Please read the full text of Fu Yuli's novel "The Woman on the Balcony".

Woman on the Balcony

Written by Fu Yuli

In that era, balcony closures had just begun and were not common. At least it's rare to see it in this city.

So the balcony at that time was more of a balcony - a place to dry clothes, grow flowers and plants, and put sundries. It belongs to the house and is naturally independent. It is an extension of the house. Different from the houses surrounded by walls, it provides people with a space to come out of the house to breathe and bask in the sun; it is both dependent and independent, a place where you can advance and retreat, attack and defend.

Why do I think so? Maybe it’s because the shadow of the woman on the balcony left such a deep impression on me.

Speaking of which, I have never seen her clearly, nor have I spoken to her.

At the time, standing on a balcony and admiring the view was a major advantage for those living upstairs.

If the house upstairs does not have a balcony, it feels like something is missing. Drying clothes and basking in the sun are second best. Standing on it, shouting down, and looking up, you will feel that you have both confidence (coming from a house) and height (same as a building). Naturally, it is different from living in a bungalow or without one. Buildings with balconies are no different.

People below can’t help but look up. When looking for someone, they look at other people’s balconies; if they look at other people’s homes, the first thing they see is the balcony. In any case, the balcony is still a prominent feature.

For example, when looking for Uncle Chen’s house, I would look at the balcony first. He said he lived on the third floor of a four-unit building. After dinner that day, I walked to the first building in the family area. Then look at the unit on the far right, then look up and look at the balcony. One, two, three, four I saw it - the balcony on the third floor.

The sky was now orange, rich in color, and very sweet, like sunflowers scattered all over the ground. The gray balconies and buildings are like silhouettes reflected in the yellow. A woman, arms crossed, head lowered, upper body emerging from the balcony. With a few slight blows, the air seemed fresher, and her short curly hair flew up a little, but she did not raise her hand. At first I thought she was looking down, but that wasn't the way she looked. She was deep in thought, or resting lazily, without looking at anything.

This is when people are getting off work one after another. There were bicycles coming and going constantly below, and some single employees were walking past it towards the canteen. The sound was originally very noisy, but at that moment, a feeling of being far away and leisurely came up.

I ate quickly just to find this place. I was walking fast and panting. Now I couldn't feel my breath anymore. I was attracted by the quiet, leisurely, and somewhat melancholy look of the woman in front of me.

I didn’t know Uncle Chen originally. Everyone knows that I come from out of town and am assigned to this unit alone. I feel that many people are willing to know me and like to talk to me. It's just that sometimes I really can't stand what they say. We are an electric power infrastructure unit, and most of the employees went to the construction site. When I arrived, I did some tracing paper and delivering documents. I rarely go to the construction site.

When I first came here, I sometimes couldn’t understand what they were saying.

For example, that day, Xiaotian and I went to get food together. Xiaotian is a girl about the same age as me, and we are often together. Big Lao Zhang said with a smile, "Wheat, I think you two Xiaotians should be able to eat some." Xiao Tian is white and fat, and his body looks like a white carrot, but as a girl, who wants to hear such words. Isn't it a joke to say that people can eat it? Xiaotian didn't say a word, turned around and left. I wanted to say something but couldn't, so I had to pretend not to hear and walked away together. The other men laughed. Because in the agency, there are already few women and even fewer young ones. Xiaotian and I are still very outstanding, but there is nothing we can do when encountering such a thing.

The most irritating thing is that there are worse things than this.

That day, Mr. Zhang called me and asked me to send him the drawings. I found drawings No. 1 and 2 he wanted from the data room, and walked from the fourth floor to the first floor to give them to him. As soon as I entered his office, three men inside made fun of me.

Wheat is here, have you got the drawings?

Here they are, No. 1 and No. 2. I handed it over.

The two men took it over and took a look. Yes, this is it.

Old Zhang took a look and smiled. This is correct, but you are missing by number three.

No. 3, you want drawing No. 3? I thought I heard wrong.

