Chapter 5 Chapter Four

The arrival of seventy or eighty militiamen and Deng Ping, the party committee, aroused fear in the hearts of the local country people.Is there going to be a public trial?Like in the first few years of the Communist regime, forcing all the people in the village to watch and shoot the landlord?The fact that the villagers of Boluo were ordered to line up at the scene seems to imply that there will be another public trial. At noon, two or three hundred men and women stood neatly on the rough gravel-paved open space outside the village.The scorching sun at noon cast a bright black shadow on the ground on the five people kneeling in the center of the arena with their hands tied behind their backs.Apparently, this was not a routine arrest of some of the leaders who were sent to labor camps.The villagers were ordered to come and take part in this blatant humiliation.Guards in steel helmets stood on posts with bayonets in hand.Men, women, children, all eyes open, waiting.

everything's ready.Deng Ping appeared, followed by a captain and two secretaries.There was a buzz in the crowd: Little Napoleon.Everyone felt that this time was going to be a time-consuming event. One can see Deng Ping's broad back moving towards the center of the arena, where the tables and chairs are located.He spread out some paper documents on the table, and then glanced at the five people kneeling on the ground, one of them was an old peasant woman who had been arrested for stealing grain from the government.He didn't even glance at the onlookers, some of whom were pre-installed activists.

At this time, these activists came out and stood in front of the villagers of each team and addressed them, reminding them that they were judges and juries.In fact, the villagers just hope they don't have to stand here and watch them being shot.These kneeling people looked gloomy.They bowed their heads and arched their backs, sweating from the hot sun.Occasionally, a person looked up with a frightened look in his eyes. It's been a really long public trial.Deng Ping first told what had happened to cultivate his anger.He expressed his sorrow for the shameful actions of the people.After years of training, the villagers had learned neither to adopt a revolutionary attitude nor to show any understanding of the socialist project.Deng Ping's screeching monotonous voice, clamoring loudly about the meaning of revolution, and the party's determination to build a socialist society, to make China catch up with Britain in fifteen years, the importance of the Great Leap Forward, and the people's utter lack of understanding .

He bawled for about forty-five minutes.Then the routine public trial began.One by one, the accused were brought up.First of all, the old farmer and several other farmers who made trouble and rushed into the public barn.It's not difficult.The villagers knew what to do; they had been instructed in advance.Activists watch them.Every time Deng Ping, the party committee, yelled out a question, they all yelled in unison to answer.no!Yes!guilty!All they need to do is to follow the activists in the same way.The people's judges soon became a regular chorus, and the thunderous shouts became louder and more mechanical.One by one, those caught were found guilty and taken away.When it was the turn of the farmer who had knocked the administrator unconscious with a pole, the shouts were even more deafening, and the tempo of the shouts became even faster.Deng Ping's voice became harsh like broken metal, and like a machine gun firing.

When it was the old woman's turn, Deng Ping deliberately taught the villagers a lesson. An hour and a half has passed. Do you admit that you stole the millet from the public? no answer. Do you know that you obstructed the party's socialist construction? no answer. Do you know that those grains belong to the people, and if you steal the grains of the people, you are the public enemy of the people? Still no answer, Deng Ping stood up.All the judges were silent. Do you know who I am? Kind party comrades, I am an old woman.Do whatever you like with me. Deng Ping could not bear this insult.He severely slapped the face of the old woman kneeling on the ground a few times.Under the heavy blow, she fell to the ground.

The bystanders showed expressions of astonishment. stand up!If it's not so cheap, I'll let you go!He turned to a guard and ordered: Untie her hands and take off her clothes. At this point, even the activists fell silent.Now, the old woman on the ground is stripped half naked.Several women burst into tears, and the ten-year-old grandson of the old woman screamed.The old woman's dull eyes stared blankly. Apologize! The old woman apologized. Slap yourself. The old woman did the same, first to the right and then to the left. Get down on your knees now, go in front of everyone and slap yourself and apologize because you are the enemy of the people.

A guard leads her.Old woman on gravel road.In a village like Boluo, she was a respected old grandmother, and many who loved her called her aunt.The women sobbed softly.Her little child burst into tears.The old woman continued to kneel in front of people one by one, slapping herself. It's a really nasty thing.Her knees sank in the sharp gravel, and she squirmed slowly and painfully. Not long after, her body began to shake and she was drenched in sweat. Suddenly, her little grandson rushed out and fell on her half-naked body.She couldn't go on any longer, her body went limp and she collapsed on the ground.

