When Red is Black

into English would sell so well.
     
    * * * *
     

Chapter 13
     
     
    Y
    u left for home early in the afternoon. He could not do any solid thinking in the neighborhood committee office, where people were constantly coming and going. Nor did he want to return to the police bureau. He was in no mood for another political lecture from Party Secretary Li.
     
    When he arrived home and opened the front door to the house before stepping into the courtyard, he was surprised to see Peiqin busily making coal briquettes there.
     
    “You’ve come back early today.”
     
    “You, too.”
     
    There was not much coal dust left. Behind Peiqin, against the wall, stood a small mound of coal briquettes.
     
    She had rented a briquette mold from the neighborhood coal store, an upper and lower half connected by a steel spring. The lower part was filled with coal dust, and water sprinkled over it; the upper part, which had hollow cylinders throughout, had to be pushed down hard to form each briquette. It was not yet spring, and rather windy for the time of the year. Her hands were covered with wet dust, and her wrists, chilled by the damp and the cold, were red.
     
    In the first year of their marriage, he had occasionally made briquettes from coal dust to save money since the local coal store sold coal dust far more cheaply than ready-made briquettes. As he began to roll up his sleeves, he wondered why she had chosen that afternoon for the arduous chore.
     
    “I’m almost finished, Yu. Don’t get your hands dirty,” she said, wiping the sweat from her forehead. “There is a pot of green bean soup in our room. Go in and help yourself.”
     
    A light gray smudge from the back of her hand appeared on her forehead. He chose not to mention it. But he said, “Don’t do this again, Peiqin. It’s not worth it. “
     
    “It’s not about the money. No ration coupons are needed to buy coal dust. And Geng’s business is too good.”
     
    One problem Geng’s private restaurant had was an inadequate coal supply. Most rationing restrictions had disappeared from the city of Shanghai, but there was still a shortage of coal. Peiqin had been helping Geng with his accounting work. Now, it seemed, she was helping with his coal problem.
     
    “We will use these at home,” she explained with a smile. “Then Geng can have our ration coupon.”
     
    In their room, he helped himself to a bowl of green bean soup, which was supposed to keep the body’s elements in balance. Green beans were not in season; the soup must have come from her restaurant. It was already cool.
     
    Peiqin entered their room, wiping her hands on a towel. She must have washed at the courtyard sink. There was no longer a faint smudge on her forehead. “How is it going?”
     
    “Slow,” he said, “as usual.”
     
    “Is Chief Inspector Chen still on vacation?”
     
    “Yes, still busy with his translation.”
     
    “It must be some project to keep him away from such a case.”
     
    “Yes, it’s a very lucrative commission from Mr. Gu, a Mister Big Bucks of the New World Corporation.”
     
    “Long sleeves are wonderful for dancing. Chief Inspector Chen has long connections. Because of the connections he has made in his position, those Misters Big Bucks come to him.”
     
    “That may well be true,” Yu said somewhat somberly. “But he is a capable man.”
     
    “No, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying anything against your boss. At least he works for his money, instead of taking it for doing nothing.”
     
    “You should have had a rest today, Peiqin, instead of making those coal briquettes.”
     
    “It was like a good workout for me. A health club recently opened on Huaihai Road. It beats me how people pay to go there.”
     
    “The newly rich cannot find enough ways to waste their money.”
     
    “Well, we may be worse off than the upper crust,” she said, “but we’re better off than the bottom layer.”
     
    A cliché, meant to comfort, Yu thought, but it was a sort of cold comfort, like the out-of-season green bean soup. Nonetheless, it was quite true. As a cop, he did not have to worry about layoffs, and Peiqin worked in one of the few still-profitable state-run restaurants. They did not have too much to complain about as long as they did not compare themselves with those upstarts.
     
    As he poured the green bean soup into a bowl for her, he could not help thinking of the shrimp woman again.
     
    “Look, your hand got dirty,” she