The old man thought that with his ears being the way they were, Abing should become a professional tuner of musical instruments. For a time he had hoped that Luo Shan would take Abing on as his apprentice, to give him the means to make a living. But after coming to the village and seeing Abing (blind and dim-witted), he wouldn’t agree to it, no matter how much Abing’s mother begged, nor how many people from the village she enlisted to plead his cause. The old man couldn’t help but feel that Luo Shan was a selfish, conceited fool, unable to see Abing’s talent. When he learnt of Luo Shan’s current predicament (I told him about it), he showed no pleasure in the man’s misfortune, though he didn’t express any sorrow or regret either.

As we were chatting, another man approached with a baby boy in his arms, wanting to ‘test’ Abing. The child was little more than a year old and couldn’t yet speak; all he was able to do was parrot the sounds of those around him. From the look of them it was easy to see that they weren’t from the village; they spoke in Mandarin Chinese, not the local dialect. The person who had brought the child placed him in front of Abing and urged him to call ‘Uncle Abing’. Directing his attention to Abing, he asked if he could discern whose family the child belonged to. The child parroted the words ‘Uncle Abing’, grabbed his cane, and gurgled incomprehensibly as he played with it. At this moment, without the slightest hesitation, Abing spoke.

‘This child is Lu Shuigen’s third son Guanlin’s baby; it’s a boy. I remember, Guanlin left home nine years, two months and twelve days ago. He enlisted in the military in Fuzhou. He has returned to visit four times. The last was during the Dragon Boat festival, and he brought his wife along with him. I spoke with her a little, I remember; she’s a northerner. This child’s voice is like his mother’s – very clear, and a little hard.’

Although there seemed to be a buzzing hum to his voice, the previous nervousness and stutter were absent. It felt like he was reciting something from memory, speaking mechanically. It was as though he knew all of these details by heart; they were simply waiting for him to open his mouth so that they could come out.