Deng Ping came over, fuming at the interruption. Take this child away from me.Send him north with the others. There was a buzz in the crowd.Everyone couldn't help but let out an angry sound. Horror has turned to disgust, and disgust has turned to anger. You can't do that to a kid!Someone said to Deng Ping. oh i can't A tall man stood up and interceded and said: Good sir, please spare him, I beg you.Forgive this kid, he is not sensible. Who are you? My name is Zhang Fu.This old woman is my mother, and the child is my son.Let him go, please.Send me north. Deng Ping looked at him coldly.

This, I can't do.The commune needs you.don’t worry.Your child will receive training that you cannot give. Zhang Fu is tall, powerful, and taciturn.He could easily beat Dengping to pieces with one punch.But he tried his best to control himself, clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white.Deng Ping looked at him and smiled. A guard took the child away, and the child did not understand what he had done. This unexpected incident interrupted the proceedings of the public trial.Everyone stood aside and talked casually.Stand back to your original positions!Deng Ping shouted loudly. Zhang Fu, with his head down, walked towards his mother, his wife, a thin young woman, leaning over the old woman who was paralyzed on the ground.She was in a daze.They have taken her child away.

The public trial is not over yet.Deng Ping turned to the guards and said, "Tie up the old woman again."Letting her kneel in the middle is a living lesson for everyone.I've had enough.Tie her up and no one can come near or talk to her.The rest can go home. At three o'clock in the afternoon, the old woman had been kneeling in the sun for three hours, and finally she couldn't support herself and passed out on the ground.She was carried away by Zhang Fu and his wife without knowing anything about her. The next day, the sun rose from the east again.In a dense fog, purple red glowed, making the sky reveal a strange brilliance.That means it's going to be extra hot today.Angelica coughed harder.She hadn't been able to sleep since she heard gunshots at dawn.