Number three, the enemy. No. 3,

What No. 3? I asked.

Hahaha, Old Zhang laughed, and puffed out smoke while laughing. Those two also laughed and said to me, No. 3? Ah, yes. No. 3, you don’t even know. You girls know best. They winked at each other and smiled, as if there was a treasure hidden in their smiles. I really didn’t know what that treasure was, and it was so funny, so I asked, why is Drawing No. 3 so funny?

It didn't matter, it was more like lighting a fuse, and the three of them laughed together.

I felt something was wrong. I suddenly reacted and my face turned red.

These people are too lazy.

From school to work, never would I have imagined that I would encounter such a thing. I am uneducated, I can only say this in my heart. Of course, when I say this about them, I don’t mean anything else. Maybe the daily work is too monotonous and I can only spend time in this way. Uncle Chen is different from them. You see, he looks clean every time, especially fair and elegant. He is not as dark-skinned, muscular, or foul-mouthed as other men. And every time I look at people, I smile. I am very cultured. I never heard him make any of those jokes. When he looked at the drawings, I found that his fingernails were so clean, unlike other men who were full of black or black stains. He often wore white shirts, unlike other men who wore T-shirts, which made them look white and solemn. When the incident with Drawing No. 3 happened, he was passing by Zhang's office and looked at all the men in the room smiling. He did not come in, but waved to me, "Wheaties, come here."

Come on, drink a glass of water. He handed me a glass of water. I was about to return the information. You came just in time. Please help me take this drawing to the fourth floor and return it to the information room. , thank you.

His voice was gentle and his attitude was humble. The office was extremely clean. I felt that the unhappiness I had just felt was relieved a lot.

Wheat, you are from Sichuan. He asked again, your accent sounded similar. Sichuan is a good place, and it has been good since ancient times. I have been there before, and Uncle Chen started to talk to me.

To be honest, I missed home when I was assigned here. When he asked this question, there were tears in my eyes. I don’t know if it was because of the mention of my hometown or what happened just now. I quickly turned around and ran away.

Why have I never noticed such a beautiful dusk in this city? Because it’s so hot here in the summer, it’s like a giant steamed bean sprout that keeps steaming from morning to night. I got nosebleeds as soon as I came here. Later, eating mung beans didn’t work, so I had to eat even lotus seeds. It's too cold in the winter, and there's no fire yet, so we have to carry it dry. You can use the electric stove in your workplace. If you use the electric stove too much, my skin will become dry and swollen, as if it’s crawling with earthworms, and I’ll get nosebleeds. I'm not impressed at all.

However, the sky is so beautiful now. The colors are like filtered, filtering out all the usual ones, making them look soft and beautiful. The balcony and the woman's shadow make it look even better.

Last week, when I was getting off work, Uncle Chen stopped me. I have a fellow countryman here, do you know?

Folks, I'm a little surprised. This old Chen, no, Xiao Chen, that's not right either. It looks like he is in his forties, equivalent to an uncle, so he should be called Uncle Chen. He said that, which really made me happy. That day I called him Chen Gong, and he waved his hand and called me Uncle Chen. I am older than you.

I will take her to your place tomorrow.

When I arrived in a strange city, I especially wanted to meet fellow villagers. At least I can speak my hometown dialect. But it's strange, I just didn't touch it. That night I kept thinking about what the fellow villagers were like and what they did.

Uncle Chen came the next day, followed by someone later. When I saw it, it was completely different from the one I had been thinking about for a long time last night. A middle-aged woman, maybe as big as Uncle Chen, with a big face and permed hair that covered her head in curly hair, which made her head even bigger. Wearing a large black shirt with small white and red flowers sprinkled on the bottom, black leggings with gold thread on the bottom, and a pair of black-soled shoes with small stiletto heels, he looked top-heavy and shaky.

This is my secretary. As soon as Uncle Chen introduced Mr. Wang, he suddenly turned and pointed at me.

