Chinese Storytelling

Second Brother from Guankou, Wu Song, was in Henghai County at the estate of Lord Chai when he received news from his elder brother. He bade farewell to Chai Jin, and went off to Yanggu District in Shandong to find his brother. He was not only one day on the road, he had marched for more than twenty days, and today he had reached the boundary of Yanggu District in Shandong, more than twenty li from the city. It was in the middle of the tenth month, and now the sun was slanting steeply towards the west.

Our hero felt hungry in his stomach and wanted to take a rest. The moment he looked up, he saw in the distance a pitch-black town. Our hero shouldered his bundle and holding a staff in his right hand, he marched forwards in big strides, making his way to the gate of the town. When he raised his head again and looked up, he saw the wall piled up with flat bricks all the way to the roof and the round city-gate. Above it there was a whitewashed stone with three red characters: ‘Jingyang town’.

As he entered the gate, he saw a broad alley, neatly lined with shops on both sides, most of them thatched cottages. There were also quite a few people around.

Walking along he noticed an inn to his right, a brand-new thatched cottage with three wings. Under the eaves a brand-new green bamboo-pole was stuck in, and hanging on the green bamboo-pole there was a brand-new blue wine-banner. On the blue wine-banner a piece of brand-new pink paper was glued. On the pink paper were written five big brand-new characters: ‘Three bowls and you cannot cross the ridge!’.

The moment he glanced inside the inn, he saw brand-new tables and stools, a brand-new kitchen-range, a brand-new chopping-board, a brand-new counter and also two brand-new people. - You must be joking! Other things can be ‘new’, but how can people be ‘new’? Why never ever?

Behind the counter sat a young innkeeper, just in his twenties. In front of the counter stood a young waiter, eighteen or nineteen. Probably young people could be called ‘new’ people. And then it follows that old people might be called ‘worn’ people. The proverb is right:

So people can also be counted as ‘new’. From the other side of the counter he saw the butler standing in the main room, that’s what he is called in storytelling, it’s just the waiter. He was handsome, with a clear brow and bright eyes, white teeth and red lips, a delicate mouth with thin lips: he certainly looked like he had a glib tongue. On his head he wore a soft cap, around his waist he had tied an apron as clean as can be, and below his feet showed in cotton socks and cotton shoes. With both hands on his hips he glanced out from the door of the inn. Why did he stand there and look? He was on the look out for business. Suddenly he caught sight of a customer, bundle on shoulder and staff in hand, who was approaching and made a halt. Sure enough, this must be someone who wants to drink some wine. A businessman who sees business coming his way will always give it a warm welcome! So the young fellow, all smiles, hurriedly took a few steps forward, greeting the customer with both hands clasped and a mouthful of phrases in so-so Beijing accent:

"Sir! Does Your Honour want to take a rest in our humble inn? Millet gruel, sorghum, chicken, pancakes, steamed rolls, the food is fine and the prices are reasonable. Please, come in and have a seat, Sir!"

"Xiao'er!"

"Yes, Sir!"

"Do you have good wine in this inn?"

Why would Wu Song pose as such a connoisseur! Even before he had entered the door of the inn, he began to ask if they had good wine. Well, he was this kind of lofty and unyielding character, not just like anybody. People of former times had four words they couldn’t do without: wine, sex, wealth and vigour. These four words are actually not for the good. So people now a days don’t care too much about those four words. But at that time, they didn’t have any good education, so they couldn’t do without those four words. But Wu Song only cared for two things: He was fond of drinking good wine and he was fond of using his strength on behalf of innocent people, he was so full of vigour. These were at the same time his weak points impeding him his whole life. He saw that the town was small and the inn was small, too, so he was afraid that they did not have good wine. He didn’t care for wine that was diluted with water, then he would rather refrain from this rest. Therefore even before Second Brother Wu had entered the door, he first asked whether they had good wine.

"Oh! Sure, Sir! In our humble inn, we wouldn't boast about other things, but the quality of the wine is amazingly good. People from afar have given our humble inn eight verse-lines in praise."

"What eight lines?"

"Where did he go then?"

When Second Master Wu heard this, he said:

"Good!"

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