Chapter 17 Chapter Sixteen

According to the standards of the mountain, Pilingzhang's small inn is quite comfortable.A kerosene lamp with a green metal shade hung from the ceiling and illuminated a table in the middle of the room.There is another table in the corner.The house is dry and warm, with the kitchen at the back, and looking out from the side window, there is a steep cliff not far away.The whitewashed walls were faded and cracked in several places.There are two pairs of couplets pasted on the wall. The red paper on the couplets has also faded with time. Although the handwriting is poor, it still shows the intention of the small inn. It is nothing more than some advice to travelers since ancient times.

Stay before it's too late Rooster crows early to see the sky Another copy is: Everyone sweeps the snow Don't care about the frost on others The owner of the inn is in his fifties, with an honest and honest face, he is a joking and smiling person.He wore an old-fashioned melon cap.He looks like a boss with a prosperous business, with a smiling face and a warm welcome to all visitors. Piling Zhangdi is an important traffic road, and it is a good place for farmers, hunters and passing tourists to rest and have a glass of wine or a cup of tea here.On the north side, there is a small road leading to Henggang Ruins; on the west side, overlooking a steep slope leading to Sanyoutian Reservoir and the mountain road.

There is also a lime kiln nearby. The mountains in this area are rich in limestone, and many cliffs and cliffs have been weathered into various sharp and magnificent shapes.A few years ago, the Baoan County authorities made a major effort to expand the kiln and sent a team of kiln workers to work hard, because lime is useful for construction projects and fertilizers.However, because there are too many official changes, and manpower is often mobilized for various surprise plans, such as last year's local chain steel, the lime kiln was abandoned, and I don't know why. They eat yams for dinner; white rice is unavailable here.The owner of the small inn saw these guests from the city, including a foreigner, and guessed that they must have money to pay the bill, so he sent a plate of pickled wild pork and homemade sorghum wine.The wild boar was thick, but very fragrant, and thanks to the fresh mountain air, everyone had a good appetite and ate with gusto.

After a day of excitement and excitement, everyone is tired. After eating this meal, you must be satisfied, even the Yellow Emperor doesn't want to do it.said the joking innkeeper. Has any patrol come here these days?Cai Shan asked. A week ago, some soldiers came to drink.They went upstairs to rest for a while and then left. Yi Su saw his round eyeballs blink. The maid who served them while they ate, mopping the table with a dirty, greasy rag, was a hideous woman with high cheekbones.Cai Shan told them that she is a widow who is only in her thirties today.Her hair was cut short, like a duck's butt.Mixed up and down, except for a pair of big breasts, there is no trace of femininity.A pair of her breasts almost touched the table as she bent over and wiped it vigorously.

When the maid was cleaning the table, Yi Su helped Mr. Duan to sit on the only rattan chair; the seat part had sunken and the middle was broken.After walking the last few kilometers, Mr. Duan seemed to be completely exhausted. I'll be fine with a little rest, and the wine is doing me a lot tonight.He comforts his daughter. The innkeeper told the maid: there is still some hot water.Wipe the table clean.We can put two tables together to make a bed. He turned to the guest again and said: I don't know how you would like to arrange it.There are two beds upstairs.I'm sure the ladies would like that room.There were several bunks in the guest room below, but it was cold and damp, and there were no lights.

arranged.Mr. Duan and his grandson occupy one bed; Lihua and Yisu sleep in another bed.After some courteous concessions, Fan Shitian agreed to use the table as a bed, while James insisted that he would be fine with just the rattan chair and a stool for his feet.The others went to sleep in the kiln. The maid wanted to spread a bed of dirty cotton wool and straw mats on the table, but Fan Shitian told her not to bother.She backed off. The innkeeper and his wife bade everyone good night. This is my fourth cigarette of the day, we should have one, shouldn't we?While speaking, James handed the cigarette to Fan Shitian.

They sat and watched the gray smoke curl up in the light. They talked about Dengping. I still can't get over it.Fan Shitian said: I'm really glad I'm fine now.I was really worried.You did the right thing by shooting the dog. to end his suffering.A quick sentence, right? Fan Shitian showed a wry smile.You have a good heart.Let me tell you, we can never do what the Communist Party has done.Sometimes the punishment of slowness is terrible.In 1950, they captured a Kuomintang general. Guess what they did with him?Was he shot?no. How did you deal with it? First, they called him to parade in the lively streets, wearing a clown hat on his head that said lackey of the imperialists, and made everyone laugh at him.Then they stripped him naked and sent him to the cowshed to work the mill with the oxen.He is on one side and the cow is on the other.Round and round, and round and round, he was nearly paralyzed.When he tried to stop to catch his breath, the bull kept turning, and they whipped him more than they whipped the bull.The cow kept barking, it must be strange, I don't know what happened.The villagers swore that they saw the cow shed tears at that time.Do cows cry?The poor devil's shoulders were worn and bruised, and his back was red, blue, wet, and dry from the whiplash.Seven days later, he died

