Free Mulberry and Peach by Hualing Nieh

everybody, this is my family heirloom.’
    The old man’s eyes suddenly light up. He tries to take it out of my hand. Refugee Student snatches it first and holds out his hand, staring at me. ‘Are you going to bet this piece of junk?’
    â€˜Yeah.’
    â€˜I’d rather have you! A sixteen-year-old virgin!’
    Lao-shih jerks me behind her and thrusts out her chest. ‘Hey, Refugee Student, I’ll make a deal with you. I’ll bet this person here! If I win, you get out of my way! If you win, I’ll get out of your way. You know what you did.’
    â€˜What did I do?’
    â€˜Mulberry, did you hear what he just said.’
    â€˜I heard. So what did I do?’
    â€˜Did you hear what she said, Miss Shih?’ Refugee Student says. ‘Two negatives make a positive. They cancel each other out. OK, everybody, back to your places. I won’t steal your precious treasure. So what are you going to bet? Speak up!’
    â€˜I don’t have anything. I have only myself.’
    â€˜OK, if I win, I’ll know what to do to you,’ Refugee Student leans over to Lao-shih and stares greedily into her eyes.
    â€˜Drink up! Come on and drink. It’s the last half bottle.’ The old man raises the bottle to his lips.
    We pass the bottle around. The liquor is gone. The dice click.
    We shout.
    â€˜One, two, three.’

    â€˜One, two, three.’
    â€˜Four, five, six.’
    â€˜Four, five, six.’
    â€˜One, two, three.’
    â€˜One point!’
    â€˜OK, it’s one point.’
    â€˜Come on, be good, be good, another one!’
    â€˜Be good, be good, don’t listen to him. Let’s have a two.’
    â€˜OK, four points, great, the dealer got only four points.’
    The dice click again.
    â€˜Five points! Five points! Five points. Hey, you little beauties, did you hear me, I only want one more point than that bastard. Keep my house in Peking for myself. Five points. Five points, please, five points . . . Ah! You fuckin’ dice, you did it, you did it! Five points!’
    The dice click again.
    â€˜Five points, five points, five points, I don’t want any more, don’t want any less, just give me five points. Good Heavens, let me win just this once in my life. Just this once. Only five points, only five points. Have they stopped? How many did I get? Six points, six points, thank Heavens.’
    Everything is floating in front of my eyes. I feel the boat floating underfoot, everyone, everything is floating. The jade griffin is floating. It’s my turn, they tell me. I grab the dice and throw them in the bowl. I get a six. They tell me I only picked up two dice and want me to throw again. Lao-shih stuffs the cubes in my hand. I can’t hold on to them, they slip from my hand into the bowl. I hear Lao-shih moaning, ‘It’s over, it’s over.’

    Dealer, Refugee Student:
Four points
Old man:
Five points
Lao-shih:
Six points
Mulberry:
Three points
Peach-flower Woman:
Four points
    â€˜Dealer, I beat you by one point!’ says the old man. ‘You little punk, I want you to kneel before me and bow three times and kowtow nine times. Nine loud thumps of your head.’
    Refugee Student kneels down on the bunk.
    â€˜No, no,’ says the old man, crossing his legs on the bunk like a bodhisattva statuette. ‘Haven’t you ever seen your old man pray to his ancestor? Did he ever kneel on a bunk and kowtow to his ancestors
that way? Humph. You have to kneel properly on the floor. Knock your head against the floor so I can hear it!’
    Refugee Student jumps down from the bunk into the aisle and bends down.
    â€˜Hey, you punk, just slow down a little. Have you ever seen anyone kowtowing half-naked? Go put your clothes on!’
    Refugee Student grinds his teeth.
    Lao-shih, Peach-flower Woman and I burst into laughter.
    He puts on his shirt, squeezes down in the narrow aisle between the two rows of