I was a little confused for a moment, secretary? Before he had time to react, Uncle Chen said hurriedly, "We know each other. Let's talk more next time. Let's talk more." I felt that the fellow auntie looked a little tired and didn't show much interest. Maybe I was too tired from the road, I thought at the time. They didn't say much, they just stayed for a while and then left.

Speaking of which, I'm really surprised, why are you walking so fast? After the introduction, he left.

Uncle Chen’s home is in the family area of ????the work unit. You will pass by it when you go to the staff canteen to eat or take a bath in the bathhouse at night.

I went to take a shower in the evening. The mist filled the air and the sound of water rushed. I was thinking about this while taking a shower. I remembered that I had reacted, but I still had a smile on my face and didn't have time to refute him or question him.

This kind of employee bathhouse is rare now. It was a tall, spacious bathhouse with rows of bridles facing each other. In that era, people were relatively integrated, and this kind of bathhouse best reflected this feature. After work, we would go to the bathhouse in small groups and chat while washing, not afraid of seeing each other's bodies. When we came out, we carried the basin and bucket together and combed our wet hair back together. We felt comfortable and relaxed. From the men's bathhouse, there are sometimes loud shouts or someone shouting while washing, which is very interesting.

There are two rows of pipes in the bathhouse. Maybe because not many people come, only one of the two drainage faucets is open. Now people are running into this row, which seems to be too much. After taking off my clothes, I hunched my shoulders and looked around for an empty seat. Seeing someone's hair getting wet, I hurried over. If you wet your hair, you have to give up your place and let someone else wash it. This seems to be a rule.

Under the bridle on the left, a girl had wet her hair, and I rushed over. An old lady and another woman also rushed over. But the girl didn't move at all, applying shampoo to her hair and washing it sideways. Are you ready? The old lady said softly. The girl turned around and ignored her.

The old lady was stunned for a moment, then suddenly bumped her with her shoulder, knocking her out of the water. She probably didn't expect this, and was a little staggered. What to do? The girl yelled, "I'll go first." You come first, I’m the husband. The old lady’s voice is very loud, rough and full of energy. She used her right arm to form a wall, and with her left hand, she called the middle-aged woman next to her to come over and wash herself.

Hmph, the girl made a sound in her nose.

The middle-aged woman was a little at a loss for a moment, but in just a moment, she obeyed the old lady's words, entered the space left by the old lady, and flushed in.

The middle-aged woman had short, curly hair. She washed her hair very quickly. She kept her head down and immediately turned sideways to let the old lady wash her hair.

The old lady's body stood upright as if she had grown roots, and her arms were loosened, protecting her position while rushing. They refused to give way to each other under a water faucet. Come on, the old lady called me again, don't stand here, come and rush. The three of us huddled together. That girl rushed out, not like you.

No one is the same, the old lady answered, "Of course it is different. Do you think you are young?"

These words obviously stunned the girl for a moment, and she didn’t know how to answer. But the old lady shouted loudly, I was still young. It seems to say that you are not young, not as good as me, I have been younger. Suddenly the girl's arrogance subsided and she hid aside, but she couldn't come back.

I couldn't help but take another look at this old lady. Her hair was all white and she was a bit rich. At first glance, she looked like an old lady from the north. The girl was defeated and stopped humming. The splashing sound and water mist in the bathhouse slowly swallowed up everything.

I remember the old lady. I just didn't expect that I would see her again two days later, at Uncle Chen's house. I didn't expect him to invite me to his home. Talk to your fellow countryman, it’s not fun for her to be alone. He said so.

When I came to the building he was talking about, I happened to see the woman and the balcony become one against the color of dusk. No, the whole building looked different from usual.

It’s also strange that no one in this building has a balcony.

I was thinking about the woman on the balcony. She raised her head again, her face expressionless. It seemed that she was not looking at me just now, but she just happened to see me.

Her face was impassive, but she looked very detached, as if she was deep in thought or sleepwalking. This state of affairs takes my breath away. Since graduation, I have gone from school to work, as if I have entered reality from a vacuum. There is no transition or connection. My heart has been hard, but now it has softened. Inexplicable sadness has come over me. Zi was out of the state he had been in for such a long time.

