Ball of Suet: Selected Short Stories by Maupassant

Chapter 30 Miss Feifei (2)
In the evening, these people gathered in the restaurant again.Everyone had bright smiles on their faces.The major's morning gray hair was also gone by this time.The captain's beard had been shaved off, too, except for a spot just below his nose, which was nothing but a little flame.All the people put on neat attire in unison, as if they were about to go on a military parade.They "painted and painted" one by one, really dressed up.Everyone is very different from their morning image.

Although the heavy rain continued outside, they still opened the windows.During this time, there are always people anxiously leaning towards the window, listening to the movement in the distance.Just before ten past six, the captain hastened to claim that he heard wheels.At this moment, everyone ran out anxiously.Sure enough, there were four horses pulling a large carriage, running wildly, and even the mud on the ground splashed on the backs of the horses.When they got to the front, they were panting one by one.A white-hot air rose from the horse's back.

Five young and beautiful women came out of the carriage one after another and came to the steps.The captain has a friend in the Rouen area.The orderly came to him and handed him the captain's card.After that, he helped to carefully select five women.

Knowing that they would have a lot of income, the five women agreed immediately.The Prussians have been here for three months.During these three months, they had already known exactly what they were doing.Another point is that in their business, no matter what kind of people or things they encounter, they are just making compromises. "Since we have done this business, we can only do this!" Along the way, they kept saying this to themselves.They also seem to be dissatisfied with their own behavior, and use such words to relieve the condemnation of their conscience.

They walked into the dining room.The lights flickering in the room and the signs of devastation here and there always give one a sense of bleakness.They found the silver belongings of the owner of the castle and took them out of the hollow in the wall.At this time, these silverware were piled up with big fish and meat, and placed neatly on the dining table.In their view, this place looks like a place where a group of robbers come back to gather after committing a crime.

The captain's request finally came true.He couldn't wait to hold these women by his side, as if they were very familiar with each other.He looked at them carefully, and leaned over to kiss them from time to time.The three young officers couldn't hold back their excitement at this time, each of them wanted to choose a woman they liked.But the captain did not agree with their claims.He divided these women into several grades according to the usual standards, and claimed that they would be distributed in order according to the size of the military rank.

In order to show justice and avoid unnecessary disputes, he called the women together and asked them to line up according to their size.After scanning around for a while, he shouted to the tallest one in an orderly tone: "What's your name?"

When she heard it, she replied firmly and loudly, "Pamela."

So the captain made his own verdict: "Pamela number one, go with the major."

Next, he walked to the side of the second.The woman who was next in line was called Blondina, and he kissed her on the cheek to signify that she should go with him.Then, he assigned Amanda, who was relatively fat, to Lieutenant Otto, and Eva to Lieutenant Fritz.In the end, he gave the smallest one to Miss Feifei.The young girl, Rachel, was a Jew, with brown hair and eyes so dark they looked like two spots of ink.She also has a high and protruding nose, which at first glance is a typical feature of the Jewish nation.

These five women can be regarded as the most beautiful in the brothel.They were all well-proportioned and full-bodied.To distinguish them from their appearance alone, if you don't look carefully, there is almost no difference.Also, because they lived in the same living environment for a long time, their common life experiences made their speech and behavior similar.

Instantly the young officers wanted to leave the table and go upstairs with the women they loved.Their reason was that they had traveled all the way in wind and rain, and their clothes and bodies were dirty, and they needed to go up and clean it up.The major has long been aware of their little thoughts.Therefore, he disagreed with them at all, saying that they were already very clean, and clearly ordered them to eat on the spot.If the person who went upstairs later came down and wanted to change their taste, it would definitely affect the other couples.In this way, they could only sit down one by one and kiss at the dinner table.

At this time, Miss Feifei deliberately took a deep drag on the cigarette.While kissing Rachel, he blows smoke into her mouth again.Suddenly, a puff of blue smoke came out of Rachel's nostrils, and she was choked so hard that she couldn't breathe.Tears welled up in her eyes, and she coughed involuntarily.She didn't say a word of complaint, let alone protest, she just stared at Miss Feifei angrily with her black eyes.

The major at the table looked in high spirits.Pamela was sitting on his right, and Brundina was sitting on his left. While laying out the napkin skillfully, he said to the captain: "It seems that your idea is really good!"

Otto and Fritz were accompanied by the women beside them at the moment, and their speech and behavior were quite different from before, appearing somewhat gentle.Both of them probably thought it was a dinner with a high society lady.However, this made the two women beside them uneasy.The captain next to him didn't behave like them. He was very good at these things, said some provocative words, and immediately returned to his former style.His crimson face was more conspicuous against the red hair, like a pile of burning flames.He was more familiar with French in the Rhine area, so he said a few flattering words to the girl he loved in a blunt tone.The hole in his teeth made his accent more slurred, and spit spit from his mouth from time to time.In this way, they poured into the ears of the surrounding girls together.

In fact, due to the accent, the girls didn't quite understand what the officer said.However, when he said those obscene words, the girls listened to some of them half-understood, and then threw themselves into the arms of their respective men, laughing loudly.From time to time the captain said some dirty words, and the girls followed suit.So, he tried his best to bring out all the obscene language he knew.They talked and laughed while drinking wine, and they finished drinking a few bottles of wine in a while.At this time, the women resumed their usual demeanor, drinking from all the wine glasses, humming a French ditty and a few ditties just learned from the Germans, while holding the arms of the men on both sides, constantly Kissing their beards and yelling wildly.

These men were quickly intoxicated, and were fascinated by the beauties in front of them.They shouted loudly and threw things again.Soldiers standing by served them indifferently.

At this moment, only the major is not confused.

Rachel had already been grabbed by Miss Feifei and pressed against his lap.Although he looks calm on the surface, he is extremely excited inside.Sometimes he was so beastly, twisting the muscles on her body vigorously.Although it was separated by clothes, he exerted more force, and she couldn't help crying out in pain.He sometimes kissed her hair, and put his nose against her flesh to feel her body temperature and smell.Between her skirt and body, traces of his kisses were left here and there.In order to experience the feeling of becoming one with her, he desperately hugged her and pressed her tightly against his body.He kissed her mouth so long that she couldn't breathe.What's more, he bit her hard at the end of the kiss.Immediately, blood burst out from the Jewish woman's chin, and slowly flowed down her skin to her chest.

This time she couldn't bear it anymore, and scolded in a low voice: "You will definitely pay for this." She glared at him fiercely while speaking.He showed contempt at her who was busy wiping the wound, and then laughed loudly: "Don't worry, I will accompany you."

It's time for dessert.Everyone at the table filled their glasses with wine.The major stood up first, and said in a tone of respect to Queen Augusta: "Come on, everyone, let's make a toast to the ladies here!" After saying that, he finished the wine in his hand.

Then, everyone toasted to the lady beside them.From time to time, words to please women came out of each of them's mouths, and at the same time some low-key jokes were mixed in.Most of the words that please women come from vulgar people or alcoholics, and those jokes are even more unsightly due to the barrier of language.

In front of the women, they deliberately showed off their humor, standing up one after another, joking, and manipulating their movements, trying to show a funny appearance.The women were so drunk at this time that they could hardly stand up.They stared blankly, feeling sticky in their mouths.Seeing the man shaking in front of them, they just applauded heartily.

(End of this chapter)