The Interior (Red Princess 2)

The performers gathered into a little group. One of the girls stepped forward and in a loud but melodious voice announced that they would now sing a few American songs, all favorites of President Jiang Zemin. An instrumental introduction blared through the loudspeaker, and a moment later the girls were singing “Row Your Boat” in ever more complex rounds.

Sandy inclined his head toward David and said under his breath, “Practicall

y every goddamn meeting has to have this rigmarole. Hero music. Firecrackers. Out-of-tune marching bands. Twenty-seven thousand verses of ‘Jingle Bells.’ Then an exchange of gifts. Then speeches. Meanwhile everyone here is roasting to death.”

“Then why do it?”

“Custom.”

“For Knight?”

“Hell no. It’s a Chinese custom.”

“Knight is an American company.”

“So? This is how it’s done over here. At least that’s what that grease-ball Sun says. And whatever he says, old man Knight’ll do it. He’s into this shit.”

The last strains of the tune faded, and the girls broke into a spirited rendition of “Jingle Bells.”

Sandy looked over at David and raised his eyebrows. “I told you. It’s a hundred and fifty degrees in the shade, and they’re singing about snow.”

“Are they employees?”

Sandy shook his head. “They’re a local performing troupe. I’ve probably seen them five times in the three years I’ve been here.”

David jerked a thumb back over his shoulder. “And them? Are those all of your employees?”

“You kidding? No, they’re just the women from the Administration Building.”

“Why aren’t the others here?”

“Henry wants a show, not a convention.”

This was the first time David had been alone with Sandy. With Henry Knight he played the sycophant, but alone he seemed not only disillusioned but like he wanted to complain.

“Sandy, what are you going to do after the acquisition?”

“When the old man asked me to come out here, I thought it would be a big adventure. But look at this place. It’s a hellhole in more ways than one. As soon as I got here, I called Henry and said I wanted to go home. But Henry was sick, so what could I do? He said he needed me to make Sam & His Friends a reality. The deal with the studio had been cemented and the prototypes were ready. Henry practically begged me to stay on until we’d gotten the first line out. Toys are a crazy product. You do a hundred lines and if you’re lucky—really lucky—one hits. Well, Sam hit. I’ve been with Knight for fifteen years, and we’ve never had anything like this craze. I’ve tried to look at it as my big opportunity.”

The girls had now broken into four groups and were skipping in little circles, imitating horses drawing sleighs. Sandy wiped the sweat off his face and neck with a handkerchief, and said, “I’ve given the company fifteen years, and now they’re selling. For all I know, I’ll be out of a job by the end of the month. The only good news is that I’ll be able to leave this godforsaken place.”

The girls finished their song with a loud “Hey!” They bowed to the audience and to the men on the dais, then walked in a straight line off the dance floor. Henry Knight, beaming and clapping, stood and walked to the podium.

“Thank you, Number Seventeen Shanxi Province Acrobatic Company! You have, as always, done a beautiful job. Let’s all give them another hand!” He stepped aside and continued to clap, while Madame Leung translated his words into Mandarin. Behind David the women increased their applause. Henry resumed his position. “Today we have with us Randall Craig from Tartan International. Very soon I will turn the company over to him. But don’t worry. My son will be here, and things will continue on as smoothly as they have since we opened.”

As Madame Leung translated, David glanced over at Sandy. He could read nothing from Sandy’s expression, except perhaps boredom.

Henry continued, thanking Governor Sun Gan for years of help. Sun stood, bowed, accepted a loud round of applause, then sat down again. Then Henry launched into an introduction of Tartan, but it was so hot even under the canopy that David doubted anyone was listening. Finally Randall Craig stood and joined Henry at the podium. They shook hands, then motioned for Sun to join them. Just as Sandy predicted, there was a three-way exchange of plaques. At twelve sharp the ceremony ended. Military marching music came blaring out of the speakers, and the women in the audience quickly left their seats and hustled back to the Administration Building. The sweating Knight contingent was introduced to the equally sweating and wilting Tartan contingent; then Henry announced loudly, “Everyone please follow me. It’s time for lunch and something cold to drink.”

The group entered the Administration Building and went to the conference room, where, as Henry had promised, lunch was laid out. There were soft drinks with ice (made from sterilized water, or so Henry said), potato chips, and a platter of sandwiches. Looking around, David saw Governor Sun deep in conversation with one of the Tartan people. Henry, Doug, and Randall grabbed plates and took spots at the table. This lunch would be immediately followed by a tour of the compound—a sanitized tour, David was sure of it. As much as he wanted to ask these men questions, he was simply going to have to wait for a more private opportunity.

At one o’clock the bell rang in the factory. Before the machines had fully wound down, the women began filing out of the room. Hulan, Peanut, Siang, and hundreds of other women emerged out into the sunshine and headed back toward the dormitory. The festival was over and so completely cleared away that, except for a few eddies of spent firecrackers that had yet to be swept up, the courtyard seemed back to normal. Hulan had expected an air of release, but the women just seemed tired after their week’s work. Once inside, Siang ducked into her room, while Hulan and Peanut continued on to theirs. Hulan pulled out the bag she’d brought with her on Thursday and slung it over her shoulder.

“Where are you going?” Peanut asked. “I thought you weren’t from here.”

“I’m not, but you know I have a friend in the village. I can stay with her.”

“I wish I had somewhere to go,” Peanut said as she stripped off her pink smock, threw it on the floor, and climbed up to her bunk.