One step, another. I started to go upstairs,

But after a while I heard a voice from above, come up, come up, it's Uncle Chen. It's an old-fashioned five-story building. I went up step by step and reached the third floor.

It is a two-bedroom and one-living house, just like the one in my home. Entering the door is the living room and dining room, with two rooms, one in the south and one in the north. The larger one in the north is the master bedroom, and the smaller one in the south is the second bedroom. The balcony is south facing.

The fellow is still wearing the same clothes. She and Uncle Chen are waiting for me at the door. After entering the door, we sat together on a long sofa in the living room. An old lady came out and poured me water. Her hair was all white and she was a bit rich. She wanted to have tea. I didn't pay attention at first, but as soon as she opened her mouth, I knew she was the old man in the bathhouse that day.

This is my mother. Uncle Chen introduced me with a smile on his face.

Hello, old man. I stood up, but the old man didn't recognize me.

Sit down and let’s talk. The old lady turned around and walked away, entering the cupboard. I just came to this place, and since they are all elders, I don’t want to look around much, so I just sit there. I had a vague feeling that there was someone on the balcony. No, it's not a feeling, it's a conclusion. I saw it just now, the third floor is on the right, that's right. She didn't come out, she didn't come over, she should have been there.

The fellow picked up a pot of edamame on the coffee table and peeled it again and again.

Stop peeling it, Uncle Chen said to her. Take away the edamame, my mother will peel it. He carried it into the cupboard.

I suddenly remembered that this fellow countryman, Uncle Chen, said that day that he was engaged in trading, but he didn’t know what kind of trade he was doing.

She said too few words. She only said where she was from and where she lived, but nothing else. I'm a little disappointed. Speaking of which, our languages ??are not exactly the same because we are far apart. She lives in the city and I live in the suburbs. Our hometown dialects are not exactly the same. I don’t know why, but the native dialect in my stomach seemed to be rushing out, so I started speaking my native dialect to her.

Is this your first time here?

Yeah.

It’s so cold here, are you used to it?

It’s okay.

Her sentences are very short. And the face is never fully unfolded, as if it is holding something deep. Including her body, she looked like a middle-aged woman in her forties, with her bulk showing. It's as if half of my mind is not here. Is her business not doing well? And what is her relationship with Uncle Chen?

...I really want to ask more.

But Uncle Chen reacted quickly. He interrupted me, no, interrupted our communication in native dialect.

Xiao Mao has been worried these days. She brought some wine and wanted to sell it. Do you think there is any way?

My hometown produces good wine, but the place where the wine is produced is thousands of miles away from me, and I don’t know much about wine, let alone sales. But my mouth speaks quickly - look, I speak Mandarin, very confident, to prevent the confusion and doubt in my heart.

The old lady came over again and peeled an apple for me. Eat, look, the house is too small. She looked at me, turned around, and opened her arms slightly to show that the house was too small. It would be nice to have more rooms.

Can the balcony be closed? Uncle Chen still smiled and continued what his mother said. Nowadays, it is fashionable to seal balconies, and we will seal them here too.

My mouth is quick again, yes, my hometown has sealed balconies, and there are many sealed ones there. I don't know why my mouth has no scruples, it seems that I just want to say it. It's well sealed, safe, and can be used as a room for people to live in.

I remembered that after the balcony was closed at home, my brother lived there. We have two bedrooms and one living room. We are all grown up and it is difficult to live together anymore. The curtains on the balcony of my house are drawn on three sides and become my brother's room.

We basically all have enclosed balconies there. I dare say that enclosing balconies is more practical than beautiful. Nowadays, social security is getting worse and worse. Thieves often climb up from the balcony to steal. It is much safer if it is blocked.

Haha, this - I'll talk about it later, there is always another way. The old lady doesn't seem to be too concerned about it, so she won't panic. I don't care about your business. I like this little girl. Come play with her when you have time. The old lady shook the edamame basin in her hand, and the edamame skin jumped up. She pulled the handle with her hand and entered the kitchen again.

