rod was bent nearly in half, while Tong Haojing had not caught a single fish. Still, with Uncle Mumu's haul, Tong Haojing could already seem to smell the fragrant aroma of Uncle Mumu's signature pickled-cabbage fish soup.