Did you hear gunshots last night?she asked. No wow, I fell asleep in no time.replied James at the dinner table. It was about dawn, and I should have gotten used to the sound of gunshots, but I was still taken aback every time.I was hiding on the bed and looking out the window, there were still a few stars in the sky.I kept wondering what the gunshot was for, and then I couldn't sleep. James took out a handkerchief and wiped his forehead.It's so hot in the morning.Did you see the boy's face?He's the boy who brought in the food last night looking like he was going to explode.I also don't think it's right, and I can't say why. I have seen executions carried out in public.But it was strange to shoot before dawn.I really don't know what happened. When there is bloodshed, the hospital is always the first to know.Not long after breakfast, someone brought a message from the hospital: many injured people poured into the hospital, and the hospital was short of staff, asked her if she would like to help?It was Sunday. Sister Angelica's heart trembled slightly.She packed up quickly and went to the hospital. A large number of wounded people lay on the floor of the waiting room, with blood splattered on their hands and feet.A woman sits cross-legged on the floor, trying to comfort a three-year-old crying in pain.She looked at Angelica with pleading eyes, raised the child's bleeding arm with one hand, and silently begged the nun for help. Angelica stopped and looked at the child carefully.He went into shock: his pupils dilated, his legs twitched.The mother, to comfort him, clasped the child fatally to her breast. These lawless militias!Angelica cursed in her heart, and picked up the child's arm to examine it carefully.A bullet snapped off his pinky finger and grazed a chunk of skin on his wrist.The blood was still dripping, dripping onto his mother's pants.Four or five nurses were busy, Angelica helped the woman up, she was still holding her baby tightly. where are you from From Boro. Who fired the shot? militia. Why shoot? have no idea. Angelica again helped a doctor and nurse with some of the wounded; others waited patiently.All the nurses who were off that day were called back. Soon she sees Zhao come in to help a young boy who was shot in the leg. What happened?She asked Ah Zhao. These people were injured when they tried to cross the bridge.Gathered a bunch of people this morning to see what was going on.There was trouble at Boluo, and those people wanted to escape.Not far away; three dead men lay.I saw it, two women and a child.But no one is allowed to come near them.Police have blocked traffic across the bridge.They question passers-by on the road, trying to catch those who escaped the night before. Angelica smiled sadly and helplessly.You are so kind, Zhao.Help the child to sit over there.He might have to wait a while. Ah Zhao winked at Yi Su, indicating that he had something to tell her.Since he is very close to Xiao Ya'er, he is also very close to Yi Su. What are you going to do?Yi Su asked in annoyance. He approached her quietly and tugged on her sleeve. follow me.Ah Zhao said. Can't you see I'm busy? Ah Zhao made an impatient grimace, and said: Come on.To save a woman.Someone died on the bridge.Your friend is white, isn't he? What does it have to do with him? I want him to come too. where to go?What are you going to do? dead.There are dead people on the bridge. You say, dead?Why do you want him to see the dead? I want him to go with me and have a look.Two women and a child were dead on the bridge, or so they were thought to be.However, one of the women was only dying, not dead yet.The police do not allow others to touch them.Your friend is English and a powerful figure.You go tell him.He and I can carry the wounded woman to the hospital. Are you sure that woman is still alive? I saw it with my own eyes.There's a whole lot of people over there.At first I saw that the woman's face was facing our direction.By the time I got back, her face had turned the other way.Dead people don't turn their heads, understand?Police said she was dead.I know she is not dead. Yi Su's face flushed red.She told a nurse: Take care of me.I went to save a dying woman. Ah Zhao ran.She also ran behind. James heard the panic knocking on the door, and opened the door immediately. What's up?James asked in surprise.Then he saw the boy and recognized him as the captain of the Young Pioneers.Ah Zhao has a firm round jaw and two front teeth that pop out. A woman on the bridge is dying.The police did not allow anyone to approach her.Yi Su said: Ah Zhao told me.We have to figure out a way to save her.I will go with you. Then the three of them ran out of the iron gate of the church together. While running on the road, Ah Zhao turned his head and said: I like a Caucasian like you who can speak Chinese. Tell me, what happened to the gunshots this morning?They had slowed down their pace. Really exciting.Some people from Boluo told me that the militiamen from the city arrived here yesterday and rounded up twenty or thirty people and locked them up.Some time ago, two militiamen were killed in a grain robbery incident in Boluo.Those arrested will be sent to the north, including a child.Last night the women whose husbands were arrested rushed into the prison.How many people were killed, no one knows.It was still dark when it happened.The villagers were frightened and wanted to flee.This morning, many people were beaten to death by the river. Why grab food? have no idea.People told me that it was because everyone was starving because they couldn't eat the millet, but the millet was eaten by mice.It doesn't work like this, does it? I don't think that's right. They will still shoot, you just wait and see.There are many relatives of Boluo people and Dongguan people in the city. The police have set up a blockade at the bridgehead, and no one is allowed to walk across. Someone stood there for a while and then walked away.But there were newcomers, looking at the three corpses on the bridge. Ah Zhao squeezed out a way and led James and Isu forward.Everyone turns their heads. Ah Zhao flashed his badge and asked the police to allow him to go and see the three corpses. A police officer came over and asked what was the matter.Ah Zhao explained to him: I saw the woman's face move. Did anyone else see it? When no one answered, the officer cast a suspicious look at James.Yi Su said: I came from the hospital.I'm a nurse there.The Englishman is a doctor.Let's go over and check that woman is all right.If she's alive, we'll take her to the hospital. The officer didn't answer.The average Chinese believes that all Caucasians are doctors. All right.come over.He shouted to