Five Spice Street

She told them that Madam X was her best friend and that she was the strongest woman she’d ever encountered. All she had to do was crook her finger and people would do her bidding. If anyone tried to take advantage of her or set himself against her, he ended up the worse for it. Without turning a hair, she could set a deathtrap for him. As for her, she felt fortunate to have made such a friend, and if she had to exhaust all of her energy to defend Madam X’s reputation, she wouldn’t hesitate in the least. As for Madam X’s power over men, of course she-Old Woman Jin-couldn’t dispute this. Madam X simply didn’t give her a thought. Old Woman Jin might feel she’d triumphed over Madam X by getting into bed with the coal worker. But Madam X didn’t notice this trivial thing at all: she simply wasn’t aware of it, because she was a woman of great talent and bold vision- how could she care about a guy like this? Even if he persisted in thinking he was important to Madam X, this was just unrequited love, and Old Woman Jin’s tactics were based only on misconcep- tions-an immature game, an irrelevant plaything, better not even to deal with. If Madam X can be said to have any real rival, it can only be she-Madam X’s best friend: she’s the only one she’s afraid of. For she’s the one who knows all of Madam X’s secrets, who best understands Madam X’s strange nature, and who has at least as much power to charm men. Who else would Madam X be afraid of? And so, although she is Madam X’s best friend, she’s also the rival that Madam X worries about. After years of observing men falling for Madam X’s charm, she has figured out her trump cards. The most useful is sexual innuendo. In this, Madam X is extremely vulgar: she always talks directly to her partner of her ‘‘desires’’ and then waits for the person to be aroused so she can control him. Of course, she isn’t aroused-and even cruelly mocks her partner for his physiological response. This trump card has withstood the test of time, and it wins every time. This is merely because most men are good-for-nothings; their very birth was a mistake. After she had observed and understood Madam X’s inner steeliness, Madam X was scared to death and sought her out numerous times to explain herself. She said she wasn’t a bystander where men were concerned, that now and then she looked forward to a sexual relationship with an ideal man, but she ‘‘couldn’t find her ideal’’ and so turned out to be the way she is today. The colleague saw through her. Madam X was afraid this weak spot would become public knowledge and she would lose her admirers. Of course the colleague would never stab Madam X in the back. She just wished to make Madam X less arrogant. She isn’t the only woman in the world. Someone else is much better; someone else is calm and modest. Why can’t Madam X be like this? She wasn’t inclined toward riotous passion-why did she have to fake it? Although it satisfied her vanity, what a blow to the men of the world (even if they were just garbage).

The colleague stopped and looked out the door. Then she bolted it securely and turned around. ‘‘Not long ago,’’ she whispered, ‘‘there was a guy-I’m not exaggerating-he used to be one of her admirers, but after discovering me, he finally saw the light: he realized what real feminine charm is. I certainly didn’t intend to steal her business. Not me. Each time, I just stayed off to one side, but men noticed me. This wasn’t my fault; it was the awakening of their inner maleness. Oh my God! The real thing is here! Oh my God! The shimmering pearl is right here! This happened lots of times, too many to count. If I revealed the numbers, she’d be too ashamed to show her face. She completely overlooked me, this crazy person.’’ She suddenly felt empty inside. ‘‘Why don’t you light the stove in your house?’’ she yelled. Then she kicked the stove until it fell over and red coals scattered on the floor. Then, swinging her arms, she took her leave.

Old Woman Jin and the young coal worker looked at each other in despair. ‘‘Should we put our pants on?’’ the coal worker asked hesitantly. ‘‘Fuck off!’’ Old Woman Jin shouted. He misunderstood and ‘‘made it’’ with her again. They rolled onto the coals and wailed like stuck pigs.