Fan Shitian clenched his fist so tightly that his knuckles turned white. James was silent for a moment. Is this Marxism?Fan Shitian asked.Or what about Leninism? James looked at him.He knew that he had never really understood Fan Shitian.I don't think you can forget these things These things are unimaginable to me. Fan Shitian took a puff of his cigarette and calmed down a bit.I still seem to see Deng Ping hanging in the air on the cliff.Scenes like this are unforgettable.I don't want to say that Deng Ping is a bad person.What he did was what the committee should have done.Cruel and merciless, like a cold and hard rock.What can you and I do?Under this system, only the black-hearted, ambitious, and shameless people who betray their friends can get ahead.Weak people who talk about feelings and humanity will be eliminated immediately.The remaining core members are the leaders and a group of sycophants.This is the system.

Well, yes, when it comes to Deng Ping, everyone calls him Little Napoleon, and I've known him since he was a kid.His father opened a shop on Tongzheng Street, and I was his teacher when he was studying at school.At that time, his mother had passed away, and there were two brothers, neither of whom was successful.The business of his store is not doing well.For Deng Ping's tuition, his father often accepts financial aid from my family.It is amusing to say that one of my charges at the public trial was usurer and exploiter of the poor.He was only thirteen or fourteen years old at the time, smart and active, and he was very aggressive in school, just like Ah Zhao.When the Communist Party came, he went to Guangzhou and Changsha.When he came back, he was already twenty-two years old, and he married a very nice girl, who was his colleague in the Guangzhou party department.

During those years, everything was a mess.The principal of the middle school died during a five-anti movement.He's getting old and can't stand it.Deng Ping took great pains to get him to confess.Think about it, he is a prestigious and respected scholar in the local area, how could he be willing to confess.Deng Ping sent some young students to come in trucks every day in turn, shouting at him with a loudspeaker: Chen Ying!Chen Ying!Come out and confess!Other students went to his house and harassed him day and night with historical and mathematical problems until he was forced to commit suicide by jumping from the third floor of the school.

Within a few years, Deng Ping's power was so great that he became the local emperor in Huiyang.You can't say that he is bad. In order to maintain his position in the party, he has to do this, which is the so-called preferring the left to the right. You just mentioned lending money to Deng Ping's father and the subsequent public trial. How about it? I'm going to tell you something I'll never forget again.When we sat down in a circle this afternoon, how frightened did you see him?He thought we were going to shoot him on the spot.This reminds me of my own public trial. One of the charges against me is usury and the blood of the poor.God knows how many families my family has helped.Our female workers, male workers, and our friends come to us when they need money.It's been like that since my grandfather's time.They found a total of more than a dozen witnesses, and Deng Ping's father was one of them.Deng Ping's father and I have been close friends for many years. He knew that I gave him money and paid Deng Ping's tuition, not lending him money.However, Deng Ping forced his father to tell lies to testify against me.Like a group of monkeys, they pointed and yelled at me, while I knelt on the ground with my hands tied behind my back, listening to the witnesses take turns telling me what was wrong.The torture of the body and the clamor of the crowd are all unbearable for human beings.I thought to myself then, they are going to shoot me, as they have shot many others.But Deng Ping had plans in his heart, which I didn't know until later. Are you frank?Deng Ping roared loudly while sitting in a temporary hall built on the square. I have nothing to confess.I answer him.At that time, no matter what they want to do to me, I don't care anymore. good!He yelled: drag him to the corner, you all line up and spit on his face one by one to show your loyalty to the party.Then, I'll deal with him. Of course I feel very sad.After a while, though, I became numb.I don't feel anything anymore. I saw Deng Ping's father approaching, it was his turn.I looked up, ready for him to spit in my face, but he stopped.He looked at me, I looked at him, our eyes met.Come on, it's your turn.I said.He looked at me and burst into tears. Dad, you vomit!Standing by the side, Deng Ping said: Spit hard. I really can't tell you what I felt at the time.I looked at Deng Ping, and I knew that his father was more sad than me. Son, his father said: I didn't spit on him, he gave you all the money for your education. His father almost fainted, and they had to carry him away. I will never forget this incident. The proprietress of the store put her head in from the door and said: If you are fine, please turn down the light. They turned down the lamp a little, and soon fell asleep, forgetting where they were.