the others: Go back.Nothing to see here. The three of them hurried to some thirty yards away who were lying motionless on the ground.The police officer went with them.Yi Su squatted down beside the woman, tested her pulse, and opened her eyelids.James listened to her heartbeat. Listen, he said to the officer: her heart is still beating. The officer knelt down, listened to her heartbeat, checked her pulse and expressed satisfaction.He tried the other two.One of them was an old grandmother with bound feet, her knees were stained with blood.Another child, about ten years old, was lying next to the old woman with blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. Well, take this woman to the hospital.The other two have died without issue. Yi Su bent down and carefully examined the dying woman.She didn't have a gunshot wound, and she wasn't bleeding, but she was unconscious.Esso gently bent her arms and legs, and asked James to help her up. As James bent to lift the woman, he saw the officer kick the little boy's body into the river. There were resentful voices from the crowd on the shore. Why are you doing this?James asked. Leaving the body here for everyone to see is meaningless.The officer replied.Then he kicked the curled up corpse of the old woman to the bridge.When the black body fell into the river with a plop, there were screams of panic on the riverside. The officer turned around calmly.Ah Zhao's eyes were full of terror. Holding the dying woman in his arms, James walked forward silently.Yi Su followed beside him. The crowd made way for them to pass. go away!cried the officer.Nothing to look at anymore.The eyes were dark and hostile as he strode past the front of the crowd. An old man with a long beard and a wide-brimmed bamboo hat stepped forward and said to the police officer: My child, that old lady has lived to such an old age.You should let her be buried decently. I know, old man.But the corpses were too much to be noticed. The old man walked away without a word. When the police officer looked up and saw the scattered crowd with their heads bowed, he realized something in his heart and felt that the matter did not end here. The woman James was holding was not very heavy.Although it couldn't be seen from her face, she would not have weighed more than ninety pounds.She has so little to eat.When James, Yi Su and Ah Zhao walked through the street, the eyes of men and women showed approval.There were even one or two people applauding.Ah Zhao walked in the front and opened the way for them. James thought as he walked, but not the attention he wanted, and strangely he didn't want the dying woman in his arms; he wanted to walk ahead of him, with his back straight and smug. A Zhao. The mess in the hospital is much better now.Most of those injured were seen by doctors.Those with minor injuries were sent home.But the few people who need to stay in the hospital still keep the doctors busy. James and Isu walked into the hospital, holding a wounded woman in his arms, his face flushed from the sun and heat, beads of sweat running down his neck.Angelica was taken aback by this look. They quickly put the woman on a stretcher and wheeled her into the room. Angelica looked at James and Isu, wanting to get an explanation right away.James shrugged, looked at Ah Zhao with interesting eyes and said: He came to me and asked for my help. The woman was lying on the bridge, and everyone thought she was dead.I saw she was alive, so I went to him for help.Ah Zhao said. Are there any more injured?Yi Su asked, gasping for breath from exhaustion. I don't think so.Some are hiding and refusing to receive treatment.Ah Zhao replied that the police kicked the bodies of the other two people into the river.Now they are gone.At that time, I heard people standing by the river shouting. What are you shouting for?Angelica asked. First kick the child into the water Who kicked it? police officer.We were helping this woman at the time.When the old woman's body fell into the river like a mouse, the people by the river shouted.I saw the police push them back fiercely.I don't think these cops can escape.They shouldn't have done that. When Ah Zhao was talking, Yi Su looked at James.And James saw his aunt turn red for the first time.She said slowly: The Chinese people also have things they cannot bear.Everyone deserves a good burial when they die, even criminals. I still have something to do.Isu said, looking at James proudly. I have to go too.Ah Zhao said. You're doing great, Zhao.Angelica said. Why are you in such a hurry?James said: Come and have a glass of water before you go. On the way, James asked Ah Zhao, are you not afraid of being seen with an Englishman? No, I'm not afraid.I am a member of the party's Young Pioneers.Everyone knows me. Walking into the house, Zhao drinks water, and James washes his hands. Are you tired?asked James, wiping his wrist with a wet towel. Not tired, not tired at all.Ah Zhao sat down and browsed around.Then I added, I like the British. What do you like about us? I like your pens, watches and cigarettes.can i have a cigarette certainly.He thinks Ah Zhao is too young to smoke.But if he wants to smoke, that's his business. It's not three fives, is it? no.Why three and five cards? Chairman Mao Zedong only drew three or five cards.So all senior cadres draw three or five cards.When I become a party committee member, I also want to own three or five brand cigarettes. So what brand are you drawing now? Have something, suck something. What do you mean by that? The Great Wall, the Jewel Queen.Suck whatever you have.When I grow up, I will have four wives, like Chairman Mao. The conversation was getting more interesting, but also more casual.James thought so.He changed the subject. Honestly, what do you think of white people? You are imperialists.You are going to fight.That's all right.We also have to fight.We have six, seven, or eight hundred million people.We are not afraid of you.Let's hit it off. You mean to fight? Yes, hit. You mean to fight when you have to, but you don't want to fight. I'd rather fight.That's it.His tone was firm. Good guy.James said gently, patting him on the shoulder.To his surprise, Ah Zhao raised his fist and bent his arms, as if hitting him with his arms.But he was laughing. I must go now, there's a lot going on in the street. Ah Zhao picked up his bamboo hat and jumped out of the room.He turned his head and said goodbye. goodbye!James waved.Wait a moment.James added. What are you doing? James gave him a ballpoint pen. Like it? Oh, like it.Thanks. Ah Zhao took the pen, and walked away in a hop.A light flashed in his eye. God bless Huiyang, don't let it be ruined by this kid.thought James.