Chapter 30: The Great Tiger

The county was vast, yet the county seat itself was not particularly large. Riding a bicycle, it took little more than ten minutes to reach the Red Cross Hospital. Hospitals in the county seat never amounted to much; for serious illnesses, people went to the big hospitals in the city, while minor ailments were simply endured. Only when they grew into grave conditions did the locals consider traveling to the city or resign themselves to their fate. The hospital building, its exterior tiled in faded mosaics, looked as pockmarked and worn as a battered old face. Perched on his bicycle, Xiao Cheng glanced at the Maple Leaf Road sign, then looked up at the red cross atop the hospital. It had been neglected for years; the cross itself had turned black with age.

Ten years ago, Tiger Tai was already a renowned figure on the streets. Later, he left to seek his fortune elsewhere, but ended up injuring someone and was sentenced to three years for intentional assault. Because the prison where the crime occurred was overcrowded, he was sent back to serve his sentence in his hometown. In prison, whenever the old hands spoke of Tiger Tai, the very roots of their hair would stand on end. The impression Xiao Cheng got was that, in Red Star County, Tiger Tai was a godfather-like figure in the underworld.

Number 89 Maple Leaf Road was almost a compound unto itself: the gate was four or five meters wide, flanked by a pair of couplets—one side reading “Car Washing and Waxing,” the other, “Bodywork and Painting.” The signboard boasted eight characters: “Parts Specialty, Precision Repairs.” Clearly, it was an auto repair shop.

Xiao Cheng pushed his bicycle inside, peering about cautiously. A young man washing a car turned to look at him. “Hey, kid, we fix cars here. If you want your bicycle fixed, try the next corner.”

“I’m not here for repairs. I’m looking for someone.”

“Who are you looking for?” The apprentice looked about eighteen or nineteen—if he were still in school, he probably hadn’t graduated from high school yet.

“Excuse me, is Uncle Tiger Tai here?”

The apprentice gave Xiao Cheng a strange look, then craned his neck and yelled toward the back, “Boss! Someone’s here to see you!”

The repair shop was on the edge of town, near the direction of East Wind Town. Xiao Cheng had passed it on his way. The shop was fairly large—one could even call it a repair factory. Several cars were parked in the yard, most of them domestic brands, none costing more than a hundred thousand yuan new. Car parts and tools were scattered everywhere; at first glance, it looked more like a scrap yard. There were three rooms in the back and a makeshift garage, where shelves were cluttered with greasy parts. From beneath one of the cars crawled a man in his thirties, his face so blackened with grime that his features were indiscernible.

“Who’s looking for me?” the man called out, then, spotting Xiao Cheng at the door, was momentarily taken aback.

“Are you Uncle Tiger Tai? I’m Wen Xinwu’s son—my name is Wen Xiaocheng.”

The man’s expression remained puzzled. “Wen Xinwu?”

“I just returned from visiting my father in prison. He said you were his brother-in-arms inside and gave me this address, told me to come pay my respects.”

At the mention of prison, the man chuckled. “Wen Xinwu! We all went by nicknames in there. Your father was called the Old Scholar. You said Wen Xinwu and I didn’t make the connection. Now that I look at you, you do have a bit of the Old Scholar’s features. So, what’s up, kid? Need something?”

Xiao Cheng smiled and shook his head. “Nothing, just came to introduce myself.”

Tiger Tai set down his tools and pulled off his black-and-white work gloves. Even with gloves, his hands were still grimy. He looked down at them and gave a wry smile, then jerked his head for Xiao Cheng to follow. “Come on in, let me wash my face first.”

He stood under the tap, scrubbing for a long while, the water running black before it finally cleared, revealing his true face—not at all like the underworld godfather Xiao Cheng had imagined, just an ordinary middle-aged man with a few distinguishing features: scars on his face, and eyes of mismatched size. He dried his hands, took a soda from the fridge, handed it to Xiao Cheng, and led him inside.

The room was just as messy. The heated brick bed was cluttered, but at least there was space to sit. The blanket atop the bed hadn’t been folded. The man tossed it aside and gestured to Xiao Cheng. “Sit.”

“How’s your grandmother doing?”

Xiao Cheng nodded. “She’s doing well.”

The man nodded, frowning. “If it’s not about your grandmother, that’s good. Kid, tell me the truth—what’s going on? Your father wouldn’t send you to me for nothing. Don’t worry, there’s not much I can do, and your father knows that. Did you get into trouble at school?”

Xiao Cheng truly didn’t want to trouble someone of Tiger Tai’s caliber with schoolyard problems—it would be like using a cannon to shoot a mosquito. Still, to claim nothing was amiss would be disingenuous.

“Uncle, there is something. You know my grandma rides a tricycle to sell candied hawthorns? Every day she pedals from the county to East Wind Town—a three or four hour round trip. She’s over sixty; it pains me to see her work so hard. My dad said you run a repair shop. I wanted to ask how much it would cost to add a motor and convert her tricycle to electric.”

Tiger Tai smiled. “You’re a thoughtful kid. Don’t worry about the money—I have a motor and battery pack here. I’ll buy a controller; bring the tricycle over and I’ll have it converted for you in half a day! But kid, you can’t fool me. Your dad doesn’t even know I work in auto repair now. This can’t be the real reason you came.”

Cornered, Xiao Cheng could only tell the truth.

“You’re sharp, Uncle. All right, here’s the real story—it’s about school. My dad killed a man, right? One dead, three wounded. The victims’ families all go to my school—some are in my grade, some a year above. Since middle school, they’ve been bullying me. I finally had enough and fought back, beat up one of their ringleaders. That wasn’t the end of it—they challenged me to a fight. I don’t know many people, so I went to the street and recruited a group of hustlers, got them to back me up. We fought, and the school bullies were no match for the street guys and got chased off. That was yesterday. I thought it was over, but my dad’s still worried, so he told me to find you.”

“Are you at ease about it?” Tiger Tai asked with a smile.

“It’s not a big deal, really. So they beat me up, I beat them up. It’s not like they’d kill me. If I get hurt, I’ll be laid up a couple of days—if they really put me in the hospital, my grandma would have someone to look after her! The main thing is, if they come after me, I can’t just take it lying down. Getting hurt doesn’t matter, but I can’t let them get used to bullying me. After these two incidents, I think they’ll think twice before picking on me again. So I don’t think it’s a big deal.”

Tiger Tai smiled approvingly. “A tiger’s son is no dog! For a boy your age to have such perspective is rare. Still, your father’s concern isn’t unfounded. When adults fight, there’s restraint—they know fear, they don’t want to make trouble worse. But kids your age, once tempers flare, all sense goes out the window. He’s just worried about you.”

Frowning, Tiger Tai opened the door and shouted outside, “Wang Yang! Come in here!”

The young apprentice washing cars heard and hurried inside. “What is it, boss?”

“Among your friends, do you know anyone from East Wind Town? Take him to meet them when you have time. This is the Old Scholar’s son. Make sure no one bullies him!”

———
In the story, Wang Yang is one of Old Dao’s die-hard fans. He made a deal with me: one yuan for his first appearance, two for the second, five for the third… So I’m planning to bankrupt him before we go any further.