“She is here.”
Lu Qingnian crouched behind the wood stack at the back of the mail room keeping his voice low.
It was half past five in the morning and the sky was just turning pale. Old Zhou opened the mailbox at six and stacked the mail on the windowsill for collection.
Shuiying crouched beside him holding an old padded jacket tight.
“Are you certain she will come?”
“I am certain.” Lu Qingnian kept his voice barely above a whisper. “She intercepted once and she will do it again.”
“This letter is an official reply from the commune secretary handled through official channels and recorded in the register. The moment Zhao Xueting reaches for it she will be caught red handed.”
Shuiying gripped the edge of her jacket. Zhao Xueting had intercepted mail forged an official seal and planted a deceptive letter on her husband’s desk yet not a single word of reprimand had been spoken.
“Qingnian I am not doing this just to prove who I am.”
“I know.”
“I am doing this so she can never deny what she has done.”
At six o clock exactly Old Zhou opened the door. Minutes later footsteps approached from across the yard and a woman in a white coat walked over quickly and anxiously.
“Why good morning Doctor Zhao,” Old Zhou called through the window. “Here so early?”
“I have come to collect a letter for Battalion Commander Lu,” Zhao Xueting said slapping her identification card down on the sill. “He is on duty and asked me to collect it on his behalf.”
Old Zhou glanced at her and as arranged said nothing to stop her.
“Sign here.” Her hand wavered slightly but she signed.
Old Zhou handed the letter out.
Just as her fingers touched the envelope someone stood up from behind the wood stack.
“Doctor Zhao.”
Lu Qingnian spoke quietly.
Zhao Xueting froze and the letter slipped from her grasp. Lu Qingnian stepped down and rested his foot on it.
“Up so early just to collect my letter?” He picked it up brushing off the dust. “To help me or to help yourself?”
“I was only trying to help…” Zhao Xueting wiped her hands nervously on her trousers. “Qingnian please listen to me…”
“Do not call me that.” Lu Qingnian held the letter high his voice turning ice cold.
“The previous letter you collected for me was taken away for three days before it mysteriously reappeared on my desk.”
He pulled out a second envelope from his uniform pocket.
It bore the Sichuan postmark and was addressed to Comrade Lu Qingnian.
“The envelope was mine,” Lu Qingnian said. “The paper inside was not.”
“The person who wrote it knew exactly how much she earned each day which days she went into town and when Niannian ran a fever of thirty nine degrees in the night.”
“Doctor Zhao am I wrong?”
Zhao Xueting parted her lips but said nothing.
By now the yard had drawn a crowd soldiers returning from drill and military wives carrying water buckets gathered round watching closely.
Wang Jun ran over from the gate snapped to attention and saluted.
“Commander she entered the yard at six oh three and reached the window at six oh seven. She paused briefly by the flower bed and looked back twice.”
He delivered the report in one smooth breath without a single stutter.
“The sky was still dim. Standing twenty paces away are you certain it was her?” Lu Qingnian asked.
“I could not make out her face clearly,” Wang Jun replied. “But I heard Old Zhou call out Good morning Doctor Zhao through the window.”
“If I were to identify someone only by a white coat that would be guessing not standing guard.”
“You noted all of this so carefully?”
“It is my habit.” Wang Jun showed his sleeve where faint pencil marks were visible.
“I keep track of time on duty and record it in my notebook later.”
“There is one more thing. Yesterday afternoon Madam Shuiying also came to the mail room. She stood at the door and asked if any letter from Sichuan had arrived but she did not enter.”
Old Zhou nodded in agreement. “That is correct I remember it.”
“Understood.” Wang Jun stepped back standing perfectly straight.
Shuiying looked at the young man barely in his early twenties. His report was precise and faultless yet something about it left her feeling uneasy.
“Ask Political Commissar Zhao to come over.”
Some ten minutes later Deputy Political Commissar Zhao arrived his uniform immaculate but his expression grim.
“What is going on here?”
“This is the second letter I sent to Sichuan addressed directly to the commune secretary,” Lu Qingnian said handing over the letter. “It arrived this morning. Doctor Zhao came early claiming to collect it on my behalf and was caught in the act.”
Deputy Commissar Zhao took the letter without opening it immediately. “Xueting explain yourself.”
“Father!” Zhao Xueting raised her voice sharply. “I was only trying to help…”
“Open it,” Lu Qingnian cut across her.
“Open it in front of everyone. I have waited half a month for this.”
Deputy Commissar Zhao tore the envelope open.
Old Zhou read aloud:
“This is to certify that Comrade Lu Qingnian of Heping Township was formally married to Comrade Shuiying on October twelfth nineteen eighty one. They have one son together named Lu Nian. The above details are confirmed and hereby certified.”
Beneath it was the official red seal of the commune.
A murmur rippled through the gathering.
“It matches perfectly with the marriage certificate shown at the celebration!”
“Intercepting someone else’s mail! That is simply despicable!”
Shuiying stood at the center of the crowd watching Zhao Xueting.
Zhao Xueting stood burning with embarrassment then suddenly lifted her head. “This is false! They have conspired together!”
“I saw Shuiying enter the mail room myself yesterday afternoon!”
The crowd fell silent once more.
Deputy Commissar Zhao frowned. “Do you have any witness to this?”
Zhao Xueting looked around and her gaze settled on Wang Jun.
Wang Jun hesitated then stepped forward.
“Sir I was on duty at the gate yesterday afternoon. There are three things I feel I should report.”
“Speak.”
“First at three twenty Doctor Zhao came to the mail room. She stood at the door and asked if the letter from Sichuan had arrived but did not go inside.”
Deputy Commissar Zhao turned toward her. “Xueting you were there yesterday?”
Zhao Xueting hesitated. “I went only to ask on his behalf.”
“Second at three forty Madam Shuiying came. She stood at the same door asked the same question and also did not enter.”
“On that point both did exactly the same thing. Beyond that I would not presume to judge.”
Shuiying turned to look at him and Wang Jun met her gaze without flinching.
“Third,” he continued. “The medical unit is just one courtyard away. Doctor Zhao often collects mail for others and delivered our unit letters herself last month.”
“What exactly are you implying?”
“Only that it is not the first time Doctor Zhao has offered to collect mail.”
His words were perfectly phrased and impossible to find fault with.
Shuiying looked straight at him. “Comrade Wang you have told the truth about what you saw.”
“Then there is one thing missing from your account,” she said her voice calm but steady.
“When I went Old Zhou had already told me the previous day that he would keep any letter for me until I came. I went to collect my own mail. Doctor Zhao went to ask about Lu Qingnian’s mail.”
“Those are not the same thing are they?”
Wang Jun flushed.
“Madam I…”
“It is quite all right,” Shuiying said motioning gently. “Just tell us exactly what happened.”
Lu Qingnian turned the letter over and passed it to Old Zhou. “Show us the register.”
Old Zhou flipped through the pages.
“This letter was collected from the county post bag at six this morning numbered seven four three and properly recorded. It was not here yesterday afternoon.”
“Madam Shuiying did stop by yesterday,” Old Zhou added scratching his head. “She asked briefly and left. She never came inside.”
Voices rose again among the crowd.
Deputy Commissar Zhao’s expression darkened and he fell silent for a moment.
“The identity of Comrade Lu Qingnian’s spouse,” he said his voice deliberate and measured. “Was verified at the gathering and I have no reason to question that.”
“However this is a military zone. Operating a stall for business within the camp is against regulations. No action was taken before and that was my oversight.”