Mai, next time you go to the construction site, you can talk about wine, Uncle Chen said.

I am indeed going on a business trip to the construction site soon. It seems that Uncle Chen knows. That’s what I’m going to talk about today.

I took a bite of the apple and it was delicious. There was also one on the coffee table in front of the fellow villager, and Uncle Chen handed it to her. Why don't you eat? The fellow picked up the apple with his left hand and the fruit knife with his right hand, cut off small pieces and put them in his mouth. She no longer spoke her hometown dialect, but instead spoke Mandarin. We both spoke Mandarin. Something was changing.

I wanted to look at the balcony and see the people on it, but I was embarrassed to say it. Thinking that she would come over, I kept looking forward to it, but she didn't show up until I left.

The house is nice, very clean, and not small. Just sitting there or standing there, I feel a little tight. I can’t tell what it is.

Am I wrong? There is no one on the balcony, not that woman? Anyway, after I came out, I looked up again, and there was really no one.

That evening was strange.

After several days, I didn’t see them coming to see me. I felt relieved. I was going to take a shower that day, and I met a fellow villager when I went downstairs. She picked up a washbasin. As I was walking towards the canteen outside the community, I saw me.

Aunt Mao——

Ah, I’m going to take a bath.

After seeing that there were towels and combs in her basin but no soap, I took out a piece of soap from my own basin and gave it to you.

Oh, she gave a low cry without saying thank you. As if I was afraid of seeing something, I stopped taking a shower and quickly walked around in a circle and came back.

At that moment, something boomed between us. I felt like she needed help, and she seemed to see what I was doing, but we didn't say anything to each other. I also became more determined to help her. The next day when I was on a business trip, I actually took a few bottles of wine with me, ran to the construction site canteen, and found the deputy director.

Director, do you need wine here? Many people eat at the construction site every day, so I guess a little wine is nothing to digest. It's really good. I bought one from the canteen at the construction site, just one box.

When I came back the next day, Mr. Zhang saw me. Oh, I heard that the little girl can do business now? Can we go to sea now?

I immediately said, no, a fellow countryman of mine came here to sell wine, and I would help her think of a solution. But I'm really afraid of what the old man will say when he opens his mouth. Not from Lao Chen? no. Maybe it was the sincerity on my face that convinced him.

How can you sell wine? I have a friend who owns a restaurant. You can take some and sell them to him. No, it's right at the horse washing pool. Da Lao Zhang wrote down an address and phone number.

In the afternoon, I found a small hotel according to the address. It was good, and I ordered three items.

I went with a fellow villager. On the way back, the fellow villager was a little excited and walked faster. She just didn’t say anything, but I felt that she felt a lot more relaxed mentally. Because she took the initiative to ask me what the horse-washing pool meant. I kept mumbling for a long time, but I still didn’t understand. If she asks now, I can tell her. I really didn't know back then, and I couldn't pretend to know. It just felt better to ask her such a question.

I want to ask about her relationship with Uncle Chen, but it’s not easy to ask.

I met Mr. Zhang after work, and I wanted to express my gratitude. When I sent him the drawings again, I sent him the drawings and said, thank you for that wine. What wine? What are you talking about? Old Zhang looked down at the drawing and said. Then, as if he didn't recognize me, he pointed at the drawings with the people next to him.

This is where the data here needs to be changed.

Go look for this new drawing from last year. I want to compare it with the old one.

He was conveying instructions to me, so I had to go out and go back to look for pictures.

After I found it, when I wanted to talk about it, I found that Big Lao Zhang and the others didn’t give me a chance at all. Wheat, life lies in movement. You run up and down every day. It’s such a workout, he smiled.

Girls are good at running and have thin legs. He told his colleagues next to him.

Didn’t you say that girls with thick legs look good? The colleague replied to him.

Of course, what’s so good about thin legs? What’s good about thick legs...

…

I know they are going to talk about this kind of topic again, busy He said I still have something to do and walked away in a hurry. It's so annoying that they are so dishonest. Uncle Chen is different from them, he looks enthusiastic and decent. But I can't tell what's wrong.

I don’t know when my fellow countryman left, and he didn’t say goodbye to me. Uncle Chen said he went to the construction site, and some said he went to the sea. Anyway, I haven’t seen it for a long time.

I asked Mr. Zhang, Mr. Zhang Yile, he got rich.

…I don’t know what this means. Off to the construction site? Go to sea?

What do you want? Old Zhang asked as if he was worried.

His family is still here, and his mother and wife are still here. You—he stopped for a moment, you don’t have anything to do with him.

Ah, no. What do I have to do with him? Nothing. I'm not his secretary, nor his friend, just a colleague.

You may not know that he often introduces fellow villagers to others. He and his wife divorced long ago. Big Lao Zhang obviously believed me. That's it - he moved the corners of his mouth downwards, then upwards, and smiled. My wife has been living at his house, seemingly with her mother.

Is that the person standing on the balcony?

So - that woman was the one who took a shower with her?

My heart was racing.

I have also seen her body, but it’s not too special, and I don’t remember all of her appearance. But she didn't speak, her voice was not heard. She was quiet, obedient, and let the old lady take care of her.

The woman always stands there. Fortunately, there is a balcony, otherwise where would we go?

That year, people in the family area began to seal off the balconies one after another.

It’s just that the third floor has not been moved.

During those few days, I seemed to be thinking about something. Every evening at dusk, I deliberately walked downstairs to the family area, pretending to be unintentional, and looked up. It looked like his eyes were squinted or his nose was bleeding. I saw the balcony on the third floor again, and the woman on the balcony. Although it was just a shadow, I saw it. In the dusk, it is both sad and desolate, firmly welded into the vastness.

Uh, you don’t know, the wine you sold last time was fake. As soon as Big Boss Zhang said it, I reacted. He has not forgotten about my fellow villager. Fake, this makes me don’t know what to say.

I don’t know. I felt like I had been slapped, my face was burning, as if I had committed a thief. how so? I have never doubted my fellow villagers, and there is no basis for my belief. Besides, I don’t know the truth or falsehood, so how could this not be the case?

It’s okay, girl. I guess you don’t know that Mr. Zhang took a photo of me. This made me feel comfortable, trusting and comforted. He's the most fucking sober person in the family.

You are talking about the old lady.

Yes, the old lady is sensible and powerful. What would his wife do without her? She wouldn't make him angry to death. How can she live without a job?

After some time, I saw Uncle Chen walking with a woman. He still looked at me with a smile on his face, as if nothing had happened. I quickly turned around, fearing that I would become his secretary again.

When I went home that year, I took a special look at the balcony at home. It was sealed, and there was an extra room, but something was lost. This is the same as installing anti-theft nets on the outside of your windows. The balcony has less freshness and more obstruction.

I thought of Uncle Chen’s family. Why did he get divorced, and how could he still live together after being divorced? I really don’t know how they live together. Anyone who has been to his house knows that the balcony is the best place. It is connected to the bedroom and leads to the outside. It can be freely entered and exited. After comparing several rooms, that is the best place. I don't know what's going on with Uncle Chen and his wife. If they divorce and stay home, it seems that the old lady plays a big role. She was protecting her.

In the bathhouse, on the balcony, that woman, that woman who has always been vague, has always existed. In other words, she has always existed in Uncle Chen's life. The ex-wife occupies this place, and the mother says that the house is too small, and no one can understand what she means.

Let alone fellow villagers, anyone who lives there can only wander around the bedroom, living room or kitchen every day, and no one will live long.

The woman occupying the balcony is actually more comfortable than the woman in the room. Thinking about it this way, I feel like I have become a fellow countryman. No wonder she has never been very comfortable and happy. How can a relationship like that be calm?

I just thought that I had become a guide, as if I was playing something.

Somewhat boring.